Overview
- Examines the topic of excess in modern Irish writing in terms of mysticism, materialism, myth, and language.
- Discusses ideas of excess as they appear in works by major thinkers from Hegel, Kierkegaard and Marx to Nietzsche, Bataille, Derrida, and, more recently, Badiou.
- Illustrates how Matthew Arnold’s idea of the excessive character of the Celt is transformed within the modernity of twentieth-century Irish writing
Part of the book series: New Directions in Irish and Irish American Literature (NDIIAL)
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About this book
This book examines the topic of excess in modern Irish writing in terms of mysticism, materialism, myth and language. The study engages ideas of excess as they appear in works by major thinkers from Hegel, Kierkegaard and Marx through to Nietzsche, Bataille, Derrida and, more recently, Badiou. Poems, plays and fiction by a wide range of Irish authors are considered. These include works by Oscar Wilde, W. B. Yeats, G. B. Shaw, Patrick Pearse, James Joyce, Sean O’Casey, Louis MacNeice, Samuel Beckett, Elizabeth Bowen, Roddy Doyle, Seamus Heaney, Marina Carr and Medbh McGuckian. The readings presented illustrate how Matthew Arnold’s nineteenth-century idea of the excessive character of the Celt is itself exceeded within the modernity of twentieth-century Irish writing.
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Keywords
Table of contents (10 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Material Excess
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Front Matter
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Mythic and Linguistic Excess
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Reviews
“One of this book’s greatest strengths derives from the texts and passages that have been strategically chosen for close reading. In addition to showcasing the author’s forensic eye for detail, these choices lend a certain tightness and coherence … . a compelling monograph that will be accessible to literary scholars less familiar with philosophy, and vice versa. In addition to this educative value, Excess in Modern Irish Writing serves a timely reminder … .” (Matthew Fogarty, Irish University Review, Vol. 51 (2), November, 2021)
“There is much to admire and appreciate in McAteer’s book. The breadth and scope of his knowledge of Irish literature, current and past Irish literary criticism, and Continental philosophy is evident throughout thebook. McAteer moves easily between these disciplines, presenting his work in clear and accessible prose. … Bringing new and interesting theoretical frameworks to this emerging work as McAteer does represents a possible way forward.” (Michael Gillingham, Irish Studies Review, Vol. (28) 4, 2020)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Michael McAteer is Associate Professor at the Institute of English and American Studies, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest. Previously, he taught Irish writing at the School of English, Queen’s University Belfast. His previous publications include Yeats and European Drama (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and Silence in Modern Irish Literature (ed.) (Brill, 2017).
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Excess in Modern Irish Writing
Book Subtitle: Spirit and Surplus
Authors: Michael McAteer
Series Title: New Directions in Irish and Irish American Literature
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37413-6
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-37412-9Published: 15 March 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-37415-0Published: 15 March 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-37413-6Published: 14 March 2020
Series ISSN: 2731-3182
Series E-ISSN: 2731-3190
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIV, 279
Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations
Topics: British and Irish Literature, Nineteenth-Century Literature, Twentieth-Century Literature, History of Britain and Ireland, Modern Philosophy