Bücher der Reihe Landmarks of World Literature (New)

This volume is a distinctive critical introduction to Homer's Iliad, the earliest epic poem, and the earliest known work of literature in ancient Greece. Michael Silk deals with the poem's historical context, its composition and its extensive influence, and relates its literary power to the peculiar coherence and inter-relation of such aspects of the poem as its style, character-portrayal and ideology. Through use of quotation from the original and accompanying English translation, close attention is paid to the distinctive texture of Homeric poetry. This revised edition takes account of recent scholarship in the field and includes a comprehensive updated guide to further reading. It is essential reading for students of literature and classics.

This guide examines the stylistic range of The Canterbury Tales; emphasis is placed on the language of the poem, the place of Chaucer in subsequent literary tradition, and an entire chapter is devoted to the General Prologue which is widely studied on undergraduate courses.

This 2004 volume offers a comprehensive critical study of Samuel Beckett's first and most renowned dramatic work, Waiting for Godot, which has become one of the most frequently discussed, and influential plays in the history of the theatre. Lawrence Graver discusses the play's background and provides a detailed analysis of its originality and distinction as a landmark of modern theatrical art. He reviews some of the differences between Beckett's original French version and his English translation, and discusses the liberating influence of Waiting for Godot on such important playwrights as Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard.

The Aeneid is a landmark of literary narrative and poetic sensibility. This 2004 guide gives a full account of the historical setting and significance of Virgil's epic, and discusses the poet's use of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, as well as the most celebrated episodes in the poem, including the tragedy of Dido and Aeneas' visit to the underworld. The volume examines Virgil's psychological and philosophical insights, and explains the poem's status as the central classic of European culture. The final chapter considers the Aeneid's influence on later writers including Dante and the Romantics. The guide to further reading has been updated and will prove to be an invaluable resource to students coming to The Aeneid for the first time.

In this engaging 2004 introduction, Vincent Sherry combines a close reading of Ulysses with critical arguments. This book is essential reading for all students of Joyce, whether they are approaching Ulysses for the first time or returning to the text.

This handy guide places The Stranger, one of the seminal texts of existentialism and twentieth-century literature in general, in the context of French and French-Algerian history and culture. This second edition boasts a revised guide to further reading and a new chapter on Camus and the Algerian War.

Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, written in Japan in the early eleventh century, is acknowledged to be one of Japan's greatest literary achievements, and sometimes thought of as the world's first novel. This book will be useful for survey courses in Japanese and World Literature.

Cantor provides a clearly structured introduction to Shakespeare's most famous tragedy. He offers students a lucid discussion of the dramatic and poetic techniques used in the play. In the final chapter he deals with the varied reception of Hamlet from the seventeenth century to the present day.

In this accessible critical introduction to Dante's Divine Comedy Robin Kirkpatrick principally focuses on Dante as a poet and storyteller. He addresses important questions such as Dante's attitude towards Virgil, and demonstrates how an early work such as the Vita nuova is a principal source of the literary achievement of the Comedy. His detailed reading reveals how the great narrative poem explores the relationship that Dante believed to exist between God as creator of the universe and the human being as a creature of God. In addition, Kirkpatrick takes due account of the historical and philosophical dimensions of the poem.

This is the only general introduction in English to Aeschylus' Oresteia, one of the most important and most influential of all Greek dramas. The volume's clear structure and guide to further reading will make this an invaluable guide for students and teachers alike.

This handy guide to The Odyssey will introduce students to a text, which has been fundamental to literature for nearly 3000 years. Readers will be introduced to the world in that the Odyssey was produced, to the text itself and to its origins in oral poetry. This volume gives a summary of the poem and examines its structure. The unity, values and techniques of the poem are clearly outlined, as are the reasons for its longstanding appeal. This guide delves into the diverse world of the story; that of monsters, gods, and enchantresses which interacts with the very different world of the home, marriage and the family. Students will be introduced to the essential themes of loyalty and betrayal, and guided through the narrative of Odysseus' adventures, which also illustrate the workings of the world and the justice of heaven. Readers will also find a very helpful guide to further reading.

This volume offers an accessible and stimulating introduction to one of the most influential texts of western literature. This guide highlights Milton's imaginative daring as he boldly revises the epic tradition, brilliantly elaborates upon Genesis, and shapes his ambitious narrative in order to retell the story of the Fall. The book considers the heretical dimensions of Paradise Lost and its theology, while situating Milton's great poem in its literary, religious, and political contexts. A concluding chapter addresses the influence of Milton's sublime poem as a source of creative inspiration for later writers, from the Restoration to the Romantics. Finally, the volume offers an extremely useful and updated guide to further reading, which students will find invaluable.