Thomas Love Peacock, The Misfortunes of Elphin

James Mulvihill (University of Alberta)
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Like Peacock’s other comic romance,

Maid Marian

(1822),

The Misfortunes of Elphin

recovers a picturesque past that serves as a foil to the present even as it reflects a number of contemporary concerns. Unlike

Maid Marian

, put together from legends and traditions taken from antiquarian sources,

The Misfortunes of Elphin

is more ambitiously conceived than Peacock’s medieval farce, even retaining some of the epic scope of its primitive provenance—albeit leavened with Peacock’s trademark humour and wit. In addition to learning the Welsh language (aided, no doubt, by his Welsh-speaking wife), Peacock possessed an extensive acquaintance with Welsh history and mythology, with the result that an impressive body of research lies behind

Misfortunes

. Even its anachronistic blend of primitive…

1190 words

Citation: Mulvihill, James. "The Misfortunes of Elphin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 April 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21391, accessed 19 March 2024.]

21391 The Misfortunes of Elphin 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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