''Dendrologia: Dodona's Grove, or the Vocal Forest'' was a poem by

James Howell James Howell (c. 1594 – 1666) was a 17th-century Anglo-Welsh historian and writer who is in many ways a representative figure of his age. The son of a Welsh clergyman, he was for much of his life in the shadow of his elder brother Thomas How ...

published in 1640, which launched Howell's literary career. It was published in English in multiple editions and was translated into French and Latin.

Description

''Dodona's Grove'' is an allegory of Europe, particularly England, depicting events between 1603 and 1640. Dodona, in the title, refers to the ancient Hellenic oracle of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

in Epirus. Covered in the poem are the

Spanish match The Spanish match was a proposed marriage between Charles I of England, Prince Charles, the son of James I of England, King James I of Great Britain, and Infante, Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of Philip III of Spain. Negotiations too ...

, the Gunpowder Plot, the murder of Thomas Overbury, and the assassination of Buckingham. The political criticisms in ''Dodona's Grove'' may have contributed to Howell's imprisonment in 1643. In the poem, plants represent prominent persons. The British oak tree in ''Dodona's Grove'' represents

the Stuarts ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

Impact

Historian

Henry Hallam Henry Hallam (9 July 1777 – 21 January 1859) was an English historian. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, he practised as a barrister on the Oxford circuit for some years before turning to history. His major works were ''View of the ...

criticized the work harshly, calling it "clumsy", "unintelligible", "dull", and "an entire failure". Despite its shortcomings, it is speculated to have been an influence on James Harrington's ''

The Commonwealth of Oceana ''The Commonwealth of Oceana'' , published 1656, is a work of political philosophy by the English politician and essayist James Harrington (1611–1677). The unsuccessful first attempt to publish ''Oceana'' was officially censored by Lord Prote ...

''. Bibliographer

Albrecht von Haller Albrecht von Haller (also known as Albertus de Haller; 16 October 170812 December 1777) was a Swiss anatomist, physiologist, naturalist, encyclopedist, bibliographer and poet. A pupil of Herman Boerhaave, he is often referred to as "the fa ...

was tricked into including ''Dodona's Grove'' in his ''Bibliotheca Botanica''.

References

{{reflist

External links

*
Dodona's Grove
' from ''The Abraham Cowley Text and Image Archive'' British books 1640 books Allegory