David Punter

Glennis Byron

This guide provides an overview of the most significant issues and debates in Gothic studies. The guide is divided into four parts: The opening section explains the origins and development of the term ‘Gothic’, considers the particular features of the Gothic within specific periods, and explores its evolution in both literary and non-literary forms, such as art, architecture and film. The following section contains extended entries on major writers of the Gothic, pointing to the most significant features of their work. The third section features authoritative readings of key works, ranging from Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto to Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho. Finally, the text considers recurrent concerns of the Gothic such as persecution and paranoia, key motifs such as the haunted castle, and figures such as the vampire and the monster. Supplementary material includes a chronology of key Gothic texts, listing literature and film from 1757 to 2000, and a comprehensive guide to further reading.

The Gothic

By focusing on monologue's status as a form of social critique, the author successfully demonstrates the longevity and relevance of the form, and accounts for its current popularity due to the increasingly politicised nature of contemporary poetry with reference to the work of poets such as Ai and Carol Ann Duffy." "This clear guide provides students with a compact introduction to a key topic in literary studies."--BOOK JACKET.

Dramatic Monologue

The essays in this book explore some of the most significant current issues concerning the terrain of the Gothic and the Gothic perspective, offering a variety of possible answers to the crucial question: what is Gothic? The collection begins by addressing general issues about the location and structure of Gothic; this is followed by various considerations of Gothic as a specific historical phenomenon, linked with specific aspects of British, American, and European society; and, finally, by an exploration of Gothic writing during recent decades.

Towards a Gothic Geography

Spectral Readings

Emily Dickinson

'York Notes Advanced' offer an accessible approach to English Literature. This series has been completely updated to meet the needs of today's A-level and undergraduate students. Written by established literature experts, 'York Notes Advanced' introduce students to more sophisticated analysis, a range of critical perspectives and wider contexts.

Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson

Andrew J. Sneddon

The stimulating mix of academics and practising poets that have contributed to this volume provides an unusual and illuminating integration of critical and creative practice and a vibrantly diverse approach to questions of poetry and sexuality. Each section of essays is complemented by poems which creatively illustrate or develop the theme with which the essays critically engage. Rather than being limited to a specific genre, tradition, time or place, this collection seeks to make a virtue of contrast, comparison and juxtaposition. The collection is arranged into sections that range broadly across the thematic ground of dichotomies, traditions and revisions, microscopic and macroscopic perspectives, women and embodiment, and the notion of play and performance. Positioning eighteenth-century tinkers ballads alongside medieval Hebrew lyrics and the Blues of Gorgeous Puddin', or making Dionysus rub shoulders with Sharon Olds and Mrs Rochester provides new perspectives on familiar material and valuable insights into more obscure work and the nature of sensual poetry as a mode of expression. As the editors suggest, the essays and poems presented collectively argue that writings about sexuality are always already about the way poets see and represent our bodies, the world and poetic language itself.

Writings on Poetry and Sexuality

The Body and the Book

This guide provides an overview of the most significant issues and debates in Gothic studies. Provides an overview of the most significant issues and debates in Gothic studies. Explains the origins and development of the term Gothic. Explores the evolution of the Gothic in both literary and non-literary forms, including art, architecture and film. Features authoritative readings of key works, ranging from Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto to Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho. Considers recurrent concerns of the Gothic such as persecution and paranoia, key motifs such as the haunted castle, and figures such as the vampire and the monster. Includes a chronology of key Gothic texts, including fiction and film from the 1760s to the present day, and a comprehensive bibliography.

Bram Stoker

Dracula

Glennis Stephenson

On 7 June 1838 Letitia Elizabeth Landon married George Maclean; on 5 July they sailed for Cape Coast; on 16 August they landed and one month later, Landon, at the age of thirty six, was found dead, slumped against her bedroom door with an empty bottle of prussic acid in her hand. This is the first full account of the literary career, life and death of the woman who achieved fame as the poetess L.E.L. Glennis Stephenson begins with an account of the rise of the poetess in the early nineteenth century, and then, drawing upon contemporary memoirs and reviews and upon many of Landon's own unpublished letters, moves on to her early life, and shows how Landon fit herself into this category of 'poetess' by constructing the persona of L.E.L. The book concludes with a discussion of Landon's sudden and mysterious death, and how various readings and misreadings offered by friends and acquaintances struggled to reconcile the dual persona of Woman and poetess. The life and works of this fascinating figure illuminate the conflicts, both personal and artistic, for women writers in the nineteenth century.

The Woman Behind L.E.L.

Letitia Landon

'York Notes Advanced' offer an accessible approach to English Literature. This series has been completely updated to meet the needs of today's A-level and undergraduate students. Written by established literature experts, 'York Notes Advanced' introduce students to sophisticated analysis, a range of critical perspectives and wider contexts.

Notes

Selected Poems, John Keats

When studying Mary Shelley's Frankenstein at A Level (AS & A2 Level) you'll need a thorough understanding of the themes, characters and Gothic mode of writing you'll find used in the novel. The York Notes Frankenstein study guide gives the most comprehensive summary of each volume of the 1831 edition of the novel you're studying at AS & A2 level. The revision guide also deconstructs each character including Victor Frankenstein, the monster and Robert Walton. The York Notes Frankenstein revision guide goes further than other English Literature study guides to help you achieve the best possible grades. You'll not only revise the novel itself but the contexts and critical debates surrounding Shelley's work. Understanding Frankenstein in the context of social unrest and the scientific developments of the time, and being able to discuss different critical angles from the original reception of the novel to its Feminist readings, will help you achieve top A Level grades. Using your study guide's Grade Booster is the best way to target a high grade in your English Literature exams. This section of the Frankenstein study guide shows you the typical features which examiners are looking for in answers to Frankenstein questions at AS & A2 level. It will show you how to compare Frankenstein with other texts and write high quality responses, which clearly demonstrate your understanding of the novel beyond the plot, characters and key quotations.

Frankenstein

Dale Townshend

The Gothic World offers an overview of this popular field whilst also extending critical debate in exciting new directions such as film, politics, fashion, architecture, fine art and cyberculture. Structured around the principles of time, space and practice, and including a detailed general introduction, the five sections look at: Gothic Histories Gothic Spaces Gothic Readers and Writers Gothic Spectacle Contemporary Impulses. The Gothic World seeks to account for the Gothic as a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional force, as a style, an aesthetic experience and a mode of cultural expression that traverses genres, forms, media, disciplines and national boundaries and creates, indeed, its own ‘World’.

The Gothic World

The popular appeal of Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, now over a 100 years old, shows little sign of waning. It is only over the last 20 years, however, that Dracula has begun to receive much serious critical attention. This volume collects some of the most significant works on the novel from a wide variety of theoretical perspectives, including Marxist, psychoanalytical, historicist and feminist, giving a collection which engages with questions about the psychological and social significance of this transgressive and popular text.

THE ULTIMATE GUIDES TO EXAM SUCCESS from York Notes - the UK's favourite English Literature Study Guides. York Notes for AS & A2 are specifically designed for AS & A2 students to help you get the very best grade you can. They are comprehensive, easy to use, packed with valuable features and written by experienced experts to give you an in-depth understanding of the text, critical approaches and the all-important exam. * An enhanced exam skills section which includes essay plans, expert guidance on understanding questions and sample answers. You'll know exactly what you need to do and say to get the best grades. * A wealth of useful content like key quotations, revision tasks and vital study tips that'll help you revise, remember and recall all the most important information. * The widest coverage and the best, most in-depth analysis of characters, themes, language, form, context and style to help you demonstrate an exhaustive understanding of all aspects of the text.

Glennis Byron

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