Imagination and Politics in Seventeenth-Century England

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Imagination and Politics in Seventeenth-Century England by Todd Butler, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Todd Butler ISBN: 9781351928724
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: March 2, 2017
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Todd Butler
ISBN: 9781351928724
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: March 2, 2017
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Todd Butler here proposes a new epistemology of early modern politics, one that sees-as did writers of the period-human thought as a precursor to political action. By focusing not on reason or the will but on the imagination, Butler uncovers a political culture in seventeenth-century England that is far more shifting and multi-polar than has been previously recognized. Pursuing the connection between individual thought and corporate political action, he also charts the existence of a discourse that grounds modern scholarly interests in the representational nature of early modern politics - its images, rituals and entertainment-within a language early moderns themselves used. Through analysis of a wide variety of seventeenth-century texts, including the writings of Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes, Caroline Court masques, and the poetry and prose of John Milton, he reveals a society deeply concerned with the fundamentally imaginative nature of politics. It is a strength of the study that Butler looks at unusual or slighted texts by these authors alongside their more canonical texts. The study also ranges widely across disciplines, engaging literature alongside both natural and political philosophy. By emphasizing the human mind rather than human institutions as the primary site of the period's political struggles, this study reframes critical understandings of seventeenth-century English politics and the texts that helped define them.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Todd Butler here proposes a new epistemology of early modern politics, one that sees-as did writers of the period-human thought as a precursor to political action. By focusing not on reason or the will but on the imagination, Butler uncovers a political culture in seventeenth-century England that is far more shifting and multi-polar than has been previously recognized. Pursuing the connection between individual thought and corporate political action, he also charts the existence of a discourse that grounds modern scholarly interests in the representational nature of early modern politics - its images, rituals and entertainment-within a language early moderns themselves used. Through analysis of a wide variety of seventeenth-century texts, including the writings of Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes, Caroline Court masques, and the poetry and prose of John Milton, he reveals a society deeply concerned with the fundamentally imaginative nature of politics. It is a strength of the study that Butler looks at unusual or slighted texts by these authors alongside their more canonical texts. The study also ranges widely across disciplines, engaging literature alongside both natural and political philosophy. By emphasizing the human mind rather than human institutions as the primary site of the period's political struggles, this study reframes critical understandings of seventeenth-century English politics and the texts that helped define them.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Technology and Development in the Third Industrial Revolution by Todd Butler
Cover of the book The Psychoanalytic Theory Of Neurosis by Todd Butler
Cover of the book Japanese Nation by Todd Butler
Cover of the book Charlie Chaplin by Todd Butler
Cover of the book Anglicanism by Todd Butler
Cover of the book Routledge Course in Modern Mandarin Chinese Level 2 Traditional by Todd Butler
Cover of the book The Annual of Psychoanalysis, V. 31 by Todd Butler
Cover of the book The Rule of Unwritten International Law by Todd Butler
Cover of the book New Enterprises (Routledge Revivals) by Todd Butler
Cover of the book Risk and Acceptability by Todd Butler
Cover of the book Mental Health And Infant Development by Todd Butler
Cover of the book Modern French Grammar by Todd Butler
Cover of the book Ethiopia Unbound: Studies in Race Emancipation by Todd Butler
Cover of the book Confronting the National in the Musical Past by Todd Butler
Cover of the book The Russian Tradition in Education by Todd Butler
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy