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The Art of Reading Poetry
A paperback original, Bloom's stand-alone introduction to The Best Poems of the English Language. A notable feature of Harold Bloom's poetry anthology The Best Poems English Language is his lengthy introductory essay, here reprinted as a separate book. For the first time Bloom gives his readers an elegant guide to reading poetry--a master critic's distillation of a lifetime of teaching and criticism. He tackles such subjects as poetic voice, the nature of metaphor and allusion, and the nature of poetic value itself. Bloom writes "the work of great poetry is to aid us to become free artists of ourselves." This essay is an invaluable guide to poetry. This edition will also include a recommended reading list of poems.
The Contemporary American Novel in Context
A critical introduction to the contemporary American novel focusing on contexts, key texts and criticism.
History and Popular Memory: The Power of Story in Moments of Crisis
When people experience a traumatic event, such as war or the threat of annihilation, they often turn to history for stories that promise a positive outcome to their suffering. During World War II, the French took comfort in the story of Joan of Arc and her heroic efforts to rid France of foreign occupation. To bring the Joan narrative more into line with current circumstances, however, popular retellings modified the original story so that what people believed took place in the past was often quite different from what actually occurred. Paul A. Cohen identifies this interplay between story and history as a worldwide phenomenon, found in countries of radically different cultural, religious, and social character. He focuses here on Serbia, Israel, China, France, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain, all of which experienced severe crises in the twentieth century and, in response, appropriated age-old historical narratives that resonated with what was happening in the present to serve a unifying, restorative purpose. A central theme in the book is the distinction between popular memory and history. Although vitally important to historians, this distinction is routinely blurred in people's minds, and the historian's truth often cannot compete with the power of a compelling story from the past, even when it has been seriously distorted by myth or political manipulation. Cohen concludes by suggesting that the patterns of interaction he probes, given their near universality, may well be rooted in certain human propensities that transcend cultural difference.
How to Read a Novel
"Do we still know how to read a novel?" John Sutherland, Chairman of the 2005 Booker Prize Committee, asks. His disheartened answer is an unequivocal, "No." But Sutherland has not given up hope. With acerbic wit and intellect, he traces the history of what it used to mean to be well-read and tells readers what it still means today. Using this delightful book as a means to an end, he reminds readers how the delicate charms of fiction can be at once wonderful and inspired and infuriating. On one level this is a book about novels: how they work, what they're about, what makes them good or bad, and how to talk about them. At a deeper level, this is a book in which one of the most intimate tete-a-tetes is described--one in which a reader meets a novel. Will a great love affair begin? Will the rendezvous end in disappointment? Who can say? In order for the relationship to take its appropriate course all the details must be clearly acknowledged and understood for their complexities: plot, point of view, character, style, pace, first and last sentences, and even beauty. Still, Sutherland knows a true understanding of fiction is more than a flirtation with text and style--it is a business. Taking his readers on a trip to the bookshop, he helps them judge a book by its cover based on design and color, wondering aloud what genre might be best, even going so far as to analyze one of the latest American bestsellers to further help the buying reader choose the novel that is right for him or her. In a book that is as wry and humorous as it is learned and opinionated, John Sutherland tells you everything you always wanted to know about how to read fiction better than you do now (but, were afraid to ask)."
How to Read a Poem
Many of us love poetry. Or perhaps, more accurately, many of us would like to love poetry...if we weren't so afraid of it. Molly Peacock has loved reading poetry for five decades, loved writing it for nearly four, and has loved teaching it for over twenty-five years. As one of our nation's most admired poets, she is perfectly poised to strip away the scary mystique to reveal how poetry works its alluring alchemy on us and invite us to love it wholeheartedly, to experience it with our hearts and souls. Best of all, she shows us why poetry begs to be shared, to be read aloud, discussed, and enjoyed among friends. How to Read a Poem is a slender book of ways to explore the romance we have with words we can't quite hold. In twelve chapters, Peacock presents eighteen "talisman" poems -- cherished poems that she has collected over the years. Some of the poems are well known, such as Elizabeth Bishop's "One Art" or Philip Larkin's "Talking in Bed"; others are more obscure, such as a sexy anonymous medieval poem called "Wulf and Edwacer" or the Romantic poet John Clare's "I Am." Each poem is printed in its entirety, providing readers with a slender anthology with which to start a poetry circle; each chapter examines the interior life of both the poem and the poet, giving readers a window to their interior lives as well. A story will unfold around the poem, and the poem's wisdom will unfold inside the story. How to Read a Poem also offers a practical and anecdotal guide to organizing a poetry reading group and a final chapter in which twenty poets present their suggestions of favorite books with which to begin your poetry reading experience.
The Literature Student's Survival Kit
Who was Jezebel? What was the Wooden Horse? When was the Enlightenment? Who were the Luddites? And what is blank verse? The Literature Student's Survival Kit gives students about to embark on a literature degree all the background information they need to stay afloat. Designed to help literature students stay afloat in their studies Brings together the biblical, classical, historical and academic information that literature students need Provides an overview of the Bible, its books, characters, episodes and places. Contains a guide to classical mythology Features timelines that situate literary figures in relation to historical events and key social, cultural and linguistic changes Presents essential information on individuals, events, movements, and concepts that had an impact on the literature of each period Includes glossaries of literary and critical terms, and a list of key literary critics Offers advice on how to write essays and how to avoid common linguistic and stylistic errors Enables students to approach their studies with self-assurance.
Routledge Literature Companions: The Routledge Companion to World Literature
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.
Studying English Literature and Language
Studying English Literature and Language is unique in offering both an introduction and a companion for students taking English Literature and Language degrees. Combining the functions of study guide, critical dictionary and text anthology, this is a freshly recast version of the highly acclaimed The English Studies Book. This third edition features: fresh sections on the essential skills and study strategies needed to complete a degree in English#65533;from close reading, research and referencing to full guidelines and tips on essay-writing, participating in seminars, presentations and revision an authoritative guide to the life skills, further study options and career pathways open to graduates of the subject updated introductions to the major theoretical positions and approaches taken by scholars in the field, from earlier twentieth century practical criticism to the latest global and ecological perspectives extensive entries on key terms such as #65533;author, #65533;genre#65533;, #65533;narrative#65533; and #65533;translation#65533; widely current in debates across language, literature and culture coverage of both local and global varieties of the English language in a range of media and discourses, including news, advertising, text messaging, rap, pop and street art an expansive anthology representing genres and discourses from early elegy and novel to contemporary performance, flash fiction, including writers as diverse as Aphra Behn, Emily Dickinson, J.M. Coetzee, Angela Carter, Russell Hoban, Adrienne Rich and Arundhati Roy a comprehensive, regularly updated companion website supplying further information and activities, sample analyses and a wealth of stimulating and reliable links to further online resources. Studying English Literature and Language is a wide-ranging and invaluable reference for anyone interested in the study of English language, literature and culture.
A Usable Past : Essays on Modern & Contemporary Poetry
Written by a highly praised poet and critic, A Usable Past contains a selection of sixteen essays published over the last ten years. Mariani has chosen those reflecting his most abiding interests and includes discussions of poets who have provided him with "a usable past."
Masterplots : 1,801 Plot Stories and Critical Evaluations of the World's Finest Literature
This literary reference source contains entries on numerous titles and contains revised essays, critical evaluation sections, story segments and essay review segments.
Masterplots II : 19th & 20th Century Authors
Examines the theme, characters, plot, style and technique of more than 700 nineteenth- and twentieth-century works by prominent authors from around the world.
Masterplots II : Drama Series
Masterplots II: Drama Series covers plays by important 20th century playwrights, such as Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller, Eugene O'neill, George Bernard Shaw, neil Simon, and tennessee Williams.
Masterplots II : Poetry Series
This updated eight-volume set contains new entries on poems by classic writers including Geoffrey Chaucer,John Milton, Anne Bradstreet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Robert Frost, and contemporary poets including Marge Piercy, Robert Bly, Maya Angelou, Adrienne Rich and Margaret Atwood. Each article begins with ready-reference information that includes the author's name and date of birth (and death if applicable) and the date of the poem's first publication. For poems first published in a foreign language, the original title and date are given, as well as well as the name and date of the original collection and of the English translation. A summary is followed by two sections that explore the workin depth. ""Forms and Devices"" examines the poetic devices employed and explores such concepts as language choice, meter, rhyme, point of view, symbolism, and other literary techniques. ""Themes and Meanings"" analyzes the main focus of the poetry and the poet's overriding concerns; this section often provides context by relating the work at hand to the poet's larger body of work. All essays carry a byline.
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