The Epic: Developments in Criticism - A Selection of Critical Essays

Five great epics are the focus of attention in this volume: Homer’s Iliad , Virgil’s Aeneid , Milton’s Paradise Lost , Wordsworth’s Prelude and Joyce’s Ulysses . In his introduction, the editor surveys th e development of the epic and discusses the successive innovations in content and values made by its writers. He observes that the variety and vitality of epic are reflected in the wide range of critical approaches made to these works. His election of early commentators includes, among others, Sidney, Milton, Dryden, Fielding, Wordsworth and Arnold. More recent and contemporary critical approaches are represented by extracts from the writings of C.M. Bowra, Gilbert Highet, Northrop Frye, E.M.W. Tillyard, George de Forest Lord, G.K. Hunter, Andrew Fichter, Martin Mueller, Willard Spiegelman and (in an essay especially written for this volume) G.J.B. Watson.