Patriotism and Poetry in Eighteenth-Century Britain

by Dustin Griffin

Overview

The poetry of the mid- and late-eighteenth century has long been regarded as essentially private and apolitical. Dustin Griffin argues in this study that the poets of the period were actually addressing the great issues of national life—rebellion at home, imperial wars abroad, an expanding commercial empire, and an emerging new British national identity. He also reveals 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521009591
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/17/2005
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.71(d)

About the Author

Dustin Griffin is Professor of English at New York University. He is the author of a number of books on Restoration and eighteenth-century English literature, including Satires on Man: The Poems of Rochester (1973), Alexander Pope: The Poet in the Poems (1978), Regaining Paradise: Milton and the Eighteenth Century (1986), Satire: A Critical Re-Introduction (1994), and Literary Patronage in England, 1650-1800 (Cambridge 1996).

Table of Contents

List 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.

Editorial Reviews

"Middle- to late- 18th century British poetry is traditionally characterized as forming an age of sensibility; that is, the general assumption has been that in reaction to this politically volatile time of war and empire building poets opted for a meditative withdrawal to the countryside. Challenging this characterization, Griffin (New York Univ.) demonstrates that far from abandoning politics, poets continued to view writing poetry as patriotic ... A well researched book." Choice

From the Publisher