Poetry : Ancient, Classical & Medieval

What is the relationship between poetry and power? Should poetry be considered a mode of authority or an impotent medium? And why is it that the modern poets most commonly regarded as authoritative are precisely those whose works wrestle with a sense of artistic inadequacy? Such questions lie at the heart of this study, prompting fresh insights into three of the most significant poets of recent decades: Robert Lowell, Geoffrey Hill and Seamus Heaney. Through attentive close reading and the tracing of dominant motifs in each writer’s works, James shows how their responsiveness to matters of political and cultural import lends weight to the idea of poetry as authoritative utterance, as a means for speaking of and to the world in a persuasive, impressive manner. And yet, as James demonstrates, each poet is exercised by an awareness of his own cultural marginality, even by a sense of the limitations and liabilities of language itself. While extending our understanding of the distinctive achievements of Lowell, Hill and Heaney, Shades of Authority also investigates their shared concerns and characteristics. This is the first major critical study to attend in detail to the relations between the three poets. And here, too, questions of authority are fundamental: by exploring the ambivalent regard with which Hill has responded to Lowell's poetic practice and by investigating Heaney's literary debt to both Lowell and Hill, this book aims to provoke further thought as to how the shades of literary exemplars can be at once oppressive and empowering. more...

Price: $85.00

Archaic Greek poetry is an important source for the history of the period. This book offers close readings of this poetry, particularly that of Solon, in order to explore the politics and ideologies of the day. The influence of performance context is also examined. more...

Price: $77.00

"I feel that I have spent half my career with one or another Pelican Shakespeare in my back pocket. Convenience, however, is the least important aspect of the new Pelican Shakespeare series. Here is an elegant and clear text for either the study or the rehearsal room, notes where you need them and the distinguished scholarship of the general editors, Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller who understand that these are plays for performance as well as great texts for contemplation." (Patrick Stewart). The distinguished Pelican Shakespeare series, which has sold more than four million copies, is now completely revised and repackaged. Each volume features:. * Authoritative, reliable texts. * High quality introductions and notes. * New, more readable trade trim size. * An essay on the theatrical world of Shakespeare and essays on Shakespeare's life and the selection of texts more...

Price: $4.95

Significant new reading of the epic which argues that its narrative strategies reflect the theme of internal discord. more...

Price: $77.00

Talks about innovations in teaching Chaucer in higher education from a range of scholars and practitioners experienced in dealing with students. This book features projects, which focus on a student-centered, active learning to enhance independent research skills and critical thinking. more...

Price: $110.00