The Plague Epic in Early Modern England: Heroic Measures, 1603-1721

by Rebecca Totaro (Editor)

Overview

Totaro presents together for the first time modernised versions of ten of the most poignant of plague poems in the English language-each composed in heroic verse and responding to the urgent need to justify the ways of God in times of social, religious and political upheaval. Showcasing unusual combinations of passion and restraint, heart-wrenching lamentation and nation-building fervour, these epic poems function as literary memorials to the plague-time fallen.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138109414
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/25/2017
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Rebecca Totaro is Professor of English at Florida Gulf Coast University, author of Suffering in Paradise: The Bubonic Plague in English Literature from More to Milton, and General Editor of the Medieval & Renaissance Literary Studies book series.

Table of Contents

Contents: Part 1 An Introduction to the Plague in Heroic Measures, 1603-1721: Part 2 The Poems: William Muggins, London's Mourning Garment; Thomas Dekker and Thomas Middleton, News from Graves-end; John Davies, The Triumph of Death; Richard Milton, London's Misery; John Taylor, The Fearful Summer; Abraham Holland, A Description of the Great, Fearful and Prodigious Plague; George Wither, Britain's Remembrance; William Austin, Epiloimia epe or The Anatomy of the Pestilence; Thomas Clark, Meditations in my Confinement; Christopher Pitt, The Plague of Marseilles; Glossary; Index of names; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'Totaro preserves the idiosyncratic capitalization, contraction, and italicization that was common in the texts of the time. Original printed marginal notes are included as footnotes. This approach offers scholars and students the best of both worlds; Totaro has made these texts more accessible while preserving much of their authenticity.' Renaissance Quarterly 'Totaro shines a valuable light on a body of verse that has been neglected and places it within a variety of contexts that are literary, medical, political, and theological, and her anthology will be a valuable resource for those in the field of literature and medicine and the medical humanities more generally.' The British Society for Literature and Science

From the Publisher