Kategoria BISAC: Literary Criticism >> Reference

Often misleadingly called the Dark Ages, the period between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance was a time of great creativity. The Middle Ages gave rise to some of the world's most enduring and influential literary works, including Dante's "Commedia," Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales," and a large body of Arthurian lore and legend. This reference is a comprehensive guide to literature written between 500 and 1500. While the volume is primarily devoted to the early literature of England, it also includes entries for historical persons and subjects of cultural relevance which would have...

Author of such classics of 20th-century popular American literature as "Tobacco Road" (1932) and "God's Little Acre" (1933), Erskine Caldwell was something of a celebrity nearly all his life. But he was also a serious writer, one whose merits are as considerable as they remain underexplored. In the 1930s, he startled the literary world with his frank portrayals of the poor whites of the South. Beginning in the early 1940s, critics grew suspicious that he had exhausted his originality and his talent. In the late 1960s, some scholars began an effort, which continues intermittently today, to...

F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most challenging authors of American literature. He is known internationally as the author of "The Great Gatsby" (1925), a twentieth-century literary classic studied by high school students and scholars alike. But Fitzgerald was an amazingly productive writer despite numerous personal and professional difficulties. From the beginning of his literary career with the publication of "This Side of Paradise" in 1920 to his death in 1940, he wrote 5 novels, roughly 180 short stories, numerous essays and reviews, much poetry, several plays, and some film scripts....

The Restoration was a period surprisingly rich in fiction, and the period between 1660 and 1700 witnessed the decline of the epic and the birth of the English novel. Literature of the period became increasingly secular in response to advancements in science, philosophy, and exploration. With growing recognition of the power of print, literary works became increasingly targeted to the masses, rather than just to the educated members of the upper class. John Bunyan's classic tale of salvation, DEGREESIThe Pilgrim's Progress DEGREESR, became one of the most widely read works of the last few...

One of the greatest writers of all time, Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) is best known for such masterpieces as "Crime and Punishment "and "The Brothers Karamazov." His works are widely read and studied today, and he has received much biographical and critical attention. Like many other writers of enduring literature, he engages timeless moral and theological issues. His writings and ideas are complex and reflect the swirling political and intellectual controversies of his time. This encyclopedia is a convenient and comprehensive guide to his life and writings.

Through more than 200...

Ezra Pound forever changed the course of poetry. The author of a vast body of literature, his enormous range of references and use of multiple languages make him one of the most obscure authors and--because of his Fascism, anti-Semitism, and questionable sanity--one of the most controversial. This encyclopedia is a concise yet comprehensive guide to his life and writings. Included are more than 250 alphabetically arranged entries on such topics as Arabic history, Chinese translation, dance, Hilda Doolittle, Egyptian literature, Robert Frost, and Pound's publications. The entries are...

The essays in this collection explore new directions in autobiography studies. Examining a wide range of texts, from narratives of suicide survivors, cross-dressers, and people with HIV/AIDS to self-representations in the visual arts, the collection demonstrates how writers have used the postmodern experience fragmentation to forge new kinds of identities.

Postmodern selves, the essayists argue, are relational selves, constructed from the acute need to find identity through collaboration with others. Postmodern autobiography emerges as a search, amid shocks to the stable self, for wider...

Science and literature have always been strange bedfellows. Like puzzle pieces, they fit because they're different. Some of the greatest works of world literature have been inspired by the marvels of the scientific world. Scientists have written works of the imagination. Even formal scientific writings have been known to employ rhetoric. There is a tendency to think of literature--and the humanities in general--as having little to do with science. Yet scholars have conducted fruitful studies of the history and philosophy of science. With the rise of technology, scholars have also applied...

This companion is an invaluable aid to modern readers in understanding Dickens's book, as it examines both specific details and the broader context of the story. To discover the meaning of a difficult detail or idea, the reader needs only find the appropriate chapter in DEGREESIThe Companion DEGREESR, look for the italicized phrase that identifies the relevant paragraph, and then read the discussion of the word or passage in question, which will be marked in bold. The book is the result of extensive original research and will appeal to both scholars, secondary school students and amateur...

This reference provides more than 800 alphabetically arranged entries on important authors, texts, genres, themes, and topics in Greek literature from the Byzantine period to the present. Brief, readable entries provide basic information on the history and development of modern Greek literature and language. Each entry is thoroughly cross-referenced, and most conclude with a bibliography of further information resources.

Greece has an old and influential literary tradition. The lion's share of attention has been given to classical Greek literature, yet the nation continues to produce...

American women writers have long been creating an extraordinarily diverse and vital body of fiction, particularly in the decades since World War II. Recent authors have benefited from the struggles of their predecessors, who broke through barriers that denied women opportunities for self-expression. This reference highlights American women writers who continue to build upon the formerly male-dominated canon.

Included are alphabetically arranged entries for more than 60 American women writers of diverse ethnicity who wrote or published their most significant fiction after World War II....

The novel has proven to be the premier literary form in the exploration of social ideas and protest. This reference guide is unique in providing concise information on 200 landmark novels and their impacts on society throughout history and around the world. The social issues of geographically organized countries are first plotted on a timeline. Each country's novels are then presented chronologically through lucid essays relating the works to their historical contexts and tracing their impact since publication. With an extensive section covering the rich historical tradition of the novel...

Providing easy access to information on nearly 450 short stories, this unique guide surveys a wide spectrum of world literature, canonical works, and contemporary fiction. Librarians and teachers will find multiple purposes for this expertly-compiled resource, which can be employed in much the same way as a standard bibliography. Educators will appreciate the concise annotations, arranged alphabetically by author, that form the core of this work. Insightful critical statements synthesize plot summaries and identify the thematic content of each short story.

A theme guide utilizes the...

The first reference of its kind, this encyclopedia covers topics related to literature written in English by authors who were either born in South Asia or who identify themselves with that region. The volume focuses on writers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Included are several hundred alphabetically arranged entries on novelists, novels, and cinematic adaptations, as well as poets, dramatists, autobiographers, short story writers, theoreticians, critical terms, themes, genres, literary movements, and key historical events. Entries are written by expert contributors and...

Fictional languages are central to numerous creative works. This book examines such languages in a wide range of literature, films, and television shows. Included are alphabetically arranged entries on particular works. Many of these works are widely taught, such as "All's Well That Ends Well," "Gulliver's Travels," "Nineteen Eighty-Four," and "Utopia," while others are popular books, films, and television series, such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Cat's Cradle," "The Lord of the Rings," and "Star Wars." Thus the encyclopedia helps students understand texts central to the curriculum and...