This is the first study devoted to the story of Troilus and Cressida as it has developed through the ages and in various literatures. An international team of scholars examine the way in which the problems of love and death are faced in narrative, poetry, drama, and opera. They trace the story in its mythical form as it passed from the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans into the hands of artists such as Benoit de Sainte Maure, Boccaccio, Chaucer, Henryson, Shakespeare, and Dryden, and as it was finally resurrected in the 20th century in America, England, and Germany. Analyzing the changes, both...

This book examines the Bible and its medieval and modern rewritings. It looks at some of the most beautiful and intriguing scenes from the Old and New Testament and the direct or indirect Re-Scriptures of these by writers such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, and T.S. Eliot as well as by ancient exegesis, catacomb frescoes, and church paintings.

"The Genius to Improve an Invention" derives its title from John Dryden s phrase for the British tendency to take up literary masterpieces from the past and perfect them. Distinguished literary scholar Piero Boitani adopts Dryden s notion as a framework for exploring ways in which classical and medieval texts, scenes, and themes have been rewritten by modern authors.Boitani focuses on a concept of literary transition that takes into account both T.S. Eliot s idea of tradition and individual talent and Harold Bloom s anxiety of influence. In five elegant essays he examines a wide range of...

"The Genius to Improve an Invention" derives its title from John Dryden s phrase for the British tendency to take up literary masterpieces from the past and perfect them. Distinguished literary scholar Piero Boitani adopts Dryden s notion as a framework for exploring ways in which classical and medieval texts, scenes, and themes have been rewritten by modern authors. Boitani focuses on a concept of literary transition that takes into account both T.S. Eliot s idea of tradition and individual talent and Harold Bloom s anxiety of influence. In five elegant essays he examines a wide range of...

"English Studies in Transition" collects the papers offered at the Inaugural Conference of the European Society for the Study of English, held at the University of East Anglia in September 1991. Topics addressed include the nature of the canon, the poetics of language, the representation of women and the notion of nationalism in postcolonial literature.
Among those who have contributed papers are: Sir Frank Kermode, Alan Sinfield, Jean-jacques Lecercle, Jina Politi, Pilar Hidlago and Elleke Boehmer. This volume marks a turning point in the history of English studies in Europe.

This is a wide-ranging and detailed study of English narrative verse in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Piero Boitani describes and analyses the undisputed masterpieces of narrative (such as the works of the Gawain poet, Langland, Gower and Chaucer), as well as the anonymous romances and specimens of religious and comic narrative which form the background to the better-known poems. The book is divided by literary genres or structural systems: chapters on the religious, comic and romance traditions are followed by a discussion of dream and visionary narratives and a chapter on story...

This revised edition is based on the first edition which has become a classic in Chaucer studies. Important material has been updated in the text, and its contributions cover recent trends in literary theory as well as in studies of Chaucer's works. The bibliography has been completely revised to provide an indispensable guide for today's student of Chaucer. First Edition Hb (1986): 0-521-30422-9 First Edition Pb (1986): 0-521-31689-8

This revised edition is based on the first edition which has become a classic in Chaucer studies. Important material has been updated in the text, and its contributions cover recent trends in literary theory as well as in studies of Chaucer's works. The bibliography has been completely revised to provide an indispensable guide for today's student of Chaucer. First Edition Hb (1986): 0-521-30422-9 First Edition Pb (1986): 0-521-31689-8

lThe House/of/Fame/l> is one of Chaucer's most intellectually challenging poems, drawing on diverse traditions such as dream poetry and mythology, but unified by the central concept of Fame. It is this concept, and the imaginary world' which surrounds it, which Professor Boitani explores in this volume in the Chaucer Studies series. He begins with a brief outline and discussion of the poem, showing what problems it poses, and then turns to explore the history and meaning of the idea of Fame, such as Chaucer might have received from tradition', a quest which leads him into Biblical, classical...