The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism, Volume I: Classical Criticism is the second reprint of the paperback version of 1993 of a work first published in hardback form in 1989. In an age somewhat obsessed with theory, the reprint serves as a salutary reminder that theory, and especially critical theory, is by no means a postmodern development. Indeed, theoretical discourse about literary matters goes back to the Ancient Greeks and Romans. George A. Kennedy’s clear and succinct preface indicates that the only essential differences between the ancient world and the modern, in terms of the context of criticism, are found in journalism and the writing of book reviews. These did not exist in antiquity: schools and universities existed in both; creative writers commented then and now on their own work and the work of others. Another difference lies in the terminology used. Modern critical terminology is somewhat different from that used in the ancient world: both, some may feel, are somewhat obscure.
This volume is divided into 11 sometimes extensive sections, each written by different hands. The first, “Early Greek views of poets and poetry” by Gregory Nagy, has 12 sub‐sections. The second, “Language and meaning in archaic and classical Greece” by George A. Kennedy, has six sections. The third “Plato and poetry” by G.F. Ferrari, has six. The fourth, “Aristotle’s Poetics” by Stephen Halliwell, has five. The fifth, “The evolution of a theory of artistic prose” by George A. Kennedy, has seven. In the sixth section, “Hellenistic literary and philosophical scholarship,” the first seven sub‐sections are by Kennedy, and the eighth on Philodemus is by Doreen C. Innes. Section seven, “The growth of literature and criticism at Rome” by Elaine Fantham has seven subsections. The eighth “Augustan critics” by Doreen C. Innes, has four sections. Elaine Fantham uses six sections to describe “Latin criticism of the early Empire.” Donald A. Russell’s account of “Greek criticism of the Empire” has seven sub‐sections. In the final section, Kennedy uses four sub‐sections to describe “Christianity and criticism.”
The volume concludes with an extensive bibliography divided into primary and secondary sources. There is a full index. Printed by the Athenaeum Press at Gateshead, with a clear type face and wide margins, this volume is excellent value. The paperback binding appears to be sturdy, and contains on the front cover an illustration of what has been regarded as Rembrandt’s “Aristotle with a bust of Homer” (1653), now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This initial volume of The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism is a must for all libraries whichhaven’t already purchased the earlier hardback or paperback issues.
