Ralph-Thomas Honegger Livres

The eighth volume of Fastitocalon takes a look at a selection of the early fantasy films and television series, most of which date back to the late 1970s or early 1980s. The thematic range of the articles published here does not touch upon such conventional fantasy-related issues as the worldbuilding techniques, the use of the supernatural, the complexity of character formation and interaction as well as the unrelenting conflict between good and evil etc. Instead, the authors deal with the topics of a less obvious kind: the possible anti-communist undertones in Lech Majewski?s The Knight, the socio-political background of Conan the Barbarian, the conventional orientalist constructions found in John Milius?s landmark tale of the courageous Cimmerian, the adaptational dilemmas encountered by Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass in the development of their animated versions of Tolkien?s works and the mythological parallels and reminiscences in Robert Tapert?s Xena: Warrior Princess. Notwithstanding by this wide-ranging and, in many a case, multidisciplinary approach to fantasy films in the second half of the twentieth century the present issue of Fastitocalon provides a valuable addition to the study of speculative fiction on the screen prior to the enormous worldwide success of Peter Jackson?s trilogies and HBO?s Game of Thrones.0The contributors for this volume are: Franz Klug (?There and back again?: Worldbuilding in Rankin and Bass?s Animated Hobbit Tales), Lukasz Neubauer (In the Realm of the Maimed King: Some Plausible Arthurian Inspirations and Political Undertones in Lech Majewski?s The Knight), Przemyslaw Grabowski-Górniak (Conan the Cinematic: The Socio-Political Background of John Milius? Conan the Barbarian), Mat Hardy (Conan the Constructor: Building Eastern Worlds in Fantasy Film) and Martin J. Auernheimer (The Hercules & Xena Universe: Myth or Fantasy?)

The sixth volume of „Fastitocalon“ features contributions that examine the role of animals—both real and imaginary—in fantastic texts through literary, cultural, and anthropological lenses. The discussions focus on whether animals serve as representatives of a fantastic realm or remain tied to the primary world, merely adapted to new literary contexts. Authors delve into animal traits that transcend human nature and investigate motivations for crossing the human-animal divide, such as transformations and metamorphoses. They also explore the relationship between human culture and the representation of animals in various texts, including myths and fables. Notable contributors include Friedhelm Schneidewind, who discusses talking animals as protagonists; Anja Höing, who offers an ecocritical perspective on anthropomorphism; and Steve Gronert Ellerhoff, who analyzes shamanism in "Watership Down." Other contributors explore themes in works like Kafka’s narratives, Andrzej Sapkowski’s "Witcher" series, and adaptations of "The Lord of the Rings." The volume presents a rich tapestry of insights into the multifaceted roles animals play in the fantastic, inviting readers to reconsider their significance in literature and culture.

This collection explores various dimensions of irony across literary texts and contexts. M. Fludernik examines language interfaces with a focus on irony, while W. Wolf discusses 'Schutzironie' as a strategy for navigating problematic discourses. V. and A. Nünning analyze dramatic irony as a structural principle in unreliable narration and focalization. H. P. Dannenberg delves into coincidences in narrative fiction, and M. Pincombe investigates the concept of irony in George Puttenham’s work. H. F. Plett focuses on the rhetoric of irony in Shakespeare’s comedies, complemented by N. Greiner’s study of scenic irony in Shakespeare’s histories. M. Gibińska reflects on the role of the chorus in "Henry V," while M. Brunkhorst addresses Hamlet's affliction and the struggle for understanding. S. Kohl discusses time compression and ambiguity in Jonson and Dryden's works. H. Klein explores narratorial irony in Fielding and Austen, and P. Erlebach examines irony in Thackeray's "Vanity Fair." H.-J. Müllenbrock highlights varieties of irony in J. G. Farrell's trilogy, while U. Broich looks at deception in John le Carré’s spy novels. Other contributions include analyses of irony in works by Kureishi, Larkin, Twain, and Ford, as well as postmodern irony in contemporary American theater, exemplified by Sam Shepard.

This volume comprises selected papers from the first two Studientage zum englischen Mittelalter (SEM), held at Potsdam in 1999 and 2000 respectively. The contributions (in English and German) provide a representative cross-section of topics investigated by up-coming researchers at universities in Germany and Switzerland. The spectrum of treated topics ranges from narratology, metrics, the history of ideas and manuscript studies to the more philological approaches of morphology and etymology. The contributions by Hildegard L. C. Tristram (Potsdam) and Andreas Fischer (Zürich) provide an overview of the situation of (English) medieval studies in the German-speaking countries.Der vorliegende Band vereinigt ausgewählte Papers der ersten beiden Potsdamer Studientage zum englischen Mittelalter (SEM) von 1999 und 2000. Die deutsch und englisch geschriebenen Beiträge geben einen repräsentativen Querschnitt durch die aktuelle Forschung des anglistisch-mediävistischen Nachwuchses in Deutschland und der Schweiz. Die Bandbreite reicht von Studien zur Narratologie, Metrik, Mentalitätsgeschichte und der Problematik des unfertigen Texts hin zu stärker philologisch ausgerichteten Untersuchungen zur Morphologie und Etymologie. Die Beiträge von Hildegard L. C. Tristram (Potsdam) und Andreas Fischer (Zürich) geben einen Überblick zur Lage der deutschsprachigen anglistischen Mediävistik.

As in the preceding volume (TolkieninTranslation), the studies presented here deal with a wide range of problems and challenges connected with the task of translating Tolkien's work. Contributions do not only discuss aspects of translation into different languages (German, Dutch, Swedish, Hebrew), but also offer in-depth analysis of especially difficult areas of translation (names, Tolkien's invented languages). Moreover, with the initial publication of this volume having closely followed the release of the third and final part of the movie in 2003, it could take stock and make a first assessment of Jackson's achievement (or failure). Five out of twelve contributions united in this volume thus deal with the movie under the aspect of 'translation'. The preceding volume, Tolkien in Translation, is available as number 4 in the Cormarë Series from Walking Tree Publishers.

This book is an introduction written for both the scholar and the interested lay reader. It presents a fascinating topic - the medieval dragon - in an accessible and lucid manner that educates, entertains, and enthrals - exactly as medieval dragons themselves did.