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The Poems of Ossian: Volume 1
The Poems of Ossian - Volume 1 is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1790. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.
332 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1807
About the author
James MacPherson
734 books45 followersJames Macpherson (Gaelic: Seumas Mac a' Phearsain) was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector and politician, known as the "translator" of the Ossian cycle of epic poems.
It was in 1761 that Macpherson claimed to have found an epic on the subject of the hero Fingal, written by Ossian. The name Fingal or Fionnghall means "white stranger". His publisher, claiming that there was no market for these works except in English, required that they be translated. He published translations of it during the next few years, culminating in a collected edition, The Works of Ossian, in 1765. The most famous of these poems was Fingal.
The poems achieved international success (Napoleon and Thomas Jefferson were great fans) and were proclaimed as a Celtic equivalent of the Classical writers such as Homer. Many writers were influenced by the works, including the young Walter Scott. In the German-speaking states Michael Denis made the first full translation in 1768, inspiring the proto-nationalist poets Klopstock and Goethe, whose own German translation of a portion of Macpherson's work figures prominently in a climactic scene of The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774).
The poem was as much admired in Hungary as in France and Germany; Hungarian János Arany wrote Homer and Ossian in response, and several other Hungarian writers Baróti Szabó, Csokonai, Sándor Kisfaludy, Kazinczy, Kölcsey, Ferenc Toldy, and Ágost Greguss, were also influenced by it.
It was in 1761 that Macpherson claimed to have found an epic on the subject of the hero Fingal, written by Ossian. The name Fingal or Fionnghall means "white stranger". His publisher, claiming that there was no market for these works except in English, required that they be translated. He published translations of it during the next few years, culminating in a collected edition, The Works of Ossian, in 1765. The most famous of these poems was Fingal.
The poems achieved international success (Napoleon and Thomas Jefferson were great fans) and were proclaimed as a Celtic equivalent of the Classical writers such as Homer. Many writers were influenced by the works, including the young Walter Scott. In the German-speaking states Michael Denis made the first full translation in 1768, inspiring the proto-nationalist poets Klopstock and Goethe, whose own German translation of a portion of Macpherson's work figures prominently in a climactic scene of The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774).
The poem was as much admired in Hungary as in France and Germany; Hungarian János Arany wrote Homer and Ossian in response, and several other Hungarian writers Baróti Szabó, Csokonai, Sándor Kisfaludy, Kazinczy, Kölcsey, Ferenc Toldy, and Ágost Greguss, were also influenced by it.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 28, 2016
The editions I now own are 213 years old and still in original covers. All illustrations are intact and they smell of age an history...
Surely that justifies a five star rating?
Surely that justifies a five star rating?
January 13, 2020
I didn't think it would matter so much, while reading this book, whether James Macpherson made the whole thing up or translated from ancient sources, as he claimed. Modern research suggests it was likely a mix of both.
The stories/poems themselves are nice enough, but historically I suppose they must be taken for the effect they had on 18th/19th-century Europe rather than any purported insight into ancient Gaelic culture. The most amazing thing about Ossian, I think, is how popular he became--influential to Romantic poets and statesmen like Napoleon and Thomas Jefferson--and how deeply people wanted to believe he was real. Well into the 19th century, people wrote whole essays and books proving Ossian's basis in reality, or assuming it. People who rejected him, like Samuel Johnson, were often dismissed as being prejudiced against the Scottish, and the Irish scholars who claimed that these poems actually belonged to their own history were also treated with dissertations proving a shared culture between Celtic nations. Ossian was compared to Homer and Shakespeare, and any problems or simplicity of style were excused given the early date of his composition... If Macpherson did in fact fake the whole thing, he was kind of a genius about it. And, as some critic once said, whether translating or composing originals, Macpherson needed some manner of talent, without which Ossian would never have become popular anyway.
The stories/poems themselves are nice enough, but historically I suppose they must be taken for the effect they had on 18th/19th-century Europe rather than any purported insight into ancient Gaelic culture. The most amazing thing about Ossian, I think, is how popular he became--influential to Romantic poets and statesmen like Napoleon and Thomas Jefferson--and how deeply people wanted to believe he was real. Well into the 19th century, people wrote whole essays and books proving Ossian's basis in reality, or assuming it. People who rejected him, like Samuel Johnson, were often dismissed as being prejudiced against the Scottish, and the Irish scholars who claimed that these poems actually belonged to their own history were also treated with dissertations proving a shared culture between Celtic nations. Ossian was compared to Homer and Shakespeare, and any problems or simplicity of style were excused given the early date of his composition... If Macpherson did in fact fake the whole thing, he was kind of a genius about it. And, as some critic once said, whether translating or composing originals, Macpherson needed some manner of talent, without which Ossian would never have become popular anyway.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews