Description
Book SynopsisIn medieval society, gestures and speaking looks played an even more important part in public and private exchanges than they do today. In this, the first study of its kind in English, John Burrow examines the role of non-verbal communication in a range of narrative texts.
Trade Review'… this fascinating book … the author's intellectual flexibility and lightness of touch make this book a pleasure to read …' The Times Literary Supplement
'… a fascinating study of non-verbal communication elements in both well-known and lesser-known medieval texts. It is the first general study of its kind in English … I found the writing to be quite readable, so that a non-scholar with an interest in either the texts or the topic would find the style accessible. I can easily see providing excerpts or even a whole chapter of this book to students in an undergraduate literature class, or the whole book to students in a graduate medieval literature course … Burrow supplies useful, contextual information about the passages he includes as examples, as well as relevant historical and social background for each of the elements of non-verbal communication he explores in the texts … medievalists will find Burrow's interpretations sound, viable, and highly relevant. I found Burrow's interpretations of scenes that I have read, studied, and taught for years enlightening … accessible writing style …a valuable addition to medieval studies which points the way to further research in this much needed area of analysis.' Cercles
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. Gestures; 3. Looks; 4. Two Middle English narratives; 5. Dante's Commedia; 6. Afterword; Bibliography; Index of names and titles; Index of signs.
