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What is the difference between public and private feeling, and
how far can we deduce past feelings from the words that have been
left us? Why do child deaths figure so often and so prominently in
the literature of the nineteenth century, and how was the theme of
the death of a child used to elicit such poignant responses in the
readers of that era? In this fascinating new book, Laurence Lerner
vividly contrasts the contempt with which twentieth- century
criticism so often dismisses such works as mere sentimentality with
the enthusiasm and tears of nineteenth-century contemporaries.
Drawing examples from both real and literary deaths, Lerner
delves into the writings of well-known authors such as Dickens,
Coleridge, Shelley, Flaubert, Mann, Huxley, and Hesse, as well as
lesser known writers like Felicia Hemans and Lydia Sigourney. In
the process, he synthesizes fresh ideas about the thorny subjects
of sentimentality, aesthetic judgment, and the function of religion
in literature.
Lerner's forthright and evocative prose style is enjoyable
reading, and he excels in teasing out the moral implications and
the psychosocial entanglements of his chosen narrative and lyrical
texts. This is a book that will illuminate an important aspect of
the history of private life. It should have wide application for
those interested in the history, sociology, and literature of the
nineteenth century.
Do you see yourself as a linguistic diehard or a trendy radical?
Are you more afraid of being mocked for ignorance or of being
laughed at for pedantry? How far should we worry about offending
people by our choice of words? In this book, the author takes the
reader on an enlightening and often amusing journey. Unlike other
books on English usage, which simply tell you whats right and whats
wrong, You Cant Say That! discusses the issues and so puts you in a
position to make your own informed decision. Laurence Lerner,
retired professor, novelist and poet, surveys topics as diverse as
language change, Standard English, grammar, register, euphemism,
political correctness and the consequences of English becoming a
world language.
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