In Recursive Origins: Writing at the Transition to Modernity, William Kuskin asks us to reconsider the relationship between literary form and historical period. As Kuskin observes, most current literary histories of medieval and early modern English literature hew to period, presenting the Middle Ages and modernity as discrete, separated by a heterodox and unstable fifteenth century. In contrast, the major writers of the sixteenth century-Phil...
Explores early English culture, from William Cazton's (c. 1421-1492) introduction of the press, through questions of audience, translation, politics, and genre, to the modern fascination with Caxton's books.
Consists of ten essays that explore early English culture, from Caxton's introduction of the press, through questions of audience, and genre, to the fascination with Caxton's books. This book suggests that the first century of print production is defined less by transition or break, than by a dynamic transformation in literary production itself.
Explores the introduction of printing in symbolic terms. This book presents literary history in which the fifteenth century is crucial to the overall story of English literature. It argues that the development of print production is part of a larger social network involving the political, economic, and literary systems.
