Best of
Literary-Criticism

1977

Seven Nights


Jorge Luis Borges - 1977
    The incomparable Borges delivered these seven lectures in Buenos Aires in 1977; attendees were treated to Borges erudition on the following topics: Dante's The Divine Comedy, Nightmares, Thousand and One Dreams, Buddhism, Poetry, The Kabbalah, and Blindness.

Image - Music - Text


Roland Barthes - 1977
    His selection of essays, each important in its own right, also serves as ‘the best... introduction so far to Barthes’ career as the slayer of contemporary myths’. (John Sturrock, New Statesman)

Marxism and Literature


Raymond Williams - 1977
    He analyzes previous contributions to a Marxist theory of literature from Marx himself to Lukacs, Althusser, and Goldmann, and develops his own approach by outlining a theory of cultural materialism' which integrates Marxist theories of language with Marxist theories of literature. Williams moves from a review of the growth of the concepts of literature and idealogy to a redefinition of determinism' and hegemony'. His incisive discussion of the 'social material process' of cultural activity culminates in a re-examination of the problems of alignment and commitment and of the creative practice in individual authors and wider social groups.

The Jewel-Hinged Jaw: Notes on the Language of Science Fiction


Samuel R. Delany - 1977
    An indispensable work of science fiction criticism revised and expanded

Rousseau And Romanticism


Irving Babbitt - 1977
    This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Anton Chekhov's Plays


Anton Chekhov - 1977
    Critical discussions on Chekhov's dramatic purpose and structure as well as biographical material accompany a new translation of the plays.

Blake and Antiquity


Kathleen Raine - 1977
    To some, like William Wordsworth, the only explanation for the remarkable spiritual world Blake witnessed and brought to life in his books was 'insane genius'. Although such a view persisted well into the twentieth century, this is the pivotal work which challenged that perspective and changed forever our understanding of William Blake's genius, placing him in the esoteric tradition. For many this book will be a revelation; for lovers of Blake it is indispensable.

Prejudices: Second Series


H.L. Mencken - 1977
    Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

The Modes Of Modern Writing: Metaphor, Metonymy, And The Typology Of Modern Literature


David Lodge - 1977
    

Faces of Modernity: Avant-Garde, Decadence, Kitsch


Matei Călinescu - 1977
    

The Critic's Hornbook: Reading For Interpretation


William C. Dowling - 1977
    

The Novels Of Virginia Woolf


Hermione Lee - 1977
    Detailed analyses of the modern English writer's nine novels shed light on their themes, concerns, and stylistic techniques.

Oral Poetry: Its Nature, Significance and Social Context


Ruth Finnegan - 1977
    Unlike previous works, this book takes a broad comparative view and considers oral poetry from Africa, Asia and Oceania as well as Europe and America. Dr Finnegan includes in her argument the results of topical research from all over the world, thus illuminating and suggesting fresh conclusions to many controversies: the nature of 'oral tradition'; possible connections between types of poetry and types of society; the differences between oral and written communication; and the role of poets in non-literate societies.

The Sources Of Shakespeare's Plays


Kenneth Muir - 1977
    

Vagabond Stars: A World History of Yiddish Theater


Nahma Sandrow - 1977
    A lavishly illustrated world history of the Yiddish theater covering five continents and more than 300 years.

Playing the Game: The Homosexual Novel in America


Roger Austen - 1977
    In a literate, perceptive account, laced with dry, iconoclastic humor, he described some two hundred novels written during these decades.With Kraft-Ebing et alia relegating homosexuality to the realms of psychopathic behavior, gay literature was almost totally in the closet until the 1920s. Even through the 1950s, the writers had to add a tone of "respectability" to their novels in order for them to be even partially accepted by straight readers and critics. They "played the game" by changing pronouns or by tossing their protagonist to the wolves: more than one of the star-cross'd lovers at book's end (1) saw the light of day and married the girl next door, or (2) committed suicide.All of this changed with the emergence of honest writers like Rechy, Isherwood, Vidal and Capote, and with the growing confidence of the gays themselves.This literary genre has finally come out of the closet.

The Renaissance of Wonder in Children's Literature


Marion Lochhead - 1977
    The Renaissance of Wonder in Children's Literature by Lochhead, Marion

An Essay on the Vita Nuova


Charles S. Singleton - 1977
    

Letters on Literature and Politics 1912-1972


Edmund Wilson - 1977
    

Thackeray: Prodigal Genius


John Carey - 1977
    Although this study embraces all his work, it switches attention from his late novels, and bases the case for his imaginative vitality on the multifarious material - reviews, travel books, burlesques, Punch articles - that he turned out, mostly under severe financial stress, at the start of his writing career. Here was the breeding ground of Vanity Fair; here we find the subversive Thackeray, foe of humbug and high art, waylaying snobbery and the cant of social reformers with bravura and buffoonery - the Thackeray who, in Trollope's words, 'laughed, and ate, and drank, and threw his pearls about with miraculous profusion.' In portraying the range and intensity of Thackeray's imagination, topics singled out include: light and painting; ballet dancers; pantomime; haute cuisine; time's ruins; and the rainbow realm of commerce. The picture of Thackeray, as man and artist, that emerges, is fresh and challenging.

The Imagery of Surrealism


J.H. Matthews - 1977
    

The Logic of Millennial Thought: Eighteenth-Century New England


James West Davidson - 1977
    Logic of Millennial Thought, The: Eighteenth Century New England, by Davidson, James West