George Douglas Atkins Libri

Through close readings of Alexander Pope's major works, G. Douglas Atkins applies deconstructive theory to illuminate the complexities of eighteenth-century poetry. This book serves as the first comprehensive deconstructive analysis of Augustan poetry, offering fresh insights that enrich and challenge traditional interpretations. Aimed at both specialists and general readers, it combines intellectual rigor with accessible writing, making significant contributions to the fields of criticism and theory while enhancing the appreciation of Pope's literary legacy.

The book explores John Dryden's conversion to Roman Catholicism as the result of a lifelong quest influenced by his Puritan upbringing. Atkins examines Dryden's key poems, including "Religio Laici" and "The Hind and the Panther," to highlight his enduring opposition to clergy across various faiths. By analyzing a range of Dryden's works, both popular and obscure, Atkins presents a fresh perspective on Dryden's evolving religious beliefs, ultimately offering a new interpretation of his conversion and its significance in the context of his life and times.

This accessible, informed, and engaging book offers fresh, new avenues into Keats’s poems and letters, including a valuable introduction to “the responsible poet.” Focusing on Keats’s sense of responsibility to truth, poetry, and the reader, G. Douglas Atkins, a noted T. S. Eliot critic, writes as an ama- teur. He reads the letters as literary texts, essayistic and dramatic; the Odes in comparison with Eliot’s treatment of similar subjects; “The Eve of St. Agnes” by adding to his respected earlier article on the poem an addendum outlining a bold new reading; “Lamia” by focusing on its complex and perplexing treatment of philosophy and imagination and revealing how Keats literally represents philosophy as functioning within poetry. Comparing Keats with Eliot, poet-philosopher, this book generates valuable insight into Keats’s successful and often sophisticated poetic treatment of ideas, accentuating the image of him as “the responsible poet.”

Twelve clear and effective essays shed new light on Shakespeare. The contributors write in, on, and sometimes against deconstruction, the most powerful and controversial theoretical movement in decades. Writing about several plays and sonnets, the critics explore the contribution of deconstruction to our understanding of Shakespeare. This unique and wide-ranging collection of essays will interest Shakespeareans and theorists alike.