| The Poems of Ossian and Related Works: James Macpherson |  | Author: Howard Gaskill
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $72.00
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Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 1,076,538
Media: Paperback
Pages: 573
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6 x 1.2
ISBN: 0748607072
Dewey Decimal Number: 821.6
EAN: 9780748607075
ASIN: 0748607072
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Product Description
This is the first modern edition of all Macpherson's Ossianic poetry, including Fragments of Ancient Poetry, Fingal and Temora - as well as his accompanying prefaces and dissertations, and Hugh Blair's Critical Dissertation on the Poems of Ossian. Based on the 1765 text of the Works of Ossian, major variants from the other editions are included, together with a comprehensive register of Ossianic names.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Well organized edition July 9, 2000
15 out of 19 found this review helpful
In the 1760s James Macpherson wandered Scotland, collecting the Poems of Ossian, many apparently existing only verbally. The book is a classic, the poetry is incredible, and the work is almost entirely forgotten today. That's a shame. Howard Gaskill has done the world a favor by releasing a new edition of "Ossian". He does an excellent job of organizing the material, and provides detailed explanations of the various plots of the poems. A great book for those who enjoy epic poetry.
A Classic August 22, 2001
M. Hartman (East Coast, Etats-Unis)
12 out of 15 found this review helpful
One of the greatest works of the 18th century. Thomas Jefferson read this book on a daily basis and extolled its merits. Unfortunately, the work was shrowded amidst questions about its "authenticity". It is a beautiful masterpiece, in my opinion. It does at times suffer from the excesses of 18th century sentimentality, but so does Tom Jones.
 Not what it claims to be, but lovely nonetheless September 14, 2004
G. Otis (Brooklyn NY)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Hugely popular when they were published in the 18th Century, the Poems of Ossian helped sparked the Romantic movement and its interest in folk themes and native mythology. Napoleon read this work, and Goethe referred to it in "The Sorrows of Young Werther." The poems were presented as translations from 6th-Century Scottish manuscripts discovered by MacPherson--or so he claimed. Anachronisms and deviations from other sources made the authenticity of this work suspect from the start, and many have considered the Poems of Ossian to have been composed by MacPherson himself. It might be more accurate to say that MacPherson based this work on authentic sources, interpreting freely as he went. Its tainted history shouldn't detract from enjoyment of this book; MacPherson was no mean poet and he had a real feel for the Celtic sensibility. MacPherson was neither the first author nor the last to over-hype his book; if he were alive today he probably would claim to have "channeled" Ossian.
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