A History of Literary Criticism in the Renaissance With special reference to the influence of Italy in the formation and development of modern classicism

About this book

This work is a scholarly essay that traces the evolution of literary criticism from the Italian Renaissance through French and English traditions, with a particular focus on how Italy shaped modern classicism. The author opens by outlining a three‑part structure, Italian criticism from Dante to Tasso, French criticism from Du Bellay to Boileau, and English criticism from Ascham to Milton, while emphasizing the sixteenth century as the pivotal moment when modern criticism emerged and Aristotelian canons re‑entered European letters. The preface explains that the study privileges the development of principles, theories, and the “classic spirit” over individual texts, and it situates the Italian humanist legacy as a catalyst for later French and English classicism, even reaching figures such as Lessing and Shelley.

Written in the formal, lecture‑style prose of a late‑nineteenth‑century academic, the book reflects the meticulous citation habits of its era, complete with footnotes, bibliographic references, and occasional typographic conventions for italics and superscripts. Readers who relish detailed historical analysis, enjoy the interplay of philosophy and poetics, or are engaged in graduate‑level studies of Renaissance, French, or English literary theory will find this text rewarding. It is especially suited to scholars interested in the transmission of classical ideas and the intellectual currents that forged the foundations of modern literary criticism.