In Fair Rosamond Virgil B. Heltzel traces the character of Rosamond Clifford, known as Fair Rosamondwhich has its origins as a theme in medieval literaturethrough its use in poetry and plays and novels, from the Renaissance through the early twentieth century. Heltzels book retains its importance today for scholars tracing...
Matthew Arnold the Ethnologist, originally published in 1951, makes the original argument that the renowned English critic Matthew Arnold contributed to the climate of racialism current during his lifetime. Frederic E. Faverty shows that in his essays on national character, Arnold used anthropological concepts of race and language, albeit inconsistently....
Thackeray: The Sentimental Cynicchronicles British novelist William Thackerays ambivalent attitudes toward society and traces his conduct during the major crises of his life in terms of those attitudes. Lambert Ennis examines the emotional tensions in Thackerays life and the impact they had in his work. In so doing, he illustrates...
Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Iseult) remains one of the most popular romances ever written. Although the tale was believed to have originated in Germany, bards in France and Britain composed their own versions of the story, a tale of adultery, betrayal, mistaken identity, and thwarted love. In The Tristan...
Alan C. Dessens Johnsons Moral Comedy asks the question about the character of Ben Jonsons comedies: were they sentimental or were they didactic and moralistic comedies? Dessens groundbreaking text remains significant for its contribution to early conversations about Jonsonian comedy, as well as its contribution to the practice of ethical...
In Yeatss Shakespeare,thefirst full-length study of Yeatss interest in Shakespeare, Rupin W. Desai explores how Shakespearean works influenced Yeatss poetry and mythological drama. Exploring Shakespeares sonnets and Yeatss poetry, Desai illustrates the deep degree to which Yeats identifies with Shakespeare, even to the extent of including some of Shakespeares heroes...
William Warners Syrinx, or a Sevenfold History, may be the first English novel. Unlike others of the time, though, Warner wrote a realistic novel whose ancestors include the adventure stories of Alexandrine romance, and focus not on the tales of an aristocratic class but on the lives of middle-class individuals....
Ruth M. Amess The Fulfillment of Scriptures approaches Langlands key medieval text, Piers Plowman, using critical literary methods developed in interdisciplinary programs that explore the intersections of religion and literature. Ames draws on the history of the development of Christian doctrine as she explores the ways that the allegory of...
Paul Kent Alkons Samuel Johnson and Moral Discipline provides reading of Johnson that emphasizes his moral discourse. Shortly after its publication, Alkons book became first of all the standard reading of Johnsons essays, contrasting them with the moral ideas Johnson discussed in his sermons, as moral writings, and second, as...