{"product_id":"signifying-power-of-pearl-1","title":"Signifying Power of Pearl","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis book enhances our understanding of the exquisitely beautiful, fourteenth-century, Middle English dream vision poem \u003ci\u003ePearl\u003c\/i\u003e. Situating the study in the contexts of medieval literary criticism and contemporary genre theory, Beal argues that the poet intended \u003ci\u003ePearl \u003c\/i\u003eto be read at four levels of meaning and in four corresponding genres: literally, an elegy; spiritually, an allegory; morally, a consolation; and anagogically, a revelation. The book addresses cruxes and scholarly debates about the poem’s genre and meaning, including key questions that have been unresolved in \u003ci\u003ePearl\u003c\/i\u003e studies for over a century: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e* What is the nature of the relationship between the Dreamer and the Maiden? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e* What is the significance of allusions to Ovidian love stories and the use of liturgical time in the poem? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e* How does avian symbolism, like that of the central symbol of the pearl, develop, transform, and add meaning throughout the dream vision? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e* What is the nature of God portrayed in the poem, and how does the portrayal of the Maiden’s intimate relationship to God, her spiritual marriage to the Lamb, connect to the poet’s purpose in writing? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNoting that the poem is open to many interpretations, Beal also considers folktale genre patterns in \u003ci\u003ePearl\u003c\/i\u003e, including those drawn from parable, fable, and fairy-tale. The conclusion considers \u003ci\u003ePearl\u003c\/i\u003e in the light of modern psychological theories of grieving and trauma. This book makes a compelling case for re-reading \u003ci\u003ePearl\u003c\/i\u003e and recognizing the poem’s signifying power. Given the ongoing possibility of new interpretations, it will appeal to those who specialize in \u003ci\u003ePearl \u003c\/i\u003eas well as scholars of Middle English, Medieval Literature, Genre Theory, and Literature and Religion.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Taylor \u0026 Francis Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54243053732184,"sku":"9780367878641","price":36.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780367878641_d82d6926-dd32-4509-850f-7635f5ae6dbc.jpg?v=1769160615","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/signifying-power-of-pearl-1","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}