Milton to Pope, 1650-1720

Description

A survey of English writing from 1650-1720, this work explores the multiplicity of what one ballad writer called "this scribbling age". The focus of the book is on close readings of both familiar and lesser known texts, placing them within their larger contexts. Among questions raised are how the "period" looks from the perspective of the late-17th century and from our own time, and how reputations of writers have changed over time. The author takes a close look at what was being read and how it was being published, looking at poetry, prose and drama, with particular emphasis on what is to be learned from details of earlier printing practices and manuscript circulation.

KAY GILLILAND STEVENSON is Senior Lecturer in Literature at the University of Essex.

'Kay Gilliland Stevenson's Milton to Pope, 1650-1720 is the first book that can be accurately described as a contemporary masterpiece: contemporary, in that it not only addresses the critical and ideological concerns of our century, but also succeeds in showing the period as it saw itself - indeed, in showing this era showing itself how to come up with the idea of an 'age' or a 'transition' ... An especially attractive feature of Kay Stevenson's book is the expertise with which she highlights 'minor' or overlooked authors that we may have forgotten but that were essential ingredients in the would-be Augustan mix. We not only have Milton and Dryden at their best and worst, but we also have Cowley, Davenant, Cleveland, Bunyan, and Lady Chudleigh ... Kay Stevenson offers one of the most reasonable methods to date for organizing and managing the wavering boundaries of this 'period'. Her division of the work into chapters on genres - poems, drama, prose - is faithful to the high level of genre awareness in this era while also helpful for student and beginning readers. All these and a dozen other virtues make Milton to Pope, 1650-1720 far and away the best synoptic source book (and also critical study) since those of Basil Willey and Donald Greene. It has a place in every classroom and every library and is a definite' buy'.' - Professor Kevin L. Cope, Louisiana State University