Derek Attridge - Peculiar Language

First published in 1988, Peculiar Language is now established as one of the most important discussions of the language of literature.

This thought-provoking 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, Attridges unique application of deconstructive methods have ensured that the influence of this book has been felt across the entire field of literary studies.

Re-issued as a result of recent critical interest in the book, this edition includes a new preface by the author. Alongside his new book, The Singularity of Literature, Peculiar Language confirms Derek Attridges place at the forefront of contemporary critical theory.

Derek Attridge is Professor of English at the University of York, England. He is the author and editor of leading texts on fiction, poetry and literary theory. Recent publications include Meter and Meaning: An Introduction to Rhythm in Poetry (2003) and The Singularity of Literature (2004).

Derek Attridges brilliant tour de force of the relationship between language and literature from the Renaissance to modern times is beautifully written and patiently argued through an analysis of representative texts [ ] One can hardly do justice to Peculiar Language in a short review. The book tackles major themes in intelligent and informative ways, and must be read and digested slowly to be appreciated fully. Journal of Modern Literature

exhilarating and inspiring Notes and Queries

witty, informative and continuously intelligent [] Attridge has written an exceptionally distinguished book which shows how his reading of the text can be a liberating experience even liberal, in the classic sense, in posing essential questions and then looking to the reader to decide. Christopher Butler, James Joyce Broadsheet

Hovering between a poised critique of criticism and a pragmatic reading of rhetorical blind spots in texts, Attridges own text confirms him as a subtle reader and writer. Laurent Milesi, Modern Fiction Studies

Peculiar Language is invaluable to Joyceans, and some of its discussions [] will no doubt become classics. Brian McHale, JJLS

We have only begun to explore the code of literary language through the historical mapping of literature as an institution. Derek Attridges excellent work makes such a task even more urgent than it was before. Patrick McGee, James Joyce Quarterly

As author

Well-weighed Syllables: Elizabethan Verse in Classical Metres

The Rhythms of English Poetry

Poetic Rhythm: An Introduction

Joyce Effects: On Language, Theory, and History

Meter and Meaning (with Thomas Carper)

J. M. Coetzee and the Ethics of Reading: Literature in the Event

The Singularity of Literature

As editor

Post-structuralist Joyce: Essays from the French (with Daniel Ferrer)

Post-structuralism and the Question of History (with Geoff Bennington and Robert Young)

The Linguistics of Writing: Arguments between Language and Literature (with Nigel Fabb, Alan Durant, and Colin MacCabe)

The Cambridge Companion to James Joyce

Acts of Literature, by Jacques Derrida

Writing South Africa: Literature, Apartheid, and Democracy 19701995 (with Rosemary Jolly)

Semicolonial Joyce (with Marjorie Howes)

James Joyces Ulysses: A Casebook

First published 1988 by Methuen & Co. Ltd
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

This edition published 2004 by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.

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1988, 2004 Derek Attridge

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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ISBN 0-203-46297-1 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-67188-0 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-34058-6 (Print edition)

IN MEMORY OF MY MOTHER MARJORIE JULIA ODELL