Thomas May, Lucan's Pharsalia (1627)

Emma Buckley; Edward Paleit

Thomas May, Lucan's Pharsalia (1627)

Edited by Emma Buckley and Edward Paleit

Click cover to enlarge

Buy hardback at:
Amazon
Amazon US

Buy paperback at:
Amazon
Amazon US

Booksellers & libraries:
ipage® at Ingram

Thomas May (1594-1650), English poet

1 other title

'Lucan', Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (39-65), Roman poet

Tudor and Stuart Translations 18

Modern Humanities Research Association

7 December 2020

ISBN: 978-1-781889-95-4 (hardback) • RRP £44.99, $61.99, €53.99

ISBN: 978-1-781880-08-1 (paperback) • RRP £24.99, $34.99, €29.99

Sample: Google Books • Access online: Books@JSTOR

EnglishTranslation

Lauded after his death as ‘champion of the English Commonwealth’, but also derided as a ‘most servile wit, and mercenary pen’, the poet, dramatist and historian Thomas May (c.1595–1650) produced the first full translation into English of Lucan’s Bellum Ciuile shortly before a ruinous civil war engulfed his own country. Lucan, whose epic had lamented the Roman Republic’s doomed struggle to preserve liberty and inevitable enslavement to the Caesars, and who was forced to commit suicide at the behest of the emperor Nero, was a figure of fascination in early modern Europe. May’s accomplished rendition of his challenging poem marked an important moment in the history of its English reception.

This is a modernized edition of the first complete (1627) edition of the translation. It includes prefatory materials, dedications and May’s own historical notes on the text. Besides an introduction contextualising May’s life and work and the key features of his translation, it offers a full commentary to the text highlighting how May responded to contemporary editions and commentaries on Lucan, and explaining points of literary, political, philosophical interest. There is also a detailed glossary and bibliography, and a set of textual notes enumerating the chief differences between the 1627 edition and the others produced in May’s lifetime. This volume aims not just to provide an accessible path into the dense, sometimes provocative poem May shapes from Lucan, but also a broader appreciation of the translator’s literary merits and the role his work plays in the history of the English reception of Roman literature and culture.

Reviews:

‘This edition of Thomas May’s translation of Lucan’s Pharsalia forms a very welcome addition to the excellent MHRA series of Tudor and Stuart Translations... this admirably well-conceived edition certainly opens up May’s version – and Lucan himself – for today’s readers.’ — David Norbrook, Translation and Literature 31, 2022, 92-94 (full text online)

Contents:

vii-viii	Acknowledgements Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.4	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
1-28	Introduction Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.5	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
29-31	Further Reading Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.6	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
31-32	Abbreviations Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.7	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
33-35	Note On Editorial Practice Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.8	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
36-36	Frontispiece Verses Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.9	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
38-39	Dedication To William, Earl of Devonshire Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.10	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
40-42	The Life of Marcus Annaeus Lucanus Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.11	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
43-43	Dedicatory Poem: Ben Jonson To Thomas May Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.12	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
44-44	Dedicatory Poem: H. V. to Thomas May Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.13	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
45-46	Dedicatory Poem: J. Vaughan to Thomas May Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.14	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
47-82	LUCAN’S Pharsalia: The First Book Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.15	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
83-115	LUCAN’S Pharsalia: The Second Book Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.16	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
116-147	LUCAN’S Pharsalia: The Third Book Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.17	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
148-181	LUCAN’S Pharsalia: The Fourth Book Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.18	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
182-218	LUCAN’S Pharsalia: The Fifth Book Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.19	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
219-254	LUCAN’S Pharsalia: The Sixth Book Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.20	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
255-292	LUCAN’S Pharsalia: The Seventh Book Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.21	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
293-333	LUCAN’S Pharsalia: The Eighth Book Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.22	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
334-377	LUCAN’S Pharsalia: The Ninth Book Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.23	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
378-404	LUCAN’S Pharsalia: The Tenth Book Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.24	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
405-405	Appendix A: Giovanni Sulpizio’s Continuation Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.25	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
406-419	Textual Notes Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.26	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
420-440	Glossary: Most Important Names and Places Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.27	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
441-449	Bibliography Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.28	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
450-452	Index Emma Buckley, Edward Paleit doi:10.2307/j.ctv19wx7x6.29	Cite
	To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link. To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.

Cite this volume in standard MHRA style

Bibliography entry:

Buckley, Emma, and Edward Paleit (eds), Thomas May, Lucan's Pharsalia (1627), Tudor and Stuart Translations, 18 (MHRA, 2020)

First footnote reference: ³⁵ Thomas May, Lucan's Pharsalia (1627), ed. by Emma Buckley and Edward Paleit, Tudor and Stuart Translations, 18 (MHRA, 2020), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: ³⁷ Buckley and Paleit, p. 47.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

Cite this volume in MHRA author-date style

Bibliography entry:

Buckley, Emma, and Edward Paleit (eds). 2020. Thomas May, Lucan's Pharsalia (1627), Tudor and Stuart Translations, 18 (MHRA)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (Buckley and Paleit 2020: 21).

Example footnote reference: ³⁵ Buckley and Paleit 2020: 21.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

This title is distributed on behalf of MHRA by Ingram’s. Booksellers and libraries can order direct from Ingram by setting up an ipage Account: click here for more.

Permanent link to this title:

www.mhra.org.uk/publications/Thomas-May-Lucans-Pharsalia-1627
www.mhra.org.uk/publications/tst-18