Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0631220569 ISBN 13: 9780631220565

Casa editrice: Blackwell Pub, 2016

Anglo-Saxon Studies offers a systematic study of modern attempts to recover the cultural heritage of early medieval England starting from the post-Conquest origins of this discipline and continuing into the twenty-first century. * Takes a comprehensive look at Anglo-Saxon studies, considered both in its historical development and as practiced today from a variety of approaches * Offers an account of the sometimes contentious process by which knowledge of the literature of this period was recovered and became a field of study * Contains numerous illustrations, including facsimiles of manuscripts and printed texts * Features an analytical guide to criticism of Old English literature, giivng directions for deeper inquiry * Provides a critical overview of this field, inlcuding annotated examples of * ground-breaking studies that illustrate the most important critical ttrends of the past years

Sinossi:

This review of the critical reception of Old English literature from 1900 to the present moves beyond a focus on individual literary texts so as to survey the different schools, methods, and assumptions that have shaped the discipline. * Examines the notable works and authors from the period, including Beowulf, the Venerable Bede, heroic poems, and devotional literature * Reinforces key perspectives with excerpts from ten critical studies * Addresses questions of medieval literacy, textuality, and orality, as well as style, gender, genre, and theme * Embraces the interdisciplinary nature of the field with reference to historical studies, religious studies, anthropology, art history, and more

Recensione:

"John D. Niles has long been one of the most intelligent and creative readers of Old English literature; wherever his wide-ranging interest turns, he writes with a poet's heart, a scholar's sharp insight, and a sure grasp of critical history. One could hardly ask for a livelier or more inspiring guide to the current state of Old English studies." -Roy M. Liuzza, University of Tennessee
 
"Old English Literature is authoritative, comprehensive, reflective and wise, reflecting the author's breadth of understanding of his subject and his secure appreciation of the wider context of literary studies in the twentieth and twenty-first century. The book will be seen as an indispensable guide to Anglo-Saxon literary studies, complementing Niles's The Idea of Anglo-Saxon England 1066-1901." -Hugh Magennis, Queen's University Belfast
 
"This is a wide-ranging survey of critical studies on Old English literature that effectively maps out a complete field, all described in the engaged voice of a toiler in that field who is as generous as he is well-informed in his assessments. Accounts of important studies are leavened with brief biographies of influential critics that facilitate understanding critical movements in their full context, while reprinted key essays provide an added bonus. Through crafting this highly ambitious guide, Niles has provided a service for anyone interested in the study of Old English literature as it has been practiced over the last forty or so years." -Jonathan Wilcox, University of Iowa