1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910969988503321

Titolo

A companion to Old and Middle English literature / / edited by Laura Cooner Lambdin and Robert Thomas Lambdin

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Westport, Conn. : , : Greenwood Press, , 2002

London : , : Bloomsbury Publishing, , 2024

ISBN

9798400629419

9786610637133

9781280637131

1280637137

9780313011115

0313011117

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (440 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

LambdinLaura C

LambdinRobert T

Disciplina

829/.09

Soggetti

English literature - Old English, ca. 450-1100 - History and criticism

English literature - Middle English, 1100-1500 - History and criticism

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [399]-423) and index.

Nota di contenuto

""Contents""; ""Introduction""; ""A Companion to Old and Middle English Literature""; ""1 Old English and Anglo-Norman Literature""; ""2 Religious and Allegorical Verse""; ""3 Alliterative Poetry in Old and Middle English""; ""4 Balladry""; ""5 The Beast Fable""; ""6 Breton Lay""; ""7 Chronicle""; ""8 Debate Poetry""; ""9 Medieval English Drama""; ""10 Dream Vision""; ""11 Epic and Heroic Poetry""; ""12 The Epic Genre and Medieval Epics""; ""13 The Fabliau""; ""14 Hagiographic, Homiletic, and Didactic Literature""; ""15 Lyric Poetry""; ""16 The Middle English Parody/ Burlesque""

""17 Riddles""""18 Romance""; ""19 Visions of the Afterlife""; ""Selected Bibliography""; ""Index""; ""About the Editors and Contributors""

Sommario/riassunto

Old and Middle English literature can be obscure and challenging. So, too, can the vast body of criticism it has elicited. Yet the masters of medieval literature often drew on similar texts, since imitation was



admired. For this reason, recent scholarship has often focused on the importance of genre. The genre in which a work was written can illuminate the author's intentions and the text's meaning. Read in light of a genre's parameters, a given work can be considered in relation to other works within the same category. This reference is a comprehensive overview of Old and Middle English literature. Chapters focus on particular genres, such as Allegorical Verse, Balladry, Beast Fable, Chronicle, Debate Poetry, Epic and Heroic, Lyric, Middle English Parody/Burlesque, Religious and Allegorical Verse, and Romance. Expert contributors define the primary characteristics of each genre and discuss relevant literary works. Chapters provide extensive reviews of scholarship and close with detailed bibliographies. A more thorough bibliography of major scholarly studies closes the book.