Verse and Virtuosity

Verse and Virtuosity
Author: Janie Steen
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2008-05-24
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1442691301

While there is little evidence of formal rhetorical instruction in Anglo-Saxon England, traditional Old English poetry clearly shows the influence of Latin rhetoric. Verse and Virtuosity demonstrates how Old English poets imitated and adapted the methods of Latin literature, and, in particular, the works of the Christian Latin authors they had studied at school. It is the first full-length study to look specifically at what Old English poets working in a Latinate milieu attempted to do with the schemes and figures they found in their sources. Janie Steen argues that, far from sterile imitation, the inventiveness of Old English poets coupled with the constraints of vernacular verse produced a vital and markedly different kind of poetry. Highlighting a selection of Old English poetic translations of Latin texts, she considers how the translators responded to the challenge of adaptation, and shows how the most accomplished, such as Cynewulf, absorb Latin rhetoric into their own style and blend the two traditions into verse of great virtuosity. With its wide-ranging discussion of texts and rhetorical figures, this book can serve as an introduction to Old English poetic composition and style. Verse and Virtuosity, will be of considerable interest to Anglo-Saxonists, linguists, and those studying rhetorical traditions.

Early English Poetic Culture and Meter

Early English Poetic Culture and Meter
Author: Lindy Brady
Publisher: Medieval Institute Publications
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2016-10-21
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1580442439

This volume develops G. R. Russom's contributions to early English meter and style, including his fundamental reworkings and rethinkings of accepted and oft-repeated mantras, including his word-foot theory, concern for the late medieval context for alliterative meter, and the linguistics of punctuation and translation as applied to Old English texts. Ten eminent scholars from across the field take up Russom's ideas to lead readers in new and exciting directions.

Conversing in Verse

Conversing in Verse
Author: Elizabeth Helsinger
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2022-08-04
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1009200208

Conversing in Verse considers when and why poets turn to conversation to explore and expand the potential of poetry.

The Phoenix

The Phoenix
Author: Joe Nigg
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 514
Release: 2016-11-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 022619549X

Arising triumphantly from the ashes of its predecessor, the phoenix has been an enduring symbol of resilience and renewal for thousands of years. But how did this mythical bird become so famous that it has played a part in cultures around the world and throughout human history? How much of its story do we actually know? Here to offer a comprehensive biography and engaging (un)natural history of the phoenix is Joseph Nigg, esteemed expert on otherworldly creatures from dragons to gryphons to sea monsters. Beginning in ancient Egypt and traveling around the globe and through the centuries, Nigg's vast and sweeping narrative takes readers on a brilliant tour of the cross-cultural lore of this famous, yet little-known, immortal bird. This entertaining and informative look at the life and transformation of the phoenix will be the authoritative source for anyone fascinated by folklore and mythology, re-igniting our curiosity about one of myth's greatest beasts.

The Hatred of Poetry

The Hatred of Poetry
Author: Ben Lerner
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 97
Release: 2016-06-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 0865478201

"The novelist and poet Ben Lerner argues that our hatred of poetry is ultimately a sign of its nagging relevance"--

Theory Aside

Theory Aside
Author: Jason Potts
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2014-05-14
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0822376636

Where can theory go now? Where other voices concern themselves with theory's life or death, the contributors to Theory Aside take up another possibility: that our theoretical prospects are better served worrying less about "what’s next?" and more about "what else?" Instead of looking for the next big thing, the fourteen prominent thinkers in this volume take up lines of thought lost or overlooked during theory's canonization. They demonstrate that intellectual progress need not depend on the discovery of a new theorist or theory. Moving subtly through a diverse range of thinkers and topics—aesthetics, affect, animation and film studies, bibliography, cognitive science, globalization, phenomenology, poetics, political and postcolonial theory, race and identity, queer theory, and sociological reading practices—the contributors show that a more sustained, less apocalyptic attention to ideas might lead to a richer discussion of our intellectual landscapes and the place of the humanities and social sciences in it. In their turn away from the radically new, these essays reveal that what’s fallen aside still surprises. Contributors. Ian Balfour, Karen Beckman, Pheng Cheah, Frances Ferguson, William Flesch, Anne-Lise François, Mark B. N. Hansen, Simon Jarvis, Heather Love, Natalie Melas, Jason Potts, Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Jordan Alexander Stein, Daniel Stout, Irene Tucker

Biblical Epics in Late Antiquity and Anglo-Saxon England

Biblical Epics in Late Antiquity and Anglo-Saxon England
Author: Patrick McBrine
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2017-01-01
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0802098533

Biblical Epics in Late Antiquity and Anglo-Saxon England provides an accessible introduction to biblical epic poetry.

Old English Literature

Old English Literature
Author: John D. Niles
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2016-02-18
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1118598830

This review of the critical reception of Old English literature from 1900 to the present moves beyond a focus on individual literary texts so as to survey the different schools, methods, and assumptions that have shaped the discipline. Examines the notable works and authors from the period, including Beowulf, the Venerable Bede, heroic poems, and devotional literature Reinforces key perspectives with excerpts from ten critical studies Addresses questions of medieval literacy, textuality, and orality, as well as style, gender, genre, and theme Embraces the interdisciplinary nature of the field with reference to historical studies, religious studies, anthropology, art history, and more

Apocalypse and Reform from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages

Apocalypse and Reform from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages
Author: Matthew Gabriele
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2018-09-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 0429950411

Apocalypse and Reform from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages provides a range of perspectives on what reformist apocalypticism meant for the formation of Medieval Europe, from the Fall of Rome to the twelfth century. It explores and challenges accepted narratives about both the development of apocalyptic thought and the way it intersected with cultures of reform to influence major transformations in the medieval world. Bringing together a wealth of knowledge from academics in Britain, Europe and the USA this book offers the latest scholarship in apocalypse studies. It consolidates a paradigm shift, away from seeing apocalypse as a radical force for a suppressed minority, and towards a fuller understanding of apocalypse as a mainstream cultural force in history. Together, the chapters and case studies capture and contextualise the variety of ideas present across Europe in the Middle Ages and set out points for further comparative study of apocalypse across time and space. Offering new perspectives on what ideas of ‘reform’ and ‘apocalypse’ meant in Medieval Europe, Apocalypse and Reform from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages provides students with the ideal introduction to the study of apocalypse during this period.