Bel-vedére or the Garden of the Muses : An Early Modern Printed Commonplace Book

The first annotated edition of Bel-vedére, an influential commonplace book of 1600. This is an important volume for students of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, and scholars of early modern poetry and drama, the history of the book, early modern canon-formation, and the reception history of leading authors of the time.

Bel-vedére; or The Garden of the Muses is an early modern printed commonplace book containing an anthology of nearly 4,500 short verse quotations arranged under topical headings. The book first appeared in 1600 and a second edition was published in 1610. It is of exceptional importance for the early historical reception of early modern authors such as William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, and Christopher Marlowe (whose verse it includes); for the late Elizabethan practice of commonplacing; for the rising status of English literature (including dramatic literature); and for early modern English canon formation. Until now the book has never been properly edited. This edition provides the first full analysis of the contents of Bel-vedére, presenting the text for today''s readers and filling an important gap in the study of early modern English literature.