Peculiar Language

This book challenges traditional notions of literary criticism, arguing that all attempts by writers, critics and literary theorists to define the language of literature have involved self-contradiction. Through examination of key moments in literary history, Derek Attridge demonstrates that such contradictions in accounts of literary language are embedded in our cultural concept of 'literature', and asserts that in order to appreciate the forces that determine the limits of literary language we must look beyond the realm of the 'literary' and embrace the wider political and social sphere. While key examples have been drawn from the Renaissance, Romanticism and the work of James Joyce, Attridge's unique application of deconstructive methods has ensured that the influence of this book has been felt across the entire field of literary studies.