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OverviewThis review of the critical reception of Old English literature from 1900 to the present moves beyond a focus on individual literary texts so as to survey the different schools, methods, and assumptions that have shaped the discipline. Examines the notable works and authors from the period, including Beowulf, the Venerable Bede, heroic poems, and devotional literature Reinforces key perspectives with excerpts from ten critical studies Addresses questions of medieval literacy, textuality, and orality, as well as style, gender, genre, and theme Embraces the interdisciplinary nature of the field with reference to historical studies, religious studies, anthropology, art history, and more Full Product DetailsAuthor: John D. Niles (University of Wisconsin, Madison & University of California, Berkeley, USA)Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd Imprint: Wiley-Blackwell Dimensions: Width: 17.80cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 24.60cm Weight: 0.703kg ISBN: 9780631220565ISBN 10: 0631220569 Pages: 352 Publication Date: 06 May 2016 Audience: College/higher education , Undergraduate Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Out of stock  The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available. Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements viii Abbreviations xii Part I Main Currents in Twentieth-Century Criticism 1 1 Old English Studies 1901–1975 3 The Earlier Twentieth Century 4 Literary Criticism: A Slow Start 8 Two Scholars Representative of their Eras 10 New Directions after the Second World War 16 Changing Currents in Beowulf Studies 20 Key Works from the Early Seventies 32 Part II Anglo-Saxon Lore and Learning 41 2 Literacy and Latinity 43 Anglo-Latin Literature: Background or Mainstream? 44 Education in Two Languages 52 The Student in the Classroom 55 The Venerable Bede 58 A Selection from the Criticism 62 Excerpt: Joyce Hill, ‘Learning Latin in Anglo-Saxon England: Traditions, Texts and Techniques, (2003) 64 3 Textuality and Cultural Transformations 76 The Anglo-Saxon Book: Icon or Pragmatic Object? 78 Writerly Self-Reflexivity 81 Reading Old English Texts in their Manuscript Context 85 Authors and Scribes: The Flux of Texts 88 From Latin to Old English: Translation or Transformation? 92 Source Studies and the Culture of Translation 96 A Selection from the Criticism 100 Excerpt: M.B. Parkes, ‘The Palaeography of the Parker Manuscript of the Chronicle, Laws, and Sedulius, and Historiography at Winchester in the Late Ninth and Tenth Centuries’ (1976) 101 4 Orality 112 Parry, Lord, and their Legacy 116 Oral Poetics and Noetics 120 A Selection from the Criticism 126 Selection: Donald K. Fry, ‘The Memory of Cædmon’ (1981) 127 5 Heroic Tradition 136 Short Poems on Legendary Themes 139 Brunanburh, Maldon, and the Critics 142 Beowulf and the Critics 149 Indeterminacy and its Discontents 167 A Selection from the Criticism 171 Selection: Ernst Leisi, ‘Gold and Human Worth in Beowulf ’, first published as ‘Gold und Manneswert im Beowulf ’ (1952) 173 Part III Other Topics and Approaches 185 6 Style 187 A Selection from the Criticism 192 Selection: J.R. Hall, ‘Perspective and Wordplay in the Old English Rune Poem’ (1977) 194 7 Theme 203 A Selection from the Criticism 207 Selection: Hugh Magennis, ‘Images of Laughter in Old English Poetry, with Particular Reference to the Hleahtor Wera of The Seafarer’ (1992) 209 8 Genre and Gender 222 Genre 223 Gender 227 A Selection from the Criticism 230 Selection: Lisa M.C. Weston, ‘Women’s Medicine, Women’s Magic: The Old English Metrical Childbirth Charms’ (1995) 232 9 Saints’ Lives and Christian Devotion 246 A Selection from the Criticism 254 Selection: Edward B. Irving, Jr, ‘Crucifixion Witnessed, or Dramatic Interaction in The Dream of the Rood ’ (1986) 256 10 Ælfric 267 A Selection from the Criticism 274 Excerpt: Malcolm Godden, ‘Apocalypse and Invasion in Late Anglo-Saxon England’ (1994) 276 11 Translating, Editing, and Making it New 290 Translating 290 Editing 295 Making it New 297 A Selection from the Criticism 299 Selection: Joshua Byron Smith, ‘Borges and Old English’ 301 Afterword 319 Selection Bibliography 321 Index of Modern Authors Cited 329 General Index 336ReviewsJohn D. Niles has long been one of the most intelligent and creative readers of Old English literature; wherever his wide-ranging interest turns, he writes with a poet's heart, a scholar's sharp insight, and a sure grasp of critical history. One could hardly ask for a livelier or more inspiring guide to the current state of Old English studies. -Roy M. Liuzza, University of Tennessee Old English Literature is authoritative, comprehensive, reflective and wise, reflecting the author's breadth of understanding of his subject and his secure appreciation of the wider context of literary studies in the twentieth and twenty-first century. The book will be seen as an indispensable guide to Anglo-Saxon literary studies, complementing Niles's The Idea of Anglo-Saxon England 1066-1901. -Hugh Magennis, Queen's University Belfast This is a wide-ranging survey of critical studies on Old English literature that effectively maps out a complete field, all described in the engaged voice of a toiler in that field who is as generous as he is well-informed in his assessments. Accounts of important studies are leavened with brief biographies of influential critics that facilitate understanding critical movements in their full context, while reprinted key essays provide an added bonus. Through crafting this highly ambitious guide, Niles has provided a service for anyone interested in the study of Old English literature as it has been practiced over the last forty or so years. -Jonathan Wilcox, University of Iowa Author InformationJohn D. Niles is the Frederic G. Cassidy Professor of Humanities, Emeritus, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Professor Emeritus of English at the University of California, Berkeley. A former President of the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists, he is the author or editor of a dozen books on Old English literature and related topics, including The Idea of Anglo-Saxon England 1066–1901: Remembering, Forgetting, Deciphering, and Renewing the Past (Wiley Blackwell, 2015) and Beowulf: The Poem and Its Tradition (1983). Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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