English 241 British Literature

An illustrated look at various aspects of life in medieval Europe, covering everyday life, religion, royalty, and more.

C. S. Lewis's The Discarded Image paints a lucid picture of the medieval world view, as historical and cultural background to the literature of the middle ages and renaissance.

Carolyne Larrington has gathered together a uniquely comprehensive collection of writing by, for and about medieval women, spanning one thousand years and Europe from Iceland to Byzantiu. The extracts are arranged thematically, dealing with the central areas of medieval women's lives and their relation to social and cultural institutions.

Examines the history of the Arthurian legends and their role in English and American literature up to the present. One chapter is devoted to Malory's Morte Darthur.

The legend of King Arthur is embedded in British and American culture. Contemporary America, in particular, is a rich breeding ground for the Arthurian mythos, not only in films, novels, short stories, and fantasy and science fiction, but in other areas of popular and mass culture as well. This work is a collection of 18 previously unpublished essays that demonstrate the impressive extent to which the Arthurian legend continues to permeate contemporary culture beyond film and literature

Unravels the complex interplay of the realistic, the grotesque, and the sublime, and discusses the multiplicity of meanings held within narrative and poetic forms.

An encyclopedic guide to the fourteenth-century poet's life and works examines Chaucer's language, historical events, and literary influences in his work.

For each of Shakespeare's plays, provides an introduction, list of characters, plot summary, notes on reading the play, and notes on seeing the play. Also includes an introduction to Shakespeare and his time; a genre overview for each of the four types of play--history, comedy, tragedy, and romance; and overviews of selected non-dramatic poems.

"Whether you are new to the poetry and proses of Shakespeare, and in need of a guide through the complex plots and unfamiliar language, or looking for a fresh perspective on his much-loved plays and sonnets, this book will shed light on the work of one of world literature's greatest figures

In Poets in their Time Barbara Everett brings her extraordinary ability to read closely and her intimate knowledge of the period to an examination of Donne, Milton, Marvell, Rochester, Pope, Keats, Browning, Eliot, Auden, and Philip Larkin.

This critical introduction to Gulliver's Travels aims at giving a fresh and impartial account of the world-famous satire. It characterises the significant historical and literary background to the work, and explores the text itself in the reading order intended by Swift

Note on the Fabliaux -- Introduction. Obscenity in medieval culture and literature -- part I. Fourteen-century pioneers -- 1. Comedy and critique : obscenity and Langland's reproof of established powers in Piers Plowman -- 2. Chaucer's poetics of the obscene : classical narrative and fabliau politics in fragment one of the Canterbury tales and The legend of good women -