Description
Book SynopsisAesthetics of Nostalgia reads Anglo-Saxon historical verse in terms of how its aesthetic form interacted with the culture and politics of the period.
Trade Review'The Aesthetics of Nostalgia is first rate, erudite criticism that will push the field of Anglo-Saxon literary studies in exciting new directions.' -- Andrew Scheil, Review of English Studies: vol 62:254:2011 'Trilling writes well and what she writes is highly intelligent. That makes her book not only worth reading, but worth debating and arguing with ... Trilling's deeply felt book always teaches the reader to think afresh about an ancient literature.' -- E.G. Stanley, Notes and Queries: vol58:01:11 'In this well researched book Trilling aims to explore the artistic impetus behind the representation of the past in Old English verse by assembling aesthetic record and demonstrating the use of nostalgia as a tool in Anglo-Saxon historical texts...The book is thought provoking, up-to-date and extensively referenced.' -- Helen Appleton Parergon: vol28:01:2011 'Trilling has absorbed most of the recent scholarship on a wide range of literary, cultural, and theoretical topics and woven it into a synthesis so gracious that her highly original thinking is often indistinguishable from wide study. It provided a week of highly stimulating reading that will change how I read Old English poetry.' -- James W. Earl Speculum; vol. 56:03:2011 'Elegantly written and unwaveringly intelligent, Trilling's work recognizes the way we think about Anglo-Saxon literature and culture...It sets the terms and establishes the terrain of a discussion that will certainly be productive for many years to come.' -- Roy M. Liuzza Modern Philology; vol 110:04:2013
Table of ContentsAbbreviations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Art and History in Old English Heroic Poetry 2. In Principio: Origin of the Present in Anglo-Saxon Biblical Verse 3. Verse Memorials and the Viking Conquest 4. Poetic Memory: The Canonical Verse of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 5. Transitional Verse in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Changing the Shape of History Conclusion Bibliography
