The essays in this volume rethink Much Ado About Nothing from the standpoint of the New Awareness. Scholars today are by necessity both the products and the producers of this awareness. Moreover, the essays in this collection touch upon problems that are germane to the political climate today and similar to the concerns reflected in this play. Three essays discuss epistemology and determining real information from its simulation. Other essays concern issues that are central to the #MeToo M...

This book frames the undeniably copious 21st-century performances of stupidity that occur within social media as echoes of rhetorical experiments conducted by humanist writers of the Renaissance. Any historical overview of humanism will associate it with copia—abundance of expression—and the rhetorical practices essential to managing it. This book argues that stupidity was and is a synonym for copia, making the humanism of which copia is a central element an inhe...

"What good is the study of literature? Does it help us think more clearly, or feel more sensitively, or live a better life than we could without it?" Written in the relaxed and frequently humorous style of his public lectures, this remains, of Northrop Frye's many books, perhaps the easiest introduction to his theories of literature and literary education.

The Gutenberg Galaxy catapulted Marshall McLuhan to fame as a media theorist and, in time, a new media prognosticator. Fifty years after its initial publication, this landmark text is more significant than ever before.Readers will be amazed by McLuhan’s prescience, unmatched by anyone since, predicting as he did the dramatic technological innovations that have fundamentally changed how we communicate. The Gutenberg Galaxy foresaw the networked, compressed ‘global ...

As defining as Christopher Lasch’s The Culture of Narcissism, Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind, and Dinesh D’Souza’s Illiberal Education were to the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, respectively, Marjorie Garber’s The Use and Abuse of Literature is to our times.Even as the decline of the reading of literature, as argued by the National Endowment for the Arts, proceeds in our culture, Garber (“One of the most powerful women in the academic w...

From the author of Think, an enlightening and entertaining exploration of narcissism and self-esteemEveryone deplores narcissism, especially in others. The vain are by turns annoying or absurd, offending us whether they are blissfully oblivious or proudly aware of their behavior. But are narcissism and vanity really as bad as they seem? Can we avoid them even if we try? In Mirror, Mirror, Simon Blackburn, the author of such best-selling philosophy...

“A necessary manual for those interested in the perpetuation, and the possibilities, of good English prose.”—Harper’s Magazine“[Lanham’s] style is notable for its audacity, liveliness, and grace.”—The Times Literary Supplement“The most applicably provocative book on the subject of prose style available. Imperative reading for all teachers and students of writing.”—ChoiceThis humorous and accessible classic on style calls for the return of wordplay and delight to wri...

Written by a team of leading international scholars, this Companion is designed to illuminate Shakespeare's works through discussion of the key topics of Shakespeare studies. Twenty-one essays provide lively and authoritative approaches to recent scholarship and criticism for readers keen to expand their knowledge and appreciation of Shakespeare. The book contains stimulating chapters on traditional topics such as Shakespeare's biography and the transmission of his texts. Individual readin...

Most English majors who take the GRE Literature in English test do not do particularly well, usually near the 50th percentile. To increase their acceptance into a graduate program (MA or PhD), test takers need at least to be over the 80th percentile. This is hard to do since ETS deliberately designs the test to befuddle most test takers. Quite frankly, these test takers simply do not know enough literature to excel. Further, they do not have the test "psyched" out, and they are lacking eff...

For the past few hundred years, Western cultures have relied on print. When writing was accomplished by a quill pen, inkpot, and paper, it was easy to imagine that writing was nothing more than a means by which writers could transfer their thoughts to readers. The proliferation of technical media in the latter half of the twentieth century has revealed that the relationship between writer and reader is not so simple. From telegraphs and typewriters to wire recorders and a sweeping array of...

What is sex exactly? Does everyone agree on a definition? And does that definition hold when considering literary production in other times and places? Sex before Sex makes clear that we cannot simply transfer our contemporary notions of what constitutes a sex act into the past and expect them to be true for the people who were then reading literature and watching plays. The contributors confront how our current critical assumptions about definitions of sex restrict our understand...

The first comprehensive collection of hands-on exercises that bring active learning to the literature classroomThis is the first comprehensive collection of hands-on, active learning exercises for the college literature classroom, offering ideas and inspiration for new and veteran teachers alike.These 101 surefire lesson plans present creative and interactive activities to get all your students talking and learning, from the first class to final review. Whe...