British Literature

by Faktorovich, Anna

• ISBN13: 9781456304324
• ISBN10: 1456304321
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-10-19
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub

Summary

This issue of the Pennsylvania Literary Journal is dedicated to British literary criticism. Britain has produced some of the world#xE2;#xAC;"s most extraordinary writers, in terms of their technique and structural mastery. William Shakespeare wrote dozens of tragedies and comedies that reflect essential political and romantic impressions of humanity. Charles Dickens mixed socialist, realistic as well as romantic and sentimental elements in his novels that brought poor characters into artistic center-stage. The length of a list of brilliant British authors is extraordinary. The critical essays in this issue all come from established professors, who are teaching literature and composition in the colleges of America#xE2;#xAC;"s east and west, and even as far as Spain. The primary concerns of the essays are: oppression, rebellion and the structural features of fiction. Dr. Kelley Wezner writes about the affect of Machiavellian thought on Jonathan Swift. Dr. Mark Zunac writes about human rights and the colonial condition in a novel by Mary Robinson. Dr. Victoria Williams closely examines Dickens#xE2;#xAC;"s use of the fairytale-like details and structure of his Our Mutual Friend. Dr. Ignacio Ramos Gay talks about Victorian theatrical audience censorship trying to exclude French theatrical productions from the British stage. Lastly, Dr. Michael Cornelius discusses the suppression of homosexuality from the pages of historical British fiction. In addition to the essays in British studies, we included a non-fiction narrative about Dr. Douglas King#xE2;#xAC;"s adventures as a movie-extra during the brief boom in Pennsylvanian film production in 2008. I also included a non-fiction proposal by one of the students that took my English 101 writing class at the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania this Fall 2010, Hannah Schurr, who writes about the need for healthier food choices for college students. If you are a student or a teacher of literary criticism or writing, you will enjoy reading through the interview I did by email with Professor Margarita Boyers of the Salmagundi Magazine, as she gives frank and detailed advice to new editors, and to those who are interested in publishing their creative and critical works in academic journals. If you enjoy reading fiction, you will be delighted to find a novel excerpt from a new novel by Bucknell University#xE2;#xAC;"s Dr. Robert Rosenberg, who has previously published a critically acclaimed novel, This Is Not Civilization through Houghton Mifflin (2004). Another treat is a short story by the retired professor, Dr. George Held, who has studied in Brown and Columbia, and has been widely published. PLJ#xE2;#xAC;"s goal is to provide quality criticism and literature for your enrichment.