San Antonio College Library

Mirabile Dictu covers in six separate chapters the works of Virgil, Dante, Boccaccio, Ariosto, Tasso, and Spenser. Its broad aim is to provide a select cross section of works in the Middle Ages and Renaissance in order to examine and compare for the first time the marvelous in the light of epic genre, in the light of literary and critical theory (both past and present), and in the light of historically and culturally determined representational practices....

W.T.H. Jackson examines one of the consistent themes of the epic, the conflict between a hero and a king. His emphasis is on the essentially dramatic quality of the epic, while centering that drama on the conflict between a vigorous often younger intruder and a hard-pressed often older preserver of social order.

"This book provides an accessible route into Milton's complex epic poem, guiding students through the text by a combination of close textual analysis and summary of key themes and techniques. Assuming limited biblical or classical knowledge, it focuses on developing the reading skills necessary for tackling this canonical text"--Provided by publisher.

Chambers's introduction to "Beowulf" is the most comprehensive study of the whole problem of this remarkable Anglo-Saxon manuscript. -- From publisher's description.