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Dendrologia: Dodona's Grove, or the Vocal Forest was a poem by James Howell published in 1640,<ref name="moulton">Template:Cite book</ref> which launched Howell's literary career. It was published in English in multiple editions and was translated into French<ref name="howell">Template:Cite book</ref> and Latin.Template:R
DescriptionEdit
Dodona's Grove is an allegory of Europe, particularly England, depicting events between 1603 and 1640.<ref name="hansche">Template:Cite book</ref> Dodona, in the title, refers to the ancient Hellenic oracle of Zeus in Epirus.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Covered in the poem are the Spanish match, the Gunpowder Plot, the murder of Thomas Overbury, and the assassination of Buckingham.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The political criticisms in Dodona's Grove may have contributed to Howell's imprisonment in 1643.Template:R
In the poem, plants represent prominent persons.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The British oak tree in Dodona's Grove represents the Stuarts.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
ImpactEdit
Historian Henry Hallam criticized the work harshly, calling it "clumsy", "unintelligible", "dull", and "an entire failure".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Despite its shortcomings, it is speculated to have been an influence on James Harrington's The Commonwealth of Oceana.Template:R Bibliographer Albrecht von Haller was tricked into including Dodona's Grove in his Bibliotheca Botanica.Template:R
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Dodona's Grove from The Abraham Cowley Text and Image Archive