Lord Rochester in the Restoration World
Lord Rochester in the Restoration World
Steven N. Zwicker, Washington University, St Louis
John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester (1647–1680), the notorious and brilliant libertine poet of King Charles II's court, has long been considered an embodiment of the Restoration era. This interdisciplinary collection of essays by leading scholars focuses new attention on, and brings fresh perspectives to, the writings of Lord Rochester. Particular consideration is given to the political force and social identity of Rochester's work, to the worlds - courtly and theatrical, urban and suburban - from which Rochester's poetry emerged and which it discloses, and not least to the unsettling aesthetic power of Rochester's writing. The singularity of Rochester's voice - his 'matchless wit' - has been widely recognised; this book encourages the continued appreciation of all the ways in which Rochester reveals the layered and promiscuous character of literary projects throughout the whole of a brilliant, abrasive, and miscellaneous age.
- This first collection of essays on Lord Rochester published in more than a decade bring Rochester scholarship into the twenty-first century
- Sheds new light on the literary study and historiography of the late seventeenth century more generally
- Stresses the interdisciplinary character of early modern studies
Product details
August 2017Paperback
9781107670570
303 pages
230 × 152 × 17 mm
0.47kg
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Lord Rochester in the Restoration world: introduction Matthew C. Augustine and Steven N. Zwicker
- 2. John Wilmot and the writing of 'Rochester' Jonathan Sawday
- 3. From script to print: marketing Rochester Paul Davis
- 4. Trading places: Lord Rochester, the Laureate, and the making of literary reputation Matthew C. Augustine
- 5. Lord Rochester: a life in gossip Steven N. Zwicker
- 6. Rochester and the satiric underground Nicholas von Maltzahn
- 7. Rochester, the theatre, and restoration theatricality David Francis Taylor
- 8. Rochester and the play of values Christopher Tilmouth
- 9. Sexual and religious libertinism in Restoration England Tim Harris
- 10. Sex and sovereignty in Rochester's writing Melissa E. Sanchez
- 11. Rochester, Behn, and Enlightenment liberty Ros Ballaster
- 12. Unfit to print: Rochester and the poetics of obscenity Tom Jones
- 13. The perspective of Rochester's letters Nicholas Fisher
- 14. Rochester and rhyme Tom Lockwood.
