Literature elevates the mind...good literature, that is!
R.V. Young is a Professor and Director of Graduate Programs in the Department of English at North Carolina State University. He wrote this primer for college students as a part of the ISI Guides to the Major Disciplines series. Young believes, and encourages the reader to consider, that literature needs to be part of the diet of every student wanting to learn and explore the meaning of life. Young's premise is that literature, approached both with caution and abandon, literally elevates the mind, and thus, the person. He proceeds to give a brief summary of various authors and books that every student should consider for their own personal library beginning (of course) with Homer and ending with T.S. Eliot. Young ends with an incredible bibliographical appendix of various authors and titles that would be a great place to begin for readers wanting to expand their horizons and read a wide variety of books.
The book encourages the reader to read more, and I can see how a person could be discouraged and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the books listed - obviously the reader needs to be able to digest these suggestions and take small bites into the large apple of good literature.
A Dictionary of Literary Symbols
This is the first dictionary of symbols to be based on literature, rather than "universal" pyschological archetypes, myths or esoterica. Michael Ferber has assembled nearly two hundred main entries clearly explaining and illustrating the literary symbols that we all encounter (such as swan, rose, moon, gold), along with hundreds of cross-references and quotations. The dictionary concentrates on English literature, but its entries range widely from the Bible and classical authors to the twentieth century, taking in American and European literatures. Its informed style and rich references will make this book an essential tool not only for literary and classical scholars, but for all students of literature.
TMS - Giants of Irish Literature: Wilde, Yeats, Joyce, and Beckett
Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, and Samuel Beckett: These four masters of Irish literature created works of startling innovation and unparalleled literary merit. They defied popular expectations and confounded critics with unique masterpieces that one might think of as puzzles, the solution of which lies at the heart of the modern age.
Understanding the works of these greats, all associated to some degree with the Irish Literary Revival, is fundamental not only to a richer appreciation of Irish literature, but to a better comprehension of modern literature in all its manifestations, for these authors struggled with the idea of modernity and all it entailed, and the fruits of their struggle stand as monuments to the remarkable capacity of literary imagination.
Renowned professor George O’Brien of Georgetown University provides the biographical background of these authors and an in-depth analysis of their greatest works. In the course of these lectures, O’Brien discusses the very qualities that set these works apart and the “Irishness” that characterizes each of them.
Professor George O’Brien
Georgetown University)
George O’Brien is a professor of English. His main scholarly and teaching areas are Irish literature since 1800 and creative writing. Among his numerous publications are three volumes of memoirs and two books on contemporary Irish playwright Brian Friel.
The Routledge History of Literature in English - Britain and Ireland
This new guide to the main developments in the history of
British and Irish Literature uniquely charts some of the main features of
literary language development and highlights key language topics. Clearly
structured and highly readable, unlike traditional histories of literature it
spans over a thousand years of literary history from AD 600 to the present day.
It emphasises the growth of literary writing, its traditions, conventions and
changing characteristics, and includes literature from the margins, both
geographical and cultural.
Key features of the book are:
* an up-to-date guide to the major periods of literature in English in Britain
and Ireland
* extensive coverage of post-1945 literature
* language notes spanning AD 600 to the present
* extensive quotations from poetry, prose and drama
* a timeline of the important historical and political events
This will be essential reading for all students of English literature and
language.
TMS - Rings, Swords, and Monsters - Exploring Fantasy Literature What Is Fantasy Literature - Genre, Canon, History
Origins of Modern Fantasy
Tolkien - Life and Languages
Tolkien - The Hobbit
Tolkien - The Fellowship of the Ring
Tolkien - The Two Towers
The Return of the King
Tolkien - The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and Other
Tolkien - Criticism and Theory
Imitations and Reactions - Brooks and Donaldson
Worthy Inheritors - Le Guin and Holdstock
Children’s Fantasy
It's Never Too Late
Arthurian Fantasy
Magical Realism and Conclusions
Assistant Professor of English Michael Drout is a medievalist who also studies the works of novelist and fellow Anglo-Saxon scholar J.R.R. Tolkien. English Professor Michael Drout, a nationally known medievalist and J.R.R. Tolkien scholar, has been selected as a Millicent C. McIntosh Fellow for 2006 by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. The $15,000 award will support Drout's continuing scholarship on tenth century English literature. The McIntosh Fellowships are awarded to recently tenured humanities faculty "who demonstrate a deep commitment to excellent teaching and scholarship ... and who are exceptional citizens of their academic community," according to the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. The awards are intended to provide outstanding young faculty with the time and resources needed to continue their scholarly work at a career juncture when professional and personal responsibilities present many competing challenges. One of six McIntosh Fellows selected this year, Drout is the William C.H. and Elsie D. Prentice Professor of English at Wheaton, where he teaches Old English (Anglo-Saxon), Middle English, medieval literature, fantasy, science fiction and writing. His scholarship on medieval literature combines literary expertise with innovative uses of contemporary information theory and evolutionary biology.
TMS - Giants of Irish Literature: Wilde, Yeats, Joyce, and Beckett
TMS - Rings, Swords, and Monsters - Exploring Fantasy Literature
