Melancholy, Medicine and Religion in Early Modern England

The Anatomy of Melancholy, first published in 1621, is one of the greatest works of early modern English prose writing, yet it has received little substantial literary criticism in recent years. This study situates Robert Burton''s complex work within three related contexts: religious, medical and literary/rhetorical. Analysing Burton''s claim that his text should have curative effects on his mela...