Encyclopedia of Renaissance Literature (Encyclopedia of World Literature) [Hardcover]

James Wyatt Cook (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up-Both volumes begin with an overview of the era, followed by alphabetical entries offering information on authors, works, places, events, and terminology. Most of the entries provide dates, additional names, and a bibliography; some also contain brief quotations from the works. Renaissance spans the years between 1500 and 1700 and covers works in many European and Asian languages as well as a few African languages. Individuals featured include Giovanni Boccaccio, John Bunyan, John Calvin, Nicolaus Copernicus, John Dryden, and Edmund Spenser. Medieval examines the period between Classical Antiquity and the Renaissance and provides information on Old English, Middle English, French, Provençal, Celtic, German, Old Norse, and Latin works under such headings as Beowulf, Geoffrey Chaucer, Dante Alighieri, Sir Thomas Malory, Peasant-™s Revolt of 1381, and troubadours. Both volumes discuss the importance of religion, language, history, the origins of the works, oral traditions, the beginnings of printing, and other influences. Time lines, lists of writers by language, and selected bibliographies are found in both volumes. While these books cover the works most studied in advanced high school courses, they also include a wealth of information about the lesser-known literature.-Pat Bender, The Shipley School, Bryn Mawr, PA
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From Booklist

In more than 650 entries, the Encyclopedia of Renaissance Literature spans the years 1500 to 1700 C.E. Entries include authors, works, genres, and other literary and historical terms that inform the literature of the period. The encyclopedia targets upper-level high-school students and lower-level undergraduates.

Alphabetical, cross-referenced entries are generally half a page to a page, and many are followed by bibliographies. Aids to access include a table of "Writers Covered, by Language of Composition" and an author time line. Each entry concludes with a bibliography, and a selected bibliography of more general reference works and primary and secondary sources rounds out the volume.

The Encyclopedia of Renaissance Literature ranges across a variety of cultures and adds conquest and New World literatures, both oral and written. Entries on religious works and movements are included. Given the coverage of such a wide range of cultures, translation and contact feature prominently, particularly in the entries on genres. The volume, though, deliberately excludes literatures from places that sustained "few or no new literary developments," including Russia and Greece. The influence of women writers is valued, however, including entries on individual women writers and overviews on women writers from some cultures.

The author is a seasoned scholar with the experience necessary for the undertaking. Expansive in breadth but still accessible, the encyclopedia is recommended for high-school, public, and undergraduate libraries. It is an inclusive, easy-to-use volume providing a wide cross section of literature that challengea narrow views of the literature of the times. Joseph Thomas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 15 and up
  
• Hardcover: 598 pages
• Publisher: Facts on File (November 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816056242
• ISBN-13: 978-0816056248
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,042,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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