Designs on Truth

Gregory Colomb provides a profound reinterpretation of Augustan poetry in Designs on Truth, Volume 1. Rather than viewing these works through the lens of the Romantic tradition, this literary criticism explores the intricate connections between text, culture, and the world. Colomb identifies the specific formal expectations of the mock-epic, arguing that these poems possess a unique significance distinct from other Augustan forms like Horatian epistles. By examining the genre's poetics, the author demonstrates how these works function as complex philosophical inquiries into representation.

Designs on Truth investigates the blurred lines between history and poetry through three levels of structure: fable, epic, and portraits. This study of English and European poetry focuses on how mock-epics utilize class and kind to integrate historical particulars into poetic forms. Colomb offers fresh readings of the genre, including a significant new analysis of The Dispensary. This scholarly work clarifies how judgment and reference intersect at the heart of Augustan verse.