Brève description / annotation

More than a book - a game! In 1635, George Wither published his collection of allegorical engravings (accompanied by commentary), which he presented in the form of a lottery. The analysis of this little-known work sheds light on the profound changes taking place in 17th-century England.

Description

More than a book - a game! In 1635, George Wither published his collection of allegorical engravings (accompanied by commentary), which he presented in the form of a lottery. The analysis of this little-known work sheds light on the profound changes taking place in 17th-century England.

In 1635, George Wither, the satirist, psalmist, regular inmate at the Marshalsea, former favourite of James I and self-appointed « Remembrancer », arranged for the printing of his Collection of Emblemes, Ancient and Moderne. Though loathed by critics, this book is a highly remarkable iteration of the genre. Wither used pre-existing engravings, re-interpreted the pictorial motifs, and used the resulting emblems as lots in an interactive game appended to the book. Le Duff situates Wither’s emblem book in the context of early Stuart England on the eve of the Civil War. He explores the political, moral, and religious views expressed both in its verse and its structure, and highlights the book’s original take on a changing literary genre.

Wither may not have been a king among bards, but he was a tireless critic of his own time, perhaps the most tumultuous in British history. If nothing else, his Emblemes paint a multi-layered picture of a fascinating period, on that is well worth exploring.

Titre promotionnel

More than a book - a game! In 1635, George Wither published his collection of allegorical engravings (accompanied by commentary), which he presented in the form of a lottery. The analysis of this little-known work sheds light on the profound changes taking place in 17th-century England.

Table des matières

Note on the pagination in A Collection of Emblemes

General introduction

Illustrations

Chapter I – “Though, Mee, this Age despise”: Historical and Bibliographical Contextualisation of Wither’s A Collection of Emblemes

Chapter II – “[A Booke] conceitedly composed”: The Composition of A Collection of Emblemes and the Question of Patronage

Chapter III –“Emblemes […] Quickened with Metricall Illustrations”: Inter-semiotic relations in A Collection of Emblemes

Chapter IV – “No choice Emblematist”: Wither’s Denigration, Appropriation, and Repurposing of the Primary Source Material

Chapter V –“Thy Heart [...] to those Knowledges aspires, / Which every prudent Soule desires”: Wither’s Voices in A Collection of Emblemes

Chapter VI – “Thou mayst have hopes, and, God will grant them too”: Wither’s Collection of Emblemes and Early Stuart Religion

Chapter VII –“This contayneth nought/ Which (in proper sense) concerneth ought, / The present-Age”: A Collection of Emblemes as Political and Social Commentary?

Chapter VIII –“Ev’ry Gamester winneth by the Sport”: Wither’s Lottery and the Rhetorical Possibilities of Play

General conclusion

Bibliography

Index of early modern authors cited

Détails