Dennis Taylor
Professor Emeritus
Dennis Taylor
Ph.D.
Contact
Email: dennis.taylor@bc.edu
Education
- B.A., College of the Holy Cross
- Ph.D., Yale University
Department
Biography
Dennis Taylor, emeritus professor, Boston College, spent his early years studying Thomas Hardy. At the turn of the century, he turned to topics in religion and literature, inaugurating the journal听Religion and the Arts听as its first editor, and turning to the study of Shakespeare and the Reformation. He was chairman of the 51茶馆 English department (1982-87). He lives in Concord MA and rejoices in his 4 children, 5 grandchildren. He and his wife are currently (2022) helping to raise his grandson, George.
Publications
Books
- 听(Lanham MD: Lexington Books, Rowman & Littlefield, 2022).
- , revised reprinted edition (Oxford, Clarendon, 1998; paperback 2001; orig. 1993).
- (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1988).听
- , Revised edition, hardbound and paperback (London, Macmillan, 1989; orig,. 1981).听
- Editor, , Penguin edition, Reissued 2003, with introduction, "The Letter of What Law in Jude the Obscure", and appendix, "The Chronology of Jude the Obscure". Orig. 1998.听
Collections
- Editor, , co-edited with David Beauregard, 2003, Fordham University Press. Introduction by Dennis Taylor.
- Editor, Shakespeare and the Reformation, special issue Religion and the Arts 7.1/2 (2003). With Introduction by Dennis Taylor.
Web Page
- 听听Shakespeare and Religion Chronology, Religion and the Arts, 2011
Academic Articles
- 鈥淭he Old Faith, 鈥楾he Old Sod,鈥� and the New Critical Openness鈥� (review essay, on Jarlath Killeen鈥檚 The Faiths of Oscar Wilde),听Religion and the Arts听14 (2010): 459-66.
- 鈥淒eeanne Westbrook鈥檚 Wordsworth鈥檚 Biblical Ghosts,鈥澨�Religion and the Arts听14 (2010): 489-93.
- 鈥淭ennyson鈥檚 Catholic Years:听 A Point of Contact,鈥澨�Victorian Poetry听47 (Spring 2009), Special Issue,听Tennyson at Two Hundred, ed. Herbert Tucker. 285-312.
- 鈥�Jude the Obscure听and English National Identity:听 The Religious Striations of Wessex鈥�, in听A Companion to Thomas Hardy, ed. Keith Wilson (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009) 345-63.
- 鈥淔rom Stratford to Casterbridge:听 Hardy鈥檚 Early Reading of Shakespeare,鈥� in听Ashgate Research Companion to Thomas Hardy, ed. Rosemarie Morgan, forthcoming 2009.
- 鈥淗ardy鈥檚 Copy of Shakespeare鈥檚听Othello,鈥澨�Thomas Hardy Journal听(Autumn 2006):听33-47.鈥� Hardy and听Hamlet.鈥� In听Thomas Hardy Reappraised: Essays in Honour of Michael Millgate, ed. Keith Wilson.听 Toronto, Canada:听 University of Toronto Press, 2006.听38-54.
- 鈥淏earish on the Will:听John Shakespeare in the Rafters,鈥澨�Shakespeare Newsletter听54.1 (Spring 2004):听11, 16, 24, 28.
- 鈥淗ardy鈥檚 Copy of Hamlet,鈥� Thomas Hardy Journal 20 (October 2004):听87-112.
- 鈥淭homas Hardy and Thomas Gray:听 The Poet's Currency鈥� (1998), reprinted in听Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism听143 (2004).听 Gale Literary Criticism Series, ed. Janet Witalec et al.听 Farmington Hills, MI.
- 鈥淪orting out Catholic and Protestant Elements in Shakespeare鈥� (Review Essay of books by Targoff, Freinkel, Knapp, and Shuger).听Religion and the Arts听7.1/2 (2003): 177-92.
- Editor,听Jude the Obscure, Penguin edition, Reissued 2003, with introduction, "The Letter of What Law in听Jude the Obscure", and appendix, "The Chronology of听Jude the Obscure".听 Orig. 1998.
- "More on Milward and Harner,"听Shakespeare Newsletter听52.2 (Summer 2002) 30.
- "Milward on Shakespeare After Fifty Years,"听Shakespeare Newsletter听52.1 (2002):
15-16. - "Hardy and Wordsworth," rept. in听A Historical Evaluation of Thomas Hardy's Poetry, ed. A. Bannerjee. Lewiston:听Edwin Mellen Press, 2002.
- "Wordsworth's Abbey Ruins."听听In The Fountain Light:听 Studies in Romanticism and Religion, ed. J. Robert Barth, S.J.听(NY:听Fordham University Press, 2002). 37-53.
- "The Chronology of Hardy's Poetry, Part 3"听Thomas Hardy Journal, 18.1 (2002):听33-51.
- "The Chronology of Hardy's Poetry, Part 2"听Thomas Hardy Journal, 17.3 (2001):听46-63.
- "The Chronology of Hardy's Poetry, Part 1"听Thomas Hardy Journal, 17.2 (2001):听43-57.
- 鈥淗amlet in Purgatory,", review essay on听Hamlet in Purgatory, by Stephen Greenblatt,听Religion and the Arts听5.3 (2001):听331-37.
- "The Perils of Embodiment:听 Geoffrey Hartman on Culture, Poetry, and the Holocaust,"听Religion and the Arts听3.3/4 (1999):听439-53.
- "Hardy's Copy of听The Golden Treasury", Victorian Poetry 37 (1999):听165-91.
- "The Chronology of Hardy's Poetry,"听Victorian Poetry, 37 (1999):听1-58.
- "Hardy as a Nineteenth-Century Poet", in听The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Hardy, ed. Dale Kramer (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 183-203.
- "Hardy's Metrics", in听Oxford Companion to Thomas Hardy, ed Norman Page (Oxford University Press, 2000), 270-73.
- "Hardy's Poetry", in听Oxford Companion to Thomas Hardy, ed Norman Page (Oxford University Press, 2000), 326-32.
- "The Need for a Religious Literary Criticism",听in Seeing into the Life of Things: Essays on Literature and Religious Experience, ed. John L. Mahoney (New York: Fordham University Press, 1998).
- "The Editions of Hardy's Poetry",听Thomas Hardy Society of North America Web Page, Yale University, August 1998.
- "Thomas Hardy and Thomas Gray:听 The Poet's Currency",听ELH听65 (1998):听451-77.
- "The Letter of What Law in听Jude the Obscure", introduction to Jude the Obscure (Penguin ed. 1998).
- "Hardy's Use of Tennyson's听In Memoriam",听Tennyson Research Bulletin, 7 (1997):听32-41.
- "Editor's Introduction: Originality and Religious Criticism at the Present Time",听Religion and the Arts听2 (1997), v-vi.
- "Editor's Introduction:听 Dangerous Transitional Objects",听Religion and the Arts听1 (1996), vii-ix.
- "The Chronology of听Jude the Obscure",听Thomas Hardy Journal听12 (October 1996) 65-68.
- "Hardy's Copy of Tennyson's听In Memoriam",听Thomas Hardy Journal听13 (February 1997), 43-63.
- "The Need for a Religious Literary Criticism",听Religion and the Arts听1 (1996), 124-150.
- "Hardy's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard", lecture summarized by Joanna Cullen Brown,听Thomas Hardy Journal, December 1994.
- "Literary Texts and the State of the Language:听The Role of the Computer",听Computers and the Humanities, 27 (1993), 341-47.
- "Hardy and Drayton:听 A Contribution to Pastoral and Georgic Traditions", in听The Literature of Place, ed. Norman Page and Peter Preston (London, Macmillan, 1993).
- "Strang's Strange Portrait of Hardy, and other Strang Matters," cover article,听Thomas Hardy Journal听(February 1993), 90-1.
- "The Apparitional Meters of Wallace Stevens", The听Wallace Stevens Journal, 15 (Fall, 1991), 209-228. ('Dennis Taylor makes a very interesting and fruitful suggestion . . .', Eleanor Cook, 'Introduction',听The Wallace Stevens Journal, 15 (Fall 1991), 123.
- 鈥淭he Writer, the Lexicographer, and Lexical Change鈥�,听Dictionaries, 12 (1990), 1-14. 鈥淚 am very enthusiastic about the ideas contained in the paragraph at the bottom of page [15]鈥�, reader鈥檚 report, Richard Bailey.
- 鈥淗ardy, Professor Goto, and the听Oxford English Dictionary鈥�, reprinted in听A Memorial Volume for Yoshinoshin Goto In Honour of His 88th Birthday听(Japan, 1990), 301-4.
- 鈥淐orrespondence with Professor Goto鈥�, in听A Memorial Volume for Yoshinoshin Goto In Honour of His 88th Birthday听(Japan, 1990), 294-301, 308-10.
- 'Foreward' to Marina Tarlinskaja's听Strict Stress-Meter in English Poetry听(Univ. of Calgary Press, 1993).
- 'Literary Writers and the听Oxford English Dictionary: a Tribute to Professor Yoshinoshin Goto', in听A Memorial Volume for Yoshinoshin Goto In Honour of His 88th Birthday听(Japan, 1990).
- 鈥淗ardy鈥檚 Milton Once More鈥� (with Dayton Haskin),听Thomas Hardy Journal, 6 (October 1990), 71-2.
- "The Body of Victorian Language and the Hunting of the听OED",听Annals of Scholarship, 7 (1990), 155-64.
- "Hardy's Missing Poem and His Copy of Milton",听Thomas Hardy Journal, 6听(February 1990), 50-60.听Cited in Tim Armstrong, ed.听Thomas Hardy:听Selected Poems听(London, Longman, 1993), 52.
- 鈥淭he Patterns in Hardy's Poetry鈥�, in听Modern Critical Views: Thomas Hardy, ed. Harold Bloom (Chelsea House, 1988).
- 鈥淭he Second Hardy鈥�,听Sewanee Review听96 (Spring 1988): 250-58.
- 鈥淗ardy, Professor Goto, and the听Oxford English Dictionary鈥�,听Thomas Hardy Journal, 4 (May 1988): 37-42.听
- 鈥淗ardy and Wordsworth",听Thomas Hardy Journal, 4 (January 1988), 54-68.
- "Hardy and Wordsworth",听Victorian Poetry, 24 (Winter 1986), 441-454.
- "Joyce's Dublin",听PMLA, 101 (1986), 862-3.
- "A Classroom Model for Develop mental Psychology"听Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Improving University Teaching听(London, 1979).
- "Hopkins and the Origin of Language," Inscape:听Studies Presented to Charles Donovan, S.J.听(Boston College, 1977).
- "Victorian Poetry and Victorian Philology,"听Victorian Newsletter,听No. 53 (Spring 1978), 13-16.
- "The Patterns in Hardy's Poetry,"听English Literary History, 42 (Summer 1975), 258-75.
- "The Confidence Man:听 From the听Pardoner's Tale听 to The Fall",听Arizona Quarterly, 31听(Spring 1975), 73-85.
- "Hardy's Poetic Development:听The Case of 'During Wind and Rain',"听Colby Library Quarterly, 11 (March 1975), 68-74.
- "Natural Supernaturalism's New Clothes,"听Wordsworth Circle, 5 (Winter 1974), 33-40.
- "The Syntax of 鈥楴eutral Tones,"听Victorian Poetry, 12 (Autumn 1974) 285-90. Co-author Paul Doherty.听
- "Some Strategies of Religious Autobiography,"听Renascence, 27 (Autumn, 1974), 40-44.听 Cited in Diane Sasson,听The Shaker Spiritual Narrative听(Knoxville, University of TN, 1983).
- "The Riddle of Hardy's Poetry,"听Victorian Poetry, 11 (Winter 1973), 263-76.
Reviews
- 鈥�Texts and Traditions, by Beatrice Grove; and Shakespeare鈥檚 Christianity, ed. by Beatrice Batson.鈥澨�Comparative Drama听41 (2007):听396-400.
- 鈥�The Honeymoon is Over:听Jonah鈥檚 Argument with God鈥� by T. A. Perry,听Religion and the Arts听11.2 (2007):听135.
- 鈥�Wordsworth:听An Inner Life鈥� by Duncan Wu.听Religion and the Arts听10.4. (2006):听561-63.
- 鈥�Religion, Toleration, and British Writing 1790-1830鈥� by Mark Canuel.听Religion and the Arts听10.4 (2006):听556-59.
- 鈥�Shakespeare鈥檚 Tragic Skepticism鈥� by Bell, Millicent.听Religion and the Arts听10.3. (2006).
- 鈥淗amlet in Purgatory,", review essay on听Hamlet in Purgatory, by Stephen Greenblatt,听Religion and the Arts听5.3 (2001):听331-37.
- 鈥�Rhythm and Will in Victorian Poetry, by Matthew Campbell",听听Victorian Studies听43 (Winter 2001):听357-8.
- "Reading Alcoholisms:听Theorizing Character and Narrative in Selected Novels of Thomas Hardy, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf听by Jane Lilienfeld,"听Thomas Hardy Journal听16 (May 2000) 76-78.
- "Robert Browning's Language听by Donald S. Hair",听Victorian Studies听43 (2001): 465-7.
- "Divine Inspiration:听The Life of Jesus in World Poetry, ed. Robert Atwan, George Dardess, Peggy Rosenthal,"听Bible Review听(2000).
- Shakespeare:听 the 'Lost Years', by E. A. J. Honigmann, review,听Religion and the Arts听4 (2000): 579-82.
- Shakespeare's Romances and the Politics of Counter-Reformation听by Thomas Rist, review,听Religion and the Arts听4 (2000): 218-20.
- Catholicism and Anti-Catholicism in Early Modern English Texts听ed. Arthur Marotti, review,听Religion and the Arts听4 (2000): 208-210.
- Shakespeare, Catholicism, and Romance听by Velma Richmond, review,听Religion and the Arts听4 (2000): 215-18.
- "Anne Gardiner's听Ancient Faith and Modern Freedom in John Dryden's听The Hind and the Panther,"听Religion and the Arts听2 (1998), 263-4.
- 'Irene Collins's听Jane Austen and the Clergy',听Religion and the Arts听2 (1997), 145.
- 'Andrew Greeley听Religion as Poetry',听Religion and the Arts听2 (1997), 145-6.
- 'Donald Davie's听Essays in Dissent; Church, Chapel, and the Unitarian Conspiracy,' Religion and the Arts听1 (1996), 151.
- 'Kieran Quinlan's听Walker Percy,' Religion and the Arts 1 (1996), 152.
- 'E. P. Thompson's听Witness Against the Beast:听 William Blake and the Moral Law,' Religion and the Arts 1 (1997), 152-3.
- 'James Gibson's听Thomas Hardy:听A Literary Life",听Thomas Hardy Journal听12 (October 1996) 107-109.
- 'Forms of Speech in Victorian Fiction听by Raymond Chapman', review essay,听Victorian Studies听39 (1996) 412-15.
- 'Thomas Hardy's Tragic Poetry听. . . by Katherine Kearney Maynard',听Thomas Hardy Journal, 9 (May 1993), 73-76.
- 'Henry Weinfield,听The Poet Without a Name:听 Gray's Elegy and the Problem of History',听Journal of English and Germanic Philology听93 (1994), 439-43.
- 'John Lennard,听But I Digress: The Exploitation of Parentheses in English Printed Verse' Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 93 (1994), 458-61.
- 'A Journey into Thomas Hardy's Poetry听by Joanna Brown,听Hardy's Topographical Lexiconby Margaret Faurot', review article,听Thomas Hardy Journal, 7 (October 1991), 121-4.
- "Eric Griffiths,听The Printed Voice of Victorian Poetry",听Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 91 (1992), 263-7.
- "W.J.B. Owen, ed.听 Wordsworth's Literary Criticism,"听Wordsworth Circle, 6 (Summer 1976), 193-4.
- "Hateful Contraries, by William Wimsatt,"听Review of Metaphysics, 20 (1967), 536.
- "Ishmael's White Whale, by Paul Brodtkorb,"听Review of Metaphysics, 20 (1967), 554.
OTHER
- 鈥淯nplanned: Life with George,鈥�听Boston College Magazine听(Spring, 2016).
- 鈥�,鈥�听Boston College Magazine听(Summer, 2009).
- ",听Boston College Magazine听61.4 (Fall听 2001):听 32-
- ",听Boston College Magazine听(Spring, 1996), 10.
- "听cover article,听Boston College Magazine听(Winter, 1993), 32-40.