Medieval Writers and their Work: Middle English Literature 1100-1500 / Edition 2

by J. A. Burrow

Overview

In an updated edition of his hugely successful student introduction to English literature from 1100 to 1500, J.A. Burrow takes account of scholarly developments in the the field, most notably devoting a final chapter to the impact of historicism on medieval studies. Full of information and stimulating ideas, and a pleasure to read, Burrow's book deals with circumstances of composition and reception, the main genres, "modes of meaning" (allegory etc.), and medieval literature's afterlife in modern times. It shows that the literature of authors such as Chaucer, Gower, and Langland is more readily accessible than usually imagined, and well worth reading too. By placing medieval writers in their historical context - the four centuries between the Norman Conquest and the Renaissance - Professor Burrow explains not only how they wrote, but why.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199532049
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/15/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	7.70(w) x 5.00(h) x 0.50(d)

Table of Contents

1. The period and the literature
2. Writers, audiences, and readers
3. Major genres
4. Modes of meaning
5. The afterlife of Middle English literature
Notes
Bibliography