Description
Book SynopsisThe poetry of the mid - and late eighteenth century has long been regarded as primarily private and apolitical. Taking up the topic of patriotic verse, Griffin shows that poets such as Thomas Gray, Christopher Smart, Oliver Goldsmith and William Cowper were engaged in the century-long debate about the nature of 'true patriotism'.
Trade Review'Professor Griffin has added another item to his series of valuable contributions to the criticism of eighteenth-century English poetry. His book can be recommended wholeheartedly to both researchers and students for its detailed analyses, its overall argument, and its approachable style.' Notes & Queries
' … engaged and erudite.' British Association for Romantic Studies
'Griffin's book is workmanlike and thorough. He provides extensive footnotes and a useful index. The book is scrupulously edited and attractively presented. It should afford useful research material for the period's scholars but is not inaccessible to the general reader.' English Studies
'Dustin Griffin's Patriotism and Poetry in Eighteenth-Century Britain is a pleasure to read for its seamless linking of the literature and history of the period. Griffin's book adds much to our knowledge of the period.' Zeitschrift für Anglistik unk Amerikanistik
Table of ContentsList of illustrations; Acknowledgments; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The eighteenth-century debate about patriotism; 2. Patriotic odes and Patriot-poets; 3. James Thomson: 'To mix the patriot's with the poet's flame'; 4. Mark Akenside: 'Great citizen of Albion'; 5. William Collins: 'Virtue's patriot theme'; 6. Thomas Gray: 'Some great and singular service to his country'; 7. John Dyer: 'Sedulous for the public weal'; 8. Oliver Goldsmith: 'Half a patriot'; 9. Christopher Smart and William Cowper: 'Christian patriots'; 10. Ann Yearsley: 'The female patriot'; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
