Poetry : Ancient, Classical & Medieval

Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship. This work of Anglo-Saxon literature dates to between the 8th and the 11th century, the only surviving European manuscript dating to circa 1010. At 3183 lines, it is notable for its length. It has risen to national epic status in England. In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, battles three antagonists: Grendel, who is attacking the Danish mead hall called Heorot and its inhabitants; Grendel's mother; and, later in life after returning to Geatland (modern southern Sweden) and becoming a king, an unnamed dragon. He is mortally wounded in the final battle, and after his death he is buried in a barrow in Geatland by his retainers. [Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf under the terms of the GNU-FDL] more...

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This volume on the Roman poet Ovid (43 BCE - 17 CE) contains articles by 14 international scholars. Contributions cover a wide range of topics, including a biographical essay, a survey of the major manuscripts and textual traditions, and a comprehensive discussion of Ovid's style more...

Price: $286.00

This introduction presents the major themes, forms and styles of Russian poetry. Using examples from Russia's greatest poets, Wachtel draws on three centuries of verse, from the beginnings of secular literature in the eighteenth century to the present. more...

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In this learned, lively, and wide-ranging book, Steve Ellis conducts us on a tour of the appearances that the greatest writer of Middle English has made throughout English-speaking culture in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Surveying the uses to which Chaucer has been put in modern times, Ellis presents a compelling picture that goes beyond the figure and work of this eminent writer to show us the reach of his imaginative power.“An attractively lucid book, highly intelligent, perceptive, wide-ranging, but also modestly written. The story Ellis has to tell is often quite extraordinary, and it has not been told before.”-Derek Pearsall, Gurney Professor of English, Emeritus, Harvard University more...

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The Supplement builds on the original Chrétien de Troyes Bibliography; together the two volumes constitute the fullest and most complete bibliographical source now available on this major medieval author. The bibliography lists recent Chrétien scholarship under twenty-two topics, with numerous sub-sections under each topic, and cross-references for items that treat more than one of the topics. The scope of modern Chrétien studies is evident in items from the five continents. more...

Price: $95.00