Kategoria BISAC: Literary Criticism >> Gothic & Romance

The profound impact of Jean-Jacques Rousseau on Western thought has been frequently examined, yet the extent of Goethe's relationship to Rousseau has never before received thorough study. Carl Hammer Jr. here analyzes Goethe's works, paying particular attention to his mature production, to reveal the profound affinities of thought between these two European giants.

Scholars have long recognized the direct influence of Rousseau on Goethe's first novel, Werther, but have believed that Goethe's enthusiasm waned thereafter. Hammer, in contrast, finds the affinity revealed even...

This book demonstrates how representations of the Victorian suburb in mid- to late-nineteenth century British writing occasioned a literary sub-genre unique to this period, one that attempted to reassure readers that the suburb was a place where outsiders could be controlled and where middle-class values could be enforced. Whelan explores the dissonance created by the differences between the suburban ideal and suburban realities, recognizing the persistence of that ideal in the face of abundant evidence that it was hardly ever realized. She discusses evidence from primary and secondary...

This new biography examines legendary playwright John Osborne's fractious, often chaotic personal life against the social and political background of his times. It provides an invigorating insight into his complex, often anguished personality and a fresh critical assessment of his writing. A vivid account of what it was like to be Osborne: loyal and generous, scathing and brutal, a restlessly creative artist.

First published 1984. In a provocative study, this book argues that the problems posed by Shelley s notoriously difficult style must be understood in relation to his ambivalence towards language itself as an artistic medium the tension between the potential of language to mirror emotional experience and the recognition of it s inevitable limitations. Through an exposition of Shelley s "idea "of language, as reflected in his theoretical writings and individual poems, this book makes a strong case for his artistic worth. A definitive introduction to Shelley, useful for both scholars and...

First published in 2009. This book argues that the images of and allusions to music in Shelley s writing demonstrate his attempt to infuse the traditionally masculine word with the traditionally feminine voice and music. This further extends to his even more fundamental desire to integrate the "object voice" with his own subjectivity. For Shelley, what plagues this integration is the prospect of losing both the poet s authority and the subjectivity upon which it relies. This book asserts that the resultant deadlock and instability paradoxically becomes Shelley s ultimate goal creating a...

First published in 1970, this stylistic and interpretative account of some of Wordsworth s major poetry examines description and meditation in his landscape writing. It describes the integration of two kinds of thinking, and a variety of beauties and lapses that come from their separation.

Although Wordsworth s deepest affinity was with nature, the author argues the finest landscape writing of the poet s late twenties and early thirties derives from his attempt to humanise his love of nature. This work therefore aims to examine the way in which Wordsworth strives in his poetry to extend...

First published in 1979, this book provides thorough a guide through Coleridge s diverse body of work, looking not just his poetry but also his literary criticism and theories, plays, political journalism and theory, and writings on religion and philosophy. The author is careful to avoid emphasising one aspect of his work over another and consequently the whole emerges as a richer, more complete body of thought less esoteric and more concerned with the world. It challenges the notion of the damaged archangel, showing he was a successful playwright, long-standing contributor to one of the...

First published in 1960, this book studies Wordsworth s simple poems, such as the "Lyrical Ballads," as products of a sophisticated and powerfully successful literary genius. The author aims to approach the poems as perhaps Wordsworth expected his first readers to; but as they have never been in fact. The result of this approach is to discover a Wordsworth far different to that which he has previously been presented as the Sage of Rydal at one extreme and a naive perpetrator of poetical blunders at the other and, the author argues, a far more exciting one. This book will be of interest to...