Episode VI: The Poetics of Blood Meridian

A Breakdown of McCarthy's Singular Style

Cormac McCarthy is known for a particular brand of ultra-violence, for the philosophical musings of his characters, and for the savage beauty of his prose. I’d like to investigate the rhetorical and stylistic features of that savage prosody, thinking about the nuts and bolts of the master’s style.

We must have a few representative passages to work with. …