Chiastic designs in English literature; from Sidney to Shakespeare.

9780754666363

Chiastic designs in English literature; from Sidney to Shakespeare.

Engel, William E.

Ashgate Publishing Co.

2009

158 pages

$99.95

Hardcover

PR428

Building on earlier works on death and memory, Engel (U. of the South, US) considers the point in early modern mnemonic culture when allegory and death intersect, begin to diverge, then pass beyond the horizon of representation. During that brief period, he says, mortality becomes momentarily intelligible, especially when the themes of melancholy and loss are involved, with the aid of mnemonic emblems such as momento more tags and tokens, and of emblematic conceits such as echo poems. He discusses Phlegyas and David, Sidney's legacy, Spenser's calling, and Shakespearean triads all within the context of chiasmus.

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