Selected letters of William Empson
"This edited collection of letters by William Empson (1906-1984), one of the foremost writers and literary critics of the twentieth century, covers the entirety of his career. Parts of the correspondence record the development of ideas that were to come to fruition in seminal texts including Seven Types of Ambiguity, The Structure of Complex Words, and Milton's God. The topics of other letters range from Shakespeare's Dark Lady to Marvell's marriage and Byron's bisexuality. Empson relished correspondence that was combative, if not downright aggressive. As a result, parts of this edition take the form of a serial disputation with other critics of the period." "All readers of literary history and criticism will stand to benefit from this edition. Empson is universally credited as the man who 'invented' modern literary criticism and these writings make a signal addition to the canon of his works. This selection provides a context for the evaluation of Empson's total literary output; and in many letters Empson seeks to defend his ideas against both published and personal attacks. This volume not only fills in all the missing links, it adds up to a completely new volume of critical writings by Empson."--Jacket
Correspondence
lxi, 729 pages ; 24 cm
9780199286843, 0199286841
63179032
Machine derived contents note: Contents
Abbreviations x
Introduction xiii
Note on the Text l
Table of Dates lii
List of Recipients and Dates lvii
Text Of Letters
Glossary of Names 685
Index 711