Description: Mock-Heroic from Butler to Cowper explores the protean nature of mock-epic in the English Augustan era. It recounts the rise of mock-heroic, and explores its relation both to classical epic and to contemporary genres such as the poetic travesty and the novel. Terry goes beyond previous commentators in arguing that mock-heroic was not merely a conventional genre, but also provided a supple discourse through which writers could represent a range of personal and social issues. He discovers mock-heroic properties, for example, in the Mandevillian discourse of economics and in the rhetoric of male gallantry towards women. Mixing a historical approach with incisive close readings, Terry provides a powerful re-evaluation of the form.
Review Quotes: 'This is a very valuable book that provides a clear introduction to the mock-heroic, its literary manifestations throughtout the eighteenth century, and the forms of life and habits of mind that go along with it... Its breadth and clarity will make it useful for students in the early stages of grappling with the genre, and also for those students and academics developing a sense of mock-heroic in eighteenth-century discourse in general.' Modern Language Review