The Poetical Works of Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins author Norman H MacKenzie editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:30th Aug '90
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This long-awaited complete edition of the poetry offers serious students of Gerard Manley Hopkins far more guidance than has previously been available. The edition is scrupulously and fully annotated, with a commentary and introduction. The texts are arranged chronologically; rhythm is clarified where Hopkins's prosodic marks are eccentric; and thousands of words and phrases are annotated, many for the first time. The neglected early half of his poetic output, before the Wreck of the Deutschland, is given full attention. The substantial introduction gives the history of each album of poetic manuscripts and a critical analysis of Hopkins's prosodic signs and use of accidentals. Because of the ambiguities disclosed, the editor argues that a definitive edition is probably beyond reach, but the new light he throws on the poetry should prove a major stimulus to Hopkins criticism. The headnote to each poem sets out its intellectual or biographical background, and lists critical articles on it, particularly those published after the 1969-70 cut-off date of Dunne's Comprehensive Bibliography of Hopkins. The detailed commentary gives a wealth of illuminating quotations from Hopkins's letters, journals, and other writings, as well as directing the reader to further areas of research. Professor MacKenzie's intimate knowledge of the manuscripts results in separate descriptions of every draft, fair-copy, and significant transcript of each poem. The principal variants are noted, and there are cross-references to the editor's two-volume Poetic Facsimiles of the manuscripts.
`the chronology of the poems has been reconsidered, the text refined, and the notes trebled in size and helpfulness ... Magnificent.' Sunday Correspondent
`This book is a delight, a lasting piece of work. If you think it expensive remember how often you're likely to return to it in the years ahead, and it will work out cheap at the price.' Wynn Wheldon, Catholic Herald
'scholarly work ... This book is a delight, a lasting piece of work.' Wynn Wheldon, Catholic Herald
'In this volume Norman H. MacKenzie, veteran Hopkins editor and scholar, stands faithful to the poet and, for the first time, complements the critical texts with Hopkins' metrical notations. Dr MacKenzie provides texts which are as definitive as the manuscripts permit ... MacKenzie's information and knowledge are prodigious, his mass of detail clearly organised, his judgments on text and interpretation balanced and sensible. MacKenzie's fine prose and honest humility also merit note. His writing is smooth and artful, ... And, blessedly, MacKenzie shows a dry humour.' Joseph J. Feeney SJ, The Month, March 1991
'This is the best and most comprehensive edition of Hopkins's poetry ever published. The extensive original work which has been done on the manuscripts not only leads to a more accurate text but also illuminates many problems of chronology through careful study of subtle changes in Hopkins's handwriting. MacKenzie adopts the course proper to a scholarly edition: he prints the variants, and even whole alternative drafts, in the main body of the text ... Those who want the fullest and most illuminating scholarly apparatus ever assembled on Hopkins will turn to MacKenzie.' R.J.C. Watt, University of Dundee, Review of English Studies, Vol. 44, No. 173, Feb '93
'the exhaustive labour that has gone into this book makes it about as definitive as we are likely to get for the foreseeable future ... anyone doing detailed work on Hopkins's poetry is now likely to consult Poetical Works,for as well as carrying the authority of the diligence that has gone into its preparation, it offers an unmatched wealth of information' English Studies in Canada, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 1993
'anyone doing detailed work on Hopkins's poetry is now likely to consult Poetical Works, for as well as carrying the authority of the diligence that has gone into its preparation, it offers an unmatched wealth of information ... most scholars interested in Hopkins's poetry will probably be delighted with the results of this mammoth editorial project and will want the set' Diana L. Austin, University of New Brunswick, English Studies in Canada, March 1993
ISBN: 9780198118831
Dimensions: 235mm x 165mm x 41mm
Weight: 1062g
622 pages