This volume examines how and why many early modern pictures operate in an ekphrastic mode.

This collection underscores the role played by translated books in the early modern period. Individual essays aim to highlight the international nature of Renaissance culture and the way in which translators were fundamental agents in the formation of literary canons. This volume introduces readers to a pan-European story while considering various aspects of the book trade, from typesetting and bookselling to editing and censorship. The result is a multifaceted survey of transnational phenomena.

"A splendid achievement, faithful, elegant, and, above all, user-friendly, this book will be welcomed with cheers by all Anglophone students of European poetry. It has no rival."—Timothy Hampton, University of California, Berkeley