These volumes provide an overview of British literature in its social and historical context from the Anglo-Saxon period through to the twenty-first century. They trace literary developments and touch on key developments in the history of the language of print culture. Additionally, they provide essential background for those unfamiliar with the unfolding of British political, social, economic, and cultural history during each of the six periods into which the study of British literature is commonly divided. The material for British Literature: A Historical Overview has been drawn from the general introductions to the six volumes of the acclaimed Broadview Anthology of British Literature.

This volume is ideally suited for use as a companion volume in survey courses where the instructor has decided against using a large anthology. It provides an overview of British literature in its social and historical context from the age of Romanticism through to the twentieth century and beyond. It traces literary developments in all genres, and touches as well on key developments in the history of the language and the history of print culture. It also provides essential historical background for those unfamiliar with the unfolding of British political, social, economic, and cultural history during these periods. Included are a wide variety of illustrations, 24 of which are color plates. The material for British Literature: A Historical Overview has been drawn from the general introductions to the six volumes of the acclaimed Broadview Anthology of British Literature. A Historical Overview, Volume A is also available; this covers the medieval period through the eighteenth century.

In all six of its volumes The Broadview Anthology of British Literature presents British literature in a truly distinctive light. Fully grounded in sound literary and historical scholarship, the anthology takes a fresh approach to many canonical authors, and includes a wide selection of work by lesser-known writers. The anthology also provides wide-ranging coverage of the worldwide connections of British literature, and it pays attention throughout to issues of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. It includes comprehensive introductions to each period, providing in each case an overview of the historical and cultural as well as the literary background. It features accessible and engaging headnotes for all authors, extensive explanatory annotations, and an unparalleled number of illustrations and contextual materials. Innovative, authoritative and comprehensive, The Broadview Anthology of British Literature has established itself as a leader in the field. The full anthology comprises six bound volumes, together with an extensive website component; the latter has been edited, annotated, and designed according to the same high standards as the bound book component of the anthology, and is accessible by using the passcode obtained with the purchase of one or more of the bound volumes. For the third edition of this volume a considerable number of changes have been made. Newly prepared, for example, is a substantial selection from Baldassare Castiglione's The Courtier, presented in Thomas Hoby's influential early modern English translation. Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy is another major addition. Also new to the anthology are excerpts from Thomas Dekker's plague pamphlets. We have considerably expanded our representation of Elizabeth I's writings and speeches, as well as providing several more cantos from Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene and adding selections from Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia. We have broadened our coverage, too, to include substantial selections of Irish, Gaelic Scottish, and Welsh literature. (Perhaps most notable of the numerous authors in this section are two extraordinary Welsh poets, Dafydd ap Gwilym and Gwerful Mechain.) Mary Sidney Herbert's writings now appear in the bound book instead of on the companion website. Margaret Cavendish, previously included in volume 3 of the full anthology, will now also be included in this volume; we have added a number of her poems, with an emphasis on those with scientific themes. The edition features two new Contexts sections: a sampling of "Tudor and Stuart Humor," and a section on "Levellers, Diggers, Ranters, and Covenanters." New materials on emblem books and on manuscript culture have also been added to the "Culture: A Portfolio" contexts section. There are many additions the website component as well-including Thomas Deloney's Jack of Newbury also published as a stand-alone BABL edition). We are also expanding our online selection of transatlantic material, with the inclusion of writings by John Smith, William Bradford, and Anne Bradstreet.

In all six of its volumes The Broadview Anthology of British Literature presents British literature in a truly distinctive light. Fully grounded in sound literary and historical scholarship, the anthology takes a fresh approach to many canonical authors, and includes a wide selection of work by lesser-known writers. The anthology also provides wide-ranging coverage of the worldwide connections of British literature, and it pays attention throughout to issues of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. It includes comprehensive introductions to each period, providing in each case an overview of the historical and cultural as well as the literary background. It features accessible and engaging headnotes for all authors, extensive explanatory annotations, and an unparalleled number of illustrations and contextual materials. Innovative, authoritative and comprehensive, The Broadview Anthology of British Literature has established itself as a leader in the field. The full anthology comprises six bound volumes, together with an extensive website component; the latter has been edited, annotated, and designed according to the same high standards as the bound book component of the anthology, and is accessible by using the passcode obtained with the purchase of one or more of the bound volumes. Intended for courses that focus on poetry during the Romantic period, this volume includes all the poetry selections from Volume 4 of The Broadview Anthology of British Literature, along with a number of works newly edited for this volume. The Age of Romanticism: Poetry maintains the Broadview Anthology of British Literature's characteristic balance of canonical favorites and lesser-known gems, featuring a breadth of poetry from William Blake to Phyllis Wheatley, from Ebenezer Elliott to Felicia Hemans. "Contexts" sections provide valuable background on cultural matters such as "The Natural and the Sublime" and "The Abolition of Slavery," while the companion website offers a wealth of additional resources and primary works. Longer works newly prepared for the bound book include Byron's Manfred and The Giaour, Keats's Hyperion, and substantial selections from Wordsworth's fourteen-book Prelude; authors newly added for this volume include Hannah Cowley, Hannah More, Ann Yearsley, Robert Southey, and Thomas Moore.

In all six of its volumes The Broadview Anthology of British Literature presents British literature in a truly distinctive light. Fully grounded in sound literary and historical scholarship, the anthology takes a fresh approach to many canonical authors, and includes a wide selection of work by lesser-known writers. The anthology also provides wide-ranging coverage of the worldwide connections of British literature, and it pays attention throughout to issues of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. It includes comprehensive introductions to each period, providing in each case an overview of the historical and cultural as well as the literary background. It features accessible and engaging headnotes for all authors, extensive explanatory annotations, and an unparalleled number of illustrations and contextual materials. Innovative, authoritative and comprehensive, The Broadview Anthology of British Literature has established itself as a leader in the field.The full anthology comprises six bound volumes, together with an extensive website component; the latter has been edited, annotated, and designed according to the same high standards as the bound book component of the anthology, and is accessible by using the passcode obtained with the purchase of one or more of the bound volumes. In the revised third edition of this volume, the term 'Anglo-Saxon' has been removed from our editorial apparatus - a change made in response to recent scholarly work that has drawn attention to the term's historical and current usage by white supremacists. We have also taken the opportunity to implement a small number of additional improvements. We have also taken the opportunity to implement a small number of additional improvements; the pagination, however, remains the same.

In all six of its volumes The Broadview Anthology of British Literature presents British literature in a truly distinctive light. Fully grounded in sound literary and historical scholarship, the anthology takes a fresh approach to many canonical authors, and includes a wide selection of work by lesser-known writers. The anthology also provides wide-ranging coverage of the worldwide connections of British literature, and it pays attention throughout to matters such as race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. The full anthology comprises six bound volumes, together with an extensive website component; the latter is accessible by using the passcode obtained with the purchase of one or more of the bound volumes. A two-volume Concise Edition and a one-volume Compact Edition are also available.

R.M. Liuzza's translation of Beowulf, first published by Broadview in 1999, has been widely praised for its accuracy and beauty. The translation is accompanied in this edition by genealogical charts, historical summaries, and a glossary of proper names. Historical appendices include related legends, stories, and religious writings from both Christian and Anglo-Saxon traditions. These texts help readers to see Beowulf as an exploration of the politics of kingship and the psychology of heroism, and as an early English meditation on the bridges and chasms between the pagan past and the Christian present. Appendices also include a generous sample of other modern translations of Beowulf, shedding light on the process of translating the poem. This new edition features an updated introduction and an expanded section of material on Christianity and paganism.

A quintessential depiction of the Byronic hero, Byron's poetic drama Manfred centers on the interior sufferings of its psychologically tortured title character, who is haunted by the death of his forbidden lover. A radically autonomous figure, Manfred rejects help from other human beings, refuses Christian absolution, and disdains dark supernatural entities far more powerful than he is. Despite (or perhaps in part also because of) scandalous associations between the work and Byron's own tumultuous personal life, it was a considerable success from the start-and soon became far more than merely successful; Manfred exerted a powerful shaping force on the Romantic sensibility for decades after Byron's death. The Broadview Anthology of British Literature edition of Manfred is accompanied by a substantial selection of contextual materials including Byron's original draft of the play's conclusion; influences on the poem, such as Paradise Lost, Goethe's Faust, and Vathek; examples of the Byronic hero from the poet's other writings; a selection of contemporary reviews; and an excerpt from Man-Fred, a dramatic parody in which the protagonist is reimagined as a chimney-sweep.

This volume includes the full text of More's 1516 classic, Utopia, together with a wide range of background contextual materials. For this edition the G.C. Richards translation has been substantially revised and modernized by William P. Weaver of Baylor University. As with other volumes in this series, the text and annotations in this edition are taken from The Broadview Anthology of British Literature, acclaimed as "the new standard" in the field. Appendices include illustrations from early editions; relevant passages from the Bible and from Plato; excerpts from More's 1534 Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation that have been cited for their alleged relevance to the debate over whether or not More himself espoused the "communist" principles of the Utopia he imagined.