This concise and lively survey introduces students with no prior knowledge to Chaucer, and particularly to The Canterbury Tales. Provides essential facts about Chaucer, as well as a framework for thinking about his poetry. Encourages an engaged reading of The Canterbury Tales. Introduces students to the historical and religious background needed to understand the contexts in which Chaucer wrote.

• Provides essential facts about Chaucer, as well as a framework for thinking about his poetry.
  
• Encourages an engaged reading of The Canterbury...

In this compelling first volume in the Blackwell Introductions to Literature series, Roy Flannagan, editor of The Milton Quarterly, provides a readable and uncluttered critical account of a complicated and sophisticated author, and his poetry and prose.

• Puts John Milton under the microscope, using the still-evolving critical perspectives of the last fifty years
• Looks at Milton's life, and the cultural background to his work, as well as examining his writing
• Considers how and why Milton's work has endured the centuries to educate, entertain and...

This reader-friendly introduction makes Joyce asscessible by combining the excitement of reading his words with the excitement of interpreting them.

This reader-friendly introduction makes Joyce asscessible by combining the excitement of reading his words with the excitement of interpreting them.

This introduction provides the guidance that modern readers need to come to an informed appreciation of the writings of medieval England.

• An introduction to English literature written in the four centuries following the Norman Conquest.
  
• Written by the well-known medievalist, Thorlac Turville-Petre.
  
• Demonstrates that Middle English literature is more accessible than is often supposed.
  
• Provides readers with the guidance they need to come to an informed appreciation of the writings of medieval England.
  
• Designed to be...

This witty and accessible book traces the history of Arthurian romance from medieval to modern times, explaining its enduring appeal.

• Traces the history of Arthurian romance from medieval to modern times.
  
• Covers art and films as well as the great literary works of Arthurian romance.
  
• Draws out the changing political, moral and emotional uses of the story.
  
• Explains the enduring appeal of the Arthurian legend.
  
• Written by an author with vast knowledge of medieval literature.

This book introduces Mark Twain through close readings of his seven major works, including Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Connecticut Yankee and Pudd'nhead Wilson.

• Introduces Mark Twain through close readings of his seven major works, including Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Connecticut Yankee and Pudd'nhead Wilson.
  
• Investigates the tension between the real-life person, Samuel Clemens, and the fictional person, Mark Twain.
  
• Provides an original reading of Twain's obsession with performance and popularity.
  
• Analyses the...

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...

From runic inscriptions to sagas, this book introduces readers to the colourful world of Old Norse-Icelandic literature.

• An introduction to the colourful world of Old Norse-Icelandic literature.
  
• Covers mythology and family sagas, as well as less well-known areas, such as oral story-telling, 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 Old-Norse-Icelandic literature over the ages, as views of the vikings...

From runic inscriptions to sagas, this book introduces readers to the colourful world of Old Norse-Icelandic literature.

• An introduction to the colourful world of Old Norse-Icelandic literature.
  
• Covers mythology and family sagas, as well as less well-known areas, such as oral story-telling, 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 Old-Norse-Icelandic literature over the ages, as views of the vikings...