Encyclopedia of British Humorists: Geoffrey Chaucer to John Cleese, Volume 1Steven H. Gale HUMOR IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF BRITISH LIFE AND LITERATURE In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis's title character observes that Jokes and Flippancy are valued so highly by the English, who take their 'sense of humour' so seriously that a deficiency in this sense is almost the only deficiency at which they feel shame. J.B. Priestly, too, in a related observation comments: It is curious that so few foreigners have noticed that we English are a humorous race....In no other country will you hear so much talk about a sense of humour. COVERS HUMOROUS LITERATURE FROM MEDIEVAL TO MODERN TIMES Now for the first time, a comprehensive and up-to-date reference work tackles the subject of humor as it has been expressed in British literature, from Beowulf to the present. The 206 signed original essays represent the work of 119 scholars from seven countries and diverse disciplines. Major literary figures such as Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, G.B. Shaw, and Noel Coward are included, as well as lesser known lights such as Francis Beaumont, Stella Gibbons, and George Du Maurier. Readers may be surprised to learn that other literary luminaries such as W.H. Auden, Winston Churchill, Samuel Johnson, and Edith Sitwell have also produced humorous writings. ANALYZES LITERARY AND COMIC TECHNIQUES The most important feature of the essays is their literary analysis, which provides an overview of the author's writings, as well as in-depth analyses of comic techniques in the subject's major works. A biography helps place the writer in historical context, providing such information as the place and date of birth, education, honors and achievements, marital status, and place and date of death. In addition to the signed essays, the Encyclopedia includes a preface, a chronological index, a list of pseudonyms, an introduction, a list of the contributors, and an index. |
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... English - Biog- raphy - Dictionaries . 3. English wit and humor - Dictionaries . Steven H. II . Series . PR931.E54 1996 827.009 - dc20 [ B ] I. Gale , 95-2282 CIP Cover photograph : Gertrude Lawrence and Noel Coward . Courtesy of the ...
... English - Biog- raphy - Dictionaries . 3. English wit and humor - Dictionaries . Steven H. II . Series . PR931.E54 1996 827.009 - dc20 [ B ] I. Gale , 95-2282 CIP Cover photograph : Gertrude Lawrence and Noel Coward . Courtesy of the ...
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Contents
xi | 666 |
xiii | 690 |
513 | 711 |
573 | 781 |
579 | 787 |
621 | 829 |
691 | 901 |
xix | 1026 |
Volume 1 | 1075 |
6 | 1126 |
Wharton Michael | 1165 |
1041 | 1233 |
1253 | |
Other editions - View all
Encyclopedia of British Humorists: Geoffrey Chaucer to John Cleese, Volume 1 Steven H. Gale No preview available - 1996 |
Common terms and phrases
Animal Farm audience Bibliography Primary Sources Billy Liar Biography born British C.S. Lewis Cambridge career characters Charles comedy comic contemporary critical death died drama early Education England English Essays Evelyn Waugh farce father fiction film funny George George Orwell Goon Goon Show Harold Pinter Henry Herbert Jenkins Hobbit humor Irish J.R.R. Tolkien John Lady language later Lear Letters Lewis Lewis's Literary Analysis literature lives London Lord Macmillan marriage married ment Methuen modern novel novelist O'Casey Orwell Orwell's Oxford P.G. Wodehouse parody Peter Simple play playwright plot poems poet poetry political popular Prior prose published reader Review Richard satire scene School Sean O'Casey Secondary Sources Selected Bibliography Primary Shakespeare Shaw social Somerville and Ross stage story style Symons theater Thomas tion Tolkien Trollope University Press Ustinov verse Victorian Waugh wife William witty writing wrote York young
References to this book
Dictionary of Twentieth-century British Cartoonists and Caricaturists Mark Bryant No preview available - 2000 |
Madam I'm Adam: eine Kulturgeschichte des englischen Humors Hans-Dieter Gelfert Limited preview - 2007 |