A Full Enquiry into the Nature of the Pastoral

Purney, Thomas, 1695-1727？Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.8

Word count: 148K words
Chapters: 15

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Full Enquiry into the Nature of the Pastoral (1717) by Thomas PurneyAuthor: Purney, Thomas, 1695-1727?,Language: English, Class: PN: Language and Literatures: Literature: General, Criticism, Collections, Release Date: Mar 10, 2005

Editor's review

This 1717 pamphlet is a primary document of Augustan-era poetics and criticism. Its author, Thomas Purney, argues the nature, origins and rules of pastoral poetry, engaging the contemporary debate between classicists and reformers over the genre. The argument is dense and the terminology archaic; the barrier to reading lies not in length but in background: readers need some knowledge of the pastoral tradition from Theocritus and Virgil onward and of early eighteenth-century English literary controversy. It is not a pastoral work for leisure but primary material for studying genre theory, the reception of classical antiquity and English criticism. This e-book comes from the public-domain Project Gutenberg text, convenient for searching and citation, and suits essay writing and classroom discussion. Read it as a historical source rather than an introduction, and pair it with relevant chapters of literary history for greater benefit.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Master's and doctoral students of eighteenth-century English literature and criticism
University teachers offering courses on pastoral, rural poetry or classical reception
Advanced readers interested in primary documents of Western genre theory
Scholars needing to cite public-domain English primary texts

Not a good fit for

General readers hoping for pastoral poems rather than theoretical works
Learners with little experience of early modern English who are easily discouraged
Beginners expecting a modern introduction and detailed annotations

Reading tips

Read a chapter of English literary history on Augustan-era controversy before starting the text.
Keep pen and paper to map the author's definitions of pastoral elements and compare each with classical examples.
Do not force yourself through archaic spellings and Latin quotations; follow the main line of argument.
For research, place key passages alongside contemporary critical texts for comparison.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a collection of pastoral poems?

No. It is a critical work discussing the nature of pastoral poetry and the rules for writing it, a document of poetic theory rather than an anthology of pastorals. Readers who want the poems themselves should look for a separate anthology.

What background knowledge is needed?

It helps to know the pastoral tradition of Theocritus and Virgil and the early eighteenth-century English debate over classical rules. You can read it without this background, but your grasp of the argument's target and weight will be reduced.

Is the e-book suitable for direct citation?

The text comes from a public-domain Project Gutenberg e-book and can be used for general reading and scholarly reference. For formal citation, check an authoritative print or scholarly edition and note the e-text source and access information.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Purney, Thomas, 1695-1727？ Author · British · 1695

Thomas Purney (1695–1727?), an English poet and critic, was probably born in 1695; the year of his death remains uncertain, and available public information is limited. He is known for his pastoral poetry and his verse criticism. One work by him is held in the collection, A Full Enquiry into the Nature of the Pastoral. The book offers a systematic discussion of the nature of pastoral poetry and belongs to the field of poetic criticism, showing his concern with defining and regulating the pastoral tradition. Purney's writing spans both creation and criticism, leaving a mark on discussions of this genre and offering some reference value for later understanding of early eighteenth-century English pastoral theory. Because biographical materials are scarce, details of his life and circle are difficult to set out, and researchers generally begin with his surviving works.