Lord Rochester in the Restoration World

by Matthew C. Augustine (Editor), Steven N. Zwicker (Editor)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107670570
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/31/2017
Pages:	303
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.06(h) x 0.67(d)

About the Author

Matthew C. Augustine is Lecturer in Late Seventeenth-Century English Literature at the University of St Andrews.

Steven N. Zwicker is Stanley Elkin Professor in the Humanities and Professor of English at Washington University, St Louis.

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.