The Journal of English and Germanic Philology articles from July 1997

The Journal of English and Germanic Philology archives from July 1997

Erotic Dawn-Songs of the Middle Ages: Voicing the Lyric Lady.
July 1, 1997... EROTIC DAWN-SONGS OF THE MIDDLE AGES: VOICING THE LYRIC LADY. By Gale Sigal. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1996. Pp. xii + 241. $49.95. Gale Sigal's perspective on the medieval dawn song is clear: "From the alba lady's eloquent...

Speculum Virginum, Mittelniederlandischer Text: Untersuchungen zum Prolog und einleitende Interpretation.
July 1, 1997... Speculum Virginum. Mittelniederlandischer Text. Edition, Untersuchungen zum Prolog und einleitende Interpretation. Von Irene Birkenbusch. Frankfurt a.M.: Peter Lang, 1995. Pp. 414. DM 57-95. The subtitle of Irene Birkenbusch's Speculum Virginum...

Brides and Doom: Gender, Property, and Power in Medieval German Women's Epic.
July 1, 1997... BRIDES AND DOOM: GENDER, PROPERTY, AND POWER IN MEDIEVAL GERMAN WOMEN'S EPIC. By Jerold C. Frakes. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994. Pp. viii + 290. $59-95. Brides and Doom examines in nine chapters two texts, the...

The Knowledge of Childhood in the German Middle Ages: 1100-1350.
July 1, 1997... THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHILDHOOD IN THE GERMAN MIDDLE AGES, 1100-1350. By James A. Schultz. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995. PP. xx + 318. $38.95. In defining his project historiographically, James Schultz situates it between...

Romancing the Grail: Genre, Science, and Quest in Wolfram's 'Parzifal.'
July 1, 1997... ROMANCING THE GRAIL: GENRE, SCIENCE, AND QUEST IN WOLFRAM'S PARZIVAL. By Arthur Groos. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995. Pp. xiii + 270. $37.50. This book is an extremely important one, representing, as it does, the culmination of over...

Absent Mothers and Orphaned Fathers: Narcissism and Abjection in Lessing's Aesthetic and Dramatic Production.
July 1, 1997... ABSENT MOTHERS AND ORPHANED FATHERS: NARCISSISM AND ABJECTION IN LESSING'S AESTHETIC AND DRAMATIC PRODUCTION. By Susan E. Gustafson, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. Pp. 314. $39-95. This substantial study rereads Lessing's most...

Critical Approaches to Goethe's Classical Dramas: 'Iphigenie,' 'Torquato Tasso', and 'Die naturliche Tochter.'
July 1, 1997... CRITICAL APPROACHES TO GOETHE'S CLASSICAL DRAMAS IPHIGENIE, TORQUATO TASSO, AND DIE NATURLICHE TOCHTER. By Irmgard Wagner. (Literary Criticism in Perspective.) Columbia, S.C.: Camden House, 1995. Pp. 233 [+1]. $55.95. This ambitious and...

A Weimar Correspondence: The Letters of Friedrich and Sophie Tieck to Amalie von Voigt, 1804-1837.
July 1, 1997... A WEIMAR CORRESPONDENCE: THE LETTERS OF FRIEDRICH AND SOPHIE TIECK TO AMALIE VON VOIGT 1804-1837. Edited by James Trainer. Columbia, S.C.: Camden House, 1995. Pp. xxv + 191. $59.95. With this volume, James Trainer follows in the footsteps of...

Magnetische Fictionen: Literarisierung des Mesmerismus in der Romantik.
July 1, 1997... MAGNETISCHE FIKTIONEN. LITERARISIERUNG DES MESMERISMUS IN DER ROMANTIK. Von Jurgen Barkhoff. Stuttgart und Weimar: J. B. Metzler, 1995. Pp. xix + 361. DM 78. In seiner Untersuchung zeigt Barkhoff, wie das zwischen Korpermedizin, Psychotherapie...

Romantik-Handbuch.
July 1, 1997... ROMANTIK-HANDBUCH. Herausgegeben von Helmut Schanze. Stuttgart: Alfred Kroner Verlag, 1994. Pp. xxiv + 802. DM 98. For those wishing an introduction to the various facets of that intriguing phenomenon called German Romanticism this volume of...

Kinderleben oder das Mahrchen ohne Ende.
July 1, 1997... KINDERLEBEN ODER DAS MAHRCHEN OHNE ENDE. By Friedrich Wilhelm Carove; The Story without an End. Translated by Sarah Austin. Edited by Christoph E. Schweitzer. Columbia, S.C.: Camden House, 1995. Pp. vii + 73; 3 illustrations. $54.95. Christoph...

Mimetic Desire: Essays on Narcissism in German Literature from Romanticism to Postmodernism.
July 1, 1997... MIMETIC DESIRE: ESSAYS ON NARCISSISM IN GERMAN LITERATURE FROM ROMANTICISM TO POSTMODERNISM. Edited by Jeffrey Adams and Eric Williams. Columbia, S.C.: Camden House, 1995. Pp. ix + 225. $57.95. The above volume is an important contribution to...

Drama und Theater der europaischen Avantgarde.
July 1, 1997... DRAMA UND THEATER DER EUROPAISCHEN AVANTGARDE. Herausgegeben von Franz Norbert Mennemeier und Erika Fischer-Lichte. (Mainzer Forschungen zu Drama und Theater, 12.) Tubingen und Basel: Francke Verlag, 1994. Pp. xvi + 444. DM 128. The twenty...

Carl Zuckmayer Criticism: Tracing Endangered Fame.
July 1, 1997... CARL ZUCKMAYER CRITICISM: TRACING ENDANGERED FAME. By Hans Wagener. Columbia, S.C.: Camden House, 1995. Pp. xiii + 193. $54.95. Perhaps Hans Wagener is overly optimistic in speaking of "endangered fame" in the subtitle of his Forschungsbericht...

Paul Celan: Poet, Survivor, Jew.
July 1, 1997... PAUL CELAN: POET, SURVIVOR, JEW. By John Felstiner. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995. PP. xix + 544. $30. John Felstiner has written a fascinating and indispensable book on Paul Celan that every researcher of the work of this "exemplary...

Holocaust Visions: Surrealism and Existentialism in the Poetry of Paul Celan.
July 1, 1997... HOLOCAUST VISIONS: SURREALISM AND EXISTENTIALISM IN THE POETRY OF PAUL CELAN. By Clarise Samuels. Columbia, S.C.: Camden House, 1993. PP. 134. The surrealist dimension of Celan's poetry has been the subject of several critical studies from...

The Iconography of the Mouth of Hell: Eighth-Century Britain to the Fifteenth Century.
July 1, 1997... THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE MOUTH OF HELL: EIGHTH-CENTURY BRITAIN TO THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. By Gary D. Schmidt. Selinsgrove: Susquehanna Press, and London: Associated University Presses, 1995. Pp. 234; 35 illustrations. $39.50. Readers interested...

England the Nation: Language, Literature, and National Identity, 1290-1340.
July 1, 1997... ENGLAND THE NATION: LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, AND NATIONAL IDENTITY, 1290-1340. By Thorlac Turville-Petre. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996. Pp. xii + 241. $65. Whatever the importance of economic and political achievement, a geographic region cannot...

Male Authors, Female Readers: Representation and Subjectivity in Middle English Devotional Literature.
July 1, 1997... MALE AUTHORS, FEMALE READERS: REPRESENTATION AND SUBJECTIVITY IN MIDDLE ENGLISH DEVOTIONAL LITERATURE. By Anne Clark Bartlett. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995. Pp. xii + 212. $32.50. In Male Authors, Female Readers, Anne Clark Bartlett...

The Ellesmere Chaucer: Essays in Interpretation.
July 1, 1997... THE ELLESMERE CHAUCER: ESSAYS IN INTERPRETATION. Edited by Martin Stevens and Daniel Woodward. San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library; Tokyo: Yushodo, 1995. Pp. xvi + 363. $75. The volume under review is in part a sort of prolegomenon to The...

Religion, Literature, and Politics in Post-Reformation England, 1540-1688.
July 1, 1997... RELIGION, LITERATURE, AND POLITICS IN POST-REFORMATION ENGLAND, 1540-1688. Edited by Donna B. Hamilton and Richard Strier. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Pp. xi + 280. This collection of essays is uncommonly coherent, particularly...

Shakespeare and the Jews.
July 1, 1997... SHAKESPEARE AND THE JEWS. By James Shapiro. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996. Pp. ix + 317. $29.50. The title of James Shapiro's extraordinary book of revisionist history is somewhat misleading, for it is about much more than just...

Shakespearean Suspect Texts: The 'Bad' Quartos and Their Contexts.
July 1, 1997... SHAKESPEAREAN SUSPECT TEXTS: THE `BAD' QUARTOS AND THEIR CONTEXTS. By Laurie E. Maguire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Pp. xvii +427. $59.95. Laurie Maguire's excellent book, Shakespearean, Suspect Texts, is important for two...

Shakespeare, the King's Playwright: Theater in the Stuart Court, 1603-1613.
July 1, 1997... SHAKESPEARE, THE KING'S PLAYWRIGHT: THEATER IN THE STUART COURT, 1603-1613. By Alvin Kernan. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995. Pp. xxiii + 230; 30 illustrations. $27.50. Over the last decade and a half, Alvin Kernan has mapped...

Shakespeare and Classical Comedy: The Influence of Plautus and Terence.
July 1, 1997... SHAKESPEARE AND CLASSICAL COMEDY: THE INFLUENCE OF PLAUTUS AND TERENCE. By Robert S. Miola. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994. Pp. xii + 234. $45. Robert Miola's book on Shakespeare and classical comedy offers an intelligent, sophisticated...

Forms of Reflection: Genre and Culture in Meditational Writing.
July 1, 1997... FORMS OF REFLECTION; GENRE AND CULTURE IN MEDITATIONAL WRITING. By David Hill Radcliffe. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993. Pp. xvi + 232. $38.50. In this study, ambitious in scope and intent, David Hill Radcliffe...

Locke, Literary Criticism, and Philosophy.
July 1, 1997... LOCKE, LITERARY CRITICISM, AND PHILOSOPHY. By William Walker. (Cambridge Studies in Eighteenth-Century English Literature and Thought, 22.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Pp. xviii + 227. $57.95. In the ancient battle between...

Scholars and Gentlemen: Shakespearian Textual Criticism and Representations of Scholarly Labour, 1725-1765.
July 1, 1997... SCHOLARS AND GENTLEMEN: SHAKESPEARIAN TEXTUAL. CRITICISM AND REPRESENTATIONS OF SCHOLARLY LABOUR, 1725-1765. By Simon Jarvis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Pp. ix + 234. $49.95. Some of the most exciting scholarly work of the last...

Equivocal Beings: Politics, Gender and Sentimentality in the 1790's.
July 1, 1997... EQUIVOCAL BEINGS: POLITICS, GENDER, AND SENTIMENTALITY IN THE 1790's. By Claudia L. Johnson. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. Pp. xv + 239. $35.95 (cloth); $14.95 (paper). Critics have apologized for 1790s fiction for so long that it...

The "Lucy Poems": A Case Study in Literary Knowledge.
July 1, 1997... THE "LUCY POEMS": A CASE STUDY IN LITERARY KNOWLEDGE. By Mark Jones. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1995. Pp. xv + 337. $55. This well-written book suggests that what is revealed by the example of the "Lucy Poems" exemplifies features...

Dear Reader: The Conscripted Audience in Nineteenth-Century British Fiction.
July 1, 1997... DEAR READER: THE CONSCRIPTED AUDIENCE IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH FICTION. By Garrett Stewart. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990. Pp. viii + 454. $50 (cloth); $19.95 (paper). Garrett Stewart has written a nearly 500-page...

Thackeray and Women.
July 1, 1997... THACKERAY AND WOMEN. By Micael M. Clarke. De Kalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1995. Pp. xiv + 235. $30. What is lastingly engaging and challenging about Thackeray is that he was both of the culture, and its searing perceptive critic....

The Vulgarization of Art: The Victorians and Aesthetic Democracy.
July 1, 1997... THE VULGARIZATION OF ART: THE VICTORIANS AND AESTHETIC DEMOCRACY. By Linda Dowling. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. Pp. xviii + 133. $32.50. Linda Dowling's work over the past two decades has greatly enriched our understanding...

Modernism and the Theater of Censorship.
July 1, 1997... MODERNISM AND THE THEATER OF CENSORSHIP. By Adam Parkes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Pp. xii + 242. $45. Adam Parkes argues that in the years between 1914 and 1930 the formation of modernist literature was significantly influenced...

Romances of the Republic: Women, the Family, and Violence in the Literature of the Early American Nation.
July 1, 1997... ROMANCES OF THE REPUBLIC: WOMEN, THE FAMILY, AND VIOLENCE IN THE LITERATURE OF THE EARLY AMERICAN NATION. By Shirley Samuels. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Pp. viii + 198. $39.95. In 1992 Shirley Samuels edited an...

Becoming Canonical in American Poetry.
July 1, 1997... BECOMING CANONICAL IN AMERICAN POETRY. By Timothy Morris. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1995. Pp. xviii +173. $34.95 (cloth); $12.95 (paper). These two books manifest the continuing--and warranted--fascination with the concept of canon...

From Outlaw to Classic: Canons in American Poetry.
July 1, 1997... FROM OUTLAW TO CLASSIC: CANONS IN AMERICAN POETRY. By Alan C. Golding. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995. Pp. xvii + 243. $52 (cloth); $19.95 (paper). These two books manifest the continuing--and warranted--fascination with the...

Speaking freely about Richard II.
July 1, 1997... And formally, according to our law, Depose him in the justice of his cause. King Richard II (I.iii.29-30)(1) The deposition of Shakespeare's Richard II has been controversial since the play's original publication, and critics...

Alsemero's closet: privacy and interiority in "The Changeling."
July 1, 1997... Perhaps the most harrowingly claustrophobic of early English tragedies, Middleton and Rowley's The Changeling is obsessed by images of the secret recess and the forbidden interior. This concern with inwardness takes a wide variety of forms: there...

The displacements of "Little Dorrit."
July 1, 1997... In the second book of Little Dorrit, Fanny and William Dorrit reproach Amy for relying insufficiently on servants, badge of their recovered gentility: ["]Therefore, your not exposing yourself to the remarks of our attendants, by...

Hagen's shields: the 37th 'Aventiure' revisited.
July 1, 1997... In Part II of the Nibelungenlied Hagen is no longer seen as Siegfried's murderer, but as a courageous and loyal friend and defender of his comrades in arms. He seems to develop a real sense of companionship with Dankwart, Volker, and Rudeger. A...