
Sir Thomas Wyatt and the Rhetoric of Rewriting: 'Turning the Word' - Oxford English Monographs (Hardback)
Chris Stamatakis (author)
£105.00
Hardback
276 Pages /
Published: 15/03/2012
- We can order this from the publisher
Chris Stamatakis reappraises Sir Thomas Wyatt (c.1504-1542) as a poetic innovator from the literary avant-garde of early Tudor England. He discusses Wyatt's reflections on the writing process, and his awareness of how words can be turned in new directions - that is, rewritten, amended, transformed, manipulated, even performed - over the course of a text's production, transmission, and reception. Where previous studies have read Wyatt's poetry from a largely
biographical standpoint, this book examines the reading practices of his Tudor audiences and editors, and it considers the different types of textuality shown by the manuscript collections that contain his verse. By setting Wyatt's writings in the context of sixteenth-century theories of language and literary
practice, and by drawing on early Tudor educational, rhetorical, and courtierly handbooks, Stamatakis examines the rhetoric of rewriting that colours Wyatt's texts. Repeatedly, his writings invite readers to 'turn' or perform the word-to draw out something that lies inert within it. These habits of rewriting and verbal performance often serve to sustain an intimate dialogue between writers and readers in this literary culture. The book pays particular attention to the fascinating materiality of
Wyatt's texts: the margins around, and the interlinear spaces within, his poems are regularly filled with new text-handwritten scrawls that are supplied by Wyatt himself or by his copyists, editors and readers. Chapters are devoted to the types of rewriting found in each of Wyatt's main genres:
Plutarchian essays; forensic apologias; psalm paraphrases; letters and verse epistles, and lyrics or 'balets'. Two appendices offer further detail about patterns of manuscript transmission and the copying of Wyatt's poems. Sir Thomas Wyatt and the Rhetoric of Rewriting argues that reading often shaded into writing (and rewriting) in the early sixteenth century, and it shows how acts of apparent copying often transformed texts inventively and imaginatively.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199644407
Number of pages: 276
Weight: 476 g
Dimensions: 221 x 146 x 21 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
this volumes provides a helpful introduction to the art, science, and literature of the Netherlands in the seventeenth century. Its interdisciplinary approach will enrich readers' understanding of Dutch culture, especially since in this day of specialization it is too easy to forget that human life is tapestry of many threads. * Sixteenth Century Journal *
a necessary, engaging, scholarly study which deserves to be read, and with care. Wyatts manuscripts and textual afterlives are no less fascinating than the content of his poetry and prose, and Stamatakis does an admirable job reminding us of that. * Will Rossiter, Journal of the Northern Renaissance *
a necessary, engaging, scholarly study which deserves to be read, and with care. Wyatts manuscripts and textual afterlives are no less fascinating than the content of his poetry and prose, and Stamatakis does an admirable job reminding us of that. * Will Rossiter, Journal of the Northern Renaissance *
You may also be interested in...
Please sign in to write a review
Sign In / Register
Not registered? CREATE AN ACCOUNTCREATE A plus ACCOUNT
Sign In
Download the Waterstones App
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?
Click & Collect
Reserve online, pay on collection
Alternatively, for multiple items you may find it easier to add to basket, then pay online and collect in as little as 2 hours, subject to availability.
Alternatively, for multiple items you may find it easier to add to basket, then pay online and collect in as little as 2 hours, subject to availability.
Thank you for your reservation
Your order is now being processed and we have sent a confirmation email to you at
When will my order be ready to collect?
Following the initial email, you will be contacted by the shop to confirm that your item is available for collection.
Call us on or send us an email at
Unfortunately there has been a problem with your order
Please try again or alternatively you can contact your chosen shop on or send us an email at