The Oxford History of Classical Reception in English Literature: Volume 3 (1660-1790)(Oxford History of Classical Reception in English Literature)

The Oxford History of Classical Reception (OHCREL), of which the present volume is the first to appear, is designed to offer a comprehensive investigation of the numerous and diverse ways in which literary texts of the classical world have been responded to and refashioned by English writers. Covering the full range of English literature from the early Middle Ages to the present day, OHCREL both synthesizes existing scholarship and presents cutting-edge new research, employing an international team of expert contributors for each of the volumes. OHCREL endeavours to interrogate, rather than inertly reiterate, conventional assumptions about literary 'periods', the processes of canon-formation, and the relations between literary and non-literary discourse. It conceives of 'reception' as a complex process of dialogic exchange and, rather than offering large cultural generalizations, it engages in close critical analysis of literary texts. It explores in detail the ways in which English writers' engagement with classical literature casts as much light on the classical originals as it does on the English writers' own cultural context. When completed, this 5-volume history will be one of the largest, and potentially most important projects, in the field of classical reception ever undertaken. This third volume covers the years 1660-1790.

Table of Contents:
Preface List of Contributors 1: David Hopkins and Charles Martindale: Introduction 2: Penelope Wilson: The Place of Classics in Education and Publishing 3: Charles Martindale: Milton s Classicism 4: Tom Mason: Dryden s Classicism 5: Paul Davis: Latin Epic 6: David Hopkins: Homer 7: David Hopkins: Ovid 8: Dan Hooley: Satire and Epigram 9: Robin Sowerby: Horatianiasm 10: Juan Christian Pellicer: Georgic and Pastoral 11: Fred Parker: Burlesque and Mock Epic 12: Philip Smallwood: Literary Criticism 13: Martin Priestman: Didactic and Scientific Poetry 14: Bruce Redford: The epistolary Tradition 15: Malcolm Kelsall: The Classics and Eighteenth-Century Theatre 16: Jayne Lewis: The Fabular Tradition 17: Penelope Wilson: Women Writers and the Classics 18: David Fairer: Lyric and Elegy 19: Henry Power: The Classics in the English Novel 20: Philip Hicks: The Ancient Historians in England 21: Adam Potkay: Discursive and Philosophical Prose 22: Freya Johnston: Samuel Johnson's Classicism BibliographyVictoria Moul: Index

About the Author :
David Hopkins is Emeritus Professor of English Literature and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Bristol. His teaching and research interests have largely been focused on English poetry and literary criticism of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (especially Milton, Cowley, Dryden, Pope, and Johnson) and on English/Classical literary relations. Charles Martindale is Emeritus Professor of Latin and Dean of Arts at the University of Bristol. His research interests are wide-ranging, with a particular commitment to cross-disciplinary research. He is interested in Latin poetry (particularly Catullus, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Lucan) and its reception, especially in English literature.

Review :
The book, edited by Patrick Cheney and Philip Hardie, is nonetheless a prodi-gious work of scholarship. a valuable collection of essays that displays the rich mix of creative classicism in eighteenth-century Britain.