Gothic Grotesques

Ten essays on horror fiction, Gothic rock music, science fiction, and fantasy, by a master critic and fiction writer. Complete with index.

Following the death of St. Louis, a new court fashion of ostentatious display was introduced into French stained glass with the advent of Queen Marie de Brabant, who in 1274 became the second wife of St. Louis's heir Philippe le hardi. Little stained glass in this new style survives, since the very motifs that made it different -- large donor 'portraits, ' elaborate heraldry, lavish name-inscriptions -- were targets of vandalism. This study reconstructs two ensembles in the new style, at Mussy-sur-Seine in southern Champagne & at the medieval hospital of Tonnerre in Burgundy. Both can be connected with the extraordinary figure of Marguerite de Bourgogne. Titled the Queen of Sicily, she was a revered agent of Christian charity of the Gothic era. 50+ illustrations.

The symbols and strange images that we find in our cemeteries, religious structures, banks and in our parks are the same symbols that have been part of the framework of the human psyche for thousands of years. While contemporary man may think that they are simply decorative manifestations of a by-gone era, they represent the fears, dreams, ideas, beliefs and struggles that humankind has endured since we began to walk upright. This book surveys many of these icons and will give a meaning for them both in the context of ancient history and folklore as well as a meaning that is suitable for our contemporary times. Illustrated with dozens of photographs, this book will be of interest to anyone interested in historic preservation, ancient symbolism, the Green Man and the universal application of imagery. Gary R. Varner has written numerous books on ancient traditions, folklore, the environment and contemporary issues. He is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies.

The last half of the twentieth century has seen the emergence of literary theory as a new discipline. As with any body of scholarship, various schools of thought exist, and sometimes conflict, within it. I.R. Makaryk has compiled a welcome guide to the field. Accessible and jargon-free, the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory provides lucid, concise explanations of myriad approaches to literature that have arisen over the past forty years. Some 170 scholars from around the world have contributed their expertise to this volume. Their work is organized into three parts. In Part I, forty evaluative essays examine the historical and cultural context out of which new schools of and approaches to literature arose. The essays also discuss the uses and limitations of the various schools, and the key issues they address. Part II focuses on individual theorists. It provides a more detailed picture of the network of scholars not always easily pigeonholed into the categories of Part I. This second section analyses the individual achievements, as well as the influence, of specific scholars, and places them in a larger critical context. Part III deals with the vocabulary of literary theory. It identifies significant, complex terms, places them in context, and explains their origins and use. Accessibility is a key feature of the work. By avoiding jargon, providing mini-bibliographies, and cross-referencing throughout, Makaryk has provided an indispensable tool for literary theorists and historians and for all scholars and students of contemporary criticism and culture.

No detailed description available for "The grotesque".

This is an insightful work on church designs. The writer presents a fresh perspective on the subject by shedding light on the odd and absurd side of church art. Excerpt "The designs of which this book treats have vast fields outside the English church works to which it has been thought good to limit it. Books and buildings undoubtedly mutually interchanged some forms of their ornaments, yet the temple was the earlier repository of man's ideas expressed in art, and the proper home of the religious symbolism which forms so large a proportion of my subject."

Grotesque provides an invaluable and accessible guide to the use (and abuse) of this complex literary term. Justin D. Edwards and Rune Graulund explore the influence of the grotesque on cultural forms throughout history, with particular focus on its representation in literature, visual art and film. The book: presents a history of the literary grotesque from Classical writing to the present examines theoretical debates around the term in their historical and cultural contexts introduce readers to key writers and artists of the grotesque, from Homer to Rabelais, Shakespeare, Carson McCullers and David Cronenberg analyses key terms such as disharmony, deformed and distorted bodies, misfits and freaks explores the grotesque in relation to queer theory, post-colonialism and the carnivalesque. Grotesque presents readers with an original and distinctive overview of this vital genre and is an essential guide for students of literature, art history and film studies.

First published in 1988, this book aims to provide keys to the study of Gothicism in British and American literature. It gathers together much material that had not been cited in previous works of this kind and secondary works relevant to literary Gothicism — biographies, memoirs and graphic arts. Part one cites items pertaining to significant authors of Gothic works and part two consists of subject headings, offering information about broad topics that evolve from or that have been linked with Gothicism. Three indexes are also provided to expedite searches for the contents of the entries. This book will be of interest to students of literature.