Bøger i The New Critical Idiom serien

Illustrates the relation between myth, culture and literature with discussions of poetry, fiction, film and popular song; explores uses made of the term 'myth' within the fields of literary criticism, anthropology, cultural studies, feminism, Marxism and psychoanalysis.

The concept of gender continues to be a central issue in literary and cultural studies, with a significance that crosses disciplinary boundaries and provokes lively debate. This book presents an overview of the language and concepts surrounding gender from their historical inception to contemporary debates.

Metaphor is a central concept in literary studies, but it is also prevalent in everyday language and speech. This volume establishes the classical background of the term from its philosophical roots to the religious and political tradition of metaphor in the East; and relates metaphor to the public realms of culture and politics.

The historical novel is not only an immensely popular genre, but also one that raises fascinating questions about the nature of key foundational concepts such as fact and fiction, history, reading and writing. This guide offers an introduction to both the genre and the critical debates around it.

Traces the history of the term lyric from its classical origins through the early modern, Romantic and Victorian periods and up to the twentieth-first century. This book demonstrates the influence of lyric on poetic practice, literature, music and other popular cultural forms. It is suitable for students of literature, music and cultural studies.

Definitions of humanism have evolved throughout the centuries as the term has been adopted for a variety of purposes. This book offers an introduction to the many uses of this influential yet complex concept and includes a discussion of the key figures in humanist debate from Erasmus and Milton to Chomsky, Heidegger and Foucault.

Offers an account of the term - rhetoric. This book explores: historical and contemporary definitions of the term 'rhetoric' uses of rhetoric in literature, by authors such as William Shakespeare, Mary Shelley, William Wordsworth, Jane Austen, W.B.Yeats and James Joyce; and the rebirth of rhetoric in the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

Providing an overview of the history of the term and the different ways in which it is used, this book outlines the origins of elegy, and the characteristics of the genre. It examines the psychology and cultural background underlying works of mourning. It explores how the modern elegy has evolved, and how it differs from 'canonical elegy'.

Theories of sexuality and desire are commonly used in literary and cultural studies. This study introduces readers to the fundamental critical debates surrounding the topic. It includes a discussion of queer and transgender theory, race, ethnicity and desire; and a preface summarising changes in the field since the first edition.

The topic of 'the unconscious' has figured largely in literary studies for some time. Antony Easthope approaches this controversial subject not in terms of the body but as meanings. It shows the existence of the unconscious in a variety of ways

An introductory text to the history, major writers and critical issues of this genre, this volume clarifies the different uses of pastoral covering: the history of the genre; the pastoral impulse of retreat and return; and an examination post-pastoral texts.

Byron presents the variety of the genre, including its history from Donne, to today's stand-up comedy, definitions, and key issues such as subjectivity, gender and politics.

Offers students a concise history and critical commentary on 'allegory' from its prominence in Medieval and Renaissance literature since the Romantic era.

Includes a history of science fiction, and the ways in, which the genre has been used and defined. This book provides explanations of key concepts in science fiction criticism and theory. It introduces the reader to nineteenth-century, Pulp, Golden Age, New Wave, Feminist, and Cyberpunk science fictions.

Aidan Day considers the history and usage of the term Romanticism, and the changing views and debates which surround it. He traces its history through 19th and 20th-century readings, incorporating contemporary debates such as feminism, post-structuralism and new historicism.

The term mimesis has long been used to refer to the relationship between an image and its 'real' original. A multidisciplinary study of a term returning to the forefront of contemporary theory, this is a guide for readers in such fields as literature, performance and cultural studies.

Mark Currie offers a comprehensive account of the history of the term and its place in some of the most influential schools of theory of the past four decades.

Gary Day traces the phenomenon of class from the medieval to the postmodern period, examining its relevance to literary and cultural analysis today.

This text explores the concept of these related terms and considers the complex relationship that exists between all three. This useful guidebook is an essential read for any student of literature, drama, theatre and performance studies.

"Subjectivity" explores the history of theories of selfhood, from the classical era to the present and demonstrates how those theories can be applied in literary and cultural criticism. It examines all the major methodologies and theoretical emphases of the 20th and 21st centuries.

A guide to the myriad definitions and meanings of "ideology", this title traces the history of the term and the debates which surround it, from Machiavelli to the present day; asks why ideology matters; and examines ideology within the critical frameworks of empiricism, idealism, Marxism, post-Marxism and postmodernism.

This brilliant guide provides an introductory overview of the history of 'literature' as a cultural concept, reflecting on its contemporary nature, place and function, and what the literary might mean for us today.

This lively introduction demonstrates the importance of parody for literary and cultural studies, clearly explaining complex arguements surrounding it.

A definitive introductory guide to modern critical ideas on literary style and stylistics. It will provide students with a basic grasp of stylistics and literary analysis.

Offers an account of critical debates around the idea of performativity. This work also traces the history of the concept through the work of influential theorists. It examines the implications of performativity for fields such as literary and cultural theory, philosophy, performance studies, and the theory of gender and sexuality.

Presents a history of the concept of 'memory' and its uses, encompassing both memory as activity and the nature of memory. This book examines debates around the term in their historical and cultural contexts; introduces the reader to key thinkers in the field; and traces the links between theorisations and literary representations of memory.

An overview of the history and structure of irony, this guide traces its use through history, from Greek times to the Romantic period and on to the postmodern era. It looks closely at the work of Socrates and the more contemporary theorists; explores the philosophical, literary and political dimensions; and applies theories to literary texts.

A stimulating, interdisciplinary survey of the conceptual and political issues involved in the notion of twentieth-century culture. This accessible study introduces important theorists including Freud, Woolf, Orwell, and Sartre.

Coming to prominence with the 19th-century novel, literary realism has most often been associated with the insistence that art cannot turn away from the more sordid and harsh aspects of human existence. This volume offers a clear, reader-friendly guide to debates around realism.