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.

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