Description
Book SynopsisThe Civil War is a poem which Abraham Cowley (1618-67) did not complete, for political and historical reasons, and of which only the first volume was published; the other two volumes have been considered irrecoverably lost since Cowley's death. Professor Pritchard recently found two copies of the complete poem in a collection of family papers at the Hertfordshire County Record Office and here presents a corrected edition of the first and previously published book, and the text of the hitherto unpublished books two and three.
The poem is a major addition to the body of Cowley's poetry; it has close and sometimes surprising connections with much of his other work. It is not only the most extended and important of his political poems but a significant addition to the genre of the political poem. It is also unique as the attempt by a poet of stature to give epic treatment to the events of the English Civil War.
Professor Pritchard provides a discussion
