The indispensable reference on the subject, it also contains encyclopedic entries, bibliographies, and a comprehensive index. It also demonstrates the tremendous continuity of the legends by examining the ways that they have been reinterpreted over the years. Seven essays offer a comprehensive survey of the legends in all of their manifestations, from their origins in medieval literature to their adaptation in modern literature, arts, film, and popular culture. Malory should be enough.The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend is both a critical history of the Arthurian tradition and a reference guide to Arthurian works, names, characters, symbols, and places. That being said, I think you need a big dose of the primary material behind you for this book to matter, or to give all it's meant to give. Some of the brief summaries of the modern explorations of Arthurian matter were, for me, incredibly rich, as a way to get a rapid sense of how trends in culture or film or politics might have been exploited, or as a guide to what I'd like to put on my reading or watch list. The bibligraphies are also wonderful, if you want more, especially in terms of analysis or criticism but I'll admit, there was a lot more analysis than I expected in the text itself.
The division of subjects makes it easy to jump around, and there's a fantastic glossary of places and names for immediate answers. open-ended promises to ladies, the tension between chivalry and 'courtly love')are highlighted that often explain inexplicable complications of character motivation. There are summaries of characters and plots based on alterations in the plots over the years, and tropes or devices (e.g. Fantastic reference for anything related to Camelot and Arthur.
0 kommentar(er)
