Dial of Virtue : A Study of Poems on Affairs of State in the 17th Century

Mrs. Nevo assesses the entire scope of the "poems on affairs of state," throwing light on the political mind of the age and the evolution of style. Originally published in 1963. The **Princeton Legacy Library** uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. Preface CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE. "Cities their lutes, and subjects hearts their strings" The "fortis Achilles and the pius Aeneas" God in the Person of Caesar The Panegyric as a Species of Heroic Poetry— "sacred to Princes, and to heros" The High Seriousness of Denham and Cowley The Paper War CHAPTER Two. The "Disfiguring of Sin" Indignation visag'd like a lion Ridicule and Invective A plague o'both your houses A stake amongst the rabble An Early Mixed Style CHAPTER THREE. "Crownes are for Hero's" The Problem of Cromwell Providence and the Personal Heresy Milton's Defense of the People of England CHAPTER FOUR. "If these the Times, then this must be the Man" History as Process Marvell's Horatian Ode The First Anniversary—a Republican Manifesto Waller's Panegyric—The Persistence of Conservative Attitudes CHAPTER FIVE. "With his own Fasces he shall make him Fires" Cowley's Skepticism Retreat to Liberty The Dethroning of the Hero Protector in the Royalist Image CHAPTER SIX. "An Heroick and a lawful King..." The Unanimity of Restoration Panegyric The Baroque Heroic The Reaction CHAPTER SEVEN. Iconoclasts and Prophets Counterstatement Marvell's Last Instructions—a Bid for Epic The Visionary Britannia and the Satanic Jesuit CHAPTER EIGHT. "Raillerie a la Mode Consider'd" Burlesque Wit The Exposure of Irrationality Decorum—From the Criterion of Rank to the Criterion of Reason Dogma and Irony Railing and Raillery in the Discourse Concerning Satire CHAPTER NINE. "The Wrong side of the Heros Outward..." Hudibras Experiments in Mock-Heroic Mac Flecknoe CHAPTER TEN. "That kingly power, thus ebbing out, might be Drawn to the dregs of a Democracy." The Use of Drama and the Use of Scripture The Two Ancient Worlds The Struggle for Power Bibliography Index Mrs. Nevo assesses the entire scope of the "poems on affairs of state," throwing light on the political mind of the age and the evolution of style. Originally published in 1963. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905