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As an exceptionally long-lived author (1588-1679) whose protracted development, late appearance in print, subsequent muzzling, and profound notoriety raise fascinating questions about how, when, and to what effect his thinking exerted an impact as he sought to transform an entire culture, Hobbes supplies the ideal focus for a study of cultural transmission in early modern England. Ranging from Jonson to Rochester and including several critically neglected figures, select poetic contemporaries variously illuminate the scope of Hobbes's writing and the reach of his influence, in turn shedding diverse lights on the nature of their own work.
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Hobbes and His Poetic Contemporaries This page intentionally left blank Hobbes and His Poetic Contemporaries Cultural Transmission in Early Modern England Richard Hillyer HOBBES AND HIS POETIC CONTEMPORARIES © Richard Hillyer, 2007. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2007 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN-13: 978–1–4039–7617–8 ISBN-10: 1–4039–7617–1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hillyer, Richard. Hobbes and his poetic contemporaries : cultural transmission in early modern England / by Richard Hillyer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–4039–7617–1 (alk. paper) 1. Hobbes, Thomas, 1588–1679. I. Title. B1247.H55 2007 192—dc22 2006051028 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: May 2007 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America. Contents Preface 1. “How He Did Grow”: Hobbes, Hobbes, and Hobbes vii 1 2. “To Governe the Reader”: Hobbes and Davenant 19 3. “Plain Magick”: Hobbes and Cowley 51 4. “Joynt Innterest”: Hobbes and Waller 69 5. “Absurd and Foolish Philosophy”: Hobbes and Rochester 103 6. “Common Passions”: Hobbes and Suckling 133 7. “Sufficiently Disposed”: Hobbes and Godolphin 157 8. “Ordinary Artifice”: Hobbes and Jonson 175 Notes 207 Works Cited 219 Index 231 This page intentionally left blank Preface As a Methusaleh (1588–1679), Hobbes had many contemporaries. Because he spent two decades living abroad, his social and intellectual ties extended beyond his native England. I am not merely parochial, however, in focusing on his relations with just seven poetic contemporaries, compatriots all. Three such foils are those authors most frequently portrayed as incorporating some features of his work in their own: Sidney Godolphin (1610–43), Abraham Cowley (1618–67), and Rochester (1647–80). These poets are illegitimate heirs whose debt to Hobbes has been much overstated. A second trio of foils encompasses authors whose links with Hobbes have won insufficient recognition: Jonson (1572–1637), Edmund Waller (1606–87), and Sir William Davenant (1608–68). I augment these sometime neighbors of Hobbes with Sir John Suckling (1609–41). After a detailed introduction establishing the complex profile of Hobbes’s own care