Routledge Revivals English Literature 1962

First published in 1962, this book is a reflection on Sir Ifor Evans’s well-known A Short History of English Literature. In this reflective study, Evans wonders if it is possible to trace permanent elements in such a huge and varied mass of writings? As he moves from the Anglo-Saxon Caedmon to T.S Eliot, or from Milton to James Joyce, he finds out how, in unexpected ways, the English spirit of compromise extends into its literature, along with its love of nature and interest in the individual. In poetic imagery above all the British genius seems, typically, to have found a way of making ‘empiricism transcendental’. This book, which had its origin during the war under the aegis of the British Council, provides the reader with a stimulating passport to a very rich kingdom.

First published in 1977, this concise and insightful study of the life and works of Thomas Hardy provides a thorough examination of Hardy's literary output. Alongside a brief biography of Hardy's life, Professor Page's study also spotlights his major and minor novels, his short stories, his non-fiction prose and his verse.

Continuities, first published in 1968, is a collection of reviews by Frank Kermode that appeared from 1962 to 1967. Kermode discusses a variety of novelists, poets, and critics, including T. S. Eliot, Northrop Frye, Wallace Stevens, Edmund Wilson, and Wallace Stevens. History and politics are two important aspects that are discussed in regards to these writers. This book is ideal for students of English literature.

First published in 1969, Professor Hough’s work examines stylistics – the bridge between linguistics and literary criticism. The book gives a short survey of stylistics from a literary point of view, and tries to answer the question of how much stylistics contributes to the understanding of literature. It brings together continental European work on stylistics and Anglo-American critical writing which has a similar purpose though usually under a different name. In calling the attention of the student of literature to trains of thought with which he is not generally familiar, and with detailed analysis on different literary styles and methods, Professor Hough provides important critical insights.

First published in 1966, this book is contributed to by authors who share an interest in the literary uses of language. The book gives a close analysis of the language of literature contributed to by critics and linguists, examining linguistic theory and poetry, and as part of this the rhythm and metre of English poetry is deconstructed. Language and its emotive structure is analysed, while the middle chapters of the book address the interaction of linguistic dimensions. Two medievalist scholars conclude the volume, giving a well-rounded examination to the broad and complex study of literary style in the English language. This book is suitable for students and scholars concerned with English literature and linguistics.

First published in English in 1968, this book provides a critical guide to the wide field of the Middle English Romances and gives a helpful survey of the contemporary state of scholarship. Dr Mehl traces the development of Middle English Romances from thee thirteenth to the end of the fourteenth century, and interprets a number of these romances. The emphasis is literary, on their form and dominant themes rather than source-material or language.

Originally published in 1991, Gulliver and the Gentle Reader critically examines the writing of Jonathan Swift. The book is predominately concerned with what Rawson coins ‘the "unofficial" energies’ which work below the surface of Swift’s conscious themes. Alongside this discussion, Rawson provides detailed studies on historical, cultural and psychological relationships, and the connections that exist between these areas and more extreme writers of the later period such as Breton, Mailer, and Yeats, as well as the connections with the writers such as his contemporary Pope, and those that followed such as Johnson, and Sterne. This book will be of interest to students of literature, as well as those researching in the area of literature.

First published in 1984, this biography gives an account of Jonathan Swift’s political ideas and provides a critical commentary on his major works. With its emphasis on Swift as a political writer, the title offers a revision of the prevailing view of Swift’s politics and its application in the study of his works. Alan Downie argues that in terms of the party politics of the day Swift is neither a Whig nor Tory. Swift thought of himself as an ‘Old Whig’, and said he was ‘of the old Whig principles, without the modern articles and refinements’. Downie shows how Swift’s writings consistently make political points about society’s deviation from an ideal. As Swift’s views on morality, religion and politics are so closely linked, an understanding of his political ideas is vital; this reissue provides a detailed analysis of this aspect of Swift’s writings and views, and as such will be of great interest to any students researching his satire.