Parodies of the works of English & American authors, vol. V

About this book

The volume is a scholarly compilation of nineteenth‑century parodies that target the poems of Thomas Gray, introduced by a prefatory note from editor Walter Hamilton in December 1888. Hamilton lists the gentlemen who supplied permission or assistance, then outlines the contents: a catalogue of Gray’s principal poems followed by a detailed historical account of the “Elegy Written in a Country Church‑yard,” its manuscript history, and the circumstances of its first printing by Robert Dodsley in 1751. After this background, the book presents a faithful reprint of Dodsley’s original quarto, complete with numbered stanzas and footnotes, and then proceeds to the parody itself, an elaborate, mock‑elegiac composition that mirrors Gray’s style while inserting contemporary references and satirical commentary. The opening pages therefore combine bibliographic documentation, textual criticism, and the parody that the volume promises to deliver.

The work’s voice is unmistakably Victorian, blending formal scholarly prose with the ornate, occasionally florid diction of the period’s literary satire. Its style mimics the solemn cadence of Gray’s elegy, only to subvert it with witty allusions and exaggerated moralizing, making the parody both a study in imitation and a playful critique. Readers who enjoy the interplay of serious literary history and tongue‑in‑cheek imitation, particularly those with an interest in eighteenth‑century poetry, Victorian editorial practices, or the art of parody, will find this volume a rewarding, if dense, exploration of how past masters were re‑imagined for a later audience.