{"product_id":"placing-elysium-in-renaissance-britain-poetry-politics-theology-eros-9780198871200","title":"Placing Elysium in Renaissance Britain: Poetry, Politics, Theology, Eros","description":"\u003cem\u003ePlacing Elysium in Renaissance Britain: Poetry, Politics, Theology, Eros\u003c\/em\u003e is the first study of Elysium as a place in English Renaissance culture. The absence of such a study in the fields of literature and geography is surprising: from its captivating origin in the oceanic margins of Homer's \u003cem\u003eOdyssey \u003c\/em\u003eto its presence in the Eden of Milton's \u003cem\u003eParadise Lost\u003c\/em\u003e, Elysium is a destination to be desired: it is the land of the blessed. As such, Elysium becomes a geographical site for an author's most valued space. In \u003cem\u003eBritannia\u003c\/em\u003e, Camden provides leadership for this project by citing Plutarch as locating the blessed place in Britain. Following Camden, Spenser centralizes the idea of Britain as Elysium. Subsequently, English authors make the Elysian place the site of a liberating sublimity as the height of artistic renown. This authorial template becomes the site for literary inflections in the realms of politics, theology, and eros. However, Kyd and Marlowe darken the Spenserian project, recalling Virgil's geographical positioning of Elysium next to Hell. In turn, Drayton, Chapman, and Marston champion the Spenserian idea of Britain as Elysium. As this conversation suggests, English authors make Elysium the central place of the 'Renaissance' period concept, and they do so in the nation-building genre of epic. In \u003cem\u003eThe Muses Elizium\u003c\/em\u003e, Drayton crowns the Spenserian tradition by making the blessed place the monomyth of national poetry. At the centre of the monomyth is the cherished ideal of Renaissance culture: the Elysian capacity of the human to become divine.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Patrick Cheney\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/02\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSeries:\u003c\/b\u003e Early Modern Literary Geographies\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.38lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.79h x 5.66w x 0.94d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780198871200","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45089873920137,"sku":"9780198871200","price":115.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_8f355365-8cf7-486b-8212-bb9872f78f4d.jpg?v=1766477369","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/placing-elysium-in-renaissance-britain-poetry-politics-theology-eros-9780198871200","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}