Literature and natural theology in early modern England / Katherine Calloway.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Calloway, Katherine, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English literature--Early modern, 1500-1700--History and criticism.

English literature.

Natural theology in literature.

Natural theology--History of doctrines.

Natural theology.

Great Britain--Intellectual life--17th century.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 242 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Summary:

Guiding readers through the diverse forms of natural theology expressed in seventeenth-century English literature, Katherine Calloway reveals how, in ways that have not yet been fully recognized, authors such as Donne, Herbert, Vaughan, Cavendish, Hutchinson, Milton, Marvell, and Bunyan describe, promote, challenge, and even practice natural theology in their poetic works. She simultaneously improves our understanding of an important and still-influential intellectual movement and deepens our appreciation of multiple major literary works. "Natural theology," as it was popularly understood, changed dramatically in England over the seventeenth century, from the application of natural light to divine things to a newer, more brittle, understanding of the enterprise as the exclusive use of reason and observation to prove theological conclusions outside of any context of faith. These poets profoundly complicate the story, collectively demonstrating that some forms of natural theology lend themselves to poetry or imaginative literature rather than prose.

Contents:

A "metaphorical god" and the book of nature : John Donne on natural theology

"I summon'd nature" : George Herbert and Henry Vaughan on science and nature

"Mutters of assent" or "lectures for the eye" : natural theology in the devotional lyrics of Herbert and Vaughan

"Architect of wonders" : creation in Cavendish, Sylvester, Hutchinson, Denham and Marvell

"His footstep trace" : the natural theology of Paradise lost

The misunderstood spider : John Bunyan reads the Book of nature

Epilogue : literature and natural theology at the dawn of the Boyle lectures.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 09 Oct 2023).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781009415231 (ebook)

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.