"Why do we spend time reading and discussing books which tell of events which never in fact occurred?" The question is elementary - and yet, as David Daiches suggests in this provocative study, it is the elementary questions that are never answered. Although literary criticism today is more concerned with technique than with the basic question of value, the question of value underlies all the others. Professor Daiches therefore directs this book to the search for the basic function and purpose of imaginative prose and poetry. A Study of Literature is not, however, an obscure book of literary theory; it contains abundant and pungent examples and critical analyses - of prose fiction, of modern writing, and of the nature of poetry. "It's main purpose," as Professor Daiches says, "is to help the reader of works of imaginative literature to see what he is reading, to understand just what it is that he gets from different kinds of reading, and to discriminate between those different kinds."

This comprehensive anthology, edited by the acclaimed scholars of modernism, Richard Ellmann and Charles Feidelson, is arranged thematically with essential readings from the Western European tradition symbolism, realism, nature, cultural history, the unconscious, myth, self-consciousness, existence, and faith. Readings include examples from Romanticism, the aesthetic movement of the late 19th century, the art theories of cubism, dadaism and futurism, and the philosophical queries of existentialism. Writers represented span the 19th and early 20th centuries and include Wilde, Rilke, Picasso, Baudelaire, Yeats, Nietzsche, Eliot, Joyce, Pound, Marx and Sartre.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

In this new edition of his landmark book, John Gross traces the shifting fortunes of the men who shaped literary opinion in England during the Victorian, Edwardian, and contemporary eras. He brings together famous or forgotten critics and editors-prophets, aesthetes, statesmen, dons, radicals, social climbers, idealists, gossipmongers, and literary lions-and explores not only their critical ideas but also their personalities, careers, social backgrounds, and politics. He looks at "the higher journalism;" the expansion of the reading public, the byways of British liberalism, and the rise of literature as an academic subject, and the impact of modernism. In all a remarkable survey, to which Mr. Gross has now added updates on several literary careers, the new style of critics who have evolved from the universities, and the dominant role of the media. "A brilliant account of English literary culture which is as engaging as it is illuminating"-Lionel Trilling. "Extremely readable.... The book is strewn with marvelous bits: deft aperçus, biographical portraits of great subtlety and force, wit, commonsensical intelligence everywhere. It is a book that no one who cares about the state of literature can afford to neglect."-Joseph Epstein.

Herod: A Biography is a book written by Jacob S. Minkin that explores the life and legacy of one of the most notorious figures in biblical history, Herod the Great. The book provides a detailed and comprehensive account of Herod's life, from his rise to power in Judea to his death and the aftermath of his reign. Minkin draws on a wide range of historical sources, including ancient texts, archaeological evidence, and modern scholarship, to paint a vivid portrait of this complex and often controversial figure. The book covers Herod's many accomplishments, including his impressive building projects and his efforts to modernize Judea, as well as his many personal flaws and failures. Minkin also explores the political and religious context of Herod's reign, including the tensions between the Jewish people and their Roman rulers, and the various factions and power struggles that shaped the region during this time. Overall, Herod: A Biography is a fascinating and insightful look at one of the most intriguing figures in ancient history, and a must-read for anyone interested in biblical history, ancient politics, or the complexities of human nature.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

"Climats" is a profound and elegant psychological novel that explores the intricate complexities of human relationships, love, and the shifting emotional landscapes of the heart. Written by the celebrated French author André Maurois, this masterpiece delves into the lives of Philippe Marcenat and the women who shape his existence, offering a searingly honest portrayal of the joys and devastations of romantic obsession. The narrative is divided into two compelling perspectives. The first part follows Philippe as he recounts his tumultuous marriage to the ethereal but elusive Odile, whose need for freedom clashes with his possessive nature. In the second part, Philippe's second wife, Isabelle, provides a contrasting viewpoint, revealing the challenges of living in the shadow of a past love and the struggle to create a lasting bond. Through these dual narratives, Maurois examines how personal "climates"-the emotional atmospheres individuals bring to their relationships-can both attract and repel, leading to cycles of misunderstanding and longing. Regarded as a classic of 20th-century literature, "Climats" remains a timeless meditation on the nature of jealousy, the difficulty of truly knowing another person, and the pursuit of happiness within the confines of marriage. Its lyrical prose and keen psychological insights continue to resonate with readers seeking a deep understanding of the human condition. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This extraordinary collection is the first to present the unprecedented range of American Jewish fiction today, from the acclaimed immigrant and post-immigrant masters such as Singer, Bellow, Roth, Ozick, Malamud, and Paley to the new voices of post-acculturation like those of Mark Helprin, Lynne Sharon Schwartz, Daphne Merkin, Allegra Goodman, and Adam Schwartz. Writing Our Way Home limns the dramatic transformation of Jewish life in the past three decades. Its stories arise from such developments as the emergence of feminism, the impact of Israel, the broken silence about the Holocaust, the return to - as well as flight from - tradition, and the birth of an egalitarian religious creativity alongside the further advance of assimilation. It also exhibits the writers' growing knowledge of modern and biblical Hebrew, the wellspring of a new Jewish literature. In bringing our consciousness of American Jewish fiction up to date, the editors emphasize the "open literary community" that has come into being. As Ted Solotaroff characterizes it, "the religious and the secular, the experimental and the traditional, the realistic and the surreal cohabit, and even sometimes nuzzle, more or less peaceably." At the same time, the editors find some developments particularly promising, such as the rekindled literary strategies of Judaism employed by writers "culturally confident" enough, as Nessa Rapoport points out, to turn nostalgic stereotypes into archetypes. Rich and provocative in themselves, these twenty-four stories announce that the Jewish imagination in late-twentieth-century America is flourishing in unforeseen and dazzling ways as its authors continue to extend a remarkably adaptive literary tradition across an array of contemporary contexts.

Israeli Nobel Laureate S.Y. Agnon's famous masterpiece, his novel Only Yesterday, here appears in English translation for the first time. Published in 1945, the book tells a seemingly simple tale about a man who immigrates to Palestine with the Second Aliya--the several hundred idealists who returned between 1904 and 1914 to work the Hebrew soil as in Biblical times and revive Hebrew culture. Only Yesterday quickly became recognized as a monumental work of world literature, but not only for its vivid historical reconstruction of Israel's founding society. This epic novel also engages the reader in a fascinating network of meanings, contradictions, and paradoxes all leading to the question, what, if anything, controls human existence? Seduced by Zionist slogans, young Isaac Kumer imagines the Land of Israel filled with the financial, social, and erotic opportunities that were denied him, the son of an impoverished shopkeeper, in Poland. Once there, he cannot find the agricultural work he anticipated. Instead Isaac happens upon house-painting jobs as he moves from secular, Zionist Jaffa, where the ideological fervor and sexual freedom are alien to him, to ultra-orthodox, anti-Zionist Jerusalem. While some of his Zionist friends turn capitalist, becoming successful merchants, his own life remains adrift and impoverished in a land torn between idealism and practicality, a place that is at once homeland and diaspora. Eventually he marries a religious woman in Jerusalem, after his worldly girlfriend in Jaffa rejects him. Led astray by circumstances, Isaac always ends up in the place opposite of where he wants to be, but why? The text soars to Surrealist-Kafkaesque dimensions when, in a playful mode, Isaac drips paint on a stray dog, writing "Crazy Dog" on his back. Causing panic wherever he roams, the dog takes over the story, until, after enduring persecution for so long without "understanding" why, he really does go mad and bites Isaac. The dog has been interpreted as everything from the embodiment of Exile to a daemonic force, and becomes an unforgettable character in a book about the death of God, the deception of discourse, the power of suppressed eroticism, and the destiny of a people depicted in all its darkness and promise.

Over the last two decades a major revaluation has been taking place of the colonial Puritan imagination. With the growth of interest in early American literature has come increasing recognition of its quality and a better understanding of its place in the continuity of American culture. However, much of the best critical work to date has been published as articles in scholarly journals, and in bringing together for the first time the best work in this growing field the present anthology fills a number of important needs. It is at once a valuabale and accessible introduction for students, a summing-up of a new enterprise, and a guide for further studies.

Step into a world of pure enchantment with "The fairy flute," a cherished collection of poetry from the beloved author Rose Fyleman. This delightful volume gathers a treasury of whimsical verses, inviting readers to discover the magic that lies just beyond the everyday. Rose Fyleman, a master of English children's literature, crafts a spellbinding array of fairy poems that sparkle with imagination and charm. From mischievous sprites to moonlit dances, each poem offers a captivating glimpse into the ethereal realm of fairies, brought to life with her characteristic lightness of touch and evocative language. These enchanting verses celebrate the wonder of the natural world intertwined with the playful spirit of fairy lore. As a seminal work in English children's poetry, "The fairy flute" continues to captivate with its timeless appeal. This classic collection, meticulously prepared for print, offers an enduring journey into a world of wonder. It is a perfect addition for anyone who cherishes imaginative verse, the delicate beauty, and the enduring magic of fairies within classic literature. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

For more than forty years, Paul Cantor’s Shakespeare’s Rome has been a foundational work in the field of politics and literature. While many critics assumed that the Roman plays do not reflect any special knowledge of Rome, Cantor was one of the first to argue that they are grounded in a profound understanding of the Roman regime and its changes over time. Taking Shakespeare seriously as a political thinker, Cantor suggests that his Roman plays can be profitably studied in the context of the classical republican tradition in political philosophy. In Shakespeare’s Rome , Cantor examines the political settings of Shakespeare’s Roman plays, Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra , with references as well to Julius Caesar . Cantor shows that Shakespeare presents a convincing portrait of Rome in different eras of its history, contrasting the austere republic of Coriolanus , with its narrow horizons and martial virtues, and the cosmopolitan empire of Antony and Cleopatra , with its “immortal longings” and sophistication bordering on decadence.

This volume brings together studies by experts in the rabbinic literature of late antiquity and by specialists in the history of the Jews in that period, in order to reveal the value of rabbinic material as historical evidence and the problems and issues which arise in its exploitation for this purpose.

Public discourse has become increasingly vitriolic and punitive toward those who don't seem to fit America's "mainstream." Relying excessively on stereotypes and models of human behavior based on economic self-interest, we too often fail - in public policy-making, legislation, and judicial reasoning - to see one another as fully human. In Poetic Justice, one of our most prominent philosophers and public intellectuals explores how literature can contribute to a more just society. As readers of literature, Nussbaum argues, we may glimpse the interior experiences of other people. Above all, reading asks us to imagine the value of their lives.

In this media driven age in which private has become public we have seen the Stonewall riots, which launched the gay rights movement, Hair on Broadway with a nude cast, art from Mapplethorpe to Madonna, AIDS and safe sex campaigns, drag gone mainstream, and adolescents engaging in sexual activity at increasingly younger ages. At the same time, society continually tries to eradicate open expressions of sexuality and harass those who ignore the mandated modes of permissible sexual expression. Taking on those who would limit sexual freedom, New Sexual Agendas challenges the notion that there are fixed sexual behaviors for men and women. This engaging collection draws on a number of disciplines including women's studies, literature, gender studies, cultural studies, history, politics, and education, sociology, and psychology. Including well known thinkers such as Jeffrey Weeks, Leonore Tiefer, and Mary McIntosh, New Sexual Agendas explores our sexual legacy, from turn-of-the-century sexologists to the inequalities of sexually invested social structures, from the rise of the Right and its portent for sexual freedoms to the myth of women as the subordinate sex. Along the way it explores the limits of trust in intimate relationships, the escalating AIDS epidemic, and the dangers of prescribed sex roles for both heterosexual and homosexual relationships.

Dubbed-some would say drubbed-the "godfather behind creative nonfiction" by Vanity Fair, Lee Gutkind takes the opportunity of these essays, and the rich material of his own life, to define, defend, and further expand the genre he has done so much to shape. The result is an explosive and hilarious memoir of Gutkind's colorful life as a motorcyclist, a medical insider, a sailor, a college professor, an over-aged insecure father, and a literary whipping boy. In Forever Fat Gutkind battles his weight, his ex-wives, his father, his rabbi, his psychiatrist, and his critics in a lifelong cross-country, cross-cultural search for stability and identity. And from Gutkind's battles, the reader emerges a winner, treated to a sometimes poignant, sometimes harrowing, sometimes uproarious, and always engrossing story of the simultaneous awakening of a man and his mission, and of the constant struggle, in literature and in life, to sort out memory and imagination. Here, enacted in technicolor terms, is the universal, symbolic truth that no matter how far you travel, over how many years, you will never completely shed the weighty baggage of adolescence. Yet, as Gutkind proves again and again, he has learned to describe his burden with an ever-lightening brilliance. Lee Gutkind is the founder and editor of the journal Creative Nonfiction. The author and editor of a dozen books, including the award-winning Many Sleepless Nights: The World of Organ Transplantation, he is a professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh and the director of the Mid-Atlantic Creative Nonfiction Writers' Conference at Goucher College.

The immense service that Langer's careful, thoughtful, immensely intelligent and restrained study renders is that the esthetics of atrocity cease to be an exclusive domain of the victims. Many of his writers are not Jewish and several were not imprisoned or interned, and yet all of them have been driven by the death-camp universe. The atrocity of that time and the atrocities that have succeeded Auschwitz represent a continuity that may almost be called a new tradition, one in which the phantasmagoric and horrific is real and the gentle and generous a prodigy to be remarked with amazement. " The Holocaust and the Literary Imagination is a pioneering work of criticism for it impels us, readers and writers alike, to inquire after the basic paradox: how can literature delight and transfix or warn and modify a humanity from whom nothing is hidden, nothing prohibited, for whom nothing is shocking or unreal." -Arthur A. Cohen, New York Times Book Review "A stimulating, perceptive study of the literature of the Holocaust.... Langer's examination of possible stylistic approaches to the subject, from the delicate whimsy of Aichinger to the graphic bestiality of Kosinski's The Painted Bird is in each case detailed and subtle." - The New Republic