This set of 37 volumes is a revival of the original Critical Idiom series. First published between 1969 and 1979, the volumes in this series provide concise and accessible introductions to a range of critical terms which are key to the study of literature. This set will be a valuable resource for students working with complex literary terminology.
By James L. Smith
July 19, 2017
First published in 1973, this book explores the genre of melodrama. After discussing the defining characteristics of melodrama, the book examines the dramatic structures of the two major and contrasting emotions presented in melodrama: triumph and defeat. It concludes with a reflection on the ways ...
By Terence Hawkes
July 19, 2017
First published in 1972, this work examines the complex concept of metaphor. It defines the term by placing the various key ideas about the nature of metaphor in their literary and social context, and in doing so, it traces the developing history of the concept. This account has considerable range,...
By Lilian R. Furst, Peter N. Skrine
July 19, 2017
First published in 1971, this book examines the literary style of Naturalism. After introducing the reader to the term itself, including its history and its relationship to Realism, it goes on to trace the origins of the Naturalist movement as well as particular groups which adhered to Naturalism ...
By Elizabeth Dipple
July 19, 2017
First published in 1970, this work examines ‘Plot’ as a literary term. It traces the two and contrary ways of considering the word: the Aristotelian and the neo-classic interpretations. It then goes on to examine the methods by which the idea of plot has been expanded in modern criticism through a ...
By Michael Bell
July 19, 2017
First published in 1972, this books examines the subject of primitivism through the study of the work of a number of major writers, including D. H. Lawrence, Herman Melville, Joseph Conrad, T. S. Eliot and James Joyce. It looks at the variety of definitions and uses of primitivism and how the idea ...
By Damian Grant
July 19, 2017
First published in 1970, this book provides an introduction to literary realism. After considering what realism is and its philosophical roots, it goes on to examine the emergence of the idea of realism in nineteenth-century France and its gradual spread across the wider republic of letters. This ...
By Various
July 19, 2017
This set of 37 volumes is a revival of the original Critical Idiom series. First published between 1969 and 1979, the volumes in this series provide concise and accessible introductions to a range of critical terms which are key to the study of literature. This set will be a valuable resource for ...
By Paul Merchant
July 19, 2017
First published in 1971, this work examines the tradition of the epic and the many forms in which it has presented itself over time. After unpicking the defining aspects of an epic, the book tracks the literary tradition from the classical period through to modern day. Exploring major texts such ...
By Philip Thomson
July 19, 2017
First published in 1972, this book provides a helpful overview of the grotesque and its use in a number of literary genres including novels, drama and poetry. After providing a historical summary of the term, the book discusses the various defining aspects of the grotesque and its relationship to ...
By John D. Jump
July 06, 2017
First published in 1972, this book provides a helpful introduction to burlesque literature, a term used by critics from the seventh-century onwards to describe work in which an incongruity between serious subject-matter and style is used to provoke laughter. It examines the four main types of ...
By Moelwyn Merchant
July 06, 2017
First published in 1972, this work pursues the question ‘what is comedy?’ In its quest for an answer it explores critical theory, psychology, sociology and metaphysics. It also examines the classical origins of comedy, different kinds of comedy, the rituals of comedy, its relationship with other ...