Mock-Heroic from Butler to Cowper

Mock-Heroic from Butler to Cowper explores the protean nature of mock-epic in the English Augustan era. It recounts the rise of mock-heroic, and explores its relation both to classical epic and to contemporary genres such as the poetic travesty and the novel. Terry goes beyond previous commentators in arguing that mock-heroic was not merely a conventional genre, but also provided a supple discourse through which writers could represent a range of personal and social issues. He discovers mock-heroic properties, for example, in the Mandevillian discourse of economics and in the rhetoric of male gallantry towards women. Mixing a historical approach with incisive close readings, Terry provides a powerful re-evaluation of the form.