The Poetry of Praise
One of the chief functions of poetry in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was to praise gods, people and things. Heroes and kings were glorified in many varieties of praise, and the arts of encomium and panegyric were codified by classical rhetoricians and later by writers on poetry. J. A. Burrow's study spans over two thousand years, from Pindar to Christopher Logue, but its main concern is with the English poetry of the Middle Ages, a period when praise poetry flourished. He argues that the 'decline of praise' in English literature since the seventeenth century, which has meant that modern readers and critics find it hard to appreciate this kind of poetry. This erudite but accessible account by a leading scholar of medieval literature shows why the poetry of praise was once so popular, and why it is still worth reading today.
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The Poetry of Praise
One of the chief functions of poetry in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was to praise gods, people and things. Heroes and kings were glorified in many varieties of praise, and the arts of encomium and panegyric were codified by classical rhetoricians and later by writers on poetry. J. A. Burrow's study spans over two thousand years, from Pindar to Christopher Logue, but its main concern is with the English poetry of the Middle Ages, a period when praise poetry flourished. He argues that the 'decline of praise' in English literature since the seventeenth century, which has meant that modern readers and critics find it hard to appreciate this kind of poetry. This erudite but accessible account by a leading scholar of medieval literature shows why the poetry of praise was once so popular, and why it is still worth reading today.
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The Poetry of Praise

The Poetry of Praise

by J. A. Burrow
The Poetry of Praise

The Poetry of Praise

by J. A. Burrow

Hardcover

$120.00 
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Overview

One of the chief functions of poetry in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was to praise gods, people and things. Heroes and kings were glorified in many varieties of praise, and the arts of encomium and panegyric were codified by classical rhetoricians and later by writers on poetry. J. A. Burrow's study spans over two thousand years, from Pindar to Christopher Logue, but its main concern is with the English poetry of the Middle Ages, a period when praise poetry flourished. He argues that the 'decline of praise' in English literature since the seventeenth century, which has meant that modern readers and critics find it hard to appreciate this kind of poetry. This erudite but accessible account by a leading scholar of medieval literature shows why the poetry of praise was once so popular, and why it is still worth reading today.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780521886932
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication date: 05/08/2008
Series: Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature , #69
Pages: 206
Product dimensions: 6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

J. A. Burrow is Emeritus Professor and Research Fellow at the University of Bristol.

Table of Contents

Preface; Introduction: from Pindar to Pound; 1. The poetics of praise; 2. Old English, especially Beowulf; 3. Middle English; 4. Geoffrey Chaucer; 5. The decline of praise: two modern instances; 6. Praise and its purposes; Bibliography; Index.
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