John Donne and the Rhetorics of Renaissance Discourse - Hardcover

Baumlin, James S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0826207685 ISBN 13: 9780826207685

Publisher: University of Missouri Press, 1991

Synopsis

Examining Donne's poetry and his increasingly sophisticated use of rhetoric, Baumlin argues that there are four distinct theories of historical rhetoric - the incarnational, the transcendental, the sceptical and the sophistic - which foster four distinct theories of reading. In part 1 Baumlin looks at Donne's early prose and the "Satyres" as documents whose rhetoric, based on classical models, strains and tests their form. In part 2 he looks at the "Songs and Sonets", examining historical theories and Donne's uses of rhetoric in greater depth. The author argues that his revisionary theory of discourse should apply to another of Donne's works and to renaissance literature generally. Baumlin concludes his study by looking at how rhetoric can affect genre. The book is aimed at students of literary theory, the history of rhetoric, and of Donne criticism.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Missouri Press
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0826207685
• ISBN 13: 9780826207685
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352