Contradictions: From Beowulf to Chaucer

Contradictions: From Beowulf to Chaucer PDF Author: Theodore M. Andersson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351948768
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
This volume brings together a series of key essays by Larry D Benson, well-known for his work in editing the Riverside Chaucer. Of the studies selected, the opening three deal with Old English, recasting the possibilities for the critical study of Beowulf, above all the relation between oral and written literary production. The following ten essays turn to Middle English literature, with the focus first on Chaucer, and the evolution of his works and his language, then on the social and cultural context of medieval chivalric texts. Throughout, Professor Benson approaches his subjects with a skeptical intent, even a seeming contrariness in seeking to contradict received views, but in fact with the purpose of questioning in order to understand more deeply. Scattered in their original publications, and with one hitherto unpublished, together these studies present a powerful argument for this questioning approach to fundamental issues and constitute a major contribution to the study of the literary and cultural history of the medieval world. Larry D Benson is Francis Lee Higginson Professor of English, Harvard University.

Contradictions: From Beowulf to Chaucer

Contradictions: From Beowulf to Chaucer PDF Author: Theodore M. Andersson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351948768
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 298

Get Book

Book Description
This volume brings together a series of key essays by Larry D Benson, well-known for his work in editing the Riverside Chaucer. Of the studies selected, the opening three deal with Old English, recasting the possibilities for the critical study of Beowulf, above all the relation between oral and written literary production. The following ten essays turn to Middle English literature, with the focus first on Chaucer, and the evolution of his works and his language, then on the social and cultural context of medieval chivalric texts. Throughout, Professor Benson approaches his subjects with a skeptical intent, even a seeming contrariness in seeking to contradict received views, but in fact with the purpose of questioning in order to understand more deeply. Scattered in their original publications, and with one hitherto unpublished, together these studies present a powerful argument for this questioning approach to fundamental issues and constitute a major contribution to the study of the literary and cultural history of the medieval world. Larry D Benson is Francis Lee Higginson Professor of English, Harvard University.

Contradictions

Contradictions PDF Author: Larry Dean Benson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
A selection (by editors Theodore M. Andersson and Stephen A. Barney) of key studies by Benson (English, Harvard U.), general editor of the Riverside Chaucer . The first three essays deal with Old English, recasting the possibilities for the critical study of Beowulf, above all the relation between

A Critical Companion to Beowulf

A Critical Companion to Beowulf PDF Author: Andy Orchard
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN: 9781843840299
Category : Beowulf
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
This is a complete guide to the text and context of the most famous Old English poem. In this book, the specific roles of selcted individual characters, both major and minor, are assessed.

Beowulf

Beowulf PDF Author: Harold Bloom
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438113684
Category : Beowulf
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Presents a series of critical essays discussing the structure, themes, and subject matter of the epic poem which relates the exploits of the Anglo-Saxon warrior Beowulf, and how he came to defeat the monster Grendel.

The Language of the Chaucer Tradition

The Language of the Chaucer Tradition PDF Author: Simon Horobin
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN: 9780859917803
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
A study of the language of Chaucerian manuscripts, printed editions and Chaucer's 15th century followers. Winner of the 2005 Beatrice White Prize for outstanding scholarly work in the field of English literature before 1590 The manuscript copies of Chaucer's works preserve valuable information concerning Chaucer's linguistic practices and the ways in which scribes responded to these. This book draws on recent developments in Middle English dialectology, textual criticism and the application of computers to manuscript studies to assess the evidence Chaucerian manuscripts provide for reconstructing Chaucer's own language and his linguistic environment. This book considershow scribes, editors and Chaucerian poets transmitted and updated Chaucer's language and the implications of this for our understanding of Chaucerian book production and reception, and the processes of linguistic change in the fifteenth century. Winner of the 2005 Beatrice White Prize for outstanding scholarly work in the field of English literature before 1590 SIMON HOROBIN lectures on English language at the University of Glasgow.

Beowulf

Beowulf PDF Author: Roy Liuzza
Publisher: Broadview Press
ISBN: 9781551111896
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
The classic story of Beowulf, hero and dragon-slayer, appears here in a new translation accompanied by genealogical charts, historical summaries, and a glossary of proper names. These and other documents sketching some of the cultural forces behind the poem's final creation will help readers see Beowulf as an exploration of the politics of kingship and the psychology of heroism, and as an early English meditation on the bridges and chasms between the pagan past and the Christian present. A generous sample of other modern versions of Beowulf sheds light on the process of translating the poem.

Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer PDF Author: Harold Bloom
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438115687
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 113

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Book Description
Provides insight into Chaucer's Canterbury tales, along with a short biography of the poet.

Critical Companion to Chaucer

Critical Companion to Chaucer PDF Author: Rosalyn Rossignol
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438108400
Category : Civilization, Medieval, in literature
Languages : en
Pages : 657

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Book Description
Examines the life and writings of Geoffrey Chaucer, including detailed synopses of his works, explanations of literary terms, character portraits, social and historical influences, and more.

Beowulf - Second Edition

Beowulf - Second Edition PDF Author: Anonymous
Publisher: Broadview Press
ISBN: 1554810647
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
R.M. Liuzza’s translation of Beowulf, first published by Broadview in 1999, has been widely praised for its accuracy and beauty. The translation is accompanied in this edition by genealogical charts, historical summaries, and a glossary of proper names. Historical appendices include related legends, stories, and religious writings from both Christian and Anglo-Saxon traditions. These texts help readers to see Beowulf as an exploration of the politics of kingship and the psychology of heroism, and as an early English meditation on the bridges and chasms between the pagan past and the Christian present. Appendices also include a generous sample of other modern translations of Beowulf, shedding light on the process of translating the poem. This new edition features an updated introduction and an expanded section of material on Christianity and paganism.

Chaucer's Prayers

Chaucer's Prayers PDF Author: Megan E. Murton
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
ISBN: 1843845598
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
In a culture as steeped in communal, scripted acts of prayer as Chaucer's England, a written prayer asks not only to be read, but to be inhabited: its "I" marks a space that readers are invited to occupy. This book examines the implications of accepting that invitation when reading Chaucer's poetry. Both in his often-overlooked pious writings and in his ambitious, innovative pagan narratives, the "I" of prayer provides readers with a subject-position thatcan be at once devotional and literary - a stance before a deity and a stance in relation to a poem. Chaucer uses this uniquely open, participatory "I" to implicate readers in his poetry and to guide their work of reading. In examining Christian and pagan prayers alongside each other, Chaucer's Prayers cuts across an assumed division between the "religious" and "secular" writings within Chaucer's corpus. Rather, it emphasizes continuities andapproaches prayer as part of Chaucer's broader experimentation with literary voice. It also places Chaucer in his devotional context and foregrounds how pious practices intersect with and shape his poetic practices. These insightschallenge a received view of Chaucer as an essentially secular poet and shed new light on his poetry's relationship to religion.