This book asks what theological messages theologically educated Catholics in late-eighteenth-century Prague might have perceived in Mozart’s late opera seria La clemenza di Tito. The book’s thesis is two-fold: first, that Catholics might have heard the opera’s advocacy of enlightened absolutism as a celebration of a distinctly Catholic understanding of political governance; and second, that they might have found in the opera a metaphor for the relationship between a gracious God and humanity caught up in sin, expressed as sexual concupiscence, pride, and lust for power. The book develops its interpretation of the opera through narrative character analyses of the main protagonists, an examination of their dramatic development, and by paying attention to the biblical and theological associations they may have evoked in a Catholic audience. The book is geared towards academic readers interested in opera, theologians, historians, and those who work at the intersection of theology and the arts. It contributes to a better understanding of the theological implications of Mozart’s operatic work.

This book provides an up-to-date introduction to the religious and artistic story behind The Light of the World by William Holman Hunt. Created in the mid-nineteenth century, it is often said to be the most widely exhibited work of art in history and remains one of the most widely known Christian paintings to this day. The subject matter provides a rich wealth of resources, touching on the extraordinary artistic renewal associated with the Oxford Movement, its religious and intellectual revolution in recovering early Christian tropes and motives of scriptural interpretation. The book also considers the painting’s impact on the religious and cultural life of the British Empire as its tour served not just spiritual edification but also the promotion of imperial values. The contributions reflect on concerns of decolonisation while illustrating religious art’s ability to engage relevantly with contemporary concerns. Enabling a fresh encounter with the painting, this book will be of interest to theologians, biblical scholars, and historians.

Herbert Lindenberger was one of the first literary critics to call for some kind of return to historical thinking in literary criticism. His ten essays cover canon formation, the historical status of genres, and the ways that art and criticism are embedded within institutional frameworks. Lindenberger argues that, "what we label 'historical' assumes strikingly different shapes in different historical situations" and that present shape empowers new kind of knowledge. He writes, "We may well discover that our century-old form of organization within the humanities no longer fits the type of knowledge we are producing." The lively and topical essays of The History in Literature demonstrate Lindenberger's capacious and diverse knowledge, his incisive wit, and his formidable critical skills.

A multidisciplinary index covering the journal literature of the arts and humanities. It fully covers 1,144 of the world's leading arts and humanities journals, and it indexes individually selected, relevant items from over 6,800 major science and social science journals.

Excerpts from and citations to reviews of more than 8,000 books each year, drawn from coverage of 109 publications. Book Review Digest provides citations to and excerpts of reviews of current juvenile and adult fiction and nonfiction in the English language. Reviews of the following types of books are excluded: government publications, textbooks, and technical books in the sciences and law. Reviews of books on science for the general reader, however, are included. The reviews originate in a group of selected periodicals in the humanities, social sciences, and general science published in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. - Publisher.