Literature, Rhetoric and Violence in Northern Ireland, 1968-98: Hardened to Death

During the Northern Irish Troubles of the past 30 years, a war of words has accompanied the actual conduct of violence in complex ways. This book explores the way literature of the period participates in this war of words. It draws on a range of contemporary authors and on a variety of printed sources, including journalists' reports, political speeches, interviews, memoirs, pamphlets, and autobiography. The book places the Northern Ireland conflict within a broad European debate about the legitimate use of force, and provides an original analysis of the inter-relationship between language, literature, and violence.