This is the first critical edition of Christopher Smart's translation of Phaedrus' fables, and the first literary commentary on these fables in English. Many of the best-known Aesopian fables are in fact the work of the Roman poet Phaedrus. The fables are familiar yet fresh, and often have a startlingly contemporary flavour. Smart's versions successfully catch the spirit and humour of the Latin originals. The volume completes the distinguished edition of The Poetical Works of Christopher Smart.

Christopher Smart and Satire explores the lively and idiosyncratic world of satire in the eighteenth-century periodical, focusing on the way that writers adopted personae to engage with debates taking place during the British Enlightenment. Taking Christopher Smart's audacious and hitherto underexplored Midwife, or Old Woman's Magazine (1750-1753) as her primary source, Min Wild provides a rich examination of the prizewinning Cambridge poet's adoption of the bizarre, sardonic 'Mary Midnight' as his alter-ego. Her analysis provides insights into the difficult position in which eighteenth-century writers were placed, as ideas regarding the nature and functions of authorship were gradually being transformed. At the same time, Wild also demonstrates that Smart's use of 'Mary Midnight' is part of a tradition of learned wit, having an established history and characterized by identifiable satirical and rhetorical techniques. Wild's engagement with her exuberant source materials establishes the skill and ingenuity of Smart's often undervalued, multilayered prose satire. As she explores Smart's use of a peculiarly female voice, Wild offers us a picture of an ingenious and ribald wit whose satirical overview of society explores, overturns, and anatomises questions of gender, politics, and scientific and literary endeavors.

This book, written by a team of experts from many countries, provides a comprehensive account of the ways in which translation has brought the major literature of the world into English-speaking culture. Part I discusses theoretical issues and gives an overview of the history of translation into English. Part II, the bulk of the work, arranged by language of origin, offers critical discussions, with bibliographies, of the translation history of specific texts (e.g. the Koran, the Kalevala), authors (e.g. Lucretius, Dostoevsky), genres (e.g. Chinese poetry, twentieth-century Italian prose) and national literatures (e.g. Hungarian, Afrikaans).

This book is designed as an introduction to Christopher Smart's poetry for the general reader, the college student, and the college teacher. The political, social, and literary background of eighteenth-century England is examined in the first part of this volume. The second part concerns itself with Smart's life and the factors affecting his career as a poet. The last and largest section contains a critical evaluation of Christopher Smart's poetry, arranged chronologically, with special emphasis on the "Song to David." Some discussion is included on his prose published in periodicals, and there are a few general comments concerning his prose and verse translations. (Ll).