4 Buzzed, scrawled and printed
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James Doelman
Abstract
This chapter considers the topical and ephemeral origins of individual epigrams, and how some came to circulate widely, both by word of mouth and as posted poems. Epigrams sometimes worked as part of the oral news culture of the time and epigrams might be scrawled or posted on well-known public sites. Such free-wheeling circulation also led to a high degree of textual stability. The chapter includes a section on the influence of the Roman figure of "Pasquil" on the epigram culture of Britain, and case studies of epigrams (by Andrew Melville and Sir John Harington) in circulation.
Abstract
This chapter considers the topical and ephemeral origins of individual epigrams, and how some came to circulate widely, both by word of mouth and as posted poems. Epigrams sometimes worked as part of the oral news culture of the time and epigrams might be scrawled or posted on well-known public sites. Such free-wheeling circulation also led to a high degree of textual stability. The chapter includes a section on the influence of the Roman figure of "Pasquil" on the epigram culture of Britain, and case studies of epigrams (by Andrew Melville and Sir John Harington) in circulation.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Epigraph vi
- Contents vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Abbreviations xi
- A note on the texts xii
- Introduction 1
- 1 The classical, medieval and Renaissance inheritance 15
- 2 ‘A Curter kind of Satyre’? 45
- 3 The contexts of epigram composition 67
- 4 Buzzed, scrawled and printed 94
- 5 Epigrams in manuscript 130
- 6 Epigrams in print 163
- 7 Authorship 188
- 8 The readers of printed epigram books 229
- 9 Two facets of the epigram 251
- 10 The epigram and political comment 285
- 11 The feigned epitaph 318
- 12 The religious epigram 345
- Coda 367
- Appendix 370
- Select bibliography 374
- Index 393
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Epigraph vi
- Contents vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Abbreviations xi
- A note on the texts xii
- Introduction 1
- 1 The classical, medieval and Renaissance inheritance 15
- 2 ‘A Curter kind of Satyre’? 45
- 3 The contexts of epigram composition 67
- 4 Buzzed, scrawled and printed 94
- 5 Epigrams in manuscript 130
- 6 Epigrams in print 163
- 7 Authorship 188
- 8 The readers of printed epigram books 229
- 9 Two facets of the epigram 251
- 10 The epigram and political comment 285
- 11 The feigned epitaph 318
- 12 The religious epigram 345
- Coda 367
- Appendix 370
- Select bibliography 374
- Index 393
