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Abraham Lincoln
The Evolution of His Literary Style
Daniel Kilham Dodge Introduction by James Hurt
Paper978-0-252-06854-6
$10.95
| Pub Date: | |
| Pages: | 72 pages |
| Illustrations: | 1 black & white photograph |
Although first published in 1900 as the first scholarly publication to emerge from the University of Illinois, this is more than a regional literary oddity in that it brings an historical perspective to Lincoln, his speeches and writings as they were understood at the turn of the last century.
"In times like the present," Abraham Lincoln observed, "men should utter nothing for which they would not willingly be responsible through time in eternity." In this succinct and lucid study, Daniel Kilham Dodge surveys the literary sources that shaped the writings of a man whose own utterances are inscribed on America's cultural memory. Originally published in 1900, Abraham Lincoln: The Evolution of His Literary Style explicates the relations between what Lincoln read and how he wrote. Dodge considers Lincoln's reading habits, noting especially his extensive knowledge of the Bible and Shakespeare, and investigates how his knowledge of a wide range of literature--from newspapers and law books to poetry and natural philosophy--influenced his writing. Through letters, poems, lectures, and speeches, Dodge shows how Lincoln's distinctive style developed. He assesses Lincoln's imaginative engagement with words, traces the sources of his favored figures of speech, and considers how his contemporaries viewed the intellectual side of his character. James Hurt's thoughtful introduction enhances this historic reissue, situating Dodge's monograph both in the history of Lincoln interpretation and in the context of literary/biographical studies. Hurt also observes the unique position of this work as the first scholarly publication to appear under the auspices of the University of Illinois.
Subjects:
Lincoln Studies / Language & Linguistics / Literature, American / Midwest Regional
