The Endings of Epochs

Book excerpt: These specially commissioned new essays consider a variety of imaginative articulations of the endings of epochs, from the sixteenth century to the present day. Their subjects are as diverse as Milton's twin-vision of banishment and beginning, Donna Haraway's 'A Cyborg Manifesto' and DeLillo's version of the death of the author in Mao II. The essays treat drama, epic, poetry, the periodical press, fiction, and current theory; principal authors include Milton, An Collins, Shakespeare, John Fletcher, Henry James, Ella D'Arcy, Arthur Symons, Olive Schreiner, Angela Carter, bell hooks, Donna Haraway, Alasdair Gray, Martin Amis, Shena Mackay, and Don DeLillo.