Few topics can rival Death as a constant preoccupation of humanity. In academia, the drama of passing away has been examined from almost all disciplinary angles. This collection of essays presents the works of yet another group of scholars involved in the cultural study of death and what happens when life is over. Individually, the essays read the motifs of death and immortality in a number of distinct texts and contexts: gladiatorial games, the Quran, Victorian novel, West Indian poetry, a pop song and a horror film. As a whole, they demonstrate that, across cultures and over time, people ultimately want to believe - with Horace - that some part of them will evade the Goddess of Death. A thought-provoking book inviting the readers to ponder about their own mortality. Skryť popis