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Humankind has always been fascinated by the world in which it finds
itself, and puzzled by its relations to it. Today that fascination
is often expressed in what is now called 'green' terms, reflecting
concerns about the non-human natural world, puzzlement about the
way in which we relate to it, and anxiety about what we, as humans,
are doing to it. Literature is often a medium for expressing these
reactions and ecocriticism its most appropriate critical mode.
Drawing on current political and socio-economical concerns, such
'green criticism' acknowledges that attempts to understand our
often conflicting reactions to the natural world reveal something
about ourselves and perhaps also lift us out of ourselves. Such
combinations of reaction are also to be found within late medieval
English literature and it is these which form the focus of this
book. Greenery offers new readings of middle English texts, both
familiar and less familiar, which are informed by ecocriticism.
After considering general issues pertaining to green criticism,
Greenery moves on to a series of individual chapters arranged by
theme (earth, trees, wilds, sea, gardens and fields) which provide
individual close readings of selections from such familiar texts as
Malory's Morte D'Arthur, Chaucer's Knight's and Franklin's Tales,
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Langland's Piers Plowman. These
discussions are contextualized by considering them alongside
hitherto marginalized texts such as lyrics, Patience and the
romance Sir Orfeo. The result is a study which reinvigorates our
customary reading of late middle English literary texts while also
allows us to reflect upon the vibrant new school of ecocriticism
itself.
Humankind has always been fascinated by the world in which it finds
itself, and puzzled by its relations to it. Today that fascination
is often expressed in what is now called 'green' terms, reflecting
concerns about the non-human natural world, puzzlement about how we
relate to it, and anxiety about what we, as humans, are doing to
it. So called green or eco-criticism acknowledges this concern.
Greenery reaches back and offers new readings of English texts,
both known and unfamiliar, informed by eco-criticism. After
considering general issues pertaining to green criticism, Greenery
moves on to a series of individual chapters arranged by theme
(earth, trees, wilds, sea, gardens and fields) which provide
individual close readings of selections from such familiar texts as
Malory's Morte D'Arthur, Chaucer's Knight's and Franklin's Tales,
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Langland's Piers Plowman. These
discussions are contextualized by considering them alongside
hitherto marginalized texts such as lyrics, Patience and the
romance Sir Orfeo. The result is a study which reinvigorates our
customary reading of late Middle English literary texts while also
allows us to reflect upon the vibrant new school of eco-criticism
itself. -- .
A fresh approach to ambiguities of language in Piers Plowman.
Starting from a consideration of medieval definitions of the word
as both logos and verbum, this reading of Piers Plowmanshows that
both scholastic and mystic attitudes to language are at play within
the poem.Concepts of authority, authorship, interpretation and
translation are explored and it is made clear that these are
inextricably linked, both in critical debates and in the text
itself. The study progresses towards a conclusion that the full
potential of language can be realised only when the desire to
express things unambiguously is abandoned and ambiguity itself is
allowed to be a power and a way of understanding. The rich fabric
of Langland's text thusbecomes something to enjoy and participate
in, rather than battle with or seek to control. Furthermore, it
proves to be a meeting point for medieval and modern theories of
text and reading, which are themselves enlivened by this complex
and vivid poem. G.A. RUDD lectures in English at the University of
Liverpool.
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Literature and Science (Hardcover)
Sharon Ruston; Contributions by Alice Jenkins, Brian Baker, David Amigoni, Elaine Hobby, …
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R1,904
Discovery Miles 19 040
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Essays exploring the complex relationship between literature and
science. In 1959 C. P. Snow memorably described the `gulf of mutual
incomprehension' which existed between `literary intellectuals' and
scientists, referring to them as `two cultures'. This volume looks
at the extent to which this has changed. Ranging from the middle
ages to twentieth-century science fiction and literary theory, and
using different texts, genres, and methodologies, the essays
collected here demonstrate the complexity of literature, science,
and theinterfaces between them. Texts and authors discussed include
Ian McEwan's Saturday; Sheridan le Fanu; The Birth of Mankind;
Franco Morretti; Anna Barbauld; Dorothy L. Sayers; The Cloud of
Unknowing; George Eliot and Mary Wollstonecraft. Dr SHARON RUSTON
is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Keele.
CONTRIBUTORS: SHARON RUSTON, GILLIAN RUDD, ELAINE HOBBY, ALICE
JENKINS, KATY PRICE, MARTIN WILLIS, BRIAN BAKER, DAVID AMIGONI
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