Summary
In recounting a childhood experience, Charles Dickens once said that he was “inspired by a mighty faith in the marvellousness of everything.” Later in life, this inspiration revealed itself in the literature he wrote and in the worlds he created. Few writers have captured the essence of 19th-century London the way Dickens has, and few works of literature are as populated with rich, colorful, and often seedy characters as a Dickens novel is. The essays collected in this volume of analysis and appreciation attest to Dickens’s imaginative and aesthetic strength. Bringing together a selection of the best criticism available, Charles Dickens, Updated Edition breaks down the intricacies of the legendary writer's work and analyzes the ideas presented in clear, accessible language.
Specifications
Chronology. Bibliography. Index.
About the Author(s)
Harold Bloom is Sterling Professor of the Humanities at Yale University. Educated at Cornell and Yale universities, he is the author of 30 books, including Shelley's Mythmaking (1959), The Visionary Company (1961), Blake's Apocalypse (1963), Yeats (1970), A Map of Misreading (1975), Kabbalah and Criticism (1975), Agon: Toward a Theory of Revisionism (1982), The American Religion (1992), The Western Canon (1994), Omens of Millennium: The Gnosis of Angels, Dreams, and Resurrection (1996), and Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human (1998), a 1998 National Book Award finalist. The Anxiety of Influence (1973) sets forth Professor Bloom's provocative theory of the literary relationships between the great writers and their predecessors. His most recent books include How to Read and Why (2000), Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds (2002), Hamlet: Poem Unlimited (2003), Where Shall Wisdom Be Found? (2004), and Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine (2005). In addition, he is the author of hundreds of articles, reviews, and editorial introductions. In 1999, Professor Bloom received the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Criticism. He has also received the International Prize of Catalonia, the Alfonso Reyes Prize of Mexico, and the Hans Christian Andersen Bicentennial Prize of Denmark.