The Poetics of Personification (Paperback)

James J. Paxson

ISBN 10: 0521106311 / ISBN 13: 9780521106313

Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2009

About this Item

Paperback. Literary personification has long been taken for granted as an important aspect of Western narrative; Paul de Man has given it still greater prominence as 'the master trope of poetic discourse'. James Paxson here offers a much-needed critical and theoretical appraisal of personification in the light of poststructuralist thought and theory. The poetics of personification provides a historical reassessment of early theories, together with a sustained account of how literary personification works through an examination of narratological and semiotic codes and structures in the allegorical texts of Prudentius, Chaucer, Langland and Spenser. The device turns out to be anything but an aberration, oddity or barbarism, from ancient, medieval or early modern literature. Rather, it works as a complex artistic tool for revealing and advertising the problems and limits inherent in narration in particular and poetic or verbal creation in general. James Paxson offers a critical and theoretical appraisal of literary personification in the light of developments in poststructuralist thought, reassessing early theories and examining medieval and early modern texts to show how personification reveals and advertises the problems and limits inherent in poetic or verbal creation. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780521106313

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Poetics of Personification (Paperback)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521106311
• ISBN 13: 9780521106313
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Literary personification has long been taken for granted as an important aspect of Western narrative; Paul de Man had given it prominence as "the master trope of poetic discourse." James Paxson here offers a critical and theoretical appraisal of personification in the light of developments in poststructuralist thought. He reassesses early theories and examines the allegorical texts of Prudentius, Chaucer, Langland and Spenser to show how personification works as a complex artistic tool for revealing and advertising the problems and limits inherent in poetic or verbal creation.

Book Description

James Paxson offers a critical and theoretical appraisal of literary personification in the light of developments in poststructuralist thought, reassessing early theories and examining medieval and early modern texts to show how personification reveals and advertises the problems and limits inherent in poetic or verbal creation.