Lectures on English History and Tragic Poetry, as Illustrated by Shakspeare

London and Manchester: John F. Shaw; T. Dinham and Co, 1856. Hardcover. Very Good. Hardcover. A collection of lectures published posthumously by a late professor at the University of Pennsylvania. A collection of lectures published posthumously by Henry Hope Reed (1808 - 1854), a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is best known for the assistance he provide to William Wordsworth in preparing an American edition of his poetry. In this book which collects a series of lectures on Shakespeare, Reed discusses his historical dramas as they relate to historical facts - beginning with Shakespeare's portrayal of King John and ending with Henry VIII, which span across the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. He also discusses tragic poetry using Shakespeare's four tragedies to illustrate the aim and scope of tragic poetry. Reed states: "I wish to inqurie, how a true poet deals with human heart when he awakens its solemn sympathies, and why it is that such sympathies - the sentiments of pity, sorrow, and even anguish - are stirred within the soul by the agency of the imagination" (201).

Bound in three quarter tan leather over navy blue pebbled cloth boards with black and gilt title label to spine. Raised bands, gilt rules, and blind stamped decorations to spine. Floral endpapers with speckled red edges. Minor rubbing and wear to boards, spine, and edges. Occasional spots of foxing to interior, but clean and bright overall. 279 pages. LIT083022.