Homer's original genius : eighteenth-century notions of the early Greek epic (1688-1798)

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1979. 1st edition. Hardcover. Fine cloth copy in a near-fine, very slightly dust-dulled dust-wrapper, now mylar-sleeved. Spine uniformly sun-toned. Remains particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and strong. Physical description: xiii, 219 pages, 2 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations ; 22 cm. Notes: Based on the author's thesis, University of Cambridge, 1972. Includes bibliographical references (pages 195-213) and index. Contents: pt. 1. Ancients and moderns: Ancients and moderns: the problem of cultural progress -- Opposition to antiquity: Charles Perrault -- The interpretation of early Greek epic: Mme Dacier and the Homeric war -- Pope's view of Homer: 'fire' and invention -- Voltaire and the poetry of the primitive age -- pt. 2. Primitivism and realism: Epic genius: the departure from the neoclassical model -- Vico's discovery of the true Homer -- Thomas Blackwell: the problem of Homer's genius -- Notions of poetry and society in the controversy about Ossian -- The primitivists and the primitive bard -- Poetry is 'original imitation': Robert Wood's theory of the Homeric epic -- The originality of Homer: some conclusions. Subjects: Homer Criticism and interpretation History 18th century; Homerus Appreciation; Homer Studies; History 18th century; Epic poetry, Greek History and criticism Theory, etc.; Literature, Modern 18th century; Greek literature.