Literary studies: ancient, classical Books

Book SynopsisThe Decameron (c.1351) was written in the wake of the Black Death, a shattering epidemic which had shaken Florence''s confident entrepreneurial society to its core.In a country villa outside the city, ten young noble men and women who have escaped the plague decide to tell each other stories. Boccaccio''s skill as a dramatist is masterfully displayed in this virtuoso performance of one hundred tales, vivid portraits of people from all stations in life, with plots which revel in a bewildering variety of human reactions. Themes are playfully restated from one story to another within an elegant and refined framework. One of Chaucer''s most fruitful sources for the Canterbury Tales, Boccaccio''s work artfully combines the essential ingredients of narrative: fate and desire, crises and quick-thinking.This new translation by Guido Waldman captures the exuberance and variety and tone of Boccaccio''s masterpiece. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Trade Review'This new translation of The Decameron is especially valuable for the manner in which it accurately imitates the divergent tones and structures of Boccaccio's prose. Boccaccio's art is an exercise in brinkmanship which leads characters and readers alike into a turmoil of moral and social disorder only to retrieve them within his formal literary structure at the end. In common with the main text, this introduction will prove very useful both to the general reader and to the student unable to read in the Italian.' Christopher C. Stevens. Italian Studies, XLIX, 1994

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Book SynopsisA GUARDIAN, NEW STATESMAN, SPECTATOR, AND IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR A new, feminist translation of Beowulf by the author of the acclaimed novel The Mere Wife. Nearly twenty years after Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf — and fifty years after the translation that continues to torment students around the world — there is a radical new verse interpretation of the epic poem by Maria Dahvana Headley, which brings to light elements never before translated into English. A man seeks to prove himself as a hero. A monster seeks silence in his territory. A warrior seeks to avenge her murdered son. A dragon ends it all. These familiar components of the epic poem are seen with a novelist’s eye towards gender, genre, and history. Beowulf has always been a tale of entitlement and encroachment — of powerful men seeking to become more powerful and one woman seeking justice for her child — but this version brings new context to an old story. While crafting her contemporary adaptation, Headley unearthed significant shifts lost over centuries of translation.Trade Review‘Allied to a cunning ear for alliteration, this makes for a text of rollicking, restless verve. The masculine boasting, besting and butchering are duly in place, but Headley adds a sharp focus on the actions and motivations of the female characters ... Maria Dahvana Headley’s radical translation of Beowulf sets out to make you look again at the Norse epic … If you’ve ever struggled with the poem, this is the retelling for you, its ferocious clarity turning Beowulf into a Hollywood superhero.’ -- Rishi Dastidar * The Guardian *‘[The Mere Wife] includes some tantalising snippets of Beowulf as translated by Headley. Now we have the full version, and it is electrifying … It is brash and belligerent, lunatic and invigorating, with passages of sublime poetry punctuated by obscenities and social-media shorthand … With a Beowulf defiantly of and for this historical moment, Headley reclaims the poem for her audience as well as for herself.’ -- Ruth Franklin * The New Yorker *‘Bold … Electrifying.’ -- Ron Charles * The Washington Post *‘There is a glory and thrill to her verse, which brings the blood, fire and youthful energy of the original to the surface … a gift.’ -- Hetta Howes * TLS *‘Maria Dahvana Headley’s decision to make Beowulf a bro puts his macho bluster in a whole new light.’ -- Andrea Kannapell * The New York Times *‘Maria Dahvana Headley has made an enthralling, scalding, contemporary epic; she combines newly-wrought ancient kennings with US street slang and lights up the women in the poem with unusual sympathy.’ -- Marina Warner * New Statesman 'Books of the Year' *‘Her verse has a swaggering, street-smart bite.’ -- Alex Diggins * The Sunday Telegraph *‘An iconic work of early English literature comes in for up-to-the-minute treatment … Headley’s language and pacing keep perfect track with the events she describes … [giving] the 3,182-line text immediacy without surrendering a bit of its grand poetry. Some purists may object to the small liberties Headley has taken with the text, but her version is altogether brilliant.’ STARRED REVIEW * Kirkus Reviews *‘Beowulf is an ancient tale of men battling monsters, but Headley has made it wholly modern, with language as piercing and relevant as Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Prize-winning album DAMN. With scintillating inversions and her use of au courant idiom — the poem begins with the word ‘Bro!’ and Queen Wealhtheow is ‘hashtag: blessed’ — Headley asks one to consider not only present conflicts in light of those of the past, but also the line between human and inhuman, power and powerlessness, and the very nature of moral transformation, the ‘suspicion that at any moment a person might shift from hero into howling wretch.’ The women of Beowulf have often been sidelined. Not so here.’ -- Danielle Trussoni * The New York Times Book Review *‘Move over, Tolkien and Heaney. This translation of Beowulf into muscular urban slang is electric … The American novelist’s sharp new version slices clean and bright to the brutal heart of this ancient adventure like a sword snatched from the dull grey stone of academia.’ -- Helen Brown * The Telegraph *‘Stupendous … exhilarating and dangerous.’ -- Philip Hensher * The Spectator *‘Maria Dahvana Headley’s radical translation of Beowulf turns the old epic into a rollicking tale for today, grabbing your lapels from its very first word.’ -- Rishi Dastidar * The Guardian *‘I have a lot of things to say about Maria Dahvana Headley's new book, Beowulf … The first thing I need to tell you is that you have to read it now. No, I don't care if you've read Beowulf (the original) before … I don't care what you think of when you think of Beowulf in any of its hundreds of other translations because this — this — version, Headley's version, is an entirely different thing. It is its own thing.’ -- Jason Sheehan * NPR *‘[L]ively and vigorous … I am delighted. I’ve never read a Beowulf that felt so immediate and so alive … It’s profane and funny and modern and archaic all at once, and its loose and unstructured verses are full of twisting, surprising kennings.’ -- Constance Grady * Vox *‘[A]s a poetic meditation on the poem, it’s full of startlingly powerful and often raucously lovely language.’ -- Steve Donoghue * Open Letters Review *‘The author of the crazy-cool Beowulf-inspired novel The Mere Wife tackles the Old English epic poem with a fierce new feminist translation that radically recontextualises the tale.’ -- Barbara VanDenburgh * USA Today *‘Thrilling … she interrogates the text to great effect.’ -- Erica Wagner * The Spectator *‘Of the four translations I’ve read, Headley’s is the most readable and engaging. She combines a modern poetry style with some of the hallmarks of Old English poetry, and the words practically sing off the page … Headley’s translation shows why it’s vital to have women and people from diverse backgrounds translate texts.’ -- Margaret Kingsbury * Buzzfeed *‘Without sacrificing the rhythm, rhyme, and visceral language of the original, Headley’s spin is refreshing. Her use of contemporary slang and tempo make the ancient text appealing to a younger audience … For Headley to find a feminist angle in the midst of all this macho behaviour is a feat — but she does it … This is a translation that deserves a wide audience. It’s clear Headley had a lot of fun with this text, and it is to be hoped it lands on the school curriculum.’ -- Afric McGlinchey * Irish Examiner *‘Headley brings a directness, intensity, and rhythm to her translation that I haven’t seen before. This is what it must have felt like to sit in a mead hall and listen to a scop tell the tale. Other translations may be more scholarly, literal, or true to the poetic form of the original, but it’s been a thousand years since Beowulf was this accessible or exciting.’ -- Steve Thomas * The Fantasy Hive *‘Headley’s Beowulf is kindred in spirit to The Mere Wife — highly conscious of gender and modernised to the hilt — but totally different in form. Instead of changing names or places, Headley sticks closely to the original Old English text while updating the vocabulary with flourishes of internet humour … The feminism in Headley’s translation is embedded in the texture and language of the poem itself rather than in its individual events or characters … Her Beowulf is a tragicomic epic about the things men do to impress one another. It’s as fierce an examination of masculine weakness as The Mere Wife was of feminine strength.’ -- Jo Livingstone * Poetry Foundation *‘The new Beowulf is incredibly exciting from beginning to end!’ -- Jason Furman * Harvard University *‘The new translation of Beowulf by Maria Dahavana Headley is the best thing I've read all fucking year.’ -- Mike Drucker, TV Writer and Comedian‘Finally, a Beowulf translation that leaves us feeling ‘hashtag: blessed’.’ -- Alena Smith * SLATE/Future Tense virtual event *‘Beowulf: a new translation pulls Beowulf into the fraught discourse on masculinity in the 21st century … Headley’s choice of backward-hatterd beer-soaked vernacular has its origins in the grandstanding language of the hero as we've always known him — a beefcake who wants to pull off such incredible feats that dudes will hype his reputation for centuries to come.’ -- Miles Klee * MEL Magazine *‘Maria Dahavana Headley’s breathtakingly audacious and idiomatically rich Beowulf: a new translation is a breath of iconoclastically fresh air blowing through the old tale's stuffy mead-hall atmosphere.’ -- Mike Scroggins * Hyperallergic *‘Joy. That is the primary emotion I felt as I was reading Maria Dahvana Headley’s new translation of Beowulf … I cannot recommend this translation more highly. It is accessible to the reader who has never encountered Beowulf before, yet it intrigues and challenges those who study the poem professionally.’ -- David Wilton * WordOrigins.org *‘The sheer poetry lifts the reader into a realm that is both familiar and even enlivening.’ FOUR STARS * Carpe Librum *‘Now science fantasy writer, Maria Dahvana Headley has cut through with a punk sensibility. Hers is a culturally radical reading with a feminist edge and it opens a pathway to a deeper historical reading.’ -- Barry Healy * Green Left *‘Compelling and persuasive … Maria Dahvana Headley’s new translation is bold, exciting and breathes new life into an old classic. With a more nuanced approach to some characters and some inspired language choices, Headley helps Beowulf reclaim its rightful place as a raucous and boozy crowd pleaser.’ FOUR STARS -- Simon Clark * The AU Review *‘This latest reimagining of the epic is through the feminist lens of Maria Dahvana Headley. Bringing this ancient text up to date is no mean feat; Headley does it with flair, fury, and fresh relatability.’ * Happy Magazine *‘This is a version that is highly recommended, not so much to ensure you’re up with your classic education, but rather, for the sheer pleasure of the story and its execution … There’s nothing quite like reading the book.’ -- Magdalena Ball * Compulsive Reader *‘In the wake of Seamus Heaney’s energetic and masterly translation 20 years ago, it took a brave writer to attempt a radically different one. But Headley’s engaging introduction to her almost rap-like version shows up many of the places where a translation can slant the original this way or that, and uses her own life and times as a starting point.’ -- Kerryn Goldsworthy * Sydney Morning Herald *‘[A] bold and fabulous feminist translation … This Beowulf is a joy to read: Headley has loosened herself from the shackles of stuffy scholarship and archaic language (although do not be fooled – she is adept at understanding her source material) to provide a rollicking good yarn.’ -- Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore * The Saturday Paper *‘[An] incredible feminist interpretation.’ * Keeping Up With the Penguins *‘It definitely isn’t your grandma’s Beowulf … Hooked from the first word … Headley's combination of alliteration, assonance, and consonance makes for verse that we can’t help but tap our feet and bob our heads to.’ -- Kwan Ann Tan * Asymptote *‘The critical aspect of this translation is that Headley uses language to bring the story vividly to life. Reinterpreting the text enables it to sing off the page, deploying verse and modern interpretations when necessary to recreate Beowulf as a flowing, visceral tale … a joy to read and highly recommended.’ -- Robert Goodman * Newtown Review of Books *‘Headley’s Beowulf demands to be read in one sitting … Barrelling along at breakneck speed, pulsating and breathless with excitement, it’s an outstanding poetic feat … It’s an astonishing world, and Headley offers us a uniquely powerful way into it.’ -- Carolyne Larrington * Literary Review *[T]here is precise scholarship at work here and a deep understanding of the language and style of the original poem – but Headley’s translation also injects new life into the epic … Headley is dragon-like in bringing her courage, grit and considerable poetic talent to the task of translation, yet also conveys plenty of its literary tradition … The Beowulf that emerges not only speaks to us but demands to be heard in our 21st-century moment. And what a captivating shout it is.’ -- Laura Varnam * History Today *‘Maria Dahvana Headley has satisfied the most deeply-felt and desired dream of any translator, to transfer into her language the words, feelings and cultural icons of a classic, lost tongue. Her Beowulf is wild and wiry, rich and ribald. It sings and dances, curtseys and copulates, although with a more graphic update of the latter, and it quite simply takes one's breath away … This Beowulf is born and eats from language at home in the world of the internet, robots, genes but maintains the alliterations and rhymes of traditional poetry, keeping the tradition alive and renewing it at the same time.’ -- Indran Amirthanayagam, judge in the Academy of American Poets' Harold Morton Landon Translation Award‘An electrifying translation.’ * The Telegraph *‘It’s awesome how strictly she follows the structure and rules while escalating the giddy gallop into a crescendo of overwhelming terror of the destructive marauder.’ -- Sue Prideaux * New Statesman *Praise for Maria Dahvana Headley: ‘Maria Dahvana Headley is a firecracker: she’s whip-smart with a heart, and she writes like a dream.’ -- Neil GaimanPraise for The Mere Wife: ‘There’s not a false note in this retelling, which does the Beowulf poet and his spear-Danes proud.’ STARRED REVIEW * Kirkus *Praise for The Mere Wife: ‘Vivid and thrilling.’ * The Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThe first authorized copy of this mysterious, much-speculated-upon, one-of-a-kind, centuries-old puzzleTrade Review“For the first time, a complete reproduction [of] The Voynich Manuscript, has been published, featuring essays exploring what is known about the book and extra-wide margins so readers can record their responses to its beguiling, beautiful strangeness.”—Nina MacLaughlin, Boston Globe“For people who like a good historical mystery, this first authorized publication of the fifteenth- or sixteenth-century Voynich Manuscript will fascinate.”—Rebecca Onion, Slate“Handsome and well-produced. . . This facsimile and the accompanying series of essays give a clear sense of the current state of knowledge on the manuscript and reveal the findings of new research.”—H. R. Woud Huysen, Times Literary Supplement“The Voynich MS has inspired generations of enthusiasts dedicated to deciphering it. . . . This beautiful facsimile will make it available for many more people to become enticed and entranced by it.”—David V. Barrett, Fortean Times“The Voynich Manuscript, a volume edited by the library’s curator Raymond Clemens, revivifies this tantalising artefact. . . . Wide margins are deliberately provided for readers’ notes on their own ideas. ‘Bonne chance!,’ writes Clemens. I’ll second that.”—Andrew Robinson, Nature“Perhaps studying these pages in the hope of unlocking secrets is to miss the point. It’s almost as though the book exists in order to make the inquiry into its existence possible.”—Jamie Martin, London Review of Books“As handsome a new book as you could own. This medieval beauty has it all: fold-out sections, delicate illustrations of plants, astrological charts, what look to be alchemical recipes. . . . But the main thing about it—the thing that makes publishing it so quixotic—is that it’s a book you can’t actually read. Nobody can.”—Sam Leith, Prospect“Sumptuous facsimile reproduction. . . . Jennifer Rampling’s judiciously skeptical essay . . . is a careful deconstruction of over-excited theories.”—Kathryn Murphy, Apollo“This new book, reproducing the entire Voynich Manuscript, is a godsend. While the essays offer valid clues to the manuscript’s age and relation to late medieval science, the manuscript itself stubbornly refuses to yield its secrets.”—Roger S. Wieck, Department of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, Morgan Library & Museum“A book worthy of its subject in every way. Clemens and his collaborators have done an extraordinary job teasing out some of the secrets and wonders of the enigmatic Voynich Manuscript in ways that will make this volume an invaluable resource for many years to come.”—Bruce Holsinger, author of A Burnable Book“Many hands have held Voynich’s now-eponymous book over the centuries . . . yet none of them have managed convincingly to solve its mysteries.”—Deborah Harkness, from the Introduction

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Book SynopsisThese new translations present Plato''s remarkable dramatization of the momentous events surrounding the trial of Socrates in 399 BC, on charges of irreligion and corrupting the young. The Euthyphro, Defence of Socrates, and Crito form a dramatic and thematic sequence, raising fundamental questions about the basis of moral, religious, legal, and political obligation. Plato explores these issues with a freshness and directness that have never been surpassed. In the Defence of Socrates, Plato seeks not only to clear his master''s name, but also to defend the whole Socratic way of life, and therefore philosophy itself. The result is an oratorical masterpiece. The Euthyphro, an inquiry into the nature of piety, probes the relationship between religion and morality. The Crito discusses the citizen''s obligation to the state, in the context of a life-or-death issue confronting Socrates himself - whether or not to escape from prison. David Gallop''s Introduction provides a stimulating philos

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewClassicists interested in the development of ancient lyric and epic will find plenty to enjoy in Parkinson's elegant and subtle collection of translations of the principal Egyptian literary texts dating to the period known as the Middle Kingdom ... His beautiful translations and thorough, informative yet unobtrusive commentaries work together to convey strongly the poetic qualities of the Egyptian originals ... Parkinson has produced a book of lasting value here, whose high quality and easy yet authoritative presentation will make these too-long-obscure poems accessible to a wider audience in comparative literary studies, and (I hope) beyond. * Dominic Montserrat, The Classical Review *

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Book SynopsisOne of the most powerful, perceptive and influential works of criticism in Western literary history In his near-contemporary account of classical Greek tragedy, Aristotle examines the dramatic elements of plot, character, language and spectacle that combine to produce pity and fear in the audience, and asks why we derive pleasure from this apparently painful process. Taking examples from the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, the Poetics introduced into literary criticism such central concepts as mimesis (''imitation''), hamartia (''error'') and katharsis (''purification''). Aristotle explains how the most effective tragedies rely on complication and resolution, recognition and reversals. The Poetics has informed thinking about drama ever since.Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Malcolm HeathTable of ContentsTranslated with an Introduction and Notes by Malcolm HeathIntroduction1. Human culture, poetry and the Poetics2. Imitation3. Aristotle's history of poetry4. The analysis of tragedy5. Plot: the basics6. Reversal and recognition7. The best kinds of tragic plot8. The pleasures of tragedy9. The other parts of tragedy10. Tragedy: miscellaneous aspects11. Epic12. Comedy13. Further reading14. Reference conventionsNotes to the IntroductionSynopsis of the PoeticsPOETICSNotes to the translation

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Book SynopsisIn 1536, only fifteen years after the fall of the Aztec empire, Franciscan missionaries began teaching Latin, classical rhetoric, and Aristotelian philosophy to native youths in central Mexico. The remarkable linguistic and cultural exchanges that would result from that initiative are the subject of this book. Aztec Latin highlights the importance of Renaissance humanist education for early colonial indigenous history, showing how practices central to humanism the cultivation of eloquence, the training of leaders, scholarly translation, and antiquarian research were transformed in New Spain to serve Indian elites as well as the Spanish authorities and religious orders. While Franciscan friars, inspired by Erasmus'' ideal of a common tongue, applied principles of Latin grammar to Amerindian languages, native scholars translated the Gospels, a range of devotional literature, and even Aesop''s fables into the Mexican language of Nahuatl. They also produced significant new writings in L

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Book Synopsis''War, the bringer of tears...''For 2,700 years the Iliad has gripped listeners and readers with the story of Achilles'' anger and Hector''s death. This tragic episode during the siege of Troy, sparked by a quarrel between the leader of the Greek army and its mightiest warrior, Achilles, is played out between mortals and gods, with devastating human consequences. It is a story of many truths, speaking of awesome emotions, the quest for fame and revenge, the plight of women, and the lighthearted laughter of the gods. Above all, it confronts us with war in all its brutality - and with fleeting images of peace, which punctuate the poem as distant memories, startling comparisons, and doomed aspirations. The Iliad''s extraordinary power testifies to the commitment of its many readers, who have turned to it in their own struggles to understand life and death. This elegant and compelling new translation is accompanied by a full introduction and notes that guide the reader in understanding theTrade ReviewHomer's epic [is] unpredictably and achingly beautiful. * Nadia Rogers, Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisThis textbook is endorsed by OCR and supports the specification for GCSE Classical Civilisation (first teaching September 2017). It covers the Thematic Study Component 12 and all three Literature and Culture options (Components 2123):Thematic Study: Women in the Ancient World by Robert Hancock-JonesLiterature and Culture 1: The Homeric World by Dan MenasheLiterature and Culture 2: Roman City Life by James RenshawLiterature and Culture 3: War and Warfare by James RenshawHow much can we know about the lives of women in the ancient world? Why is the hero Odysseus such an interesting character? What was it like to watch a gladiatorial fight? Why was the Roman army so successful? This book guides GCSE students to a greater understanding of such issues. The opening chapter examines the lives of women in Greece and Rome, and also focuses on women in myth and legend. The following three chapters invite readers to explore the culture of the Mycenaeans, city life in tTable of ContentsIntroduction How to Use This Book Thematic Study: Women in the Ancient World Literature and Culture Option 1: The Homeric World Literature and Culture Option 2: Roman City Life Literature and Culture Option 3: War and Warfare Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisThis study examines Exeter riddles, Anglo-Saxon biblical poems (Exodus, Andreas, Judith) and Beowulf in order to uncover the poetics of spolia, an imaginative use of recycled fictional artefacts to create sites of metatextual reflection. Old English poetry famously lacks an explicit ars poetica. This book argues that attention to particularly charged moments within texts – especially those concerned with translation, transformation and the layering of various pasts – yields a previously unrecognised means for theorising Anglo-Saxon poetic creativity. Borrowed objects and the art of poetry works at the intersections of materiality and poetics, balancing insights from thing theory and related approaches with close readings of passages from Old English texts.Trade Review'Ferhatovic ´demonstrates how productive the turn to material culture can be for understanding early medieval poetry.'Speculum'Ferhatovic has created a rich tapestry exploring these prominent, unsettling things as they are reflected in the poetry of a culture that knew all too well what plunder meant. His debut monograph provides a sharply argued and unconventional approach to several perplexing and important Old English works, finding a dramatically new angle from which to explore them.'Journal of English and Germanic Philology -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction: Powerful fragments: ruin, relics, spolia1 Encyclopedic miniatures: combinatory powers of loot in the Exeter Riddles2 Architecture of the past and the future: transformative potential of plunder in Exodus3 Animated, animating: bringing stone, flesh, and text to life in Andreas 4 Zooming out, cutting through: resistance to incorporation in Judith5 A hoard full of plunder: paradoxical materiality of loss in BeowulfAfterword: Resistant material remnants in Old English and beyondBibliographyIndex

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Book Synopsis“Really, what other book would anyone ever need?” —Naomi Shihab Nye, author of Honeybee“Elegant and exquisite.” —Deepak Chopra, author of Muhammad, Jesus, and BuddhaThe Big Red Book is a poetic masterpiece from Jalaluddin Rumi, the medieval Sufi mystic whom Time magazine calls “the most popular poet in America.” Readers continue to be awed and inspired by Rumi’s masterfully lyrical, deeply expressive poems, collected in volumes such as The Illustrated Rumi, The Soul of Rumi, and the bestselling The Essential Rumi. With The Big Red Book, acclaimed poet and Rumi interpreter Coleman Barks offers a never-before-published translation of a crucial anthology of poems widely considered to be one of Persian literature’s greatest treasures. Trade Review"Coleman Barks is a pioneer and renown scholar on Rumi, the great Sufi. In his elegant and exquisite way, Coleman has made Rumi as popular as Shakespeare to the world and continues to inspire us with the Rumi's ecstatic poetry." -- Deepak Chopra, author of The Shadow Effect and Jesus "Really, what other book would anyone ever need?" -- Naomi Shihab Nye, author of Honeybee "Coleman Barks found Rumi floating in some Georgia lake and brought him back to life. What a blessing! Rumi says, 'Some nights stay up until dawn, as the moon sometimes does for the sun.' Coleman has stayed up all night, and every reader is grateful." -- Robert Bly, National Book Award-winning poet and translator "Rumi's Big Red Book tells us: 'Compassion builds a door, Restlessness cuts a key.' I am forever grateful to Coleman Barks, restless, yearning to find the bridge from Rumi and Shams to the world we presently inhabit. He is truly to Be Loved for making this 'transaction with beauty'..." -- Debra Winger, Actress "Without question, we can credit Coleman Barks with making Rumi accessible to American readers through his modernized renditions of the best-known poems of the great Islamic mystic... Richly sensual yet never flowery, Barks' language emphasizes Rumi's embodied spirituality in a book to savor." -- Booklist (starred review) "An emeritus English professor at the University of Georgia, Barks has spent 34 years working on Rumi's poetry - you could even say that Rumi has been the secret companion musician Barks has danced to." -- Los Angeles Times "Barks has become internationally renowned for his translations... Rumi: The Big Red Book is the culmination of his work." -- Shambhala Sun

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Book Synopsis''no one else in our times has attempted to write a universal history''Polybius'' ambitious goal was to describe how Rome conquered the Mediterranean world in less than fifty-three years. This great study of imperialism takes the reader back to Rome''s first encounter with Carthage in 264 and forward to her destruction of that renowned city in 146. Polybius, himself a leading Greek politician of the time, emphasizes the importance of practical experience for the writing of political history as well as the critical assessment of all the evidence. He attributes Rome''s success to the greatness of its constitution and the character of its people, but also allows Fortune a role in designing the shape of world events.This new translation by Robin Waterfield, the first for over thirty years, includes the first five books in their entirety, and all of the fragmentary Books 6 and 12, containing Polybius'' account of the Roman constitution and his outspoken views on how (and how not) to write history. Brian McGing''s accompanying introduction and notes illuminate this remarkable political history. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.Trade Review...this new translation of Polybius will be a valuable resource for teachers and students of Polybius and Roman history. The authors deserve no small praise for permitting one of the most highly regarded ancient historians, yet also one of the least read, speak to a new generation. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Waterfield is a veteran translator who is senstive to the idiosyncrasies of ancient originals and chooses the difficult task of rendering them in good, natural English. * Bryn Mawr Clasical Review *

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Book SynopsisFantastic adventures abound in these courtly romances: Erec and Enide, Cligés, The Knight of the Cart, The Knight with the Lion, and The Story of the Grail.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.Table of ContentsTranslated with Introduction and Notes by William W. Kibler; Erec and Enide translated by Carleton W. CarrollIntroductionA Note on the TranslationsSelect BibliographyErec and EnideCligésThe Knight of the Cart (Lancelot)The Knight with the Lion (Yvain)The Story of the Grail (Perceval)Appendix: The Story of the Grail ContinuationsGlossary of Medieval TermsNotes

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Book SynopsisWritten around AD 1200 by an unnamed Icelandic author, the Orkneyinga Saga is an intriguing fusion of myth, legend and history. The only medieval chronicle to have Orkney as the central place of action, it tells of an era when the islands were still part of the Viking world, beginning with their conquest by the kings of Norway in the ninth century. The saga describes the subsequent history of the Earldom of Orkney and the adventures of great Norsemen such as Sigurd the Powerful, St Magnus the Martyr and Hrolf, the conqueror of Normandy. Savagely powerful and poetic, this is a fascinating depiction of an age of brutal battles, murder, sorcery and bitter family feuds.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to prov

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Book SynopsisThis original and distinctive verse translation of four of Sophocles' plays conveys the vitality of his poetry and the vigour of the plays as performed showpieces, encouraging the reader to relish the sound of the spoken verse and the potential for song within the lyrics.Trade ReviewRendered with uncanny clarity and intrinsic energy, the translation shows great patience, ingenuity, and learning in the capturing of the Greek original. It is lucid, smooth, elegant, and musical, captivating readers instantly. Choice deeply rewarding version ... It outshines all the other versions that I have to hand and (I would guess) those that I don't. Malcolm Heath, Greece and RomeTable of ContentsOEDIPUS THE KING; AIAS; PHILOCTETES; OEDIPUS AT COLONUS

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Book SynopsisThis Very Short Introduction to Classics links a haunting temple on a lonely mountainside to the glory of ancient Greece and the grandeur of Rome, and to Classics within modern culture-from Jefferson and Byron to Asterix and Ben-Hur. We are all Classicists - we come into touch with the Classics daily: in our culture, politics, medicine, architecture, language, and literature. What are the true roots of these influences, however, and how do our interpretations of these aspects of the Classics differ from their original reception? This introduction to the Classics begins with a visit to the British Museum to view the frieze which once decorated the Apollo Temple at Bassae. Through these sculptures, John Henderson and Mary Beard prompt us to consider the significance of Classics as a means of discovery and enquiry, its value in terms of literature, philposophy, and culture, and its importance as a source of imagery. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade Reviewthis short and brilliant book ... is now re-issued in an attractive pocket-sized format ... amazing range of reference ... very clear organisation. JT, Anglo-Hellenic Review, No.22, 2000.nobody could fail to be informed and entertained - and the accent of the book is provocative and stimulating. * TLS *Lively, and up-to-date...it shows classics as a living enterprise, not a warehouse of relics. * New Statesman and Society *Beard and Henderson have suceeded brilliantly in communicating the sheer breadth of Classics in this Very Short Introduction.... In language accessible to non-specialist and student alike, Beard and Henderson illustrate how Classic encompasses not just a study of the ancient world, but also of its traditions of scholarship and its influence on the culture of the western world...... This book does not fail to challenge and provoke. Nor does it ignore the problems and current issues that beset the subject and its teaching, but presents them even handedly and with humour, eschewing propaganda.... A stimulating addition to the school library. * JACT review *The authors show us that Classics is a 'modern' and sexy subject. They succeed brilliantly in this regard nobody could fail to be informed and entertained-and the accent of the book is provocative and stimulating. * John Goodwin, Times Literary Supplement *Statues and slavery, temples and tragedies, museum, marbles, and mythology-this provocative guide to the Classics demystifies its varied subject-matter while seducing the reader with the obvious enthusiasm and pleasure which mark its writing. * Edith Hall, author of Inventing the Barbarian *You could not find two better introducers to the Classics than Mary Beard and John Henderson. They are questioning, funny, bold, and widely read in many fields. They could not be dull if they tried. * Philip Howard, columnist for The Times *This little book should be in the hands of every studentm and every tourist to the lands of the ancient world - a splendid piece of work. * Peter Wiseman, author of Talking to Virgil *For those who think Classics is just the dry as dust learning of dead languages this arresting book will come as a rude shock. This is no potted history of Greece and Rome, but a brillian demonstration that the continual re-excavation of our classical past is vital if the modern world is to rise to the challenge inscribed on the temple of Apollo at Delphi to "Know yourself". * Robin Osborne, author of Demos: The Discovery of Classical Attica *Table of Contents1. THE VISIT 2. ON SITE 3. BEING THERE 4. A GUIDE IN HAND 5. BENEATH THE SURFACE 6. GRAND THEORIES 7. THE ART OF RECONSTRUCTION 8. THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH 9. IMAGINE THAT 10. 'ET IN ARCADIA EGO' OUTLINE OF BASSAE FRIEZE TIMELINES CITATIONS AND FURTHER READING INDEX

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Book SynopsisThe first ever translation of the entirety of Book Five of Rumi's magnum opus, The Masnavi, into English. The Masnavi is well-known to contain much sexually explicit content within teaching stories about the path of annihilation of the self in a total and uncompromising way.Table of ContentsIntroduction Note on the Translation Select Bibliography Chronology Masnavi: Book Five Explanatory Notes Glossary

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Book SynopsisVery Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, InspiringThis Very Short Introduction introduces the life, work, and influence of one of the greatest dramatists of all time, Sophocles the Athenian. Placing his plays within their historical context, and explaining the conventions of ancient Greek tragic theatre, Edith Hall spotlights their distinctive features-tight plots, titanic personalities, lucid style, sympathetic women, exquisite poetry, and stagecraft. This analysis is followed by an account of how and why Sophoclean dramas have survived to be read and widely performed into the twenty-first century.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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Book SynopsisIntroduction to the use of runes as a practical script for a variety of purposes in Anglo-Saxon England.Runes are quite frequently mentioned in modern writings, usually imprecisely as a source of mystic knowledge, power or insight. This book sets the record straight. It shows runes working as a practical script for a variety of purposes in early English times, among both indigenous Anglo-Saxons and incoming Vikings. In a scholarly yet readable way it examines the introduction of the runic alphabet (the futhorc) to England in the fifth and sixth centuries, the forms and values of its letters, and the ways in which it developed, up until its decline at the end of the Anglo-Saxon period. It discusses how runes were used for informal and day-to-day purposes, on formal monuments, as decorative letters in prestigious manuscripts, for owners' or makers' names on everyday objects, perhaps even in private letters. For the first time, the book presents, together with earlier finds, the many runic objects discovered over the last twenty years, with a range of inscriptions on bone, metal and stone, even including tourists' scratched signatures found on the pilgrimage routes through Italy. It gives an idea of the immense range of informationon language and social history contained in these unique documents. The late R.I. PAGE was former Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the University of Cambridge.Trade ReviewRemains the only book-length study providing a comprehensive and scholarly guide to the Anglo-Saxon use of runes. The new edition has been substantially updated and expanded...No serious library of Anglo-Saxon studies should be without it. -- John Hines * JOURNAL OF ENGLISH AND GERMANIC PHILOLOGY *

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Book SynopsisDiscover wisdom from our greatest writers and philosophers to help you tackle life's big questions.

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Book SynopsisTaking the reader through the fragmentary text of Petronius' Satyrica in a coherent sequence, this book gives a deeper understanding of the fascinating aesthetic, literary and social issues raised within the text. Petronius'' Satyrica has long been popular with readers of Latin: it is one of the few texts that offers a glimpse into non-elite society in the early Roman imperial period. It is also one of only a handful of ancient novels to survive in any form, and certainly the most racy and controversial. Supported by a detailed contextualising introduction and companion website resources, these selections from the Latin text are carefully annotated for students and a full vocabulary can be found at the end of the book.The selections in this edition put at centre stage the figure of Eumolpus: poet, storyteller and would-be critic, as well as charlatan, swindler and lecher. He is one of the major characters in what survives of the Satyrica; h

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Book SynopsisThe only English translation to include the complete work - a must-have for all students of early Norse literature.

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Book SynopsisThis is a comprehensive critical guide to Chaucer''s Troilus and Criseyde. This new edition has been comprehensively revised in light of the latest scholarly and critical research and with a fully updated bibliography. It includes a full account of Chaucer''s imaginative deployment of his sources, and an extended survey of this narrative poem''s innovative combination of a range of generic identities. The chapters explain how Chaucer builds thematic significance into his poem''s symmetrical structure, and the poem''s distinctive variety in style and language, as well as a full commentary on the poem''s concerns with love in the contexts of time and mutability and human free will. The Guide explores the poem as an extended debate about the nature and value of love, and how love was conceptualized and experienced as a form of service in quest of compassionate reward, a quasi-religious devotion, and a potentially fatal illness always in hope of cure. The subjectivities of the chief protagTrade ReviewReview from previous edition carefully written ... deeply learned ... sensible and judicious ... with monumental patience and humility Windeatt has served Chaucer and his students well * Notes and Queries *provides a rich compendium of knowledge ... highly recommended * Choice *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"This book is a cogently original account of skilled practice, its expression in writing, and its significance for the culture of knowledge as the new sciences developed in early modern Europe. With roots in the world-renewed Making and Knowing Project, it offers an important addition to the histories of skilled craft practice, of science and technology, and of the premodern and early modern periods." -- Pamela O. Long, author of Engineering the Eternal City "This is a brilliant, groundbreaking, and timely book. Through a particularly novel and exciting approach, Smith offers the first book-length study on the way early modern practitioners wrote about their skills. It is a must read for the growing community of scholars interested in material culture and in the ways how bodies, minds, things, and materials interact with each other." -- Christine Goettler, author of Last ThingsTable of ContentsIntroduction: Lived Experience and the Written Word Part 1: Vernacular Theorizing in Craft 1. Is Handwork Knowledge? 2. The Metalworker's Philosophy 3. Thinking with Lizards Part 2: Writing Down Experience 4. Artisan Authors 5. Writing Kunst 6. Recipes for Kunst Part 3: Reading and Collecting 7. Who Read and Used Little Books of Art? 8. Kunst as Power: Making and Collecting Part 4: Making and Knowing 9. Reconstructing Practical Knowledge: Hastening to Experience 10. A Vocabulary for Mind-Body Knowing Epilogue: Global Routes of Practical Knowledge Acknowledgments Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisThis volume is designed to accompany the OCR A-Level specification in Latin (first teaching September 2016), with practice unseen passages from Livy, the set prose for Paper 1, together with passages from a selection of other writers to support Paper 2, for which no author is set. A bank of 80 passages aims to take Sixth Form students from the level of heavily adapted post-GCSE (AS'-equivalent) passages and develop their knowledge and skills to reach A-Level standard. But this is not just a book of unseen passages: there is a chronological progression through the unseens in order to give the reader a sense of the narrative of Roman history, exploring key events through the words of original texts. Every passage begins with an introduction, outlining the basic content of the passage, followed by a ''lead-in'' sentence, paraphrasing the few lines before the passage begins. Part 1 passages are straight translation exercises on the model of the A-Level Paper 1. They also feature, howeverTrade ReviewIf a teacher is searching for a prose reader that has breadth and does not suffer from traditional dryness, that teacher should give this book a close inspection. * Classical Journal *Table of ContentsPreface Abbreviations Introduction to Roman prose writers Grammatical reminders Rome’s story: an introduction to the historical overviews Part I – Unseen Translation Exercises (Livy) In the Beginning (Passages I.1 – I.12) War with Carthage (Passages I.13 – I.26) Rome and the East (Passages I.27 – I.40) Part II – Unseen Comprehension Exercises (Other prose writers) The Problems of Empire (Passages II.1 – II.12) The Fall of the Republic (Passages II.13 – II.27) The Emperors (Passages II.28 – II.40) The End … for now Vocabulary checklists Index locorum

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Book SynopsisA vivid, contemporary translation of the greatest Greek love poet—with a wealth of materials for understanding her work—by a prize-winning poet and translator   Sappho’s thrilling lyric verse has been unremittingly popular for more than 2,600 years—certainly a record for poetry of any kind—and love for her art only increases as time goes on. Though her extant work consists only of a collection of fragments and a handful of complete poems, her mystique endures to be discovered anew by each generation, and to inspire new efforts at bringing the spirit of her Greek words faithfully into English. In the past, translators have taken two basic approaches to Sappho: either very literally translating only the words in the fragments, or taking the liberty of reconstructing the missing parts. Willis Barnstone has taken a middle course, in which he remains faithful to the words of the fragments, only very judiciously filling in a word or phrase in cases where the meaning is obvious. This edition includes extensive notes and a special section of “Testimonia”: appreciations of Sappho in the words of ancient writers from Plato to Plutarch. Also included are a glossary of all the figures mentioned in the poems, and suggestions for further reading.

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Book SynopsisThe Old English epic poem Beowulf has an established reputation as a canonical text. And yet the original poem has remained inaccessible to all but experienced scholars of Old English. This book aims to present the poem to readers who want to know what makes it such a remarkable work of art, and why it is of such cultural significance. Most readers will only have encountered Beowulf through one of its many translations or adaptations; others have had to take on this unique survivor from a past era as a challenging translation exercise, part of their academic study of the poem. This book sidesteps scholarly debates about the poem's unknowns its date, provenance or author and focusses instead on its poetic artistry, its interleaving of heroic pasts and Christian present, and its poet's extraordinary breadth of reference, from biblical history to Old Norse myth. But the strange intricacies of Old English metre and poetic language are explained, an

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Book Synopsis**Shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year**The Penguin Classics Book is a reader''s companion to the largest library of classic literature in the world.Spanning 4,000 years from the legends of Ancient Mesopotamia to the poetry of the First World War, with Greek tragedies, Icelandic sagas, Japanese epics and much more in between, it encompasses 500 authors and 1,200 books, bringing these to life with lively descriptions, literary connections and beautiful cover designs.Trade ReviewBeautifully designed and lovingly compiled * The Spectator *Smartly illustrated with original cover artwork-ideal for glancing over dearly loved literary companions, as well as for discovering gaps to fill . . . This is a fascinating survey of how our nation's literary tastes have altered over the years and makes us wonder anew at what constitutes a 'classic'. -- Emily Rhodes * Country Life *The perfect gift for bibliophiles * The Arts Society UK *I can't imagine a better or more beautifully presented reference for a book-lover -- Waterstones.com review

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Book SynopsisXenophon's Memorabilia and Apology provide a passionate defence of Socrates against the charges brought against him that lead to his execution. The two texts together provide a moving account of what happened immediately before, during, and after his trial.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Note on the Greek Texts Select Bibliography Abbreviations Chronology Maps MEMORABILIA Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 APOLOGY Explanatory Notes Glossary of Greek Terms

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Book SynopsisTrade Review`The best current translator of Latin poetry, Guy Lee, has now turned his attention to "The Poems of Catullus" ... this is yet another distinguished version from Lee's pen which deserves to become the standard version both for those with Latin and those studying Catullus in translation, and its author deserves hearty congratulations.' Greece and Rome'the work of a consummate Latinist ... with a desire to communicate something of the elegance and verbal flair of his original, a matter close to L.'s heart as the crisp introduction makes plain ... a very persuasive book' Roland Mayer, King's College, London, The Classical Review, Vol. XLIII, No. 2, 1993Table of ContentsIntroduction: The text; The collection: Catullus the Epigrammist; Catullus' life and poetry; the translation; A chronology; Latin text and English verse translation; Explanatory notes; Appendices: A. Difference from Mynors' Oxford text; B. The metres of Catullus; Select bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe Greek lyric, elegiac, and iambic poets of the two centuries from 650 to 450 BC - Archilochus and Alcman, Sappho and Mimnermus, Anacreon, Simonides, and the rest - produced some of the finest poetry of antiquity, perfect in form, spontaneous in expression, reflecting all the joys and anxieties of their personal lives and of the societies in which they lived. This new poetic translation by a leading expert captures the nuances of meaning and the whole spirit of this poetry as never before. It is not merely a selection but covers all the surviving poems and intelligible fragments, apart from the works of Pindar and Bacchylides, and includes a number of pieces not previously translated. The Introduction gives a brief account of the poets, and explanatory Notes on the texts will be found at the end. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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Book SynopsisThis vibrant collection of verse translations of Aristophanes' works-featuring Clouds, Women at the Thesmophoria (or Thesmophoriazusae), and Frogs-combines historical accuracy with a sensitive attempt to capture the rich dramatic and literary qualities of Aristophanic comedy.Trade ReviewIt would be hard to find a better companion to Aristophanes, for classicists but perhaps especially for the general reader Altogether a fine effort, to be recommended for all classes of reader. * Colin McDonald, Classics for All *Halliwell pairs his fluency in rendering verse with deftness at capturing the complexities of Aristophanes' language, which gives his translations particular verve. * The Classical Journal *Table of ContentsPREFACE; INTRODUCTION; NOTE ON THE TRANSLATION; SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY; CHRONOLOGY; CLOUDS; WOMEN AT THE THESMOPHORIA; FROGS; APPENDIX: THE LOST PLAYS OF ARISTOPHANES; NOTES; INDEX OF NAMES

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Book SynopsisTwelve of the greatest voices from ancient Greece and Rome - and why they still inspire and affect us in the 21st century. A book for all readers who want to know more about the literature that underpins Western civilization.Trade ReviewIn this engaging book, the authors make a powerful case for the enduring relevance of the Classics ... From the impact of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey on young men in the trenches of the Great War, to Sappho's intriguing and passionate verses ... Pelling and Wyke take us on an enlightening journey. * JC, The Lady *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: Homer 2: Sappho 3: Herodotus 4: Euripides 5: Thucydides 6: Plato 7: Caesar 8: Cicero 9: Virgil 10: Horace 11: Juvenal 12: Tacitus Epilogue Index

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Book SynopsisHow to Read Middle English Poetry guides readers through poetry between 1150 and 1500, for study and pleasure. Chapters give down-to-earth advice on enjoying and analyzing each aspect of verse, from the choice of single words, through syntax, metre, rhyme, and stanza-design, up to the play of larger forms across whole poems.How to Read Middle English Poetry covers major figuressuch as Chaucer, Langland, the Pearl Poet, and Robert Henrysonbut also delves into exciting anonymous lyrics, romances, and drama. It shows, too, how some modern poets have drawn on earlier poems, and how Middle English and early Scots provide crucial standpoints from which to think through present-day writing. Contextual sections discuss how poetry was heard aloud, introduce manuscripts and editing, and lay out Middle English poetry''s ties to other tongues, including French, Welsh, and Latin. Critical terms are highlighted and explained both in the main text and in a full indexed glossary, while the uses of key

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Book SynopsisThis Norton Critical Edition, edited by one of the pre-eminent scholars in the field, gathers together research on this Greek tragedy, bringing Medea to life for a contemporary audience.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThe sixteen women discussed in this collection were world-makers whose craft influenced cultural practice so incisively that their shaping authority can be traced far beyond their moment. For scholars and students of English literature, this volume shows why Renaissance culture cannot be rightly understood when women writers are ignored.Trade Review'This fine compilation of essays should prove of interest to scholars in numerous fields, especially literary scholars.' Heidi Olson Campbell, Renaissance and ReformationTable of ContentsIntroduction; The literary contours of women's world-making Brandie R. Siegfried and Pamela S. Hammons; Part I. Early Modern Women Framing the Modern World: 1. Erotic origins: genesis, the passion, and Aemilia Lanyer's Queer temporality Erin Murphy; 2. Aphra Behn's fiction: transmission, editing, and canonization Paul Salzman; 3. From aisling vision to Irish queen: the reimergence of Gráinne Ní Mháille in Europe's revolutionary period Brandie R. Siegfried; 4. Reframing the picture: screening early modern women for modern audiences Lisa Walters and Naomi Miller; Part II. Remaking the Literary World: 5. Uncloseted: geography and early modern women's dramatic writing Marion Wynne-Davies; 6. Lucy Hutchinson's memoirs as auto-biography Laura DeFurio; 7. Commonplace genres, or women's interventions in non-traditional literary forms: Madame de Sablé, Aphra Behn, and the maxim Victoria E. Burke; 8. Form, formalism, and literary studies: the case of Margaret Cavendish Lara Dodds; Part III. Connecting the Social Worlds of Religion, Politics, and Philosophy: 9. Royalism and resistance: the personal and the political in Anne, Lady Halkett's Meditations, 1660–1699 Suzanne Trill; 10. Hester Pulter's dissolving worlds Marshelle Woodward; 11. The feminist worlds of Margaret Cavendish David Cunning; 12. Augustus reigns, but poets still are low: Aphra Behn's world in the emperor of the moon (1687) Elaine Hobby; Part IV. Rethinking Early Modern Types and Stereotypes: 13. Learning to imitate women: male education and the grammar of female experience Catherine Loomis; 14. Mothers and widows: world-making against stereotypes in early modern English women's manuscript writings Pamela Hammons; 15. Queer virgins: nuns, reproductive futurism, and early modern English culture Jaime Goodrich; 16. Defensor Feminae: Aemilia Lanyer and Rachel Speght Elizabeth Hodgson; 17. Margaret Cavendish's Melancholy identity: gender and the evolution of a Genre Tina Skouen and Henriette Kolle.

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Book SynopsisTheophrastus:Characters is a collection of thirty short character-sketches of various types of individuals who might be met in the streets of Athens in the late fourth century BC. It is a unique work which has had a profound influence on European literature. This edition aims to make it accessible to students, by offering a radically improved text and a commentary which brings out the meaning and nuances of the dazzling but sometimes difficult Greek and offers full elucidation of the often enigmatic references to contemporary social practices and historical events. There is also a full introduction, which discusses the antecedents and affiliations of the work, its date, its purpose, and its literary qualities.Trade Review'… this is an outstanding edition.' Colin Leach, Classics for All (https://classicsforall.org.uk/)Table of ContentsIntroduction; Theophrastus: Characters; Commentary; Bibliography; Indexes.

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Book Synopsis700 years after Dante Alighieri's death, this book intertwines the voice of the great poet with that of an exceptional contemporary, Marco Polo, who was equally curious about the geography of both earthly and celestial worlds. If Polo was the “ordinary genius” of the XIII century, the designation of “sorcerer genius” must go to Alighieri, the man with encyclopedic wisdom, at ease with his era’s philosophy, theology, and science. The sorcerer genius—well versed in this world—must create their own, which he did with The Divine Comedy. On the other hand, The Travels of Marco Polo, the greatest classic in travel literature, offers wonder and provides delight. This book combines the unforgettable characters of both books, the darkness of the infernal landscapes with the immensity of the Asian deserts, the richness of the Mongol empire with the glamor of medieval philosophy, the aspirations and dreams of two great explorers with knowledge of the science of their time, as well as the ever-eternal cosmology. This is an accessible and entertaining book for high school students, scholars of scientific history and the history of ideas, and curious readers who want to know more about Dante and Marco Polo and their unquenchable thirst for knowledge.This book is a translation of an original Italian edition. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation.Table of ContentsContentsPrologueThe Merchant and the Poet1. Ordinary geniuses and sorcerers2. The gigantic crystal3. The enigma of the lost manuscript4. The disease of writing5. In the darkness of Hell6. The hill of Purgatory7. The light of Heaven8. The troubles of Botticelli9. A non-existent book10. Diplomatic missions11. The art of traveling12. The endless quarrelsVenice and Florence1. The opening of the thirteenth century2. The world seen from Rialto3. An extraordinary republic4. The horses of San Marco5. The art of wool6. At the roots of hatred8. International intrigue9. "How other people's bread tastes like salt"The astrolabe and the compass1. It all began in Jerusalem2. The shadow of an ancient master3. Behind the scenes4. In the heart of Tartaria5. The noble castle6. Pax Mongolian7. Francesca or love and sin8. The women of the far East9. Monsters, animals and giants10. The ineffable Presten John11. Travelers in the stubborn and opposite direction12. The sect of the Assassins13. The Southern Cross14. In the footsteps of Alexander the Great15. The purgatory fire16. The miracle of the mountain17. Dreams, prayers and numbers18. Round trip from Hormuz19. Flowers and trees, light and fire20. The highest place in the world21. The elements, the ether and trasumanar22. The Silk Road23. Light, dance and music24. At the court of the Great Khan25. The question to the eagle26. The discovery of Asia27. Medieval cleverness28. The white rose of the blessed29. The long goodbye

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Book SynopsisAn introduction to ancient myths and the critical discussions that surround them, this book dives into the stories of pre-modern culture, taking a comparative look at how they have shaped the West and modern storytelling as we have come to understand it today. It makes texts and scholarship from near Eastern, Classical and Celtic disciplines engaging and accessible, and traces narrative meaning through stories from ancient Mesopotamia to the BritishMedieval Period, offering compelling pathways into such writings as The Epic of Gilgamesh, Genesis and Job, The Odyssey, The Mabinogi, The Life of St Cadoc and Sir Orfeo. Looking at each in detail, Myths and Ancient Stories also explores myth through a modern lens, probing at how, in this scientific age, it continues to inspire contemporary film, games and literary works such as those by, Margaret Atwood, Colm Tóibín, Madeleine Miller and Pat Barker. Imp

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Book Synopsis‘Immensely informative, wrapped in an engagingly casual tone, complemented by more than a dash of the bizarre. You’d be barking to miss it.’ Professor Michael Scott Can you tell your Odysseus from your Oedipus? In this unique introduction, Philip Womack leads his beloved lurcher Una (and us) on a fleet-footed odyssey through the classical world. From Aeneas to Cerberus to Polydorus, you’ll learn about the world of the Ancient Greeks and Romans and, with a bit of luck, you’ll be able to pass it on to your dog. But maybe best leave out that story of the hounds who tore their very own master limb from limb…Trade Review‘The strength of Womack’s book lies in the enthusiasm with which its author lays on the plate a vast range of material for dog and man… at any moment Brenda Hale, Donna Tartt, David Bowie, Molesworth, Stephen Fry or a reference to an obscure scholarly article… might leap from the page… There’s plenty here, then, to catch the attention and arouse the interest of the curious.’ * Literary Review *‘Engaging and funny and clever. Written with the verve of a novelist and the insights of a scholar. Illuminates the pleasures and relevance of the Classics today.’ -- Dr Harry Sidebottom, Oxford don and author of the bestselling Warrior of Rome series‘Philip’s whimsical tale of classical chats with his dog offers a new kind of introduction to the ancient world: immensely informative, wrapped in an engagingly casual tone, complemented by more than a dash of the bizarre. You’d be barking to miss it.’ -- Professor Michael Scott, Academic, Author and Broadcaster‘Mirabile dictu! Philip Womack and Una – his optima canis – are tremendous companions in their journey round the classical world. The ultimate vademecum…’ * Harry Mount, author of Amo, Amas, Amat… and All That *‘Una’s personality shines through and Womack’s enthusiasm is infectious.’ * Wunderdog *'Lively and informative.' -- Classics For All

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Book SynopsisSimon Armitage is rightly celebrated as one of the country''s most original and engaging poets; but he is also an adaptor and translator of some of our most important epics, such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Death of King Arthur and Homer''s Odyssey. The latter, originally a commission for BBC Radio, rendered the classical tale with all the flare, wit and engagement that we have come to expect from this most distinctive of contemporary authors, and in so doing brought Odysseus''s return from the Trojan War memorably to life.

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Book Synopsis''the glory of wealth and physical beauty is fluid and fragile; but virtue is held brilliant and eternal''The Roman historian Sallust lived through troubled times. He deplored the moral and political decline of the Republic, and in his two monographs he set out to exemplify the reasons for the years of civil strife. Catiline''s Conspiracy is an account of the rebellion against the state led by the disaffected Catiline. For Sallust it was ''especially memorable because of the unprecedented nature of the crime and the danger it caused''. Rome''s fight against the king of Numidia in The Jugurthine War is a graphic depiction of power struggles in Rome and brutal battles in Africa that eventually resulted in the capture of Jugurtha. Sallust''s abrupt and distinctive style is the perfect vehicle for his moral urgency, bitter condemnation, and satirical cynicism. This new translation, which also includes Sallust''s fragmentary Histories, captures his effects in an accessible English idiom, and provides a comprehensive introduction to his work as history and literature. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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