In this first general theory for the analysis of popular literary formulas, John G. Cawelti reveals the artistry that underlies the best in formulaic literature. Cawelti discusses such seemingly diverse works as Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Dorothy Sayers's The Nine Tailors, and Owen Wister's The Virginian in the light of his hypotheses about the cultural function of formula literature. He describes the most important artistic characteristics of popular formula stories and the differences between this literature and that commonly labeled "high" or "serious" literature. He also defines the archetypal patterns of adventure, mystery, romance, melodrama, and fantasy, and offers a tentative account of their basis in human psychology.

Acknowledgments Introduction: The Design of This Book 1. The Study of Literary Formulas Formulas, Genres, and Archetypes The Artistic Characteristics of Formula Literature Formulas and Culture 2. Notes toward a Typology of Literary Formulas Adventure Romance Mystery Melodrama Alien Beings or States 3. The Mythology of Crime and Its Formulaic Embodiments The Godfather and the Literature of Crime Elements of the New Formula The Cultural Function of Popular Crime Formulas 4. The Formula of the Classical Detective Story Patterns of the Formula Cultural Background of the Formula 5. The Art of the Classical Detective Story Central Artistic Problems of the Genre Artistic Failures and Successes: Christie and Sayers The Art of Simenon Detective Stories and Detection as an Element in Other Literary Genres The Future of the Classical Detective Story 6. The Hard-Boiled Detective Story Hard-boiled and Classical Detective Stories Patterns of the Formula Cultural Backgrounds of the Formula 7. Hammett, Chandler, and Spillane 8. The Western: A Look at the Evolution of a Formula Cooper and the Beginnings of the Western Formula Nick of the Woods and the Dime Novel Wister's Virginian and the Modern Western Zane Grey and W. S. Hart: The Romantic Western of the 1920s The Classic Western: John Ford and Others The Jewish Cowboy, the Black Avenger, and the Return of the Vanishing American: Current Trends in the Formula 9. The Best-Selling Social Melodrama The Social Melodrama The Aesthetics of Social Melodrama The Evolution of Social Melodrama Irving Wallace Conclusion Notes Bibliographical Notes Index