Representations of the Natural World in Old English Poetry
Representations of the Natural World in Old English Poetry
This book examines descriptions of the natural world in a wide range of Old English poetry. Jennifer Neville describes the physical conditions experienced by the Anglo-Saxons and argues that the poetic descriptions were not a reflection of these conditions but a literary device used by Anglo-Saxons to define more important issues, such as the state of humanity, the creation and maintenance of society, the power of individuals, the relationship between God and creation, and the power of writing to control information.
- Wide range of references to poetic works
- Translations of all Old English and Latin texts provided
- Accessibly written
Reviews & endorsements
"The book provides excellent coverage of a broad range of poetic sources, as well as a close analysis of specific words and passages from Old English poetry that relate to plants, animals, landscape, and other aspects of nature--including nightmares. " Brym Mawr Classical Review
"The book provides excellent coverage of a broad range of poetic sources, as well as a close analysis of specific words and passages from Old English poetry that relate to plants, animals, landscape, and other aspects of nature--including nightmares. Neville is generally careful to define exactly what she feels the Anglo-Saxons included and excluded from their definition of the 'natural world', and her translations from the Old English are of a consistently high quality." Katherine E. Karkov, The Medieval Review
"a painstaking and...illuminating study." Journal of English and Germanic Philology
"Readers intreseted in feminism, discourse analysis, and contemporary culture, will not be disappointed by Confessional Politics. Gammel has done a masterful job of unifying the ten essay in her collection into a cohesive whole, a difficult task given the wide range of topics dicussed." College Lit
Product details
November 2006Paperback
9780521030533
236 pages
228 × 152 × 15 mm
0.362kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- 1. Introduction: defining the natural world
- 2. Defining and confining humanity
- 3. Constructing society: outside and inside, powerlessness and control
- 4. Standing outside, standing out: defining the individual
- 5. Representing God: power in and against nature
- 6. Enclosing the natural world, knowledge and writing
- 7. Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index.
