James MacPherson’s Followers (45)

James MacPherson

Born

in Ruthven, Invernessshire, Scotland

October 27, 1736

Died

February 17, 1796

Genre

Poetry

Influences

Thomas Blackwell, Giambattista Vico, Alexander Gerard, John Home ...more

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James Macpherson (Gaelic: Seumas Mac a' Phearsain) was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector and politician, known as the "translator" of the Ossian cycle of epic poems.

It was in 1761 that Macpherson claimed to have found an epic on the subject of the hero Fingal, written by Ossian. The name Fingal or Fionnghall means "white stranger". His publisher, claiming that there was no market for these works except in English, required that they be translated. He published translations of it during the next few years, culminating in a collected edition, The Works of Ossian, in 1765. The most famous of these poems was Fingal.

The poems achieved international success (Napoleon and Thomas Jefferson were great fans) and were proclaimed as a Celtic ...more

Combine Editions
James MacPherson’s books

Average rating: 3.57 · 462 ratings · 73 reviews · 734 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Poems of Ossian 3.41 avg rating — 135 ratings — published 1772 — 440 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fragments of Ancient Poetry 3.30 avg rating — 107 ratings — published 1760 — 85 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fingal: An Ancient Epic Poem in Six Books, together with Several Other Poems Composed by Ossian, the Son of Fingal 3.37 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 1761 — 38 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Temora, an Ancient Epic Poem really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 1763 — 27 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Poems of Ossian by James MacPherson, James MacPherson (Translator) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ossian's Fingal: An Ancient Epic Poem, in six Books by James MacPherson, Harvey George really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — 81 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Poems of Ossian, Volume 1 3.17 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1807 — 146 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blind Ossian's Fingal: Fragments and Controversy by James MacPherson, Allan Burnett (Editor), Linda Andersson Burnett (Editor) 2.67 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1760	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Works of Ossian, the Son of Fingal 3.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — 30 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Poems of Ossian, Volume 2 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1803 — 160 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by James MacPherson (?)

“We have taught an entire generation to be so open-minded that their brains fell out.”
― James MacPherson

tags: humor-culture

5 likes

“Thou hast fallen in darkness, like a star that shoots across the desert; when the traveller is alone, and mourns the transient beam!”
― James Macpherson, Fingal: An Epic Poem

4 likes

“How hast thou fallen like an oak, with all thy branches round thee! Where is Fingal the King? where is Oscur my son? where are all my race? Alas! in the earth they lie. I feel their tombs with my hands. I hear the river below murmering hoarsely over the stones. What dost thou, O river, to me?”
― James MacPherson, Fragments of Ancient Poetry

tags: fingal, oscur, ossian

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