Guilty Creatures

In this innovative and learned study, Dennis Kezar examines how Renaissance poets conceive the theme of killing as a specifically representational and interpretive form of violence. Closely reading both major poets and lesser known authors of the early modern period, Kezar explores the ethical self-consciousness and accountability that attend literary killing, paying particular attention to the ways in which this reflection indicates the poet's understanding of his audience. Among the many poems through which Kezar explores the concept of authorial guilt elicited by violent representation are Skelton's Phyllyp Sparowe, Spenser's Faerie Queene, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, the multi-authored Witch of Edmonton, and Milton's Samson Agonistes.

THE TROUBLE BEGAN ON GRANITE LEDGE FARM WHEN NATE BREWSTER WAS FOUND DEAD, face down on the ledge where the ladder fell from the barn roof with him on it. His wife, Patience, contends it was nothing more than an unfortunate accident. The authorities believe otherwise and charge her brother-in-law and her two nephews with murder. The court convicts only one man. But insurance investigator Benjamin B. Beach is more tenacious and he refuses to believe the conclusions. Beach is positive Nates fall was not an accident, the real killer was not identified, and Patience was covering up for her relatives in court. So the arrogant man attacks the vulnerable woman, fully expecting to extract the truth by grilling her for the facts. Drawing support from Cleve, an attentive neighbor whose wife has left him, and Molly, her devoted English setter and best friend, Patience resists her latest aggressor and defends her dysfunctional clan. Disguising shocking conflicts within the family, wily Patience duels with Beach. As the resilient woman skillfully manipulates her interrogator away from the truth, she reconsiders the familys hidden secrets and, choosing the high road, she escapes from her life of oppression in a way she never expected.

In this innovative and learned study, Dennis Kezar examines how Renaissance poets conceive the theme of killing as a specifically representational and interpretive form of violence. Closely reading both major poets and lesser known authors of the early modern period, Kezar explores the ethical self-consciousness and accountability that attend literary killing, paying particular attention to the ways in which this reflection indicates the poet's understanding of his audience. Among the many poems through which Kezar explores the concept of authorial guilt elicited by violent representation are Skelton's Phyllyp Sparowe, Spenser's Faerie Queene, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, the multi-authored Witch of Edmonton, and Milton's Samson Agonistes.

"From the critically-acclaimed author and psychoanalyst Mikita Brottman comes the murky retelling of the murder of Mike Williams committed under the haze of faith and devotion. Perfect for true-crime and literary fiction fans alike"--

Challenging carved-in-stone tenets of Christianity, deism began sprouting in colonial America in the early eighteenth century, was flourishing nicely by the American Revolution, and for all intents and purposes was dead by 1811. Despite its hasty demise, deism left a theological legacy. Christian sensibility would never be quite the same. Bringing together the works of six major American deists—Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Ethan Allen, Thomas Paine, Elihu Palmer, and Philip Frenau—an dthe Frechman Comte de Volney, whose writings greatly influenced the American deists, Kerry Walters has created the fullest analysis yet of deism and rational religion in colonial and early America. In addition to presenting a chronological collection of several works by each author, he provides a description of deism’s historical roots, its major themes, its social and political implications, and the reasons for its eventual demise as a movement. Essential readings from the three major deistic periodicals of the period—Temple of Reason, Prospect, and the Theophilanthropist—also are included in the volume. This is the first time they have been reprinted since their original publication. American deism is more than merely an antiquated philosophical position possessing only historical interest, Walters contends. Its search for a religion based upon the ideals of reason, nature, and humanitarianism, rather than the blind faith, scriptural inerrancy, and miracles preached by Christian churches at the time, continues to offer insight of real significance.