A History of Augustan Fable [Paperback]

A history of fable in written and illustrative media from classical times to 1800 and beyond.This book explores the tradition of fable across a wide variety of written and illustrative media, from its origins in classical antiquity to the end of the English eighteenth century and beyond. Tracing the impact of classical models on verse and moral fables of the eighteenth century, and studying the use of the fable by major writers including Dryden, Pope, Swift, Gay and Cowper in their historical and literary contexts, Mark Loveridge offers the first full account of a highly significant form of English and European literature.This book explores the tradition of fable across a wide variety of written and illustrative media, from its origins in classical antiquity to the end of the English eighteenth century and beyond. Tracing the impact of classical models on verse and moral fables of the eighteenth century, and studying the use of the fable by major writers including Dryden, Pope, Swift, Gay and Cowper in their historical and literary contexts, Mark Loveridge offers the first full account of a highly significant form of English and European literature.This book explores the tradition of fable across a wide variety of written and illustrative media, from its origins in classical antiquity to the end of the English eighteenth century and beyond. Tracing the impact of classical models on verse and moral fables of the eighteenth century, and studying the use of the fable by major writers--including Dryden, Pope, Swift, Gay and Cowper--in their historical and literary contexts, Mark Loveridge offers the first full account of a highly significant form of English and European literature.List of illustrations; Preface and acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. Fables and novels; 3. The Peachum position; 4. History, transmission, kindred; 5. The fable in the wars: Ogilby and after; 6. Transitions: Dryden to Mandeville; 7. High Augustan fable: Mandelãf