Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Anne Carson's Autobiography of Red. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
Autobiography of Red: Introduction
Autobiography of Red: Plot Summary
Autobiography of Red: Detailed Summary & Analysis
Autobiography of Red: Themes
Autobiography of Red: Quotes
Autobiography of Red: Characters
Autobiography of Red: Symbols
Autobiography of Red: Theme Wheel
Brief Biography of Anne Carson
Historical Context of Autobiography of Red
Other Books Related to Autobiography of Red
- Full Title: Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse
- When Written: 1990s
- Where Written: Canada
- When Published: 1998
- Literary Period: Contemporary
- Genre: Verse Novel
- Setting: North America; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Peru in the late 1990s
- Climax: After years of hiding his wings from the world, Geryon flies over the volcano in Jucu.
- Antagonist: Herakles, Geryon’s Brother
- Point of View: Third Person
Extra Credit for Autobiography of Red
Intertextuality. Autobiography of Red contains numerous references to other works of art and criticism. In turn, other creative works have referenced it: Autobiography of Red and Carson’s first published work of criticism, Eros the Bittersweet, were both referenced on a 2004 episode of the television series The L Word.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words. In constructing his titular autobiography, Autobiography of Red’s protagonist, Geryon, eschews written art forms in favor of visual modes of expression. In the same vein, Anne Carson has stated that “she considers herself a visual, not verbal artist.”