Ireland, Reading and Cultural Nationalism, 1790-1930

Erscheinungsjahr 2017
ISBN: 978-1-107-13356-3
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 262 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 542 g

The emergence of an Irish 'common reader' in the nineteenth century had significant implications for the evolution of Irish cultural nationalism. The rise of literacy rates prompted a cultural crisis, with nationalists fearing that the beneficiaries of mass education were being drawn to populist publications emanating from London which were having the effect of eroding Irish identity and corrupting Irish morals. This fear prompted an intensification of cultural nationalist activity at the turn of the century. Andrew Murphy's study, which includes a chapter on W. B. Yeats and the Irish reader, moves freely between historical and literary analysis, and demonstrates how a developing sense of cultural crisis served as an engine for the Irish literary revival. Examining responses to Irish reading habits advanced by a wide range of cultural commentators, Murphy provides a nuanced discussion of theories of nationalism and examines attempts finally to control reading habits through the introduction of censorship.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Murphy, Andrew

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction; 1. Textual nationalism and oral culture; 2. Education and the rise of literacy; 3. W. B. Yeats and the Irish reader; 4. Contending textualities; 5. Censorship; Afterword: Joycean transformations; Appendix: W. B. Yeats' Irish canon.

Über Autor(innen)

Murphy, Andrew
Andrew Murphy is Professor of English and Director of the Graduate School at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. His authored books include: But the Irish Sea Betwixt Us: Ireland, Colonialism, and Renaissance Literature (1999), Shakespeare in Print: A History and Chronology of Shakespeare Publishing (Cambridge, 2003) and Shakespeare for the People: Working-class Readers, 1800–1900 (Cambridge, 2008).