ABSTRACT

In England literary consciousness had its beginning in the middle ages, and this book, originally published in 1943, describes and illustrates the first phases of the growth of a tradition of criticism. It does not confine itself to writers whose interest was in the vernacular, for there was a larger European movement of which English criticism was a part. It embodied much of the ancient teaching, but it shows recurring efforts to arrive at the nature and art of poetry; it provides a key to contemporary literature and is of great help in understanding what really happened at the 16th Century Renaissance.

chapter Chapter I|7 pages

Introduction

chapter Chapter II|28 pages

The Medieval Inheritance

chapter Chapter III|23 pages

Early Grammarians: Bede and Alcuin

chapter Chapter IV|32 pages

The Dawn of Humanism: John of Salisbury

chapter Chapter IX|18 pages

Conclusion