While previous studies have concentrated largely upon political concerns, The Augustan Art of Poetry is an exploration of the influence of the Roman Augustan aesthetic on English neo-classical poets of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. At the conclusion of his translation of Virgil, Dryden claims implicitly to have given English poetry the kind of refinement in language and style that Virgil had given the Latin. In this timely new study Robin Sowerby offers a strong apologia for the fine artistry of the Augustans, concentrating in particular on the period's translations, a topic and method not hitherto ventured in any full-length comparative study. The mediation of the Augustan aesthetic is explored through the De Arte Poetica of Vida represented in the Augustan version of Pitt, and its culmination is represented by examination of Dryden's Virgil in relation to predecessors. The effect of the Augustan aesthetic upon versions of silver Latin poets and upon Pope's Homer is also assessed and comparisons are drawn with modern translations.
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The first comparative study of its kind, The Augustan Art of Poetry uses translations to explore the artistic influence of the Roman poetry of the Augustan age upon English neoclassical poetry. The book foregrounds the artistry of central texts such as Dryden's translation of Virgil and Pope's Homer. Comparisons are also made with modern versions.
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1. The art of poetry: Vida to Pope ; The education of the poet: setting the cultural scene ; The Virgilian Ars: disposition of the poet's material ; The Virgilian Ars: language and style ; Conclusion to Vida ; 2. The Augustan ideal: rhyme and refinement ; Early English classicism ; The early Augustan aesthetic in English ; The full Augustan aesthetic ; Mastery of the medium: the continuing debate about rhyme ; Appendix: The continuing debate about rhyme ; 3. Augustan translation of silver Latin ; Dryden's translation of Persius and Juvenal: Dryden's critical assessment ; Rowe's Lucan ; Pope's Statius ; 4. Augustan Homer ; Heroic beginnings: The Episode of Sarpedon ; The main fable: the anger of Achilles ; The art of Pope's Homer ; The challenge of the Odyssey
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The first full-length study of Augustanism as an artistic phenomenon
The author capitalizes upon the recent critical interest in translation studies to explore the Augustan aesthetic
Robin Sowerby is Senior Lecturer in the Department of English Studies at the University of Stirling.
The first full-length study of Augustanism as an artistic phenomenon
The author capitalizes upon the recent critical interest in translation studies to explore the Augustan aesthetic
