Essays on Medieval Literature
Book Description
General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1905 Original Publisher: Macmillan and co., limited Subjects: English literature Simile Literature, Medieval Literary Criticism / Medieval Literary Criticism / General Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Literary Criticism / European / Italian Literary Criticism / Medieval Poetry ...
MoreGeneral Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1905 Original Publisher: Macmillan and co., limited Subjects: English literature Simile Literature, Medieval Literary Criticism / Medieval Literary Criticism / General Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Literary Criticism / European / Italian Literary Criticism / Medieval Poetry / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: BOCCACCIO To many readers it has appeared as if the friendship of Petrarch and Boccaccio made the first comfortable resting-place in the history of literature, on this side of the Dark Ages. On the other side, farther back, there are no doubt many marvellous and admirable things, the enchantments and sublimities of "Gothic" art; but there is little rest there for those who are accustomed to the manners of the earlier literature. There are interesting things, there are beautiful things in the literature of the MiddleAges ; poems and stories that have character and worth of their own, and cannot be displaced or annulled by anything the Renaissance or the march of intellect may have produced in later times. But there is one defect in the Middle Ages : they are not comfortable. There is no leisurely rational conversation. Many civilised and educated persons feel on being asked to consider medieval literature, to pay attention to the poets of Provence or to the Minnesingers, the same sort of reluctance, the same need for courage, that Dr. Johnson may have felt in setting out for the Isle of Skye. Even to speak of Dante is not always safe with the less adventurous sort of pilgrims ; it is like recommending a good mountain to a traveller who is anxious about his inn....
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