Literature and Nature in the English Renaissance

Featuring Over Two Hundred Nature-Themed Texts Spanning The Disciplines Of Literature Science And History This Sourcebook Offers An Accessible Field Guide To The Environment Of Renaissance England Revealing A Nation At A Crossroads Between Its Pastoral Heritage And Industrialized Future. Carefully Selected Primary Sources Each Modernized And Prefaced With An Introduction Survey An Encyclopaedic Array Of Topographies Species And Topics: From Astrology To Zoology Bear-Baiting To Bee-Keeping Coal-Mining To Tree-Planting Fen-Draining To Sheep-Whispering. The Familiar Voices Of Spenser Shakespeare Jonson And Marvell Mingle With A Diverse Chorus Of Farmers Herbalists Shepherds Hunters Foresters Philosophers Sailors Sky-Watchers And Duchesses - As Well As Ventriloquized Beasts Trees And Rivers. Lavishly Illustrated The Anthology Is Supported By A Lucid Introduction That Outlines And Intervenes In Key Debates In Renaissance Ecocriticism A Reflective Essay On Ecocritical Editing A Bibliography Of Further Reading And A Timeline Of Environmental History And Legislation Drawing On Extensive Archival Research.