The New Critical Idiom is an invaluable series of introductory guides designed to meet the needs of today's students grappling with the complexities of modern critical terminology. Each book in the series provides:
With a strong emphasis on clarity, lively debate and the widest possible breadth of examples, The New Critical Idiom is an indispensable guide to key topics in literary studies.
By Pam Morris
July 10, 2003
Coming to prominence with the nineteenth-century novel, literary realism has most often been associated with the insistence that art cannot turn away from the more sordid and harsh aspects of human existence. However, because realism is unavoidably tied up with the gnarly concept of 'reality' and '...
By Hamilton Paul, Paul Hamilton
May 22, 2003
Historicism is the essential introduction to the field, providing its readers with the necessary knowledge, background and vocabulary to apply it in their own studies. Paul Hamilton's compact and comprehensive guide: * explains the theory and basics of historicism* presents a history of the term ...
By David Hawkes
May 29, 2003
This new revised edition includes an updated bibliography, a new glossary and index and fresh suggestions for further reading, as well as a discussion of ideology after September 11.Ideology:*traces the history of the term and the debates which surround it, from Machiavelli to the present day*asks ...
By Claire Colebrook
September 18, 2003
In this handy volume, Claire Colebrook offers an overview of the history and structure of irony, from Socrates to the present.Students will welcome this clear, concise guide, which:*traces the use of the concept through history, from Greek times to the Romantic period and on to the postmodern era*...
By Donald Hall
February 05, 2004
Explores the history of theories of selfhood, from the Classical era to the present, and demonstrates how those theories can be applied in literary and cultural criticism. Donald E. Hall: * examines all of the major methodologies and theoretical emphases of the twentieth and twenty-first ...
By Anthony Easthope
June 24, 1999
The unconscious is a term which is central to the understanding of psychoanalysis, and, indeed everyday life. In this introductory guide, Antony Easthope provides a witty and accessible overview of the subject showing the reality of the unconscious with a startling variety of examples. He takes us ...
By Professor Simon Dentith
June 15, 2000
Parody is part of all our lives. It occurs not only in literature, but also in everyday speech, in theatre and television, architecture and films. Drawing on examples from Aristophanes to The Simpsons, Simon Dentith explores:* the place of parody in the history of literature* parody as a ...
By Francis Mulhern
March 23, 2000
Culture/Metaculture is a stimulating introduction to the meanings of 'culture' in contemporary Western society. This essential survey examines: * culture as an antidote to 'mass' modernity, in the work of Thomas Mann, Julien Benda, José Ortega y Gasset, Karl Mannheim and F. R. Leavis* changing ...
By Gary Day
April 26, 2001
This book traces the phenomenon of class from the medieval to the postmodern period, uniquely examining its relevance to literary and cultural analysis. Drawing on historical, sociological and literary writings, Gary Day:* gives an account of class at different historical moments* shows the role of...