Author: Arthur Hyman File Type: pdf Hardcover.

Author: Sallust, File Type: pdf Sallust was one of the first classical historians to move beyond a dry recitation of fact to paint sharp-edged portraits of the moral and political degeneration of the Roman Republic. Sallusts abrupt and distinctive style is the perfect vehicle for his moral urgency, bitter condemnation, and satirical cynicism. William W. Batstones new translation, which includes the fragmentary Histories, captures the severity of his Latin style. Catilines Conspiracy describes the bloody rebellion led by the depraved and disaffected Catiline. For Sallust it was especially disturbing because of the unprecedented nature of the crime and the danger it caused. The Jugurthine War offers a graphic depiction of the war against the king of Numidia, highlighting the power struggles in Rome and the brutal battles in Africa. A wide-ranging introduction sets Sallust and his works in their turbulent historical context, and considers their achievements as both history and literature. Batstone also provides shorter introductions to each of the three works as well as comprehensive notes, an up-to-date bibliography, and maps of the Mediterranean, Italy, and Africa. About the Series For over 100 years Oxford Worlds Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxfords commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.**

Author: Jack Zipes File Type: pdf A diverse new anthology that traces the meaning and magic of the sorcerers apprentice tale throughout history The Sorcerers Apprentice might conjure up images of Mickey Mouse from the Disney film Fantasia, or of Harry Potter. As this anthology reveals, however, sorcerers apprentice talesin which a young person rebels against, or complies with, an authority who holds the keys to magical powershave been told through the centuries, in many languages and cultures, from classical times to today. This unique and beautifully illustrated book brings together more than fifty sorcerers apprentice stories by a plethora of writers, including Ovid, Sir Walter Scott, and the Brothers Grimm. From Goethes The Pupil in Magic to A. K. Ramanujans The Guru and His Disciple, this expansive collection presents variations of a classic passed down through countries and eras. Readers enter worlds where household objects are brought to life and shape-shifting occurs from human to animal and back again. We meet two types of apprentice The Humiliated Apprentice, a foolish bumbler who wields magic ineffectively and promotes obedience to authority and The Rebellious Apprentice who, through ambition and transformative skills, promotes empowerment and self-awareness. In an extensive introduction, esteemed fairy-tale scholar Jack Zipes discusses the significance and meaning of the apprentice stories, the contradictions in popular retellings, and the importance of magic as a tool of resistance against figures who abuse their authority. Twenty specially commissioned black-and-white illustrations by noted artist Natalie Frank bring the stories to visual life. The Sorcerers Apprentice enlightens and entertains readers with enduring, spellbinding tales of sorcery that have been with us through the ages. **

Author: Elizabeth K. Rosen File Type: epub Since its inception, the story of the apocalypse has been used as a means by which to understand the world and ones place in it. The appeal of the apocalyptic myth is largely rooted in its ability to make sense of instances of crisis by incorporating those crises into a larger plan for history and an end of time that God has planned. Apocalypse is both an organizing principle to be imposed on an overwhelming, seemingly-disordered universe and a fundamentally moral story which offers hope of a new world where good and evil can be clearly delineated and addressed. But all of the traditional functions and comforts of the apocalyptic myth are challenged when the myth collides with postmodernism. The characteristics that define a work as postmodern ultimately destabilize the traits that make the apocalyptic myth unique. Using the work of Terry Gilliam, Don DeLillo, Kurt Vonnegut, and other writers in the genre, Apocalyptic Transformation examines the collision of the postmodern mode and the apocalyptic myth, explores the process of secularizing this religious story and the reasons for doing so, and asks the question What happens when an author undermines the grand narrative of the apocalypse? **Review Apocalyptic Transformations Apocalypse and the Postmodern Imagination is a fine example of why literature and literary criticism matter in todays world. Elizabeth Rosen demonstrates the continuing relevance in postmodern fiction, film, and graphic texts of that grandest of all grand narratives, Apocalypse. In lucid and engaging prose, Rosen details how contemporary writers and filmmakers have modified the story of Apocalypse in the aftermath of the death of God. Examining the work of some of the most respected American authors of the second half of the twentieth century as well as popular forms such as the Matrix films and comic books, Rosen illuminates the persistence of Apocalypse in the contemporary imagination. In their efforts to rescript the end of the world and what might follow it, she convincingly argues, contemporary apocalyptists offer hope, a way of seeing beyond the end, and a way out of the world view in which devastation by nuclear war or some other disaster is unavoidable. Apocalyptic Transformations is important in showing that postmodern narratives offer an alternative path to that mapped by the fatalistic, self-fulfilling prophecy of traditional Apocalypse. (Karen Alexander Signs Journal of Women in Culture and Society) Elizabeth K. Rosen understands more of my work than I do. (Terry Gilliam) Rosen offers an impressive review of previous criticism on selected works without resorting to specialized jargon, thus producing a book that is refreshingly readable. Her approach is unique . . . . Helpful endnotes accompany each chapter . . . . Recommended. (CHOICE, August 2008) One of the most enjoyable books I have read in awhile. I appreciated the diversity of cultural sources that Rosen drew upon in consideration of apocalypse, including graphic novels, books, and film. A solid consideration of how differing visions of the New Jerusalem speak to the late modern imagination. (John W. Morehead Moreheads Musings) We cannot fully appreciate contemporary art without acknowledging its apocalyptic dimension. Elizabeth K. Rosens interpretation of major works of postmodern literature and film is an important guide to the unchartered territory where fear and hope, eternity and immediacy, the finite and the infinite all come together in the unfulfillable desire to comprehend the end before it comes. (Zbigniew Lewicki, University of Warsaw) About the Author Elizabeth K. Rosen is a visiting assistant professor at Lafayette College.