Mysteriously Meant The Rediscovery of Pagan Symbolism and Allegorical Interpretation in the Renaissance

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Allen, Don Cameron, 1903-1972.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Allegory.

Myth in literature.

Renaissance.

Classical philology--History.

Classical philology.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 354 p.) illus.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Johns Hopkins University Press 1971

Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press [1970]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In Mysteriously Meant, Professor Allen maps the intellectual landscape of the Renaissance as he explains the discovery of an allegorical interpretation of Greek, Latin, and finally Egyptian myths and the effect this discovery had on the development of modern attitudes toward myth. He believes that to understand Renaissance literature one must understand the interpretations of classical myth known to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In unraveling the elusive strands of myth, allegory, and symbol from the fabric of Renaissance literature such as Milton's Paradise Lost, Allen is a helpful guide. His discussion of Renaissance authors is as authoritative as it is inclusive. His empathy with the scholars of the Renaissance keeps his discussion lively—a witty study of interpreters of mythography from the past.

Contents:

Cover

Copyright

Title Page

Contents

Preface

I. Pagan Myth and Christian Apologetics

II. The Renaissance Search for Christian Origins: The Philosophers

III. The Renaissance Search for Christian Origins: The Sacred History

IV. Undermeanings in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey

V. The Symbolic Wisdom of the Ancient Egyptians

VI. Undermeanings in Virgil's Aeneid

VII. Undermeanings in Ovid's Metamorphoses

VIII. The Allegorical Interpretation of the Renaissance Mythographers

IX. The Symbolic Interpretations of Renaissance Antiquarians

X. The Rationalization of Myth and the End of Allegory

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Bibliography: p. 312-338.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

0-8018-1159-7

OCLC:

1128825032