Dendrologia: Dodona's Grove, or the Vocal Forest was a poem by James Howell published in 1640, [1] which launched Howell's literary career. It was published in English in multiple editions and was translated into French [2] and Latin. [3]
Dendrologia: Dodona's Grove, or the Vocal Forest was a poem by James Howell published in 1640, [1] which launched Howell's literary career. It was published in English in multiple editions and was translated into French [2] and Latin. [3]
Dodona's Grove is an allegory of Europe, particularly England, depicting events between 1603 and 1640. [3] Dodona, in the title, refers to the ancient Hellenic oracle of Zeus in Epirus. [4]
Covered in the poem are the Spanish match, the Gunpowder Plot, the murder of Thomas Overbury, and the assassination of Buckingham. [5] The political criticisms in Dodona's Grove may have contributed to Howell's imprisonment in 1643. [3]
In the poem, plants represent prominent persons. [6] The British oak tree in Dodona's Grove represents the Stuarts. [7]
Historian Henry Hallam criticized the work harshly, calling it "clumsy", "unintelligible", "dull", and "an entire failure". [8] Despite its shortcomings, it is speculated to have been an influence on James Harrington's The Commonwealth of Oceana . [2] Bibliographer Albrecht von Haller was tricked into including Dodona's Grove in his Bibliotheca Botanica. [1]
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This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1640.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1626.
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