Mark Akenside: A ReassessmentRobin Dix
Book Review
Robin Dix has made the reassessment of Akenside worth his vocation. Having published two editions of Akenside's poetry (for these alone he ought to be thanked), with this volume, Dix provides a collection of essays by nine scholars that shows he is not alone in singing the poet's praise and initiates some needed critical discussion about Akenside and his contribution to the literary and intellectual contexts of his time. The contexts being various, the figure of Akenside proves remarkably chameleon-like in versatility. Here one discovers Akenside the Edinburgh-trained phsyician interested in reconciling the goals of poetry and philosophy; Akenside the philosopher who critiques Addison by reinstating pleasure within a Lockean psychology, and synthesizes Shaftesbury's and Hutcheson's theories of ridicule; Akenside the Patriot Whig who stood by his political principles for the remainder of his life; and of course the poet of odes and lyrics, a hymn, an epistle, a philippic, and two versions of an unfinished blank-verse poem, who, Janus-faced, looks beyond Roman precurses in favor of Homer and Pindar even as he foresees and anticipates Wordsworth and Coleridge. [...]Dix and other clearly hope that [...]their work on Akenside will inspire others to read and enjoy him, and in turn to write new criticism for a widening audience. Only time will tell. [...]That said, this volume certainly makes its case that a reassessment of Akenside has indeed been long overdue. ECCB To see a full description of this book, search our online database
Michael Jonathan Schwartz
TO ORDER BOOKS:
2010 Eastpark Boulevard
Cranbury, New Jersey 08512
Phone (609) 655-4770
Fax (609) 655-8366
TO REQUEST A CATALOGUE:
M-GH2-01
285 Madison Avenue
Madison, New Jersey 07940
Phone (973) 443-8564
Fax (973) 443-8364
fdupress@fdu.edu
TO RECEIVE UPDATES ON NEWLY RELEASED TITLES BY EMAIL:
fdupress@fdu.edu
Photograph courtesy of Louise Dell-Bene Stahl © 2001