The long-lost James Beattie: the (re)discovery of "The Grotesquiad"

Brown, R. (2014) The long-lost James Beattie: the (re)discovery of "The Grotesquiad". Review of English Studies, 65(270), pp. 456-473. (doi: 10.1093/res/hgt086)

Abstract

This article examines a rediscovered poem by James Beattie (1735–1803), found in Walter Scott’s library at Abbotsford, his home near Melrose. ‘The Grotesquiad’, written in 1757 and supposed lost since 1762, is here described, contextualized and analysed for the first time; a transcript of the substantial work is also included in an online appendix. The article argues that the mock-heroic substance of ‘The Grotesquiad’ offers a fresh appreciation of Beattie’s literary output. It analyzes the poem’s comedy with reference to Beattie’s philosophical writings on humour and contextualizes ‘The Grotesquiad’ with special emphasis on its relationship with Cervantes’s Don Quixote.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: James Beattie, eighteenth-century Scottish poetry, mock-heroic, satire
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Brown, Dr Rhona
• Authors: Brown, R.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General); P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism; P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0441 Literary History
• College/School: College of Arts > School of Critical Studies > Scottish Literature
• Journal Name: Review of English Studies
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• ISSN: 0034-6551
• ISSN (Online): 1471-6968
• Published Online: 18 September 2013