Abstract
References
- Aikin, J., & Barbauld, A. L. (1792). Miscellaneous pieces, in prose. J. Johnson.
- Alhas, H. (2024). The shifting faces of epic heroes: The evolutionary trajectory of heroic ideals in William Davenant’s Gondibert and John Milton’s Paradise Lost [Phd dissertation, Hacettepe University].
- Berensmeyer, I. (2012). Literature, politics and representation in English neoclassicism: The Hobbes-Davenant exchange. Philia & Filia, 3 (1), 25-51.
- Connell, P. (2014). Hobbes and Davenant: Poetry as civil science. In R. Boyson & T. Jones (Eds.), Poetic Enlightenment (pp. 63–74). Pickering & Chatto.
- Davenant, W. (1971). Sir William Davenant’s Gondibert (1651) (D. F. Gladish, Ed.). Clarendon Press.
- Dowlin, C. M. (1934). Sir William Davenant’s Gondibert, its preface, and Hobbes’s answer: A study in English neo-classicism. University of Pennsylvania Press.
- Hobbes, T. (1998). Leviathan (J. C. Gaskin, Ed.). Oxford University Press.
- Hobbes, T. (1949). De Cive (S. P. Lamprecht, Ed.). Appleton-Century-Croft.
- Milton, J. (1966). Complete prose works of John Milton (D. M. Wolfe, Ed.; Vols. 1–8). Yale University Press. Sidney, P. (1973). Apology for poetry. Barnes & Noble.
- Spenser, E. (1966). The Faerie Queene (J. W. Hales, Ed.). Everyman’s Library.
- Spingarn, J. E. (1908). Critical essays of the seventeenth century. Clarendon Press.
- Spingarn, J. E. (1938). A history of literary criticism in the Renaissance. Macmillan.
- Springborg, P. (2008). Historia ecclesiastica. Honoré Champion Éditeur.
- Swedenberg, H. T. (1944). The theory of the epic in England. University of California Press.
- Vickers, B. (2007). English Renaissance literary criticism. Clarendon Press.
- Virgil. (1999). The Aeneid (H. R. Fairclough, Trans.; Vol. 1). Harvard University Press.
- Werner, D. C. (1974). The neoclassic epic as a genre (1650–1700), exemplified by five representative poems. [Unpublished PhD dissertation]. Bowling Green State University.
Abstract
Epic poetry has long served as a privileged forum for negotiating the interdependence of literary form and political power. Concentrating on Thomas Hobbes’s mid-seventeenth-century contributions, his epistolary dialogue with Sir William Davenant surrounding Gondibert and the theoretical manifesto prefacing his English translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the present study reconstructs the philosophical scaffolding that informs Hobbes’s poetics of the epic. Hobbes reconfigures the genre as a civic instrument whose fundamental aim is the fostering of virtue through pleasurable imitation. He articulates seven interlocking features: lexical transparency, syntactic perspicuity, architectural contrivance, disciplined fancy, ethical impartiality, meticulous description, and ample variety. Each functions as a component within an integrated didactic system designed to align the passions of heterogeneous readerships with the rational principles requisite for commonwealth stability. By situating Hobbes’s aesthetic theory within its broader intellectual and political contexts, this study indicates that the epic, under his guidance, becomes a calibrated vehicle for shaping collective behaviour, thereby illuminating the genre’s enduring capacity to accommodate shifting ideological climates without relinquishing its ethical function.
Keywords
Epic Poetics Civic Virtue Thomas Hobbes Neoclassical Literary Theory Didacticism in Literature
References
- Aikin, J., & Barbauld, A. L. (1792). Miscellaneous pieces, in prose. J. Johnson.
- Alhas, H. (2024). The shifting faces of epic heroes: The evolutionary trajectory of heroic ideals in William Davenant’s Gondibert and John Milton’s Paradise Lost [Phd dissertation, Hacettepe University].
- Berensmeyer, I. (2012). Literature, politics and representation in English neoclassicism: The Hobbes-Davenant exchange. Philia & Filia, 3 (1), 25-51.
- Connell, P. (2014). Hobbes and Davenant: Poetry as civil science. In R. Boyson & T. Jones (Eds.), Poetic Enlightenment (pp. 63–74). Pickering & Chatto.
- Davenant, W. (1971). Sir William Davenant’s Gondibert (1651) (D. F. Gladish, Ed.). Clarendon Press.
- Dowlin, C. M. (1934). Sir William Davenant’s Gondibert, its preface, and Hobbes’s answer: A study in English neo-classicism. University of Pennsylvania Press.
- Hobbes, T. (1998). Leviathan (J. C. Gaskin, Ed.). Oxford University Press.
- Hobbes, T. (1949). De Cive (S. P. Lamprecht, Ed.). Appleton-Century-Croft.
- Milton, J. (1966). Complete prose works of John Milton (D. M. Wolfe, Ed.; Vols. 1–8). Yale University Press. Sidney, P. (1973). Apology for poetry. Barnes & Noble.
- Spenser, E. (1966). The Faerie Queene (J. W. Hales, Ed.). Everyman’s Library.
- Spingarn, J. E. (1908). Critical essays of the seventeenth century. Clarendon Press.
- Spingarn, J. E. (1938). A history of literary criticism in the Renaissance. Macmillan.
- Springborg, P. (2008). Historia ecclesiastica. Honoré Champion Éditeur.
- Swedenberg, H. T. (1944). The theory of the epic in England. University of California Press.
- Vickers, B. (2007). English Renaissance literary criticism. Clarendon Press.
- Virgil. (1999). The Aeneid (H. R. Fairclough, Trans.; Vol. 1). Harvard University Press.
- Werner, D. C. (1974). The neoclassic epic as a genre (1650–1700), exemplified by five representative poems. [Unpublished PhD dissertation]. Bowling Green State University.
Abstract
Epik şiir, uzun zamandır edebi form ile siyasal iktidar arasındaki karşılıklı bağı irdelemek için ayrıcalıklı bir zemin sunmuştur. Bu çalışma, Thomas Hobbes’un on yedinci yüzyıl ortalarındaki katkılarına odaklanarak, Sir William Davenant ile Gondibert etrafında yürüttüğü mektuplaşma diyaloğunu ve İlyada ile Odysseia çevirilerine eşlik eden teorik manifestoyu inceleyerek, Hobbes’un epik poetikasını şekillendiren felsefi temelleri tartışmaktadır. Hobbes, epik türünü taklit yoluyla erdemin pekiştirildiği bir sivil araç olarak yeniden tanımlar. Ayrıca, bu tür bağlamında birbirini tamamlayan yedi unsur öne sürer: sözcüksel şeffaflık, sözdizimsel açıklık, yapısal düzen, disiplinli hayal gücü, etik tarafsızlık, titiz betimleme ve zengin çeşitlilik. Bunların her biri, heterojen okur kitlelerinin tutkularını toplumsal düzenin istikrarı için gerekli rasyonel ilkelerle uyumlulaştırmayı amaçlayan bütünleşik bir didaktik sistemin bileşeni olarak işlev görür. Hobbes’un estetik kuramını entelektüel ve siyasi düşüncelerini içeren daha geniş bir bağlamda konumlandıran bu çalışma, epik şiirin Hobbes’un rehberliğinde kolektif davranışı biçimlendirmek üzere kalibre edilmiş bir araç haline geldiğini, böylece türün değişen ideolojik iklimlere uyum sağlama kapasitesini etik işlevinden ödün vermeden sürdürdüğünü ortaya koymaktadır.
References
- Aikin, J., & Barbauld, A. L. (1792). Miscellaneous pieces, in prose. J. Johnson.
- Alhas, H. (2024). The shifting faces of epic heroes: The evolutionary trajectory of heroic ideals in William Davenant’s Gondibert and John Milton’s Paradise Lost [Phd dissertation, Hacettepe University].
- Berensmeyer, I. (2012). Literature, politics and representation in English neoclassicism: The Hobbes-Davenant exchange. Philia & Filia, 3 (1), 25-51.
- Connell, P. (2014). Hobbes and Davenant: Poetry as civil science. In R. Boyson & T. Jones (Eds.), Poetic Enlightenment (pp. 63–74). Pickering & Chatto.
- Davenant, W. (1971). Sir William Davenant’s Gondibert (1651) (D. F. Gladish, Ed.). Clarendon Press.
- Dowlin, C. M. (1934). Sir William Davenant’s Gondibert, its preface, and Hobbes’s answer: A study in English neo-classicism. University of Pennsylvania Press.
- Hobbes, T. (1998). Leviathan (J. C. Gaskin, Ed.). Oxford University Press.
- Hobbes, T. (1949). De Cive (S. P. Lamprecht, Ed.). Appleton-Century-Croft.
- Milton, J. (1966). Complete prose works of John Milton (D. M. Wolfe, Ed.; Vols. 1–8). Yale University Press. Sidney, P. (1973). Apology for poetry. Barnes & Noble.
- Spenser, E. (1966). The Faerie Queene (J. W. Hales, Ed.). Everyman’s Library.
- Spingarn, J. E. (1908). Critical essays of the seventeenth century. Clarendon Press.
- Spingarn, J. E. (1938). A history of literary criticism in the Renaissance. Macmillan.
- Springborg, P. (2008). Historia ecclesiastica. Honoré Champion Éditeur.
- Swedenberg, H. T. (1944). The theory of the epic in England. University of California Press.
- Vickers, B. (2007). English Renaissance literary criticism. Clarendon Press.
- Virgil. (1999). The Aeneid (H. R. Fairclough, Trans.; Vol. 1). Harvard University Press.
- Werner, D. C. (1974). The neoclassic epic as a genre (1650–1700), exemplified by five representative poems. [Unpublished PhD dissertation]. Bowling Green State University.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | British and Irish Language, Literature and Culture |
| Journal Section | Research Articles |
| Authors | |
| Early Pub Date | September 28, 2025 |
| Publication Date | September 30, 2025 |
| Submission Date | June 19, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | September 21, 2025 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2025 Volume: 8 Issue: 3 |
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