Literary Criticism

Eclectic essays on ethics, education, and much else besides.Plutarch (Plutarchus), ca. AD 45-120, was born at Chaeronea in Boeotia in central Greece, studied philosophy at Athens, and, after coming to Rome as a teacher in philosophy, was given...

Schuchard's critical study draws upon previously unpublished and uncollected materials in showing how T.S. Eliot's personal voice works through the sordid, the bawdy, the blasphemous, and the horrific to create a unique moral world and the only theory of...

This edition of one of Shakespeare's best known and most frequently performed plays argues for Julius Caesar as a new kind of political play, a radical departure from contemporary practice, combining fast action and immediacy with compelling rhetorical...

The immigration man read my deportation order, looked at it and handed it back to me. 'Are you Irish?' he asked me. 'No' I said 'as a matter of fact, I'm Yemenite Arab.' Two detectives came forward who were evidently there to meet me. 'Apparently he is...

An energizing real-time journey through the translation of Never Did the Fire and the process of literary translation.In Catching Fire , the translation of Diamela Eltit's Never Did the Fire unfolds in real time as a conversation between works of art,...

'Arms and the man I sing of Troy...' So begins one of the greatest works of literature in any language. Written by the Roman poet Virgil more than two thousand years ago, the story of Aeneas' seven-year journey from the ruins of Troy to Italy, where...

For centuries people have been tormented by one question above all - 'If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow his creatures to suffer pain?' And what of the suffering of animals, who neither deserve pain nor can be improved by it? ...

Published posthumously in 1964, A Moveable Feast remains one of Ernest Hemingway's most beloved works. Since Hemingway's personal papers were released in 1979, scholars have examined and debated the changes made to the text before publication. Now this...

Lyric poetry has long been considered an art form of timelessness, but Romantic poets became fascinated by one time above all others: evening, the threshold between day and night. Christopher R. Miller investigates the cultural background of this...

Critically acclaimed as one of Shakespeare's most complex and intriguing plays, Twelfth Night is a classic romantic comedy of mistaken identities. In recent years it has returned to the centre of critical debate surrounding gender and sexuality. The...

Exam Board: Edexcel Level: GCSE Grade 9-1 Subject: English Literature Suitable for the 2024 exams Everything you need to revise for your...

"Superbly acute and unashamedly complex."-The Telegraph "Rich and provocative."-Times Literary Supplement "An engaging exploration."-The New Yorker"The phenomenal Ms. Beard has written another cracking book, one of her best."-The Independent What made...

Perhaps more than any other writer, Juvenal (c. AD 55-138) captures the splendour, the squalor and the sheer energy of everyday Roman life. In The Sixteen Satires he evokes a fascinating world of whores, fortune-tellers, boozy politicians, slick lawyers,...

Peeling the Onion is a searingly honest account of Grass' modest upbringing in Danzig, his time as a boy soldier fighting the Russians, and the writing of his masterpiece, The Tin Drum, in Paris.It is a remarkable autobiography and, without question, one...

Imaginary Maps presents three stories from noted Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi in conjunction with readings of these tales by famed cultural and literary critic, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Weaving history, myth and current political realities, these...

A practical, hands-on guide - for actors, directors, teachers and students - to Brecht's theory and practice of theatre, with a full set of exercises to help put theory into practice. The Complete Brecht Toolkit examines, one by one, Brecht's many,...

How the concept of "deep time" began as a metaphor used by philosophers, poets, and naturalists in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuriesIn this interdisciplinary book, Noah Heringman argues that the concept of "deep time"-most often associated with...

One of Ireland's greatest contemporary writers turns her attention to one of the country's greatest novelists: James Joyce - in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the iconic classic ULYSSES.'As skilful, stylish and pacy as one would expect from so...

From the bestselling author of The Dutch House, Commonwealth and Bel Canto, Winner of The Women's Prize for Fiction and the Pen/Faulkner Award. When Ann Patchett and Lucy Grealy met in college they began a friendship that would define their...

Raymond Carver, who became a master-storyteller of his generation and was hailed in Europe as 'the American Chekhov', wrote of himself: "I began as a poet. My first publication was a poem. So I suppose on my tombstone I'd be very pleased if they put...

Exam Board: Edexcel, AQA, OCR & WJEC Eduqas Level: GCSE 9-1 Subject: English Suitable for the 2023 exams Complete revision and practice...

In The Art and Thought of the Beowulf Poet, Leonard Neidorf explores the relationship between Beowulf and the legendary tradition that existed prior to its composition. The Beowulf poet inherited an amoral heroic tradition, which focused principally on...

One of the literary world's great deceptions was perpetrated when Thomas Hardy wrote his Life in secret for publication after his death as an official biography. Since the true circumstances of its composition have been known The Early Life and Later...

Illuminations contains the most celebrated work of Walter Benjamin, one of the most original and influential thinkers of the 20th Century: 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction', 'The Task of the Translator' and 'Theses on the Philosophy...

More than 100 poems about Britain's nature in a beautifully illustrated book Seven chapters touch on different aspects of the British countryside, including seasons, birds and wildlife, woods, water, moors and mountains. This carefully chosen...

Othello has long been, and remains, one of Shakespeare's most popular works. It is a favourite work of scholars, students, and general readers alike. Perhaps more than any other of Shakespeare's tragedies, this one seems to speak most clearly to...

This prose translation of the Odyssey is so successful that it has taken its place as one of the few really outstanding versions of Homer's famous epic poem. It is the story of the return of Odysseus from the siege of Troy to his home in Ithaca, and of...

Japanese Haiku has been a much-loved form of poetry for many centuries. Composed of 17 syllables, it can convey the essence of an emotion, a fleeting moment in nature, or a throwaway comment. This collection features 60 classic haiku by masters such as...

Treating ancient plays as living drama. Classical Greek drama is brought vividly to life in this series of new translations. Students are encouraged to engage with the text through detailed commentaries, including suggestions for discussion and analysis...

Apocalypse is traditional and familiar, and it is an actual threat; it is feared, desired, and banal. Apocalypse in Crisis discusses fictions from the 1940s to the present, examining shifts in the imagination of apocalypse from the postwar British...

T. S. Eliot is regarded as the most important poet-critic of modern times, the twentieth century's 'Man of Letters' whose reputation was forged not only on the strength of his verse, but on the enduring influence of his critical writings. The Collected...

Even as many in the modern world draw away from organised religion, the great hymns of our time persist: we turn to them at weddings and funerals, at rugby matches and in pubs. Bringing together twelve of Wales's best-loved hymns, from the...

This is the OCR-endorsed edition covering the Greek GCSE set text prescriptions examined from 2025 to 2026. The texts covered are: Homer Iliad VI, lines 370-413 and 429-502 Herodotus Sections XIa (First Capture of Babylon), XII (Rebuff to...

'I could fly to New York and back every day for seven years and still not leave a carbon footprint as big as if I have a child. Ten thousand tonnes of CO2. That's the weight of the Eiffel Tower. I'd be giving birth to the Eiffel Tower.' In a time of...

These hundred poems and fragments constitute virtually all of Sappho that survives and effectively bring to life the woman whom the Greeks consider to be their greatest lyric poet. Mary Barnard's translations are lean, incisive, direct-the best ever...

Exam Board: AQA Level: GCSE Grade 9-1 Subject: English Suitable for the 2024 exams Complete coverage of...

Mumsnet 'Best Books for Christmas 2016''Ideal for anyone who has ever wondered what on earth to read next' SJ WATSON'Witty, engaging and informative. The sort of book you choose for a friend and end up wanting to keep' RACHEL JOYCEThis is a medical...

Notes from the Underground (1864) is one of the most profound works of nineteenth-century literature. A probing, speculative book, often regarded as a forerunner of the Existentialist movement, it examines the important political and philosophical...

Look out for a new book from Garry Wills, What the Qur'an Meant, coming fall 2017."Riveting . . . a double-barreled salvo that hits two bull's-eyes." -The New York Times Book ReviewThis dazzling study of the three operas that Giuseppe Verdi adapted from...

From the Royal Shakespeare Company - a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare's bleakest and most profound tragedy. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of King Lear in performance, takes...