This index is a veritable who's who of the greats of Western literature. . . . The Board recommends it for every collection whose users conduct analytical studies of literature. Reference Books Bulletin The powerful hold that literature exercises is based primarily on recognition--the reader's ability to identify with others through shared human concerns that transcend ttace, time, and cultural boundaries. These universal themes, and how they have been treated in literature from the classical period to the present, are the subject of the critical essays comprising this volume. A fascinating resource for students and general readers and an essential research tool for scholars in literature, it is the first thematic reference on this scale to be published in English. The dictionary consists of 143 essays contributed by 98 specialists in world literature. Topics covered include themes relating to adventure, family life, the supernatural, eroticism, status, humor, idealism, terror, and many other categories of human experience. Each entry begins with a defintion and a sketch on the origin and historical background of the literary theme. The topical essay discusses the significance and occurrence of the theme in world literature and supplies information on geographical area, genre, style, and chronology. Entries conclude with a selected bibliography of scholarship in the area. A cross-index to themes and motifs will enable the reader to find information on secondary or related topics. Convenient to use and presented in a standardized format, this major new reference will be an important acquisition for libraries with collections in English, American, and world literature.

Available for the first time in English, An Introduction to Iconography explains the ways that artists use references and allusions to create meaning. The book presents the historical, theoretical, and practical aspects of iconography and ICONCLASS, the comprehensive iconographical indexing system developed by Henri van de Waal. It gives particular emphasis to the history of iconography, personification, allegory, and symbols, and the literary sources that inform iconographic readings, and includes annotated bibliographies of books and journal articles from around the world that are associated with iconographic research. The author of numerous articles and a four-volume reference work on Italian prints, Roelof van Straten is currently working on an iconographic index covering the prints of Goltzius and his school.

A stimulating and provocative collection, these essays challenge received notions about the culture and history of medieval Russia and offer fresh approaches to problems of textual interpretation, the theory of the medieval text, and the analysis of alternative, nonverbal texts. The contributors, international specialists from many disciplines, investigate issues ranging over history, cultural anthropology, art history, and ritual. They have produced a worthy companion to the first volume of Medieval Russian Culture, published in 1984. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.

A yearbook sponsored by the British Comparative Literature Association asserting that comparative literary studies represent a major direction forwards.

J.K. Rowling has drawn deeply from classical sources to inform and color her Harry Potter novels, with allusions ranging from the obvious to the obscure. "Fluffy," the vicious three-headed dog in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is clearly a repackaging of Cerberus, the hellhound of Greek and Roman mythology. But the significance of Rowling's quotation from Aeschylus at the front of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a matter of speculation. Her use of classical material is often presented with irony and humor. This extensive analysis of the Harry Potter series examines Rowling's wide range of allusion to classical characters and themes and her varied use of classical languages. Chapters discuss Harry and Narcissus, Dumbledore's many classical predecessors, Lord Voldemort's likeness to mythical figures, and magic in Harry Potter and classical antiquity--among many topics.

"This Historical Dictionary of Lesbian Literature serves two primary functions: to provide further information to those already familiar with the field and to explain it to those discovering it for the first time. A chronology provides a historical perspective, an introduction gives a general yet detailed overview, and the dictionary contains several hundred cross-referenced entries on important writers such as Sappho, Colette, and Mary Wollstonecraft, styles, themes, literary movement, publishers, and outstanding works of the genre. Completed by an extensive bibliography, this book examines the factors influencing the development of the lesbian identity as an interaction between readers and writers of all kinds of literature."--BOOK JACKET.