Blind Ossian's Fingal: Fragments and Controversy

Details

Ossian is a collection of epic poems that bring out the figure of the hero, Fingal, which name comes from Scots Gaelic Fionnghall, meaning 'White Stranger'. The poems where originally written in Gaelic and translated by James MacPherson into English, although there is a long lasting debate about the authenticity of the poems, since some historians believe MacPherson wrote them himself, whilst Irish historians hold that Ossian has its roots in Irish myths, not Scottish. Despite the debate, The Poems of Ossian achieved international success and have been compared with Homer's Iliad, inspiring many later writers such as Walter Scott and Goethe.

Additional Information

Title	Blind Ossian's Fingal: Fragments and Controversy
Author	James Macpherson, Allan Burnett, Linda Anderson
Binding	Hardback
ISBN-13	9781906817558
No. of Pages	192
Series	N/A
Edition	N/A
Author Bio	James MacPherson (1736-1796) was born in Badenoch, Inverness-shire. He studied in Aberdeen and Edinburgh and translated many poems from Gaelic which were allegedly found in different places of the Scottish Highlands, some of them published in 1760 as Fragments of Ancient Poetry Collected in the Highlands of Scotland. Very soon he had detractors who did not believe of the authenticity of the poems but also supporters, among whom Hugh Blair, who helped MacPherson in carrying out his research. Writer, politician and historian, he died in his native Inverness-shire.
Back Cover Copy	When James Macpherson published his translations of the poetry of Ossian, a third-century Highland Bard, they were an instant success. However, the plaudits soon gave way to controversy. Were the poems part of a great Gaelic oral tradition, or the work of Macpherson's imagination?
Reviews	N/A
Table of Contents	N/A
BISAC Subject	LITERARY CRITICISM / Poetry
BIC Subject	Literary studies: poetry & poets

Email to a Friend