An Essay on the Lyric Poetry of the Ancients

Ogilvie, John, 1732-1813Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.6

Word count: 145K 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.An Essay on the Lyric Poetry of the Ancients by John OgilvieAuthor: Ogilvie, John, 1732-1813,Language: English, Class: PA: Language and Literatures: Classical Languages and Literature, Release Date: Apr 6, 2008

Editor's review

This study of classical poetry by John Ogilvie focuses on the lyric tradition of ancient Greece and Rome, discussing within the context of eighteenth-century literary criticism the lyric forms represented by poets such as Pindar, Sappho, and Horace, along with their aesthetic characteristics. Its value lies not in offering a systematic poetics in the modern academic sense, but in showing how an early modern British scholar understood the spirit, metrical traditions, and modes of emotional expression of classical lyric poetry. For readers studying the history of classical reception, eighteenth-century British criticism, or the origins of lyric poetry, it is a primary text worthy of close reading. The argument bears a distinctly period rhetorical style—elaborate sentences, reasoning that relies on examples and classical learning—and is best read alongside the relevant classical poems. As a public-domain electronic text, it is more suited to research reading than to introductory guidance; reading key passages selectively with specific questions in mind is recommended.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars studying the reception history of classical poetry and eighteenth-century British criticism
Advanced literature students interested in the origins of the lyric genre and metrical traditions
Readers wishing to understand the style of early modern English scholarly prose
Readers interested in the critical history of classical poets such as Pindar, Sappho, and Horace

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking modern systematic poetics or popular introductions to poetry
General readers without a classical background who expect an easy reading experience
Researchers needing contemporary scholarly annotation and bibliographic guidance

Reading tips

Begin with the introductory passages to grasp the author's basic definition of lyric poetry and the framework of the argument.
Read selections from the representative works of the classical poets mentioned alongside the text, rather than reading the commentary in isolation.
Take notes by topic on the author's discussion of meter, emotion, and imagination.
Consult materials on the history of eighteenth-century British literary criticism to understand the book's historical context.

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 suitable as an introduction to classical lyric poetry?

Not really. The book is an argumentative work of the eighteenth century that presumes some familiarity with classical literature, and its mode of argument bears the distinctive rhetorical features of its time. Beginners without a basic knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman poetry may find its line of reasoning hard to follow. It is advisable to read modern translations of the relevant classical poems first, then return to this book.

What background knowledge is needed to read this book?

Ideal preparation includes some familiarity with the representative works of classical poets such as Pindar, Sappho, and Horace, a grasp of basic genre concepts such as lyric, ode, and elegy, and some awareness of the general climate of eighteenth-century British literary criticism. With this background, the author's questions and argumentative direction become easier to understand.

How is the text quality of this e-book?

The book comes from Project Gutenberg and is a public-domain electronic text prepared from an early edition. The text can be used for research reading and citation, but it generally lacks modern scholarly collation, detailed annotation, or bibliographic references. For formal academic writing, check it against a print edition or an authoritative critical edition.

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About the author

Ogilvie, John, 1732-1813 Author · Scottish · 1732–1813

John Ogilvie (1732–1813) was a Scottish minister and poet, known for his long religious poems. Among his surviving works is An Essay on the Lyric Poetry of the Ancients, which shows that beyond writing poetry he also engaged in poetic theory and took an interest in the tradition of ancient lyric verse. Public information about his life is limited, and his education, career posts, and the full range of his writings are difficult to trace in detail; what can be confirmed is chiefly his identity as a minister of the Church of Scotland and a man of letters. His writing carries a clear religious concern, with long poems centering on themes of faith in a solemn and dignified style suited to his calling as a minister, while his essay on poetics reveals an interest in classical poetic forms. On the whole, Ogilvie occupies a place where eighteenth-century Scottish literature and religious writing meet, and his works offer some reference value for understanding the poetic tastes and religious sensibility of Scottish minister-writers of his time.