Periplos bestiales: escamandro, pegaso, enigma… Bestias en Faulkner y Norfolk

Abstract

Nuestra intención es destacar la relevancia de las bestias en dos autores contemporáneos, William Faulkner y Lawrence Norfolk, en concreto y respectivamente en As I Lay Dying y en The Pope’s Rhinoceros. Estos animales hunden sus raíces en las historias de la mitología griega y latina y fueron ampliamente difundidas en los bestiarios medievales. En la literatura contemporánea se confirman los elementos esenciales de esas bestias, ya vistos por los autores antiguos y medievales, en las dos obras mencionadas. Our intention is to highlight the relevance of the beasts in two contemporary writers, William Faulkner and Lawrence Norfolk, which appear in one part of their production, specifi cally in As I Lay Dying and The Pope’s Rhinoceros. These beasts have their roots in Classical stories, mythological or not, and were essential in Medieval bestiaries. This article shows how important some outstanding animals were in mental schemes for men of different ages, and how modern bestiaries confi rm the elements that arose in ancient ages.