Poetry and the Creation of a Whig Literary Culture offers a new perspective on early eighteenth century poetry and literary culture, arguing that long-neglected Whig poets such as Joseph Addison, John Dennis, Thomas Tickell, and Richard Blackmore were more popular and successful in their own time than they have been since. These and other Whig writers produced elevated poetry celebrating the political and military achievements of William III's Britain, and were committed to an ambitious project to create a distinctively Whiggish English literary culture after the Revolution of 1688. Far from being the penniless hacks and dunces satirized by John Dryden and the Scriblerians, they were supported by the patronage of the wealthy Whig aristocracy, and their works promoted as a new English literature to rival that of classical Greece and Rome. Poetry and the Creation of a Whig Literary Culture maps for the first time the evolution of an alternative early eighteenth-century poetic tradition which is central to our understanding of the literary history of the period.
Reviews
This study draws valuable attention to a neglected dimension of the crucial battle for cultural authority. Williams traces clearly the shifting polemics of Whig verse from Exclusion, through Tory reaction. Revolution and the reign of Queen Anne. * Kevin Sharpe, Times Literary Supplement *
This study [...] identifies in intelligent and erudite ways a neglected tradition in English poetry. * Nicholas Hudson, The Age of Johnson *
Makes a full-blown and forceful case for the significance of Whig aesthetics... Williams's book is a valuable vade mecum for the intrepid explorer of Whig literature, sure to lead many more readers to question the hegemony of Tory literary history and, happily, to begin to take Whig literature seriously. * Eighteenth-Century Life *
Rehabilitating Whig panegyric sounds exciting, and Williams proves a canny literary historian. * Juan Pellicer, Year's Work in English Studies *
Williams's research is thorough, her readings persuasive, and her arguments strong. * Cynthia Wall, Studies in English Literature *
Wide-ranging and ambitious in its interpretative and analytical scope, the book is nevertheless lucidly written and evenly paced, with Williams maintaining a tight control over her material throughout. As a result, the work is likely to speak...to a wide range of audiences...I enjoyed the book a great deal, finding it both absorbing and compelling. * Tim Harris, Modern Philology *
There is much of interest here * Isabel Rivers, Modern Languages Review vol 102, part1 *
It will...constitute a valuable resource for both literary and historical students of the period. * David Hopkins, Notes and Queries *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199255207
Author Abigail Williams
Format Hardback
Page Count 314
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 497g
Dimensions(mm) 224mm * 145mm * 22mm