A History of Western Literature

A History of Western Literature
Author: J. M. Cohen
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0202361853

This book begins in a narrow territory, strictly Western, and extends with the passage of time to include the poetry, plays, novels, and works of speculation of the great authors of the past and present from Russia to Mexico. his objective is to tell the whole story of Western writing in languages other than English from the twelfth-century Chanson de Roland to Evtushenko's poetry of the 1960s. Cohen not only presents a factual account of historical growth. The book reflects the author's own judgments and valuations, arrived at in the course of almost forty years' reading in the main European languages. A work of original critism, A History of Western Literature immediately became a standard reference when first published. In this new edition, the author has included revisions covering the most important recent writers and their work. "Especially for American or British readers who want to explore under sensible guidance the main lines of Western letters, this carefully wrought handbook is indispensable."--Library Journal. "Considering Mr. Cohen's vast scope, his achievement is commendable. The information he presents is accurate. His style is surprisingly readable...."--Modern Language Journal. J. M. Cohen (1903-1989) was a widely known critic and a translator of French and Spanish literature. He was born in London and graduated from Cambridge University. His versions of Don Quixote, Gargantua and Pantagruel, and Rousseau's Confessions are recognized as among the finest modern translations.

The Western Canon

The Western Canon
Author: Harold Bloom
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 751
Release: 2014-06-17
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0547546483

The literary critic defends the importance of Western literature from Chaucer and Shakespeare to Kafka and Beckett in this acclaimed national bestseller. NOMINATED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD Harold Bloom's The Western Canon is more than a required reading list—it is a “heroically brave, formidably learned” defense of the great works of literature that comprise the traditional Western Canon. Infused with a love of learning, compelling in its arguments for a unifying written culture, it argues brilliantly against the politicization of literature and presents a guide to the essential writers of the western literary tradition (The New York Times Book Review). Placing William Shakespeare at the “center of the canon,” Bloom examines the literary contributions of Dante Alighieri, John Milton, Jane Austen, Emily Dickenson, Leo Tolstoy, Sigmund Freud, James Joyce, Pablo Neruda, and many others. Bloom's book, much-discussed and praised in publications as diverse as The Economist and Entertainment Weekly, offers a dazzling display of erudition and passion. “An impressive work…deeply, rightly passionate about the great books of the past.”—Michel Dirda, The Washington Post Book World

Hospitality and Treachery in Western Literature

Hospitality and Treachery in Western Literature
Author: James A. W. Heffernan
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 439
Release: 2014-05-28
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0300206844

In works of Western literature ranging from Homer’s Odyssey to Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? the giving and taking of hospitality is sometimes pleasurable, but more often perilous. Heffernan traces this leitmotiv through the history of our greatest writings, including Christ’s Last Supper, Macbeth’s murder of his royal guest, and Camus’s short story on French colonialism in Arab Algeria. By means of such examples and many more, this book considers what literary hosts, hostesses, and guests do to as well as for each other. In doing so, it shows how often treachery rends the fabric of trust that hospitality weaves.

Mimesis

Mimesis
Author: Erich Auerbach
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 1991
Genre:
ISBN: 9780691012698

A History of European Literature

A History of European Literature
Author: Walter Cohen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 560
Release: 2017-01-19
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0191078913

Walter Cohen argues that the history of European literature and each of its standard periods can be illuminated by comparative consideration of the different literary languages within Europe and by the ties of European literature to world literature. World literature is marked by recurrent, systematic features, outcomes of the way that language and literature are at once the products of major change and its agents. Cohen tracks these features from ancient times to the present, distinguishing five main overlapping stages. Within that framework, he shows that European literatures ongoing internal and external relationships are most visible at the level of form rather than of thematic statement or mimetic representation. European literature emerges from world literature before the birth of Europe — during antiquity, whose Classical languages are the heirs to the complex heritage of Afro-Eurasia. This legacy is later transmitted by Latin to the various vernaculars. The uniqueness of the process lies in the gradual displacement of the learned language by the vernacular, long dominated by Romance literatures. That development subsequently informs the second crucial differentiating dimension of European literature: the multicontinental expansion of its languages and characteristic genres, especially the novel, beginning in the Renaissance. This expansion ultimately results in the reintegration of European literature into world literature and thus in the creation of todays global literary system. The distinctiveness of European literature is to be found in these interrelated trajectories.

The Norton Anthology of Western Literature: Beginnings through the Renaissance

The Norton Anthology of Western Literature: Beginnings through the Renaissance
Author: Sarah N. Lawall
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Total Pages: 2660
Release: 2005-08-01
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9780393925722

Read by millions of students over seven editions, The Norton Anthology of Western Literature remains the most trusted undergraduate survey of Western literature available and one of the most successful college texts ever published.

Mimesis

Mimesis
Author: Erich Auerbach
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 614
Release: 2013-10-06
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1400847958

The classic book that has taught generations how to read Western literature More than half a century after its translation into English, Erich Auerbach’s Mimesis remains a masterpiece of literary criticism. A brilliant display of erudition, wit, and wisdom, his exploration of how great European writers from Homer to Virginia Woolf depict reality has taught generations how to read Western literature. A German Jew who was forced out of his professorship at the University of Marburg in 1935, Auerbach left for Turkey, where he taught in Istanbul. There he wrote Mimesis, publishing it in German after the war. Displaced as he was, Auerbach produced a work of great erudition that contains no footnotes, basing his arguments instead on searching, illuminating readings of key passages from his primary texts. His aim was to show how, from antiquity to modernity, literature progresses toward ever more naturalistic and democratic forms of representation. Ranging over works in Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, German, and English, Auerbach uses his remarkable skills in philology and comparative literature to present an optimistic view of Western history and culture and to refute any narrow form of nationalism or chauvinism. This expanded Princeton Classics edition of Mimesis includes a substantial introduction by Edward Said as well as an essay in which Auerbach responds to his critics.

Foundations of Western Literature

Foundations of Western Literature
Author: Meredith Curtis
Publisher:
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2016-08-07
Genre:
ISBN: 9781535554770

Are you ready for a journey back in time? Let's discover the authors and writings from the foundation of Western Literature, as well as reading some great historical fiction and fairy tales. The foundations of Western Literature include Hebrew, Greek, Roman, and modern works. Starting with the Book of Genesis from the HOLY BIBLE, we will time travel through history by reading classic literature that has stood the test of time from Creation to the Middle Ages. Writing assignments help students to present ideas and information in an engaging way through sentences, paragraphs, paraphrases, thesis statements, essays, blog posts, paraphrases, and writing their own fairy tale. Use this course in a book club, family, or co-op setting. You will need to purchase the following books: The Book of Genesis from THE HOLY BIBLE (can be downloaded free online) Adam and His Kin by Ruth Beechick Hittite Warrior by Joann Williamson The Iliad for Boys & Girls by A.J. Church (both can be downloaded free online) The Odyssey for Boys & Girls by A.J. Church (both can be downloaded free online) Aesop's Fables by Aesop (can be downloaded free online) The Aeneid for Boys & Girls by A.J. Church (both can be downloaded free online) The Gospel of Matthew from THE HOLY BIBLE (can be downloaded free online) Lantern Bearer by Rosemary Sutcliff The Book of Acts from THE HOLY BIBLE (can be downloaded free online) Augustine Came to Kent by Barbara Willard Son of Charlemagne by Barbara Willard City of God by St. Augustine (can be downloaded free online) The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle (can be downloaded free online) Tales from the Arabian Nights (can be downloaded free online) Grimm's Fairy Tales compiled by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (can be downloaded free online) Collection Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen (can be downloaded free online) D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths by Ingri D'Aulaire & Edgar Parin D'aulaire The Following Writings are Included in this Foundations of Western Literature Book The Holy Bible: "David & Goliath," "Prodigal Son," & "The Sower and the Seed"

Literature of the American West

Literature of the American West
Author: Greg Lyons
Publisher: Addison-Wesley Longman
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2003
Genre: American literature
ISBN: 9780205324613

Literature of the American West is an anthology of "literary" and popular fiction; historical personal narratives; contemporary reflective essays; author biographies, and critical perspectives on the images, literatures, and films of the American West. This distinctive book will enliven and deepen readers' understanding and appreciation of the literature, values, ideals, and perceptions of the American West. The book moves beyond the traditional literary canon to incorporate pop culture, historical, multi-ethnic, and multi-media approaches. Included are stories from popular Western authors such as Zane Grey and Dorothy Johnson, as well as Native American authors such as N. Scott Momaday and Leslie Marmon Silko. This book also includes critical reading questions, writing suggestions, and relevant photographs and paintings that facilitate analyzing the works within the book as well as our own perceptions of the American West. For those interested the study and appreciation of the literature of the American West.