The idea for this study came to me in the course of my reading of innova tive US-American! fiction of the last three decades. I observed that much of it is cast in the comic mode - or, more precisely, that there seems to be in contemporary fiction an affinity between 'innovation' and 'the comic' and that this affinity, furthermore, appears to be characteristic of postmo dernism. It is obvious, at the same time, that comic has become an elusive and, more often than not, a disputable category. Frederick Karl, in his sur vey of American Fictions 1940-1980, maintains, for instance, that much comic writing consists in ridicule that lacks deeper intellectual and cul tural roots. "Wit and mockery," he notes, "by themselves have little lasting value. Even in the best of such fiction, Gravity's Rainbow, one is made aware of attenuated skits stiched onto previous segments, rather than baked in by a defined point of view. " (Karl: 27) Such assessments of course challenge my view that the comic is in significant ways connected with what is innovative in postmodernist US-American fiction. Yet the term comic -or related terms like humour, parody, irony and so fort- is regularly and heavily employed in discussions or reviews of con temporary fiction.

If common sense is so common, why don't I have it? Come explore the invisible world of common sense and its often hilarious connection to real life! Comic Sense shows what's common - and what's comic - about sense. Nancy Mucklow, creator of the sensory team approach to sensory processing, uses comics to reveal the hidden patterns behind social reasoning. Instead of listing rules and blunders, Mucklow takes you behind the scenes to discover what everyone else seems to know. The result is a new way of looking at the social world.You'll learn: How to be aware - What people assume - What people expect - How to predict - How to prioritize - How to take action. With over 300 illustrations, Comic Sense is a unique and engaging book-anessential social skills tool for anyone who thinks in pictures.

Taking its title from James's ambivalent catchphrase, this original study explores fundamental concerns of his fiction. It adopts a modern critical approach, yet is written for the intelligent reader whose interest in James is not necessarily academic. It examines six key novels and a number of short stories, interrelating them to provide not only an integrated picture of the fiction, but some conception of what animates it, and readings that challenge long-established critical assumptions.

Published in the year 1964, On Hamlet is a valuable contribution to the field of Performance.

A comprehensive study guide offering in-depth explanation, essay, and test prep for Nathanael West’s The Day of the Locust, one of West’s great novels that comments on the social and cultural properties of American life. As a novel of the post-Great Depression era, The Day of the Locust depicts the failure of one popular conception of the “American Dream.” Moreover, West’s novels highlight and intensify aspects of American life to show what it is, as opposed to what it ought to be, or even what it could be. This Bright Notes Study Guide explores the context and history of Nathanael West’s classic work, helping students to thoroughly explore the reasons it has stood the literary test of time. Each Bright Notes Study Guide contains: - Introductions to the Author and the Work - Character Summaries - Plot Guides - Section and Chapter Overviews - Test Essay and Study Q&As The Bright Notes Study Guide series offers an in-depth tour of more than 275 classic works of literature, exploring characters, critical commentary, historical background, plots, and themes. This set of study guides encourages readers to dig deeper in their understanding by including essay questions and answers as well as topics for further research.

This collection of essays represents, in the view of the editors, the best critical work represented at the World Shakespeare Congress in 1976. The work of leading Shakespeareans is represented, along with the work of several younger scholars and critics on a wide variety of subjects.