Liberal Epic (e-book) (used book) | Edward Adams | bookbook.eu

Description

In "Liberal Epic, " Edward Adamsexamines the liberal imagination's centuries-long dependence on contradictory, andmutually constitutive, attitudes toward violent domination. Adams centers hisambitious analysis on a series of major epic poems, histories, and historicalnovels, including Dryden's "Aeneid, " Pope's"Iliad, " Gibbon's "Decline and Fallof the Roman Empire, " Byron's "DonJuan, " Scott's "Life of Napoleon, "Napier's "History of the War in the Peninsula, "Macaulay's "History of England, " Hardy's"Dynasts, " and Churchill's military histories --works that rank among the most important publishing events of the past threecenturies yet that have seldom received critical attention relative to theirimportance. In recovering these neglected works and gathering them together as partof a self-conscious literary tradition here defined as liberal epic, Adams providesan archaeology that sheds light on contemporary issues such as the relation ofliberalism to war, the tactics for sanitizing heroism, and the appeal of violence tosupposedly humane readers.

"Victorian Literatureand Culture Series"