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Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Poetry & poets
Canidia is one of the most well-attested witches in Latin
literature. She appears in no fewer than six of Horace's poems,
three of which she has a prominent role in. Throughout Horace's
Epodes and Satires she perpetrates acts of grave desecration,
kidnapping, murder, magical torture and poisoning. She invades the
gardens of Horace's literary patron Maecenas, rips apart a lamb
with her teeth, starves a Roman child to death, and threatens to
unnaturally prolong Horace's life to keep him in a state of
perpetual torment. She can be seen as an anti-muse: Horace
repeatedly sets her in opposition to his literary patron, casts her
as the personification of his iambic poetry, and gives her the
surprising honor of concluding not only his Epodes but also his
second book of Satires. This volume is the first comprehensive
treatment of Canidia. It offers translations of each of the three
poems which feature Canidia as a main character as well as the
relevant portions from the other three poems in which Canidia plays
a minor role. These translations are accompanied by extensive
analysis of Canidia's part in each piece that takes into account
not only the poems' literary contexts but their magico-religious
details.
Fleeing the ashes of Troy, Aeneas, Achilles' mighty foe in the
Iliad, begins an incredible journey to fulfill his destiny as the
founder of Rome. His voyage will take him through stormy seas,
entangle him in a tragic love affair, and lure him into the world
of the dead itself -- all the way tormented by the vengeful Juno,
Queen of the Gods. Ultimately, he reaches the promised land of
Italy where, after bloody battles and with high hopes, he founds
what will become the Roman empire.
Even lovers of Dylan Thomas's poems are often puzzled by his habits
of language, which sometimes take the form of unusual diction and
unique perceptions. This study, on the hundredth anniversary of his
birth, is a must-read for both Thomas's fans and newcomers
interested in an introduction to his works and the unique
sensibility that created them. Chapters are devoted to his poetic
perspectives, ranging from the microscopic to the cosmic; his
unusual perceptions of the world, which some critics have described
as those of an almost altered reality; his diction, or working
vocabulary; his penchant for refurbishing cliches; his hilarious
sense of humor and linguistic playfulness; his development as a
poet; and his concern for sound, often resulting in a lofty, at
times Biblical, though secular, tone. In summary, the study fully
explores the heart and mind behind the poems, and shows why his
work will always remain in the top rank of English poetry.
Packed full of analysis and interpretation, historical background,
discussions and commentaries, York Notes will help you get right to
the heart of the text you're studying, whether it's poetry, a play
or a novel. You'll learn all about the historical context of the
piece; find detailed discussions of key passages and characters;
learn interesting facts about the text; and discover structures,
patterns and themes that you may never have known existed. In the
Advanced Notes, specific sections on critical thinking, and advice
on how to read critically yourself, enable you to engage with the
text in new and different ways. Full glossaries, self-test
questions and suggested reading lists will help you fully prepare
for your exam, while internet links and references to film, TV,
theatre and the arts combine to fully immerse you in your chosen
text. York Notes offer an exciting and accessible key to your text,
enabling you to develop your ideas and transform your studies!
Drawing extensively on archival research, The Late Cantos of Ezra
Pound critically explores the textual history of Pound's late
verse, namely Section: Rock-Drill (1955) and Thrones (1959).
Examining unpublished letters, draft manuscripts and other
prepublication material, this book addresses the composition,
revision and dissemination of these difficult texts in order to
shed new light on their significance to Pound's wider project, his
methods and techniques, and the structures of authority -literary
and political-that govern the meaning of his poetry. Illustrated by
reproductions of archival documents, The Late Cantos of Ezra Pound
is an innovative new study of one of the most important poets of
the 20th century.
An exploration of the burgeoning field of Anglophone Asian diaspora
poetry, this book draws on the thematic concerns of Hong Kong,
Asian-American and British Asian poets from the wider Chinese or
East Asian diasporic culture to offer a transnational understanding
of the complex notions of home, displacement and race in a
globalised world. Located within current discourse surrounding
Asian poetry, postcolonial and migrant writing, and bridging the
fields of literary and cultural criticism with author interviews,
this book provides close readings on established and emerging
Chinese diasporic poets' work by incorporating the writers' own
reflections on their craft through interviews with some of those
featured. In doing so, Jennifer Wong explores the usefulness and
limitations of existing labels and categories in reading the works
of selected poets from specific racial, socio-cultural, linguistic
environments and gender backgrounds, including Bei Dao, Li-Young
Lee, Marilyn Chin, Hannah Lowe and Sarah Howe, Nina Mingya Powles
and Mary Jean Chan. Incorporating scholarship from both the East
and the West, Wong demonstrates how these poets' experimentation
with poetic language and forms serve to challenge the changing
notions of homeland, family, history and identity, offering new
evaluations of contemporary diasporic voices.
Undeniably one of the great poets, as this work shows, Cowper
nevertheless sought inspiration using people and resources, often
ruthlessly, to that end. He is shown to have had ultimately a
highly defensive view of himself to enable him to work and live,
paradoxically, on his own terms.
Claudia Brodsky marshals her equal expertise in literature and
philosophy to redefine the terms and trajectory of the theory and
interpretation of modern poetry. Taking her cue from Wordsworth's
revolutionary understanding of "real language," Brodsky unfolds a
provocative new theory of poetry, a way of looking at poetry that
challenges traditional assumptions. Analyzing both theory and
practice, and taking in a broad swathe of writers and thinkers from
Wordsworth to Rousseau to Hegel to Proust, Brodsky is at pains to
draw out the transformative, active, and effective power of
literature. Poetry, she says, is only worthy of the name when it is
not the property of the poet but of society, when it is valued for
what it does. Words' Worth is a bold new work, by a leading scholar
of literature, which demands a response from all students and
scholars of modern poetry.
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