Throughout the 1980s, scholars debated Alexander Pope's attitude toward women by applying such critical methods as Marxist or deconstructionist theories to his texts. In this book, Claudia N. Thomas instead adopts reader-response theory in order to present what she regards as a more accurate analysis, mindful of the historical reception of Pope's ......
Fascination, Failure, and Form in Literature of the Enlightenment
In this hermeneutic analysis of seven literary texts, Stephanie Barbe Hammer studies the roles of criminal protagonists in the dramas of George Lillo (The London Merchant) and Friedrich Schiller (The Robbers) and in the narratives of Abbe de Prevost (Manon Lescaut), Henry Fielding (Jonathan Wild), Marquis de Sade (Justine), William Godwin (Caleb ......
This is the first book in English on the seventeenth-century Chinese masterpiece Liaozhai's Records of the Strange (Liaozhai zhiyi) by Pu Songling, a collection of nearly five hundred fantastic tales and anecdotes written in Classical Chinese.
Utilizing both Freudian and non-Freudian psychoanalysis as well as feminist criticism, this title examines literary works by women and men from medieval and Romantic periods as well as cultural observations on the twentieth century and how they have influenced attitudes toward love.
Madame de Lafayette's "La Princesse de Cleves" has, since its publication in the late 17th century, been subjected to moralistic evaluation that has chastened and maligned the heroine for over three hundred years. The princess has been accused of implausible behaviour, deep-seated egoism, irreligion, obsessive concern with appearances, suicidal ......
The only collection of all known letters of Christopher Smart provides the best psychological explanation to date of that complex and elusive eighteenth-century poet. The significant characteristics that distinguish Smart's prose letters from his poetry, Betty Rizzo and Robert Mahony note, are that his letters were requests for assistance while ......
Jean-Baptiste Henri du Trousset de Valincour (1653-1730) was both government official and man of letters. In his governmental career, he occupied prominent posts in the household of le comte de Toulouse, son of Louis XIV and Admiral of France. As a man of letters he made his mark as the author of the first critical appraisal of Madame de ......
Spanish dramatist Pedro Calderon de la Barca (1600-1781) was one of the most brilliant (although largely unheralded) writers in the history of European allegory. This work examines the playwright's allegorical drama as well as his theory of allegory. Calderon's allegorical drama consists of over 70 so-called "autos sacramentales". The "auto" was a ......
Historical Representation in English Poetry, 1603-1660
An analysis of historical poetry in a period of political turmoil in England (1603-1660) which suggests that poetic forms both adapt to changing political circumstances and also contribute to the possibility of future political change.
