A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory by
With new entries and sensitive edits, this fifth edition places J.A. Cuddon's indispensable dictionary firmly in the 21st Century. Written in a clear and highly readable style Comprehensive historical coverage extending from ancient times to the present day Broad intellectual and cultural range Expands on the previous edition to incorporate the most recent literary terminology New material is particularly focused in areas such as gender studies and queer theory, post-colonial theory, post-structuralism, post-modernism, narrative theory, and cultural studies. Existing entries have been edited to ensure that topics receive balanced treatment
Dictionary Plus: Literature
This dictionary comprises authoritative, highly accessible entries on writers, works, and literary movements. These entries are supplementary to other literature titles in the Quick Reference collection, and are written by specialist authors. The dictionary is an ongoing project, and more entries will be added over time.
Edinburgh Introduction to Studying English Literature by
Extensively tested at the University of Edinburgh, this introduction to the tools required for literary study provides all the skills, background and critical knowledge which students require to approach their study of literature with confidence. This second edition includes 3 new chapters on Reading, Writing an Essay, and Reflecting. Each focuses on the 'how to' element when studying literature, and covers issues such as how to avoid plagiarism, and how to prepare a bibliography.
Encyclopedia of Ancient Literature by
Encyclopedia of Ancient Literature, Second Edition features more than 500 entries covering the literary works, writers, and concepts of the ancient world, from the beginnings to approximately 500 CE. Ranging from ancient Greece and Rome to China, Egypt, Japan, India, Persia, Babylonia, the Hebrew world, and more.
Encyclopedia of Literary Modernism by
Modernism is still widely acknowledged as perhaps the most important and influential artistic and cultural phenomenon of the 20th century. Written by expert scholars from around the world and covering hundreds of different topics in a clear, incisive, and critical manner, this reference maps the complex field of modernism in a fresh and original way. The principal focus of the book is on English-language literary modernism and the period 1890-1939, yet many entries extend beyond those parameters to include important precursors and successors of the movement. The book also covers the crucial European and interdisciplinary dimensions of modernism and provides complementary comparative perspectives from countries and regions not usually included in traditional accounts of the subject. Entries cite works for further reading, and the volume closes with a selected, general bibliography.
Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature by
Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature, Second Edition offers a comprehensive account of the literary works, writers, and concepts of the Middle Ages, from 500 to 1500 CE. Covering not only European literature but also that of India, the Far East, and the Muslim world.
Encyclopedia of Renaissance Literature by
This A-to-Z encyclopedia is a comprehensive reference to the literary works, writers, and concepts of the Renaissance. Spanning the years from approximately 1500 to 1660 CE, this guide examines the history and development of literature as it flourished around the world during this period. Coverage includes not only European literature but also the people and works of China, India, Japan, the Islamic world, and the Jewish diaspora, as well as written and oral literature of the New World, Africa, and Oceania.
Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature by Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century by
Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century is especially valuable for its panoramic view of world literature, including excellent coverage of Third World literature not found in other sources. Through its previous editions and supplements, it has served as a classic international reference source for several decades.
Gale Contextual Encyclopedia of World Literature
This new four-volume set covers world authors from many periods and genres, building a broad understanding of the various contexts--from the biographical to the literary to the historical--in which literature can be viewed. The Gale Contextual Encyclopedia of World Literature will allow a reader to analyze an author's work as a reflection of the heritage, traditions and experiences of the author's personal life and the beliefs, events, and lifestyles of the world at the time. The nearly 500 entries will also identify the significant literary devices and global themes that define a writer's style and place the author in a larger literary tradition as chronicled and evaluated by critics over time. Critical thinking and activity prompts, in addition to images, will further enhance the reader's own personal response to global literature.
Historical Dictionary of Romanticism in Literature by
"The Historical Dictionary of Romanticism in Literature takes a close and comprehensive look at romanticism in literature through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 800 cross-referenced entries on the writers and the poems, novels, short stories and essays, plays and other works they produced; the leading trends, techniques, journals and literary circles, and the spirit of the times are also covered. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more romanticism in literature" -- Provided by publisher.
Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature by
Describes authors, works, and literary terms from all eras and all parts of the world.
A New Companion to English Renaissance Literature and Culture by
In this revised and greatly expanded edition of the Companion, 80 scholars come together to offer an original and far-reaching assessment of English Renaissance literature and culture. A new edition of the best-selling Companion to English Renaissance Literature, revised and updated, with 22 new essays and 19 new illustrations Contributions from some 80 scholars including Judith H. Anderson, Patrick Collinson, Alison Findlay, Germaine Greer, Malcolm Jones, Arthur Kinney, James Knowles, Arthur Marotti, Robert Miola and Greg Walker Unrivalled in scope and its exploration of unfamiliar literary and cultural territories the Companion offers new readings of both 'literary' and 'non-literary' texts Features essays discussing material culture, sectarian writing, the history of the body, theatre both in and outside the playhouses, law, gardens, and ecology in early modern England Orientates the beginning student, while providing advanced students and faculty with new directions for their research All of the essays from the first edition, along with the recommendations for further reading, have been reworked or updated
The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature by
The third edition of The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature is the complete and authoritative reference guide to the classical world and its literary heritage. It not only presents the reader with all the essential facts about the authors, tales, and characters from ancient myth and literature, but it also places these details in the wider contexts of the history and society of the Greek and Roman worlds. With an extensive web of cross-references and a useful chronological table and location maps (all of which have been brought fully up to date), this volume traces the development of literary forms and the classical allusions which have become embedded in our Western culture.
The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms by
The best-selling Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (formerly the Concise dictionary) provides clear, concise, and often witty definitions of the most troublesome literary terms from abjection to zeugma. Now available in a new, fully updated and expanded edition, it offers readers increased coverage of new terms from modern critical and theoretical movements, such as feminism, and schools of American poetry, Spanish verse forms, life writing, and crime fiction.
The Routledge Companion to World Literature by
In the age of globalization, the category of "World Literature" is increasingly important to academic teaching and research. The Routledge Companion to World Literature offers a comprehensive pathway into this burgeoning and popular field. Separated into four key sections, the volume covers:the history of World Literature through significant writers and theorists from Goethe to Said, Casanova and Morettithe disciplinary relationship of World Literature to areas such as philology, translation, globalization and diaspora studiestheoretical issues in World Literature including gender, politics and ethicsa global perspective on thepolitics of World Literature.Theforty-eightoutstanding contributors to this companion offer an ideal introduction to those approaching the field for the first time, or looking to further their knowledge of this extensive field.
The Cambridge Companion to American Modernism by
Original essays by twelve distinguished international scholars offer critical overviews of the major genres, literary culture, and social contexts that define the current state of scholarship. This Companion also features a chronology of key events and publication dates covering the first half of the twentieth century in the United States. The introductory reference guide concludes with a current bibliography of further reading organized by chapter topics.
The Cambridge Companion to Early Modern Women's Writing by
Summary: "Featuring the most frequently taught female writers and texts of the early modern period, this Companion introduces the reader to the range, complexity, historical importance, and aesthetic merit of women's writing in Britain from 1500-1700. Presenting key textual, historical, and methodological information, the volume exemplifies new and diverse approaches to the study of women's writing. The book is clearly divided into three sections, covering: how women learnt to write and how their work was circulated or published; how and what women wrote in the places and spaces in which they lived, worked, and worshipped; and the different kinds of writing women produced, from poetry and fiction to letters, diaries, and political prose. This structure makes the volume readily adaptable to course usage. The Companion is enhanced by an introduction that lays out crucial framework and critical issues, and by chronologies that situate women's writings alongside political and cultural events"--Provided by publisher.
The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Literature, 1100-1500 by
The medieval period was one of extraordinary literary achievement sustained over centuries of great change, anchored by the Norman invasion and its aftermath, the re-emergence of English as the nation's leading literary language in the fourteenth century and the advent of print in the fifteenth. This Companion spans four full centuries to survey this most formative and turbulent era in the history of literature in English. Exploring the period's key authors - Chaucer, Langland, the Gawain-Poet, Margery Kempe, among many - and genres - plays, romances, poems and epics - the book offers an overview of the riches of medieval writing. The essays map out the flourishing field of medieval literary studies and point towards new directions and approaches. Designed to be accessible to students, the book also features a chronology and guide to further reading.
The Cambridge Companion to Medieval French Literature by
Medieval French literature encompasses 450 years of literary output in Old and Middle French, mostly produced in Northern France and England. These texts, including courtly lyrics, prose and verse romances, dits amoureux and plays, proved hugely influential for other European literary traditions in the medieval period and beyond. This Companion offers a wide-ranging and stimulating guide to literature composed in medieval French from its beginnings in the ninth century until the Renaissance. The essays are grounded in detailed analysis of canonical texts and authors such as the Chanson de Roland, the Roman de la Rose, Villon's Testament, Chrétien de Troyes, Machaut, Christine de Pisan and the Tristan romances. Featuring a chronology and suggestions for further reading, this is the ideal companion for students and scholars in other fields wishing to discover the riches of the French medieval tradition.
The Cambridge Companion to Postcolonial Literary Studies by
A comprehensive introduction to postcolonialism, this Companion examines different aspects of postcolonial thought and culture that have had a significant effect on contemporary critical thought. Topics discussed by experts in the field include postcolonialism's relation to modernity, and its significance and relevance to literature, film, law, philosophy, and modern cultural studies. Additional material includes a guide to further reading and a chronology.
The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of the First World War by
The Great War of 1914-1918 marked a turning point in modern history and culture. This Companion offers critical overviews of the major literary genres and social contexts that define the study of the literatures produced by World War I. It examines the war's impact on various national literatures before addressing the way the War affected Modernism, the European avant-garde, film, women's writing, memoirs, and, of course, the war poets. The volume concludes by addressing the legacy of the war for twentieth-century literature.
The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of World War II by
The literature of World War II has emerged as an accomplished, moving, and challenging body of work, produced by writers as different as Norman Mailer and Virginia Woolf, Primo Levi and Ernest Hemingway, Jean-Paul Sartre and W. H. Auden. This Companion provides a comprehensive overview of the international literatures of the war: both those works that recorded or reflected experiences of the war as it happened, and those that tried to make sense of it afterwards. It surveys the writing produced in the major combatant nations (Britain and the Commonwealth, the USA, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, and the USSR), and explores its common themes. With its chronology and guide to further reading, it will be an invaluable source of information and inspiration for students and scholars of modern literature and war studies.
Everyday Biblical Literacy by
What do we mean when we call a woman a Jezebel? Where did go the extra mile originate? What exactly was a scapegoat? Why was a fast-and-furious driver called Jehu? Where did the phrase hocus pocus come from? In a different age, most people knew the source of these and hundreds of other names, phrases, and images. The Bible was common knowledge, and everyday language was saturated with references to the Bible. Today, some meanings are lost, some impact is diminished by the lack of knowledge people have about the historical aspects of the Bible. This book is a comprehensive compilation of the most important phrases, people and places mentioned in the Bible. Author J. Stephen Lang has written a book that contains not only concise explanations of important terms, but how that person or thing has been presented culturally–common phrases in art, literature, and song. You'll get a guided tour of biblical history, but also a renewed appreciation for all the cultural significance the Bible has lent to modern society. Lang explains, "Understanding the Bible can help you appreciate movies, literature, art, and music more. You can understand Christmas (and composer George Frideric Handel) better if you know just what the word Messiah means. You can appreciate a movie like Raiders of the Lost Ark better if you know a little more about the real ark in the Bible.... You can even understand the mindset of Saddam Hussein if you know a little about the ancient Babylonian empire (something Saddam hoped to re-create)."
Longman Dictionary of Literary Terms by
A user-friendly introduction to the language of literary study, The Longman Dictionary of Literary Terms is an easy-to-use reference manual that aims to demystify literature and the techniques literary scholars use. It is a great asset to those readers who would like a smart companion to accompany their reading of literature. With an accessible writing style, this comprehensive guide features more than 400 entries, covering a wide array of literary terms and concepts with concise definitions and pronunciation guides. Features include clear definitions that motivate an engagement with literary theory, along with contemporary and culturally diverse literary examples that illustrate the concepts. All of the major schools of literary theory are presented to give readers thorough background in the critical approaches.
The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance by
Review: "It is rare to find a comprehensive dictionary on such a vast topic in one volume. It is also uncommon to discover that the majority of the book's high-quality entries were written by one scholar. The breadth and depth of this publication are impressive, covering science and law as well as literature, philosophy, art, and religion."--"The Top 20 Reference Titles of the Year," American Libraries, May 2004.
Twentieth Century Literary Movements Dictionary by
Provides a guide to analyzing literature from the perspective of literary movements, with more than five hundred literary, theatrical, and critical campaigns, schools, and groups examined.
Christianity and Literature: Philosophical Foundations and Critical Practice by
What has Jesus Christ to do with English literature?'ask David Lyle Jeffrey and Gregory Maillet in this insightful survey. First and foremost, they reply, many of the world's best authors of literature in English were formed--for better or worse--by the Christian tradition. Then too, many of the most recognized aesthetic literary forms derive from biblical exemplars. And finally, many great works of literature demand of readers evaluative judgments of the good, the true and the beautiful that can only rightly be understood within a Christian worldview. In this book Jeffrey and Maillet offer a feast of theoretical and practical discernment. After an examination of literature and truth, theological aesthetics, and the literary character of the Bible, they turn to a brief survey of literature from medieval times to the present, highlighting distinctively Christian themes and judgments. In a concluding chapter they suggest a path for budding literary critics through the current state of literary studies. Here is a must-read for all who are interested in a Christian perspective on literary studies.
An Introduction to Literary Studies by
In this classic beginner's guide to English literature, Mario Klarer offers a concise and accessible discussion of central issues in the study of literary texts, looking at: definitions of key terms such as literature and text the genres of fiction, poetry, drama, and film periods and classifications of literature theoretical approaches to texts the use of secondary resources guidelines for writing research essays The new and expanded edition is fully updated to include: a wider range of textual examples from world literature additional references to contemporary cinema, a section on comparative literature an extended survey of literary periods and genres recent changes in MLA guidelines information on state-of-the-art citation management software the use and abuse of online resources. The book also features suggestions for further reading as well as an extensive glossary of key terms.
An Introduction to Literary Studies by
In this classic beginner's guide to English literature, Mario Klarer offers a concise and accessible discussion of central issues in the study of literary texts, looking at: definitions of key terms such as literature and text the genres of fiction, poetry, drama, and film periods and classifications of literature theoretical approaches to texts the use of secondary resources guidelines for writing research essays The new and expanded edition is fully updated to include: a wider range of textual examples from world literature additional references to contemporary cinema, a section on comparative literature an extended survey of literary periods and genres recent changes in MLA guidelines information on state-of-the-art citation management software the use and abuse of online resources. The book also features suggestions for further reading as well as an extensive glossary of key terms.
Philosophy of Literature by
Literature, like the visual arts, poses its own philosophical problems. While literary theorists have discussed the nature of literature intensively, analytic philosophers have usually dealt with literary problems either within the general framework of aesthetics or else in a way that is accessible only to a philosophical audience. The present book is unique in that it introduces the philosophy of literature from an analytic perspective accessible to both students of literature and students of philosophy. Specifically, the book addresses: the definition of literature, the distinction between oral and written literature and the identity of literary worksthe nature of fiction and our emotional involvement with fictional charactersthe concept of imagination and its role in the apprehension of literary workstheories of metaphor and postmodernist theory on the significance of the authors'intentions to the interpretationof their workan examination of the relevance of thruth and morality to literary appreciationLucid and well organised and free from jargon, hilosophy of Literature: An Introduction offers fresh approaches to traditional problems and raises new issues in the philosophy of literature.
Theory of Literature by
"Bringing his perennially popular course to the page, Yale University Professor Paul H. Fry offers in this welcome book a guided tour of the main trends in twentieth-century literary theory. At the core of the book's discussion is a series of underlying questions: What is literature, how is it produced, how can it be understood, and what is its purpose? Fry engages with the major themes and strands in twentieth-century literary theory, among them hermeneutics, modes of formalism, semiotics and Structuralism, deconstruction, psychoanalytic approaches, Marxist and historicist approaches, theories of social identity, Neo-pragmatism and theory. By incorporating philosophical and social perspectives to connect these many trends, the author offers readers a coherent overall context for a deeper and richer reading of literature"-- Provided by publisher.
World Literature in Theory by
"World Literature in Theory provides a definitive exploration of the pressing questions facing those studying world literature today. Coverage is split into four parts which examine the origins and seminal formulations of world literature, world literature in the age of globalization, contemporary debates on world literature, and localized versions of world literature Contains more than 30 important theoretical essays by the most influential scholars, including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Hugo Meltzl, Edward Said, Franco Moretti, Jorge Luis Borges, and Gayatri Spivak Includes substantive introductions to each essay, as well as an annotated bibliography for further reading Allows students to understand, articulate, and debate the most important issues in this rapidly changing field of study "-- Provided by publisher.
Christianity and Literature by
"What has Jesus Christ to do with English literature?" ask David Lyle Jeffrey and Gregory Maillet in this insightful survey. First and foremost, they reply, many of the world's best authors of literature in English were formed--for better or worse--by the Christian tradition. Then too, many of the most recognized aesthetic literary forms derive from biblical exemplars. And finally, many great works of literature demand of readers evaluative judgments of the good, the true and the beautiful that can only rightly be understood within a Christian worldview. In this book Jeffrey and Maillet offer a feast of theoretical and practical discernment. After an examination of literature and truth, theological aesthetics, and the literary character of the Bible, they turn to a brief survey of literature from medieval times to the present, highlighting distinctively Christian themes and judgments. In a concluding chapter they suggest a path for budding literary critics through the current state of literary studies. Here is a must-read for all who are interested in a Christian perspective on literary studies.
Critical Approaches to Literature by
Salem Press' Critical Approaches to Literature series is designed to provide students and researchers with fresh insight into the various critical approaches to literary criticism. With thought-provoking analysis of several works in a wide variety of genres, each volume helps readers develop tools to analyze literary works using a particular critical lens. Volumes begin with an overview of the critical approach and guide readers on what to look for when evaluating works using that particular critical lens. * Critical Contexts: Four essays, each over 4,000 words in length, provide readers with a thorough understanding of the cultural, critical, and historical context of the critical approach. * Historical Background discusses how the time period influenced the development of this form of criticism across different cultures, as well as what makes this school of criticsm relevant to a contemporary audience* Critical Reception surveys major pieces of criticism that mark the evolution of this school of ltierary criticism and identifies major critics* Critical Lens represents a close reading of a work using the specific critical lens* Comparataive Analysis analyzes the specific school of criticism in light of another form of criticism across two or three different works* Critical Readings of Ten Works: In-depth essays, over 5,000 words in length, examine ten individual works using the specific critical approach. Works covered include short fiction, poetry, drama, and film. Works span across historical periods to demonstrate the breadth of this approach to literary critical analysis.* Additional Resources include a Glossary of Frequent Terms, Timeline, About the Editor, About the Contributors, General Bibliography and Subject index. This new series provides literature students with the tools necessary to study each approach to literary criticism using a unique combination of critical contexts and analysis of several works. This arrangement allows readers to develop a deeper understanding of each critical approach alongside several in-depth critical readings of popular works spanning many different genres. A must for literature collections of all sizes.
Critical Approaches to Literature by
Critical Approaches to Literature offers a deliberately diverse collection of essays that concern moral approaches to literature, film, television, and even creative writing analyzed through a specific critical lens. In this volume a range of British and American texts are examined utilizing a psychological lens to provide readers with a foundational understanding of this approach and how it is applied, and exemplary literary works subject to this specific analytic criticism. Each Critical Approaches text contains the following: Critical Contexts: Four essays, each over 4,000 words in length, provide readers with a thorough understanding of the cultural, critical, and historical context of the critical approach. Historical Background discusses how the time period influenced the development of this form of criticism across different cultures, as well as what makes this school of criticism relevant to a contemporary audience. Critical Reception surveys major pieces of criticism that mark the evolution of this school of literary criticism and identifies major critics. Critical Lens represents a close reading of a work using the specific critical lens. Comparative Analysis analyzes the specific school of criticism in light of another form of criticism across two or three different works. Critical Readings of Ten Works: In-depth essays, over 5,000 words in length, examine ten individual works using the specific critical approach. Works covered include short fiction, poetry, drama, and film. Works span across historical periods to demonstrate the breadth of this approach to literary critical analysis. Additional Resources include a Glossary of Frequent Terms, Timeline, About the Editor, About the Contributors, General Bibliography and Subject index. Works and authors analyzed in Critical Approaches: Psychological include: Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellows Edgar Allen Poe Shakespeare's Measure for Measure John Donne Edna St. Vincent Millay The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Ernest Hemingway Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell The Star Wars Trilogy The Harry Potter Series The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi This series provides literature students with the tools necessary to study each approach to literary criticism using a unique combination of critical contexts and analysis of several works. This arrangement allows readers to develop a deeper understanding of each critical approach alongside several in-depth critical readings of popular works spanning many different genres. A must for literature collections of all sizes.
An Ecology of World Literature by
Summary: "What is a literature? How do literatures of different countries interact with each other? In this groundbreaking study, Alexander Beecroft develops a new way of thinking about world literature. Drawing on a series of examples and case studies, the book ranges from ancient epic to the contemporary fiction of Roberto Bolano and Amitav Ghosh. Beecroft identifies a series of literary ecologies, from small-scale societies to the planet as a whole, within which literary texts are produced and circulated. An Ecology of World Literature places in dialogue scholarship on ancient and modern, western and non-western texts, producing new and unexpected demands for literary study"-- Provided by publisher.
Global Literary Theory by
Summary: "Global Literary Theory: An Anthology comprises a selection of classic, must-read essays alongside contemporary and global extracts"--Publisher website.
A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature by
Ranging from traditional approaches to the most contemporary perspectives, such as feminist and gender studies, cultural studies, and postcolonial studies, A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature offers readers a variety of clearly articulated approaches to interpreting literature. This thoroughly updated sixth edition applies these diverse approaches to the same six classic works--"To His Coy Mistress," "Young Goodman Brown," "Everyday Use," Hamlet, Huckleberry Finn, and Frankenstein--in a way proven to elicit student analysis by enriching their response to and understanding of the individual works and critical theory. (Andrew Marvell's poem "To His Coy Mistress," Nathaniel Hawthorne's story "Young Goodman Brown," and Alice Walker's story "Everyday Use" are included in full within this volume.)
How Literature Works by
How Literature Works is an indispensable book for any reader seeking a greater appreciation of their favorite novel, poem, or play. It offers a lively and straightforward guide to literary thinking. With a series of compact essays, the renowned literary critic John Sutherland--widely admired for his wit and clear reasoning--strips away the obscurity and pretension of literary study. His book offers concise definitions and clear examples of the fifty concepts that all book lovers should know. It includes basic descriptive terms (ambiguity, epic), the core vocabulary of literary culture (genre, style), and devices employed by authors (irony, defamiliarization). More broadly, How Literature Works explores the animating concepts behind literary theory (textuality, sexual politics), traces the forces that impact literature's role in the real world (obscenity, plagiarism), and grapples with the future of reading (fanfic, e-book). For any reader who wants to get the most out of the literature they read, Sutherland's short sharp book will both inform and delight.
Literature by
Enjoying poetry and novels can seem irrelevant and out of touch in a world of texting, tweeting, and blogging. But even in this technological age literature matters. Seasoned professor Louis Markos invites us into the great literary conversation that has been taking place throughout the ages and illuminates the wisdom to be found therein. He offers both a guide to studying and understanding literature, especially poetry, and an inspiring look at what it means to think like poets and view the world through literary eyes. This book holds out a truth for all: that the understanding and appreciation of literature draws us closer to God, his Word, and his work in the world.
The Philosophy of Literature by
The Philosophy of Literature: Four Studies puts forth the question of the extent to which philosophers must go to school with the poets. It begins with a new interpretation of the famous Platonic quarrel with the poetic wisdom of Homer. It brings this question forward through the humanism of thinkers of the Italian Renaissance and the German Idealism of Hegel. It then treats the relation of philosophy and literature in four ways by considering philosophy as literature, philosophy of literature, philosophy in literature, and philosophy and literature. In regard to the first of these, it discusses Jorge Luis Borges's The Immortal, to the second James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, to the third Carl Sandburg's epic prose poem The People, Yes, and to the fourth, Sebastian Brant's Ship of Fools. This work demonstrates that in an area of thought often dominated by fashionable doctrines of literary interpretation, the great works of literature and philosophy remain as permanent residents of our thought and imagination.
Ways of Re-Thinking Literature by
Summary: "Ways of Re-Thinking Literature creates a unique platform where leading literary thinkers and practitioners provide a multiplicity of views into what literature is today. The texts gathered in this extraordinary collection range from philosophy to poetry, to theatre, to cognitive sciences, to art criticism, fiction, and their authors rank amongst the most significant figures in their fields, in France, the United States and the United Kingdom. Topics covered include an assessment of the role of literary narratives in contemporary writing; new considerations on the novel; a redefinition of the "poetic" factor in poetry and life; and a discussion of how literature engages with contemporary forms of individuality. Under the auspices of literary luminaries Hélène Cixous and the late John Ashbery, these new pieces of writing bring to light contributions by innovative and well-established authors from the English-speaking sphere, as well as never-before-translated prominent new voices in French theory. Featuring original work from some of today's most influential authors, Ways of Re-Thinking Literature is an indispensable tool for anybody interested in the future and possibilities of literature as an endeavour for life, thought, and creativity. With special cover artwork by Rita Ackermann, the volume includes contributions from Emily Apter, Philippe Artières, John Ashbery, Paul Audi, Dodie Bellamy, Tom Bishop, Hélène Cixous, Laurent Dubreuil, Tristan Garcia, Donatien Grau, Stathis Gourgouris, Boris Groys, Shelley Jackson, Wayne Koestenbaum, Camille Laurens, Vanessa Place, Maël Renouard, Peter Schjeldahl, Adam Thirwell, and Camille de Toledo"-- Provided by publisher.
Australian Literature by
The Oxford Studies in Postcolonial Literatures series offers stimulating and accessible introductions to definitive topics and key genres and regions within the rapidly diversifying field of postcolonial literary studies in English. In a provocative contribution to the series, Graham Huggan presents fresh readings of an outstanding, sometimes deeply unsettling national literature whose writers and readers just as unmistakably belong to the wider world. Australian literature is not the unique province of Australian readers and critics; nor is its exclusive task to provide an internal commentary on changing national concerns. Huggan's book adopts a transnational approach, motivated by postcolonial interests, in which contemporary ideas taken from postcolonial criticism and critical race theory are productively combined and imaginatively transformed. Rejecting the fashionable view that Australia is not, and never will be, postcolonial, Huggan argues on the contrary that Australian literature, like other settler literatures, requires close attention to postcolonial methods and concerns. A postcolonial approach to Australian literature, he suggests, is more than just a case for a more inclusive nationalism; it also involves a general acknowledgement of the nation's changed relationship to an increasingly globalized world. As such, the book helps to deprovincialize Australian literary studies. Australian Literature also contributes to debates about the continuing history of racism in Australia-a history in which the nation's literature has played a constitutive role, as both product and producer of racial tensions and anxieties, nowhere more visible than in the discourse it has produced about race, both within and beyond the national context.
The Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature by
"This book offers a comprehensive and lively introduction to major writers, genres, and topics in Canadian literature. Addressing traditional assumptions and current issues, contributors pay attention to the social, political, and economic developments that have informed literary events. Broad surveys of fiction, drama, and poetry are complemented by chapters on Aboriginal writing, autobiography, literary criticism, writing by women, and the emergence of urban writing in a country historically defined by its regions. Also discussed are genres that have a special place in Canadian literature, such as nature-writing, exploration- and travel-writing, and short fiction. Although the emphasis is on literature in English, a substantial chapter on francophone writing is included"-- Provided by publisher.
The Cambridge Companion to Scottish Literature by
"Scotland's rich literary tradition is a product of its unique culture and landscape, as well as of its long history of inclusion and resistance to the United Kingdom. Scottish literature includes masterpieces in three languages - English, Scots and Gaelic - and global perspectives from the diaspora of Scots all over the world. This Companion offers a unique introduction, guide and reference work for students and readers of Scottish literature from the pre-medieval period to the post-devolution present. Essays focus on key periods and movements (the Scottish Enlightenment, Scottish Romanticism, the Scottish Renaissance), genres (the historical novel, Scottish Gothic, 'Tartan Noir') and major authors (Burns, Scott, Stevenson, MacDiarmid and Spark). A chronology and guides to further reading in each chapter make this an ideal overview of a national literature that continues to develop its own distinctive style"-- Provided by publisher.
The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature by
This history of Japanese literature provides comprehensive coverage of the premodern and modern eras in a single volume. Arranged topically in a series of short, accessible chapters for easy access and reference, it gives insight into both canonical texts and many lesser known, popular genres, from centuries-old folk literature to the detective fiction of modern times. Various period introductions provide an overview of recurrent issues that span many decades, if not centuries. It also places Japanese literature in a wider East Asian tradition of Sinitic writing and provides comprehensive coverage of women's literature as well as new popular literary forms, including manga (comic books).
The Cambridge Introduction to Russian Literature by
Russian literature arrived late on the European scene. Within several generations, its great novelists had shocked - and then conquered - the world. In this introduction to the rich and vibrant Russian tradition, Caryl Emerson weaves a narrative of recurring themes and fascinations across several centuries. Beginning with traditional Russian narratives (saints'lives, folk tales, epic and rogue narratives), the book moves through literary history chronologically and thematically, juxtaposing literary texts from each major period. Detailed attention is given to canonical writers including Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Bulgakov and Solzhenitsyn, as well as to some current bestsellers from the post-Communist period. Fully accessible to students and readers with no knowledge of Russian, the volume includes a glossary and pronunciation guide of key Russian terms as well as a list of useful secondary works. The book will be of great interest to students of Russian as well as of comparative literature.
Colonial Latin American Literature by
A vivid account of the literary culture of the Spanish-speaking Americas from the time of Columbus to Latin American Independence, this Very Short Introduction explores the origins of Latin American literature in Spanish and tells the story of how Spanish literary language developed and flourished in the New World. A leading scholar of colonial Latin American literature, Rolena Adorno examines the writings that debated the justice of the Spanish conquests, described the novelties of New World nature, expressed the creativity of Hispanic baroque culture in epic, lyric, and satirical poetry, and anticipated Latin American Independence. The works of Spanish, creole, and Amerindian authors highlighted here, including Bartolomé de las Casas, Felipe Guaman Poma, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and Andrés Bello, have been chosen for the merits of their writings, their participation in the larger literary and cultural debates of their times, and their resonance among readers today. About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
German Literature: A Very Short Introduction by
German writers, from Luther and Goethe to Heine, Brecht, and Günter Grass, have had a profound influence on the modern world. This Very Short Introduction presents an engrossing tour of the course of German literature from the late Middle Ages to the present, focussing especially on the last 250 years. Emphasizing the economic and religious context of many masterpieces of German literature, it highlights how they can be interpreted as responses to social and political changes within an often violent and tragic history. The result is a new and clear perspective which illuminates the power of German literature and the German intellectual tradition, and its impact on the wider cultural world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
An Introduction to Arabic Literature by
Roger Allen provides a comprehensive introductory survey of literary texts in Arabic, from their unknown beginnings in the fifth century AD to the present. The volume focuses on the major genres of Arabic literature, dealing with Islam's sacred text, the Qur'an, and a wealth of poetry, narrative prose, drama and criticism. Allen reveals the continuities that link the creative output of the present day to the illustrious literary heritage of the past and incorporates an enormously rich body of popular literature typified most famously by The Arabian Nights. The volume is informed by Western critical approaches, but within each chapter the emphasis is on the texts themselves, with extensive quotations in English translation. Reference features include a chronology and a guide to further reading. A revised and abridged version of Allen's acclaimed study, The Arabic Literary Heritage, this book provides an invaluable student introduction to a major non-Western literary tradition.
Introduction to Sixteenth-Century French Literature and Thought by
The age of Shakespeare, Cervantes, Erasmus, Luther, and Machiavelli produced in France too some of Europe's greatest ever literature and thought: Montaigne's Essays, Rabelais'comic fictions, Ronsard's poetry, Calvin's theology. These and numerous other extraordinary writings emerged from and contributed to cultural upheavals: the movement usually known as the Renaissance, which sought to revive ancient Greek and Roman culture for present-day purposes; religious reform, including the previously unthinkable rejection of Catholicism by many in the Reformation, culminating in decades of civil war in France; the French language's transformation into an instrument for advanced abstract thought. This book introduces this vibrant literature and thought via an apparent paradox. Most writers were profoundly concerned to improve life in the here-and-now - socially, politically, morally, spiritually. Yet they often tried to do so by making detours, in their writing, to other times and places: antiquity; heaven and hell; the hidden recesses of Nature, the cosmos, or the future; the remote location of an absent loved one; the newly'discovered'Americas.The point was to show readers that the only way to live in the here-and-now was to connect it to larger realities - cosmic, spiritual, and historical.
American World Literature: an Introduction by
Summary: "This book is designed to offer an overview of ways in which the subject areas of American Literature and World Literature have converged (and diverged) over the past twenty or thirty years. American literature is now widely regarded as engaging with global rather than merely with local or national phenomena, and American World Literature: An Introduction attempts to set these changing conceptions of the subject in both critical and historical context. It also suggests how this perception of American literature as a global or "world" phenomenon has varied significantly across time, so that the intellectual investments of Cotton Mather in ideas of universal forms during the seventeenth century can be productively compared and contrasted to the resurgence of nationalist and transnational templates in the poetry of Walt Whitman two hundred years later. In his preface to Literary Theory: An Introduction, published in 1983, Terry Eagleton wrote of how he had "tried to popularize rather than vulgarize the subject," and my intention here similarly is to address these complex historical and methodological issues in a way that might enlighten readers with little experience in the academic study of American literature, while still providing a sufficiently rounded view of these multifaceted matters to provoke interest in readers for whom the broad outlines of these debates will be more familiar"-- Provided by publisher.
Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical by
Andre Levy sets out in this slim volume to provide a picture of Chinese literature of the past. He does so not in lengthy dissertations on literature, but by blending the colors of approximately 120 vivid translations with his personal insights on these works, and then framing these readings in innovative historical accounts. The result is a brilliant illustration of the four basic literary groups of traditional China: the classics, poetry, prose, and the literature of entertainment. Although Levy relates literary evolution to parallels in political and social history, he is less dependent on the political chronology of dynasties than were previous histories of Chinese literature. His generic approach, moreover, provides a greater insight into how these literary types developed and why they became the foundations of Chinese literature. In the first chapter, Levy sees the classics as a response to troubled times and argues for modern parallels. His treatment of prose as the second of these literary types reflects both Chinese taste and historical fact. Aware that Chinese critics have long argued their literature was essentially lyric, Levy offers 50 translations of various verse genres and reveals how they supplanted one another in popularity. The emphasis he accords the major genres of entertainment literature, drama, and the novel is a refreshing acknowledgment of the importance of these forms over the past seven or eight centuries. This emphasis also serves to illustrate the breadth of Chinese literature, tracing the origins of the novel, for example, to its semi-oral predecessors, or exploring the popular origins of various lyric forms. Levy provides an ideal introduction to the three millennia of traditional Chinese literature.
English Literature, 1830-1914 by
The nineteenth century witnessed unprecedented expansion in the reading public and an explosive growth in the number of books and newspapers produced to meet its demands. These specially commissioned essays examine not only the full range and variety of texts that entertained and informed the Victorians, but also the boundaries of Victorian literature: the links and overlap with Romanticism in the 1830s, and the roots of modernism in the years leading up to the First World War. The Companion demonstrates how science, medicine and theology influenced creative writing and emphasizes the importance of the visual in painting, book illustration and in technological innovations from the kaleidoscope to the cinema. Essays also chart the complex and fruitful interchanges with writers in America, Europe and the Empire, highlighting the geographical expansion of literature in English. This Companion brings together the most important aspects of this prolific and popular period of English literature.
The Cambridge Companion to Archaic Greece by
The Cambridge Companion to Archaic Greece provides a wide-ranging synthesis of history, society, and culture during the formative period of Ancient Greece, from the Age of Homer in the late eighth century to the Persian Wars of 490-480 BC. In ten clearly written and succinct chapters, leading scholars from around the English-speaking world treat all aspects of the civilization of Archaic Greece, from social, political, and military history to early achievements in poetry, philosophy, and the visual arts. Archaic Greece was an age of experimentation and intellectual ferment that laid the foundations for much of Western thought and culture. Individual Greek city-states rose to great power and wealth, and after a long period of isolation, many cities sent out colonies that spread Hellenism to all corners of the Mediterranean world. This Companion offers a vivid and fully documented account of this critical stage in the history of the West.
The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature by
This comprehensive anthology collects works of fiction, poetry, drama, and essay-writing from a pivotal time in Japanese history. In addition to their literary achievements, the texts reflect the political, social, and intellectual changes that occurred in Japanese society during this period, including exposure to Western ideas and literature, the rise of nationalism, and the complex interaction of traditional and modern forces. The volume offers outstanding, often new translations of classic texts by such celebrated writers as Nagai Kafu, Shimazaki Toson, Natsume Soseki, Kawabata Yasunari, and Yosano Akiko. The editors have also unearthed works from lesser-known women writers, many of which have never been available in English. Organized chronologically and by genre within each period, the volume reveals the major influences in the development of modern Japanese literature: the Japanese classics themselves, the example of Chinese poetry, and the encounter with Western literature and culture. Modern Japanese writers reread the classics of Japanese literature, infused them with contemporary language, and refashioned them with an increased emphasis on psychological elements. They also reinterpreted older aesthetic concepts in light of twentieth-century mentalities. While modern ideas captured the imagination of some Japanese writers, the example of classical Chinese poetry remained important for others. Meiji writers continued to compose poetry in classical Chinese and adhere to a Confucian system of thought. Another factor in shaping modern Japanese literature was the example of foreign works, which offered new literary inspiration and opportunities for Japanese readers and writers. Divided into four chapters, the anthology begins with the early modern texts of the 1870s, continues with works written during the years of social change preceding World War I and the innovative writing of the interwar period, and concludes with texts from World War II. Each chapter includes a helpful critical introduction, situating the works within their literary, political, and cultural contexts. Additionally, there are biographical introductions for each writer.
The Routledge Companion to Russian Literature by
The Routledge Companion to Russian Literature is an engaging and accessible guide to Russian writing of the past thousand years. The volume covers the entire span of Russian literature, from the Middle Ages to the post-Soviet period, and explores all the forms that have made it so famous: poetry, drama and, of course, the Russian novel. A particular emphasis is given to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when Russian literature achieved world-wide recognition through the works of writers such as Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Nabokov and Solzhenitsyn. Covering a range of subjects including women's writing, Russian literary theory, socialist realism and émigré writing, leading international scholars open up the wonderful diversity of Russian literature. With recommended lists of further reading and an excellent up-to-date general bibliography, The Routledge Companion to Russian Literature is the perfect guide for students and general readers alike.
The Oxford Companion to English Literature by
When the Fifth Edition of The Oxford Companion to English Literature appeared in 1985, it received a glowing front-page review in The New York Times Book Review, which praised it as "a wonderful, infuriating, amusing, and informative war horse of a book." Now comes the new Sixth Edition, thoroughly updated and greatly expanded by editor Margaret Drabble and a team of 140 distinguished contributors, who include Salmon Rushdie, Brian Aldiss, Penelope Fitzgerald, Ian Buruma, and Michael Holroyd. Readers will find over 660 new entries, over a third of which were written by Drabble herself, including hundreds of new biographies (from Kathy Acker to Stefan Zweig) as well as new entries on genres, literary terms, critical schools, and much more. In total, the new edition offers over 7,000 alphabetically arranged entries, providing incomparable coverage of the classical works of English literature, and of European authors and works that have influenced the development of English literature. Its wide range of articles cover not only authors and their works, but also fictional characters, plot summaries, composers and artists, literary and artistic movements, historians, philosophers, and critics, as well as publishing history, literary societies, newspapers and periodicals, critical terms and theory. In addition, there are sixteen new feature essays covering everything from gay and lesbian literature to modernism and science fiction, plus a thousand-year chronology that sets key literary works in their historical context, and complete lists of poet laureates and literary prize winners. Boasting a lightness of touch that makes the book a pleasure to read, the Sixth Edition is an indispensable volume for students, for teachers, and for everyone interested in English literature.
Writing America by
Summary: Presents descriptions and illustrations of over 150 historical landmarks associated with well-known American writers and poets, discussing the influence these sites had on their development as artists and on the creation of their works. --Publisher's description.
Looking North by
Given recent changes in politics and demographics, Latin America and the United States are becoming increasingly important to one another. Recognition of the two regions' differences and similarities may facilitate a more fruitful relationship, with increased respect and understanding. It is with this in mind that editors John J. Hassett and Braulio Muñoz present a collection of writings that provides a look into the ways in which Spanish America has viewed its northern neighbor over the past two centuries. Gathered here are pieces by well-known figures from the worlds of Spanish American politics, history, philosophy, creative writing, and culture—names like Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Pablo Neruda. Divided into three sections, Looking North begins by underscoring the cultural and political differences between the two Americas. It opens with a speech by Simón Bolívar to the Venezuelan Congress in 1819 and closes with an essay by Mario Vargas Llosa from 2006 on the controversial wall being constructed between the United States and Mexico. The second section explores the experiences of Spanish American travelers in the US, beginning with an account of former Argentine president Domingo Sarmiento's fascination with the United States during his travels in 1847 and ending with a 2008 essay by Vargas Llosa on the city of New York. The final section encompasses creative writing and commentaries by some of Spanish America's most gifted poets and novelists. It opens with Rubén Darío's "To Roosevelt" from 1905 and ends with Christine Granados's humorous and profound short story "Inner View," first published in 2006. Touching on history, sociology, politics, and religion, the writings assembled here will be of interest to humanists, social scientists, and anyone intrigued by the ever-growing connection between the United Sates and Spanish America at all levels.
U. S. Latino Literature by
In the past ten years, literature by U.S. Latinos has gained an extraordinary public currency and has engendered a great deal of interest among educators. Because of the increase in numbers of Latinos in their classrooms, teachers have recognized the benefits of including works by such important writers as Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvarez, and Rudolfo Anaya in the curriculum. Without a guide, introducing courses on U.S. Latino literature or integrating individual works into the general courses on American Literature can be difficult for the uninitiated. While some critical sources for students and teachers are available, none are dedicated exclusively to this important body of writing. To fill the gap, the editors of this volume commissioned prominent scholars in the field to write 18 essays that focus on using U.S. Latino literature in the classroom. The selection of the subject texts was developed in conjunction with secondary school teachers who took part in the editors' course. This resultant volume focuses on major works that are appropriate for high school and undergraduate study including Judith Ortiz Cofer's The Latin Deli, Piri Thomas' Down The se Mean Streets, and Cisneros' The House on Mango Street. Each chapter in this Critical Guide provides pertinent biographical background on the author as well as contextual information that aids in understanding the literary and cultural significance of the work. The most valuable component of the critical essays, the Analysis of Themes and Forms, helps the reader understand the thematic concerns raised by the work, particularly the recurring issues of language expression and cultural identity, assimilation, and intergenerational conflicts. Each essay is followed by specific suggestions for teaching the work with topics for classroom discussion. Further enhancing the value of this work as a teaching tool are the selected bibliographies of criticism, further reading, and other related sources that complete each chapter. Teachers will also find a Sample Course Outline of U.S. Latino Literature which serves as guide for developing a course on this important subject.
Ancient Epic by
his book adopts a broad and multifaceted approach to that most preeminent of classical literature genres: the Epic. Set in the ancient world, from archaic Greece to imperial Rome, the scope of interest here extends, for comparative purposes, to Vedic and Sanskrit poetry, as well as the Medieval epic. This collection of papers by classicists from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, embraces key themes in recent scholarship, such as the character of the hero, defined in terms of the conflict of power central to the epos, the metapoetic function of the bard as a literary reflection of epic style, and the manipulation of epic myth to fulfil new functions, such as retelling contemporary history and conveying mystic symbology. Topics rooted in archaic poetry, such as the reutilisation of the ogre character embodied in the Cyclops and the journey into the Underworld, are also explored in great detail. In all these studies, the intertextual nature of ancient writing is consistently addressed through discussions of the revisiting of Homeric poetry by authors such as the Greek tragedians, Empedocles, Plato, Virgil, Ovid, Seneca, Lucan, and Valerius Flaccus.The analysis of the heroic narrative offered in this volume includes both literary phenomena and the language of the epic itself; the reader is thus afforded the widest possible view of current critical perspectives in classical literature and linguistics. Such a comprehensive treatment of the most important genre in the ancient world grants the reader powerful insights into the way in which ancient literature was composed. This collection of studies, while making a substantial contribution to scholarship in this field, will also appeal to a varied academic readership, including researchers in classical literature and linguistics, as well as students of literary theory.
Bound to Read by
Concealed in rows of carefully restored volumes in rare book libraries is a history of the patterns of book collecting and compilation that shaped the literature of the English Renaissance. In this early period of print, before the introduction of commercial binding, most published literary texts did not stand on shelves in discrete, standardized units. They were issued in loose sheets or temporarily stitched--leaving it to the purchaser or retailer to collect, configure, and bind them. In Bound to Read, Jeffrey Todd Knight excavates this culture of compilation--of binding and mixing texts, authors, and genres into single volumes--and sheds light on a practice that not only was pervasive but also defined the period's very ways of writing and thinking. Through a combination of archival research and literary criticism, Knight shows how Renaissance conceptions of imaginative writing were inextricable from the material assembly of texts. While scholars have long identified an early modern tendency to borrow and redeploy texts, Bound to Read reveals that these strategies of imitation and appropriation were rooted in concrete ways of engaging with books. Knight uncovers surprising juxtapositions such as handwritten sonnets collected with established poetry in print and literary masterpieces bound with liturgical texts and pamphlets. By examining works by Shakespeare, Spenser, Montaigne, and others, he dispels the notion of literary texts as static or closed, and instead demonstrates how the unsettled conventions of early print culture fostered an idea of books as interactive and malleable. Though firmly rooted in Renaissance culture, Knight's carefully calibrated arguments also push forward to the digital present--engaging with the modern library archives where these works were rebound and remade, and showing how the custodianship of literary artifacts shapes our canons, chronologies, and contemporary interpretative practices.
The Cambridge History of English Romantic Literature by
The Romantic period was one of the most creative, intense and turbulent periods of English literature, an age marked by revolution, reaction and reform in politics, and by the invention of imaginative literature in its distinctively modern form. This History presents an engaging account of six decades of literary production around the turn of the nineteenth century. Reflecting the most up-to-date research, the essays are designed both to provide a narrative of Romantic literature and to offer new and stimulating readings of the key texts. One group of essays addresses the various locations of literary activity – both in England and, as writers developed their interests in travel and foreign cultures, across the world. A second set of essays traces how texts responded to great historical and social change. With a comprehensive bibliography, timeline and index, this volume is an important resource for research and teaching in the field.
The Cambridge Introduction to Modernist Poetry by
Modernist poems are some of the twentieth-century's major cultural achievements, but they are also hard work to read. This wide-ranging introduction takes readers through modernism's most famous poems and some of its forgotten highlights to show why modernists thought difficulty and disorientation essential for poetry in the modern world. In-depth chapters on Pound, Eliot, Yeats and the American modernists outline how formal experiments take on the new world of mass media, democracies, total war and changing religious belief. Chapters on the avant-gardes and later modernism examine how their styles shift as they try to re-make the community of readers. Howarth explains in a clear and enjoyable way how to approach the forms, politics and cultural strategies of modernist poetry in English.
Classical Literature by
Classical Literature: An Introduction provides a series of essays on all the major authors of Greek and Latin literature, as well as on a number of writers less often read. An introductory chapter provides information on important general topics, such as poetic metres, patronage and symposia. The literature is put in historical context, and the material is organized chronologically, but also by genre or author, as appropriate; each section or chapter has suggestions for further reading. The book ranges from Homer to the writers of the later Roman Empire, and includes a glossary, a chronology of literary and political events, and useful maps showing the origins of ancient writers. The collection will be essential for students and others who want a structured and informative introduction to the literature of the classical world.
Classical Literature: A Concise History by
hThis accessible one-volume survey of the literature of Greece and Rome covers the period between Homer around 700 BC and Augustine around AD. Highlights what is important historically and of continuing interest and value in classical literature. Each chapter focuses on a particular genre or area of literature.This structure allows readers to see continuities between different periods and to move easily between the Greek and Roman worlds.
From an Antique Land: An Introduction to Ancient Near Eastern Literature by
Many of the world's first written records have been found in the area of the Ancient Near East, in what is today known as the Middle East. While many people are familiar with the ancient Israelite literature recorded in the Hebrew Bible, most Near Eastern literature remains a mystery. From an Antique Land lifts the veil from these fascinating writings, explaining the ancient stories in the context of their cultures. From the invention of writing through the conquest of Alexander the Great, expert scholars examine literature originally written in Egyptian, Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, Ugaritic, Canaanite, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Each chapter includes an overview of the culture, a discussion of literary genres, and descriptions and short analyses of the major literary works. Photos of archaeological remains further illustrate these people and their writings.
Medieval Literature, 1300-1500 by
Medieval literature can be daunting. This critical guide is designed to help readers to relax in the company of diverting and entertaining voices from that 'other country' that is the past. Medieval Literature 1300-1500 offers close readings of Middle English texts placed within the culture with which they interact. Famous works, like The Canterbury Tales, are discussed alongside lesser-known poems, prose, and plays, in five thematically-organised chapters, accompanied by helpful critical apparatus. Reflecting the proliferation of user-friendly editions, many available on-line, this book extends the range of Middle English writing for which there is accessible up-to-date critical support, enabling the student, the general reader, the course designer, and the aspirant specialist, to read widely and with enjoyment in the medieval period.Key Features* Offers succinct close-readings of well-known texts of the period* Provides cultural-historical background to England in the Middle Ages* Reflects on the construction of an English literary 'tradition'* Cross-references literary texts against historical events and other art forms
Medieval Literature and Postcolonial Studies by
This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to postcolonial medieval studies and examines the historical connections between postcolonial studies and medieval studies. Lisa Lampert-Weissig provides new readings of medieval texts including Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, Mandeville's Travels and Guillaume de Palerne, a romance about werewolves set in Norman Sicily. In addition, she examines Walter Scott's Ivanhoe from the perspective of postcolonial medieval studies, as well contemporary novels by Salman Rushdie, Tariq Ali, Juan Goytisolo, and Amitav Ghosh.
Medieval Oral Literature by
Medieval literature is to a large degree shaped by orality, not only with regard to performance, but also to transmission and composition. Although problems of orality have been much discussed by medievalists, there is to date no comprehensive handbook on this topic.‘Medieval Oral Literature', a volume in the ‘De Gruyter Lexikon'series, was written by an international team of twenty-five scholars and offers a thorough discussion of theoretical approaches as well as detailed presentations of individual traditions and genres. In addition to chapters on the oral-formulaic theory, on the interplay of orality and writing in the Early Middle Ages, on performance and performers, on oral poetics and on ritual aspects of orality, there are chapters on the Older Germanic, Romance, Middle High German, Middle English, Celtic, Greek-Byzantine, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian and Turkish traditions of oral literature. There is a special focus on epic and lyric, genres that are also discussed in separate chapters, with additional chapters on the ballad and on drama.
Modernist Literature by
This engaging textbook provides a critical assessment of British modernist literature produced between 1900 and 1945. Each chapter focuses on a single decade, a distinct genre and a specific theme: the 1900s - the short story - gender and sexuality; the 1910s - poetry - war, technology and propaganda; the 1920s - the novel - new modes of literary expression; the 1930s - the documentary - political engagement. A final chapter covers the 1940s and beyond looking at new literary and artistic movements.
Old English Literature by
This innovative and intriguing introduction to Old English literature is structured around what the author calls 'figures' from Anglo-Saxon culture: the Vow, the Hall, the Miracle, the Pulpit, and the Scholar. An innovative and intriguing introduction to Old English literature. Structured around 'figures' from Anglo-Saxon culture: the Vow, the Hall, the Miracle, the Pulpit, and the Scholar. Situates Old English literary texts within a cultural framework. Creates new connections between different genres, periods and authors. Combines close textual analysis with historical context. Based on the author's many years experience of teaching Old English literature. The author is co-editor with Seamus Heaney of Beowulf: A Verse Translation (2001) and recently published with Blackwell Lady Godiva: A Literary History of the Legend (2003).
Old Norse-Icelandic Literature by
From runic inscriptions to sagas, this book introduces readers to the colourful world of Old NorseIcelandic literature. An introduction to the colourful world of Old NorseIcelandic literature. Covers mythology and family sagas, as well as less wellknown areas, such as oral storytelling, Eddaic verse and skaldic verse. An introduction helps readers to appreciate the language and culture of the first settlers in Iceland. Looks at the reception of OldNorseIcelandic literature over the ages, as views of the vikings have changed. Shows how a whole range of authors from Shakespeare to Seamus Heaney have been influenced by Old NorseIcelandic literature.
Plato and the Traditions of Ancient Literature by
"Exploring both how Plato engaged with existing literary forms and how later literature then created 'classics' out of some of Plato's richest works, this book includes chapters on such subjects as rewritings of the Apology and re-imaginings of Socrates' defence, Plato's rich style and the criticisms it attracted and how Petronius and Apuleius threaded Plato into their richly comic texts. The scene for these case studies is set through a thorough examination of how the tradition constructed the relationship between Plato and Homer, of how Plato adapted poetic forms of imagery to his philosophical project in the Republic, to shared techniques of representation between poet and philosopher and to foreshadowings of later modes of criticism in Plato's Ion. This is a major contribution to Platonic studies, to the history of Platonic reception from the fourth century BC to the third century AD and to the literature of the Second Sophistic"-- Provided by publisher.
Renaissance and Reformation: An Introduction to Early Modern English Literature by
This volume offers a description of early modern habits of writing and reading, of publication and stage performance, and of political and religious writing. An introduction to early modern English literature for students and general readers. Considers the ways in which early modern writers construct the past, recover and adapt classical genres, write about people and places, and tackle religious and secular controversies. Illustrated with a profusion of excerpts from early modern texts. Writers represented include More, Erasmus, Spenser, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Donne, and Milton, as well as less well known authors.
Renaissance Literature by
This concise introduction to the literature of an exciting and influential period opens with an overview of the historical and cultural context in which English Renaissance literature was produced, and a discussion of its contemporary and subsequent critical reception. The following chapters survey the major Renaissance genres of drama, poetry and prose. Each chapter provides illustrative case studies of canonical and non-canonical key texts by authors such as William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Edmund Spenser, John Milton, Sir Philip Sidney, John Donne, Aemilia Lanyer, Sir Francis Bacon, Thomas Nashe, and Lady Mary Wroth. A guide to further reading accompanies each chapter, complemented by a section of student resources at the end of the book. The final chapter summarises significant developments in English Renaissance literary culture, and discusses the future direction of Renaissance literary scholarship.Key Features*Detailed readings of Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Milton's 'Lycidas', Sidney's Astrophil and Stella, Shakespeare's Sonnets, Venus and Adonis and Hamlet, Marlowe's Tamburlaine, Jonson's The Alchemist, Lanyer's 'The Description of Cookham', Bacon's Essays, Donne's sermons, Nashe's The Unfortunate Traveller and Wroth's The Countess of Montgomery's Urania*A broad overview of Renaissance literature and the context in which it was produced*An accessible introduction to Renaissance literary criticism, including past and present debates about the Renaissance 'canon'*A variety of study aids, including end-of-chapter summaries of key points, a glossary of literary and historical terms, a chronology, advice on essay writing, sample essay questions and plans, and a guide to further reading and electronic research resources.
Renaissance Literature and Culture by
The guide to Renaissance Literature and Culture provides students with the ideal introduction to literature and its context from 1533-1642, including: - the historical, cultural and intellectual background including religion, politics, exploration and visual culture - major writers and genres including Spenser, Sidney, Marlowe, Shakespeare and Jonson - concise explanations of key terms needed to understand the literature and criticism - key critical approaches to modernism from contemporary critics to the present - a chronology mapping historical events and literary works and further reading including websites and electronic resources.
Romantic Literature and Postcolonial Studies by
Examines the relationship between Romantic writing and the rapidly expanding British EmpireLiterature played a crucial role in constructing and contesting the modern culture of empire that was fully in place by the start of the Victorian period. Postcolonial criticism's concern with issues of geopolitics, race and gender, subalternity and exoticism shape discussions of works by major authors such as Blake, Coleridge, Percy and Mary Shelley, Austen and Scott, as well as their less familiar contemporaries. Explains how key theoretical concerns of postcolonial studies - imaginary geography, Otherness & difference and cultural hybridity - have dramatically changed our understanding of Romantic literatureo Demonstrates how selected texts, in a range of genres, are illuminated by postcolonial criticismo Includes a bibliographical essay along with an up-to-date bibliography of criticism, editions of primary works and selected historical materials.
The Tradition of Return by
Jeffrey Perl presents in this book a comprehensive reassessment of modernism and an effort to enrich our understanding of the direction literary culture has taken since the Renaissance. Originally published in 1984. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Classical Studies by
Jenkins offers a newly revised and expanded annotated bibliography of book-length reference works, covering the rise and fall of the Greek and Roman civilizations from the Bronze Age through the 6th century AD. While preference has been given to English-language works, many important titles in French, German, Italian, and Spanish have also been included. There is also increased coverage of ancient philosophy, religion (including early Christianity), and art and archaeology. Late Antiquity, a major growth area in classical studies, has also received more attention. Core resource for reference librarians, students, and classical scholars working outside their immediate areas of specialization. Why study the classics? For one thing, classicists have the distinguished pedigree of being among the first humanists to see and exploit the educational possibilities of new developments in information technology. Even better, they can translate such tantalizing tattoos as quod me nutrit me destruit, a quote which most famously resides on Angelina Jolie's belly. For these and other intrepid explorers of the minds of the past, Fred Jenkins offers a newly revised and expanded annotated bibliography of book-length reference works, covering the rise and fall of the Greek and Roman civilizations from the Bronze Age through the 6th century AD. While preference has been given to English-language works, many important titles in French, German, Italian, and Spanish have also been included. There is also increased coverage of ancient philosophy, religion (including early Christianity), and art and archaeology. Late Antiquity, a major growth area in classical studies, has also received more attention. A core resource for reference librarians, students, and classical scholars working outside their immediate areas of specialization.
Literature in the Greek and Roman Worlds by
This book consists of seventeen essays by a team of international scholars exploring aspects of the reception of literature from the earliest surviving Greek poetry to the demise of classical literature at the end of the Roman empire. Deploying fresh insights to map out lively and provocative surveys, the contributors examine all genres of the classical world--epic, lyric, tragedy, comedy, history, philosophy, rhetoric, epigram, elegy, pastoral, satire, biography, epistle, declamation, panegyric--in search of answers to the questions of who were the genres for and what did these people make of them.
The Literature of Ancient Egypt by
The latest edition of this highly praised anthology of ancient Egyptian literature offers fresh translations of all the texts as well as some twenty-five new entries, including writings from the late literature of the Demotic period at the end of classical Egyptian history. The book also includes an extensive bibliography.
Modernism by
Summary: "Modernist movements radically transformed the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century literary establishment, and their effects are still felt today. Modernism introduces and analyzes what amounted to nothing less than a literary and cultural revolution. In this fully updated, expanded, and revised third edition, charting modernism in its global and local contexts, Peter Childs: - details the origins of modernism and the influence of thinkers such as Darwin, Marx, Freud, Nietzsche, Saussure and Einstein - explores the radical changes which occurred in the arts, literature, drama, and film of the period - traces 'modernism at work' in literature, especially in writings by a range of British, Irish, American and other Anglophone authors including James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Samuel Beckett, Nella Larsen, Gertrude Stein, Katherine Mansfield, T.S. Eliot, and many others - explains recent critical interest in the culture and worldwide impact of modernism - reflects upon the shift from modernism to postmodernism. At once accessible and critically informed, Modernism guides readers from first steps in the field to an advanced understanding of one of the most important cultural phenomena of the last centuries."-- Provided by publisher.
Modernist Fiction and News by
Summary: "Modernist Fiction and News characterizes modernism in terms of its intimate, creative, and experimental relationship with a newly reorganized and rapidly expanding news industry. Writers such as Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, John Dos Passos, and Virginia Woolf engage with the discourse and narratives of the news in order to establish an experimental space in which to represent experience with the hope of greater immediacy and faithfulness to reality"-- Provided by publisher.
Plato and the Traditions of Ancient Literature by
Summary: "Exploring both how Plato engaged with existing literary forms and how later literature then created 'classics' out of some of Plato's richest works, this book includes chapters on such subjects as rewritings of the Apology and re-imaginings of Socrates' defence, Plato's rich style and the criticisms it attracted and how Petronius and Apuleius threaded Plato into their richly comic texts. The scene for these case studies is set through a thorough examination of how the tradition constructed the relationship between Plato and Homer, of how Plato adapted poetic forms of imagery to his philosophical project in the Republic, to shared techniques of representation between poet and philosopher and to foreshadowings of later modes of criticism in Plato's Ion. This is a major contribution to Platonic studies, to the history of Platonic reception from the fourth century BC to the third century AD and to the literature of the Second Sophistic"-- Provided by publisher.
Reading and Teaching Ancient Fiction by
Summary: "The essays in this volume explore facets of ongoing research into the interplay of history, fiction, and narrative in ancient Greco-Roman, Jewish, and Christian texts. Particular attention is given to the way in which ancient authors in a variety of genre and cultural settings employ a range of narrative strategies to reflect on pressing contemporary issues, shape community identity, or provide moral and educational guidance for their readers. This volume, the third in a series of volumes of collected papers emerging from the work of the "Ancient Fictions and Early Christian and Jewish Narrative" section of the Society for Biblical Literature since its formation in 1992, is the first to highlight the growing importance of strategies to integrate the fruits of this research into the university classroom and beyond"-- Provided by publisher.
A Student's Guide to Classics by
Bruce Thornton's crisp and informative Student's Guide to Classics provides readers with an overview of each of the major poets, dramatists, philosophers, and historians of ancient Greece and Rome. Including short bios of major figures and a list of suggested readings, Thornton's guide is unparalleled as a brief introduction to the literature of the classical world.
Theorists of the Modernist Novel by
Tracing the developing modernist aesthetic in the thought and writings of James Joyce, Dorothy Richardson and Virginia Woolf, Deborah Parsons considers the cultural, social and personal influences upon the three writers. Exploring the connections between their theories, Parsons pays particular attention to their work on forms of realism, characters and consciousness, gender and the novel, and time and history. An understanding of these three thinkers is fundamental to a grasp on modernism, making this an indispensable guide for students of modernist thought. It is also essential reading for those who wish to understand debates about the genre of the novel or the nature of literary expression, which were given a new impetus by the pioneering figures of Joyce, Richardson and Woolf.
Twenty-First Century Perspectives on Victorian Literature by
Summary: "Victorian literature's fascination with the past, its examination of social injustice, and its struggle to deal with the dichotomy between scientific discoveries and religious faith continue to fascinate scholars and contemporary readers. During the past hundred years, traditional formalist and humanist criticism has been augmented by new critical approaches, including feminism and gender studies, psychological criticism, cultural studies, and others. In Twenty-First Century Perspectives on Victorian Literature, twelve scholars offer new assessments of Victorian poetry, novels, and nonfiction. Their essays examine several major authors and works, and introduce discussions of many others that have received less scholarly attention in the past. General reviews of the current status of Victorian literature in the academic world are followed by essays on such writers as Charles Dickens, Alfred Tennyson, Thomas Hardy, and the Brontë sisters. These are balanced by essays that focus on writing by women, the development of the social problem novel, and the continuity of Victorian writers with their Romantic forebears. Most importantly, the contributors to this volume approach Victorian literature from a decidedly contemporary scholarly angle and write for a wide audience of specialists and non-specialists alike. Their essays offer readers an idea of how critical commentary in recent years has influenced--and in some cases changed radically--our understanding of and approach to literary study in general and the Victorian period in particular. Hence, scholars, teachers, and students will find the volume a useful survey of contemporary commentary not just on Victorian literature, but also on the period as a whole."--Publisher's description.
