Author: Reginald Charles Churchill
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349028150
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Author: Reginald Charles Churchill
Publisher: New York : Garland Pub.
ISBN:
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Author: Linda M. Lewis
Publisher: University of Missouri Press
ISBN: 0826272649
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Charles Dickens once commented that in each of his Christmas stories there is “an express text preached on . . . always taken from the lips of Christ.” This preaching, Linda M. Lewis contends, does not end with his Christmas stories but extends throughout the body of his work. In Dickens, His Parables, and His Reader, Lewis examines parable and allegory in nine of Dickens’s novels as an entry into understanding the complexities of the relationship between Dickens and his reader. Through the combination of rhetorical analysis of religious allegory and cohesive study of various New Testament parables upon which Dickens based the themes of his novels, Lewis provides new interpretations of the allegory in his novels while illuminating Dickens’s religious beliefs. Specifically, she alleges that Dickens saw himself as valued friend and moral teacher to lead his “dear reader” to religious truth. Dickens’s personal gospel was that behavior is far more important than strict allegiance to any set of beliefs, and it is upon this foundation that we see allegory activated in Dickens’s characters. Oliver Twist and The Old Curiosity Shop exemplify the Victorian “cult of childhood” and blend two allegorical texts: Jesus’s Good Samaritan parable and John Bunyan’s ThePilgrim’s Progress. In Dombey and Son,Dickens chooses Jesus’s parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders. In the autobiographical David Copperfield, Dickens engages his reader through an Old Testament myth and a New Testament parable: the expulsion from Eden and the Prodigal Son, respectively. Led by his belief in and desire to preach his social gospel and broad church Christianity, Dickens had no hesitation in manipulating biblical stories and sermons to suit his purposes. Bleak House is Dickens’s apocalyptic parable about the Day of Judgment, while Little Dorrit echoes the line “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” from the Lord’s Prayer, illustrating through his characters that only through grace can all debt be erased. The allegory of the martyred savior is considered in Hard Times and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens’s final completed novel, Our Mutual Friend, blends the parable of the Good and Faithful Servant with several versions of the Heir Claimant parable. While some recent scholarship debunks the sincerity of Dickens’s religious belief, Lewis clearly demonstrates that Dickens’s novels challenge the reader to investigate and develop an understanding of New Testament doctrine. Dickens saw his relationship with his reader as a crucial part of his storytelling, and through his use and manipulation of allegory and parables, he hoped to influence the faith and morality of that reader.

Author: Melissa S. Van Vuuren
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
ISBN: 0810877279
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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This volume discusses traditional and new resources for researching British literature of the Victorian and Edwardian ages and the ways in which those resources can be used in conjunction with one another.

Author: Norman Page
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349060046
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 374

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Author: Laurence W. Mazzeno
Publisher: Camden House
ISBN: 9781571133175
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Undoubtedly the best-selling author of his day and well loved by readers in succeeding generations, Charles Dickens was not always a favorite among critics. Celebrated for his novels advocating social reform, for half a century after his death he was ridiculed by those academics who condescended to write about him. Only the faithful band of devotees who called themselves Dickensians kept alive an interest in his work. Then, during the Second World War, he was resurrected by critics, and was soon being hailed as the foremost writer of his age, a literary genius alongside Shakespeare and Milton. More recently, Dickens has again been taken to task by a new breed of literary theorists who fault his chauvinism and imperialist attitudes. Whether he has been adored or despised, however, one thing is certain: no other Victorian novelist has generated more critical commentary. This book traces Dickens's reputation from the earliest reviews through the work of early 21st-century commentators, showing how judgments of Dickens changed with new standards for evaluating fiction. Mazzeno balances attention to prominent critics from the late 19th century through the first three quarters of the 20th with an emphasis on the past three decades, during which literary theory has opened up new ways of reading Dickens. What becomes clear is that, in attempting to provide fresh insight into Dickens's writings, critics often reveal as much about the predilections of their own age as they do about the novelist. Laurence W. Mazzeno is President Emeritus of Alvernia University, Reading, Pennsylvania.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : English literature
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Author: Michael J. Marcuse
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520321871
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 2816

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Author: Kathryn Chittick
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317579887
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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This bibliography, first published in 1989, brings together a number of reviews of the early Dickens which appeared in contemporary magazines, newspapers, and quarterlies during the eight years between 1833 and 1841. The chronological arrangement of reviews, both of Dickens and others, forms the core of this study. This book is perfect for those studying Dickens and his works in-depth.

Author: Michael Hollington
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 872

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Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is often criticized for its melodramatic soap-opera plot, yet his bold treatment of the violence and terrors of the French Revolution is still widely read and enjoyed today. More complex than it first appears, A Tale of Two Cities demonstrates Dickens's profound understanding of human nature exemplified in mob behavior, implacable hatred, and powerful, enduring love.