Seth Lerer Livres

Exploring the fifteenth century's literary landscape, the author challenges the notion of it being a "Drab Age" by highlighting the influential role of Chaucer as a foundational figure in English poetry. Through an examination of various poets, scribes, and printers, the text reveals how Chaucer was constructed as a revered "poet laureate." It delves into the complexities of his imitators and readers, showcasing characters from his works who embody themes of subjugation and innocence. The analysis spans poetry from Lydgate to Skelton, emphasizing the socio-political contexts of the time.

What does it mean to have an emotional response to poetry and music? And, just as important but considered less often, what does it mean not to have such a response? What happens when lyric utterances - which should invite consolation, revelation, and connection - somehow fall short of the listener's expectations? As Seth Lerer shows in this pioneering book, Shakespeare's late plays invite us to contemplate that very question, offering up lyric as a displaced and sometimes desperate antidote to situations of duress or powerlessness. Lerer argues that the theme of lyric misalignment running throughout The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, Henry VIII, and Cymbeline serves a political purpose, a last-ditch effort at transformation for characters and audiences who had lived through witch-hunting, plague, regime change, political conspiracies, and public executions. A deep dive into the relationship between aesthetics and politics, this book also explores what Shakespearean lyric is able to recuperate for these "victims of history" by virtue of its disjointed utterances. To this end, Lerer establishes the concept of mythic lyricism: an estranging use of songs and poetry that functions to recreate the past as present, to empower the mythic dead, and to restore a bit of magic to the commonplaces and commodities of Jacobean England. Reading against the devotion to form and prosody common in Shakespeare scholarship, Lerer's account of lyric utterance's vexed role in his late works offers new ways to understand generational distance and cultural change throughout the playwright's oeuvre

Exploring the culture of spectatorship and voyeurism, this study delves into its influence on early Tudor English literary life. It examines how these themes shaped the works and experiences of writers and audiences during this pivotal period, highlighting the interplay between observation and creativity. Through a detailed analysis, the book reveals the societal dynamics that informed literary production and reception, offering insights into the cultural context of the time.

A masterful, engaging history of the English language from the age of "Beowulf" to the rap of Eminem, this book percolates with creative energy ("Publishers Weekly").

Focusing on Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, the author analyzes it as a piece of imaginative literature, employing contemporary critical techniques. The aim is to reveal the methodological and thematic coherence within Boethius' work, highlighting its literary significance and philosophical depth.

Offering a thorough exploration of the English language, this text delves into its origins, evolution, and ongoing transformations in modern society. It presents a detailed analysis of linguistic changes over time, providing insights into how the language adapts and evolves in response to cultural and social influences. This comprehensive account serves as a valuable resource for understanding the dynamic nature of English today.

Seth Lerer explores our relationship to the literary past in an age marked by historical self-consciousness, critical distance, and shifts in cultural literacy. He examines a range of fiction, poetry, and criticism in order to understand the ways in which the literary past makes us, and how we create canons for reading, teaching, and scholarship.