Medieval Writers and their Work Middle English Literature 1100-1500

by Burrow, J. A.

• ISBN13: 9780199532049
• ISBN10: 0199532044
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-04-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In an updated edition of his hugely successful student introduction to English literature from 1100 to 1500, J. A. Burrow takes account of scholarly developments in the the field, most notably devoting a final chapter to the impact of historicism on medieval studies. Full of information andstimulating ideas, and a pleasure to read, Burrow's book deals with circumstances of composition and reception, the main genres, 'modes of meaning' (allegory etc.), and medieval literature's afterlife in modern times. It shows that the literature of authors such as Chaucer, Gower, and Langland ismore readily accessible than usually imagined, and well worth reading too. By placing medieval writers in their historical context - the four centuries between the Norman Conquest and the Renaissance - Professor Burrow explains not only how they wrote, but why.

Author Biography

J. A. Burrow is Emeritus Professor and Research Fellow at the University of Bristol.

Table of Contents

The period and the literature

Writers, audiences, and readers

Major genres

Modes of meaning

The afterlife of Middle English literature

Notes

Bibliography

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.