The Literature of Pity

Pity Represents A Combination Of Fear, Helplessness And Overwhelming Agitation. It Is A Term Which Suffuses Our Everyday Lives, It Is Also A Dangerous Term Hovering Between Approval Of Sympathy And Disapproval Of Emotional Wallowing (as In 'self-pity'). This Book Traces An Entire History Of Pity, As An Emotion And As An Element In The Arts. Distinguishing Pity -- Pity And Terror : The Aristotelian Framework -- Pietà -- Shakespeare On Pity -- The Eighteenth Century -- Blake : Pity Would Be No More -- Aspects Of Victoriana -- Chekhov And Brecht : Pity And Self-pity -- War, And The Pity Of War : Wilfred Owen, David Jones, Primo Levi -- Reflections On Algernon Blackwood's Gothic -- Pity's Cold Extremities : Jean Rhys And Stevie Smith -- Reclaiming The Savage Night -- Pity The Poor Immigrant : Pity, Diaspora, The Colony -- Lyric And Pity -- After Thought : Under The Dome. David Punter. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [183]-188) And Index.