| Irish Writers and Religion Contributor(s): Welch, Robert (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0861402367 ISBN-13: 9780861402366 Publisher: Colin Smythe OUR PRICE: $40.50 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: April 1992 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh - Biography & Autobiography | Literary Figures |
| Dewey: 820.938 |
| Physical Information: 242 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This volume analyses the interplay between religion and society in Ireland and how Irish writing, whether poetry, prose, drama, sermon or pamphlet, has reflected that interplay, and how the idea of wholeness and integration, as part of the religious search, informs Irish writing. Irish literature has been influenced by religion from the beginning. Writing itself came about as a result of the conversion to Christianity, because the early church brought with it a Latin orthography which the native men of learning adopted. Pagan beliefs and practices were assimilated into Christianity, but not entirely so: a theme that surfaces continually in Irish writing is the conflict between Pagan and Christian values. This tension is also an interaction: one of the characteristics of Irish literature of all periods is its capacity to retain pagan stories and modes of thought. This retention reflects a society which, while Christianised, has many roots in a pre-Christian Celtic past. The essays follow a broadly chronological pattern covering every facet of the subject, starting with Paganism in early Ireland, and moving on to the literary uses of folk belief and religion in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. |