Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism
|
Buy Now
A History of Ambiguity (Paperback)
Loot Price: R802
Discovery Miles 8 020
|
|
A History of Ambiguity (Paperback)
Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days
|
Ever since it was first published in 1930, William Empson's Seven
Types of Ambiguity has been perceived as a milestone in literary
criticism-far from being an impediment to communication, ambiguity
now seemed an index of poetic richness and expressive power.
Little, however, has been written on the broader trajectory of
Western thought about ambiguity before Empson; as a result, the
nature of his innovation has been poorly understood. A History of
Ambiguity remedies this omission. Starting with classical grammar
and rhetoric, and moving on to moral theology, law, biblical
exegesis, German philosophy, and literary criticism, Anthony
Ossa-Richardson explores the many ways in which readers and
theorists posited, denied, conceptualised, and argued over the
existence of multiple meanings in texts between antiquity and the
twentieth century. This process took on a variety of interconnected
forms, from the Renaissance delight in the 'elegance' of
ambiguities in Horace, through the extraordinary Catholic claim
that Scripture could contain multiple literal-and not just
allegorical-senses, to the theory of dramatic irony developed in
the nineteenth century, a theory intertwined with discoveries of
the double meanings in Greek tragedy. Such narratives are not
merely of antiquarian interest: rather, they provide an insight
into the foundations of modern criticism, revealing deep resonances
between acts of interpretation in disparate eras and contexts. A
History of Ambiguity lays bare the long tradition of efforts to
liberate language, and even a poet's intention, from the strictures
of a single meaning.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
|
|
Email address subscribed successfully.
A activation email has been sent to you.
Please click the link in that email to activate your subscription.