In so far as the text of quoted classical writers is readily accessible in modern editions, I offer my readers only an English translation. For quotations difficult of access I add the Latin in a footnote. In the case of those English critics whose writings are incorporated in the Elizabethan Critical Essays edited by Mr. Gregory Smith, or in the Critical Essays of the Seventeenth Century, edited by Dr. J.E. Spingarn, I have made my citations to those collections in the belief that such a practice would add to the convenience of the reader.

The greatest pleasure that I derive from this writing is that of acknowledging my obligations to my friends and colleagues at Columbia University who have so generously assisted me. Professor G.P. Krapp aided me by his valuable suggestions before and after writing and generously allowed me to use several summaries which he had made of early English rhetorical treatises. Professor J.B. Fletcher helped me by his friendly and penetrating criticism of the manuscript. I am further indebted to Professor La Rue Van Hook, Dr. Mark Van Doren, Dr. S.L. Wolff, Mr. Raymond M. Weaver, and Dr. H.E. Mantz for various assistance, and to the Harvard and Columbia University Libraries for their courtesy. My greatest debt is to Professor Charles Sears Baldwin, whose constant inspiration, enlightened scholarship, and friendly encouragement made this book possible.

Contents

Part First: [The General Theory of Rhetoric and of Poetry]

  1. [Introductory]
    1. [The Distinction between Rhetoric and Poetic]
  2. [Classical Poetic]
    1. [Aristotle]
    2. ["Longinus"]
    3. [Plutarch]
    4. [Horace]
  3. [Classical Rhetoric]
    1. [Definitions]
    2. [Subject Matter]
    3. [Content of Classical Rhetoric]
    4. [Rhetoric as Part of Poetic]
    5. [Poetic as Part of Rhetoric]
  4. [Classical Blending of Rhetoric and Poetic]
    1. [The Contact of Rhetoric and Poetic in Style]
    2. [The Florid Style in Rhetoric and Poetic]
    3. [The False Rhetoric of the Declamation Schools]
    4. [The Contamination of Poetic by False Rhetoric]
  5. [The Middle Ages]
    1. [The Decay of Classical Rhetorical Tradition]
    2. [Rhetoric as Aureate Language]
  6. [Logic and Rhetoric in the English Renaissance]
    1. [The Content of Classical Rhetoric Carried over into Logic]
    2. [The Persistence of the Mediaeval Tradition of Rhetoric]
    3. [The Recovery of Classical Rhetoric]
    4. [Channels of Rhetorical Theory]
  7. [Renaissance Poetic]
    1. [The Reestablishment of the Classical Tradition]
    2. [Rhetorical Elements]
  8. [Theories of Poetry in the English Renaissance]
    1. [The Rhetorical Period of English Criticism]
    2. [The Influence of Horace]
    3. [The Influence of Aristotle]
    4. [Manuals for Poets]
    5. [Rhetorical Elements in Later English Classicism]

Part Second: [The Purpose of Poetry]

  1. [The Classical Conception of the Purpose of Poetry]
    1. [General]
    2. [Moral Improvement through Precept and Example]
    3. [Moral Improvement through Allegory]
    4. [The Influence of Rhetoric]
  2. [Medieval Ideas of the Purpose of Poetry]
    1. [Allegorical Interpretations in the Middle Ages]
    2. [Allegory in Mediaeval England]
  3. [Rhetorical Elements in Italian Renaissance Conceptions of the Purpose of Poetry]
    1. [The Scholastic Grouping of Poetic, Rhetoric and Logic]
    2. [The Influence of the Classical Rhetorics]
  4. [English Renaissance Ideas of the Purpose of Poetry]
    1. [Allegory and Example in Rhetoric]
    2. [Allegory and the Rhetorical Example in Poetic]
    3. [The Displacement of Allegory by Example]

[Index of Names]

Part One
The General Theory of Rhetoric and of Poetry

Chapter I
Introductory