Transformations of a Genre

The aim of this book is to orchestrate “a generic reconstitution of literary studies” based on a comprehensive theory of genre and generic transformation. Taking “An Excellent Ballad of George Barnwel,” a seventeenth-century broadside of sex and greed, Ralph Cohen analyzes the generic transformations—including Addison’s ballad criticism in The Spectator, The London Merchant, Percy’s ballad editing in Reliques, and Barnwell. A Novel—in which this particular ballad exhibits remarkable continuity over the next four centuries, culminating with his personal re-formation; what was considered non-literary criticism becomes literary. This unique literary history reconceives narrative as a component of genre rather than a genre itself, demonstrates the ineluctably mixed nature of genres and the literary nature of our humanness, and analyzes the shifting generic contexts for interpretation and gender relations. Incorporating theory consciousness into the literary genre he is regenerating, Cohen offers a brilliant example of how future literary histories might be written.

“The posthumous publication of Ralph Cohen's book Transformations of a Genre is an epochal event. Arguing for the importance of mixed genres, Cohen releases the notion of genre from a rigid and merely classificatory role. In both his theoretical justification of genre and his application of his theory, he demonstrates that the concept of genre can yield important insights into historical continuity and change. In his supple account of genre, a literary work can retain a basic shape through a myriad of substitutions and remain recognizable even when it alters the genders of its principal characters. Cohen's concept of genre contributes as much to our understanding of literature and literary history as Jeremy Bentham's concept of sentence meaning contributed to the study of individual words. This is an indispensable book.” (Frances Ferguson, Mabel Greene Myers Distinguished Service Professor, University of Chicago, USA) 

“This book is the work of a master. Relations between historical knowledge and literary understanding, the processes involved in the formation, solidification, and transformation of a genre, the elucidation of authenticity as a historical concept, and the intricacies of the relations between the reader and the text are all interwoven here with Ralph Cohen’s characteristic lucidity and explanatory power. Radiating Cohen’s sense of personal engagement with literature along with his sensitivity to the subtle permutations of narrative, the book shows in the fascinating example of the early 17^th-century Ballad of George Barnwel how that ballad’s plot can mutate through the genres of poem, tragedy, memoir, and novel. Cohen’s work on the dynamics of literary change and continuity has always been expansive, always reaching out to see still more, as this new volume, under the acute editorship of John Rowlett, richly displays. A major contribution.” (Garry L. Hagberg, James H. Ottaway Professor of Philosophy and Aesthetics at Bard College, USA, and Editor of the journal Philosophy and Literature) 

“Disguised as a historical case study, this book is not only the legacy of an author who, as founder and editor of the journal New Literary History, was central in shaping literary studies and the humanities at large for the past half century. Ralph Cohen's thought also makes present to us the upbeat energy of a time when debates about problems in literary theory were an ongoing intellectual event on the public stage.” (Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, Albert Guérard Professor in Literature, Emeritus, Stanford University, USA, and Professor of Romance Literatures at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel) 

“The profound impact Ralph Cohen had on his students is now available to readers who never studied with the master. Cohen’s legacy will be more enduring because of this book.”
(Mary Poovey, Professor Emerita, New York University, USA)

At his death in 2016, Ralph Cohen was widely recognized as the preeminent theorist of genre. He founded and edited New Literary History, a multi-disciplinary journal of theory and interpretation. This book actualizes his vision of a new literary history and stands now as his magnum opus. 

John L. Rowlett is an independent scholar and former Program Director for the Commonwealth Center for Literary and Cultural Change at the University of Virginia, USA.