Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism

Encompassing early classical and medieval literature from pre-Biblical epics of ancient Sumeria through the end of the 14th century, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism is a convenient source of wide-ranging critical commentary on this era. It furnishes extensive excerpts from criticism on authors, poets, playwrights, and literary works that contributed to human culture in many ages and areas. Each volume covers four to six authors or works of classical and medieval literature, including Aeschylus , Beowulf , Homer’s Iliad , Lady Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji , Chanson de Roland and hundreds more, through to Chaucer. Each entry begins with an introduction containing biographical, historical, and other background information. A list of principal English translations or editions for each author or work follows. The selection of criticism represents many opinions and many periods of time, with emphasis on evaluations made during the past 200 years. Cumulative author, nationality, title, and critic indexes are included.