Critics Debate – serie

Even productions of Othello based on very different conceptions of the play can prove successful ad deeply moving. Among critics, however, Othello has roused furous critical disagreement, remarkable for the degree of animosity exposed. After an Introduction in which the problems of analysing this play are outlined, Peter Davison considers six critical approaches to Othello: Genre, Historical and Social, Dramatic Convention and Decorum, Character and Psychological, the Play as Dramatic Poem, and Archetypal Criticism. In the second part of this study, Professor Davison offers his own, contextual approach. He takes into account the historical and social context in which the play was written, the context of the play in performance, and the context in which contemporary audiences see and read Othello. He also provides a guide for further reading.

King Lear is an enormous work in every sense. Despite the misgivings and often pertinent criticisms of earlier generations of critics, it seems now to be accepted as the greatest monument of our culture: the most revered play by the most revered writer in our language.In this study, Dr. Thompson first analyses the many critical approaches to King Lear, placing in context the formal, historical, social, philosophical, religious, mico-level and performance-based approaches. In her Appraisal section, she investigates the phenomenon of 'The Greatness of King Lear', surveying the wider issues of the status of 'classic' texts and the formation and perpetuation of literary canons. She also discusses arguments by critics who have questioned the high evaluation of King Lear, and the arguments of contemporary critics whose approaches have the effect of displacing traditional evaluations altogether.

This ebook is now available from Bloomsbury Academic. Bloomsbury Academic publish acclaimed resources for undergraduate and postgraduate courses across a broad range of subjects including Art & Visual Culture, Biblical Studies, Business & Management, Drama & Performance Studies, Economics, Education, Film & Media, History, Linguistics, Literary Studies, Philosophy, Politics & International Relations, Religious Studies, Social Work & Social Welfare, Study Skills and Theology. Visit bloomsbury.com for more information.

Even productions of Othello based on very different conceptions of the play can prove successful ad deeply moving. Among critics, however, Othello has roused furous critical disagreement, remarkable for the degree of animosity exposed. After an Introduction in which the problems of analysing this play are outlined, Peter Davison considers six critical approaches to Othello: Genre, Historical and Social, Dramatic Convention and Decorum, Character and Psychological, the Play as Dramatic Poem, and Archetypal Criticism. In the second part of this study, Professor Davison offers his own, contextual approach. He takes into account the historical and social context in which the play was written, the context of the play in performance, and the context in which contemporary audiences see and read Othello. He also provides a guide for further reading.

This ebook is now available from Bloomsbury Academic. Bloomsbury Academic publish acclaimed resources for undergraduate and postgraduate courses across a broad range of subjects including Art & Visual Culture, Biblical Studies, Business & Management, Drama & Performance Studies, Economics, Education, Film & Media, History, Linguistics, Literary Studies, Philosophy, Politics & International Relations, Religious Studies, Social Work & Social Welfare, Study Skills and Theology. Visit bloomsbury.com for more information.

Following the recent publication of Philip Larkin''s Collected Poems, this study draws on a previously unavailable range of work extending from 1938 to 1983. In the course of its survey, the book exposes the limitations of narrowly thematic and formalist criticism, but it treats with equal scepticism the fashionable tendency to regard Larkin as a ''symbolist'' poet. In his appraisal Stephen Regan argues strongly for the importance of reading the poems historically and contextually. The emphasis here is on the post-war cultural milieu of Larkin''s work and its complex engagement with questions of individual freedom and social commitment.