diff options
Diffstat (limited to '10609-h')
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/10609-h.htm | 28002 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el001.png | bin | 0 -> 349310 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el002.png | bin | 0 -> 1541427 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el004.png | bin | 0 -> 11916 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el007.png | bin | 0 -> 19753 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el009.png | bin | 0 -> 26221 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el010.png | bin | 0 -> 21836 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el011.png | bin | 0 -> 32160 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el013.png | bin | 0 -> 37872 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el014.png | bin | 0 -> 54800 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el016.png | bin | 0 -> 32527 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el017.png | bin | 0 -> 54583 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el018.png | bin | 0 -> 22563 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el019.png | bin | 0 -> 36331 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el020.png | bin | 0 -> 35148 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el022.png | bin | 0 -> 103061 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el024.jpg | bin | 0 -> 514054 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el025.png | bin | 0 -> 24473 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el026.png | bin | 0 -> 49312 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el027.png | bin | 0 -> 24905 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el028.png | bin | 0 -> 29537 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el029.png | bin | 0 -> 38628 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el030.png | bin | 0 -> 32466 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el033.jpg | bin | 0 -> 199275 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el034.png | bin | 0 -> 23622 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el035.png | bin | 0 -> 63022 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el036.jpg | bin | 0 -> 430588 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el040.jpg | bin | 0 -> 504726 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el041.png | bin | 0 -> 58291 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el042.png | bin | 0 -> 27929 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el043.jpg | bin | 0 -> 234723 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el044.jpg | bin | 0 -> 367660 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el045.jpg | bin | 0 -> 445191 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el046.png | bin | 0 -> 23111 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el047.jpg | bin | 0 -> 334471 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el048.png | bin | 0 -> 74674 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el049.png | bin | 0 -> 59529 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el050.png | bin | 0 -> 48697 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el051.png | bin | 0 -> 64027 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el053.jpg | bin | 0 -> 1878954 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el055.jpg | bin | 0 -> 290072 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el057.jpg | bin | 0 -> 310575 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el059.jpg | bin | 0 -> 289618 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el060.jpg | bin | 0 -> 501498 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el062.jpg | bin | 0 -> 277529 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/el063.jpg | bin | 0 -> 621654 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/enlarge.jpg | bin | 0 -> 789 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{0011}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 99117 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{0049}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 179929 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{0061}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 146398 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{0101}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 114822 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{0124}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 137599 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{0185}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 375112 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{0335}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 285909 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{0361}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 182108 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{0365}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 166537 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{0497}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 281195 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{0569}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 341584 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{8063}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 230443 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{8071}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 127785 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{8323}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 161057 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{8359}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 189114 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{9194}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 144706 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{9510}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 174817 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10609-h/images/{9546}.jpg | bin | 0 -> 116390 bytes |
65 files changed, 28002 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/10609-h/10609-h.htm b/10609-h/10609-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5dc3722 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/10609-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,28002 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <title> + ENGLISH LITERATURE + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + p + {text-align: justify;} + + blockquote + {text-align: justify;} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 + {text-align: center;} + + hr + {text-align: center; width: 50%;} + + html>body hr + {margin-right: 25%; margin-left: 25%; width: 50%;} + + hr.full + {width: 100%;} + html>body hr.full + {margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 0%; width: 100%;} + + pre + {font-size: 0.7em; color: #000; background-color: #FFF;} + + .poetry + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 0%; + text-align: left;} + + .footnote + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; + font-size: 0.9em;} + + .index + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; + text-align: center;} + + .figure + {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; + text-align: center; font-size: 0.8em;} + .figure img + {border: none;} + + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + + span.rightnote + {position: absolute; left: 92%; right: 1%; + font-size: 0.7em; border-bottom: solid 1px;} + + span.leftnote + {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 92%; + font-size: 0.7em; border-bottom: solid 1px;} + + span.linenum + {float:right; + text-align: right; font-size: 0.7em;} + </style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10609 ***</div> + <blockquote> + <h1> + ENGLISH LITERATURE + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + ITS HISTORY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + FOR THE LIFE OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + WORLD + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + A TEXT-BOOK FOR SCHOOLS + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + BY + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + WILLIAM J. LONG, PH.D. (Heidelberg) + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <hr /> + <blockquote> + <h2> + TO + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + MY FRIEND + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + C H T + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + IN GRATITUDE FOR + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + HIS CONTINUED HELP IN THE + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + PREPARATION OF + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + THIS BOOK + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el001" id="el001"><img width="100%" + alt="Illustration: CANTERBURY PILGRIMS From Royal MS., 18 D.ii, in the British Museum" + src="images/el001.png" /></a><br /> CANTERBURY PILGRIMS <i>From Royal MS., + 18 D.ii, in the British Museum</i> + </p> + <hr /> + <h1> + PREFACE + </h1> + <p> + This book, which presents the whole splendid history of English literature + from Anglo-Saxon times to the close of the Victorian Era, has three + specific aims. The first is to create or to encourage in every student the + desire to read the best books, and to know literature itself rather than + what has been written about literature. The second is to interpret + literature both personally and historically, that is, to show how a great + book generally reflects not only the author's life and thought but also + the spirit of the age and the ideals of the nation's history. The third + aim is to show, by a study of each successive period, how our literature + has steadily developed from its first simple songs and stories to its + present complexity in prose and poetry. + </p> + <p> + To carry out these aims we have introduced the following features: + </p> + <p> + (1) A brief, accurate summary of historical events and social conditions + in each period, and a consideration of the ideals which stirred the whole + nation, as in the days of Elizabeth, before they found expression in + literature. + </p> + <p> + (2) A study of the various literary epochs in turn, showing what each + gained from the epoch preceding, and how each aided in the development of + a national literature. + </p> + <p> + (3) A readable biography of every important writer, showing how he lived + and worked, how he met success or failure, how he influenced his age, and + how his age influenced him. + </p> + <p> + (4) A study and analysis of every author's best works, and of many of the + books required for college-entrance examinations. + </p> + <p> + (5) Selections enough--especially from earlier writers, and from writers + not likely to be found in the home or school library--to indicate the + spirit of each author's work; and directions as to the best works to read, + and where such works may be found in inexpensive editions. + </p> + <p> + (6) A frank, untechnical discussion of each great writer's work as a + whole, and a critical estimate of his relative place and influence in our + literature. + </p> + <p> + (7) A series of helps to students and teachers at the end of each chapter, + including summaries, selections for reading, bibliographies, a list of + suggestive questions, and a chronological table of important events in the + history and literature of each period. + </p> + <p> + (8) Throughout this book we have remembered Roger Ascham's suggestion, + made over three centuries ago and still pertinent, that "'tis a poor way + to make a child love study by beginning with the things which he naturally + dislikes." We have laid emphasis upon the delights of literature; we have + treated books not as mere instruments of research--which is the danger in + most of our studies--but rather as instruments of enjoyment and of + inspiration; and by making our study as attractive as possible we have + sought to encourage the student to read widely for himself, to choose the + best books, and to form his own judgment about what our first Anglo-Saxon + writers called "the things worthy to be remembered." + </p> + <p> + To those who may use this book in their homes or in their class rooms, the + writer ventures to offer one or two friendly suggestions out of his own + experience as a teacher of young people. First, the amount of space here + given to different periods and authors is not an index of the relative + amount of time to be spent upon the different subjects. Thus, to tell the + story of Spenser's life and ideals requires as much space as to tell the + story of Tennyson; but the average class will spend its time more + pleasantly and profitably with the latter poet than with the former. + Second, many authors who are and ought to be included in this history need + not be studied in the class room. A text-book is not a catechism but a + storehouse, in which one finds what he wants, and some good things beside. + Few classes will find time to study Blake or Newman, for instance; but in + nearly every class there will be found one or two students who are + attracted by the mysticism of Blake or by the profound spirituality of + Newman. Such students should be encouraged to follow their own spirits, + and to share with their classmates the joy of their discoveries. And they + should find in their text-book the material for their own study and + reading. + </p> + <p> + A third suggestion relates to the method of teaching literature; and here + it might be well to consider the word of a great poet,--that if you would + know where the ripest cherries are, ask the boys and the blackbirds. It is + surprising how much a young person will get out of the <i>Merchant of + Venice</i>, and somehow arrive at Shakespeare's opinion of Shylock and + Portia, if we do not bother him too much with notes and critical + directions as to what he ought to seek and find. Turn a child and a donkey + loose in the same field, and the child heads straight for the beautiful + spots where brooks are running and birds singing, while the donkey turns + as naturally to weeds and thistles. In our study of literature we have + perhaps too much sympathy with the latter, and we even insist that the + child come back from his own quest of the ideal to join us in our critical + companionship. In reading many text-books of late, and in visiting many + class rooms, the writer has received the impression that we lay too much + stress on second-hand criticism, passed down from book to book; and we set + our pupils to searching for figures of speech and elements of style, as if + the great books of the world were subject to chemical analysis. This seems + to be a mistake, for two reasons: first, the average young person has no + natural interest in such matters; and second, he is unable to appreciate + them. He feels unconsciously with Chaucer: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + And as for me, though that my wit be lytë,<br /> On bookës for to rede I + me delytë.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Indeed, many mature persons (including the writer of this history) are + often unable to explain at first the charm or the style of an author who + pleases them; and the more profound the impression made by a book, the + more difficult it is to give expression to our thought and feeling. To + read and enjoy good books is with us, as with Chaucer, the main thing; to + analyze the author's style or explain our own enjoyment seems of secondary + and small importance. However that may be, we state frankly our own + conviction that the detailed study and analysis of a few standard + works--which is the only literary pabulum given to many young people in + our schools--bears the same relation to true literature that theology + bears to religion, or psychology to friendship. One is a more or less + unwelcome mental discipline; the other is the joy of life. + </p> + <p> + The writer ventures to suggest, therefore, that, since literature is our + subject, we begin and end with good books; and that we stand aside while + the great writers speak their own message to our pupils. In studying each + successive period, let the student begin by reading the best that the age + produced; let him feel in his own way the power and mystery of <i>Beowulf</i>, + the broad charity of Shakespeare, the sublimity of Milton, the romantic + enthusiasm of Scott; and then, when his own taste is pleased and + satisfied, a new one will arise,--to know something about the author, the + times in which he lived, and finally of criticism, which, in its + simplicity, is the discovery that the men and women of other ages were + very much like ourselves, loving as we love, bearing the same burdens, and + following the same ideals: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Lo, with the ancient<br /> Roots of man's nature<br /> Twines the eternal<br /> + Passion of song.<br /> Ever Love fans it;<br /> Ever Life feeds it;<br /> + Time cannot age it;<br /> Death cannot slay.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + To answer the questions which arise naturally between teacher and pupil + concerning the books that they read, is one object of this volume. It aims + not simply to instruct but also to inspire; to trace the historical + development of English literature, and at the same time to allure its + readers to the best books and the best writers. And from beginning to end + it is written upon the assumption that the first virtue of such a work is + to be accurate, and the second to be interesting. + </p> + <p> + The author acknowledges, with gratitude and appreciation, his indebtedness + to Professor William Lyon Phelps for the use of his literary map of + England, and to the keen critics, teachers of literature and history, who + have read the proofs of this book, and have improved it by their good + suggestions. + </p> + <p> + WILLIAM J. LONG STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT + </p> + <hr /> + <h1> + CONTENTS + </h1> + <h2> + <a href="#chap1">CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION--THE MEANING OF LITERATURE</a> + </h2> + <blockquote> + <p> + <a href="#chap1a">The Shell and the Book.</a> <a href="#chap1b">Qualities + of Literature.</a> <a href="#chap1c">Tests of Literature.</a> <a + href="#chap1d">The Object in studying Literature.</a> <a href="#chap1e">Importance + of Literature.</a> <a href="#chap1f">Summary of the Subject.</a> <a + href="#chap1g">Bibliography.</a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <h2> + <a href="#chap2">CHAPTER II. THE ANGLO-SAXON OR OLD-ENGLISH PERIOD</a> + </h2> + <blockquote> + <p> + <a href="#chap2a">Our First Poetry.</a> <a href="#chap2b">"Beowulf."</a> + <a href="#chap2c">"Widsith."</a> <a href="#chap2d">"Deor's Lament."</a> + <a href="#chap2e">"The Seafarer."</a> <a href="#chap2f">"The Fight at + Finnsburgh."</a> <a href="#chap2g">"Waldere."</a> <a href="#chap2h">Anglo-Saxon + Life.</a> <a href="#chap2i">Our First Speech.</a> <a href="#chap2j">Christian + Writers.</a> <a href="#chap2k">Northumbrian Literature.</a> <a + href="#chap2l">Bede.</a> <a href="#chap2m">Cædmon.</a> <a + href="#chap2n">Cynewulf.</a> <a href="#chap2o">Decline of Northumbrian + Literature.</a> <a href="#chap2p">Alfred.</a> <a href="#chap2q">Summary.</a> + <a href="#chap2r">Bibliography.</a> <a href="#chap2s">Questions.</a> <a + href="#chap2t">Chronology.</a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <h2> + <a href="#chap3">CHAPTER III. THE ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD</a> + </h2> + <blockquote> + <p> + <a href="#chap3a">The Normans</a>. <a href="#chap3b">The Conquest.</a> + <a href="#chap3c">Literary Ideals of the Normans.</a> <a href="#chap3d">Geoffrey + of Monmouth.</a> <a href="#chap3e">Work of the French Writers.</a> <a + href="#chap3f">Layamon's "Brut."</a> <a href="#chap3g">Metrical + Romances.</a> <a href="#chap3h">The Pearl.</a> <a href="#chap3i">Miscellaneous + Literature of the Norman Period.</a> <a href="#chap3j">Summary.</a> <a + href="#chap3k">Bibliography.</a> <a href="#chap3l">Questions.</a> <a + href="#chap3m">Chronology.</a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <h2> + <a href="#chap4">CHAPTER IV. THE AGE OF CHAUCER</a> + </h2> + <blockquote> + <p> + <a href="#chap4a">History of the Period.</a> <a href="#chap4b">Five + Writers of the Age.</a> <a href="#chap4c">Chaucer.</a> <a href="#chap4d">Langland.</a> + <a href="#chap4e">"Piers Plowman."</a> <a href="#chap4f">John Wyclif.</a> + <a href="#chap4g">John Mandeville.</a> <a href="#chap4h">Summary.</a> <a + href="#chap4i">Bibliography.</a> <a href="#chap4j">Questions.</a> <a + href="#chap4k">Chronology.</a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <h2> + <a href="#chap5">CHAPTER V. THE REVIVAL OF LEARNING</a> + </h2> + <blockquote> + <p> + <a href="#chap5a">Political Changes.</a> <a href="#chap5b">Literature of + the Revival.</a> <a href="#chap5c">Wyatt and Surrey.</a> <a + href="#chap5d">Malory's "Morte d'Arthur."</a> <a href="#chap5e">Summary.</a> + <a href="#chap5f">Bibliography.</a> <a href="#chap5g">Questions.</a> <a + href="#chap5h">Chronology.</a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <h2> + <a href="#chap6">CHAPTER VI. THE AGE OF ELIZABETH</a> + </h2> + <blockquote> + <p> + <a href="#chap6a">Political Summary.</a> <a href="#chap6b">Characteristics + of the Elizabethan Age.</a> <a href="#chap6c">The Non-Dramatic Poets.</a> + <a href="#chap6d">Edmund Spenser.</a> <a href="#chap6e">Minor Poets.</a> + <a href="#chap6f">Thomas Sackville.</a> <a href="#chap6g">Philip Sidney.</a> + <a href="#chap6h">George Chapman.</a> <a href="#chap6i">Michael Drayton.</a> + <a href="#chap6j">The Origin of the Drama.</a> <a href="#chap6k">The + Religious Period of the Drama.</a> <a href="#chap6l">Miracle and Mystery + Plays.</a> <a href="#chap6m">The Moral Period of the Drama.</a> <a + href="#chap6n">The Interludes.</a> <a href="#chap6o">The Artistic Period + of the Drama.</a> <a href="#chap6p">Classical Influence upon the Drama.</a> + <a href="#chap6q">Shakespeare's Predecessors in the Drama.</a> <a + href="#chap6r">Christopher Marlowe.</a> <a href="#chap6s">Shakespeare.</a> + <a href="#chap6t">Decline of the Drama.</a> <a href="#chap6u">Shakespeare's + Contemporaries and Successors.</a> <a href="#chap6v">Ben Jonson.</a> <a + href="#chap6w">Beaumont and Fletcher.</a> <a href="#chap6x">John + Webster.</a> <a href="#chap6y">Thomas Middleton.</a> <a href="#chap6za">Thomas + Heywood.</a> <a href="#chap6zb">Thomas Dekker.</a> <a href="#chap6zc">Massinger, + Ford, Shirley.</a> <a href="#chap6zd">Prose Writers.</a> <a + href="#chap6ze">Francis Bacon.</a> <a href="#chap6zf">Richard Hooker.</a> + <a href="#chap6zg">Sidney and Raleigh.</a> <a href="#chap6zh">John Foxe.</a> + <a href="#chap6zi">Camden and Knox.</a> <a href="#chap6zj">Hakluyt and + Purchas.</a> <a href="#chap6zk">Thomas North.</a> <a href="#chap6zl">Summary.</a> + <a href="#chap6zm">Bibliography.</a> <a href="#chap6zn">Questions.</a> + <a href="#chap6zo">Chronology.</a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <h2> + <a href="#chap7">CHAPTER VII. THE PURITAN AGE</a> + </h2> + <blockquote> + <p> + <a href="#chap7a">The Puritan Movement.</a> <a href="#chap7b">Changing + Ideals.</a> <a href="#chap7c">Literary Characteristics.</a> <a + href="#chap7d">The Transition Poets.</a> <a href="#chap7e">Samuel + Daniel.</a> <a href="#chap7f">The Song Writers.</a> <a href="#chap7g">The + Spenserian Poets.</a> <a href="#chap7h">The Metaphysical Poets.</a> <a + href="#chap7i">John Donne.</a> <a href="#chap7j">George Herbert.</a> <a + href="#chap7k">The Cavalier Poets.</a> <a href="#chap7l">Thomas Carew.</a> + <a href="#chap7m">Robert Herrick.</a> <a href="#chap7n">Suckling and + Lovelace.</a> <a href="#chap7o">John Milton.</a> <a href="#chap7p">The + Prose Writers.</a> <a href="#chap7q">John Bunyan.</a> <a href="#chap7r">Robert + Burton.</a> <a href="#chap7s">Thomas Browne.</a> <a href="#chap7t">Thomas + Fuller.</a> <a href="#chap7u">Jeremy Taylor</a>. <a href="#chap7v">Richard + Baxter.</a> <a href="#chap7w">Izaak Walton.</a> <a href="#chap7x">Summary.</a> + <a href="#chap7y">Bibliography.</a> <a href="#chap7za">Questions.</a> <a + href="#chap7zb">Chronology.</a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <h2> + <a href="#chap8">CHAPTER VIII. PERIOD OF THE RESTORATION</a> + </h2> + <blockquote> + <p> + <a href="#chap8a">History of the Period.</a> <a href="#chap8b">Literary + Characteristics.</a> <a href="#chap8c">John Dryden.</a> <a href="#chap8d">Samuel + Butler.</a> <a href="#chap8e">Hobbes and Locke.</a> <a href="#chap8f">Evelyn + and Pepys.</a> <a href="#chap8g">Summary.</a> <a href="#chap8h">Bibliography.</a> + <a href="#chap8i">Questions.</a> <a href="#chap8j">Chronology.</a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <h2> + <a href="#chap9">CHAPTER IX. EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE</a> + </h2> + <blockquote> + <p> + <a href="#chap9a">History of the Period.</a> <a href="#chap9b">Literary + Characteristics.</a> <a href="#chap9c">The Classic Age.</a> <a + href="#chap9d">Alexander Pope.</a> <a href="#chap9e">Jonathan Swift.</a> + <a href="#chap9f">Joseph Addison.</a> <a href="#chap9g">"The Tatler" and + "The Spectator."</a> <a href="#chap9h">Samuel Johnson.</a> <a + href="#chap9i">Boswell's "Life of Johnson."</a> <a href="#chap9j">Later + Augustan Writers.</a> <a href="#chap9k">Edmund Burke.</a> <a + href="#chap9l">Edward Gibbon.</a> <a href="#chap9m">The Revival of + Romantic Poetry.</a> <a href="#chap9n">Thomas Gray.</a> <a href="#chap9o">Oliver + Goldsmith.</a> <a href="#chap9p">William Cowper.</a> <a href="#chap9q">Robert + Burns.</a> <a href="#chap9r">William Blake.</a> <a href="#chap9s">The + Minor Poets of the Romantic Revival.</a> <a href="#chap9t">James + Thomson.</a> <a href="#chap9u">William Collins.</a> <a href="#chap9v">George + Crabbe.</a> <a href="#chap9w">James Macpherson.</a> <a href="#chap9x">Thomas + Chatterton.</a> <a href="#chap9y">Thomas Percy.</a> <a href="#chap9za">The + First English Novelists.</a> <a href="#chap9zb">Meaning of the Novel.</a> + <a href="#chap9zc">Precursors of the Novel.</a> <a href="#chap9zd">Discovery + of the Modern Novel.</a> <a href="#chap9ze">Daniel Defoe.</a> <a + href="#chap9zl">Samuel Richardson.</a> <a href="#chap9zf">Henry + Fielding.</a> <a href="#chap9zg">Smollett and Sterne.</a> <a + href="#chap9zh">Summary.</a> <a href="#chap9zi">Bibliography.</a> <a + href="#chap9zj">Questions.</a> <a href="#chap9zk">Chronology.</a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <h2> + <a href="#chap10">CHAPTER X. THE AGE OF ROMANTICISM</a> + </h2> + <blockquote> + <p> + <a href="#chap10a">Historical Summary.</a> <a href="#chap10b">Literary + Characteristics of the Age.</a> <a href="#chap10c">The Poets of + Romanticism.</a> <a href="#chap10d">William Wordsworth.</a> <a + href="#chap10e">Samuel Taylor Coleridge.</a> <a href="#chap10f">Robert + Southey.</a> <a href="#chap10g">Walter Scott.</a> <a href="#chap10h">Byron.</a> + <a href="#chap10i">Percy Bysshe Shelley.</a> <a href="#chap10j">John + Keats.</a> <a href="#chap10m">Thomas De Quincey.</a> <a href="#chap10n">Jane + Austen.</a> <a href="#chap10o">Walter Savage Landor.</a> <a + href="#chap10p">Summary.</a> <a href="#chap10q">Bibliography.</a> <a + href="#chap10r">Questions.</a> <a href="#chap10s">Chronology.</a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <h2> + <a href="#chap11">CHAPTER XI. THE VICTORIAN AGE</a> + </h2> + <blockquote> + <p> + <a href="#chap11a">Historical Summary.</a> <a href="#chap11b">Literary + Characteristics.</a> <a href="#chap11c">Poets of the Victorian Age.</a> + <a href="#chap11d">Alfred Tennyson.</a> <a href="#chap11e">Robert + Browning.</a> <a href="#chap11f">Minor Poets of the Victorian Age.</a> + <a href="#chap11g">Elizabeth Barrett.</a> <a href="#chap11h">Rossetti.</a> + <a href="#chap11i">Morris.</a> <a href="#chap11j">Swinburne.</a> <a + href="#chap11k">Novelists of the Victorian Age.</a> <a href="#chap11l">Charles + Dickens.</a> <a href="#chap11m">William Makepeace Thackeray.</a> <a + href="#chap11n">George Eliot.</a> <a href="#chap11o">Minor Novelists of + the Victorian Age.</a> <a href="#chap11p">Charles Reade.</a> <a + href="#chap11q">Anthony Trollope.</a> <a href="#chap11r">Charlotte + Brontë.</a> <a href="#chap11s">Bulwer Lytton.</a> <a href="#chap11t">Charles + Kingsley.</a> <a href="#chap11u">Mrs. Gaskell.</a> <a href="#chap11v">Blackmore.</a> + <a href="#chap11w">Meredith.</a> <a href="#chap11v2">Hardy.</a> <a + href="#chap11w2">Stevenson.</a> <a href="#chap11x">Essayists of the + Victorian Age.</a> <a href="#chap11y">Macaulay.</a> <a href="#chap11za">Carlyle.</a> + <a href="#chap11zb">Ruskin.</a> <a href="#chap11zc">Matthew Arnold.</a> + <a href="#chap11zd">Newman.</a> <a href="#chap11ze">The Spirit of Modern + Literature.</a> <a href="#chap11zf">Summary.</a> <a href="#chap11zg">Bibliography.</a> + <a href="#chap11zh">Questions.</a> <a href="#chap11zi">Chronology.</a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <h2> + <a href="#chapbib">GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY</a> + </h2> + <h2> + <a href="#chapindex">INDEX</a> + </h2> + <hr /> + <h1> + FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS + </h1> + <p> + <a href="#el001">CANTERBURY PILGRIMS</a> From Royal MS., 18 D.ii, in the + British Museum + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el002">LITERARY MAP OF ENGLAND</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el005">THE MANUSCRIPT BOOK</a> After the painting in the + Congressional Library, by John W. Alexander + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el012">GEOFFREY CHAUCER</a> After the Rawlinson Pastel Portrait + in the Bodleian Library, Oxford + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el021">PORTIA</a> After the portrait by John Everett Millais. + Property of the Metropolitan Museum of Art + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el022">AMERICAN MEMORIAL WINDOW, STRATFORD</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el032">EDMUND BURKE</a> From an old print + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el052">ALFRED TENNYSON</a> After the portrait by George Frederic + Watts + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el053">SIR GALAHAD</a> After the painting by George Frederic + Watts + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el056">CHARLES DICKENS</a> After the portrait by Daniel Maclise + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el061">THOMAS CARLYLE After the portrait by James McNeill + Whistler</a> + </p> + <hr /> + <h1> + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + </h1> + <p> + <a href="#el003">A PAGE FROM THE MANUSCRIPT OF BEOWULF</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el004">STONEHENGE, ON SALISBURY PLAIN</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el006">INITIAL LETTER OF A MS. COPY OF ST. LUKE'S GOSPEL</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el007">RUINS AT WHITBY</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el008">CÆDMON CROSS AT WHITBY ABBEY</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el009">LEIF ERICSON'S VESSEL</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el010">CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL AS IT WAS COMPLETED LONG AFTER THE + CONQUEST</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el011">REMAINS OF THE SCRIPTORIUM OF FOUNTAINS ABBEY</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el013">TABARD INN</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el014">JOHN WYCLIF</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el015">SPECIMEN OF CAXTON'S PRINTING IN THE YEAR 1486</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el016">EDMUND SPENSER</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el017">WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el018">ANNE HATHAWAY COTTAGE</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el019">BIRTHPLACE OF SHAKESPEARE</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el020">TRINITY CHURCH, STRATFORD-ON-AVON</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el023">BEN JONSON</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el024">JOHN MILTON</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el025">JOHN BUNYAN</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el026">LIBRARY AT TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el027">WESTMINSTER</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el028">JONATHAN SWIFT</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el029">TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el030">JOSEPH ADDISON</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el031">SAMUEL JOHNSON</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el033">THOMAS GRAY</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el034">CHURCH AT STOKE POGES</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el035">OLIVER GOLDSMITH</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el036">WILLIAM COWPER</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el037">ROBERT BURNS</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el038">BIRTHPLACE OF BURNS</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el039">THE AULD BRIG, AYR (AYR BRIDGE)</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el040">DANIEL DEFOE</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el041">WILLIAM WORDSWORTH</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el042">WORDSWORTH'S HOME AT RYDAL MOUNT</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el043">SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el044">ROBERT SOUTHEY</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el045">WALTER SCOTT</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el046">ABBOTSFORD</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el047">GEORGE GORDON, LORD BYRON</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el048">PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el049">CHARLES LAMB</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el050">CHRIST'S HOSPITAL, LONDON</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el051">THOMAS DE QUINCEY</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el054">ROBERT BROWNING</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el055">MRS. BROWNING</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el057">WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el058">GEORGE ELIOT</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el059">THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el060">UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el062">JOHN RUSKIN</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#el063">QUADRANGLE OF ORIEL COLLEGE, OXFORD</a> + </p> + <hr /> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el002" id="el002"><img width="100%" + alt="Illustration: A LITERARY MAP OF ENGLAND" src="images/el002.png" /></a><br /> + A LITERARY MAP OF ENGLAND + </p> + <hr /> + <h1> + <a name="chap1" id="chap1">CHAPTER I</a> + </h1> + <h3> + <b>INTRODUCTION--THE MEANING OF LITERATURE</b> + </h3> + <blockquote> + <p> + Hold the hye wey, and lat thy gost thee lede.<br /> Chaucer's + <i>Truth</i><br /> On, on, you noblest English, + ...<br /> Follow your spirit.<br /> Shakespeare's + <i>Henry V</i><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b><a name="chap1a" id="chap1a">The Shell and the Book</a></b>. A child + and a man were one day walking on the seashore when the child found a + little shell and held it to his ear. Suddenly he heard sounds,--strange, + low, melodious sounds, as if the shell were remembering and repeating to + itself the murmurs of its ocean home. The child's face filled with wonder + as he listened. Here in the little shell, apparently, was a voice from + another world, and he listened with delight to its mystery and music. Then + came the man, explaining that the child heard nothing strange; that the + pearly curves of the shell simply caught a multitude of sounds too faint + for human ears, and filled the glimmering hollows with the murmur of + innumerable echoes. It was not a new world, but only the unnoticed harmony + of the old that had aroused the child's wonder. + </p> + <p> + Some such experience as this awaits us when we begin the study of + literature, which has always two aspects, one of simple enjoyment and + appreciation, the other of analysis and exact description. Let a little + song appeal to the ear, or a noble book to the heart, and for the moment, + at least, we discover a new world, a world so different from our own that + it seems a place of dreams and magic. To enter and enjoy this new world, + to love good books for their own sake, is the chief thing; to analyze and + explain them is a less joyous but still an important matter. Behind every + book is a man; behind the man is the race; and behind the race are the + natural and social environments whose influence is unconsciously + reflected. These also we must know, if the book is to speak its whole + message. In a word, we have now reached a point where we wish to + understand as well as to enjoy literature; and the first step, since exact + definition is impossible, is to determine some of its essential qualities. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Artistic</span><b><a name="chap1b" id="chap1b">Qualities + of Literature</a></b>. The first significant thing is the essentially + artistic quality of all literature. All art is the expression of life in + forms of truth and beauty; or rather, it is the reflection of some truth + and beauty which are in the world, but which remain unnoticed until + brought to our attention by some sensitive human soul, just as the + delicate curves of the shell reflect sounds and harmonies too faint to be + otherwise noticed. A hundred men may pass a hayfield and see only the + sweaty toil and the windrows of dried grass; but here is one who pauses by + a Roumanian meadow, where girls are making hay and singing as they work. + He looks deeper, sees truth and beauty where we see only dead grass, and + he reflects what he sees in a little poem in which the hay tells its own + story: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Yesterday's flowers am I,<br /> And I have drunk + my last sweet draught of dew.<br /> Young maidens came and sang me to my + death;<br /> The moon looks down and sees me in my shroud,<br /> The + shroud of my last dew.<br /> Yesterday's flowers that are yet in me<br /> + Must needs make way for all to-morrow's flowers.<br /> The maidens, too, + that sang me to my death<br /> Must even so make way for all the maids<br /> + That are to come.<br /> And as my soul, so too + their soul will be<br /> Laden with fragrance of the days gone by.<br /> + The maidens that to-morrow come this way<br /> Will not remember that I + once did bloom,<br /> For they will only see the new-born flowers.<br /> + Yet will my perfume-laden soul bring back,<br /> As a sweet memory, to + women's hearts<br /> Their + days of maidenhood.<br /> And then they will be sorry that they came<br /> + To sing me to my death;<br /> + And all the butterflies will mourn for me.<br /> I + bear away with me<br /> The sunshine's dear remembrance, and the low<br /> + Soft murmurs of the + spring.<br /> My breath is sweet as children's prattle is;<br /> I drank + in all the whole earth's fruitfulness,<br /> To make of it the fragrance + of my soul<br /> That shall outlive my death.<sup> + <a href="#fn1" name="rfn1" id="rfn1">[1]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + One who reads only that first exquisite line, "Yesterday's flowers am I," + can never again see hay without recalling the beauty that was hidden from + his eyes until the poet found it. + </p> + <p> + In the same pleasing, surprising way, all artistic work must be a kind of + revelation. Thus architecture is probably the oldest of the arts; yet we + still have many builders but few architects, that is, men whose work in + wood or stone suggests some hidden truth and beauty to the human senses. + So in literature, which is the art that expresses life in words that + appeal to our own sense of the beautiful, we have many writers but few + artists. In the broadest sense, perhaps, literature means simply the + written records of the race, including all its history and sciences, as + well as its poems and novels; in the narrower sense literature is the + artistic record of life, and most of our writing is excluded from it, just + as the mass of our buildings, mere shelters from storm and from cold, are + excluded from architecture. A history or a work of science may be and + sometimes is literature, but only as we forget the subject-matter and the + presentation of facts in the simple beauty of its expression. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Suggestive</span>The second quality of literature + is its suggestiveness, its appeal to our emotions and imagination rather + than to our intellect. It is not so much what it says as what it awakens + in us that constitutes its charm. When Milton makes Satan say, "Myself am + Hell," he does not state any fact, but rather opens up in these three + tremendous words a whole world of speculation and imagination. When + Faustus in the presence of Helen asks, "Was this the face that launched a + thousand ships?" he does not state a fact or expect an answer. He opens a + door through which our imagination enters a new world, a world of music, + love, beauty, heroism,--the whole splendid world of Greek literature. Such + magic is in words. When Shakespeare describes the young Biron as speaking + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + In such apt and gracious + words<br /> That aged ears play truant at his tales,<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + he has unconsciously given not only an excellent description of himself, + but the measure of all literature, which makes us play truant with the + present world and run away to live awhile in the pleasant realm of fancy. + The province of all art is not to instruct but to delight; and only as + literature delights us, causing each reader to build in his own soul that + "lordly pleasure house" of which Tennyson dreamed in his "Palace of Art," + is it worthy of its name. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Permanent</span>The third characteristic of + literature, arising directly from the other two, is its permanence. The + world does not live by bread alone. Notwithstanding its hurry and bustle + and apparent absorption in material things, it does not willingly let any + beautiful thing perish. This is even more true of its songs than of its + painting and sculpture; though permanence is a quality we should hardly + expect in the present deluge of books and magazines pouring day and night + from our presses in the name of literature. But this problem of too many + books is not modern, as we suppose. It has been a problem ever since + Caxton brought the first printing press from Flanders, four hundred years + ago, and in the shadow of Westminster Abbey opened his little shop and + advertised his wares as "good and chepe." Even earlier, a thousand years + before Caxton and his printing press, the busy scholars of the great + library of Alexandria found that the number of parchments was much too + great for them to handle; and now, when we print more in a week than all + the Alexandrian scholars could copy in a century, it would seem impossible + that any production could be permanent; that any song or story could live + to give delight in future ages. But literature is like a river in flood, + which gradually purifies itself in two ways,--the mud settles to the + bottom, and the scum rises to the top. When we examine the writings that + by common consent constitute our literature, the clear stream purified of + its dross, we find at least two more qualities, which we call the tests of + literature, and which determine its permanence. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap1c" id="chap1c">Tests of Literature</a></b>. The first of + these is universality, that is, the appeal to the widest human interests + and the simplest human emotions. Though we speak of national and race + literatures, like the Greek or Teutonic, and though each has certain + superficial marks arising out of the peculiarities of its own people, it + is nevertheless true that good literature knows no nationality, nor any + bounds save those of humanity. It is occupied chiefly with elementary + passions and emotions,--love and hate, joy and sorrow, fear and + faith,--which are an essential part of our human nature; and the more it + reflects these emotions the more surely does it awaken a response in men + of every race. Every father must respond to the parable of the prodigal + son; wherever men are heroic, they will acknowledge the mastery of Homer; + wherever a man thinks on the strange phenomenon of evil in the world, he + will find his own thoughts in the Book of Job; in whatever place men love + their children, their hearts must be stirred by the tragic sorrow of + _Oedipus_ and _King Lear_. All these are but shining examples of the law + that only as a book or a little song appeals to universal human interest + does it become permanent. + </p> + <p> + The second test is a purely personal one, and may be expressed in the + indefinite word "style." It is only in a mechanical sense that style is + "the adequate expression of thought," or "the peculiar manner of + expressing thought," or any other of the definitions that are found in the + rhetorics. In a deeper sense, style is the man, that is, the unconscious + expression of the writer's own personality. It is the very soul of one man + reflecting, as in a glass, the thoughts and feelings of humanity. As no + glass is colorless, but tinges more or less deeply the reflections from + its surface, so no author can interpret human life without unconsciously + giving to it the native hue of his own soul. It is this intensely personal + element that constitutes style. Every permanent book has more or less of + these two elements, the objective and the subjective, the universal and + the personal, the deep thought and feeling of the race reflected and + colored by the writer's own life and experience. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap1d" id="chap1d">The Object in Studying Literature.</a></b>. + Aside from the pleasure of reading, of entering into a new world and + having our imagination quickened, the study of literature has one definite + object, and that is to know men. Now man is ever a dual creature; he has + an outward and an inner nature; he is not only a doer of deeds, but a + dreamer of dreams; and to know him, the man of any age, we must search + deeper than his history. History records his deeds, his outward acts + largely; but every great act springs from an ideal, and to understand this + we must read his literature, where we find his ideals recorded. When we + read a history of the Anglo-Saxons, for instance, we learn that they were + sea rovers, pirates, explorers, great eaters and drinkers; and we know + something of their hovels and habits, and the lands which they harried and + plundered. All that is interesting; but it does not tell us what most we + want to know about these old ancestors of ours,--not only what they did, + but what they thought and felt; how they looked on life and death; what + they loved, what they feared, and what they reverenced in God and man. + Then we turn from history to the literature which they themselves + produced, and instantly we become acquainted. These hardy people were not + simply fighters and freebooters; they were men like ourselves; their + emotions awaken instant response in the souls of their descendants. At the + words of their gleemen we thrill again to their wild love of freedom and + the open sea; we grow tender at their love of home, and patriotic at their + deathless loyalty to their chief, whom they chose for themselves and + hoisted on their shields in symbol of his leadership. Once more we grow + respectful in the presence of pure womanhood, or melancholy before the + sorrows and problems of life, or humbly confident, looking up to the God + whom they dared to call the Allfather. All these and many more intensely + real emotions pass through our souls as we read the few shining fragments + of verses that the jealous ages have left us. + </p> + <p> + It is so with any age or people. To understand them we must read not + simply their history, which records their deeds, but their literature, + which records the dreams that made their deeds possible. So Aristotle was + profoundly right when he said that "poetry is more serious and + philosophical than history"; and Goethe, when he explained literature as + "the humanization of the whole world." + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap1e" id="chap1e">Importance of Literature</a></b>. It is a + curious and prevalent opinion that literature, like all art, is a mere + play of imagination, pleasing enough, like a new novel, but without any + serious or practical importance. Nothing could be farther from the truth. + Literature preserves the ideals of a people; and ideals--love, faith, + duty, friendship, freedom, reverence--are the part of human life most + worthy of preservation. The Greeks were a marvelous people; yet of all + their mighty works we cherish only a few ideals,--ideals of beauty in + perishable stone, and ideals of truth in imperishable prose and poetry. It + was simply the ideals of the Greeks and Hebrews and Romans, preserved in + their literature, which made them what they were, and which determined + their value to future generations. Our democracy, the boast of all + English-speaking nations, is a dream; not the doubtful and sometimes + disheartening spectacle presented in our legislative halls, but the lovely + and immortal ideal of a free and equal manhood, preserved as a most + precious heritage in every great literature from the Greeks to the + Anglo-Saxons. All our arts, our sciences, even our inventions are founded + squarely upon ideals; for under every invention is still the dream of <i>Beowulf</i>, + that man may overcome the forces of nature; and the foundation of all our + sciences and discoveries is the immortal dream that men "shall be as gods, + knowing good and evil." + </p> + <p> + In a word, our whole civilization, our freedom, our progress, our homes, + our religion, rest solidly upon ideals for their foundation. Nothing but + an ideal ever endures upon earth. It is therefore impossible to + overestimate the practical importance of literature, which preserves these + ideals from fathers to sons, while men, cities, governments, + civilizations, vanish from the face of the earth. It is only when we + remember this that we appreciate the action of the devout Mussulman, who + picks up and carefully preserves every scrap of paper on which words are + written, because the scrap may perchance contain the name of Allah, and + the ideal is too enormously important to be neglected or lost. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap1f" id="chap1f">Summary of the Subject</a></b>. We are now + ready, if not to define, at least to understand a little more clearly the + object of our present study. Literature is the expression of life in words + of truth and beauty; it is the written record of man's spirit, of his + thoughts, emotions, aspirations; it is the history, and the only history, + of the human soul. It is characterized by its artistic, its suggestive, + its permanent qualities. Its two tests are its universal interest and its + personal style. Its object, aside from the delight it gives us, is to know + man, that is, the soul of man rather than his actions; and since it + preserves to the race the ideals upon which all our civilization is + founded, it is one of the most important and delightful subjects that can + occupy the human mind. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap1g" id="chap1g">Bibliography</a></b>. (NOTE. Each chapter + in this book includes a special bibliography of historical and literary + works, selections for reading, chronology, etc.; and a general + bibliography of texts, helps, and reference books will be found at the + end. The following books, which are among the best of their kind, are + intended to help the student to a better appreciation of literature and to + a better knowledge of literary criticism.) + </p> + <p> + <b><i>General Works</i></b>. Woodberry's Appreciation of Literature (Baker + & Taylor Co.); Gates's Studies in Appreciation (Macmillan); Bates's + Talks on the Study of Literature (Houghton, Mifflin); Worsfold's On the + Exercise of Judgment in Literature (Dent); Harrison's The Choice of Books + (Macmillan); Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies, Part I; Matthew Arnold's Essays + in Criticism. + </p> + <p> + <b><i>Essays</i></b>. Emerson's Books, in Society and Solitude; Dowden's + The Interpretation of Literature, in Transcripts and Studies (Kegan Paul + & Co.), and The Teaching of English Literature, in New Studies in + Literature (Houghton, Mifflin); The Study of Literature, Essays by Morley, + Nicolls, and L. Stephen, edited by A.F. Blaisdell (Willard Small). + </p> + <p> + <b><i>Criticism</i></b>. Gayley and Scott's An Introduction to the Methods + and Materials of Literary Criticism (Ginn and Company); Winchester's + Principles of Literary Criticism (Macmillan); Worsfold's Principles of + Criticism (Longmans); Johnson's Elements of Literary Criticism (American + Book Company); Saintsbury's History of Criticism (Dodd, Mead). + </p> + <p> + <b><i>Poetry</i></b>. Gummere's Handbook of Poetics (Ginn and Company); + Stedman's The Nature and Elements of Poetry (Houghton, Mifflin); Johnson's + The Forms of English Poetry (American Book Company); Alden's Specimens of + English Verse (Holt); Gummere's The Beginnings of Poetry (Macmillan); + Saintsbury's History of English Prosody (Macmillan). + </p> + <p> + <b><i>The Drama</i></b>. Caffin's Appreciation of the Drama (Baker & + Taylor Co.). + </p> + <p> + <b><i>The Novel</i></b>. Raleigh's The English Novel (Scribner); + Hamilton's The Materials and Methods of Fiction (Baker & Taylor Co.). + </p> + <hr /> + <h1> + <a name="chap2" id="chap2">CHAPTER II</a> + </h1> + <h3> + <b>THE ANGLO-SAXON OR OLD-ENGLISH PERIOD (450-1050)</b> + </h3> + <p> + I. <a name="chap2a" id="chap2a">OUR FIRST POETRY</a> + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap2b" id="chap2b">Beowulf</a></b>. Here is the story of + Beowulf, the earliest and the greatest epic, or heroic poem, in our + literature. It begins with a prologue, which is not an essential part of + the story, but which we review gladly for the sake of the splendid + poetical conception that produced Scyld, king of the Spear Danes. <sup><a + href="#fn2" name="rfn2" id="rfn2">[2]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + At a time when the Spear Danes were without a king, a ship came sailing + into their harbor. It was filled with treasures and weapons of war; and in + the midst of these warlike things was a baby sleeping. No man sailed the + ship; it came of itself, bringing the child, whose name was Scyld. + </p> + <p> + Now Scyld grew and became a mighty warrior, and led the Spear Danes for + many years, and was their king. When his son Beowulf <sup><a href="#fn3" + name="rfn3" id="rfn3">[3]</a></sup> had become strong and wise enough to + rule, then Wyrd (Fate), who speaks but once to any man, came and stood at + hand; and it was time for Scyld to go. This is how they buried him: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Then Scyld departed, at word of Wyrd spoken,<br /> The hero to go to the + home of the gods.<br /> Sadly they bore him to brink of the ocean,<br /> + Comrades, still heeding his word of command.<br /> There rode in the + harbor the prince's ship, ready,<br /> With prow curving proudly and + shining sails set.<br /> Shipward they bore him, their hero beloved;<br /> + The mighty they laid at the foot of the mast.<br /> Treasures were there + from far and near gathered,<br /> Byrnies of battle, armor and swords;<br /> + Never a keel sailed out of a harbor<br /> So splendidly tricked with the + trappings of war.<br /> They heaped on his bosom a hoard of bright jewels<br /> + To fare with him forth on the flood's great breast.<br /> No less gift + they gave than the Unknown provided,<br /> When alone, as a child, he + came in from the mere.<br /> High o'er his head waved a bright golden + standard--<br /> Now let the waves bear their wealth to the holm.<br /> + Sad-souled they gave back its gift to the ocean,<br /> Mournful their + mood as he sailed out to sea. <sup><a href="#fn4" name="rfn4" id="rfn4">[4]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + "And no man," says the poet, "neither counselor nor hero, can tell who + received that lading." + </p> + <p> + One of Scyld's descendants was Hrothgar, king of the Danes; and with him + the story of our Beowulf begins. Hrothgar in his old age had built near + the sea a mead hall called Heorot, the most splendid hall in the whole + world, where the king and his thanes gathered nightly to feast and to + listen to the songs of his gleemen. One night, as they were all sleeping, + a frightful monster, Grendel, broke into the hall, killed thirty of the + sleeping warriors, and carried off their bodies to devour them in his lair + under the sea. The appalling visit was speedily repeated, and fear and + death reigned in the great hall. The warriors fought at first; but fled + when they discovered that no weapon could harm the monster. Heorot was + left deserted and silent. For twelve winters Grendel's horrible raids + continued, and joy was changed to mourning among the Spear Danes. + </p> + <p> + At last the rumor of Grendel crossed over the sea to the land of the + Geats, where a young hero dwelt in the house of his uncle, King Hygelac. + Beowulf was his name, a man of immense strength and courage, and a mighty + swimmer who had developed his powers fighting the "nickers," whales, + walruses and seals, in the icebound northern ocean. When he heard the + story, Beowulf was stirred to go and fight the monster and free the Danes, + who were his father's friends. + </p> + <p> + With fourteen companions he crosses the sea. There is an excellent bit of + ocean poetry here (ll. 210-224), and we get a vivid idea of the + hospitality of a brave people by following the poet's description of + Beowulf's meeting with King Hrothgar and Queen Wealhtheow, and of the joy + and feasting and story-telling in Heorot. The picture of Wealhtheow + passing the mead cup to the warriors with her own hand is a noble one, and + plainly indicates the reverence paid by these strong men to their wives + and mothers. Night comes on; the fear of Grendel is again upon the Danes, + and all withdraw after the king has warned Beowulf of the frightful danger + of sleeping in the hall. But Beowulf lies down with his warriors, saying + proudly that, since weapons will not avail against the monster, he will + grapple with him bare handed and trust to a warrior's strength. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Forth from the fens, from the misty moorlands,<br /> Grendel came + gliding--God's wrath <sup><a href="#fn5" name="rfn5" id="rfn5">[5]</a></sup> + he bore--<br /> Came under clouds, until he saw clearly,<br /> Glittering + with gold plates, the mead hall of men.<br /> Down fell the door, though + fastened with fire bands;<br /> Open it sprang at the stroke of his paw.<br /> + Swollen with rage burst in the bale-bringer;<br /> Flamed in his eyes a + fierce light, likest fire. <sup><a href="#fn6" name="rfn6" id="rfn6">[6]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + At the sight of men again sleeping in the hall, Grendel laughs in his + heart, thinking of his feast. He seizes the nearest sleeper, crushes his + "bone case" with a bite, tears him limb from limb, and swallows him. Then + he creeps to the couch of Beowulf and stretches out a claw, only to find + it clutched in a grip of steel. A sudden terror strikes the monster's + heart. He roars, struggles, tries to jerk his arm free; but Beowulf leaps + to his feet and grapples his enemy bare handed. To and fro they surge. + Tables are overturned; golden benches ripped from their fastenings; the + whole building quakes, and only its iron bands keep it from falling to + pieces. Beowulf's companions are on their feet now, hacking vainly at the + monster with swords and battle-axes, adding their shouts to the crashing + of furniture and the howling "war song" of Grendel. Outside in the town + the Danes stand shivering at the uproar. Slowly the monster struggles to + the door, dragging Beowulf, whose fingers crack with the strain, but who + never relaxes his first grip. Suddenly a wide wound opens in the monster's + side; the sinews snap; the whole arm is wrenched off at the shoulder; and + Grendel escapes shrieking across the moor, and plunges into the sea to + die. + </p> + <p> + Beowulf first exults in his night's work; then he hangs the huge arm with + its terrible claws from a cross-beam over the king's seat, as one would + hang up a bear's skin after a hunt. At daylight came the Danes; and all + day long, in the intervals of singing, story-telling, speech making, and + gift giving, they return to wonder at the mighty "grip of Grendel" and to + rejoice in Beowulf's victory. + </p> + <p> + When night falls a great feast is spread in Heorot, and the Danes sleep + once more in the great hall. At midnight comes another monster, a + horrible, half-human creature,<sup><a href="#fn7" name="rfn7" id="rfn7">[7]</a></sup> + mother of Grendel, raging to avenge her offspring. She thunders at the + door; the Danes leap up and grasp their weapons; but the monster enters, + seizes Aeschere, who is friend and adviser of the king, and rushes away + with him over the fens. + </p> + <p> + The old scenes of sorrow are reviewed in the morning; but Beowulf says + simply: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Sorrow not, wise man. It is better for each<br /> That his friend he + avenge than that he mourn much.<br /> Each of us shall the end await<br /> + Of worldly life: let him who may gain<br /> Honor ere death. That is for + a warrior,<br /> When he is dead, afterwards best.<br /> Arise, kingdom's + guardian! Let us quickly go<br /> To view the track of Grendel's kinsman.<br /> + I promise it thee: he will not escape,<br /> Nor in earth's bosom, nor in + mountain-wood,<br /> Nor in ocean's depths, go where he will. <sup><a + href="#fn8" name="rfn8" id="rfn8">[8]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Then he girds himself for the new fight and follows the track of the + second enemy across the fens. Here is Hrothgar's description of the place + where live the monsters, "spirits of elsewhere," as he calls them: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + They + inhabit<br /> The dim land that gives shelter to the wolf,<br /> The windy + headlands, perilous fen paths,<br /> Where, under mountain mist, the + stream flows down<br /> And floods the ground. Not far hence, but a mile,<br /> + The mere stands, over which hang death-chill groves,<br /> A wood + fast-rooted overshades the flood;<br /> There every night a ghastly + miracle<br /> Is seen, fire in the water. No man knows,<br /> Not the most + wise, the bottom of that mere.<br /> The firm-horned heath-stalker, the + hart, when pressed,<br /> Wearied by hounds, and hunted from afar,<br /> + Will rather die of thirst upon its bank<br /> Than bend his head to it. + It is unholy.<br /> Dark to the clouds its yeasty waves mount up<br /> + When wind stirs hateful tempest, till the air<br /> Grows dreary, and the + heavens pour down tears. <sup><a href="#fn9" name="rfn9" id="rfn9">[9]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Beowulf plunges into the horrible place, while his companions wait for him + oh the shore. For a long time he sinks through the flood; then, as he + reaches bottom, Grendel's mother rushes out upon him and drags him into a + cave, where sea monsters swarm at him from behind and gnash his armor with + their tusks. The edge of his sword is turned with the mighty blow he deals + the <i>merewif</i>; but it harms not the monster. Casting the weapon + aside, he grips her and tries to hurl her down, while her claws and teeth + clash upon his corslet but cannot penetrate the steel rings. She throws + her bulk upon him, crushes him down, draws a short sword and plunges it at + him; but again his splendid byrnie saves him. He is wearied now, and + oppressed. Suddenly, as his eye sweeps the cave, he catches sight of a + magic sword, made by the giants long ago, too heavy for warriors to wield. + Struggling up he seizes the weapon, whirls it and brings down a crashing + blow upon the monster's neck. It smashes through the ring bones; the <i>merewif</i> + falls, and the fight is won. + </p> + <p> + The cave is full of treasures; but Beowulf heeds them not, for near him + lies Grendel, dead from the wound received the previous night. Again + Beowulf swings the great sword and strikes off his enemy's head; and lo, + as the venomous blood touches the sword blade, the steel melts like ice + before the fire, and only the hilt is left in Beowulf's hand. Taking the + hilt and the head, the hero enters the ocean and mounts up to the shore. + </p> + <p> + Only his own faithful band were waiting there; for the Danes, seeing the + ocean bubble with fresh blood, thought it was all over with the hero and + had gone home. And there they were, mourning in Heorot, when Beowulf + returned with the monstrous head of Grendel carried on a spear shaft by + four of his stoutest followers. + </p> + <p> + In the last part of the poem there is another great fight. Beowulf is now + an old man; he has reigned for fifty years, beloved by all his people. He + has overcome every enemy but one, a fire dragon keeping watch over an + enormous treasure hidden among the mountains. One day a wanderer stumbles + upon the enchanted cave and, entering, takes a jeweled cup while the + firedrake sleeps heavily. That same night the dragon, in a frightful rage, + belching forth fire and smoke, rushes down upon the nearest villages, + leaving a trail of death and terror behind him. + </p> + <p> + Again Beowulf goes forth to champion his people. As he approaches the + dragon's cave, he has a presentiment that death lurks within: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Sat on the headland there the warrior king;<br /> Farewell he said to + hearth-companions true,<br /> The gold-friend of the Geats; his mind was + sad,<br /> Death-ready, restless. And Wyrd was drawing nigh,<br /> Who now + must meet and touch the aged man,<br /> To seek the treasure that his + soul had saved<br /> And separate his body from his life. <sup><a + href="#fn10" name="rfn10" id="rfn10">[10]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + There is a flash of illumination, like that which comes to a dying man, in + which his mind runs back over his long life and sees something of profound + meaning in the elemental sorrow moving side by side with magnificent + courage. Then follows the fight with the firedrake, in which Beowulf, + wrapped in fire and smoke, is helped by the heroism of Wiglaf, one of his + companions. The dragon is slain, but the fire has entered Beowulf's lungs + and he knows that Wyrd is at hand. This is his thought, while Wiglaf + removes his battered armor: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "One deep regret I have: that to a son<br /> I may not give the armor I + have worn,<br /> To bear it after me. For fifty years<br /> I ruled these + people well, and not a king<br /> Of those who dwell around me, dared + oppress<br /> Or meet me with his hosts. At home I waited<br /> For the + time that Wyrd controls. Mine own I kept,<br /> Nor quarrels sought, nor + ever falsely swore.<br /> Now, wounded sore, I wait for joy to come." + <sup><a href="#fn11" name="rfn11" id="rfn11">[11]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + He sends Wiglaf into the firedrake's cave, who finds it filled with rare + treasures and, most wonderful of all, a golden banner from which light + proceeds and illumines all the darkness. But Wiglaf cares little for the + treasures; his mind is full of his dying chief. He fills his hands with + costly ornaments and hurries to throw them at his hero's feet. The old man + looks with sorrow at the gold, thanks the "Lord of all" that by death he + has gained more riches for his people, and tells his faithful thane how + his body shall be burned on the Whale ness, or headland: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "My life is well paid for this hoard; and now<br /> Care for the people's + needs. I may no more<br /> Be with them. Bid the warriors raise a barrow<br /> + After the burning, on the ness by the sea,<br /> On Hronesness, which + shall rise high and be<br /> For a remembrance to my people. Seafarers<br /> + Who from afar over the mists of waters<br /> Drive foamy keels may call + it Beowulf's Mount<br /> Hereafter." Then the hero from his neck<br /> Put + off a golden collar; to his thane,<br /> To the young warrior, gave it + with his helm,<br /> Armlet and corslet; bade him use them well.<br /> + "Thou art the last Waegmunding of our race,<br /> For fate has swept my + kinsmen all away.<br /> Earls in their strength are to their Maker gone,<br /> + And I must follow them."<sup><a href="#fn12" name="rfn12" id="rfn12">[12]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Beowulf was still living when Wiglaf sent a messenger hurriedly to his + people; when they came they found him dead, and the huge dragon dead on + the sand beside him. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Then the Goth's people reared a mighty pile<br /> With shields and armour + hung, as he had asked,<br /> And in the midst the warriors laid their + lord,<br /> Lamenting. Then the warriors on the mount<br /> Kindled a + mighty bale fire; the smoke rose<br /> Black from the Swedish pine, the + sound of flame<br /> Mingled with sound of weeping; ... while smoke<br /> + Spread over heaven. Then upon the hill<br /> The people of the Weders + wrought a mound,<br /> High, broad, and to be seen far out at sea.<br /> + In ten days they had built and walled it in<br /> As the wise thought + most worthy; placed in it<br /> Rings, jewels, other treasures from the + hoard.<br /> They left the riches, golden joy of earls,<br /> In dust, for + earth to hold; where yet it lies,<br /> Useless as ever. Then about the + mound<br /> The warriors rode, and raised a mournful song<br /> For their + dead king; exalted his brave deeds,<br /> Holding it fit men honour their + liege lord,<br /> Praise him and love him when his soul is fled.<br /> + Thus the [Geat's] people, sharers of his hearth,<br /> Mourned their + chief's fall, praised him, of kings, of men<br /> The mildest and the + kindest, and to all<br /> His people gentlest, yearning for their praise. + <sup><a href="#fn13" name="rfn13" id="rfn13">[13]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + One is tempted to linger over the details of the magnificent ending: the + unselfish heroism of Beowulf, the great prototype of King Alfred; the + generous grief of his people, ignoring gold and jewels in the thought of + the greater treasure they had lost; the memorial mound on the low cliff, + which would cause every returning mariner to steer a straight course to + harbor in the remembrance of his dead hero; and the pure poetry which + marks every noble line. But the epic is great enough and simple enough to + speak for itself. Search the literatures of the world, and you will find + no other such picture of a brave man's death. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> History and Meaning of Beowulf</span>Concerning + the history of <i>Beowulf</i> a whole library has been written, and + scholars still differ too radically for us to express a positive judgment. + This much, however, is clear,--that there existed, at the time the poem + was composed, various northern legends of Beowa, a half-divine hero, and + the monster Grendel. The latter has been interpreted in various + ways,--sometimes as a bear, and again as the malaria of the marsh lands. + For those interested in symbols the simplest interpretation of these myths + is to regard Beowulf's successive fights with the three dragons as the + overcoming, first, of the overwhelming danger of the sea, which was beaten + back by the dykes; second, the conquering of the sea itself, when men + learned to sail upon it; and third, the conflict with the hostile forces + of nature, which are overcome at last by man's indomitable will and + perseverance. + </p> + <p> + All this is purely mythical; but there are historical incidents to reckon + with. About the year 520 a certain northern chief, called by the + chronicler Chochilaicus (who is generally identified with the Hygelac of + the epic), led a huge plundering expedition up the Rhine. After a + succession of battles he was overcome by the Franks, but--and now we enter + a legendary region once more--not until a gigantic nephew of Hygelac had + performed heroic feats of valor, and had saved the remnants of the host by + a marvelous feat of swimming. The majority of scholars now hold that these + historical events and personages were celebrated in the epic; but some + still assert that the events which gave a foundation for <i>Beowulf</i> + occurred wholly on English soil, where the poem itself was undoubtedly + written. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Poetical Form</span>The rhythm of <i>Beowulf</i> + and indeed of all our earliest poetry depended upon accent and + alliteration; that is, the beginning of two or more words in the same line + with the same sound or letter. The lines were made up of two short halves, + separated by a pause. No rime was used; but a musical effect was produced + by giving each half line two strongly accented syllables. Each full line, + therefore, had four accents, three of which (i.e. two in the first half, + and one in the second) usually began with the same sound or letter. The + musical effect was heightened by the harp with which the gleeman + accompanied his singing.. The poetical form will be seen clearly in the + following selection from the wonderfully realistic description of the fens + haunted by Grendel. It will need only one or two readings aloud to show + that many of these strange-looking words are practically the same as those + we still use, though many of the vowel sounds were pronounced differently + by our ancestors. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + ... + Hie dygel lond<br /> Warigeath, wulf-hleothu, windige næssas,<br /> + Frecne fen-gelad, thær fyrgen-stream<br /> + Under næssa genipu nither gewiteth,<br /> Flod under foldan. Nis thæt + feor heonon,<br /> Mil-gemearces, thaet se mere standeth,<br /> Ofer thæm + hongiath hrinde bearwas<br /> ... + They (a) darksome land<br /> Ward (inhabit), wolf cliffs, windy nesses,<br /> + Frightful fen paths where mountain stream<br /> Under nesses' mists + nether (downward) wanders,<br /> A flood under earth. It is not far + hence,<br /> By mile measure, that the mere stands,<br /> Over which hang + rimy groves.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b><a name="chap2c" id="chap2c">Widsith.</a></b> The poem "Widsith," the + wide goer or wanderer, is in part, at least, probably the oldest in our + language. The author and the date of its composition are unknown; but the + personal account of the minstrel's life belongs to the time before the + Saxons first came to England.<sup><a href="#fn14" name="rfn14" id="rfn14">[14]</a></sup> + It expresses the wandering life of the gleeman, who goes forth into the + world to abide here or there, according as he is rewarded for his singing. + From the numerous references to rings and rewards, and from the praise + given to generous givers, it would seem that literature as a paying + profession began very early in our history, and also that the pay was + barely sufficient to hold soul and body together. Of all our modern poets, + Goldsmith wandering over Europe paying for his lodging with his songs is + most suggestive of this first recorded singer of our race. His last lines + read: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Thus wandering, they who shape songs for men<br /> Pass over many lands, + and tell their need,<br /> And speak their thanks, and ever, south or + north,<br /> Meet someone skilled in songs and free in gifts,<br /> Who + would be raised among his friends to fame<br /> And do brave deeds till + light and life are gone.<br /> He who has thus wrought himself praise + shall have<br /> A settled glory underneath the stars. <sup><a + href="#fn15" name="rfn15" id="rfn15">[15]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b><a name="chap2d" id="chap2d">Deor's Lament.</a></b> In "Deor" we have + another picture of the Saxon scop, or minstrel, not in glad wandering, but + in manly sorrow. It seems that the scop's living depended entirely upon + his power to please his chief, and that at any time he might be supplanted + by a better poet. Deor had this experience, and comforts himself in a grim + way by recalling various examples of men who have suffered more than + himself. The poem is arranged in strophes, each one telling of some + afflicted hero and ending with the same refrain: <i>His sorrow passed + away; so will mine</i>. "Deor" is much more poetic than "Widsith," and is + the one perfect lyric<sup><a href="#fn16" name="rfn16" id="rfn16">[16]</a></sup> + of the Anglo-Saxon period. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Weland for a woman knew too well exile.<br /> Strong of soul that earl, + sorrow sharp he bore;<br /> To companionship he had care and weary + longing,<br /> Winter-freezing wretchedness. Woe he found again, again,<br /> + After that Nithhad in a need had laid him--<br /> Staggering + sinew-wounds--sorrow-smitten man!<br /> <i>That he overwent; this also + may I</i>. <sup><a href="#fn17" name="rfn17" id="rfn17">[17]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b><a name="chap2e" id="chap2e">The Seafarer.</a></b> The wonderful poem + of "The Seafarer" seems to be in two distinct parts. The first shows the + hardships of ocean life; but stronger than hardships is the subtle call of + the sea. The second part is an allegory, in which the troubles of the + seaman are symbols of the troubles of this life, and the call of the ocean + is the call in the soul to be up and away to its true home with God. + Whether the last was added by some monk who saw the allegorical + possibilities of the first part, or whether some sea-loving Christian scop + wrote both, is uncertain. Following are a few selected lines to show the + spirit of the poem: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + The hail flew in showers about me; and there I heard only<br /> The roar + of the sea, ice-cold waves, and the song of the swan;<br /> For pastime + the gannets' cry served me; the kittiwakes' chatter<br /> For laughter of + men; and for mead drink the call of the sea mews.<br /> When storms on + the rocky cliffs beat, then the terns, icy-feathered,<br /> Made answer; + full oft the sea eagle forebodingly screamed,<br /> The eagle with + pinions wave-wet....<br /> The shadows of night became darker, it snowed + from the north;<br /> The world was enchained by the frost; hail fell + upon earth;<br /> 'T was the coldest of grain. Yet the thoughts of my + heart now are throbbing<br /> To test the high streams, the salt waves in + tumultuous play.<br /> Desire in my heart ever urges my spirit to wander,<br /> + To seek out the home of the stranger in lands afar off.<br /> There + is no one that dwells upon earth, so exalted in mind,<br /> But that he + has always a longing, a sea-faring passion<br /> For what the Lord God + shall bestow, be it honor or death.<br /> No heart for the harp has he, + nor for acceptance of treasure,<br /> No pleasure has he in a wife, no + delight in the world,<br /> Nor in aught save the roll of the billows; + but always a longing,<br /> A yearning uneasiness, hastens him on to the + sea.<br /> The woodlands are captured by + blossoms, the hamlets grow fair,<br /> Broad meadows are beautiful, earth + again bursts into life,<br /> And all stir the heart of the wanderer + eager to journey,<br /> So he meditates going afar on the pathway of + tides.<br /> The cuckoo, moreover, gives warning with sorrowful note,<br /> + Summer's harbinger sings, and forebodes to the heart bitter sorrow.<br /> + Now my spirit uneasily turns in the heart's + narrow chamber,<br /> Now wanders forth over the tide, o'er the home of + the whale,<br /> To the ends of the earth--and comes back to me.<br /> + Eager and greedy,<br /> The lone wanderer + screams, and resistlessly drives my soul onward,<br /> Over the + whale-path, over the tracts of the sea. <sup><a href="#fn18" name="rfn18" + id="rfn18">[18]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b><a name="chap2f" id="chap2f">The Fight at Finnsburgh and Waldere.</a></b> + Two other of our oldest poems well deserve mention. The "Fight at + Finnsburgh" is a fragment of fifty lines, discovered on the inside of a + piece of parchment drawn over the wooden covers of a book of homilies. It + is a magnificent war song, describing with Homeric power the defense of a + hall by Hnæf<sup><a href="#fn19" name="rfn19" id="rfn19">[19]</a></sup> + with sixty warriors, against the attack of Finn and his army. At midnight, + when Hnæf and his men are sleeping, they are surrounded by an army + rushing in with fire and sword. Hnæf springs to his feet at the + first alarm and wakens his warriors with a call to action that rings like + a bugle blast: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + This no eastward dawning is, nor is here a dragon flying,<br /> Nor of + this high hall are the horns a burning;<br /> But they rush upon us + here--now the ravens sing,<br /> Growling is the gray wolf, grim the + war-wood rattles,<br /> Shield to shaft is answering. <sup><a href="#fn20" + name="rfn20" id="rfn20">[20]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The fight lasts five days, but the fragment ends before we learn the + outcome: The same fight is celebrated by Hrothgar's gleeman at the feast + in Heorot, after the slaying of Grendel. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap2g" id="chap2g">"Waldere"</a> is a fragment of two leaves, + from which we get only a glimpse of the story of Waldere (Walter of + Aquitaine) and his betrothed bride Hildgund, who were hostages at the + court of Attila. They escaped with a great treasure, and in crossing the + mountains were attacked by Gunther and his warriors, among whom was + Walter's former comrade, Hagen. Walter fights them all and escapes. The + same story was written in Latin in the tenth century, and is also part of + the old German <i>Nibelungenlied</i>. Though the saga did not originate + with the Anglo-Saxons, their version of it is the oldest that has come + down to us. The chief significance of these "Waldere" fragments lies in + the evidence they afford that our ancestors were familiar with the legends + and poetry of other Germanic peoples. + </p> + <p> + II. <a name="chap2h" id="chap2h">ANGLO-SAXON LIFE</a> + </p> + <p> + We have now read some of our earliest records, and have been surprised, + perhaps, that men who are generally described in the histories as savage + fighters and freebooters could produce such excellent poetry. It is the + object of the study of all literature to make us better acquainted with + men,--not simply with their deeds, which is the function of history, but + with the dreams and ideals which underlie all their actions. So a reading + of this early Anglo-Saxon poetry not only makes us acquainted, but also + leads to a profound respect for the men who were our ancestors. Before we + study more of their literature it is well to glance briefly at their life + and language. + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> + <img src="images/{0049}.jpg" alt="{0049}" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <h5> + <a href="images/{0049}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </h5> + <p> + <b>The Name</b> Originally the name Anglo-Saxon denotes two of the three + Germanic tribes,--Jutes, Angles, and Saxons,--who in the middle of the + fifth century left their homes on the shores of the North Sea and the + Baltic to conquer and colonize distant Britain. Angeln was the home of one + tribe, and the name still clings to the spot whence some of our + forefathers sailed on their momentous voyage. The old Saxon word <i>angul</i> + or <i>ongul</i> means a hook, and the English verb <i>angle</i> is used + invariably by Walton and older writers in the sense of fishing. We may + still think, therefore, of the first Angles as hook-men, possibly because + of their fishing, more probably because the shore where they lived, at the + foot of the peninsula of Jutland, was bent in the shape of a fishhook. The + name Saxon from <i>seax, sax</i>, a short sword, means the sword-man, and + from the name we may judge something of the temper of the hardy fighters + who preceded the Angles into Britain. The Angles were the most numerous of + the conquering tribes, and from them the new home was called Anglalond. By + gradual changes this became first Englelond and then England. + </p> + <p> + More than five hundred years after the landing of these tribes, and while + they called themselves Englishmen, we find the Latin writers of the Middle + Ages speaking of the inhabitants of Britain as <i>Anglisaxones</i>,--that + is, Saxons of England,--to distinguish them from the Saxons of the + Continent. In the Latin charters of King Alfred the same name appears; but + it is never seen or heard in his native speech. There he always speaks of + his beloved "Englelond" and of his brave "Englisc" people. In the + sixteenth century, when the old name of Englishmen clung to the new people + resulting from the union of Saxon and Norman, the name Anglo-Saxon was + first used in the national sense by the scholar Camden<sup> <a href="#fn21" + name="rfn21" id="rfn21">[21]</a></sup> in his <i>History of Britain</i>; + and since then it has been in general use among English writers. In recent + years the name has gained a wider significance, until it is now used to + denote a spirit rather than a nation, the brave, vigorous, enlarging + spirit that characterizes the English-speaking races everywhere, and that + has already put a broad belt of English law and English liberty around the + whole world. + </p> + <p> + <b>The Life.</b> If the literature of a people springs directly out of its + life, then the stern, barbarous life of our Saxon forefathers would seem, + at first glance, to promise little of good literature. Outwardly their + life was a constant hardship, a perpetual struggle against savage nature + and savage men. Behind them were gloomy forests inhabited by wild beasts + and still wilder men, and peopled in their imagination with dragons and + evil shapes. In front of them, thundering at the very dikes for entrance, + was the treacherous North Sea, with its fogs and storms and ice, but with + that indefinable call of the deep that all men hear who live long beneath + its influence. Here they lived, a big, blond, powerful race, and hunted + and fought and sailed, and drank and feasted when their labor was done. + Almost the first thing we notice about these big, fearless, childish men + is that they love the sea; and because they love it they hear and answer + its call: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + ... No delight has he in the world,<br /> Nor in aught save the roll of + the billows; but always a longing,<br /> A yearning uneasiness, hastens + him on to the sea.<sup> <a href="#fn22" name="rfn22" id="rfn22">[22]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + As might be expected, this love of the ocean finds expression in all their + poetry. In <i>Beowulf</i> alone there are fifteen names for the sea, from + the <i>holm</i>, that is, the horizon sea, the "upmounding," to the <i>brim</i>, + which is the ocean flinging its welter of sand and creamy foam upon the + beach at your feet. And the figures used to describe or glorify it--"the + swan road, the whale path, the heaving battle plain"--are almost as + numerous. In all their poetry there is a magnificent sense of lordship + over the wild sea even in its hour of tempest and fury: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Often it befalls us, on the ocean's highways,<br /> In the boats our + boatmen, when the storm is roaring,<br /> Leap the billows over, on our + stallions of the foam.<sup> <a href="#fn23" name="rfn23" id="rfn23">[23]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b>The Inner Life.</b> A man's life is more than his work; his dream is + ever greater than his achievement; and literature reflects not so much + man's deed as the spirit which animates him; not the poor thing that he + does, but rather the splendid thing that he ever hopes to do. In no place + is this more evident than in the age we are now studying. Those early sea + kings were a marvelous mixture of savagery and sentiment, of rough living + and of deep feeling, of splendid courage and the deep melancholy of men + who know their limitations and have faced the unanswered problem of death. + They were not simply fearless freebooters who harried every coast in their + war galleys. If that were all, they would have no more history or + literature than the Barbary pirates, of whom the same thing could be said. + These strong fathers of ours were men of profound emotions. In all their + fighting the love of an untarnished glory was uppermost; and under the + warrior's savage exterior was hidden a great love of home and homely + virtues, and a reverence for the one woman to whom he would presently + return in triumph. So when the wolf hunt was over, or the desperate fight + was won, these mighty men would gather in the banquet hall, and lay their + weapons aside where the open fire would flash upon them, and there listen + to the songs of Scop and Gleeman,--men who could put into adequate words + the emotions and aspirations that all men feel but that only a few can + ever express: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Music and song where the heroes sat--<br /> The glee-wood rang, a song + uprose<br /> When Hrothgar's scop gave the hall good cheer.<sup> <a + href="#fn24" name="rfn24" id="rfn24">[24]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + It is this great and hidden life of the Anglo-Saxons that finds expression + in all their literature. Briefly, it is summed up in five great + principles,--their love of personal freedom, their responsiveness to + nature, their religion, their reverence for womanhood, and their struggle + for glory as a ruling motive in every noble life. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Springs of Anglo-Saxon Poetry </span>In reading + Anglo-Saxon poetry it is well to remember these five principles, for they + are like the little springs at the head of a great river,--clear, pure + springs of poetry, and out of them the best of our literature has always + flowed. Thus when we read, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Blast of the tempest--it aids our oars;<br /> Rolling of thunder--it + hurts us not;<br /> Rush of the hurricane--bending its neck<br /> To speed + us whither our wills are bent,<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + we realize that these sea rovers had the spirit of kinship with the mighty + life of nature; and kinship with nature invariably expresses itself in + poetry. Again, when we read, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Now hath the man<br /> O'ercome his troubles. No pleasure does he lack,<br /> + Nor steeds, nor jewels, nor the joys of mead,<br /> Nor any treasure that + the earth can give,<br /> O royal woman, if he have but thee,<sup> <a + href="#fn25" name="rfn25" id="rfn25">[25]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + we know we are dealing with an essentially noble man, not a savage; we are + face to face with that profound reverence for womanhood which inspires the + greater part of all good poetry, and we begin to honor as well as + understand our ancestors. So in the matter of glory or honor; it was, + apparently, not the love of fighting, but rather the love of honor + resulting from fighting well, which animated our forefathers in every + campaign. "He was a man deserving of remembrance" was the highest thing + that could be said of a dead warrior; and "He is a man deserving of + praise" was the highest tribute to the living. The whole secret of + Beowulf's mighty life is summed up in the last line, "Ever yearning for + his people's praise." So every tribe had its scop, or poet, more important + than any warrior, who put the deeds of its heroes into the expressive + words that constitute literature; and every banquet hall had its gleeman, + who sang the scop's poetry in order that the deed and the man might be + remembered. Oriental peoples built monuments to perpetuate the memory of + their dead; but our ancestors made poems, which should live and stir men's + souls long after monuments of brick and stone had crumbled away. It is to + this intense love of glory and the desire to be remembered that we are + indebted for Anglo-Saxon literature. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap2i" id="chap2i">Our First Speech.</a></b> Our first + recorded speech begins with the songs of Widsith and Deor, which the + Anglo-Saxons may have brought with them when they first conquered Britain. + At first glance these songs in their native dress look strange as a + foreign tongue; but when we examine them carefully we find many words that + have been familiar since childhood. We have seen this in <i>Beowulf</i>; + but in prose the resemblance of this old speech to our own is even more + striking. Here, for instance, is a fragment of the simple story of the + conquest of Britain by our Anglo-Saxon ancestors: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Her Hengest and Æsc his sunu gefuhton with Bryttas, on thaere + stowe the is gecweden Creccanford, and thær ofslogon feower + thusenda wera. And tha Bryttas tha forleton Cent-lond, and mid myclum + ege flugon to Lundenbyrig. (At this time Hengest and Aesc, his son, + fought against the Britons at the place which is called Crayford and + there slew four thousand men. And then the Britons forsook Kentland, and + with much fear fled to London town.)<sup> <a href="#fn26" name="rfn26" + id="rfn26">[26]</a></sup> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el004" id="el004"><img width="100%" + alt="Illustration: STONEHENGE, ON SALISBURY PLAIN Probably the ruins of a temple of the native Britons" + src="images/el004.png" /></a><br /> STONEHENGE, ON SALISBURY PLAIN Probably + the ruins of a temple of the native Britons + </p> + <p> + The reader who utters these words aloud a few times will speedily + recognize his own tongue, not simply in the words but also in the whole + structure of the sentences. + </p> + <p> + From such records we see that our speech is Teutonic in its origin; and + when we examine any Teutonic language we learn that it is only a branch of + the great Aryan or Indo-European family of languages. In life and + language, therefore, we are related first to the Teutonic races, and + through them to all the nations of this Indo-European family, which, + starting with enormous vigor from their original home (probably in central + Europe)<sup> <a href="#fn27" name="rfn27" id="rfn27">[27]</a></sup> spread + southward and westward, driving out the native tribes and slowly + developing the mighty civilizations of India, Persia, Greece, Rome, and + the wilder but more vigorous life of the Celts and Teutons. In all these + languages--Sanskrit, Iranian, Greek, Latin, Celtic, Teutonic--we recognize + the same root words for father and mother, for God and man, for the common + needs and the common relations of life; and since words are windows + through which we see the soul of this old people, we find certain ideals + of love, home, faith, heroism, liberty, which seem to have been the very + life of our forefathers, and which were inherited by them from their old + heroic and conquering ancestors. It was on the borders of the North Sea + that our fathers halted for unnumbered centuries on their westward + journey, and slowly developed the national life and language which we now + call Anglo-Saxon. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Dual Character of our Language</span>It is this + old vigorous Anglo-Saxon language which forms the basis of our modern + English. If we read a paragraph from any good English book, and then + analyze it, as we would a flower, to see what it contains, we find two + distinct classes of words. The first class, containing simple words + expressing the common things of life, makes up the strong framework of our + language. These words are like the stem and bare branches of a mighty oak, + and if we look them up in the dictionary we find that almost invariably + they come to us from our Anglo-Saxon ancestors. The second and larger + class of words is made up of those that give grace, variety, ornament, to + our speech. They are like the leaves and blossoms of the same tree, and + when we examine their history we find that they come to us from the Celts, + Romans, Normans, and other peoples with whom we have been in contact in + the long years of our development. The most prominent characteristic of + our present language, therefore, is its dual character. Its best + qualities--strength, simplicity, directness--come from Anglo-Saxon + sources; its enormous added wealth of expression, its comprehensiveness, + its plastic adaptability to new conditions and ideas, are largely the + result of additions from other languages, and especially of its gradual + absorption of the French language after the Norman Conquest. It is this + dual character, this combination of native and foreign, of innate and + exotic elements, which accounts for the wealth of our English language and + literature. To see it in concrete form, we should read in succession <i>Beowulf</i> + and <i>Paradise Lost</i>, the two great epics which show the root and the + flower of our literary development. + </p> + <p> + III. <a name="chap2j" id="chap2j">CHRISTIAN WRITERS OF THE ANGLO-SAXON + PERIOD</a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> + <img src="images/{0061}.jpg" alt="{0061}" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <h5> + <a href="images/{0061}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </h5> + <p> + The literature of this period falls naturally into two divisions,--pagan + and Christian. The former represents the poetry which the Anglo-Saxons + probably brought with them in the form of oral sagas,--the crude material + out of which literature was slowly developed on English soil; the latter + represents the writings developed under teaching of the monks, after the + old pagan religion had vanished, but while it still retained its hold on + the life and language of the people. In reading our earliest poetry it is + well to remember that all of it was copied by the monks, and seems to have + been more or less altered to give it a religious coloring. + </p> + <p> + The coming of Christianity meant not simply a new life and leader for + England; it meant also the wealth of a new language. The scop is now + replaced by the literary monk; and that monk, though he lives among common + people and speaks with the English tongue, has behind him all the culture + and literary resources of the Latin language. The effect is seen instantly + in our early prose and poetry. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap2k" id="chap2k">Northumbrian Literature.</a></b> In + general, two great schools of Christian influence came into England, and + speedily put an end to the frightful wars that had waged continually among + the various petty kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons. The first of these, under + the leadership of Augustine, came from Rome. It spread in the south and + center of England, especially in the kingdom of Essex. It founded schools + and partially educated the rough people, but it produced no lasting + literature. The other, under the leadership of the saintly Aidan, came + from Ireland, which country had been for centuries a center of religion + and education for all western Europe. The monks of this school labored + chiefly in Northumbria, and to their influence we owe all that is best in + Anglo-Saxon literature. It is called the Northumbrian School; its center + was the monasteries and abbeys, such as Jarrow and Whitby, and its three + greatest names are Bede, Cædmon, and Cynewulf. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap2l" id="chap2l">BEDE</a> (673-735) + </p> + <p> + The Venerable Bede, as he is generally called, our first great scholar and + "the father of our English learning," wrote almost exclusively in Latin, + his last work, the translation of the Gospel of John into Anglo-Saxon, + having been unfortunately lost. Much to our regret, therefore, his books + and the story of his gentle, heroic life must be excluded from this + history of our literature. His works, over forty in number, covered the + whole field of human knowledge in his day, and were so admirably written + that they were widely copied as text-books, or rather manuscripts, in + nearly all the monastery schools of Europe. + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:20%;"> + <img src="images/{8063}.jpg" alt="{8063} " width="100%" /> <br /> <a + href="images/{8063}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </div> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The First History of England</span>The work most + important to us is the <i>Ecclesiastical History of the English People</i>. + It is a fascinating history to read even now, with its curious combination + of accurate scholarship and immense credulity. In all strictly historical + matters Bede is a model. Every known authority on the subject, from Pliny + to Gildas, was carefully considered; every learned pilgrim to Rome was + commissioned by Bede to ransack the archives and to make copies of papal + decrees and royal letters; and to these were added the testimony of abbots + who could speak from personal knowledge of events or repeat the traditions + of their several monasteries. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el007" id="el007"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: RUINS AT WHITBY" src="images/el007.png" /></a><br /> + RUINS AT WHITBY + </p> + <p> + Side by side with this historical exactness are marvelous stories of + saints and missionaries. It was an age of credulity, and miracles were in + men's minds continually. The men of whom he wrote lived lives more + wonderful than any romance, and their courage and gentleness made a + tremendous impression on the rough, warlike people to whom they came with + open hands and hearts. It is the natural way of all primitive peoples to + magnify the works of their heroes, and so deeds of heroism and kindness, + which were part of the daily life of the Irish missionaries, were soon + transformed into the miracles of the saints. Bede believed these things, + as all other men did, and records them with charming simplicity, just as + he received them from bishop or abbot. Notwithstanding its errors, we owe + to this work nearly all our knowledge of the eight centuries of our + history following the landing of Cæsar in Britain. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap2m" id="chap2m">CÆDMON</a> (Seventh Century) + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Now must we hymn the Master of heaven,<br /> The might of the Maker, the + deeds of the Father,<br /> The thought of His heart. He, Lord + everlasting,<br /> Established of old the source of all wonders:<br /> + Creator all-holy, He hung the bright heaven,<br /> A roof high upreared, + o'er the children of men;<br /> The King of mankind then created for + mortals<br /> The world in its beauty, the earth spread beneath them,<br /> + He, Lord everlasting, omnipotent God. <sup><a href="#fn28" name="rfn28" + id="rfn28">[28]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + If <i>Beowulf</i> and the fragments of our earliest poetry were brought + into England, then the hymn given above is the first verse of all native + English song that has come down to us, and Cædmon is the first poet + to whom we can give a definite name and date. The words were written about + 665 A.D. and are found copied at the end of a manuscript of Bede's <i>Ecclesiastical + History</i>. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life of Cædmon.</b> What little we know of Cædmon, the + Anglo-Saxon Milton, as he is properly called, is taken from Bede's account<sup><a + href="#fn29" name="rfn29" id="rfn29">[29]</a></sup> of the Abbess Hilda + and of her monastery at Whitby. Here is a free and condensed translation + of Bede's story: + </p> + <p> + There was, in the monastery of the Abbess Hilda, a brother distinguished + by the grace of God, for that he could make poems treating of goodness and + religion. Whatever was translated to him (for he could not read) of Sacred + Scripture he shortly reproduced in poetic form of great sweetness and + beauty. None of all the English poets could equal him, for he learned not + the art of song from men, nor sang by the arts of men. Rather did he + receive all his poetry as a free gift from God, and for this reason he did + never compose poetry of a vain or worldly kind. + </p> + <p> + Until of mature age he lived as a layman and had never learned any poetry. + Indeed, so ignorant of singing was he that sometimes, at a feast, where it + was the custom that for the pleasure of all each guest should sing in + turn, he would rise from the table when he saw the harp coming to him and + go home ashamed. Now it happened once that he did this thing at a certain + festivity, and went out to the stall to care for the horses, this duty + being assigned to him for that night. As he slept at the usual time, one + stood by him saying: "Cædmon, sing me something." "I cannot sing," + he answered, "and that is why I came hither from the feast." But he who + spake unto him said again, "Cædmon, sing to me." And he said, "What + shall I sing?" and he said, "Sing the beginning of created things." + Thereupon Cædmon began to sing verses that he had never heard + before, of this import: "Now should we praise the power and wisdom of the + Creator, the works of the Father." This is the sense but not the form of + the hymn that he sang while sleeping. + </p> + <p> + When he awakened, Cædmon remembered the words of the hymn and added + to them many more. In the morning he went to the steward of the monastery + lands and showed him the gift he had received in sleep. The steward + brought him to Hilda, who made him repeat to the monks the hymn he had + composed, and all agreed that the grace of God was upon Cædmon. To + test him they expounded to him a bit of Scripture from the Latin and bade + him, if he could, to turn it into poetry. He went away humbly and returned + in the morning with an excellent poem. Thereupon Hilda received him and + his family into the monastery, made him one of the brethren, and commanded + that the whole course of Bible history be expounded to him. He in turn, + reflecting upon what he had heard, transformed it into most delightful + poetry, and by echoing it back to the monks in more melodious sounds made + his teachers his listeners. In all this his aim was to turn men from + wickedness and to help them to the love and practice of well doing. + </p> + <p> + [Then follows a brief record of Cædmon's life and an exquisite + picture of his death amidst the brethren.] And so it came to pass [says + the simple record] that as he served God while living in purity of mind + and serenity of spirit, so by a peaceful death he left the world and went + to look upon His face. + </p> + <p> + <b>Cædmon's Works.</b> The greatest work attributed to Cædmon + is the so-called <i>Paraphrase</i>. It is the story of Genesis, Exodus, + and a part of Daniel, told in glowing, poetic language, with a power of + insight and imagination which often raises it from paraphrase into the + realm of true poetry. Though we have Bede's assurance that Cædmon + "transformed the whole course of Bible history into most delightful + poetry," no work known certainly to have been composed by him has come + down to us. In the seventeenth century this Anglo-Saxon <i>Paraphrase</i> + was discovered and attributed to Cædmon, and his name is still + associated with it, though it is now almost certain that the <i>Paraphrase</i> + is the work of more than one writer. + </p> + <p> + Aside from the doubtful question of authorship, even a casual reading of + the poem brings us into the presence of a poet rude indeed, but with a + genius strongly suggestive at times of the matchless Milton. The book + opens with a hymn of praise, and then tells of the fall of Satan and his + rebel angels from heaven, which is familiar to us in Milton's <i>Paradise + Lost</i>. Then follows the creation of the world, and the <i>Paraphrase</i> + begins to thrill with the old Anglo-Saxon love of nature. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Here first the Eternal Father, guard of all,<br /> Of heaven and earth, + raisèd up the firmament,<br /> The Almighty Lord set firm by His + strong power<br /> This roomy land; grass greened not yet the plain,<br /> + Ocean far spread hid the wan ways in gloom.<br /> Then was the Spirit + gloriously bright<br /> Of Heaven's Keeper borne over the deep<br /> + Swiftly. The Life-giver, the Angel's Lord,<br /> Over the ample ground + bade come forth Light.<br /> Quickly the High King's bidding was obeyed,<br /> + Over the waste there shone light's holy ray.<br /> Then parted He, Lord + of triumphant might,<br /> Shadow from shining, darkness from the light.<br /> + Light, by the Word of God, was first named day. <sup><a href="#fn30" + name="rfn30" id="rfn30">[30]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + After recounting the story of Paradise, the Fall, and the Deluge, the <i>Paraphrase</i> + is continued in the Exodus, of which the poet makes a noble epic, rushing + on with the sweep of a Saxon army to battle. A single selection is given + here to show how the poet adapted the story to his hearers: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Then + they saw,<br /> Forth and forward faring, Pharaoh's war array<br /> + Gliding on, a grove of spears;--glittering the hosts!<br /> Fluttered + there the banners, there the folk the march trod.<br /> Onwards surged + the war, strode the spears along,<br /> Blickered the broad shields; blew + aloud the trumpets....<br /> Wheeling round in gyres, yelled the fowls of + war,<br /> Of the battle greedy; hoarsely barked the raven,<br /> Dew upon + his feathers, o'er the fallen corpses--<br /> Swart that chooser of the + slain! Sang aloud the wolves<br /> At eve their horrid song, hoping for + the carrion. <sup><a href="#fn31" name="rfn31" id="rfn31">[31]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Besides the <i>Paraphrase</i> we have a few fragments of the same general + character which are attributed to the school of Cædmon. The longest + of these is <i>Judith</i>, in which the story of an apocryphal book of the + Old Testament is done into vigorous poetry. Holofernes is represented as a + savage and cruel Viking, reveling in his mead hall; and when the heroic + Judith cuts off his head with his own sword and throws it down before the + warriors of her people, rousing them to battle and victory, we reach + perhaps the most dramatic and brilliant point of Anglo-Saxon literature. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap2n" id="chap2n">CYNEWULF</a> (Eighth Century) + </p> + <p> + Of Cynewulf, greatest of the Anglo-Saxon poets, excepting only the unknown + author of <i>Beowulf</i>, we know very little. Indeed, it was not till + 1840, more than a thousand years after his death, that even his name + became known. Though he is the only one of our early poets who signed his + works, the name was never plainly written, but woven into the verses in + the form of secret runes,<sup><a href="#fn32" name="rfn32" id="rfn32">[32]</a></sup> + suggesting a modern charade, but more difficult of interpretation until + one has found the key to the poet's signature. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Cynewulf.</b> The only signed poems of Cynewulf are <i>The + Christ, Juliana, The Fates of the Apostles</i>, and <i>Elene</i>. Unsigned + poems attributed to him or his school are <i>Andreas</i>, the <i>Phoenix</i>, + the <i>Dream of the Rood</i>, the <i>Descent into Hell</i>, <i>Guthlac</i>, + the <i>Wanderer</i>, and some of the Riddles. The last are simply literary + conundrums in which some well-known object, like the bow or drinking horn, + is described in poetic language, and the hearer must guess the name. Some + of them, like "The Swan" <sup><a href="#fn33" name="rfn33" id="rfn33">[33]</a></sup> + and "The Storm Spirit," are unusually beautiful. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Christ</span>Of all these works the most + characteristic is undoubtedly <i>The Christ</i>, a didactic poem in three + parts: the first celebrating the Nativity; the second, the Ascension; and + the third, "Doomsday," telling the torments of the wicked and the unending + joy of the redeemed. Cynewulf takes his subject-matter partly from the + Church liturgy, but more largely from the homilies of Gregory the Great. + The whole is well woven together, and contains some hymns of great beauty + and many passages of intense dramatic force. Throughout the poem a deep + love for Christ and a reverence for the Virgin Mary are manifest. More + than any other poem in any language, <i>The Christ</i> reflects the spirit + of early Latin Christianity. + </p> + <p> + Here is a fragment comparing life to a sea voyage,--a comparison which + occurs sooner or later to every thoughtful person, and which finds perfect + expression in Tennyson's "Crossing the Bar." + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Now 'tis most like as if we fare in ships<br /> On the ocean flood, over + the water cold,<br /> Driving our vessels through the spacious seas<br /> + With horses of the deep. A perilous way is this<br /> Of boundless waves, + and there are stormy seas<br /> On which we toss here in this (reeling) + world<br /> O'er the deep paths. Ours was a sorry plight<br /> Until at + last we sailed unto the land,<br /> Over the troubled main. Help came to + us<br /> That brought us to the haven of salvation,<br /> God's + Spirit-Son, and granted grace to us<br /> That we might know e'en from + the vessel's deck<br /> Where we must bind with anchorage secure<br /> Our + ocean steeds, old stallions of the waves.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Andreas and Elene</span>In the two epic poems of + <i>Andreas</i> and <i>Elene</i> Cynewulf (if he be the author) reaches the + very summit of his poetical art. <i>Andreas</i>, an unsigned poem, records + the story of St. Andrew, who crosses the sea to rescue his comrade St. + Matthew from the cannibals. A young ship-master who sails the boat turns + out to be Christ in disguise, Matthew is set free, and the savages are + converted by a miracle.<sup><a href="#fn34" name="rfn34" id="rfn34">[34]</a></sup> + It is a spirited poem, full of rush and incident, and the descriptions of + the sea are the best in Anglo-Saxon poetry. + </p> + <p> + <i>Elene</i> has for its subject-matter the finding of the true cross. It + tells of Constantine's vision of the Rood, on the eve of battle. After his + victory under the new emblem he sends his mother Helena (Elene) to + Jerusalem in search of the original cross and the nails. The poem, which + is of very uneven quality, might properly be put at the end of Cynewulf's + works. He adds to the poem a personal note, signing his name in runes; + and, if we accept the wonderful "Vision of the Rood" as Cynewulf's work, + we learn how he found the cross at last in his own heart. There is a + suggestion here of the future Sir Launfal and the search for the Holy + Grail. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap2o" id="chap2o">Decline of Northumbrian Literature.</a></b> + The same northern energy which had built up learning and literature so + rapidly in Northumbria was instrumental in pulling it down again. Toward + the end of the century in which Cynewulf lived, the Danes swept down on + the English coasts and overwhelmed Northumbria. Monasteries and schools + were destroyed; scholars and teachers alike were put to the sword, and + libraries that had been gathered leaf by leaf with the toil of centuries + were scattered to the four winds. So all true Northumbrian literature + perished, with the exception of a few fragments, and that which we now + possess <sup><a href="#fn35" name="rfn35" id="rfn35">[35]</a></sup> is + largely a translation in the dialect of the West Saxons. This translation + was made by Alfred's scholars, after he had driven back the Danes in an + effort to preserve the ideals and the civilization that had been so hardly + won. With the conquest of Northumbria ends the poetic period of + Anglo-Saxon literature. With Alfred the Great of Wessex our prose + literature makes a beginning. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap2p" id="chap2p">ALFRED</a> (848-901) + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Every craft and every power soon grows<br /> old and is passed over and + forgotten, if it<br /> be without wisdom.... This is now to be<br /> said, + that whilst I live I wish to live nobly,<br /> and after life to leave to + the men who come<br /> after me a memory of good works." <sup><a + href="#fn36" name="rfn36" id="rfn36">[36]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + So wrote the great Alfred, looking back over his heroic life. That he + lived nobly none can doubt who reads the history of the greatest of + Anglo-Saxon kings; and his good works include, among others, the education + of half a country, the salvage of a noble native literature, and the + creation of the first English prose. + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:20%;"> + <img src="images/{8071}.jpg" alt="{8071} " width="100%" /> <br /> <a + href="images/{8071}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </div> + <p> + <b>Life and Times of Alfred.</b> For the history of Alfred's times, and + details of the terrific struggle with the Northmen, the reader must be + referred to the histories. The struggle ended with the Treaty of Wedmore, + in 878, with the establishment of Alfred not only as king of Wessex, but + as overlord of the whole northern country. Then the hero laid down his + sword, and set himself as a little child to learn to read and write Latin, + so that he might lead his people in peace as he had led them in war. It is + then that Alfred began to be the heroic figure in literature that he had + formerly been in the wars against the Northmen. + </p> + <p> + With the same patience and heroism that had marked the long struggle for + freedom, Alfred set himself to the task of educating his people. First he + gave them laws, beginning with the Ten Commandments and ending with the + Golden Rule, and then established courts where laws could be faithfully + administered. Safe from the Danes by land, he created a navy, almost the + first of the English fleets, to drive them from the coast. Then, with + peace and justice established within his borders, he sent to Europe for + scholars and teachers, and set them over schools that he established. + Hitherto all education had been in Latin; now he set himself the task, + first, of teaching every free-born Englishman to read and write his own + language, and second, of translating into English the best books for their + instruction. Every poor scholar was honored at his court and was speedily + set to work at teaching or translating; every wanderer bringing a book or + a leaf of manuscript from the pillaged monasteries of Northumbria was sure + of his reward. In this way the few fragments of native Northumbrian + literature, which we have been studying, were saved to the world. Alfred + and his scholars treasured the rare fragments and copied them in the + West-Saxon dialect. With the exception of Cædmon's Hymn, we have + hardly a single leaf from the great literature of Northumbria in the + dialect in which it was first written. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Alfred.</b> Aside from his educational work, Alfred is known + chiefly as a translator. After fighting his country's battles, and at a + time when most men were content with military honor, he began to learn + Latin, that he might translate the works that would be most helpful to his + people. His important translations are four in number: Orosius's <i>Universal + History and Geography</i>, the leading work in general history for several + centuries; Bede's <i>History</i>, <sup><a href="#fn37" name="rfn37" + id="rfn37">[37]</a></sup> the first great historical work written on + English soil; Pope Gregory's <i>Shepherds' Book</i>, intended especially + for the clergy; and Boethius's <i>Consolations of Philosophy</i>, the + favorite philosophical work of the Middle Ages. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Saxon Chronicle.</span>More important than + any translation is the <i>English</i> or <i>Saxon Chronicle</i>. This was + probably at first a dry record, especially of important births and deaths + in the West-Saxon kingdom. Alfred enlarged this scant record, beginning + the story with Cæsar's conquest. When it touches his own reign the + dry chronicle becomes an interesting and connected story, the oldest + history belonging to any modern nation in its own language. The record of + Alfred's reign, probably by himself, is a splendid bit of writing and + shows clearly his claim to a place in literature as well as in history. + The <i>Chronicle</i> was continued after Alfred's death, and is the best + monument of early English prose that is left to us. Here and there + stirring songs are included in the narrative, like "The Battle of + Brunanburh" and "The Battle of Maldon."<sup><a href="#fn38" name="rfn38" + id="rfn38">[38]</a></sup> The last, entered 991, seventy-five years before + the Norman Conquest, is the swan song of Anglo-Saxon poetry. The <i>Chronicle</i> + was continued for a century after the Norman Conquest, and is extremely + valuable not only as a record of events but as a literary monument showing + the development of our language. + </p> + <p> + <b>Close of the Anglo-Saxon Period</b>. After Alfred's death there is + little to record, except the loss of the two supreme objects of his heroic + struggle, namely, a national life and a national literature. It was at + once the strength and the weakness of the Saxon that he lived apart as a + free man and never joined efforts willingly with any large body of his + fellows. The tribe was his largest idea of nationality, and, with all our + admiration, we must confess as we first meet him that he has not enough + sense of unity to make a great nation, nor enough culture to produce a + great literature. A few noble political ideals repeated in a score of + petty kingdoms, and a few literary ideals copied but never + increased,--that is the summary of his literary history. For a full + century after Alfred literature was practically at a standstill, having + produced the best of which it was capable, and England waited for the + national impulse and for the culture necessary for a new and greater art. + Both of these came speedily, by way of the sea, in the Norman Conquest. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap2q" id="chap2q">Summary of Anglo-Saxon Period.</a></b> Our + literature begins with songs and stories of a time when our Teutonic + ancestors were living on the borders of the North Sea. Three tribes of + these ancestors, the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons, conquered Britain in the + latter half of the fifth century, and laid the foundation of the English + nation. The first landing was probably by a tribe of Jutes, under chiefs + called by the chronicle Hengist and Horsa. The date is doubtful; but the + year 449 is accepted by most historians. + </p> + <p> + These old ancestors were hardy warriors and sea rovers, yet were capable + of profound and noble emotions. Their poetry reflects this double nature. + Its subjects were chiefly the sea and the plunging boats, battles, + adventure, brave deeds, the glory of warriors, and the love of home. + Accent, alliteration, and an abrupt break in the middle of each line gave + their poetry a kind of martial rhythm. In general the poetry is earnest + and somber, and pervaded by fatalism and religious feeling. A careful + reading of the few remaining fragments of Anglo-Saxon literature reveals + five striking characteristics: the love of freedom; responsiveness to + nature, especially in her sterner moods; strong religious convictions, and + a belief in Wyrd, or Fate; reverence for womanhood; and a devotion to + glory as the ruling motive in every warrior's life. + </p> + <p> + In our study we have noted: (1) the great epic or heroic poem <i>Beowulf</i>, + and a few fragments of our first poetry, such as "Widsith," "Deor's + Lament," and "The Seafarer." (2) Characteristics of Anglo-Saxon life; the + form of our first speech. (3) The Northumbrian school of writers. Bede, + our first historian, belongs to this school; but all his extant works are + in Latin. The two great poets are Cædmon and Cynewulf. Northumbrian + literature flourished between 650 and 850. In the year 867 Northumbria was + conquered by the Danes, who destroyed the monasteries and the libraries + containing our earliest literature. (4) The beginnings of English prose + writing under Alfred (848-901). Our most important prose work of this age + is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which was revised and enlarged by Alfred, + and which was continued for more than two centuries. It is the oldest + historical record known to any European nation in its own tongue. + </p> + <p> + <b>Selections for Reading.</b> <i>Miscellaneous Poetry</i>. The Seafarer, + Love Letter (Husband's Message), Battle of Brunanburh, Deor's Lament, + Riddles, Exodus, The Christ, Andreas, Dream of the Rood, extracts in Cook + and Tinker's Translations from Old English Poetry <sup><a href="#fn39" + name="rfn39" id="rfn39">[39]</a></sup> (Ginn and Company); Judith, + translation by A.S. Cook. Good selections are found also in Brooke's + History of Early English Literature, and Morley's English Writers, vols. 1 + and 2. + </p> + <p> + <i>Beowulf</i>. J.R.C. Hall's prose translation; Child's Beowulf + (Riverside Literature Series); Morris and Wyatt's The Tale of Beowulf; + Earle's The Deeds of Beowulf; Metrical versions by Garnett, J.L. Hall, + Lumsden, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Prose</i>. A few paragraphs of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in Manly's + English Prose; translations in Cook and Tinker's Old English Prose. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap2r" id="chap2r">Bibliography.</a></b> <sup><a href="#fn40" + name="rfn40" id="rfn40">[40]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + <b><i>History</i>.</b> For the facts of the Anglo-Saxon conquest of + England consult first a good text-book: Montgomery, pp. 31--57, or + Cheyney, pp. 36-84. For fuller treatment see Green, ch. 1; Traill, vol. 1; + Ramsey's Foundations of England; Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons; + Freeman's Old English History; Allen's Anglo-Saxon England; Cook's Life of + Alfred; Asser's Life of King Alfred, edited by W.H. Stevenson; C. + Plummer's Life and Times of Alfred the Great; E. Dale's National Life and + Character in the Mirror of Early English Literature; Rhys's Celtic + Britain. + </p> + <p> + <i><b>Literature.</b> Anglo-Saxon Texts</i>. Library of Anglo-Saxon + Poetry, and Albion Series of Anglo-Saxon and Middle English Poetry (Ginn + and Company); Belles Lettres Series of English Classics, sec. 1 (Heath + & Co.); J.W. Bright's Anglo-Saxon Reader; Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Primer, + and Anglo-Saxon Reader. + </p> + <p> + <i>General Works</i>. Jusserand, Ten Brink, Cambridge History, Morley + (full titles and publishers in General Bibliography). + </p> + <p> + <i>Special Works</i>. Brooke's History of Early English Literature; + Earle's Anglo-Saxon Literature; Lewis's Beginnings of English Literature; + Arnold's Celtic Literature (for relations of Saxon and Celt); Longfellow's + Poets and Poetry of Europe; Hall's Old English Idyls; Gayley's Classic + Myths, or Guerber's Myths of the Northlands (for Norse Mythology); Brother + Azarias's Development of Old English Thought. + </p> + <p> + Beowulf, prose translations by Tinker, Hall, Earle, Morris and Wyatt; + metrical versions by Garnett, J.L. Hall, Lumsden, etc. The Exeter Book (a + collection of Anglo-Saxon texts), edited and translated by Gollancz. The + Christ of Cynewulf, prose translation by Whitman; the same poem, text and + translation, by Gollancz; text by Cook. Cædmon's Paraphrase, text + and translation, by Thorpe. Garnett's Elene, Judith, and other Anglo-Saxon + Poems. Translations of Andreas and the Phoenix, in Gollancz's Exeter Book. + Bede's History, in Temple Classics; the same with the Anglo-Saxon + Chronicle (one volume) in Bohn's Antiquarian Library. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap2s" id="chap2s">Suggestive Questions</a></b>. <sup><a + href="#fn41" name="rfn41" id="rfn41">[41]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + 1. What is the relation of history and literature? Why should both + subjects be studied together? Explain the qualities that characterize all + great literature. Has any text-book in history ever appealed to you as a + work of literature? What literary qualities have you noticed in standard + historical works, such as those of Macaulay, Prescott, Gibbon, Green, + Motley, Parkman, and John Fiske? + </p> + <p> + 2. Why did the Anglo-Saxons come to England? What induced them to remain? + Did any change occur in their ideals, or in their manner of life? Do you + know any social or political institutions which they brought, and which, + we still cherish? + </p> + <p> + 3. From the literature you have read, what do you know about our + Anglo-Saxon ancestors? What virtues did they admire in men? How was woman + regarded? Can you compare the Anglo-Saxon ideal of woman with that of + other nations, the Romans for instance? + </p> + <p> + 4. Tell in your own words the general qualities of Anglo-Saxon poetry. How + did it differ in its metrical form from modern poetry? What passages seem + to you worth learning and remembering? Can you explain why poetry is more + abundant and more interesting than prose in the earliest literature of all + nations? + </p> + <p> + 5. Tell the story of <i>Beowulf</i>. What appeals to you most in the poem? + Why is it a work for all time, or, as the Anglo-Saxons would say, why is + it worthy to be remembered? Note the permanent quality of literature, and + the ideals and emotions which are emphasized in <i>Beowulf</i>. Describe + the burials of Scyld and of Beowulf. Does the poem teach any moral lesson? + Explain the Christian elements in this pagan epic. + </p> + <p> + 6. Name some other of our earliest poems, and describe the one you like + best. How does the sea figure in our first poetry? How is nature regarded? + What poem reveals the life of the scop or poet? How do you account for the + serious character of Anglo-Saxon poetry? Compare the Saxon and the Celt + with regard to the gladsomeness of life as shown in their literature. + </p> + <p> + 7. What useful purpose did poetry serve among our ancestors? What purpose + did the harp serve in reciting their poems? Would the harp add anything to + our modern poetry? + </p> + <p> + 8. What is meant by Northumbrian literature? Who are the great + Northumbrian writers? What besides the Danish conquest caused the decline + of Northumbrian literature? + </p> + <p> + 9. For what is Bede worthy to be remembered? Tell the story of Cædmon, + as recorded in Bede's History. What new element is introduced in Cædmon's + poems? What effect did Christianity have upon Anglo-Saxon literature? Can + you quote any passages from Cædmon to show that Anglo-Saxon + character was not changed but given a new direction? If you have read + Milton's <i>Paradise Lost</i>, what resemblances are there between that + poem and Cædmon's <i>Paraphrase?</i> + </p> + <p> + 10. What are the Cynewulf poems? Describe any that you have read. How do + they compare in spirit and in expression with <i>Beowulf</i>? with Cædmon? + Read <i>The Phoenix</i> (which is a translation from the Latin) in + Brooke's History of Early English Literature, or in Gollancz's Exeter + Book, or in Cook's Translations from Old English Poetry, and tell what + elements you find to show that the poem is not of Anglo-Saxon origin. + Compare the views of nature in Beowulf and in the Cynewulf poems. + </p> + <p> + 11. Describe the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. What is its value in our language, + literature, and history? Give an account of Alfred's life and of his work + for literature. How does Anglo-Saxon prose compare in interest with the + poetry? + </p> + <table> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <a name="chap2t" id="chap2t"><big>CHRONOLOGY</big></a> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2"> + HISTORY + </th> + <th colspan="2"> + LITERATURE + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 449(?). + </td> + <td> + Landing of Hengist and + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Horsa in Britain + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 477. + </td> + <td> + Landing of South Saxons + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 547. + </td> + <td> + Angles settle Northumbria + </td> + <td> + 547. + </td> + <td> + Gildas's History + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 597. + </td> + <td> + Landing of Augustine and his + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + monks. Conversion of Kent + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 617. + </td> + <td> + Eadwine, king of Northumbria + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 635-665. + </td> + <td> + Coming of St. Aidan. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Conversion of Northumbria + </td> + <td> + 664. + </td> + <td> + Cædmon at Whitby + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 673-735. + </td> + <td> + Bede + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 750 + </td> + <td> + (<i>cir</i>.). Cynewulf + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + poems + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 867. + </td> + <td> + Danes conquer Northumbria + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 871. + </td> + <td> + Alfred, king of Wessex + </td> + <td> + 860. + </td> + <td> + Anglo-Saxon Chronicle begun + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 878. + </td> + <td> + Defeat of Danes. Peace of + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Wedmore + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 901. + </td> + <td> + Death of Alfred + </td> + <td> + 991. + </td> + <td> + Last known poem of the + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Anglo-Saxon + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + period, The Battle of + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Maldon, otherwise called + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Byrhtnoth's Death + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1013-1042. + </td> + <td> + Danish period + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1016. + </td> + <td> + Cnut, king + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1042. + </td> + <td> + Edward the Confessor. Saxon + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + period restored + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1049. + </td> + <td> + Westminster Abbey begun + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1066. + </td> + <td> + Harold, last of Saxon kings. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Norman Conquest + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr /> + <h1> + <a name="chap3" id="chap3">CHAPTER III</a> + </h1> + <h3> + <b>THE ANGLO-NORMAN PERIOD (1066-1350)</b> + </h3> + <p> + I. HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap3a" id="chap3a">The Normans.</a></b> The name Norman, + which is a softened form of Northman, tells its own story. The men who + bore the name came originally from Scandinavia,--bands of big, blond, + fearless men cruising after plunder and adventure in their Viking ships, + and bringing terror wherever they appeared. It was these same "Children of + Woden" who, under the Danes' raven flag, had blotted out Northumbrian + civilization in the ninth century. Later the same race of men came + plundering along the French coast and conquered the whole northern + country; but here the results were altogether different. Instead of + blotting out a superior civilization, as the Danes had done, they promptly + abandoned their own. Their name of Normandy still clings to the new home; + but all else that was Norse disappeared as the conquerors intermarried + with the native Franks and accepted French ideals and spoke the French + language. So rapidly did they adopt and improve the Roman civilization of + the natives that, from a rude tribe of heathen Vikings, they had developed + within a single century into the most polished and intellectual people in + all Europe. The union of Norse and French (i.e. Roman-Gallic) blood had + here produced a race having the best qualities of both,--the will power + and energy of the one, the eager curiosity and vivid imagination of the + other. When these Norman-French people appeared in Anglo-Saxon England + they brought with them three noteworthy things: a lively Celtic + disposition, a vigorous and progressive Latin civilization, and a Romance + language. <sup><a href="#fn42" name="rfn42" id="rfn42">[42]</a></sup> We + are to think of the conquerors, therefore, as they thought and spoke of + themselves in the Domesday Book and all their contemporary literature, not + as Normans but as <i>Franci</i>, that is, Frenchmen. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap3b" id="chap3b">The Conquest.</a></b> At the battle of + Hastings (1066) the power of Harold, last of the Saxon kings, was broken, + and William, duke of Normandy, became master of England. Of the completion + of that stupendous Conquest which began at Hastings, and which changed the + civilization of a whole nation, this is not the place to speak. We simply + point out three great results of the Conquest which have a direct bearing + on our literature. First, notwithstanding Cæsar's legions and + Augustine's monks, the Normans were the first to bring the culture and the + practical ideals of Roman civilization home to the English people; and + this at a critical time, when England had produced her best, and her own + literature and civilization had already begun to decay. Second, they + forced upon England the national idea, that is, a strong, centralized + government to replace the loose authority of a Saxon chief over his + tribesmen. And the world's history shows that without a great nationality + a great literature is impossible. Third, they brought to England the + wealth of a new language and literature, and our English gradually + absorbed both. For three centuries after Hastings French was the language + of the upper classes, of courts and schools and literature; yet so + tenaciously did the common people cling to their own strong speech that in + the end English absorbed almost the whole body of French words and became + the language of the land. It was the welding of Saxon and French into one + speech that produced the wealth of our modern English. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el009" id="el009"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: LEIF ERICSON'S VESSEL" src="images/el009.png" /></a><br /> + LEIF ERICSON'S VESSEL + </p> + <p> + Naturally such momentous changes in a nation were not brought about + suddenly. At first Normans and Saxons lived apart in the relation of + masters and servants, with more or less contempt on one side and hatred on + the other; but in an astonishingly short time these two races were drawn + powerfully together, like two men of different dispositions who are often + led into a steadfast friendship by the attraction of opposite qualities, + each supplying what the other lacks. The <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i>, + which was continued for a century after Hastings, finds much to praise in + the conquerors; on the other hand the Normans, even before the Conquest, + had no great love for the French nation. After conquering England they + began to regard it as home and speedily developed a new sense of + nationality. Geoffrey's popular <i>History</i>, <sup><a href="#fn43" + name="rfn43" id="rfn43">[43]</a></sup> written less than a century after + the Conquest, made conquerors and conquered alike proud of their country + by its stories of heroes who, curiously enough, were neither Norman nor + Saxon, but creations of the native Celts. Thus does literature, whether in + a battle song or a history, often play the chief role in the development + of nationality.<sup><a href="#fn44" name="rfn44" id="rfn44">[44]</a></sup> + Once the mutual distrust was overcome the two races gradually united, and + out of this union of Saxons and Normans came the new English life and + literature. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap3c" id="chap3c">Literary Ideals of the Normans.</a></b> + The change in the life of the conquerors from Norsemen to Normans, from + Vikings to Frenchmen, is shown most clearly in the literature which they + brought with them to England. The old Norse strength and grandeur, the + magnificent sagas telling of the tragic struggles of men and gods, which + still stir us profoundly,--these have all disappeared. In their place is a + bright, varied, talkative literature, which runs to endless verses, and + which makes a wonderful romance out of every subject it touches. The theme + may be religion or love or chivalry or history, the deeds of Alexander or + the misdeeds of a monk; but the author's purpose never varies. He must + tell a romantic story and amuse his audience; and the more wonders and + impossibilities he relates, the more surely is he believed. We are + reminded, in reading, of the native Gauls, who would stop every traveler + and compel him to tell a story ere he passed on. There was more of the + Gaul than of the Norseman in the conquerors, and far more of fancy than of + thought or feeling in their literature. If you would see this in concrete + form, read the <i>Chanson de Roland</i>, the French national epic (which + the Normans first put into literary form), in contrast with <i>Beowulf</i>, + which voices the Saxon's thought and feeling before the profound mystery + of human life. It is not our purpose to discuss the evident merits or the + serious defects of Norman-French literature, but only to point out two + facts which impress the student, namely, that Anglo-Saxon literature was + at one time enormously superior to the French, and that the latter, with + its evident inferiority, absolutely replaced the former. "The fact is too + often ignored," says Professor Schofield, <sup><a href="#fn45" name="rfn45" + id="rfn45">[45]</a></sup> "that before 1066 the Anglo-Saxons had a body of + native literature distinctly superior to any which the Normans or French + could boast at that time; their prose especially was unparalleled for + extent and power in any European vernacular." Why, then, does this + superior literature disappear and for nearly three centuries French remain + supreme, so much so that writers on English soil, even when they do not + use the French language, still slavishly copy the French models? + </p> + <p> + To understand this curious phenomenon it is necessary only to remember the + relative conditions of the two races who lived side by side in England. On + the one hand the Anglo-Saxons were a conquered people, and without liberty + a great literature is impossible. The inroads of the Danes and their own + tribal wars had already destroyed much of their writings, and in their new + condition of servitude they could hardly preserve what remained. The + conquering Normans, on the other hand, represented the civilization of + France, which country, during the early Middle Ages, was the literary and + educational center of all Europe. They came to England at a time when the + idea of nationality was dead, when culture had almost vanished, when + Englishmen lived apart in narrow isolation; and they brought with them + law, culture, the prestige of success, and above all the strong impulse to + share in the great world's work and to join in the moving currents of the + world's history. Small wonder, then, that the young Anglo-Saxons felt the + quickening of this new life and turned naturally to the cultured and + progressive Normans as their literary models. + </p> + <p> + II. LITERATURE OF THE NORMAN PERIOD + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el010" id="el010"> <img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL AS IT WAS COMPLETED LONG AFTER THE CONQUEST" + src="images/el010.png" /></a><br /> CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL AS IT WAS COMPLETED + LONG AFTER THE CONQUEST + </p> + <p> + In the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh there is a beautifully illuminated + manuscript, written about 1330, which gives us an excellent picture of the + literature of the Norman period. In examining it we are to remember that + literature was in the hands of the clergy and nobles; that the common + people could not read, and had only a few songs and ballads for their + literary portion. We are to remember also that parchments were scarce and + very expensive, and that a single manuscript often contained all the + reading matter of a castle or a village. Hence this old manuscript is as + suggestive as a modern library. It contains over forty distinct works, the + great bulk of them being romances. There are metrical or verse romances of + French and Celtic and English heroes, like Roland, Arthur and Tristram, + and Bevis of Hampton. There are stories of Alexander, the Greek romance of + "Flores and Blanchefleur," and a collection of Oriental tales called "The + Seven Wise Masters." There are legends of the Virgin and the saints, a + paraphrase of Scripture, a treatise on the seven deadly sins, some Bible + history, a dispute among birds concerning women, a love song or two, a + vision of Purgatory, a vulgar story with a Gallic flavor, a chronicle of + English kings and Norman barons, and a political satire. There are a few + other works, similarly incongruous, crowded together in this typical + manuscript, which now gives mute testimony to the literary taste of the + times. + </p> + <p> + Obviously it is impossible to classify such a variety. We note simply that + it is mediæval in spirit, and French in style and expression; and + that sums up the age. All the scholarly works of the period, like William + of Malmesbury's <i>History</i>, and Anselm's<sup><a href="#fn46" + name="rfn46" id="rfn46">[46]</a></sup> <i>Cur Deus Homo</i>, and Roger + Bacon's <i>Opus Majus</i>, the beginning of modern experimental science, + were written in Latin; while nearly all other works were written in + French, or else were English copies or translations of French originals. + Except for the advanced student, therefore, they hardly belong to the + story of English literature. We shall note here only one or two marked + literary types, like the Riming Chronicle (or verse history) and the + Metrical Romance, and a few writers whose work has especial significance. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap3d" id="chap3d">Geoffrey of Monmouth</a></b>. (d. 1154). + Geoffrey's <i>Historia Regum Britanniae</i> is noteworthy, not as + literature, but rather as a source book from which many later writers drew + their literary materials. Among the native Celtic tribes an immense number + of legends, many of them of exquisite beauty, had been preserved through + four successive conquests of Britain. Geoffrey, a Welsh monk, collected + some of these legends and, aided chiefly by his imagination, wrote a + complete history of the Britons. His alleged authority was an ancient + manuscript in the native Welsh tongue containing the lives and deeds of + all their kings, from Brutus, the alleged founder of Britain, down to the + coming of Julius Cæsar.<sup><a href="#fn47" name="rfn47" id="rfn47">[47]</a></sup> + From this Geoffrey wrote his history, down to the death of Cadwalader in + 689. + </p> + <p> + The "History" is a curious medley of pagan and Christian legends, of + chronicle, comment, and pure invention,--all recorded in minute detail and + with a gravity which makes it clear that Geoffrey had no conscience, or + else was a great joker. As history the whole thing is rubbish; but it was + extraordinarily successful at the time and made all who heard it, whether + Normans or Saxons, proud of their own country. It is interesting to us + because it gave a new direction to the literature of England by showing + the wealth of poetry and romance that lay in its own traditions of Arthur + and his knights. Shakespeare's <i>King Lear</i>, Malory's <i>Morte + d'Arthur</i>, and Tennyson's <i>Idylls of the King</i> were founded on the + work of this monk, who had the genius to put unwritten Celtic tradition in + the enduring form of Latin prose. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap3e" id="chap3e">Work of the French Writers.</a></b> The + French literature of the Norman period is interesting chiefly because of + the avidity with which foreign writers seized upon the native legends and + made them popular in England. Until Geoffrey's preposterous chronicle + appeared, these legends had not been used to any extent as literary + material. Indeed, they were scarcely known in England, though familiar to + French and Italian minstrels. Legends of Arthur and his court were + probably first taken to Brittany by Welsh emigrants in the fifth and sixth + centuries. They became immensely popular wherever they were told, and they + were slowly carried by minstrels and story-tellers all over Europe. That + they had never received literary form or recognition was due to a + peculiarity of mediæval literature, which required that every tale + should have some ancient authority behind it. Geoffrey met this demand by + creating an historical manuscript of Welsh history. That was enough for + the age. With Geoffrey and his alleged manuscript to rest upon, the + Norman-French writers were free to use the fascinating stories which had + been-for centuries in the possession of their wandering minstrels. + Geoffrey's Latin history was put into French verse by Gaimar <i>(c</i>. + 1150) and by Wace (<i>c</i>. 1155), and from these French versions the + work was first translated into English. From about 1200 onward Arthur and + Guinevere and the matchless band of Celtic heroes that we meet later + (1470) in Malory's <i>Morte d' Arthur</i> became the permanent possession + of our literature. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap3f" id="chap3f">Layamon's Brut</a></b> (<i>c</i>. 1200). + This is the most important of the English riming chronicles, that is, + history related in the form of doggerel verse, probably because poetry is + more easily memorized than prose. We give here a free rendering of + selected lines at the beginning of the poem, which tell us all we know of + Layamon, the first who ever wrote as an Englishman for Englishmen, + including in the term all who loved England and called it home, no matter + where their ancestors were born. + </p> + <p> + Now there was a priest in the land named Layamon. He was son of + Leovenath--may God be gracious unto him. He dwelt at Ernley, at a noble + church on Severn's bank. He read many books, and it came to his mind to + tell the noble deeds of the English. Then he began to journey far and wide + over the land to procure noble books for authority. He took the English + book that Saint Bede made, another in Latin that Saint Albin made,<sup><a + href="#fn48" name="rfn48" id="rfn48">[48]</a></sup> and a third book that + a French clerk made, named Wace.<sup><a href="#fn49" name="rfn49" + id="rfn49">[49]</a></sup> Layamon laid these works before him and turned + the leaves; lovingly he beheld them. Pen he took, and wrote on book-skin, + and made the three books into one. + </p> + <p> + The poem begins with the destruction of Troy and the flight of "Æneas + the duke" into Italy. Brutus, a great-grandson of Æneas, gathers his + people and sets out to find a new land in the West. Then follows the + founding of the Briton kingdom, and the last third of the poem, which is + over thirty thousand lines in length, is taken up with the history of + Arthur and his knights. If the <i>Brut</i> had no merits of its own, it + would still interest us, for it marks the first appearance of the + Arthurian legends in our own tongue. A single selection is given here from + Arthur's dying speech, familiar to us in Tennyson's <i>Morte d'Arthur</i>. + The reader will notice here two things: first, that though the poem is + almost pure Anglo-Saxon,<sup><a href="#fn50" name="rfn50" id="rfn50">[50]</a></sup> + our first speech has already dropped many inflections and is more easily + read than <i>Beowulf</i>; second, that French influence is already at work + in Layamon's rimes and assonances, that is, the harmony resulting from + using the same vowel sound in several successive lines: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + And ich wulle varen to Avalun: And I will fare to Avalun,<br /> To + vairest alre maidene, To fairest of all maidens,<br /> To Argante there + quene, To Argante the queen,<br /> Alven swithe sceone. An elf very + beautiful.<br /> And heo seal mine wunden And she shall my wounds<br /> + Makien alle isunde, Make all sound;<br /> Al hal me makien All whole me + make<br /> Mid haleweiye drenchen. With healing drinks.<br /> And seothe + ich cumen wulle And again will I come<br /> To mine kiueriche To my + kingdom<br /> And wunien mid Brutten And dwell with Britons<br /> Mid + muchelere wunne. With mickle joy.<br /> Aefne than worden Even (with) + these words<br /> Ther com of se wenden There came from the sea<br /> That + wes an sceort bat lithen, A short little boat gliding,<br /> Sceoven mid + uthen, Shoved by the waves;<br /> And twa wimmen ther inne, And two women + therein,<br /> Wunderliche idihte. Wondrously attired.<br /> And heo nomen + Arthur anan And they took Arthur anon<br /> And an eovste hine vereden + And bore him hurriedly,<br /> And softe hine adun leiden, And softly laid + him down,<br /> And forth gunnen lithen. And forth gan glide.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b><a name="chap3g" id="chap3g">Metrical Romances.</a></b> Love, chivalry, + and religion, all pervaded by the spirit of romance,--these are the three + great literary ideals which find expression in the metrical romances. Read + these romances now, with their knights and fair ladies, their perilous + adventures and tender love-making, their minstrelsy and tournaments and + gorgeous cavalcades,--as if humanity were on parade, and life itself were + one tumultuous holiday in the open air,--and you have an epitome of the + whole childish, credulous soul of the Middle Ages. The Normans first + brought this type of romance into England, and so popular did it become, + so thoroughly did it express the romantic spirit of the time, that it + speedily overshadowed all other forms of literary expression. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Form</span>Though the metrical romances varied + much in form and subject-matter, the general type remains the same,--a + long rambling poem or series of poems treating of love or knightly + adventure or both. Its hero is a knight; its characters are fair ladies in + distress, warriors in armor, giants, dragons, enchanters, and various + enemies of Church and State; and its emphasis is almost invariably on + love, religion, and duty as defined by chivalry. In the French originals + of these romances the lines were a definite length, the meter exact, and + rimes and assonances were both used to give melody. In England this + metrical system came in contact with the uneven lines, the strong accent + and alliteration of the native songs; and it is due to the gradual union + of the two systems, French and Saxon, that our English became capable of + the melody and amazing variety of verse forms which first find expression + in Chaucer's poetry. + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> + <img src="images/{0101}.jpg" alt="{0101}" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <h5> + <a href="images/{0101}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </h5> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Cycles of romances</span>In the enormous number + of these verse romances we note three main divisions, according to + subject, into the romances (or the so-called matter) of France, Rome, and + Britain.<sup><a href="#fn51" name="rfn51" id="rfn51">[51]</a></sup> The + matter of France deals largely with the exploits of Charlemagne and his + peers, and the chief of these Carlovingian cycles is the <i>Chanson de + Roland</i>, the national epic, which celebrates the heroism of Roland in + his last fight against the Saracens at Ronceval. Originally these romances + were called <i>Chansons de Geste</i>; and the name is significant as + indicating that the poems were originally short songs<sup><a href="#fn52" + name="rfn52" id="rfn52">[52]</a></sup> celebrating the deeds <i>(gesta)</i> + of well-known heroes. Later the various songs concerning one hero were + gathered together and the <i>Geste</i> became an epic, like the <i>Chanson + de Roland</i>, or a kind of continued ballad story, hardly deserving the + name of epic, like the <i>Geste of Robin Hood</i>.<sup><a href="#fn53" + name="rfn53" id="rfn53">[53]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + The matter of Rome consisted largely of tales from Greek and Roman + sources; and the two great cycles of these romances deal with the deeds of + Alexander, a favorite hero, and the siege of Troy, with which the Britons + thought they had some historic connection. To these were added a large + number of tales from Oriental sources; and in the exuberant imagination of + the latter we see the influence which the Saracens--those nimble wits who + gave us our first modern sciences and who still reveled in the <i>Arabian + Nights</i>--had begun to exercise on the literature of Europe. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Matter of Britain</span>To the English + reader, at least, the most interesting of the romances are those which + deal with the exploits of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table,--the + richest storehouse of romance which our literature has ever found. There + were many cycles of Arthurian romances, chief of which are those of + Gawain, Launcelot, Merlin, the Quest of the Holy Grail, and the Death of + Arthur. In preceding sections we have seen how these fascinating romances + were used by Geoffrey and the French writers, and how, through the French, + they found their way into English, appearing first in our speech in + Layamon's <i>Brut</i>. The point to remember is that, while the legends + are Celtic in origin, their literary form is due to French poets, who + originated the metrical romance. All our early English romances are either + copies or translations of the French; and this is true not only of the + matter of France and Rome, but of Celtic heroes like Arthur, and English + heroes like Guy of Warwick and Robin Hood. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Sir Gawain and the Green Knight</span>The most + interesting of all Arthurian romances are those of the Gawain cycle,<sup><a + href="#fn54" name="rfn54" id="rfn54">[54]</a></sup> and of these the story + of <i>Sir Gawain and the Green Knight</i> is best worth reading, for many + reasons. First, though the material is taken from French sources,<sup><a + href="#fn55" name="rfn55" id="rfn55">[55]</a></sup> the English + workmanship is the finest of our early romances. Second, the unknown + author of this romance probably wrote also "The Pearl," and is the + greatest English poet of the Norman period. Third, the poem itself with + its dramatic interest, its vivid descriptions, and its moral purity, is + one of the most delightful old romances in any language. + </p> + <p> + In form <i>Sir Gawain</i> is an interesting combination of French and + Saxon elements. It is written in an elaborate stanza combining meter and + alliteration. At the end of each stanza is a rimed refrain, called by the + French a "tail rime." We give here a brief outline of the story; but if + the reader desires the poem itself, he is advised to begin with a modern + version, as the original is in the West Midland dialect and is exceedingly + difficult to follow. + </p> + <p> + On New Year's day, while Arthur and his knights are keeping the Yuletide + feast at Camelot, a gigantic knight in green enters the banquet hall on + horseback and challenges the bravest knight present to an exchange of + blows; that is, he will expose his neck to a blow of his own big + battle-ax, if any knight will agree to abide a blow in return. After some + natural consternation and a fine speech by Arthur, Gawain accepts the + challenge, takes the battle-ax, and with one blow sends the giant's head + rolling through the hall. The Green Knight, who is evidently a terrible + magician, picks up his head and mounts his horse. He holds out his head + and the ghastly lips speak, warning Gawain to be faithful to his promise + and to seek through the world till he finds the Green Chapel. There, on + next New Year's day, the Green Knight will meet him and return the blow. + </p> + <p> + The second canto of the poem describes Gawain's long journey through the + wilderness on his steed Gringolet, and his adventures with storm and cold, + with, wild beasts and monsters, as he seeks in vain for the Green Chapel. + On Christmas eve, in the midst of a vast forest, he offers a prayer to + "Mary, mildest mother so dear," and is rewarded by sight of a great + castle. He enters and is royally entertained by the host, an aged hero, + and by his wife, who is the most beautiful woman the knight ever beheld. + Gawain learns that he is at last near the Green Chapel, and settles down + for a little comfort after his long quest. + </p> + <p> + The next canto shows the life in the castle, and describes a curious + compact between the host, who goes hunting daily, and the knight, who + remains in the castle to entertain the young wife. The compact is that at + night each man shall give the other whatever good thing he obtains during + the day. While the host is hunting, the young woman tries in vain to + induce Gawain to make love to her, and ends by giving him a kiss. When the + host returns and gives his guest the game he has killed Gawain returns the + kiss. On the third day, her temptations having twice failed, the lady + offers Gawain a ring, which he refuses; but when she offers a magic green + girdle that will preserve the wearer from death, Gawain, who remembers the + giant's ax so soon to fall on his neck, accepts the girdle as a "jewel for + the jeopardy" and promises the lady to keep the gift secret. Here, then, + are two conflicting compacts. When the host returns and offers his game, + Gawain returns the kiss but says nothing of the green girdle. + </p> + <p> + The last canto brings our knight to the Green Chapel, after he is + repeatedly warned to turn back in the face of certain death. The Chapel is + a terrible place in the midst of desolation; and as Gawain approaches he + hears a terrifying sound, the grating of steel on stone, where the giant + is sharpening a new battle-ax. The Green Knight appears, and Gawain, true + to his compact, offers his neck for the blow. Twice the ax swings + harmlessly; the third time it falls on his shoulder and wounds him. + Whereupon Gawain jumps for his armor, draws his sword, and warns the giant + that the compact calls for only one blow, and that, if another is offered, + he will defend himself. + </p> + <p> + Then the Green Knight explains things. He is lord of the castle where + Gawain has been entertained for days past. The first two swings of the ax + were harmless because Gawain had been true to his compact and twice + returned the kiss. The last blow had wounded him because he concealed the + gift of the green girdle, which belongs to the Green Knight and was woven + by his wife. Moreover, the whole thing has been arranged by Morgain the + fay-woman (an enemy of Queen Guinevere, who appears often in the Arthurian + romances). Full of shame, Gawain throws back the gift and is ready to + atone for his deception; but the Green Knight thinks he has already + atoned, and presents the green girdle as a free gift. Gawain returns to + Arthur's court, tells the whole story frankly, and ever after that the + knights of the Round Table wear a green girdle in his honor.<sup><a + href="#fn56" name="rfn56" id="rfn56">[56]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap3h" id="chap3h">The Pearl.</a></b> In the same manuscript + with "Sir Gawain" are found three other remarkable poems, written about + 1350, and known to us, in order, as "The Pearl," "Cleanness," and + "Patience." The first is the most beautiful, and received its name from + the translator and editor, Richard Morris, in 1864. "Patience" is a + paraphrase of the book of Jonah; "Cleanness" moralizes on the basis of + Bible stories; but "The Pearl" is an intensely human and realistic picture + of a father's grief for his little daughter Margaret, "My precious perle + wythouten spot." It is the saddest of all our early poems. + </p> + <p> + On the grave of his little one, covered over with flowers, the father + pours out his love and grief till, in the summer stillness, he falls + asleep, while we hear in the sunshine the drowsy hum of insects and the + faraway sound of the reapers' sickles. He dreams there, and the dream + grows into a vision beautiful. His body lies still upon the grave while + his spirit goes to a land, exquisite beyond all words, where he comes + suddenly upon a stream that he cannot cross. As he wanders along the bank, + seeking in vain for a ford, a marvel rises before his eyes, a crystal + cliff, and seated beneath it a little maiden who raises a happy, shining + face,--the face of his little Margaret. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + More then me lyste my drede aros,<br /> I stod full stylle and dorste not + calle;<br /> Wyth yghen open and mouth ful clos,<br /> I stod as hende as + hawk in halle.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + He dares not speak for fear of breaking the spell; but sweet as a lily she + comes down the crystal stream's bank to meet and speak with him, and tell + him of the happy life of heaven and how to live to be worthy of it. In his + joy he listens, forgetting all his grief; then the heart of the man cries + out for its own, and he struggles to cross the stream to join her. In the + struggle the dream vanishes; he wakens to find his eyes wet and his head + on the little mound that marks the spot where his heart is buried. + </p> + <p> + From the ideals of these three poems, and from peculiarities of style and + meter, it is probable that their author wrote also <i>Sir Gawain and the + Green Knight</i>. If so, the unknown author is the one genius of the age + whose poetry of itself has power to interest us, and who stands between + Cynewulf and Chaucer as a worthy follower of the one and forerunner of the + other. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap3i" id="chap3i">Miscellaneous Literature of the Norman + Period.</a></b> It is well-nigh impossible to classify the remaining + literature of this period, and very little of it is now read, except by + advanced students. Those interested in the development of "transition" + English will find in <i>the Ancren Riwle</i>, i.e. "Rule of the + Anchoresses" (<i>c</i>. 1225), the most beautiful bit of old English prose + ever written. It is a book of excellent religious advice and comfort, + written for three ladies who wished to live a religious life, without, + however, becoming nuns or entering any religious orders. The author was + Bishop Poore of Salisbury, according to Morton, who first edited this old + classic in 1853. Orm's <i>Ormulum</i>, written soon after the <i>Brut</i>, + is a paraphrase of the gospel lessons for the year, somewhat after the + manner of Cædmon's <i>Paraphrase</i>, but without any of Cædmon's + poetic fire and originality. <i>Cursor Mundi</i> (<i>c</i>. 1320) is a + very long poem which makes a kind of metrical romance out of Bible history + and shows the whole dealing of God with man from Creation to Domesday. It + is interesting as showing a parallel to the cycles of miracle plays, which + attempt to cover the same vast ground. They were forming in this age; but + we will study them later, when we try to understand the rise of the drama + in England. + </p> + <p> + Besides these greater works, an enormous number of fables and satires + appeared in this age, copied or translated from the French, like the + metrical romances. The most famous of these are "The Owl and the + Nightingale,"--a long debate between the two birds, one representing the + gay side of life, the other the sterner side of law and morals,--and "Land + of Cockaygne," i.e. "Luxury Land," a keen satire on monks and monastic + religion.<sup><a href="#fn57" name="rfn57" id="rfn57">[57]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Ballads</span>While most of the literature of the + time was a copy of the French and was intended only for the upper classes, + here and there were singers who made ballads for the common people; and + these, next to the metrical romances, are the most interesting and + significant of all the works of the Norman period. On account of its + obscure origin and its oral transmission, the ballad is always the most + difficult of literary subjects.<sup><a href="#fn58" name="rfn58" id="rfn58">[58]</a></sup> + We make here only three suggestions, which may well be borne in mind: that + ballads were produced continually in England from Anglo-Saxon times until + the seventeenth century; that for centuries they were the only really + popular literature; and that in the ballads alone one is able to + understand the common people. Read, for instance, the ballads of the + "merrie greenwood men," which gradually collected into the <i>Geste of + Robin Hood</i>, and you will understand better, perhaps, than from reading + many histories what the common people of England felt and thought while + their lords and masters were busy with impossible metrical romances. + </p> + <p> + In these songs speaks the heart of the English folk. There is lawlessness + indeed; but this seems justified by the oppression of the times and by the + barbarous severity of the game laws. An intense hatred of shams and + injustice lurks in every song; but the hatred is saved from bitterness by + the humor with which captives, especially rich churchmen, are solemnly + lectured by the bandits, while they squirm at sight of devilish tortures + prepared before their eyes in order to make them give up their golden + purses; and the scene generally ends in a bit of wild horse-play. There is + fighting enough, and ambush and sudden death lurk at every turn of the + lonely roads; but there is also a rough, honest chivalry for women, and a + generous sharing of plunder with the poor and needy. All literature is but + a dream expressed, and "Robin Hood" is the dream of an ignorant and + oppressed but essentially noble people, struggling and determined to be + free. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el011" id="el011"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: REMAINS OF THE SCRIPTORIUM OF FOUNTAINS ABBEY (Fourteenth century)" + src="images/el011.png" /></a><br /> REMAINS OF THE SCRIPTORIUM OF FOUNTAINS + ABBEY (Fourteenth century) + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Lyrics</span>Far more poetical than the ballads, + and more interesting even than the romances, are the little lyrics of the + period,--those tears and smiles of long ago that crystallized into poems, + to tell us that the hearts of men are alike in all ages. Of these, the + best known are the "Luve Ron" (love rune or letter) of Thomas de Hales <i>(c</i>. + 1250); "Springtime" <i>(c</i>. 1300), beginning "Lenten (spring) ys come + with luve to toune"; and the melodious love song "Alysoun," written at the + end of the thirteenth century by some unknown poet who heralds the coming + of Chaucer: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Bytuene Mersh and Averil,<br /> When spray biginneth to springe<br /> The + lutel foul<sup><a href="#fn59" name="rfn59" id="rfn59">[59]</a></sup> + hath hire wyl<br /> On hyre lud<sup><a href="#fn60" name="rfn60" + id="rfn60">[60]</a></sup> to synge.<br /> Ich libbe<sup><a href="#fn61" + name="rfn61" id="rfn61">[61]</a></sup> in love longinge<br /> For + semlokest<sup><a href="#fn62" name="rfn62" id="rfn62">[62]</a></sup> of + all thinge.<br /> She may me blisse bringe;<br /> Icham<sup><a href="#fn63" + name="rfn63" id="rfn63">[63]</a></sup> in hire baundoun.<sup><a + href="#fn64" name="rfn64" id="rfn64">[64]</a></sup><br /> An + hendy hap ichabbe yhent,<sup><a href="#fn65" name="rfn65" id="rfn65">[65]</a></sup><br /> + Ichot<sup><a href="#fn66" + name="rfn66" id="rfn66">[66]</a></sup> from hevene it is me sent,<br /> + From alle wymmen mi love + is lent<sup><a href="#fn67" name="rfn67" id="rfn67">[67]</a></sup><br /> + And lyht<sup><a + href="#fn68" name="rfn68" id="rfn68">[68]</a></sup> on Alysoun.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b><a name="chap3j" id="chap3j">Summary of the Norman Period.</a></b> The + Normans were originally a hardy race of sea rovers inhabiting Scandinavia. + In the tenth century they conquered a part of northern France, which is + still called Normandy, and rapidly adopted French civilization and the + French language. Their conquest of Anglo-Saxon England under William, Duke + of Normandy, began with the battle of Hastings in 1066. The literature + which they brought to England is remarkable for its bright, romantic tales + of love and adventure, in marked contrast with the strength and somberness + of Anglo-Saxon poetry. During the three centuries following Hastings, + Normans and Saxons gradually united. The Anglo-Saxon speech simplified + itself by dropping most of its Teutonic inflections, absorbed eventually a + large part of the French vocabulary, and became our English language. + English literature is also a combination of French and Saxon elements. The + three chief effects of the conquest were <i>(1)</i> the bringing of Roman + civilization to England; <i>(2)</i> the growth of nationality, i.e. a + strong centralized government, instead of the loose union of Saxon tribes; + <i>(3)</i> the new language and literature, which were proclaimed in + Chaucer. + </p> + <p> + At first the new literature was remarkably varied, but of small intrinsic + worth; and very little of it is now read. In our study we have noted: (1) + Geoffrey's History, which is valuable as a source book of literature, + since it contains the native Celtic legends of Arthur. (2) The work of the + French writers, who made the Arthurian legends popular. (3) Riming + Chronicles, i.e. history in doggerel verse, like Layamon's <i>Brut</i>. + (4) Metrical Romances, or tales in verse. These were numerous, and of four + classes: (a) the Matter of France, tales centering about Charlemagne and + his peers, chief of which is the Chanson de Roland; (b) Matter of Greece + and Rome, an endless series of fabulous tales about Alexander, and about + the Fall of Troy; (c) Matter of England, stories of Bevis of Hampton, Guy + of Warwick, Robin Hood, etc.; (d) Matter of Britain, tales having for + their heroes Arthur and his knights of the Round Table. The best of these + romances is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. (5) Miscellaneous + literature,--the Ancren Riwle, our best piece of early English prose; + Orm's Ormulum; Cursor Mundi, with its suggestive parallel to the Miracle + plays; and ballads, like King Horn and the Robin Hood songs, which were + the only poetry of the common people. + </p> + <p> + <b>Selections for Reading.</b> For advanced students, and as a study of + language, a few selections as given in Manly's English Poetry and in + Manly's English Prose; or selections from the Ormulum, Brut, Ancren Riwle, + and King Horn, etc., in Morris and Skeat's Specimens of Early English. The + ordinary student will get a better idea of the literature of the period by + using the following: Sir Gawain, modernized by J. L. Weston, in Arthurian + Romances Series (Nutt); The Nun's Rule (Ancren Riwle), modern version by + J. Morton, in King's Classics; Aucassin and Nicolete, translated by A. + Lang (Crowell & Co.); Tristan and Iseult, in Arthurian Romances; + Evans's The High History of the Holy Grail, in Temple Classics; The Pearl, + various modern versions in prose and verse; one of the best is Jewett's + metrical version (Crowell & Co.); The Song of Roland, in King's + Classics, and in Riverside Literature Series; Evans's translation of + Geoffrey's History, in Temple Classics; Guest's The Mabinogion, in + Everyman's Library, or S. Lanier's Boy's Mabinogion (i.e. Welsh fairy + tales and romances); Selected Ballads, in Athenæum Press Series, and + in Pocket Classics; Gayley and Flaherty's Poetry of the People; Bates's A + Ballad Book. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap3k" id="chap3k">Bibliography.</a></b><sup><a href="#fn69" + name="rfn69" id="rfn69">[69]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + <i><b>History.</b> Text-book</i>, Montgomery, pp. 58-86, or Cheyney, pp. + 88-144. For fuller treatment, Green, ch. 2; Traill; Gardiner, etc. + Jewett's Story of the Normans (Stories of the Nations Series); Freeman's + Short History of the Norman Conquest; Hutton's King and Baronage (Oxford + Manuals of English History). + </p> + <p> + <i><b>Literature.</b> General Works</i>. Jusserand; Ten Brink; Mitchell, + vol. I, From Celt to Tudor; The Cambridge History of English Literature. + </p> + <p> + <i>Special Works</i>. Schofield's English Literature from the Norman + Conquest to Chaucer; Lewis's Beginnings of English Literature; Ker's Epic + and Romance; Saintsbury's The Flourishing of Romance and the Rise of + Allegory; Newell's King Arthur and the Round Table; Maynadier, The Arthur + of the English Poets; Rhys's Studies in the Arthurian Legends. + </p> + <p> + <i>Ballads</i>. Child's English and Scottish Popular Ballads; Gummere's + Old English Ballads (one volume); Hazlitt's Early Popular Poetry of + England; Gayley and Flaherty's Poetry of the People; Percy's Reliques of + Ancient English Poetry, in Everyman's Library. + </p> + <p> + <i>Texts, Translations, etc</i>. Morris and Skeat's Specimens of Early + English; Morris's Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in Early English Text + Series; Madden's Layamon's Brut, text and translation (a standard work, + but rare); The Pearl, text and translation, by Gollancz; the same poem, + prose version, by Osgood, metrical versions by Jewett, Weir Mitchell, and + Mead; Geoffrey's History, translation, in Giles's Six Old English + Chronicles (Bohn's Antiquarian Library); Morley's Early English Prose + Romances; Joyce's Old Celtic Romances; Guest's The Mabinogion; Lanier's + Boy's Mabinogion; Arthurian Romances Series (translations). The Belles + Lettres Series, sec. 2 (announced), will contain the texts of a large + number of works of this period, with notes and introductions. + </p> + <p> + <i>Language</i>. Marsh's Lectures on the English Language; Bradley's + Making of English; Lounsbury's History of the English Language; Emerson's + Brief History of the English Language; Greenough and Kittredge's Words and + their Ways in English Speech; Welsh's Development of English Literature + and Language. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap3l" id="chap3l">Suggestive Questions</a></b>. 1. What did + the Northmen originally have in common with the Anglo-Saxons and the + Danes? What brought about the remarkable change from Northmen to Normans? + Tell briefly the story of the Norman Conquest. How did the Conquest affect + the life and literature of England? + </p> + <p> + 2. What types of literature were produced after the Conquest? How do they + compare with Anglo-Saxon literature? What works of this period are + considered worthy of a permanent place in our literature? + </p> + <p> + 3. What is meant by the Riming Chronicles? What part did they play in + developing the idea of nationality? What led historians of this period to + write in verse? Describe Geoffrey's History. What was its most valuable + element from the view point of literature? + </p> + <p> + 4. What is Layamon's <i>Brut?</i> Why did Layamon choose this name for his + Chronicle? What special literary interest attaches to the poem? + </p> + <p> + 5. What were the Metrical Romances? What reasons led to the great interest + in three classes of romances, i.e. Matters of France, Rome, and Britain? + What new and important element enters our literature in this type? Read + one of the Metrical Romances in English and comment freely upon it, as to + interest, structure, ideas, and literary quality. + </p> + <p> + 6. Tell the story of <i>Sir Gawain and the Green Knight</i>. What French + and what Saxon elements are found in the poem? Compare it with <i>Beowulf</i> + to show the points of inferiority and superiority. Compare Beowulf's fight + with Grendel or the Fire Drake and Sir Gawain's encounter with the Green + Knight, having in mind (1) the virtues of the hero, (2) the qualities of + the enemy, (3) the methods of warfare, (4) the purpose of the struggle. + Read selections from <i>The Pearl</i> and compare with <i>Dear's Lament</i>. + What are the personal and the universal interests in each poem? + </p> + <p> + 7. Tell some typical story from the Mabinogion. Where did the Arthurian + legends originate, and how did they become known to English readers? What + modern writers have used these legends? What fine elements do you find in + them that are not found in Anglo-Saxon poetry? + </p> + <p> + 8. What part did Arthur play in the early history of Britain? How long did + the struggle between Britons and Saxons last? What Celtic names and + elements entered into English language and literature? + </p> + <p> + 9. What is a ballad, and what distinguishes it from other forms of poetry? + Describe the ballad which you like best. Why did the ballad, more than any + other form of literature, appeal to the common people? What modern poems + suggest the old popular ballad? How do these compare in form and subject + matter with the Robin Hood ballads? + </p> + <table> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <big><a name="chap3m" id="chap3m">CHRONOLOGY</a></big> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2"> + HISTORY + </th> + <th colspan="2"> + LITERATURE + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 912. + </td> + <td> + Northmen settle in Normandy + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1066. + </td> + <td> + Battle of Hastings. William, + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + king of England + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1086. + </td> + <td> + Domesday Book completed + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1087. + </td> + <td> + William Rufus + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1093. + </td> + <td> + Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1094(<i>cir.</i>). + </td> + <td> + Anselem's Cur Deus Homo + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1096. + </td> + <td> + First Crusade + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1100. + </td> + <td> + Henry I + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1110. + </td> + <td> + First recorded Miracle play in + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + England (see chapter on the + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Drama) + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1135. + </td> + <td> + Stephen + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1137(<i>cir</i>.). + </td> + <td> + Geoffrey's History + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1147. + </td> + <td> + Second Crusade + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1154. + </td> + <td> + Henry II + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1189. + </td> + <td> + Richard I. Third Crusade + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1199. + </td> + <td> + John + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1200 (<i>cir</i>.). + </td> + <td> + Layamon's Brut + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1215. + </td> + <td> + Magna Charta + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1216. + </td> + <td> + Henry III + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1225 (<i>cir</i>.). + </td> + <td> + Ancren Riwle + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1230 (<i>cir.</i>). + </td> + <td> + University of Cambridge + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + chartered + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1265. + </td> + <td> + Beginning of House of Commons. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Simon de Montfort + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1267. + </td> + <td> + Roger Bacon's Opus Majus + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1272. + </td> + <td> + Edward I + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1295. + </td> + <td> + First complete Parliament + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1300-1400. + </td> + <td> + York and Wakefield. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Miracle plays + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1307. + </td> + <td> + Edward II + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1320 (<i>cir</i>.). + </td> + <td> + Cursor Mundi + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1327. + </td> + <td> + Edward III + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1338. + </td> + <td> + Beginning of Hundred Years' War + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + with France + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1340 (?). + </td> + <td> + Birth of Chaucer + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1350 (<i>cir</i>.). + </td> + <td> + Sir Gawain. The Pearl + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr /> + <h1> + <a name="chap4" id="chap4">CHAPTER IV</a> + </h1> + <h3> + <b>THE AGE OF CHAUCER (1350-1400)</b> + </h3> + <p> + THE NEW NATIONAL LIFE AND LITERATURE + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap4a" id="chap4a">History of the Period.</a></b> Two great + movements may be noted in the complex life of England during the + fourteenth century. The first is political, and culminates in the reign of + Edward III. It shows the growth of the English national spirit following + the victories of Edward and the Black Prince on French soil, during the + Hundred Years' War. In the rush of this great national movement, + separating England from the political ties of France and, to a less + degree, from ecclesiastical bondage to Rome, the mutual distrust and + jealousy which had divided nobles and commons were momentarily swept aside + by a wave of patriotic enthusiasm. The French language lost its official + prestige, and English became the speech not only of the common people but + of courts and Parliament as well. + </p> + <p> + The second movement is social; it falls largely within the reign of + Edward's successor, Richard II, and marks the growing discontent with the + contrast between luxury and poverty, between the idle wealthy classes and + the overtaxed peasants. Sometimes this movement is quiet and strong, as + when Wyclif arouses the conscience of England; again it has the portentous + rumble of an approaching tempest, as when John Ball harangues a multitude + of discontented peasants on Black Heath commons, using the famous text: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + When Adam delved and Eve span<br /> Who was then the gentleman?<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + and again it breaks out into the violent rebellion of Wat Tyler. All these + things show the same Saxon spirit that had won its freedom in a thousand + years' struggle against foreign enemies, and that now felt itself + oppressed by a social and industrial tyranny in its own midst. + </p> + <p> + Aside from these two movements, the age was one of unusual stir and + progress. Chivalry, that mediæval institution of mixed good and + evil, was in its Indian summer,--a sentiment rather than a practical + system. Trade, and its resultant wealth and luxury, were increasing + enormously. Following trade, as the Vikings had followed glory, the + English began to be a conquering and colonizing people, like the + Anglo-Saxons. The native shed something of his insularity and became a + traveler, going first to view the places where trade had opened the way, + and returning with wider interests and a larger horizon. Above all, the + first dawn of the Renaissance is heralded in England, as in Spain and + Italy, by the appearance of a national literature. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap4b" id="chap4b">Five Writers of the Age.</a></b> The + literary movement of the age clearly reflects the stirring life of the + times. There is Langland, voicing the social discontent, preaching the + equality of men and the dignity of labor; Wyclif, greatest of English + religious reformers, giving the Gospel to the people in their own tongue, + and the freedom of the Gospel in unnumbered tracts and addresses; Gower, + the scholar and literary man, criticising this vigorous life and plainly + afraid of its consequences; and Mandeville, the traveler, romancing about + the wonders to be seen abroad. Above all there is Chaucer,--scholar, + traveler, business man, courtier, sharing in all the stirring life of his + times, and reflecting it in literature as no other but Shakespeare has + ever done. Outside of England the greatest literary influence of the age + was that of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, whose works, then at the + summit of their influence in Italy, profoundly affected the literature of + all Europe. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap4c" id="chap4c">CHAUCER</a> (1340?-1400) + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + 'What + man artow?' quod he;<br /> 'Thou lokest as thou woldest finde an hare,<br /> + For ever upon the ground I see thee stare.<br /> Approchë neer, and loke + up merily....<br /> He semeth elvish by his contenaunce.'<br /> (The + Host's description of Chaucer,<br /> Prologue, + <i>Sir Thopas</i>)<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b>On reading Chaucer.</b> The difficulties of reading Chaucer are more + apparent than real, being due largely to obsolete spelling, and there is + small necessity for using any modern versions of the poet's work, which + seem to miss the quiet charm and dry humor of the original. If the reader + will observe the following general rules (which of necessity ignore many + differences in pronunciation of fourteenth-century English), he may, in an + hour or two, learn to read Chaucer almost as easily as Shakespeare: (1) + Get the lilt of the lines, and let the meter itself decide how final + syllables are to be pronounced. Remember that Chaucer is among the most + musical of poets, and that there is melody in nearly every line. If the + verse seems rough, it is because we do not read it correctly. (2) Vowels + in Chaucer have much the same value as in modern German; consonants are + practically the same as in modern English. (3) Pronounce aloud any + strange-looking words. Where the eye fails, the ear will often recognize + the meaning. If eye and ear both fail, then consult the glossary found in + every good edition of the poet's works. (4) Final <i>e</i> is usually + sounded (like <i>a</i> in Virginia) except where the following word begins + with a vowel or with <i>h</i>. In the latter case the final syllable of + one word and the first of the word following are run together, as in + reading Virgil. At the end of a line the <i>e</i>, if lightly pronounced, + adds melody to the verse.<sup><a href="#fn70" name="rfn70" id="rfn70">[70]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + In dealing with Chaucer's masterpiece, the reader is urged to read widely + at first, for the simple pleasure of the stories, and to remember that + poetry and romance are more interesting and important than Middle English. + When we like and appreciate Chaucer--his poetry, his humor, his good + stories, his kind heart---it will be time enough to study his language. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life of Chaucer.</b> For our convenience the life of Chaucer is divided + into three periods. The first, of thirty years, includes his youth and + early manhood, in which time he was influenced almost exclusively by + French literary models. The second period, of fifteen years, covers + Chaucer's active life as diplomat and man of affairs; and in this the + Italian influence seems stronger than the French. The third, of fifteen + years, generally known as the English period, is the time of Chaucer's + richest development. He lives at home, observes life closely but kindly, + and while the French influence is still strong, as shown in the <i>Canterbury + Tales</i>, he seems to grow more independent of foreign models and is + dominated chiefly by the vigorous life of his own English people. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> First period</span>Chaucer's boyhood was spent in + London, on Thames Street near the river, where the world's commerce was + continually coming and going. There he saw daily the shipman of the <i>Canterbury + Tales</i> just home in his good ship Maudelayne, with the fascination of + unknown lands in his clothes and conversation. Of his education we know + nothing, except that he was a great reader. His father was a wine + merchant, purveyor to the royal household, and from this accidental + relation between trade and royalty may have arisen the fact that at + seventeen years Chaucer was made page to the Princess Elizabeth. This was + the beginning of his connection with the brilliant court, which in the + next forty years, under three kings, he was to know so intimately. + </p> + <p> + At nineteen he went with the king on one of the many expeditions of the + Hundred Years' War, and here he saw chivalry and all the pageantry of mediæval + war at the height of their outward splendor. Taken prisoner at the + unsuccessful siege of Rheims, he is said to have been ransomed by money + out of the royal purse. Returning to England, he became after a few years + squire of the royal household, the personal attendant and confidant of the + king. It was during this first period that he married a maid of honor to + the queen. This was probably Philippa Roet, sister to the wife of John of + Gaunt, the famous Duke of Lancaster. From numerous whimsical references in + his early poems, it has been thought that this marriage into a noble + family was not a happy one; but this is purely a matter of supposition or + of doubtful inference. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Second Period</span>In 1370 Chaucer was sent + abroad on the first of those diplomatic missions that were to occupy the + greater part of the next fifteen years. Two years later he made his first + official visit to Italy, to arrange a commercial treaty with Genoa, and + from this time is noticeable a rapid development in his literary powers + and the prominence of Italian literary influences. During the intervals + between his different missions he filled various offices at home, chief of + which was Comptroller of Customs at the port of London. An enormous amount + of personal labor was involved; but Chaucer seems to have found time to + follow his spirit into the new fields of Italian literature: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + For whan thy labour doon al is,<br /> And hast y-maad thy rekeninges,<br /> + In stede of reste and newe thinges,<br /> Thou gost hoom to thy hous + anoon,<br /> And, also domb as any stoon,<br /> Thou sittest at another + boke<br /> Til fully daswed is thy loke,<br /> And livest thus as an + hermyte.<sup><a href="#fn71" name="rfn71" id="rfn71">[71]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Third Period</span>In 1386 Chaucer was elected + member of Parliament from Kent, and the distinctly English period of his + life and work begins. Though exceedingly busy in public affairs and as + receiver of customs, his heart was still with his books, from which only + nature could win him: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + And as for me, though that my wit be lyte,<br /> On bokes for to rede I + me delyte,<br /> And to hem yeve I feyth and ful credence,<br /> And in + myn herte have hem in reverence<br /> So hertely, that ther is game noon<br /> + That fro my bokes maketh me to goon,<br /> But hit be seldom, on the + holyday;<br /> Save, certeynly, whan that the month of May<br /> Is comen, + and that I here the foules singe,<br /> And that the floures ginnen for + to springe--<br /> Farwel my book and my devocioun!<sup><a href="#fn72" + name="rfn72" id="rfn72">[72]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In the fourteenth century politics seems to have been, for honest men, a + very uncertain business. Chaucer naturally adhered to the party of John of + Gaunt, and his fortunes rose or fell with those of his leader. From this + time until his death he is up and down on the political ladder; to-day + with money and good prospects, to-morrow in poverty and neglect, writing + his "Complaint to His Empty Purs," which he humorously calls his "saveour + doun in this werlde here." This poem called the king's attention to the + poet's need and increased his pension; but he had but few months to enjoy + the effect of this unusual "Complaint." For he died the next year, 1400, + and was buried with honor in Westminster Abbey. The last period of his + life, though outwardly most troubled, was the most fruitful of all. His + "Truth," or "Good Counsel," reveals the quiet, beautiful spirit of his + life, unspoiled either by the greed of trade or the trickery of politics: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Flee fro the prees, and dwelle with sothfastnesse,<br /> Suffyce unto thy + good, though hit be smal;<br /> For hord<sup><a href="#fn73" name="rfn73" + id="rfn73">[73]</a></sup> hath hate, and climbing tikelnesse,<br /> Prees<sup><a + href="#fn74" name="rfn74" id="rfn74">[74]</a></sup> hath envye, and wele<sup><a + href="#fn75" name="rfn75" id="rfn75">[75]</a></sup> blent<sup><a + href="#fn76" name="rfn76" id="rfn76">[76]</a></sup> overal;<br /> Savour + no more than thee bihovë shal;<br /> Werk<sup><a href="#fn77" name="rfn77" + id="rfn77">[77]</a></sup> wel thyself, that other folk canst rede;<br /> + And trouthe shal delivere, hit is no drede.<br /> Tempest<sup><a + href="#fn78" name="rfn78" id="rfn78">[78]</a></sup> thee noght al croked + to redresse,<br /> In trust of hir<sup><a href="#fn79" name="rfn79" + id="rfn79">[79]</a></sup> that turneth as a bal:<br /> Gret reste stant + in litel besinesse;<br /> And eek be war to sporne<sup><a href="#fn80" + name="rfn80" id="rfn80">[80]</a></sup> ageyn an al<sup><a href="#fn81" + name="rfn81" id="rfn81">[81]</a></sup>;<br /> Stryve noght, as doth the + crokke with the wal.<br /> Daunte<sup><a href="#fn82" name="rfn82" + id="rfn82">[82]</a></sup> thyself, that dauntest otheres dede;<br /> And + trouthe shal delivere, hit is no drede.<br /> That thee is sent, receyve + in buxumnesse,<br /> The wrastling for this worlde axeth a fal.<br /> Her + nis non hoom, her nis but wildernesse:<br /> Forth, pilgrim, forth! + Forth, beste, out of thy stall,<br /> Know thy contree, look up, thank + God of al;<br /> Hold the hye wey, and lat thy gost thee lede:<br /> And + trouthe shal delivere, hit is no drede.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b>Works of Chaucer, First Period.</b> The works of Chaucer are roughly + divided into three classes, corresponding to the three periods of his + life. It should be remembered, however, that it is impossible to fix exact + dates for most of his works. Some of his <i>Canterbury Tales</i> were + written earlier than the English period, and were only grouped with the + others in his final arrangement. + </p> + <p> + The best known, though not the best, poem of the first period is the <i>Romaunt + of the Rose</i>,<sup><a href="#fn83" name="rfn83" id="rfn83">[83]</a></sup> + a translation from the French <i>Roman de la Rose</i>, the most popular + poem of the Middle Ages,--a graceful but exceedingly tiresome allegory of + the whole course of love. The Rose growing in its mystic garden is typical + of the lady Beauty. Gathering the Rose represents the lover's attempt to + win his lady's favor; and the different feelings aroused--Love, Hate, + Envy, Jealousy, Idleness, Sweet Looks--are the allegorical persons of the + poet's drama. Chaucer translated this universal favorite, putting in some + original English touches; but of the present <i>Romaunt</i> only the first + seventeen hundred lines are believed to be Chaucer's own work. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps the best poem of this period is the "Dethe of Blanche the + Duchesse," better known, as the "Boke of the Duchesse," a poem of + considerable dramatic and emotional power, written after the death of + Blanche, wife of Chaucer's patron, John of Gaunt. Additional poems are the + "Compleynte to Pite," a graceful love poem; the "A B C," a prayer to the + Virgin, translated from the French of a Cistercian monk, its verses + beginning with the successive letters of the alphabet; and a number of + what Chaucer calls "ballads, roundels, and virelays," with which, says his + friend Gower, "the land was filled." The latter were imitations of the + prevailing French love ditties. + </p> + <p> + <b>Second Period.</b> The chief work of the second or Italian period is <i>Troilus + and Criseyde</i>, a poem of eight thousand lines. The original story was a + favorite of many authors during the Middle Ages, and Shakespeare makes use + of it in his <i>Troilus and Cressida</i>. The immediate source of + Chaucer's poem is Boccaccio's <i>Il Filostrato,</i> "the love-smitten + one"; but he uses his material very freely, to reflect the ideals of his + own age and society, and so gives to the whole story a dramatic force and + beauty which it had never known before. + </p> + <p> + The "Hous of Fame" is one of Chaucer's unfinished poems, having the rare + combination of lofty thought and simple, homely language, showing the + influence of the great Italian master. In the poem the author is carried + away in a dream by a great eagle from the brittle temple of Venus, in a + sandy wilderness, up to the hall of fame. To this house come all rumors of + earth, as the sparks fly upward. The house stands on a rock of ice + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + writen + ful of names<br /> Of folk that hadden grete fames.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Many of these have disappeared as the ice melted; but the older names are + clear as when first written. For many of his ideas Chaucer is indebted to + Dante, Ovid, and Virgil; but the unusual conception and the splendid + workmanship are all his own. + </p> + <p> + The third great poem of the period is the <i>Legende of Goode Wimmen</i>. + As he is resting in the fields among the daisies, he falls asleep and a + gay procession draws near. First comes the love god, leading by the hand + Alcestis, model of all wifely virtues, whose emblem is the daisy; and + behind them follow a troup of glorious women, all of whom have been + faithful in love. They gather about the poet; the god upbraids him for + having translated the <i>Romance of the Rose</i>, and for his early poems + reflecting on the vanity and fickleness of women. Alcestis intercedes for + him, and offers pardon if he will atone for his errors by writing a + "glorious legend of good women." Chaucer promises, and as soon as he + awakes sets himself to the task. Nine legends were written, of which + "Thisbe" is perhaps the best. It is probable that Chaucer intended to make + this his masterpiece, devoting many years to stories of famous women who + were true to love; but either because he wearied of his theme, or because + the plan of the <i>Canterbury Tales</i> was growing in his mind, he + abandoned the task in the middle of his ninth legend,--fortunately, + perhaps, for the reader will find the Prologue more interesting than any + of the legends. + </p> + <p> + <b>Third Period</b>. Chaucer's masterpiece, the <i>Canterbury Tales</i>, + one of the most famous works in all literature, fills the third or English + period of his life. The plan of the work is magnificent: to represent the + wide sweep of English life by gathering a motley company together and + letting each class of society tell its own favorite stories. Though the + great work was never finished, Chaucer succeeded in his purpose so well + that in the <i>Canterbury Tales</i> he has given us a picture of + contemporary English life, its work and play, its deeds and dreams, its + fun and sympathy and hearty joy of living, such as no other single work of + literature has ever equaled. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el013" id="el013"><img width="50%" alt="Illustration: TABARD INN" + src="images/el013.png" /></a><br /> TABARD INN + </p> + <p> + <b>Plan of the Canterbury Tales</b>. Opposite old London, at the southern + end of London Bridge, once stood the Tabard Inn of Southwark, a quarter + made famous not only by the <i>Canterbury Tales</i>, but also by the first + playhouses where Shakespeare had his training. This Southwark was the + point of departure of all travel to the south of England, especially of + those mediæval pilgrimages to the shrine of Thomas a Becket in + Canterbury. On a spring evening, at the inspiring time of the year when + "longen folk to goon on pilgrimages," Chaucer alights at the Tabard Inn, + and finds it occupied by a various company of people bent on a pilgrimage. + Chance alone had brought them together; for it was the custom of pilgrims + to wait at some friendly inn until a sufficient company were gathered to + make the journey pleasant and safe from robbers that might be encountered + on the way. Chaucer joins this company, which includes all classes of + English society, from the Oxford scholar to the drunken miller, and + accepts gladly their invitation to go with them on the morrow. + </p> + <p> + At supper the jovial host of the Tabard Inn suggests that, to enliven the + journey, each of the company shall tell four tales, two going and two + coming, on whatever subject shall suit him best. The host will travel with + them as master of ceremonies, and whoever tells the best story shall be + given a fine supper at the general expense when they all come back + again,--a shrewd bit of business and a fine idea, as the pilgrims all + agree. + </p> + <p> + When they draw lots for the first story the chance falls to the Knight, + who tells one of the best of the <i>Canterbury Tales</i>, the chivalric + story of "Palamon and Arcite." Then the tales follow rapidly, each with + its prologue and epilogue, telling how the story came about, and its + effects on the merry company. Interruptions are numerous; the narrative is + full of life and movement, as when the miller gets drunk and insists on + telling his tale out of season, or when they stop at a friendly inn for + the night, or when the poet with sly humor starts his story of "Sir + Thopas," in dreary imitation of the metrical romances of the day, and is + roared at by the host for his "drasty ryming." With Chaucer we laugh at + his own expense, and are ready for the next tale. + </p> + <p> + From the number of persons in the company, thirty-two in all, it is + evident that Chaucer meditated an immense work of one hundred and + twenty-eight tales, which should cover the whole life of England. Only + twenty-four were written; some of these are incomplete, and others are + taken from his earlier work to fill out the general plan of the <i>Canterbury + Tales</i>. Incomplete as they are, they cover a wide range, including + stories of love and chivalry, of saints and legends, travels, adventures, + animal fables, allegory, satires, and the coarse humor of the common + people. Though all but two are written in verse and abound in exquisite + poetical touches, they are stories as well as poems, and Chaucer is to be + regarded as our first short-story teller as well as our first modern poet. + The work ends with a kindly farewell from the poet to his reader, and so + "here taketh the makere of this book his leve." + </p> + <p> + <b>Prologue to the Canterbury Tales</b>. In the famous "Prologue" the poet + makes us acquainted with the various characters of his drama. Until + Chaucer's day popular literature had been busy chiefly with the gods and + heroes of a golden age; it had been essentially romantic, and so had never + attempted to study men and women as they are, or to describe them so that + the reader recognizes them, not as ideal heroes, but as his own neighbors. + Chaucer not only attempted this new realistic task, but accomplished it so + well that his characters were instantly recognized as true to life, and + they have since become the permanent possession of our literature. Beowulf + and Roland are ideal heroes, essentially creatures of the imagination; but + the merry host of the Tabard Inn, Madame Eglantyne, the fat monk, the + parish priest, the kindly plowman, the poor scholar with his "bookës black + and red,"--all seem more like personal acquaintances than characters in a + book. Says Dryden: "I see all the pilgrims, their humours, their features + and their very dress, as distinctly as if I had supped with them at the + Tabard in Southwark." Chaucer is the first English writer to bring the + atmosphere of romantic interest about the men and women and the daily work + of one's own world,--which is the aim of nearly all modern literature. + </p> + <p> + The historian of our literature is tempted to linger over this "Prologue" + and to quote from it passage after passage to show how keenly and yet + kindly our first modern poet observed his fellow-men. The characters, too, + attract one like a good play: the "verray parfit gentil knight" and his + manly son, the modest prioress, model of sweet piety and society manners, + the sporting monk and the fat friar, the discreet man of law, the well-fed + country squire, the sailor just home from sea, the canny doctor, the + lovable parish priest who taught true religion to his flock, but "first he + folwed it himselve"; the coarse but good-hearted Wyf of Bath, the thieving + miller leading the pilgrims to the music of his bagpipe,--all these and + many others from every walk of English life, and all described with a + quiet, kindly humor which seeks instinctively the best in human nature, + and which has an ample garment of charity to cover even its faults and + failings. "Here," indeed, as Dryden says, "is God's plenty." Probably no + keener or kinder critic ever described his fellows; and in this immortal + "Prologue" Chaucer is a model for all those who would put our human life + into writing. The student should read it entire, as an introduction not + only to the poet but to all our modern literature. + </p> + <p> + <b>The Knight's Tale</b>. As a story, "Palamon and Arcite" is, in many + respects, the best of the <i>Canterbury Tales</i>, reflecting as it does + the ideals of the time in regard to romantic love and knightly duty. + Though its dialogues and descriptions are somewhat too long and interrupt + the story, yet it shows Chaucer at his best in his dramatic power, his + exquisite appreciation of nature, and his tender yet profound philosophy + of living, which could overlook much of human frailty in the thought that + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Infinite been the sorwes and the teres<br /> Of oldë folk, and folk of + tendre yeres.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The idea of the story was borrowed from Boccaccio; but parts of the + original tale were much older and belonged to the common literary stock of + the Middle Ages. Like Shakespeare, Chaucer took the material for his poems + wherever he found it, and his originality consists in giving to an old + story some present human interest, making it express the life and ideals + of his own age. In this respect the "Knight's Tale" is remarkable. Its + names are those of an ancient civilization, but its characters are men and + women of the English nobility as Chaucer knew them. In consequence the + story has many anachronisms, such as the mediæval tournament before + the temple of Mars; but the reader scarcely notices these things, being + absorbed in the dramatic interest of the narrative. + </p> + <p> + Briefly, the "Knight's Tale" is the story of two young men, fast friends, + who are found wounded on the battlefield and taken prisoners to Athens. + There from their dungeon window they behold the fair maid Emily; both fall + desperately in love with her, and their friendship turns to strenuous + rivalry. One is pardoned; the other escapes; and then knights, empires, + nature,--the whole universe follows their desperate efforts to win one + small maiden, who prays meanwhile to be delivered from both her bothersome + suitors. As the best of the <i>Canterbury Tales</i> are now easily + accessible, we omit here all quotations. The story must be read entire, + with the Prioress' tale of Hugh of Lincoln, the Clerk's tale of Patient + Griselda, and the Nun's Priest's merry tale of Chanticleer and the Fox, if + the reader would appreciate the variety and charm of our first modern poet + and story-teller. + </p> + <p> + <b>Form of Chaucer's Poetry</b>. There are three principal meters to be + found in Chaucer's verse. In the <i>Canterbury Tales</i> he uses lines of + ten syllables and five accents each, and the lines run in couplets: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + His eyen twinkled in his heed aright<br /> As doon the sterres in the + frosty night.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The same musical measure, arranged in seven-line stanzas, but with a + different rime, called the Rime Royal, is found in its most perfect form + in <i>Troilus</i>. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + O blisful light, of whiche the bemes clere<br /> Adorneth al the thridde + hevene faire!<br /> O sonnes leef, O Joves doughter dere,<br /> Plesaunce + of love, O goodly debonaire,<br /> In gentil hertes ay redy to repaire!<br /> + O verray cause of hele and of gladnesse,<br /> Y-heried be thy might and + thy goodnesse!<br /> In hevene and helle, in erthe and salte see<br /> Is + felt thy might, if that I wel descerne;<br /> As man, brid, best, fish, + herbe and grene tree<br /> Thee fele in tymes with vapour eterne.<br /> + God loveth, and to love wol nought werne;<br /> And in this world no + lyves creature,<br /> With-outen love, is worth, or may endure.<sup><a + href="#fn84" name="rfn84" id="rfn84">[84]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The third meter is the eight-syllable line with four accents, the lines + riming in couplets, as in the "Boke of the Duchesse": + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Thereto she coude so wel pleye,<br /> Whan that hir liste, that I dar + seye<br /> That she was lyk to torche bright,<br /> That every man may + take-of light<br /> Ynough, and hit hath never the lesse.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Besides these principal meters, Chaucer in his short poems used many other + poetical forms modeled after the French, who in the fourteenth century + were cunning workers in every form of verse. Chief among these are the + difficult but exquisite rondel, "Now welcom Somer with thy sonne softe," + which closes the "Parliament of Fowls," and the ballad, "Flee fro the + prees," which has been already quoted. In the "Monk's Tale" there is a + melodious measure which may have furnished the model for Spenser's famous + stanza.<sup><a href="#fn85" name="rfn85" id="rfn85">[85]</a></sup> + Chaucer's poetry is extremely musical and must be judged by the ear rather + than by the eye. To the modern reader the lines appear broken and uneven; + but if one reads them over a few times, he soon catches the perfect swing + of the measure, and finds that he is in the hands of a master whose ear is + delicately sensitive to the smallest accent. There is a lilt in all his + lines which is marvelous when we consider that he is the first to show us + the poetic possibilities of the language. His claim upon our gratitude is + twofold:<sup><a href="#fn86" name="rfn86" id="rfn86">[86]</a></sup> first, + for discovering the music that is in our English speech; and second, for + his influence in fixing the Midland dialect as the literary language of + England. + </p> + <p> + CHAUCER'S CONTEMPORARIES + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap4d" id="chap4d">WILLIAM LANGLAND</a> (1332? ....?) + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Very little is known of Langland. He was born probably near + Malvern, in Worcestershire, the son of a poor freeman, and in his early + life lived in the fields as a shepherd. Later he went to London with his + wife and children, getting a hungry living as clerk in the church. His + real life meanwhile was that of a seer, a prophet after Isaiah's own + heart, if we may judge by the prophecy which soon found a voice in <i>Piers + Plowman</i>. In 1399, after the success of his great work, he was possibly + writing another poem called <i>Richard the Redeless</i>, a protest against + Richard II; but we are not certain of the authorship of this poem, which + was left unfinished by the assassination of the king. After 1399 Langland + disappears utterly, and the date of his death is unknown. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap4e" id="chap4e">Piers Plowman.</a></b> "The voice of him + that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord," might well + be written at the beginning of this remarkable poem. Truth, sincerity, a + direct and practical appeal to conscience, and a vision of right + triumphant over wrong,--these are the elements of all prophecy; and it was + undoubtedly these elements in <i>Piers Plowman</i> that produced such an + impression on the people of England. For centuries literature had been + busy in pleasing the upper classes chiefly; but here at last was a great + poem which appealed directly to the common people, and its success was + enormous. The whole poem is traditionally attributed to Langland; but it + is now known to be the work of several different writers. It first + appeared in 1362 as a poem of eighteen hundred lines, and this may have + been Langland's work. In the next thirty years, during the desperate + social conditions which led to Tyler's Rebellion, it was repeatedly + revised and enlarged by different hands till it reached its final form of + about fifteen thousand lines. + </p> + <p> + The poem as we read it now is in two distinct parts, the first containing + the vision of Piers, the second a series of visions called "The Search for + Dowel, Dobet, Dobest" (do well, better, best). The entire poem is in + strongly accented, alliterative lines, something like <i>Beowulf</i>, and + its immense popularity shows that the common people still cherished this + easily memorized form of Saxon poetry. Its tremendous appeal to justice + and common honesty, its clarion call to every man, whether king, priest, + noble, or laborer, to do his Christian duty, takes from it any trace of + prejudice or bigotry with which such works usually abound. Its loyalty to + the Church, while denouncing abuses that had crept into it in that period, + was one of the great influences which led to the Reformation in England. + Its two great principles, the equality of men before God and the dignity + of honest labor, roused a whole nation of freemen. Altogether it is one of + the world's great works, partly because of its national influence, partly + because it is the very best picture we possess of the social life of the + fourteenth century: + </p> + <p> + Briefly, <i>Piers Plowman</i> is an allegory of life. In the first vision, + that of the "Field Full of Folk," the poet lies down on the Malvern Hills + on a May morning, and a vision comes to him in sleep. On the plain beneath + him gather a multitude of folk, a vast crowd expressing the varied life of + the world. All classes and conditions are there; workingmen are toiling + that others may seize all the first fruits of their labor and live high on + the proceeds; and the genius of the throng is Lady Bribery, a powerfully + drawn figure, expressing the corrupt social life of the times. + </p> + <p> + The next visions are those of the Seven Deadly Sins, allegorical figures, + but powerful as those of <i>Pilgrim's Progress</i>, making the allegories + of the <i>Romaunt of the Rose</i> seem like shadows in comparison. These + all came to Piers asking the way to Truth; but Piers is plowing his half + acre and refuses to leave his work and lead them. He sets them all to + honest toil as the best possible remedy for their vices, and preaches the + gospel of work as a preparation for salvation. Throughout the poem Piers + bears strong resemblance to John Baptist preaching to the crowds in the + wilderness. The later visions are proclamations of the moral and spiritual + life of man. The poem grows dramatic in its intensity, rising to its + highest power in Piers's triumph over Death. And then the poet wakes from + his vision with the sound of Easter bells ringing in his ears. + </p> + <p> + Here are a few lines to illustrate the style and language; but the whole + poem must be read if one is to understand its crude strength and prophetic + spirit: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + In a somer sesun, whon softe was the sonne,<br /> I schop<sup><a + href="#fn87" name="rfn87" id="rfn87">[87]</a></sup> me into a shroud, as + I a scheep were,<br /> In habite as an heremite, unholy of werkes,<br /> + Went wyde in this world, wondres to here.<br /> Bote in a Mayes mornynge, + on Malverne hulles,<br /> Me byfel a ferly,<sup><a href="#fn88" + name="rfn88" id="rfn88">[88]</a></sup> of fairie me thoughte.<br /> I was + wery, forwandred, and went me to reste<br /> Undur a brod banke, bi a + bourne<sup><a href="#fn89" name="rfn89" id="rfn89">[89]</a></sup> side;<br /> + And as I lay and lened, and loked on the watres,<br /> I slumbred in a + slepyng---hit swyed<sup><a href="#fn90" name="rfn90" id="rfn90">[90]</a></sup> + so murie....<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <a name="chap4f" id="chap4f">JOHN WYCLIF</a> (1324?-1384) + </p> + <p> + Wyclif, as a man, is by far the most powerful English figure of the + fourteenth century. The immense influence of his preaching in the native + tongue, and the power of his Lollards to stir the souls of the common + folk, are too well known historically to need repetition. Though a + university man and a profound scholar, he sides with Langland, and his + interests are with the people rather than with the privileged classes, for + whom Chaucer writes. His great work, which earned him his title of "father + of English prose," is the translation of the Bible. Wyclif himself + translated the gospels, and much more of the New Testament; the rest was + finished by his followers, especially by Nicholas of Hereford. These + translations were made from the Latin Vulgate, not from the original Greek + and Hebrew, and the whole work was revised in 1388 by John Purvey, a + disciple of Wyclif. It is impossible to overestimate the influence of this + work, both on our English prose and on the lives of the English people. + </p> + <p> + Though Wyclif's works are now unread, except by occasional scholars, he + still occupies a very high place in our literature. His translation of the + Bible was slowly copied all over England, and so fixed a national standard + of English prose to replace the various dialects. Portions of this + translation, in the form of favorite passages from Scripture, were copied + by thousands, and for the first time in our history a standard of pure + English was established in the homes of the common people. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el014" id="el014"><img width="50%" alt="Illustration: JOHN WYCLIF" + src="images/el014.png" /></a><br /> JOHN WYCLIF + </p> + <p> + As a suggestion of the language of that day, we quote a few familiar + sentences from the Sermon on the Mount, as given in the later version of + Wyclif's Gospel: + </p> + <p> + And he openyde his mouth, and taughte hem, and seide, Blessid ben pore men + in spirit, for the kyngdom of hevenes is herne.<sup><a href="#fn91" + name="rfn91" id="rfn91">[91]</a></sup> Blessid ben mylde men, for thei + schulen welde<sup><a href="#fn92" name="rfn92" id="rfn92">[92]</a></sup> + the erthe. Blessid ben thei that mornen, for thei schulen be coumfortid. + Blessid ben thei that hungren and thristen rightwisnesse,<sup><a + href="#fn93" name="rfn93" id="rfn93">[93]</a></sup> for thei schulen be + fulfillid. Blessid ben merciful men, for thei schulen gete merci. Blessid + ben thei that ben of clene herte, for thei schulen se God. Blessid ben + pesible men, for thei schulen be clepid<sup><a href="#fn94" name="rfn94" + id="rfn94">[94]</a></sup> Goddis children. Blessid ben thei that suffren + persecusioun for rightfulnesse, for the kyngdom of hevenes is herne.<sup><a + href="#fn95" name="rfn95" id="rfn95">[95]</a></sup> ... + </p> + <p> + Eftsoone ye han herd, that it was seid to elde men, Thou schalt not + forswere, but thou schalt yelde<sup><a href="#fn96" name="rfn96" id="rfn96">[96]</a></sup> + thin othis to the Lord. But Y seie<sup><a href="#fn97" name="rfn97" + id="rfn97">[97]</a></sup> to you, that ye swere not for ony thing;... but + be youre worde, yhe, yhe; nay, nay; and that that is more than these, is + of yvel.... + </p> + <p> + Ye han herd that it was seid, Thou schalt love thi neighbore, and hate + thin enemye. But Y seie to you, love ye youre enemyes, do ye wel to hem<sup><a + href="#fn98" name="rfn98" id="rfn98">[98]</a></sup> that hatiden<sup><a + href="#fn99" name="rfn99" id="rfn99">[99]</a></sup> you, and preye ye for + hem that pursuen<sup><a href="#fn100" name="rfn100" id="rfn100">[100]</a></sup> + and sclaundren<sup><a href="#fn101" name="rfn101" id="rfn101">[101]</a></sup> + you; that ye be the sones of youre Fadir that is in hevenes, that makith + his sunne to rise upon goode and yvele men, and reyneth<sup><a + href="#fn102" name="rfn102" id="rfn102">[102]</a></sup> on just men and + unjuste.... Therefore be ye parfit, as youre hevenli Fadir is parfit. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap4g" id="chap4g">JOHN MANDEVILLE</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Mandeville's Travels</span>About the year 1356 + there appeared in England an extraordinary book called the <i>Voyage and + Travail of Sir John Maundeville</i>, written in excellent style in the + Midland dialect, which was then becoming the literary language of England. + For years this interesting work and its unknown author were subjects of + endless dispute; but it is now fairly certain that this collection of + travelers' tales is simply a compilation from Odoric, Marco Polo, and + various other sources. The original work was probably in French, which was + speedily translated into Latin, then into English and other languages; and + wherever it appeared it became extremely popular, its marvelous stories of + foreign lands being exactly suited to the credulous spirit of the age.<sup><a + href="#fn103" name="rfn103" id="rfn103">[103]</a></sup> At the present + time there are said to be three hundred copied manuscripts of "Mandeville" + in various languages,--more, probably, than of any other work save the + gospels. In the prologue of the English version the author calls himself + John Maundeville and gives an outline of his wide travels during thirty + years; but the name is probably a "blind," the prologue more or less + spurious, and the real compiler is still to be discovered. + </p> + <p> + The modern reader may spend an hour or two very pleasantly in this old + wonderland. On its literary side the book is remarkable, though a + translation, as being the first prose work in modern English having a + distinctly literary style and flavor. Otherwise it is a most interesting + commentary on the general culture and credulity of the fourteenth century. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap4h" id="chap4h">Summary of the Age of Chaucer.</a></b> The + fourteenth century is remarkable historically for the decline of feudalism + (organized by the Normans), for the growth of the English national spirit + during the wars with France, for the prominence of the House of Commons, + and for the growing power of the laboring classes, who had heretofore been + in a condition hardly above that of slavery. + </p> + <p> + The age produced five writers of note, one of whom, Geoffrey Chaucer, is + one of the greatest of English writers. His poetry is remarkable for its + variety, its story interest, and its wonderful melody. Chaucer's work and + Wyclif's translation of the Bible developed the Midland dialect into the + national language of England. + </p> + <p> + In our study we have noted: (1) Chaucer, his life and work; his early or + French period, in which he translated "The Romance of the Rose" and wrote + many minor poems; his middle or Italian period, of which the chief poems + are "Troilus and Cressida" and "The Legend of Good Women"; his late or + English period, in which he worked at his masterpiece, the famous <i>Canterbury + Tales</i>. (2) Langland, the poet and prophet of social reforms. His chief + work is <i>Piers Plowman</i>. (3) Wyclif, the religious reformer, who + first translated the gospels into English, and by his translation fixed a + common standard of English speech. (4) Mandeville, the alleged traveler, + who represents the new English interest in distant lands following the + development of foreign trade. He is famous for <i>Mandeville's Travels</i>, + a book which romances about the wonders to be seen abroad. The fifth + writer of the age is Gower, who wrote in three languages, French, Latin, + and English. His chief English work is the <i>Confessio Amantis</i>, a + long poem containing one hundred and twelve tales. Of these only the + "Knight Florent" and two or three others are interesting to a modern + reader. + </p> + <p> + <b>Selections for Reading.</b> Chaucer's Prologue, the Knight's Tale, + Nun's Priest's Tale, Prioress' Tale, Clerk's Tale. These are found, more + or less complete, in Standard English Classics, King's Classics, Riverside + Literature Series, etc. Skeat's school edition of the Prologue, Knight's + Tale, etc., is especially good, and includes a study of fourteenth-century + English. Miscellaneous poems of Chaucer in Manly's English Poetry or + Ward's English Poets. Piers Plowman, in King's Classics. Mandeville's + Travels, modernized, in English Classics, and in Cassell's National + Library. + </p> + <p> + For the advanced student, and as a study of language, compare selections + from Wyclif, Chaucer's prose work, Mandeville, etc., in Manly's English + Prose, or Morris and Skeat's Specimens of Early English, or Craik's + English Prose Selections. Selections from Wyclif's Bible in English + Classics Series. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap4i" id="chap4i">Bibliography.</a></b><sup><a href="#fn104" + name="rfn104" id="rfn104">[104]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + <i><b>History.</b> Text-book</i>, Montgomery, pp. 115-149, or Cheyney, pp. + 186-263. For fuller treatment, Green, ch. 5; Traill; Gardiner. + </p> + <p> + <i>Special Works</i>. Hutton's King and Baronage (Oxford Manuals); + Jusserand's Wayfaring Life in the Fourteenth Century; Coulton's Chaucer + and his England; Pauli's Pictures from Old England; Wright's History of + Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England during the Middle Ages; + Trevelyan's England in the Age of Wyclif; Jenks's In the Days of Chaucer; + Froissart's Chronicle, in Everyman's Library; the same, new edition, 1895 + (Macmillan); Lanier's Boys' Froissart (i.e. Froissart's Chronicle of + Historical Events, 1325-1400); Newbolt's Stories from Froissart; + Bulfinch's Age of Chivalry may be read in connection with this and the + preceding periods. + </p> + <p> + <i><b>Literature</b>. General Works</i>. Jusserand; Ten Brink; Mitchell; + Minto's Characteristics of English Poets; Courthope's History of English + Poetry. + </p> + <p> + <i>Chaucer</i>, (1) Life: by Lounsbury, in Studies in Chaucer, vol. I; by + Ward, in English Men of Letters Series; Pollard's Chaucer Primer. (2) Aids + to study: F.J. Snell's The Age of Chaucer; Lounsbury's Studies in Chaucer + (3 vols.); Root's The Poetry of Chaucer; Lowell's Essay, in My Study + Windows; Hammond's Chaucer: a Biographical Manual; Hempl's Chaucer's + Pronunciation; Introductions to school editions of Chaucer, by Skeat, + Liddell, and Mather. (3) Texts and selections: The Oxford Chaucer, 6 + vols., edited by Skeat, is the standard; Skeat's Student's Chaucer; The + Globe Chaucer (Macmillan); Works of Chaucer, edited by Lounsbury + (Crowell); Pollard's The Canterbury Tales, Eversley edition; Skeat's + Selections from Chaucer (Clarendon Press); Chaucer's Prologue, and various + tales, in Standard English Classics (Ginn and Company), and in other + school series. + </p> + <p> + <i>Minor Writers</i>. Morris and Skeat's Specimens of Early English Prose. + Jusserand's Piers Plowman; Skeat's Piers Plowman (text, glossary and + notes); Warren's Piers Plowman in Modern Prose. Arnold's Wyclif's Select + English Works; Sergeant's Wyclif (Heroes of the Nation Series); Le Bas's + Life of John Wyclif. Travels of Sir John Mandeville (modern spelling), in + Library of English Classics; Macaulay's Gower's English Works. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap4j" id="chap4j">Suggestive Questions</a></b>. 1. What are + the chief historical events of the fourteenth century? What social + movement is noticeable? What writers reflect political and social + conditions? + </p> + <p> + 2. Tell briefly the story of Chaucer's life. What foreign influences are + noticeable? Name a few poems illustrating his three periods of work. What + qualities have you noticed in his poetry? Why is he called our first + national poet? + </p> + <p> + 3. Give the plan of the <i>Canterbury Tales</i>. For what is the Prologue + remarkable? What light does it throw upon English life of the fourteenth + century? Quote or read some passages that have impressed you. Which + character do you like best? Are any of the characters like certain men and + women whom you know? What classes of society are introduced? Is Chaucer's + attitude sympathetic or merely critical? + </p> + <p> + 4. Tell in your own words the tale you like best. Which tale seems truest + to life as you know it? Mention any other poets who tell stories in verse. + </p> + <p> + 5. Quote or read passages which show Chaucer's keenness of observation, + his humor, his kindness in judgment, his delight in nature. What side of + human nature does he emphasize? Make a little comparison between Chaucer + and Shakespeare, having in mind (1) the characters described by both + poets, (2) their knowledge of human nature, (3) the sources of their + plots, (4) the interest of their works. + </p> + <p> + 6. Describe briefly <i>Piers Plowman</i> and its author. Why is the poem + called "the gospel of the poor"? What message does it contain for daily + labor? Does it apply to any modern conditions? Note any resemblance in + ideas between <i>Piers Plowman</i> and such modern works as Carlyle's <i>Past + and Present</i>, Kingsley's <i>Alton Locke</i>, Morris's <i>Dream of John + Ball</i>, etc. + </p> + <p> + 7. For what is Wyclif remarkable in literature? How did his work affect + our language? Note resemblances and differences between Wyclif and the + Puritans. + </p> + <p> + 8. What is <i>Mandeville's Travels</i>? What light does it throw on the + mental condition of the age? What essential difference do you note between + this book and <i>Gulliver's Travels</i>? + </p> + <table> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <big><a name="chap4k" id="chap4k">CHRONOLOGY,</a> FOURTEENTH CENTURY</big> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2"> + HISTORY + </th> + <th colspan="4"> + LITERATURE + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1327. + </td> + <td> + Edward III + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1338. + </td> + <td> + Beginning of Hundred Years' + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + War with France + </td> + <td> + 1340(?). + </td> + <td> + Birth of Chaucer + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1347. + </td> + <td> + Capture of Calais + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1348-1349. + </td> + <td> + Black Death + </td> + <td> + 1356. + </td> + <td> + Mandeville's Travels + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1359. Chaucer in French War + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1360-1370. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Chaucer's early + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + or French period + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1373. + </td> + <td> + Winchester College, first + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + great public school + </td> + <td> + 1370-1385. + </td> + <td> + Chaucer's Middle or + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Italian period + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1377. + </td> + <td> + Richard II. Wyclif and the + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Lollards begin Reformation + </td> + <td> + 1362-1395. + </td> + <td> + Piers Plowman + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + in England + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1381. + </td> + <td> + Peasant Rebellion. Wat Tyler + </td> + <td> + 1385-1400. + </td> + <td> + Canterbury Tales + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1382. + </td> + <td> + First complete Bible in + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + English + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1399. + </td> + <td> + Deposition of Richard II. + </td> + <td> + 1400. + </td> + <td> + Death of Chaucer + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Henry IV chosen by Parliament + </td> + <td></td> + <td> + (Dante's Divina Commedia, + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + <i>c</i>. 1310; + </td> + <td> + Petrarch's + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + sonnets and poems, 1325-1374; + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Boccaccio's tales, <i>c</i>. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1350.) + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr /> + <h1> + <a name="chap5" id="chap5">CHAPTER V</a> + </h1> + <h3> + <b>THE REVIVAL OF LEARNING (1400-1550)</b> + </h3> + <p> + I. HISTORY OF THE PERIOD + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap5a" id="chap5a">Political Changes.</a></b> The century and + a half following the death of Chaucer (1400-1550) is the most volcanic + period of English history. The land is swept by vast changes, inseparable + from the rapid accumulation of national power; but since power is the most + dangerous of gifts until men have learned to control it, these changes + seem at first to have no specific aim or direction. Henry V--whose erratic + yet vigorous life, as depicted by Shakespeare, was typical of the life of + his times--first let Europe feel the might of the new national spirit. To + divert that growing and unruly spirit from rebellion at home, Henry led + his army abroad, in the apparently impossible attempt to gain for himself + three things: a French wife, a French revenue, and the French crown + itself. The battle of Agincourt was fought in 1415, and five years later, + by the Treaty of Troyes, France acknowledged his right to all his + outrageous demands. + </p> + <p> + The uselessness of the terrific struggle on French soil is shown by the + rapidity with which all its results were swept away. When Henry died in + 1422, leaving his son heir to the crowns of France and England, a + magnificent recumbent statue with head of pure silver was placed in + Westminster Abbey to commemorate his victories. The silver head was + presently stolen, and the loss is typical of all that he had struggled + for. His son, Henry VI, was but the shadow of a king, a puppet in the + hands of powerful nobles, who seized the power of England and turned it to + self-destruction. Meanwhile all his foreign possessions were won back by + the French under the magic leadership of Joan of Arc. Cade's Rebellion + (1450) and the bloody Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) are names to show how + the energy of England was violently destroying itself, like a great engine + that has lost its balance wheel. The frightful reign of Richard III + followed, which had, however, this redeeming quality, that it marked the + end of civil wars and the self-destruction of feudalism, and made possible + a new growth of English national sentiment under the popular Tudors. + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> + <img src="images/{0124}.jpg" alt="{0124}" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <h5> + <a href="images/{0124}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </h5> + <p> + In the long reign of Henry VIII the changes are less violent, but have + more purpose and significance. His age is marked by a steady increase in + the national power at home and abroad, by the entrance of the Reformation + "by a side door," and by the final separation of England from all + ecclesiastical bondage in Parliament's famous Act of Supremacy. In + previous reigns chivalry and the old feudal system had practically been + banished; now monasticism, the third mediæval institution with its + mixed evil and good, received its death-blow in the wholesale suppression + of the monasteries and the removal of abbots from the House of Lords. + Notwithstanding the evil character of the king and the hypocrisy of + proclaiming such a creature the head of any church or the defender of any + faith, we acquiesce silently in Stubb's declaration<sup><a href="#fn105" + name="rfn105" id="rfn105">[105]</a></sup> that "the world owes some of its + greatest debts to men from whose memory the world recoils." + </p> + <p> + While England during this period was in constant political strife, yet + rising slowly, like the spiral flight of an eagle, to heights of national + greatness, intellectually it moved forward with bewildering rapidity. + Printing was brought to England by Caxton (<i>c</i>. 1476), and for the + first time in history it was possible for a book or an idea to reach the + whole nation. Schools and universities were established in place of the + old monasteries; Greek ideas and Greek culture came to England in the + Renaissance, and man's spiritual freedom was proclaimed in the + Reformation. The great names of the period are numerous and significant, + but literature is strangely silent. Probably the very turmoil of the age + prevented any literary development, for literature is one of the arts of + peace; it requires quiet and meditation rather than activity, and the + stirring life of the Renaissance had first to be lived before it could + express itself in the new literature of the Elizabethan period. + </p> + <p> + <b>The Revival of Learning.</b> The Revival of Learning denotes, in its + broadest sense, that gradual enlightenment of the human mind after the + darkness of the Middle Ages. The names Renaissance and Humanism, which are + often applied to the same movement, have properly a narrower significance. + The term Renaissance, though used by many writers "to denote the whole + transition from the Middle Ages to the modern world,"<sup><a href="#fn106" + name="rfn106" id="rfn106">[106]</a></sup> is more correctly applied to the + revival of art resulting from the discovery and imitation of classic + models in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Humanism applies to the + revival of classic literature, and was so called by its leaders, following + the example of Petrarch, because they held that the study of the classics, + <i>literae humaniores</i>,--i.e. the "more human writings," rather than + the old theology,--was the best means of promoting the largest human + interests. We use the term Revival of Learning to cover the whole + movement, whose essence was, according to Lamartine, that "man discovered + himself and the universe," and, according to Taine, that man, so long + blinded, "had suddenly opened his eyes and seen." + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The World</span>We shall understand this better + if we remember that in the Middle Ages man's whole world consisted of the + narrow Mediterranean and the nations that clustered about it; and that + this little world seemed bounded by impassable barriers, as if God had + said to their sailors, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no farther." Man's + mind also was bounded by the same narrow lines. His culture as measured by + the great deductive system of Scholasticism consisted not in discovery, + but rather in accepting certain principles and traditions established by + divine and ecclesiastical authority as the basis of all truth. These were + his Pillars of Hercules, his mental and spiritual bounds that he must not + pass, and within these, like a child playing with lettered blocks, he + proceeded to build his intellectual system. Only as we remember their + limitations can we appreciate the heroism of these toilers of the Middle + Ages, giants in intellect, yet playing with children's toys; ignorant of + the laws and forces of the universe, while debating the essence and + locomotion of angels; eager to learn, yet forbidden to enter fresh fields + in the right of free exploration and the joy of individual discovery. + </p> + <p> + The Revival stirred these men as the voyages of Da Gama and Columbus + stirred the mariners of the Mediterranean. First came the sciences and + inventions of the Arabs, making their way slowly against the prejudice of + the authorities, and opening men's eyes to the unexplored realms of + nature. Then came the flood of Greek literature which the new art of + printing carried swiftly to every school in Europe, revealing a new world + of poetry and philosophy. Scholars flocked to the universities, as + adventurers to the new world of America, and there the old authority + received a deathblow. Truth only was authority; to search for truth + everywhere, as men sought for new lands and gold and the fountain of + youth,--that was the new spirit which awoke in Europe with the Revival of + Learning. + </p> + <p> + II. <a name="chap5b" id="chap5b">LITERATURE OF THE REVIVAL</a> + </p> + <p> + The hundred and fifty years of the Revival period are singularly destitute + of good literature. Men's minds were too much occupied with religious and + political changes and with the rapid enlargement of the mental horizon to + find time for that peace and leisure which are essential for literary + results. Perhaps, also, the floods of newly discovered classics, which + occupied scholars and the new printing presses alike, were by their very + power and abundance a discouragement of native talent. Roger Ascham + (1515-1568), a famous classical scholar, who published a book called <i>Toxophilus</i> + (School of Shooting) in 1545, expresses in his preface, or "apology," a + very widespread dissatisfaction over the neglect of native literature when + he says, "And as for ye Latin or greke tongue, every thing is so + excellently done in them, that none can do better: In the Englysh tonge + contrary, every thinge in a maner so meanly, both for the matter and + handelynge, that no man can do worse." + </p> + <p> + On the Continent, also, this new interest in the classics served to check + the growth of native literatures. In Italy especially, for a full century + after the brilliant age of Dante and Petrarch, no great literature was + produced, and the Italian language itself seemed to go backward.<sup><a + href="#fn107" name="rfn107" id="rfn107">[107]</a></sup> The truth is that + these great writers were, like Chaucer, far in advance of their age, and + that the mediæval mind was too narrow, too scantily furnished with + ideas to produce a varied literature. The fifteenth century was an age of + preparation, of learning the beginnings of science, and of getting + acquainted with the great ideals,--the stern law, the profound philosophy, + the suggestive mythology, and the noble poetry of the Greeks and Romans. + So the mind was furnished with ideas for a new literature. + </p> + <p> + With the exception of Malory's <i>Morte d'Arthur</i> (which is still mediæval + in spirit) the student will find little of interest in the literature of + this period. We give here a brief summary of the men and the books most + "worthy of remembrance"; but for the real literature of the Renaissance + one must go forward a century and a half to the age of Elizabeth. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Praise of Folly</span>The two greatest books + which appeared in England during this period are undoubtedly Erasmus's<sup><a + href="#fn108" name="rfn108" id="rfn108">[108]</a></sup> <i>Praise of Folly</i> + (<i>Encomium Moriae</i>) and More's <i>Utopia</i>, the famous "Kingdom of + Nowhere." Both were written in Latin, but were speedily translated into + all European languages. The <i>Praise of Folly</i> is like a song of + victory for the New Learning, which had driven away vice, ignorance, and + superstition, the three foes of humanity. It was published in 1511 after + the accession of Henry VIII. Folly is represented as donning cap and bells + and mounting a pulpit, where the vice and cruelty of kings, the + selfishness and ignorance of the clergy, and the foolish standards of + education are satirized without mercy. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Utopia</span>More's <i>Utopia</i>, published in + 1516, is a powerful and original study of social conditions, unlike + anything which had ever appeared in any literature.<sup><a href="#fn109" + name="rfn109" id="rfn109">[109]</a></sup> In our own day we have seen its + influence in Bellamy's <i>Looking Backward</i>, an enormously successful + book, which recently set people to thinking of the unnecessary cruelty of + modern social conditions. More learns from a sailor, one of Amerigo + Vespucci's companions, of a wonderful Kingdom of Nowhere, in which all + questions of labor, government, society, and religion have been easily + settled by simple justice and common sense. In this <i>Utopia</i> we find + for the first time, as the foundations of civilized society, the three + great words, Liberty, Fraternity, Equality, which retained their + inspiration through all the violence of the French Revolution and which + are still the unrealized ideal of every free government. As he hears of + this wonderful country More wonders why, after fifteen centuries of + Christianity, his own land is so little civilized; and as we read the book + to-day we ask ourselves the same question. The splendid dream is still far + from being realized; yet it seems as if any nation could become Utopia in + a single generation, so simple and just are the requirements. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Tyndale's New Testament</span>Greater than either + of these books, in its influence upon the common people, is Tyndale's + translation of the New Testament (1525), which fixed a standard of good + English, and at the same time brought that standard not only to scholars + but to the homes of the common people. Tyndale made his translation from + the original Greek, and later translated parts of the Old Testament from + the Hebrew. Much of Tyndale's work was included in Cranmer's Bible, known + also as the Great Bible, in 1539, and was read in every parish church in + England. It was the foundation for the Authorized Version, which appeared + nearly a century later and became the standard for the whole + English-speaking race. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap5c" id="chap5c">Wyatt and Surrey.</a></b> In 1557 appeared + probably the first printed collection of miscellaneous English poems, + known as <i>Tottel's Miscellany</i>. It contained the work of the + so-called courtly makers, or poets, which had hitherto circulated in + manuscript form for the benefit of the court. About half of these poems + were the work of Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503?-1542) and of Henry Howard, Earl + of Surrey (1517?-1547). Both together wrote amorous sonnets modeled after + the Italians, introducing a new verse form which, although very difficult, + has been a favorite ever since with our English poets.<sup><a href="#fn110" + name="rfn110" id="rfn110">[110]</a></sup> Surrey is noted, not for any + especial worth or originality of his own poems, but rather for his + translation of two books of Virgil "in strange meter." The strange meter + was the blank verse, which had never before appeared in English. The chief + literary work of these two men, therefore, is to introduce the sonnet and + the blank verse,--one the most dainty, the other the most flexible and + characteristic form of English poetry,--which in the hands of Shakespeare + and Milton were used to make the world's masterpieces. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap5d" id="chap5d">Malory's Morte d'Arthur.</a></b> The + greatest English work of this period, measured by its effect on subsequent + literature, is undoubtedly the <i>Morte d'Arthur</i>, a collection of the + Arthurian romances told in simple and vivid prose. Of Sir Thomas Malory, + the author, Caxton<sup><a href="#fn111" name="rfn111" id="rfn111">[111]</a></sup> + in his introduction says that he was a knight, and completed his work in + 1470, fifteen years before Caxton printed it. The record adds that "he was + the servant of Jesu both by day and night." Beyond that we know little<sup><a + href="#fn112" name="rfn112" id="rfn112">[112]</a></sup> except what may be + inferred from the splendid work itself. + </p> + <p> + Malory groups the legends about the central idea of the search for the + Holy Grail. Though many of the stories, like Tristram and Isolde, are + purely pagan, Malory treats them all in such a way as to preserve the + whole spirit of mediæval Christianity as it has been preserved in no + other work. It was to Malory rather than to Layamon or to the early French + writers that Shakespeare and his contemporaries turned for their material; + and in our own age he has supplied Tennyson and Matthew Arnold and + Swinburne and Morris with the inspiration for the "Idylls of the King" and + the "Death of Tristram" and the other exquisite poems which center about + Arthur and the knights of his Round Table. + </p> + <p> + In subject-matter the book belongs to the mediæval age; but Malory + himself, with his desire to preserve the literary monuments of the past, + belongs to the Renaissance; and he deserves our lasting gratitude for + attempting to preserve the legends and poetry of Britain at a time when + scholars were chiefly busy with the classics of Greece and Rome. As the + Arthurian legends are one of the great recurring motives of English + literature, Malory's work should be better known. His stories may be and + should be told to every child as part of his literary inheritance. Then + Malory may be read for his style and his English prose and his expression + of the mediæval spirit. And then the stories may be read again, in + Tennyson's "Idylls," to show how those exquisite old fancies appeal to the + minds of our modern poets. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap5e" id="chap5e">Summary of the Revival of Learning Period.</a></b> + This transition period is at first one of decline from the Age of Chaucer, + and then of intellectual preparation for the Age of Elizabeth. For a + century and a half after Chaucer not a single great English work appeared, + and the general standard of literature was very low. There are three chief + causes to account for this: (1) the long war with France and the civil + Wars of the Roses distracted attention from books and poetry, and + destroyed of ruined many noble English families who had been friends and + patrons of literature; (2) the Reformation in the latter part of the + period filled men's minds with religious questions; (3) the Revival of + Learning set scholars and literary men to an eager study of the classics, + rather than to the creation of native literature. Historically the age is + noticeable for its intellectual progress, for the introduction of + printing, for the discovery of America, for the beginning of the + Reformation, and for the growth of political power among the common + people. + </p> + <p> + In our study we have noted: (1) the Revival of Learning, what it was, and + the significance of the terms Humanism and Renaissance; (2) three + influential literary works,--Erasmus's <i>Praise of Folly</i>, More's <i>Utopia</i>, + and Tyndale's translation of the New Testament; (3) Wyatt and Surrey, and + the so-called courtly makers or poets; (4) Malory's <i>Morte d'Arthur</i>, + a collection of the Arthurian legends in English prose. The Miracle and + Mystery Plays were the most popular form of entertainment in this age; but + we have reserved them for special study in connection with the Rise of the + Drama, in the following chapter. + </p> + <p> + <b>Selections for Reading.</b> Malory's Morte d'Arthur, selections, in + Athenaeum Press Series, etc. (It is interesting to read Tennyson's Passing + of Arthur in connection with Malory's account.) Utopia, in Arber's + Reprints, Temple Classics, King's Classics, etc. Selections from Wyatt, + Surrey, etc., in Manly's English Poetry or Ward's English Poets; Tottel's + Miscellany, in Arber's Reprints. Morris and Skeat's Specimens of Early + English, vol. 3, has good selections from this period. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap5f" id="chap5f">Bibliography.</a></b><sup><a href="#fn113" + name="rfn113" id="rfn113">[113]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + <i><b>History.</b> Text-book</i>, Montgomery, pp. 150-208, or Cheyney, pp. + 264-328. Greene, ch. 6; Traill; Gardiner; Froude; etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Special Works</i>. Denton's England in the Fifteenth Century; Flower's + The Century of Sir Thomas More; The Household of Sir Thomas More, in + King's Classics; Green's Town Life in the Fifteenth Century; Field's + Introduction to the Study of the Renaissance; Einstein's The Italian + Renaissance in England; Seebohm's The Oxford Reformers (Erasmus, More, + etc.). + </p> + <p> + <i><b>Literature.</b> General Works</i>. Jusserand; Ten Brink; Minto's + Characteristics of English Poets. + </p> + <p> + <i>Special Works</i>. Saintsbury's Elizabethan Literature; Malory's Morte + d'Arthur, edited by Sommer; the same by Gollancz (Temple Classics); + Lanier's The Boy's King Arthur; More's Utopia, in Temple Classics, King's + Classics, etc.; Roper's Life of Sir Thomas More, in King's Classics, + Temple Classics, etc.; Ascham's Schoolmaster, in Arber's English Reprints; + Poems of Wyatt and Surrey, in English Reprints and Bell's Aldine Poets; + Simonds's Sir Thomas Wyatt and His Poems; Allen's Selections from Erasmus; + Jusserand's Romance of a King's Life (James I of Scotland) contains + extracts and an admirable criticism of the King's Quair. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap5g" id="chap5g">Suggestive Questions.</a></b> 1. The + fifteenth century in English literature is sometimes called "the age of + arrest." Can you explain why? What causes account for the lack of great + literature in this period? Why should the ruin of noble families at this + time seriously affect our literature? Can you recall anything from the + Anglo-Saxon period to justify your opinion? + </p> + <p> + 2. What is meant by Humanism? What was the first effect of the study of + Greek and Latin classics upon our literature? What excellent literary + purposes did the classics serve in later periods? + </p> + <p> + 3. What are the chief benefits to literature of the discovery of printing? + What effect on civilization has the multiplication of books? + </p> + <p> + 4. Describe More's <i>Utopia</i>. Do you know any modern books like it? + Why should any impractical scheme of progress be still called Utopian? + </p> + <p> + 5. What work of this period had the greatest effect on the English + language? Explain why. + </p> + <p> + 6. What was the chief literary influence exerted by Wyatt and Surrey? Do + you know any later poets who made use of the verse forms which they + introduced? + </p> + <p> + 7. Which of Malory's stories do you like best? Where did these stories + originate? Have they any historical foundation? What two great elements + did Malory combine in his work? What is the importance of his book to + later English literature? Compare Tennyson's "Idylls of the King" and + Malory's stories with regard to material, expression, and interest. Note + the marked resemblances and differences between the <i>Morte d'Arthur</i> + and the <i>Nibelungen Lied</i>. + </p> + <table> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <big><a name="chap5h" id="chap5h">CHRONOLOGY</a></big> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2"> + HISTORY + </th> + <th colspan="2"> + LITERATURE + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1413. + </td> + <td> + Henry V + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1415. + </td> + <td> + Battle of Agincourt + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1422. + </td> + <td> + Henry VI + </td> + <td> + 1470. + </td> + <td> + Malory's Morte d' Arthur + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1428. + </td> + <td> + Siege of Orleans. Joan of Arc + </td> + <td> + 1474(c). + </td> + <td> + Caxton, at Bruges, + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1453. + </td> + <td> + End of Hundred Year's War + </td> + <td></td> + <td> + prints the first book in + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1455-1485. + </td> + <td> + War of Roses + </td> + <td></td> + <td> + English, the Recuyell of the + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1461. + </td> + <td> + Edward IV + </td> + <td></td> + <td> + Histories of Troye + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1483. + </td> + <td> + Richard III + </td> + <td> + 1477. + </td> + <td> + First book printed in + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + England + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1485. + </td> + <td> + Henry VII + </td> + <td> + 1485. + </td> + <td> + Morte d'Arthur printed + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + by Caxton + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1492. + </td> + <td> + Columbus discovers America + </td> + <td> + 1499. + </td> + <td> + Colet, Erasmus, and More + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1509. + </td> + <td> + Henry VIII + </td> + <td></td> + <td> + bring the New Learning to + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Oxford + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1509. + </td> + <td> + Erasmus's Praise of + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Folly + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1516. + </td> + <td> + More's Utopia + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1525. + </td> + <td> + Tydale's New Testament + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1534. + </td> + <td> + Act of Supremacy. The + </td> + <td> + 1530(c). + </td> + <td> + Introduction of the + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Reformation accomplished + </td> + <td></td> + <td> + sonnet and blank verse by + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Wyatt and Surrey + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1539. + </td> + <td> + The Great Bible + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1547. + </td> + <td> + Edward VI + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1553. + </td> + <td> + Mary + </td> + <td> + 1557. + </td> + <td> + Tottel's Miscellany + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1558. + </td> + <td> + Elizabeth + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr /> + <h1> + <a name="chap6" id="chap6">CHAPTER VI</a> + </h1> + <h3> + <b>THE AGE OF ELIZABETH (1550-1620)</b> + </h3> + <p> + I. HISTORY OF THE PERIOD + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6a" id="chap6a">Political Summary</a></b>. In the Age of + Elizabeth all doubt seems to vanish from English history. After the reigns + of Edward and Mary, with defeat and humiliation abroad and persecutions + and rebellion at home, the accession of a popular sovereign was like the + sunrise after a long night, and, in Milton's words, we suddenly see + England, "a noble and puissant nation, rousing herself, like a strong man + after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks." With the queen's + character, a strange mingling of frivolity and strength which reminds one + of that iron image with feet of clay, we have nothing whatever to do. It + is the national life that concerns the literary student, since even a + beginner must notice that any great development of the national life is + invariably associated with a development of the national literature. It is + enough for our purpose, therefore, to point out two facts: that Elizabeth, + with all her vanity and inconsistency, steadily loved England and + England's greatness; and that she inspired all her people with the + unbounded patriotism which exults in Shakespeare, and with the personal + devotion which finds a voice in the <i>Faery Queen</i>. Under her + administration the English national life progressed by gigantic leaps + rather than by slow historical process, and English literature reached the + very highest point of its development. It is possible to indicate only a + few general characteristics of this great age which had a direct bearing + upon its literature. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Religious Toleration</span><b><a name="chap6b" + id="chap6b">Characteristics of the Elizabethan Age.</a></b> The most + characteristic feature of the age was the comparative religious tolerance, + which was due largely to the queen's influence. The frightful excesses of + the religious war known as the Thirty Years' War on the Continent found no + parallel in England. Upon her accession Elizabeth found the whole kingdom + divided against itself; the North was largely Catholic, while the southern + counties were as strongly Protestant. Scotland had followed the + Reformation in its own intense way, while Ireland remained true to its old + religious traditions, and both countries were openly rebellious. The + court, made up of both parties, witnessed the rival intrigues of those who + sought to gain the royal favor. It was due partly to the intense + absorption of men's minds in religious questions that the preceding + century, though an age of advancing learning, produced scarcely any + literature worthy of the name. Elizabeth favored both religious parties, + and presently the world saw with amazement Catholics and Protestants + acting together as trusted counselors of a great sovereign. The defeat of + the Spanish Armada established the Reformation as a fact in England, and + at the same time united all Englishmen in a magnificent national + enthusiasm. For the first time since the Reformation began, the + fundamental question of religious toleration seemed to be settled, and the + mind of man, freed from religious fears and persecutions, turned with a + great creative impulse to other forms of activity. It is partly from this + new freedom of the mind that the Age of Elizabeth received its great + literary stimulus. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Social contentment</span>2. It was an age of + comparative social contentment, in strong contrast with the days of + Langland. The rapid increase of manufacturing towns gave employment to + thousands who had before been idle and discontented. Increasing trade + brought enormous wealth to England, and this wealth was shared to this + extent, at least, that for the first time some systematic care for the + needy was attempted. Parishes were made responsible for their own poor, + and the wealthy were taxed to support them or give them employment. The + increase of wealth, the improvement in living, the opportunities for + labor, the new social content--these also are factors which help to + account for the new literary activity. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Enthusiasm</span>3. It is an age of dreams, of + adventure, of unbounded enthusiasm springing from the new lands of + fabulous riches revealed by English explorers. Drake sails around the + world, shaping the mighty course which English colonizers shall follow + through the centuries; and presently the young philosopher Bacon is saying + confidently, "I have taken all knowledge for my province." The mind must + search farther than the eye; with new, rich lands opened to the sight, the + imagination must create new forms to people the new worlds. Hakluyt's + famous <i>Collection of Voyages</i>, and <i>Purchas, His Pilgrimage</i>, + were even more stimulating to the English imagination than to the English + acquisitiveness. While her explorers search the new world for the Fountain + of Youth, her poets are creating literary works that are young forever. + Marston writes:<sup><a href="#fn114" name="rfn114" id="rfn114">[114]</a></sup> + "Why, man, all their dripping pans are pure gold. The prisoners they take + are fettered in gold; and as for rubies and diamonds, they goe forth on + holydayes and gather 'hem by the seashore to hang on their children's + coates." This comes nearer to being a description of Shakespeare's poetry + than of the Indians in Virginia. Prospero, in <i>The Tempest</i>, with his + control over the mighty powers and harmonies of nature, is only the + literary dream of that science which had just begun to grapple with the + forces of the universe. Cabot, Drake, Frobisher, Gilbert, Raleigh, + Willoughby, Hawkins,--a score of explorers reveal a new earth to men's + eyes, and instantly literature creates a new heaven to match it. So dreams + and deeds increase side by side, and the dream is ever greater than the + deed. That is the meaning of literature. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Drama</span>4. To sum up, the Age of + Elizabeth was a time of intellectual liberty, of growing intelligence and + comfort among all classes, of unbounded patriotism, and of peace at home + and abroad. For a parallel we must go back to the Age of Pericles in + Athens, or of Augustus in Rome, or go forward a little to the magnificent + court of Louis XIV, when Corneille, Racine, and Molière brought the + drama in France to the point where Marlowe, Shakespeare, and Jonson had + left it in England half a century earlier. Such an age of great thought + and great action, appealing to the eyes as well as to the imagination and + intellect, finds but one adequate literary expression; neither poetry nor + the story can express the whole man,--his thought, feeling, action, and + the resulting character; hence in the Age of Elizabeth literature turned + instinctively to the drama and brought it rapidly to the highest stage of + its development. + </p> + <p> + II. <a name="chap6c" id="chap6c">THE NON-DRAMATIC POETS OF THE ELIZABETHAN + AGE</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap6d" id="chap6d">EDMUND SPENSER</a> (1552-1599) + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>(Cuddie)</i><br /> "Piers, + I have pipéd erst so long with pain<br /> That + all mine oaten reeds been rent and wore,<br /> And + my poor Muse hath spent her sparéd store,<br /> Yet + little good hath got, and much less gain.<br /> Such + pleasaunce makes the grasshopper so poor,<br /> And + ligge so layd<sup><a href="#fn115" name="rfn115" id="rfn115">[115]</a></sup> + when winter doth her strain.<br /> The + dapper ditties that I wont devise,<br /> To + feed youth's fancy, and the flocking fry<br /> Delghten + much--what I the bet forthy?<br /> They + han the pleasure, I a slender prize:<br /> I + beat the bush, the birds to them do fly:<br /> What + good thereof to Cuddie can arise?<br /> (<i>Piers</i>)<br /> Cuddie, + the praise is better than the price,<br /> The + glory eke much greater than the gain:..."<br /> <i>Shepherd's + Calendar</i>, October<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In these words, with their sorrowful suggestion of Deor, Spenser reveals + his own heart, unconsciously perhaps, as no biographer could possibly do. + His life and work seem to center about three great influences, summed up + in three names: Cambridge, where he grew acquainted with the classics and + the Italian poets; London, where he experienced the glamour and the + disappointment of court life; and Ireland, which steeped him in the beauty + and imagery of old Celtic poetry and first gave him leisure to write his + masterpiece. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el016" id="el016"> <img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: EDMUND SPENSER" src="images/el016.png" /></a><br /> + EDMUND SPENSER + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. Of Spenser's early life and parentage we know little, except + that he was born in East Smithfield, near the Tower of London, and was + poor. His education began at the Merchant Tailors' School in London and + was continued in Cambridge, where as a poor sizar and fag for wealthy + students he earned a scant living. Here in the glorious world that only a + poor scholar knows how to create for himself he read the classics, made + acquaintance with the great Italian poets, and wrote numberless little + poems of his own. Though Chaucer was his beloved master, his ambition was + not to rival the <i>Canterbury Tales</i>, but rather to express the dream + of English chivalry, much as Ariosto had done for Italy in <i>Orlando + Furioso</i>. + </p> + <p> + After leaving Cambridge (1576) Spenser went to the north of England, on + some unknown work or quest. Here his chief occupation was to fall in love + and to record his melancholy over the lost Rosalind in the <i>Shepherd's + Calendar</i>. Upon his friend Harvey's advice he came to London, bringing + his poems; and here he met Leicester, then at the height of royal favor, + and the latter took him to live at Leicester House. Here he finished the + <i>Shepherd's Calendar</i>, and here he met Sidney and all the queen's + favorites. The court was full of intrigues, lying and flattery, and + Spenser's opinion of his own uncomfortable position is best expressed in a + few lines from "Mother Hubbard's Tale": + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Full little knowest thou, that has not tried,<br /> What hell it is, in + suing long to bide:<br /> To lose good days, that might be better spent;<br /> + To waste long nights in pensive discontent;<br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + To fret thy soul with crosses and with cares;<br /> To eat thy heart + through comfortless despairs;<br /> To fawn, to crouch, to wait, to ride, + to run,<br /> To spend, to give, to want, to be undone.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In 1580, through Leicester's influence, Spenser, who was utterly weary of + his dependent position, was made secretary to Lord Grey, the queen's + deputy in Ireland, and the third period of his life began. He accompanied + his chief through one campaign of savage brutality in putting down an + Irish rebellion, and was given an immense estate with the castle of + Kilcolman, in Munster, which had been confiscated from Earl Desmond, one + of the Irish leaders. His life here, where according to the terms of his + grant he must reside as an English settler, he regarded as lonely exile: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + My luckless lot,<br /> That banished had myself, like wight forlore,<br /> + Into that waste, where I was quite forgot.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + It is interesting to note here a gentle poet's view of the "unhappy + island." After nearly sixteen years' residence he wrote his <i>View of the + State of Ireland</i> (1596),<sup><a href="#fn116" name="rfn116" id="rfn116">[116]</a></sup> + his only prose work, in which he submits a plan for "pacifying the + oppressed and rebellious people." This was to bring a huge force of + cavalry and infantry into the country, give the Irish a brief time to + submit, and after that to hunt them down like wild beasts. He calculated + that cold, famine, and sickness would help the work of the sword, and that + after the rebels had been well hounded for two winters the following + summer would find the country peaceful. This plan, from the poet of + harmony and beauty, was somewhat milder than the usual treatment of a + brave people whose offense was that they loved liberty and religion. + Strange as it may seem, the <i>View</i> was considered most statesmanlike, + and was excellently well received in England. + </p> + <p> + In Kilcolman, surrounded by great natural beauty, Spenser finished the + first three books of the <i>Faery Queen</i>. In 1589 Raleigh visited him, + heard the poem with enthusiasm, hurried the poet off to London, and + presented him to Elizabeth. The first three books met with instant success + when published and were acclaimed as the greatest work in the English + language. A yearly pension of fifty pounds was conferred by Elizabeth, but + rarely paid, and the poet turned back to exile, that is, to Ireland again. + </p> + <p> + Soon after his return, Spenser fell in love with his beautiful Elizabeth, + an Irish girl; wrote his <i>Amoretti</i>, or sonnets, in her honor; and + afterwards represented her, in the <i>Faery Queen</i>, as the beautiful + woman dancing among the Graces. In 1594 he married Elizabeth, celebrating + his wedding with his "Epithalamion," one of the most beautiful wedding + hymns in any language. + </p> + <p> + Spenser's next visit to London was in 1595, when he published "Astrophel," + an elegy on the death of his friend Sidney, and three more books of the <i>Faery + Queen</i>. On this visit he lived again at Leicester House, now occupied + by the new favorite Essex, where he probably met Shakespeare and the other + literary lights of the Elizabethan Age. Soon after his return to Ireland, + Spenser was appointed Sheriff of Cork, a queer office for a poet, which + probably brought about his undoing. The same year Tyrone's Rebellion broke + out in Munster. Kilcolman, the ancient house of Desmond, was one of the + first places attacked by the rebels, and Spenser barely escaped with his + wife and two children. It is supposed that some unfinished parts of the <i>Faery + Queen</i> were burned in the castle. + </p> + <p> + From the shock of this frightful experience Spenser never recovered. He + returned to England heartbroken, and in the following year (1599) he died + in an inn at Westminster. According to Ben Jonson he died "for want of + bread"; but whether that is a poetic way of saying that he had lost his + property or that he actually died of destitution, will probably never be + known. He was buried beside his master Chaucer in Westminster Abbey, the + poets of that age thronging to his funeral and, according to Camden, + "casting their elegies and the pens that had written them into his tomb." + </p> + <p> + <b>Spenser's Works</b>. <i>The Faery Queen</i> is the great work upon + which the poet's fame chiefly rests. The original plan of the poem + included twenty-four books, each of which was to recount the adventure and + triumph of a knight who represented a moral virtue. Spenser's purpose, as + indicated in a letter to Raleigh which introduces the poem, is as follows: + </p> + <p> + To pourtraict in Arthure, before he was king, the image of a brave Knight, + perfected in the twelve private Morall Vertues, as Aristotle hath devised; + which is the purpose of these first twelve bookes: which if I finde to be + well accepted, I may be perhaps encoraged to frame the other part of + Polliticke Vertues in his person, after that hee came to be king. + </p> + <p> + Each of the Virtues appears as a knight, fighting his opposing Vice, and + the poem tells the story of the conflicts. It is therefore purely + allegorical, not only in its personified virtues but also in its + representation of life as a struggle between good and evil. In its strong + moral element the poem differs radically from <i>Orlando Furioso</i>, upon + which it was modeled. Spenser completed only six books, celebrating + Holiness, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Justice, and Courtesy. We have + also a fragment of the seventh, treating of Constancy; but the rest of + this book was not written, or else was lost in the fire at Kilcolman. The + first three books are by far the best; and judging by the way the interest + lags and the allegory grows incomprehensible, it is perhaps as well for + Spenser's reputation that the other eighteen books remained a dream. + </p> + <p> + <b>Argument of the Faery Queen</b>. From the introductory letter we learn + that the hero visits the queen's court in Fairy Land, while she is holding + a twelve-days festival. On each day some distressed person appears + unexpectedly, tells a woful story of dragons, of enchantresses, or of + distressed beauty or virtue, and asks for a champion to right the wrong + and to let the oppressed go free. Sometimes a knight volunteers or begs + for the dangerous mission; again the duty is assigned by the queen; and + the journeys and adventures of these knights are the subjects of the + several books. The first recounts the adventures of the Redcross Knight, + representing Holiness, and the lady Una, representing Religion. Their + contests are symbolical of the world-wide struggle between virtue and + faith on the one hand, and sin and heresy on the other. The second book + tells the story of Sir Guyon, or Temperance; the third, of Britomartis, + representing Chastity; the fourth, fifth, and sixth, of Cambel and + Triamond (Friendship), Artegall (Justice), and Sir Calidore (Courtesy). + Spenser's plan was a very elastic one and he filled up the measure of his + narrative with everything that caught his fancy,--historical events and + personages under allegorical masks, beautiful ladies, chivalrous knights, + giants, monsters, dragons, sirens, enchanters, and adventures enough to + stock a library of fiction. If you read Homer or Virgil, you know his + subject in the first strong line; if you read Cædmon's <i>Paraphrase</i> + or Milton's epic, the introduction gives you the theme; but Spenser's + great poem--with the exception of a single line in the prologue, "Fierce + warres and faithfull loves shall moralize my song"--gives hardly a hint of + what is coming. + </p> + <p> + As to the meaning of the allegorical figures, one is generally in doubt. + In the first three books the shadowy Faery Queen sometimes represents the + glory of God and sometimes Elizabeth, who was naturally flattered by the + parallel. Britomartis is also Elizabeth. The Redcross Knight is Sidney, + the model Englishman. Arthur, who always appears to rescue the oppressed, + is Leicester, which is another outrageous flattery. Una is sometimes + religion and sometimes the Protestant Church; while Duessa represents Mary + Queen of Scots, or general Catholicism. In the last three books Elizabeth + appears again as Mercilla; Henry IV of France as Bourbon; the war in the + Netherlands as the story of Lady Belge; Raleigh as Timias; the earls of + Northumberland and Westmoreland (lovers of Mary or Duessa) as Blandamour + and Paridell; and so on through the wide range of contemporary characters + and events, till the allegory becomes as difficult to follow as the second + part of Goethe's <i>Faust</i>. + </p> + <p> + <b>Poetical Form</b>. For the <i>Faery Queen</i> Spenser invented a new + verse form, which has been called since his day the Spenserian stanza. + Because of its rare beauty it has been much used by nearly all our poets + in their best work. The new stanza was an improved form of Ariosto's <i>ottava + rima</i> (i.e. eight-line stanza) and bears a close resemblance to one of + Chaucer's most musical verse forms in the "Monk's Tale." Spenser's stanza + is in nine lines, eight of five feet each and the last of six feet, riming + <i>ababbcbcc</i>. A few selections from the first book, which is best + worth reading, are reproduced here to show the style and melody of the + verse. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + A Gentle Knight was pricking on the plaine,<br /> + Ycladd<sup><a href="#fn117" name="rfn117" + id="rfn117">[117]</a></sup> in mightie armes and silver shielde,<br /> + Wherein old dints of deepe woundes did remaine<br /> + The cruell markes of many a bloody fielde;<br /> + Yet armes till that time did he never wield:<br /> + His angry steede did chide his foming bitt,<br /> + As much disdayning to the curbe to yield:<br /> + Full iolly<sup><a href="#fn118" name="rfn118" + id="rfn118">[118]</a></sup> knight he seemd, and faire did sitt,<br /> As + one for knightly giusts<sup><a href="#fn119" name="rfn119" id="rfn119">[119]</a></sup> + and fierce encounters fitt.<br /> And on his + brest a bloodie crosse he bore,<br /> The deare + remembrance of his dying Lord,<br /> For whose + sweete sake that glorious badge he wore,<br /> And + dead, as living ever, him ador'd:<br /> Upon his + shield the like was also scor'd,<br /> For + soveraine hope, which in his helpe he had,<br /> Right + faithfull true he was in deede and word;<br /> But + of his cheere<sup><a href="#fn120" name="rfn120" id="rfn120">[120]</a></sup> + did seeme too solemne sad;<br /> Yet nothing did he dread, but ever was + ydrad.<sup><a href="#fn121" name="rfn121" id="rfn121">[121]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + This sleepy bit, from the dwelling of Morpheus, invites us to linger: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + And, more to lulle him in his slumber soft,<br /> + A trickling streame from high rock tumbling + downe,<br /> And ever-drizling raine upon the + loft,<br /> Mixt with a murmuring winde, much + like the sowne<br /> Of swarming bees, did cast + him in a swowne.<br /> No other noyse, nor + peoples troublous cryes,<br /> As still are wont + t'annoy the walled towne,<br /> Might there be + heard: but carelesse Quiet lyes,<br /> Wrapt in + eternal silence farre from enimyes.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The description of Una shows the poet's sense of ideal beauty: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + One day, nigh wearie of the yrkesome way,<br /> + From her unhastie beast she did alight;<br /> + And on the grasse her dainty limbs did lay<br /> + In secrete shadow, far from all mens sight;<br /> + From her fayre head her fillet she undight,<sup><a + href="#fn122" name="rfn122" id="rfn122">[122]</a></sup><br /> And + layd her stole aside; Her angels face,<br /> As + the great eye of heaven, shynéd bright,<br /> And + made a sunshine in the shady place;<br /> Did never mortall eye behold + such heavenly grace.<br /> It fortunéd, + out of the thickest wood<br /> A ramping lyon + rushéd suddeinly,<br /> Hunting full + greedy after salvage blood:<br /> Soone as the + royall Virgin he did spy,<br /> With gaping mouth + at her ran greedily,<br /> To have at once + devourd her tender corse:<br /> But to the pray + whenas he drew more ny,<br /> His bloody rage + aswaged with remorse,<sup><a href="#fn123" name="rfn123" id="rfn123">[123]</a></sup><br /> + And, with the sight amazd, forgat his furious forse.<br /> Instead + thereof he kist her wearie feet,<br /> And lickt + her lilly hands with fawning tong;<br /> As he + her wrongéd innocence did weet.<sup><a href="#fn124" name="rfn124" + id="rfn124">[124]</a></sup><br /> O how can + beautie maister the most strong,<br /> And simple + truth subdue avenging wrong!<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b>Minor Poems</b>. Next to his masterpiece, the <i>Shepherd's Calendar</i> + (1579) is the best known of Spenser's poems; though, as his first work, it + is below many others in melody. It consists of twelve pastoral poems, or + eclogues, one for each month of the year. The themes are generally rural + life, nature, love in the fields; and the speakers are shepherds and + shepherdesses. To increase the rustic effect Spenser uses strange forms of + speech and obsolete words, to such an extent that Jonson complained his + works are not English or any other language. Some are melancholy poems on + his lost Rosalind; some are satires on the clergy; one, "The Briar and the + Oak," is an allegory; one flatters Elizabeth, and others are pure fables + touched with the Puritan spirit. They are written in various styles and + meters, and show plainly that Spenser was practicing and preparing himself + for greater work. + </p> + <p> + Other noteworthy poems are "Mother Hubbard's Tale," a satire on society; + "Astrophel," an elegy on the death of Sidney; <i>Amoretti</i>, or sonnets, + to his Elizabeth; the marriage hymn, "Epithalamion," and four "Hymns," on + Love, Beauty, Heavenly Love, and Heavenly Beauty. There are numerous other + poems and collections of poems, but these show the scope of his work and + are best worth reading. + </p> + <p> + <b>Importance of the Shepherd's Calendar</b>. The publication of this + work, in 1579, by an unknown writer who signed himself modestly + "Immerito," marks an important epoch in our literature. We shall + appreciate this better if we remember the long years during which England + had been without a great poet. Chaucer and Spenser are often studied + together as poets of the Renaissance period, and the idea prevails that + they were almost contemporary. In fact, nearly two centuries passed after + Chaucer's death,--years of enormous political and intellectual + development,--and not only did Chaucer have no successor but our language + had changed so rapidly that Englishmen had lost the ability to read his + lines correctly.<sup><a href="#fn125" name="rfn125" id="rfn125">[125]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + This first published work of Spenser is noteworthy in at least four + respects: first, it marks the appearance of the first national poet in two + centuries; second, it shows again the variety and melody of English verse, + which had been largely a tradition since Chaucer; third, it was our first + pastoral, the beginning of a long series of English pastoral compositions + modeled on Spenser, and as such exerted a strong influence on subsequent + literature; and fourth, it marks the real beginning of the outburst of + great Elizabethan poetry. + </p> + <p> + <b>Characteristics of Spenser's Poetry</b>. The five main qualities of + Spenser's poetry are (1) a perfect melody; (2) a rare sense of beauty; (3) + a splendid imagination, which could gather into one poem heroes, knights, + ladies, dwarfs, demons and dragons, classic mythology, stories of + chivalry, and the thronging ideals of the Renaissance,--all passing in + gorgeous procession across an ever-changing and ever-beautiful landscape; + (4) a lofty moral purity and seriousness; (5) a delicate idealism, which + could make all nature and every common thing beautiful. In contrast with + these excellent qualities the reader will probably note the strange + appearance of his lines due to his fondness for obsolete words, like <i>eyne</i> + (eyes) and <i>shend</i> (shame), and his tendency to coin others, like <i>mercify</i>, + to suit his own purposes. + </p> + <p> + It is Spenser's idealism, his love of beauty, and his exquisite melody + which have caused him to be known as "the poets' poet." Nearly all our + subsequent singers acknowledge their delight in him and their + indebtedness. Macaulay alone among critics voices a fault which all who + are not poets quickly feel, namely that, with all Spenser's excellences, + he is difficult to read. The modern man loses himself in the confused + allegory of the <i>Faery Queen</i>, skips all but the marked passages, and + softly closes the book in gentle weariness. Even the best of his longer + poems, while of exquisite workmanship and delightfully melodious, + generally fail to hold the reader's attention. The movement is languid; + there is little dramatic interest, and only a suggestion of humor. The + very melody of his verses sometimes grows monotonous, like a Strauss waltz + too long continued. We shall best appreciate Spenser by reading at first + only a few well-chosen selections from the <i>Faery Queen</i> and the <i>Shepherd's + Calendar</i>, and a few of the minor poems which exemplify his wonderful + melody. + </p> + <p> + <b>Comparison between Chaucer and Spenser</b>. At the outset it is well to + remember that, though Spenser regarded Chaucer as his master, two + centuries intervene between them, and that their writings have almost + nothing in common. We shall appreciate this better by a brief comparison + between our first two modern poets. + </p> + <p> + Chaucer was a combined poet and man of affairs, with the latter + predominating. Though dealing largely with ancient or mediæval + material, he has a curiously modern way of looking at life. Indeed, he is + our only author preceding Shakespeare with whom we feel thoroughly at + home. He threw aside the outgrown metrical romance, which was practically + the only form of narrative in his day, invented the art of story-telling + in verse, and brought it to a degree of perfection which has probably + never since been equaled. Though a student of the classics, he lived + wholly in the present, studied the men and women of his own time, painted + them as they were, but added always a touch of kindly humor or romance to + make them more interesting. So his mission appears to be simply to amuse + himself and his readers. His mastery of various and melodious verse was + marvelous and has never been surpassed in our language; but the English of + his day was changing rapidly, and in a very few years men were unable to + appreciate his art, so that even to Spenser and Dryden, for example, he + seemed deficient in metrical skill. On this account his influence on our + literature has been much less than we should expect from the quality of + his work and from his position as one of the greatest of English poets. + </p> + <p> + Like Chaucer, Spenser was a busy man of affairs, but in him the poet and + the scholar always predominates. He writes as the idealist, describing men + not as they are but as he thinks they should be; he has no humor, and his + mission is not to amuse but to reform. Like Chaucer he studies the + classics and contemporary French and Italian writers; but instead of + adapting his material to present-day conditions, he makes poetry, as in + his Eclogues for instance, more artificial even than his foreign models. + Where Chaucer looks about him and describes life as he sees it, Spenser + always looks backward for his inspiration; he lives dreamily in the past, + in a realm of purely imaginary emotions and adventures. His first quality + is imagination, not observation, and he is the first of our poets to + create a world of dreams, fancies, and illusions. His second quality is a + wonderful sensitiveness to beauty, which shows itself not only in his + subject-matter but also in the manner of his poetry. Like Chaucer, he is + an almost perfect workman; but in reading Chaucer we think chiefly of his + natural characters or his ideas, while in reading Spenser we think of the + beauty of expression. The exquisite Spenserian stanza and the rich melody + of Spenser's verse have made him the model of all our modern poets. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap6e" id="chap6e">MINOR POETS</a> + </p> + <p> + Though Spenser is the one great non-dramatic poet of the Elizabethan Age, + a multitude of minor poets demand attention of the student who would + understand the tremendous literary activity of the period. One needs only + to read <i>The Paradyse of Daynty Devises</i> (1576), or <i>A Gorgeous + Gallery of Gallant Inventions</i> (1578), or any other of the + miscellaneous collections to find hundreds of songs, many of them of + exquisite workmanship, by poets whose names now awaken no response. A + glance is enough to assure one that over all England "the sweet spirit of + song had arisen, like the first chirping of birds after a storm." Nearly + two hundred poets are recorded in the short period from 1558 to 1625, and + many of them were prolific writers. In a work like this, we can hardly do + more than mention a few of the best known writers, and spend a moment at + least with the works that suggest Marlowe's description of "infinite + riches in a little room." The reader will note for himself the interesting + union of action and thought in these men, so characteristic of the + Elizabethan Age; for most of them were engaged chiefly in business or war + or politics, and literature was to them a pleasant recreation rather than + an absorbing profession. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6f" id="chap6f">Thomas Sackville</a></b> (1536-1608). Sir + Thomas Sackville, Earl of Dorset and Lord High Treasurer of England, is + generally classed with Wyatt and Surrey among the predecessors of the + Elizabethan Age. In imitation of Dante's <i>Inferno</i>, Sackville formed + the design of a great poem called <i>The Mirror for Magistrates</i>. Under + guidance of an allegorical personage called Sorrow, he meets the spirits + of all the important actors in English history. The idea was to follow + Lydgate's <i>Fall of Princes</i> and let each character tell his own + story; so that the poem would be a mirror in which present rulers might + see themselves and read this warning: "Who reckless rules right soon may + hope to rue." Sackville finished only the "Induction" and the "Complaint + of the Duke of Buckingham." These are written in the rime royal, and are + marked by strong poetic feeling and expression. Unfortunately Sackville + turned from poetry to politics, and the poem was carried on by two + inferior poets, William Baldwin and George Ferrers. + </p> + <p> + Sackville wrote also, in connection with Thomas Norton, the first English + tragedy, <i>Ferrex and Porrex</i>, called also <i>Gorboduc</i>, which will + be considered in the following section on the Rise of the Drama. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6g" id="chap6g">Philip Sidney</a></b> (1554-1586). Sidney, + the ideal gentleman, the Sir Calidore of Spenser's "Legend of Courtesy," + is vastly more interesting as a man than as a writer, and the student is + recommended to read his biography rather than his books. His life + expresses, better than any single literary work, the two ideals of the + age,--personal honor and national greatness. + </p> + <p> + As a writer he is known by three principal works, all published after his + death, showing how little importance he attached to his own writing, even + while he was encouraging Spenser. The <i>Arcadia</i> is a pastoral + romance, interspersed with eclogues, in which shepherds and shepherdesses + sing of the delights of rural life. Though the work was taken up idly as a + summer's pastime, it became immensely popular and was imitated by a + hundred poets. The <i>Apologie for Poetrie</i> (1595), generally called + the <i>Defense of Poesie</i>, appeared in answer to a pamphlet by Stephen + Gosson called <i>The School of Abuse</i> (1579), in which the poetry of + the age and its unbridled pleasure were denounced with Puritan + thoroughness and conviction. The <i>Apologie</i> is one of the first + critical essays in English; and though its style now seems labored and + unnatural,--the pernicious result of Euphues and his school,--it is still + one of the best expressions of the place and meaning of poetry in any + language. <i>Astrophel and Stella</i> is a collection of songs and sonnets + addressed to Lady Penelope Devereux, to whom Sidney had once been + betrothed. They abound in exquisite lines and passages, containing more + poetic feeling and expression than the songs of any other minor writer of + the age. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6h" id="chap6h">George Chapman</a></b> (1559?-1634). + Chapman spent his long, quiet life among the dramatists, and wrote chiefly + for the stage. His plays, which were for the most part merely poems in + dialogue, fell far below the high dramatic standard of his time and are + now almost unread. His most famous work is the metrical translation of the + <i>Iliad</i> (1611) and of the <i>Odyssey</i> (1614). Chapman's <i>Homer</i>, + though lacking the simplicity and dignity of the original, has a force and + rapidity of movement which makes it superior in many respects to Pope's + more familiar translation. Chapman is remembered also as the finisher of + Marlowe's <i>Hero and Leander</i>, in which, apart from the drama, the + Renaissance movement is seen at perhaps its highest point in English + poetry. Out of scores of long poems of the period, <i>Hero and Leander</i> + and the <i>Faery Queen</i> are the only two which are even slightly known + to modern readers. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6i" id="chap6i">Michael Drayton</a></b> (1563-1631). + Drayton is the most voluminous and, to antiquarians at least, the most + interesting of the minor poets. He is the Layamon of the Elizabethan Age, + and vastly more scholarly than his predecessor. His chief work is <i>Polyolbion</i>, + an enormous poem of many thousand couplets, describing the towns, + mountains, and rivers of Britain, with the interesting legends connected + with each. It is an extremely valuable work and represents a lifetime of + study and research. Two other long works are the <i>Barons' Wars</i> and + the <i>Heroic Epistle of England;</i> and besides these were many minor + poems. One of the best of these is the "Battle of Agincourt," a ballad + written in the lively meter which Tennyson used with some variations in + the "Charge of the Light Brigade," and which shows the old English love of + brave deeds and of the songs that stir a people's heart in memory of noble + ancestors. + </p> + <p> + III. THE FIRST ENGLISH DRAMATISTS + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6j" id="chap6j">The Origin of the Drama</a></b>. First the + deed, then the story, then the play; that seems to be the natural + development of the drama in its simplest form. The great deeds of a people + are treasured in its literature, and later generations represent in play + or pantomime certain parts of the story which appeal most powerfully to + the imagination. Among primitive races the deeds of their gods and heroes + are often represented at the yearly festivals; and among children, whose + instincts are not yet blunted by artificial habits, one sees the story + that was heard at bedtime repeated next day in vigorous action, when our + boys turn scouts and our girls princesses, precisely as our first + dramatists turned to the old legends and heroes of Britain for their first + stage productions. To act a part seems as natural to humanity as to tell a + story; and originally the drama is but an old story retold to the eye, a + story put into action by living performers, who for the moment "make + believe" or imagine themselves to be the old heroes. + </p> + <p> + To illustrate the matter simply, there was a great life lived by him who + was called the Christ. Inevitably the life found its way into literature, + and we have the Gospels. Around the life and literature sprang up a great + religion. Its worship was at first simple,--the common prayer, the evening + meal together, the remembered words of the Master, and the closing hymn. + Gradually a ritual was established, which grew more elaborate and + impressive as the centuries went by. Scenes from the Master's life began + to be represented in the churches, especially at Christmas time, when the + story of Christ's birth was made more effective, to the eyes of a people + who could not read, by a babe in a manger surrounded by magi and + shepherds, with a choir of angels chanting the <i>Gloria in Excelsis</i>.<sup><a + href="#fn126" name="rfn126" id="rfn126">[126]</a></sup> Other impressive + scenes from the Gospel followed; then the Old Testament was called upon, + until a complete cycle of plays from the Creation to the Final Judgment + was established, and we have the Mysteries and Miracle plays of the Middle + Ages. Out of these came directly the drama of the Elizabethan Age. + </p> + <p> + PERIODS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DRAMA + </p> + <p> + <b>1. <a name="chap6k" id="chap6k">The Religious Period</a></b>. In + Europe, as in Greece, the drama had a distinctly religious origin.<sup><a + href="#fn127" name="rfn127" id="rfn127">[127]</a></sup> The first + characters were drawn from the New Testament, and the object of the first + plays was to make the church service more impressive, or to emphasize + moral lessons by showing the reward of the good and the punishment of the + evil doer. In the latter days of the Roman Empire the Church found the + stage possessed by frightful plays, which debased the morals of a people + already fallen too low. Reform seemed impossible; the corrupt drama was + driven from the stage, and plays of every kind were forbidden. But mankind + loves a spectacle, and soon the Church itself provided a substitute for + the forbidden plays in the famous Mysteries and Miracles. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6l" id="chap6l">Miracle and Mystery Plays</a></b>. In + France the name <i>miracle</i> was given to any play representing the + lives of the saints, while the <i>mystère</i> represented scenes + from the life of Christ or stories from the Old Testament associated with + the coming of Messiah. In England this distinction was almost unknown; the + name Miracle was used indiscriminately for all plays having their origin + in the Bible or in the lives of the saints; and the name Mystery, to + distinguish a certain class of plays, was not used until long after the + religious drama had passed away. + </p> + <p> + The earliest Miracle of which we have any record in England is the <i>Ludus + de Sancta Katharina</i>, which was performed in Dunstable about the year + 1110.<sup><a href="#fn128" name="rfn128" id="rfn128">[128]</a></sup> It is + not known who wrote the original play of St. Catherine, but our first + version was prepared by Geoffrey of St. Albans, a French school-teacher of + Dunstable. Whether or not the play was given in English is not known, but + it was customary in the earliest plays for the chief actors to speak in + Latin or French, to show their importance, while minor and comic parts of + the same play were given in English. + </p> + <p> + For four centuries after this first recorded play the Miracles increased + steadily in number and popularity in England. They were given first very + simply and impressively in the churches; then, as the actors increased in + number and the plays in liveliness, they overflowed to the churchyards; + but when fun and hilarity began to predominate even in the most sacred + representations, the scandalized priests forbade plays altogether on + church grounds. By the year 1300 the Miracles were out of ecclesiastical + hands and adopted eagerly by the town guilds; and in the following two + centuries we find the Church preaching against the abuse of the religious + drama which it had itself introduced, and which at first had served a + purely religious purpose.<sup><a href="#fn129" name="rfn129" id="rfn129">[129]</a></sup> + But by this time the Miracles had taken strong hold upon the English + people, and they continued to be immensely popular until, in the sixteenth + century, they were replaced by the Elizabethan drama. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Cycles of Plays</span>The early Miracle plays of + England were divided into two classes: the first, given at Christmas, + included all plays connected with the birth of Christ; the second, at + Easter, included the plays relating to his death and triumph. By the + beginning of the fourteenth century all these plays were, in various + localities, united in single cycles beginning with the Creation and ending + with the Final Judgment. The complete cycle was presented every spring, + beginning on Corpus Christi day; and as the presentation of so many plays + meant a continuous outdoor festival of a week or more, this day was looked + forward to as the happiest of the whole year. + </p> + <p> + Probably every important town in England had its own cycle of plays for + its own guilds to perform, but nearly all have been lost. At the present + day only four cycles exist (except in the most fragmentary condition), and + these, though they furnish an interesting commentary on the times, add + very little to our literature. The four cycles are the Chester and York + plays, so called from the towns in which they were given; the Towneley or + Wakefield plays, named for the Towneley family, which for a long time + owned the manuscript; and the Coventry plays, which on doubtful evidence + have been associated with the Grey Friars (Franciscans) of Coventry. The + Chester cycle has 25 plays, the Wakefield 30, the Coventry 42, and the + York 48. It is impossible to fix either the date or the authorship of any + of these plays; we only know certainly that they were in great favor from + the twelfth to the sixteenth century. The York plays are generally + considered to be the best; but those of Wakefield show more humor and + variety, and better workmanship. The former cycle especially shows a + certain unity resulting from its aim to represent the whole of man's life + from birth to death. The same thing is noticeable in <i>Cursor Mundi</i>, + which, with the York and Wakefield cycles, belongs to the fourteenth + century. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Stage and the Actors</span>At first the + actors as well as the authors of the Miracles were the priests and their + chosen assistants. Later, when The town guilds took up the plays and each + guild became responsible for one or more of the series, the actors were + carefully selected and trained. By four o'clock on the morning of Corpus + Christi all the players had to be in their places in the movable theaters, + which were scattered throughout the town in the squares and open places. + Each of these theaters consisted of a two-story platform, set on wheels. + The lower story was a dressing room for the actors; the upper story was + the stage proper, and was reached by a trapdoor from below. When the play + was over the platform was dragged away, and the next play in the cycle + took its place. So in a single square several plays would be presented in + rapid sequence to the same audience. Meanwhile the first play moved on to + another square, where another audience was waiting to hear it. + </p> + <p> + Though the plays were distinctly religious in character, there is hardly + one without its humorous element. In the play of Noah, for instance, + Noah's shrewish wife makes fun for the audience by wrangling with her + husband. In the Crucifixion play Herod is a prankish kind of tyrant who + leaves the stage to rant among the audience; so that to "out-herod Herod" + became a common proverb. In all the plays the devil is a favorite + character and the butt of every joke. He also leaves the stage to play + pranks or frighten the wondering children. On the side of the stage was + often seen a huge dragon's head with gaping red jaws, belching forth fire + and smoke, out of which poured a tumultuous troop of devils with clubs and + pitchforks and gridirons to punish the wicked characters and to drag them + away at last, howling and shrieking, into hell-mouth, as the dragon's head + was called. So the fear of hell was ingrained into an ignorant people for + four centuries. Alternating with these horrors were bits of rough + horse-play and domestic scenes of peace and kindliness, representing the + life of the English fields and homes. With these were songs and carols, + like that of the Nativity, for instance: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + As I out rode this enderes (last) night,<br /> Of three jolly shepherds I + saw a sight,<br /> And all about their fold a star shone bright;<br /> + They sang <i>terli + terlow</i>,<br /> So merryly the shepherds their pipes can blow.<br /> + Down from heaven, from heaven so high,<br /> Of angels there came a great + companye<br /> With mirth, and joy, and great solemnitye;<br /> They + sang <i>terli terlow</i>,<br /> So merryly the shepherds their pipes can + blow.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Such songs were taken home by the audience and sung for a season, as a + popular tune is now caught from the stage and sung on the streets; and at + times the whole audience would very likely join in the chorus. + </p> + <p> + After these plays were written according to the general outline of the + Bible stories, no change was tolerated, the audience insisting, like + children at "Punch and Judy," upon seeing the same things year after year. + No originality in plot or treatment was possible, therefore; the only + variety was in new songs and jokes, and in the pranks of the devil. + Childish as such plays seem to us, they are part of the religious + development of all uneducated people. Even now the Persian play of the + "Martyrdom of Ali" is celebrated yearly, and the famous "Passion Play," a + true Miracle, is given every ten years at Oberammergau. + </p> + <p> + <b>2. <a name="chap6m" id="chap6m">The Moral Period of the Drama</a></b>.<sup><a + href="#fn130" name="rfn130" id="rfn130">[130]</a></sup> The second or + moral period of the drama is shown by the increasing prevalence of the + Morality plays. In these the characters were allegorical + personages,--Life, Death, Repentance, Goodness, Love, Greed, and other + virtues and vices. The Moralities may be regarded, therefore, as the + dramatic counterpart of the once popular allegorical poetry exemplified by + the <i>Romance of the Rose</i>. It did not occur to our first, unknown + dramatists to portray men and women as they are until they had first made + characters of abstract human qualities. Nevertheless, the Morality marks a + distinct advance over the Miracle in that it gave free scope to the + imagination for new plots and incidents. In Spain and Portugal these + plays, under the name <i>auto</i>, were wonderfully developed by the + genius of Calderon and Gil Vicente; but in England the Morality was a + dreary kind of performance, like the allegorical poetry which preceded it. + </p> + <p> + To enliven the audience the devil of the Miracle plays was introduced; and + another lively personage called the Vice was the predecessor of our modern + clown and jester. His business was to torment the "virtues" by mischievous + pranks, and especially to make the devil's life a burden by beating him + with a bladder or a wooden sword at every opportunity. The Morality + generally ended in the triumph of virtue, the devil leaping into + hell-mouth with Vice on his back. + </p> + <p> + The best known of the Moralities is "Everyman," which has recently been + revived in England and America. The subject of the play is the summoning + of every man by Death; and the moral is that nothing can take away the + terror of the inevitable summons but an honest life and the comforts of + religion. In its dramatic unity it suggests the pure Greek drama; there is + no change of time or scene, and the stage is never empty from the + beginning to the end of the performance. Other well-known Moralities are + the "Pride of Life," "Hyckescorner," and "Castell of Perseverance." In the + latter, man is represented as shut up in a castle garrisoned by the + virtues and besieged by the vices. + </p> + <p> + Like the Miracle plays, most of the old Moralities are of unknown date and + origin. Of the known authors of Moralities, two of the best are John + Skelton, who wrote "Magnificence," and probably also "The Necromancer"; + and Sir David Lindsay (1490-1555), "the poet of the Scotch Reformation," + whose religious business it was to make rulers uncomfortable by telling + them unpleasant truths in the form of poetry. With these men a new element + enters into the Moralities. They satirize or denounce abuses of Church and + State, and introduce living personages thinly disguised as allegories; so + that the stage first becomes a power in shaping events and correcting + abuses. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6n" id="chap6n">The Interludes</a></b>. It is impossible + to draw any accurate line of distinction between the Moralities and + Interludes. In general we may think of the latter as dramatic scenes, + sometimes given by themselves (usually with music and singing) at banquets + and entertainments where a little fun was wanted; and again slipped into a + Miracle play to enliven the audience after a solemn scene. Thus on the + margin of a page of one of the old Chester plays we read, "The boye and + pigge when the kinges are gone." Certainly this was no part of the + original scene between Herod and the three kings. So also the quarrel + between Noah and his wife is probably a late addition to an old play. The + Interludes originated, undoubtedly, in a sense of humor; and to John + Heywood (1497?-1580?), a favorite retainer and jester at the court of + Mary, is due the credit for raising the Interlude to the distinct dramatic + form known as comedy. + </p> + <p> + Heywood's Interludes were written between 1520 and 1540. His most famous + is "The Four P's," a contest of wit between a "Pardoner, a Palmer, a + Pedlar and a Poticary." The characters here strongly suggest those of + Chaucer.<sup><a href="#fn131" name="rfn131" id="rfn131">[131]</a></sup> + Another interesting Interlude is called "The Play of the Weather." In this + Jupiter and the gods assemble to listen to complaints about the weather + and to reform abuses. Naturally everybody wants his own kind of weather. + The climax is reached by a boy who announces that a boy's pleasure + consists in two things, catching birds and throwing snowballs, and begs + for the weather to be such that he can always do both. Jupiter decides + that he will do just as he pleases about the weather, and everybody goes + home satisfied. + </p> + <p> + All these early plays were written, for the most part, in a mingling of + prose and wretched doggerel, and add nothing to our literature. Their + great work was to train actors, to keep alive the dramatic spirit, and to + prepare the way for the true drama. + </p> + <p> + <b>3. <a name="chap6o" id="chap6o">The Artistic Period of the Drama</a></b>. + The artistic is the final stage in the development of the English drama. + It differs radically from the other two in that its chief purpose is not + to point a moral but to represent human life as it is. The artistic drama + may have purpose, no less than the Miracle play, but the motive is always + subordinate to the chief end of representing life itself. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The First Comedy </span>The first true play in + English, with a regular plot, divided into acts and scenes, is probably + the comedy, "Ralph Royster Doyster." It was written by Nicholas Udall, + master of Eton, and later of Westminster school, and was first acted by + his schoolboys some time before 1556. The story is that of a conceited fop + in love with a widow, who is already engaged to another man. The play is + an adaptation of the <i>Miles Gloriosus</i>, a classic comedy by Plautus, + and the English characters are more or less artificial; but as furnishing + a model of a clear plot and natural dialogue, the influence of this first + comedy, with its mixture of classic and English elements, can hardly be + overestimated. + </p> + <p> + The next play, "Gammer Gurton's Needle" <i>(cir</i>. 1562), is a domestic + comedy, a true bit of English realism, representing the life of the + peasant class. + </p> + <p> + Gammer Gurton is patching the leather breeches of her man Hodge, when Gib, + the cat, gets into the milk pan. While Gammer chases the cat the family + needle is lost, a veritable calamity in those days. The whole household is + turned upside down, and the neighbors are dragged into the affair. Various + comical situations are brought about by Diccon, a thieving vagabond, who + tells Gammer that her neighbor, Dame Chatte, has taken her needle, and who + then hurries to tell Dame Chatte that she is accused by Gammer of stealing + a favorite rooster. Naturally there is a terrible row when the two irate + old women meet and misunderstand each other. Diccon also drags Doctor Rat, + the curate, into the quarrel by telling him that, if he will but creep + into Dame Chatte's cottage by a hidden way, he will find her using the + stolen needle. Then Diccon secretly warns Dame Chatte that Gammer Gurton's + man Hodge is coming to steal her chickens; and the old woman hides in the + dark passage and cudgels the curate soundly with the door bar. All the + parties are finally brought before the justice, when Hodge suddenly and + painfully finds the lost needle--which is all the while stuck in his + leather breeches--and the scene ends uproariously for both audience and + actors. + </p> + <p> + This first wholly English comedy is full of fun and coarse humor, and is + wonderfully true to the life it represents. It was long attributed to John + Still, afterwards bishop of Bath; but the authorship is now definitely + assigned to William Stevenson.<sup><a href="#fn132" name="rfn132" + id="rfn132">[132]</a></sup> Our earliest edition of the play was printed + in 1575; but a similar play called "Dyccon of Bedlam" was licensed in + 1552, twelve years before Shakespeare's birth. + </p> + <p> + To show the spirit and the metrical form of the play we give a fragment of + the boy's description of the dullard Hodge trying to light a fire on the + hearth from the cat's eyes, and another fragment of the old drinking song + at the beginning of the second act. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + At last in a dark corner two sparkes he thought he sees<br /> Which were, + indede, nought els but Gyb our cat's two eyes.<br /> "Puffe!" quod Hodge, + thinking therby to have fyre without doubt;<br /> With that Gyb shut her + two eyes, and so the fyre was out.<br /> And by-and-by them opened, even + as they were before;<br /> With that the sparkes appeared, even as they + had done of yore.<br /> And, even as Hodge blew the fire, as he did + thincke,<br /> Gyb, as she felt the blast, strayght-way began to wyncke,<br /> + Tyll Hodge fell of swering, as came best to his turne,<br /> The fier was + sure bewicht, and therfore wold not burne.<br /> At last Gyb up the + stayers, among the old postes and pinnes,<br /> And Hodge he hied him + after till broke were both his shinnes,<br /> Cursynge and swering othes, + were never of his makyng,<br /> That Gyb wold fyre the house if that shee + were not taken.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>Fyrste a Songe:</i><br /> + <i>Backe and syde, go bare, go bare;<br /> Booth + foote and hande, go colde;<br /> But, bellye, God sende thee good ale + ynoughe,<br /> Whether it be newe or olde</i>!<br /> + I can not eate but lytle meate,<br /> My stomacke + is not good;<br /> But sure I thinke that I can dryncke<br /> With + him that weares a hood.<br /> Thoughe I go bare, take ye no care,<br /> + I am nothinge a-colde,<br /> I stuffe my skyn so + full within<br /> Of ioly good ale and olde.<br /> + <i>Backe and syde, go bare</i>, etc.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The First Tragedy</span>Our first tragedy, + "Gorboduc," was written by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton, and was + acted in 1562, only two years before the birth of Shakespeare. It is + remarkable not only as our first tragedy, but as the first play to be + written in blank verse, the latter being most significant, since it + started the drama into the style of verse best suited to the genius of + English playwrights. + </p> + <p> + The story of "Gorboduc" is taken from the early annals of Britain and + recalls the story used by Shakespeare in <i>King Lear</i>. Gorboduc, king + of Britain, divides his kingdom between his sons Ferrex and Porrex. The + sons quarrel, and Porrex, the younger, slays his brother, who is the + queen's favorite. Videna, the queen, slays Porrex in revenge; the people + rebel and slay Videna and Gorboduc; then the nobles kill the rebels, and + in turn fall to fighting each other. The line of Brutus being extinct with + the death of Gorboduc, the country falls into anarchy, with rebels, + nobles, and a Scottish invader all fighting for the right of succession. + The curtain falls upon a scene of bloodshed and utter confusion. + </p> + <p> + The artistic finish of this first tragedy is marred by the authors' + evident purpose to persuade Elizabeth to marry. It aims to show the danger + to which England is exposed by the uncertainty of succession. Otherwise + the plan of the play follows the classical rule of Seneca. There is very + little action on the stage; bloodshed and battle are announced by a + messenger; and the chorus, of four old men of Britain, sums up the + situation with a few moral observations at the end of each of the first + four acts. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6p" id="chap6p">Classical Influence upon the Drama</a></b>. + The revival of Latin literature had a decided influence upon the English + drama as it developed from the Miracle plays. In the fifteenth century + English teachers, in order to increase the interest in Latin, began to let + their boys act the plays which they had read as literature, precisely as + our colleges now present Greek or German plays at the yearly festivals. + Seneca was the favorite Latin author, and all his tragedies were + translated into English between 1559 and 1581. This was the exact period + in which the first English playwrights were shaping their own ideas; but + the severe simplicity of the classical drama seemed at first only to + hamper the exuberant English spirit. To understand this, one has only to + compare a tragedy of Seneca or of Euripides with one of Shakespeare, and + see how widely the two masters differ in methods. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Dramatic Unities </span>In the classic play the + so-called dramatic unities of time, place, and action were strictly + observed. Time and place must remain the same; the play could represent a + period of only a few hours, and whatever action was introduced must take + place at the spot where the play began. The characters, therefore, must + remain unchanged throughout; there was no possibility of the child + becoming a man, or of the man's growth with changing circumstances. As the + play was within doors, all vigorous action was deemed out of place on the + stage, and battles and important events were simply announced by a + messenger. The classic drama also drew a sharp line between tragedy and + comedy, all fun being rigorously excluded from serious representations. + </p> + <p> + The English drama, on the other hand, strove to represent the whole sweep + of life in a single play. The scene changed rapidly; the same actors + appeared now at home, now at court, now on the battlefield; and vigorous + action filled the stage before the eyes of the spectators. The child of + one act appeared as the man of the next, and the imagination of the + spectator was called upon to bridge the gaps from place to place and from + year to year. So the dramatist had free scope to present all life in a + single place and a single hour. Moreover, since the world is always + laughing and always crying at the same moment, tragedy and comedy were + presented side by side, as they are in life itself. As Hamlet sings, after + the play that amused the court but struck the king with deadly fear: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Why, let the stricken deer go weep,<br /> The hart ungalled play;<br /> + For some must watch, while some must sleep:<br /> So runs the world away.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Two Schools of Drama</span>Naturally, with these + two ideals struggling to master the English drama, two schools of writers + arose. The University Two Schools Wits, as men of learning were called, + generally of Drama upheld the classical ideal, and ridiculed the + crude-ness of the new English plays. Sackville and Norton were of this + class, and "Gorboduc" was classic in its construction. In the "Defense of + Poesie" Sidney upholds the classics and ridicules the too ambitious scope + of the English drama. Against these were the popular playwrights, Lyly, + Peele, Greene, Marlowe, and many others, who recognized the English love + of action and disregarded the dramatic unities in their endeavor to + present life as it is. In the end the native drama prevailed, aided by the + popular taste which had been trained by four centuries of Miracles. Our + first plays, especially of the romantic type, were extremely crude and + often led to ridiculously extravagant scenes; and here is where the + classic drama exercised an immense influence for good, by insisting upon + beauty of form and definiteness of structure at a time when the tendency + was to satisfy a taste for stage spectacles without regard to either. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Theater</span>In the year 1574 a royal permit + to Lord Leicester's actors allowed them "to give plays anywhere throughout + our realm of England," and this must be regarded as the beginning of the + regular drama. Two years later the first playhouse, known as "The + Theater," was built for these actors by James Burbage in Finsbury Fields, + just north of London. It was in this theater that Shakespeare probably + found employment when he first came to the city. The success of this + venture was immediate, and the next thirty years saw a score of theatrical + companies, at least seven regular theaters, and a dozen or more inn yards + permanently fitted for the giving of plays,--all established in the city + and its immediate suburbs. The growth seems all the more remarkable when + we remember that the London of those days would now be considered a small + city, having (in 1600) only about a hundred thousand inhabitants. + </p> + <p> + A Dutch traveler, Johannes de Witt, who visited London in 1596, has given + us the only contemporary drawing we possess of the interior of one of + these theaters. They were built of stone and wood, round or octagonal in + shape, and without a roof, being simply an inclosed courtyard. At one side + was the stage, and before it on the bare ground, or pit, stood that large + part of the audience who could afford to pay only an admission fee. The + players and these groundlings were exposed to the weather; those that paid + for seats were in galleries sheltered by a narrow porch-roof projecting + inwards from the encircling walls; while the young nobles and gallants, + who came to be seen and who could afford the extra fee, took seats on the + stage itself, and smoked and chaffed the actors and threw nuts at the + groundlings.<sup><a href="#fn133" name="rfn133" id="rfn133">[133]</a></sup> + The whole idea of these first theaters, according to De Witt, was like + that of the Roman amphitheater; and the resemblance was heightened by the + fact that, when no play was on the boards, the stage might be taken away + and the pit given over to bull and bear baiting. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Stage</span>In all these theaters, probably, + the stage consisted of a bare platform, with a curtain or "traverse" + across the middle, separating the front from the rear stage. On the latter + unexpected scenes or characters were "discovered" by simply drawing the + curtain aside. At first little or no scenery was used, a gilded sign being + the only announcement of a change of scene; and this very lack of scenery + led to better acting, since the actors must be realistic enough to make + the audience forget its shabby surroundings.<sup><a href="#fn134" + name="rfn134" id="rfn134">[134]</a></sup> By Shakespeare's day, however, + painted scenery had appeared, first at university plays, and then in the + regular theaters.<sup><a href="#fn135" name="rfn135" id="rfn135">[135]</a></sup> + In all our first plays female parts were taken by boy actors, who + evidently were more distressing than the crude scenery, for contemporary + literature has many satirical references to their acting,<sup><a + href="#fn136" name="rfn136" id="rfn136">[136]</a></sup> and even the + tolerant Shakespeare writes: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + However that may be, the stage was deemed unfit for women, and actresses + were unknown in England until after the Restoration. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6q" id="chap6q">Shakespeare's Predecessors in the Drama.</a></b> + The English drama as it developed from the Miracle plays has an + interesting history. It began with schoolmasters, like Udall, who + translated and adapted Latin plays for their boys to act, and who were + naturally governed by classic ideals. It was continued by the choir + masters of St. Paul and the Royal and the Queen's Chapel, whose companies + of choir-boy actors were famous in London and rivaled the players of the + regular theaters.<sup><a href="#fn137" name="rfn137" id="rfn137">[137]</a></sup> + These choir masters were our first stage managers. They began with masques + and interludes and the dramatic presentation of classic myths modeled + after the Italians; but some of them, like Richard Edwards (choir master + of the Queen's Chapel in 1561), soon added farces from English country + life and dramatized some of Chaucer's stories. Finally, the regular + playwrights, Kyd, Nash, Lyly, Peele, Greene, and Marlowe, brought the + English drama to the point where Shakespeare began to experiment upon it. + </p> + <p> + Each of these playwrights added or emphasized some essential element in + the drama, which appeared later in the work of Shakespeare. Thus John Lyly + (1554?-1606), who is now known chiefly as having developed the pernicious + literary style called euphuism,<sup><a href="#fn138" name="rfn138" + id="rfn138">[138]</a></sup> is one of the most influential of the early + dramatists. His court comedies are remarkable for their witty dialogue and + for being our first plays to aim definitely at unity and artistic finish. + Thomas Kyd's <i>Spanish Tragedy</i> (<i>c.</i> 1585) first gives us the + drama, or rather the melodrama, of passion, copied by Marlowe and + Shakespeare. This was the most popular of the early Elizabethan plays; it + was revised again and again, and Ben Jonson is said to have written one + version and to have acted the chief part of Hieronimo.<sup><a href="#fn139" + name="rfn139" id="rfn139">[139]</a></sup> And Robert Greene (1558?-1592) + plays the chief part in the early development of romantic comedy, and + gives us some excellent scenes of English country life in plays like <i>Friar + Bacon and Friar Bungay</i>. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Methods of the Early Dramatists</span>Even a + brief glance at the life and work of these first playwrights shows three + noteworthy things which have a bearing on Shakespeare's career: (1) These + men were usually actors as well as dramatists. They knew the stage and the + audience, and in writing their plays they remembered not only the actor's + part but also the audience's love for stories and brave spectacles. "Will + it act well, and will it please our audience," were the questions of chief + concern to our early dramatists. (2) Their training began as actors; then + they revised old plays, and finally became independent writers. In this + their work shows an exact parallel with that of Shakespeare. (3) They + often worked together, probably as Shakespeare worked with Marlowe and + Fletcher, either in revising old plays or in creating new ones. They had a + common store of material from which they derived their stories and + characters, hence their frequent repetition of names; and they often + produced two or more plays on the same subject. Much of Shakespeare's work + depends, as we shall see, on previous plays; and even his <i>Hamlet</i> + uses the material of an earlier play of the same name, probably by Kyd, + which was well known to the London stage in 1589, some twelve years before + Shakespeare's great work was written. + </p> + <p> + All these things are significant, if we are to understand the Elizabethan + drama and the man who brought it to perfection. Shakespeare was not simply + a great genius; he was also a great worker, and he developed in exactly + the same way as did all his fellow craftsmen. And, contrary to the + prevalent opinion, the Elizabethan drama is not a Minerva-like creation, + springing full grown from the head of one man; it is rather an orderly + though rapid development, in which many men bore a part. All our early + dramatists are worthy of study for the part they played in the development + of the drama; but we can here consider only one, the most typical of all, + whose best work is often ranked with that of Shakespeare. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap6r" id="chap6r">CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE</a> (1564-1593) + </p> + <p> + Marlowe is one of the most suggestive figures of the English Renaissance, + and the greatest of Shakespeare's predecessors. The glory of the + Elizabethan drama dates from his <i>Tamburlaine</i> (1587), wherein the + whole restless temper of the age finds expression: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Nature, that framed us of four elements<br /> Warring within our breasts + for regiment,<br /> Doth teach us all to have aspiring minds:<br /> Our + souls--whose faculties can comprehend<br /> The wondrous architecture of + the world,<br /> And measure every wandering planet's course,<br /> Still + climbing after knowledge infinite,<br /> And always moving as the + restless spheres--<br /> Will us to wear ourselves and never rest.<br /> + <i>Tamburlaine</i>, Pt. I, II, vii.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Life. Marlowe was born in Canterbury, only a few months before + Shakespeare. He was the son of a poor shoemaker, but through the kindness + of a patron was educated at the town grammar school and then at Cambridge. + When he came to London (<i>c.</i> 1584), his soul was surging with the + ideals of the Renaissance, which later found expression in Faustus, the + scholar longing for unlimited knowledge and for power to grasp the + universe. Unfortunately, Marlowe had also the unbridled passions which + mark the early, or Pagan Renaissance, as Taine calls it, and the conceit + of a young man just entering the realms of knowledge. He became an actor + and lived in a low-tavern atmosphere of excess and wretchedness. In 1587, + when but twenty-three years old, he produced <i>Tamburlaine</i>, which + brought him instant recognition. Thereafter, notwithstanding his wretched + life, he holds steadily to a high literary purpose. Though all his plays + abound in violence, no doubt reflecting many of the violent scenes in + which he lived, he develops his "mighty line" and depicts great scenes in + magnificent bursts of poetry, such as the stage had never heard before. In + five years, while Shakespeare was serving his apprenticeship, Marlowe + produced all his great work. Then he was stabbed in a drunken brawl and + died wretchedly, as he had lived. The Epilogue of <i>Faustus</i> might be + written across his tombstone: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight,<br /> And burned + is Apollo's laurel bough<br /> That sometime grew within this learnéd + man.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b>Marlowe's Works.</b> In addition to the poem "Hero and Leander," to + which we have referred,<sup><a href="#fn140" name="rfn140" id="rfn140">[140]</a></sup> + Marlowe is famous for four dramas, now known as the Marlowesque or one-man + type of tragedy, each revolving about one central personality who is + consumed by the lust of power. The first of these is <i>Tamburlaine</i>, + the story of Timur the Tartar. Timur begins as a shepherd chief, who first + rebels and then triumphs over the Persian king. Intoxicated by his + success, Timur rushes like a tempest over the whole East. Seated on his + chariot drawn by captive kings, with a caged emperor before him, he boasts + of his power which overrides all things. Then, afflicted with disease, he + raves against the gods and would overthrow them as he has overthrown + earthly rulers. <i>Tamburlaine</i> is an epic rather than a drama; but one + can understand its instant success with a people only half civilized, fond + of military glory, and the instant adoption of its "mighty line" as the + instrument of all dramatic expression. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Faustus</span><i>Faustus</i>, the second play, is + one of the best of Marlowe's works.<sup><a href="#fn141" name="rfn141" + id="rfn141">[141]</a></sup> The story is that of a scholar who longs for + infinite knowledge, and who turns from Theology, Philosophy, Medicine, and + Law, the four sciences of the time, to the study of magic, much as a child + might turn from jewels to tinsel and colored paper. In order to learn + magic he sells himself to the devil, on condition that he shall have + twenty-four years of absolute power and knowledge. The play is the story + of those twenty-four years. Like <i>Tamburlaine</i>, it is lacking in + dramatic construction,<sup><a href="#fn142" name="rfn142" id="rfn142">[142]</a></sup> + but has an unusual number of passages of rare poetic beauty. Milton's + Satan suggests strongly that the author of <i>Paradise Lost</i> had access + to <i>Faustus</i> and used it, as he may also have used <i>Tamburlaine</i>, + for the magnificent panorama displayed by Satan in <i>Paradise Regained</i>. + For instance, more than fifty years before Milton's hero says, "Which way + I turn is hell, myself am hell," Marlowe had written: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>Faust</i>. How comes it then that thou art out of hell?<br /> <i>Mephisto</i>. + Why this is hell, nor am I out of it.<br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Hell hath no limits, nor + is circumscribed<br /> In + one self place; for where we are is hell,<br /> And + where hell is there must we ever be.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Marlowe's third play is <i>The Jew of Malta</i>, a study of the lust for + wealth, which centers about Barabas, a terrible old money lender, strongly + suggestive of Shylock in <i>The Merchant of Venice</i>. The first part of + the play is well constructed, showing a decided advance, but the last part + is an accumulation of melodramatic horrors. Barabas is checked in his + murderous career by falling into a boiling caldron which he had prepared + for another, and dies blaspheming, his only regret being that he has not + done more evil in his life. + </p> + <p> + Marlowe's last play is <i>Edward II</i>, a tragic study of a king's + weakness and misery. In point of style and dramatic construction, it is by + far the best of Marlowe's plays, and is a worthy predecessor of + Shakespeare's historical drama. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Marlowe and Shakespeare</span>Marlowe is the only + dramatist of the time who is ever compared with Shakespeare.<sup><a + href="#fn143" name="rfn143" id="rfn143">[143]</a></sup> When we remember + that he died at twenty-nine, probably before Shakespeare had produced a + single great play, we must wonder what he might have done had he outlived + his wretched youth and become a man. Here and there his work is remarkable + for its splendid imagination, for the stateliness of its verse, and for + its rare bits of poetic beauty; but in dramatic instinct, in wide + knowledge of human life, in humor, in delineation of woman's character, in + the delicate fancy which presents an Ariel as perfectly as a Macbeth,--in + a word, in all that makes a dramatic genius, Shakespeare stands alone. + Marlowe simply prepared the way for the master who was to follow. + </p> + <p> + <b>Variety of the Early Drama.</b> The thirty years between our first + regular English plays and Shakespeare's first comedy<sup><a href="#fn144" + name="rfn144" id="rfn144">[144]</a></sup> witnessed a development of the + drama which astonishes us both by its rapidity and variety. We shall + better appreciate Shakespeare's work if we glance for a moment at the + plays that preceded him, and note how he covers the whole field and writes + almost every form and variety of the drama known to his age. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Types of Drama</span>First in importance, or at + least in popular interest, are the new Chronicle plays, founded upon + historical events and characters. They show the strong national spirit of + the Elizabethan Age, and their popularity was due largely to the fact that + audiences came to the theaters partly to gratify their awakened national + spirit and to get their first knowledge of national history. Some of the + Moralities, like Bayle's <i>King Johan</i> (1538), are crude Chronicle + plays, and the early Robin Hood plays and the first tragedy, <i>Gorboduc</i>, + show the same awakened popular interest in English history. During the + reign of Elizabeth the popular Chronicle plays increased till we have the + record of over two hundred and twenty, half of which are still extant, + dealing with almost every important character, real or legendary, in + English history. Of Shakespeare's thirty-seven dramas, ten are true + Chronicle plays of English kings; three are from the legendary annals of + Britain; and three more are from the history of other nations. + </p> + <p> + Other types of the early drama are less clearly defined, but we may sum + them up under a few general heads: (1) The Domestic Drama began with crude + home scenes introduced into the Miracles and developed in a score of + different ways, from the coarse humor of <i>Gammer Gurton's Needle</i> to + the Comedy of Manners of Jonson and the later dramatists. Shakespeare's <i>Taming + of the Shrew</i> and <i>Merry Wives of Windsor</i> belong to this class. + (2) The so-called Court Comedy is the opposite of the former in that it + represented a different kind of life and was intended for a different + audience. It was marked by elaborate dialogue, by jests, retorts, and + endless plays on words, rather than by action. It was made popular by + Lyly's success, and was imitated in Shakespeare's first or "Lylian" + comedies, such as <i>Love's Labour's Lost</i>, and the complicated <i>Two + Gentlemen of Verona</i>. (3) Romantic Comedy and Romantic Tragedy suggest + the most artistic and finished types of the drama, which were experimented + upon by Peele, Greene, and Marlowe, and were brought to perfection in <i>The + Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet</i>, and <i>The Tempest</i>. (4) In + addition to the above types were several others,--the Classical Plays, + modeled upon Seneca and favored by cultivated audiences; the Melodrama, + favorite of the groundlings, which depended not on plot or characters but + upon a variety of striking scenes and incidents; and the Tragedy of Blood, + always more or less melodramatic, like Kyd's <i>Spanish Tragedy</i>, which + grew more blood-and-thundery in Marlowe and reached a climax of horrors in + Shakespeare's <i>Titus Andronicus</i>. It is noteworthy that <i>Hamlet, + Lear</i>, and <i>Macbeth</i> all belong to this class, but the developed + genius of the author raised them to a height such as the Tragedy of Blood + had never known before. + </p> + <p> + These varied types are quite enough to show with what doubtful and + unguided experiments our first dramatists were engaged, like men first + setting out in rafts and dugouts on an unknown sea. They are the more + interesting when we remember that Shakespeare tried them all; that he is + the only dramatist whose plays cover the whole range of the drama from its + beginning to its decline. From the stage spectacle he developed the drama + of human life; and instead of the doggerel and bombast of our first plays + he gives us the poetry of <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> and <i>Midsummer Night's + Dream</i>. In a word, Shakespeare brought order out of dramatic chaos. In + a few short years he raised the drama from a blundering experiment to a + perfection of form and expression which has never since been rivaled. + </p> + <p> + IV. <a name="chap6s" id="chap6s">SHAKESPEARE</a> + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Wonder of Shakespeare</span>One who reads a + few of Shakespeare's great plays and then the meager story of his life is + generally filled with a vague wonder. Here is an unknown country boy, poor + and poorly educated according to the standards of his age, who arrives at + the great city of London and goes to work at odd jobs in a theater. In a + year or two he is associated with scholars and dramatists, the masters of + their age, writing plays of kings and clowns, of gentlemen and heroes and + noble women, all of whose lives he seems to know by intimate association. + In a few years more he leads all that brilliant group of poets and + dramatists who have given undying glory to the Age of Elizabeth. Play + after play runs from his pen, mighty dramas of human life and character + following one another so rapidly that good work seems impossible; yet they + stand the test of time, and their poetry is still unrivaled in any + language. For all this great work the author apparently cares little, + since he makes no attempt to collect or preserve his writings. A thousand + scholars have ever since been busy collecting, identifying, classifying + the works which this magnificent workman tossed aside so carelessly when + he abandoned the drama and retired to his native village. He has a + marvelously imaginative and creative mind; but he invents few, if any, new + plots or stories. He simply takes an old play or an old poem, makes it + over quickly, and lo! this old familiar material glows with the deepest + thoughts and the tenderest feelings that ennoble our humanity; and each + new generation of men finds it more wonderful than the last. How did he do + it? That is still an unanswered question and the source of our wonder. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el017" id="el017"> <img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE" src="images/el017.png" /></a><br /> + WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Genius or Training</span>There are, in general, + two theories to account for Shakespeare. The romantic school of writers + have always held that in him "all came from within"; that his genius was + his sufficient guide; and that to the overmastering power of his genius + alone we owe all his great works. Practical, unimaginative men, on the + other hand, assert that in Shakespeare "all came from without," and that + we must study his environment rather than his genius, if we are to + understand him. He lived in a play-loving age; he studied the crowds, gave + them what they wanted, and simply reflected their own thoughts and + feelings. In reflecting the English crowd about him he unconsciously + reflected all crowds, which are alike in all ages; hence his continued + popularity. And in being guided by public sentiment he was not singular, + but followed the plain path that every good dramatist has always followed + to success. + </p> + <p> + Probably the truth of the matter is to be found somewhere between these + two extremes. Of his great genius there can be no question; but there are + other things to consider. As we have already noticed, Shakespeare was + trained, like his fellow workmen, first as an actor, second as a reviser + of old plays, and last as an independent dramatist. He worked with other + playwrights and learned their secret. Like them, he studied and followed + the public taste, and his work indicates at least three stages, from his + first somewhat crude experiments to his finished masterpieces. So it would + seem that in Shakespeare we have the result of hard work and of orderly + human development, quite as much as of transcendent genius. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life (1564-1616)</b>. Two outward influences were powerful in + developing the genius of Shakespeare,--the little village of Stratford, + center of the most beautiful and romantic district in rural England, and + the great city of London, the center of the world's political activity. In + one he learned to know the natural man in his natural environment; in the + other, the social, the artificial man in the most unnatural of + surroundings. + </p> + <p> + From the register of the little parish church at Stratford-on-Avon we + learn that William Shakespeare was baptized there on the twenty-sixth of + April, 1564 (old style). As it was customary to baptize children on the + third day after birth, the twenty-third of April (May 3, according to our + present calendar) is generally accepted as the poet's birthday. + </p> + <p> + His father, John Shakespeare, was a farmer's son from the neighboring + village of Snitterfield, who came to Stratford about 1551, and began to + prosper as a trader in corn, meat, leather, and other agricultural + products. His mother, Mary Arden, was the daughter of a prosperous farmer, + descended from an old Warwickshire family of mixed Anglo-Saxon and Norman + blood. In 1559 this married couple sold a piece of land, and the document + is signed, "The marke + of John Shacksper. The marke + of Mary Shacksper"; + and from this it has been generally inferred that, like the vast majority + of their countrymen, neither of the poet's parents could read or write. + This was probably true of his mother; but the evidence from Stratford + documents now indicates that his father could write, and that he also + audited the town accounts; though in attesting documents he sometimes made + a mark, leaving his name to be filled in by the one who drew up the + document. + </p> + <p> + Of Shakespeare's education we know little, except that for a few years he + probably attended the endowed grammar school at Stratford, where he picked + up the "small Latin and less Greek" to which his learned friend Ben Jonson + refers. His real teachers, meanwhile, were the men and women and the + natural influences which surrounded him. Stratford is a charming little + village in beautiful Warwickshire, and near at hand were the Forest of + Arden, the old castles of Warwick and Kenilworth, and the old Roman camps + and military roads, to appeal powerfully to the boy's lively imagination. + Every phase of the natural beauty of this exquisite region is reflected in + Shakespeare's poetry; just as his characters reflect the nobility and the + littleness, the gossip, vices, emotions, prejudices, and traditions of the + people about him. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus,<br /> The whilst his iron did + on the anvil cool,<br /> With open mouth swallowing a tailor's news;<br /> + Who, with his shears and measure in his hand,<br /> Standing on slippers, + which his nimble haste<br /> Had falsely thrust upon contrary feet,<br /> + Told of a many thousand warlike French<br /> That were embattailed and + ranked in Kent.<sup><a href="#fn145" name="rfn145" id="rfn145">[145]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Such passages suggest not only genius but also a keen, sympathetic + observer, whose eyes see every significant detail. So with the nurse in <i>Romeo + and Juliet</i>, whose endless gossip and vulgarity cannot quite hide a + kind heart. She is simply the reflection of some forgotten nurse with whom + Shakespeare had talked by the wayside. + </p> + <p> + Not only the gossip but also the dreams, the unconscious poetry that + sleeps in the heart of the common people, appeal tremendously to + Shakespeare's imagination and are reflected in his greatest plays. Othello + tries to tell a curt soldier's story of his love; but the account is like + a bit of Mandeville's famous travels, teeming with the fancies that filled + men's heads when the great round world was first brought to their + attention by daring explorers. Here is a bit of folklore, touched by + Shakespeare's exquisite fancy, which shows what one boy listened to before + the fire at Halloween: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + She + comes<br /> In shape no bigger than an agate-stone<br /> On the + fore-finger of an alderman,<br /> Drawn with a team of little atomies<br /> + Athwart men's noses as they lie asleep;<br /> Her waggon-spokes made of + long spinners' legs,<br /> The cover of the wings of grasshoppers,<br /> + The traces of the smallest spider's web,<br /> The collars of the + moonshine's watery beams,<br /> Her whip of cricket's bone, the lash of + film,<br /> Her waggoner a small grey-coated gnat,<br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Her chariot is an empty hazel nut<br /> Made by the joiner squirrel, or + old grub,<br /> Time out o' mind the fairies' coachmakers.<br /> And in + this state she gallops night by night<br /> Through lovers' brains, and + then they dream of love;<br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + O'er lawyers' fingers, who straight dream on fees,<br /> O'er ladies' + lips, who straight on kisses dream.<sup><a href="#fn146" name="rfn146" + id="rfn146">[146]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + So with Shakespeare's education at the hands of Nature, which came from + keeping his heart as well as his eyes wide open to the beauty of the + world. He speaks of a horse, and we know the fine points of a + thoroughbred; he mentions the duke's hounds, and we hear them clamoring on + a fox trail, their voices matched like bells in the frosty air; he stops + for an instant in the sweep of a tragedy to note a flower, a star, a + moonlit bank, a hilltop touched by the sunrise, and instantly we know what + our own hearts felt but could not quite express when we saw the same + thing. Because he notes and remembers every significant thing in the + changing panorama of earth and sky, no other writer has ever approached + him in the perfect natural setting of his characters. + </p> + <p> + When Shakespeare was about fourteen years old his father lost his little + property and fell into debt, and the boy probably left school to help + support the family of younger children. What occupation he followed for + the next eight years is a matter of conjecture. From evidence found in his + plays, it is alleged with some show of authority that he was a country + schoolmaster and a lawyer's clerk, the character of Holofernes, in <i>Love's + Labour's Lost</i>, being the warrant for one, and Shakespeare's knowledge + of law terms for the other. But if we take such evidence, then Shakespeare + must have been a botanist, because of his knowledge of wild flowers; a + sailor, because he knows the ropes; a courtier, because of his + extraordinary facility in quips and compliments and courtly language; a + clown, because none other is so dull and foolish; a king, because Richard + and Henry are true to life; a woman, because he has sounded the depths of + a woman's feelings; and surely a Roman, because in <i>Coriolanus</i> and + <i>Julius Cæsar</i> he has shown us the Roman spirit better than + have the Roman writers themselves. He was everything, in his imagination, + and it is impossible from a study of his scenes and characters to form a + definite opinion as to his early occupation. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el018" id="el018"> <img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: ANNE HATHAWAY COTTAGE" src="images/el018.png" /> </a><br /> + ANNE HATHAWAY COTTAGE + </p> + <p> + In 1582 Shakespeare was married to Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a + peasant family of Shottery, who was eight years older than her boy + husband. From numerous sarcastic references to marriage made by the + characters in his plays, and from the fact that he soon left his wife and + family and went to London, it is generally alleged that the marriage was a + hasty and unhappy one; but here again the evidence is entirely + untrustworthy. In many Miracles as well as in later plays it was customary + to depict the seamy side of domestic life for the amusement of the crowd; + and Shakespeare may have followed the public taste in this as he did in + other things. The references to love and home and quiet joys in + Shakespeare's plays are enough, if we take such evidence, to establish + firmly the opposite supposition, that his love was a very happy one. And + the fact that, after his enormous success in London, he retired to + Stratford to live quietly with his wife and daughters, tends to the same + conclusion. + </p> + <p> + About the year 1587 Shakespeare left his family and went to London and + joined himself to Burbage's company of players. A persistent tradition + says that he had incurred the anger of Sir Thomas Lucy, first by poaching + deer in that nobleman's park, and then, when haled before a magistrate, by + writing a scurrilous ballad about Sir Thomas, which so aroused the old + gentleman's ire that Shakespeare was obliged to flee the country. An old + record<sup><a href="#fn147" name="rfn147" id="rfn147">[147]</a></sup> says + that the poet "was much given to all unluckiness in stealing venison and + rabbits," the unluckiness probably consisting in getting caught himself, + and not in any lack of luck in catching the rabbits. The ridicule heaped + upon the Lucy family in <i>Henry IV</i> and the <i>Merry Wives of Windsor</i> + gives some weight to this tradition. Nicholas Rowe, who published the + first life of Shakespeare,<sup><a href="#fn148" name="rfn148" id="rfn148">[148]</a></sup> + is the authority for this story; but there is some reason to doubt + whether, at the time when Shakespeare is said to have poached in the deer + park of Sir Thomas Lucy at Charlescote, there were any deer or park at the + place referred to. The subject is worthy of some scant attention, if only + to show how worthless is the attempt to construct out of rumor the story + of a great life which, fortunately perhaps, had no contemporary + biographer. + </p> + <p> + Of his life in London from 1587 to 1611, the period of his greatest + literary activity, we know nothing definitely. We can judge only from his + plays, and from these it is evident that he entered into the stirring life + of England's capital with the same perfect sympathy and understanding that + marked him among the plain people of his native Warwickshire. The first + authentic reference to him is in 1592, when Greene's<sup><a href="#fn149" + name="rfn149" id="rfn149">[149]</a></sup> bitter attack appeared, showing + plainly that Shakespeare had in five years assumed an important position + among playwrights. Then appeared the apology of the publishers of Greene's + pamphlet, with their tribute to the poet's sterling character, and + occasional literary references which show that he was known among his + fellows as "the gentle Shakespeare." Ben Jonson says of him: "I loved the + man and do honor his memory, on this side idolatry, as much as any. He was + indeed honest, and of an open and free nature." To judge from only three + of his earliest plays<sup><a href="#fn150" name="rfn150" id="rfn150">[150]</a></sup> + it would seem reasonably evident that in the first five years of his + London life he had gained entrance to the society of gentlemen and + scholars, had caught their characteristic mannerisms and expressions, and + so was ready by knowledge and observation as well as by genius to weave + into his dramas the whole stirring life of the English people. The plays + themselves, with the testimony of contemporaries and his business success, + are strong evidence against the tradition that his life in London was wild + and dissolute, like that of the typical actor and playwright of his time. + </p> + <p> + Shakespeare's first work may well have been that of a general helper, an + odd-job man, about the theater; but he soon became an actor, and the + records of the old London theaters show that in the next ten years he + gained a prominent place, though there is little reason to believe that he + was counted among the "stars." Within two years he was at work on plays, + and his course here was exactly like that of other playwrights of his + time. He worked with other men, and he revised old plays before writing + his own, and so gained a practical knowledge of his art. <i>Henry VI </i>(<i>c</i>. + 1590-1591) is an example of this tinkering work, in which, however, his + native power is unmistakably manifest. The three parts of <i>Henry VI</i> + (and <i>Richard III</i>, which belongs with them) are a succession of + scenes from English Chronicle history strung together very loosely; and + only in the last is there any definite attempt at unity. That he soon fell + under Marlowe's influence is evident from the atrocities and bombast of <i>Titus + Andronicus</i> and <i>Richard III</i>. The former may have been written by + both playwrights in collaboration, or may be one of Marlowe's horrors left + unfinished by his early death and brought to an end by Shakespeare. He + soon broke away from this apprentice work, and then appeared in rapid + succession <i>Love's Labour's Lost, Comedy of Errors, Two Gentlemen of + Verona</i>, the first English Chronicle plays,<sup><a href="#fn151" + name="rfn151" id="rfn151">[151]</a></sup> <i>A Midsummer Night's Dream</i>, + and <i>Romeo and Juliet</i>. This order is more or less conjectural; but + the wide variety of these plays, as well as their unevenness and frequent + crudities, marks the first or experimental stage of Shakespeare's work. It + is as if the author were trying his power, or more likely trying the + temper of his audience. For it must be remembered that to please his + audience was probably the ruling motive of Shakespeare, as of the other + early dramatists, during the most vigorous and prolific period of his + career. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el019" id="el019"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: BIRTHPLACE OF SHAKESPEARE" src="images/el019.png" /></a><br /> + BIRTHPLACE OF SHAKESPEARE + </p> + <p> + Shakespeare's poems, rather than his dramatic work, mark the beginning of + his success. "Venus and Adonis" became immensely popular in London, and + its dedication to the Earl of Southampton brought, according to tradition, + a substantial money gift, which may have laid the foundation for + Shakespeare's business success. He appears to have shrewdly invested his + money, and soon became part owner of the Globe and Blackfriars theaters, + in which his plays were presented by his own companies. His success and + popularity grew amazingly. Within a decade of his unnoticed arrival in + London he was one of the most famous actors and literary men in England. + </p> + <p> + Following his experimental work there came a succession of wonderful + plays,--<i>Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Julius Cæsar, + Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra</i>. The great + tragedies of this period are associated with a period of gloom and sorrow + in the poet's life; but of its cause we have no knowledge. It may have + been this unknown sorrow which turned his thoughts back to Stratford and + caused, apparently, a dissatisfaction with his work and profession; but + the latter is generally attributed to other causes. Actors and playwrights + were in his day generally looked upon with suspicion or contempt; and + Shakespeare, even in the midst of success, seems to have looked forward to + the time when he could retire to Stratford to live the life of a farmer + and country gentleman. His own and his father's families were first + released from debt; then, in 1597, he bought New Place, the finest house + in Stratford, and soon added a tract of farming land to complete his + estate. His profession may have prevented his acquiring the title of + "gentleman," or he may have only followed a custom of the time<sup><a + href="#fn152" name="rfn152" id="rfn152">[152]</a></sup> when he applied + for and obtained a coat of arms for his father, and so indirectly secured + the title by inheritance. His home visits grew more and more frequent + till, about the year 1611, he left London and retired permanently to + Stratford. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el020" id="el020"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: TRINITY CHURCH, STRATFORD-ON-AVON" + src="images/el020.png" /></a><br /> TRINITY CHURCH, STRATFORD-ON-AVON + </p> + <p> + Though still in the prime of life, Shakespeare soon abandoned his dramatic + work for the comfortable life of a country gentleman. Of his later plays, + <i>Coriolanus, Cymbeline, Winter's Tale</i>, and <i>Pericles</i> show a + decided falling off from his previous work, and indicate another period of + experimentation; this time not to test his own powers but to catch the + fickle humor of the public. As is usually the case with a theater-going + people, they soon turned from serious drama to sentimental or more + questionable spectacles; and with Fletcher, who worked with Shakespeare + and succeeded him as the first playwright of London, the decline of the + drama had already begun. In 1609, however, occurred an event which gave + Shakespeare his chance for a farewell to the public. An English ship + disappeared, and all on board were given up for lost. A year later the + sailors returned home, and their arrival created intense excitement. They + had been wrecked on the unknown Bermudas, and had lived there for ten + months, terrified by mysterious noises which they thought came from + spirits and devils. Five different accounts of this fascinating shipwreck + were published, and the Bermudas became known as the "Ile of Divels." + Shakespeare took this story--which caused as much popular interest as that + later shipwreck which gave us <i>Robinson Crusoe</i>--and wove it into <i>The + Tempest</i>. In the same year (1611) he probably sold his interest in the + Globe and Blackfriars theaters, and his dramatic work was ended. A few + plays were probably left unfinished<sup><a href="#fn153" name="rfn153" + id="rfn153">[153]</a></sup> and were turned over to Fletcher and other + dramatists. + </p> + <p> + That Shakespeare thought little of his success and had no idea that his + dramas were the greatest that the world ever produced seems evident from + the fact that he made no attempt to collect or publish his works, or even + to save his manuscripts, which were carelessly left to stage managers of + the theaters, and so found their way ultimately to the ragman. After a few + years of quiet life, of which we have less record than of hundreds of + simple country gentlemen of the time, Shakespeare died on the probable + anniversary of his birth, April 23, 1616. He was given a tomb in the + chancel of the parish church, not because of his preëminence in + literature, but because of his interest in the affairs of a country + village. And in the sad irony of fate, the broad stone that covered his + tomb--now an object of veneration to the thousands that yearly visit the + little church--was inscribed as follows: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbeare<br /> To dig the dust enclosed + heare;<br /> Bleste be the man that spares these stones,<br /> And curst + be he that moves my bones.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + This wretched doggerel, over the world's greatest poet, was intended, no + doubt, as a warning to some stupid sexton, lest he should empty the grave + and give the honored place to some amiable gentleman who had given more + tithes to the parish. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Shakespeare.</b> At the time of Shakespeare's death twenty-one + plays existed in manuscripts in the various theaters. A few others had + already been printed in quarto form, and the latter are the only + publications that could possibly have met with the poet's own approval. + More probably they were taken down in shorthand by some listener at the + play and then "pirated" by some publisher for his own profit. The first + printed collection of his plays, now called the First Folio (1623), was + made by two actors, Heming and Condell, who asserted that they had access + to the papers of the poet and had made a perfect edition, "in order to + keep the memory of so worthy a friend and fellow alive." This contains + thirty-six of the thirty-seven plays generally attributed to Shakespeare, + <i>Pericles</i> being omitted. This celebrated First Folio was printed + from playhouse manuscripts and from printed quartos containing many notes + and changes by individual actors and stage managers. Moreover, it was full + of typographical errors, though the editors alleged great care and + accuracy; and so, though it is the only authoritative edition we have, it + is of little value in determining the dates, or the classification of the + plays as they existed in Shakespeare's mind. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Four Periods</span>Notwithstanding this + uncertainty, a careful reading of the plays and poems leaves us with an + impression of four different periods of work, probably corresponding with + the growth and experience of the poet's life. These are: (1) a period of + early experimentation. It is marked by youthfulness and exuberance of + imagination, by extravagance of language, and by the frequent use of rimed + couplets with his blank verse. The period dates from his arrival in London + to 1595. Typical works of this first period are his early poems, <i>Love's + Labour's Lost, Two Gentlemen of Verona</i>, and <i>Richard III</i>. (2) A + period of rapid growth and development, from 1595 to 1600. Such plays as + <i>The Merchant of Venice, Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It</i>, + and <i>Henry IV</i>, all written in this period, show more careful and + artistic work, better plots, and a marked increase in knowledge of human + nature. (3) A period of gloom and depression, from 1600 to 1607, which + marks the full maturity of his powers. What caused this evident sadness is + unknown; but it is generally attributed to some personal experience, + coupled with the political misfortunes of his friends, Essex and + Southampton. The <i>Sonnets</i> with their note of personal + disappointment, <i>Twelfth Night</i>, which is Shakespeare's "farewell to + mirth," and his great tragedies, <i>Hamlet, Lear, Macbeth, Othello</i>, + and <i>Julius Cæsar</i>, belong to this period. (4) A period of + restored serenity, of calm after storm, which marked the last years of the + poet's literary work. <i>The Winter's Tale</i> and <i>The Tempest</i> are + the best of his later plays; but they all show a falling off from his + previous work, and indicate a second period of experimentation with the + taste of a fickle public. + </p> + <p> + To read in succession four plays, taking a typical work from each of the + above periods, is one of the very best ways of getting quickly at the real + life and mind of Shakespeare. Following is a complete list with the + approximate dates of his works, classified according to the above four + periods. + </p> + <p> + First Period, Early Experiment. <i>Venus and Adonis, Rape of Lucrece</i>, + 1594; <i>Titus Andronicus, Henry VI</i> (three parts), 1590-1591; <i>Love's + Labour's Lost</i>, 1590; <i>Comedy of Errors, Two Gentlemen of Verona</i>, + 1591-1592; <i>Richard-III</i>, 1593; <i>Richard II, King John</i>, + 1594-1595. + </p> + <p> + Second Period, Development. <i>Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream</i>, + 1595; <i>Merchant of Venice, Henry IV</i> (first part), 1596; <i>Henry IV</i> + (second part), <i>Merry Wives of Windsor</i>, 1597; <i>Much Ado About + Nothing</i>, 1598; <i>As You Like It, Henry V</i>, 1599. + </p> + <p> + Third Period, Maturity and Gloom. <i>Sonnets</i> (1600-?), <i>Twelfth + Night</i>, 1600; <i>Taming of the Shrew, Julius Cæsar, Hamlet, + Troilus and Cressida</i>, 1601-1602; <i>All's Well That Ends Well, Measure + for Measure</i>, 1603; <i>Othello</i>, 1604; <i>King Lear</i>, 1605; <i>Macbeth</i>, + 1606; <i>Antony and Cleopatra, Timon of Athens</i>, 1607. + </p> + <p> + Fourth Period, Late Experiment. <i>Coriolanus, Pericles</i>, 1608; <i>Cymbeline</i>, + 1609; <i>Winter's Tale</i>, 1610-1611; <i>The Tempest</i>, 1611; <i>Henry + VIII</i> (unfinished). + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> + <img src="images/{0185}.jpg" alt="{0185}" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <h5> + <a href="images/{0185}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </h5> + <p> + <b>Classification according to Source.</b> In history, legend, and story, + Shakespeare found the material for nearly all his dramas; and so they are + often divided into three classes, called historical plays, like <i>Richard + III</i> and <i>Henry V;</i> legendary or partly historical plays, like <i>Macbeth, + King Lear</i>, and <i>Julius Cæsar;</i> and fictional plays, like <i>Romeo + and Juliet</i> and <i>The Merchant of Venice</i>. Shakespeare invented + few, if any, of the plots or stories upon which his dramas are founded, + but borrowed them freely, after the custom of his age, wherever he found + them. For his legendary and historical material he depended, largely on <i>Holinshed's + Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland</i>, and on North's + translation of Plutarch's famous <i>Lives</i>. + </p> + <p> + A full half of his plays are fictional, and in these he used the most + popular romances of the day, seeming to depend most on the Italian + story-tellers. Only two or three of his plots, as in <i>Love's Labour's + Lost</i> and <i>Merry Wives of Windsor</i>, are said to be original, and + even these are doubtful. Occasionally Shakespeare made over an older play, + as in <i>Henry VI, Comedy of Errors</i>, and <i>Hamlet;</i> and in one + instance at least he seized upon an incident of shipwreck in which London + was greatly interested, and made out of it the original and fascinating + play of <i>The Tempest</i>, in much the same spirit which leads our modern + playwrights when they dramatize a popular novel or a war story to catch + the public fancy. + </p> + <p> + <b>Classification according to Dramatic Type.</b> Shakespeare's dramas are + usually divided into three classes, called tragedies, comedies, and + historical plays. Strictly speaking the drama has but two divisions, + tragedy and comedy, in which are included the many subordinate forms of + tragi-comedy, melodrama, lyric drama (opera), farce, etc. A tragedy is a + drama in which the principal characters are involved in desperate + circumstances or led by overwhelming passions. It is invariably serious + and dignified. The movement is always stately, but grows more and more + rapid as it approaches the climax; and the end is always calamitous, + resulting in death or dire misfortune to the principals. As Chaucer's monk + says, before he begins to "biwayle in maner of tragedie": + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Tragedie is to seyn a certeyn storie<br /> Of him that stood in great + prosperitee,<br /> And is y-fallen out of heigh degree<br /> Into miserie, + and endeth wrecchedly.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + A comedy, on the other hand, is a drama in which the characters are placed + in more or less humorous situations. The movement is light and often + mirthful, and the play ends in general good will and happiness. The + historical drama aims to present some historical age or character, and may + be either a comedy or a tragedy. The following list includes the best of + Shakespeare's plays in each of the three classes; but the order indicates + merely the author's personal opinion of the relative merits of the plays + in each class. Thus <i>Merchant of Venice</i> would be the first of the + comedies for the beginner to read, and <i>Julius Cæsar</i> is an + excellent introduction to the historical plays and the tragedies. + </p> + <p> + Comedies. <i>Merchant of Venice, Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, + Winter's Tale, The Tempest, Twelfth Night</i>. + </p> + <p> + Tragedies. <i>Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello</i>. + </p> + <p> + Historical Plays. <i>Julius Cæsar, Richard III, Henry IV, Henry V, + Coriolanus, Antony and Cleopatra</i>. + </p> + <p> + <b>Doubtful Plays.</b> It is reasonably certain that some of the plays + generally attributed to Shakespeare are partly the work of other + dramatists. The first of these doubtful plays, often called the + Pre-Shakespearian Group, are <i>Titus Andronicus</i> and the first part of + <i>Henry VI</i>. Shakespeare probably worked with Marlowe in the two last + parts of <i>Henry VI</i> and in <i>Richard III</i>. The three plays, <i>Taming + of the Shrew, Timon</i>, and <i>Pericles</i> are only partly Shakespeare's + work, but the other authors are unknown. <i>Henry VIII</i> is the work of + Fletcher and Shakespeare, opinion being divided as to whether Shakespeare + helped Fletcher, or whether it was an unfinished work of Shakespeare which + was put into Fletcher's hands for completion. <i>Two Noble Kinsmen</i> is + a play not ordinarily found in editions of Shakespeare, but it is often + placed among his doubtful works. The greater part of the play is + undoubtedly by Fletcher. <i>Edward III</i> is one of several crude plays + published at first anonymously and later attributed to Shakespeare by + publishers who desired to sell their wares. It contains a few passages + that strongly suggest Shakespeare; but the external evidence is all + against his authorship. + </p> + <p> + <b>Shakespeare's Poems.</b> It is generally asserted that, if Shakespeare + had written no plays, his poems alone would have given him a commanding + place in the Elizabethan Age. Nevertheless, in the various histories of + our literature there is apparent a desire to praise and pass over all but + the <i>Sonnets</i> as rapidly as possible; and the reason may be stated + frankly. His two long poems, "Venus and Adonis" and "The Rape of Lucrece," + contain much poetic fancy; but it must be said of both that the subjects + are unpleasant, and that they are dragged out to unnecessary length in + order to show the play of youthful imagination. They were extremely + popular in Shakespeare's day, but in comparison with his great dramatic + works these poems are now of minor importance. + </p> + <p> + Shakespeare's <i>Sonnets</i>, one hundred and fifty-four in number, are + the only direct expression of the poet's own feelings that we possess; for + his plays are the most impersonal in all literature. They were published + together in 1609; but if they had any unity in Shakespeare's mind, their + plan and purpose are hard to discover. By some critics they are regarded + as mere literary exercises; by others as the expression of some personal + grief during the third period of the poet's literary career. Still others, + taking a hint from the sonnet beginning "Two loves I have, of comfort and + despair," divide them all into two classes, addressed to a man who was + Shakespeare's friend, and to a woman who disdained his love. The reader + may well avoid such classifications and read a few sonnets, like the + twenty-ninth, for instance, and let them speak their own message. A few + are trivial and artificial enough, suggesting the elaborate exercises of a + piano player; but the majority are remarkable for their subtle thought and + exquisite expression. Here and there is one, like that beginning + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + When to the sessions of sweet silent thought<br /> I summon up + remembrance of things past,<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + which will haunt the reader long afterwards, like the remembrance of an + old German melody. + </p> + <p> + <b>Shakespeare's Place and Influence.</b> Shakespeare holds, by general + acclamation, the foremost place in the world's literature, and his + overwhelming greatness renders it difficult to criticise or even to praise + him. Two poets only, Homer and Dante, have been named with him; but each + of these wrote within narrow limits, while Shakespeare's genius included + all the world of nature and of men. In a word, he is the universal poet. + To study nature in his works is like exploring a new and beautiful + country; to study man in his works is like going into a great city, + viewing the motley crowd as one views a great masquerade in which past and + present mingle freely and familiarly, as if the dead were all living + again. And the marvelous thing, in this masquerade of all sorts and + conditions of men, is that Shakespeare lifts the mask from every face, + lets us see the man as he is in his own soul, and shows us in each one + some germ of good, some "soul of goodness" even in things evil. For + Shakespeare strikes no uncertain note, and raises no doubts to add to the + burden of your own. Good always overcomes evil in the long run; and love, + faith, work, and duty are the four elements that in all ages make the + world right. To criticise or praise the genius that creates these men and + women is to criticise or praise humanity itself. + </p> + <p> + Of his influence in literature it is equally difficult to speak. Goethe + expresses the common literary judgment when he says, "I do not remember + that any book or person or event in my life ever made so great an + impression upon me as the plays of Shakespeare." His influence upon our + own language and thought is beyond calculation. Shakespeare and the King + James Bible are the two great conservators of the English speech; and one + who habitually reads them finds himself possessed of a style and + vocabulary that are beyond criticism. Even those who read no Shakespeare + are still unconsciously guided by him, for his thought and expression have + so pervaded our life and literature that it is impossible, so long as one + speaks the English language, to escape his influence. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + His life was gentle, and the elements<br /> So mixed in him, that Nature + might stand up<br /> And say to all the world, "This was a man!"<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el022" id="el022"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: AMERICAN MEMORIAL WINDOW IN THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY, STRATFORD-ON-AVON" + src="images/el022.png" /></a><br /> AMERICAN MEMORIAL WINDOW IN THE CHURCH + OF THE HOLY TRINITY, STRATFORD-ON-AVON + </p> + <p> + V. <a name="chap6u" id="chap6u">SHAKESPEARE'S CONTEMPORARIES AND + SUCCESSORS IN THE DRAMA</a> + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6t" id="chap6t">Decline of the Drama.</a></b> It was + inevitable that the drama should decline after Shakespeare, for the simple + reason that there was no other great enough to fill his place. Aside from + this, other causes were at work, and the chief of these was at the very + source of the Elizabethan dramas. It must be remembered that our first + playwrights wrote to please their audiences; that the drama rose in + England because of the desire of a patriotic people to see something of + the stirring life of the times reflected on the stage. For there were no + papers or magazines in those days, and people came to the theaters not + only to be amused but to be informed. Like children, they wanted to see a + story acted; and like men, they wanted to know what it meant. Shakespeare + fulfilled their desire. He gave them their story, and his genius was great + enough to show in every play not only their own life and passions but + something of the meaning of all life, and of that eternal justice which + uses the war of human passions for its own great ends. Thus good and evil + mingle freely in his dramas; but the evil is never attractive, and the + good triumphs as inevitably as fate. Though his language is sometimes + coarse, we are to remember that it was the custom of his age to speak + somewhat coarsely, and that in language, as in thought and feeling, + Shakespeare is far above most of his contemporaries. + </p> + <p> + With his successors all this was changed. The audience itself had + gradually changed, and in place of plain people eager for a story and for + information, we see a larger and larger proportion of those who went to + the play because they had nothing else to do. They wanted amusement only, + and since they had blunted by idleness the desire for simple and wholesome + amusement, they called for something more sensational. Shakespeare's + successors catered to the depraved tastes of this new audience. They + lacked not only Shakespeare's genius, but his broad charity, his moral + insight into life. With the exception of Ben Jonson, they neglected the + simple fact that man in his deepest nature is a moral being, and that only + a play which satisfies the whole nature of man by showing the triumph of + the moral law can ever wholly satisfy an audience or a people. Beaumont + and Fletcher, forgetting the deep meaning of life, strove for effect by + increasing the sensationalism of their plays; Webster reveled in tragedies + of blood and thunder; Massinger and Ford made another step downward, + producing evil and licentious scenes for their own sake, making characters + and situations more immoral till, notwithstanding these dramatists' + ability, the stage had become insincere, frivolous, and bad. Ben Jonson's + ode, "Come Leave the Loathed Stage," is the judgment of a large and honest + nature grown weary of the plays and the players of the time. We read with + a sense of relief that in 1642, only twenty-six years after Shakespeare's + death, both houses of Parliament voted to close the theaters as breeders + of lies and immorality. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap6v" id="chap6v">BEN JONSON</a> (1573?-1637) + </p> + <p> + Personally Jonson is the most commanding literary figure among the + Elizabethans. For twenty-five years he was the literary dictator of + London, the chief of all the wits that gathered nightly at the old Devil + Tavern. With his great learning, his ability, and his commanding position + as poet laureate, he set himself squarely against his contemporaries and + the romantic tendency of the age. For two things he fought bravely,--to + restore the classic form of the drama, and to keep the stage from its + downward course. Apparently he failed; the romantic school fixed its hold + more strongly than ever; the stage went swiftly to an end as sad as that + of the early dramatists. Nevertheless his influence lived and grew more + powerful till, aided largely by French influence, it resulted in the + so-called classicism of the eighteenth century. + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:20%;"> + <img src="images/{9194}.jpg" alt="{9194}" width="100%" /> <br /> <a + href="images/{9194}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </div> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. Jonson was born at Westminster about the year 1573. His + father, an educated gentleman, had his property confiscated and was + himself thrown into prison by Queen Mary; so we infer the family was of + some prominence. From his mother he received certain strong + characteristics, and by a single short reference in Jonson's works we are + led to see the kind of woman she was. It is while Jonson is telling + Drummond of the occasion when he was thrown into prison, because some + passages in the comedy of <i>Eastward Ho!</i> gave offense to King James, + and he was in danger of a horrible death, after having his ears and nose + cut off. He tells us how, after his pardon, he was banqueting with his + friends, when his "old mother" came in and showed a paper full of "lusty + strong poison," which she intended to mix with his drink just before the + execution. And to show that she "was no churl," she intended first to + drink of the poison herself. The incident is all the more suggestive from + the fact that Chapman and Marston, one his friend and the other his enemy, + were first cast into prison as the authors of <i>Eastward Ho!</i> and + rough Ben Jonson at once declared that he too had had a small hand in the + writing and went to join them in prison. + </p> + <p> + Jonson's father came out of prison, having given up his estate, and became + a minister. He died just before the son's birth, and two years later the + mother married a bricklayer of London. The boy was sent to a private + school, and later made his own way to Westminster School, where the + submaster, Camden, struck by the boy's ability, taught and largely + supported him. For a short time he may have studied at the university in + Cambridge; but his stepfather soon set him to learning the bricklayer's + trade. He ran away from this, and went with the English army to fight + Spaniards in the Low Countries. His best known exploit there was to fight + a duel between the lines with one of the enemy's soldiers, while both + armies looked on. Jonson killed his man, and took his arms, and made his + way back to his own lines in a way to delight the old Norman troubadours. + He soon returned to England, and married precipitately when only nineteen + or twenty years old. Five years later we find him employed, like + Shakespeare, as actor and reviser of old plays in the theater. Thereafter + his life is a varied and stormy one. He killed an actor in a duel, and + only escaped hanging by pleading "benefit of clergy";<sup><a href="#fn154" + name="rfn154" id="rfn154">[154]</a></sup> but he lost all his poor goods + and was branded for life on his left thumb. In his first great play, <i>Every + Man in His Humour</i> (1598), Shakespeare acted one of the parts; and that + may have been the beginning of their long friendship. Other plays followed + rapidly. Upon the accession of James, Jonson's masques won him royal + favor, and he was made poet laureate. He now became undoubted leader of + the literary men of his time, though his rough honesty and his hatred of + the literary tendencies of the age made him quarrel with nearly all of + them. In 1616, soon after Shakespeare's retirement, he stopped writing for + the stage and gave himself up to study and serious work. In 1618 he + traveled on foot to Scotland, where he visited Drummond, from whom we have + the scant records of his varied life. His impressions of this journey, + called <i>Foot Pilgrimage</i>, were lost in a fire before publication. + Thereafter he produced less, and his work declined in vigor; but spite of + growing poverty and infirmity we notice in his later work, especially in + the unfinished <i>Sad Shepherd</i>, a certain mellowness and tender human + sympathy which were lacking in his earlier productions. He died poverty + stricken in 1637. Unlike Shakespeare's, his death was mourned as a + national calamity, and he was buried with all honor in Westminster Abbey. + On his grave was laid a marble slab, on which the words "O rare Ben + Jonson" were his sufficient epitaph. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Ben Jonson</b>. Jonson's work is in strong contrast with that + of Shakespeare and of the later Elizabethan dramatists. Alone he fought + against the romantic tendency of the age, and to restore the classic + standards. Thus the whole action of his drama usually covers only a few + hours, or a single day. He never takes liberties with historical facts, as + Shakespeare does, but is accurate to the smallest detail. His dramas + abound in classical learning, are carefully and logically constructed, and + comedy and tragedy are kept apart, instead of crowding each other as they + do in Shakespeare and in life. In one respect his comedies are worthy of + careful reading,--they are intensely realistic, presenting men and women + of the time exactly as they were. From a few of Jonson's scenes we can + understand--better than from all the plays of Shakespeare--how men talked + and acted during the Age of Elizabeth. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Every Man in His Humour</span>Jonson's first + comedy, <i>Every Man in His Humour</i>, is a key to all his dramas. The + word "humour" in his age stood for some characteristic whim or quality of + society. Jonson gives to his leading character some prominent humor, + exaggerates it, as the cartoonist enlarges the most characteristic feature + of a face, and so holds it before our attention that all other qualities + are lost sight of; which is the method that Dickens used later in many of + his novels. <i>Every Man in His Humour</i> was the first of three satires. + Its special aim was to ridicule the humors of the city. The second, <i>Cynthia's + Revels</i>, satirizes the humors of the court; while the third, <i>The + Poetaster</i>, the result of a quarrel with his contemporaries, was + leveled at the false standards of the poets of the age. + </p> + <p> + The three best known of Jonson's comedies are <i>Volpone, or the Fox, The + Alchemist</i>, and <i>Epicoene, or the Silent Woman. Volpone</i> is a keen + and merciless analysis of a man governed by an overwhelming love of money + for its own sake. The first words in the first scene are a key to the + whole comedy: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>(Volpone)</i><br /> Good + morning to the day; and next, my gold!<br /> Open + the shrine that I may see my saint.<br /> (<i>Mosca + withdraws a curtain and discovers piles of<br /> gold, + plate, jewels, etc.</i>)<br /> Hail + the world's soul, and mine!<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Volpone's method of increasing his wealth is to play upon the avarice of + men. He pretends to be at the point of death, and his "suitors," who know + his love of gain and that he has no heirs, endeavor hypocritically to + sweeten his last moments by giving him rich presents, so that he will + leave them all his wealth. The intrigues of these suitors furnish the + story of the play, and show to what infamous depths avarice will lead a + man. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Alchemist</i> is a study of quackery on one side and of gullibility + on the other, founded on the mediæval idea of the philosopher's + stone,<sup><a href="#fn155" name="rfn155" id="rfn155">[155]</a></sup> and + applies as well to the patent medicines and get-rich-quick schemes of our + day as to the peculiar forms of quackery with which Jonson was more + familiar. In plot and artistic construction <i>The Alchemist</i> is an + almost perfect specimen of the best English drama. It has some remarkably + good passages, and is the most readable of Jonson's plays. + </p> + <p> + <i>Epicoene, or the Silent Woman</i>, is a prose comedy exceedingly well + constructed, full of life, abounding in fun and unexpected situations. + Here is a brief outline from which the reader may see of what materials + Jonson made up his comedies. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Silent Woman </span>The chief character is + Morose, a rich old codger whose humor is a horror of noise. He lives in a + street so narrow that it will admit no carriages; he pads the doors; plugs + the keyhole; puts mattresses on the stairs. He dismisses a servant who + wears squeaky boots; makes all the rest go about in thick stockings; and + they must answer him by signs, since he cannot bear to hear anybody but + himself talk. He disinherits his poor nephew Eugenie, and, to make sure + that the latter will not get any money out of him, resolves to marry. His + confidant in this delicate matter is Cutbeard the barber, who, unlike his + kind, never speaks unless spoken to, and does not even knick his scissors + as he works. Cutbeard (who is secretly in league with the nephew) tells + him of Epicoene, a rare, silent woman, and Morose is so delighted with her + silence that he resolves to marry her on the spot. Cutbeard produces a + parson with a bad cold, who can speak only in a whisper, to marry them; + and when the parson coughs after the ceremony Morose demands back five + shillings of the fee. To save it the parson coughs more, and is hurriedly + bundled out of the house. The silent woman finds her voice immediately + after the marriage, begins to talk loudly and to make reforms in the + household, driving Morose to distraction. A noisy dinner party from a + neighboring house, with drums and trumpets and a quarreling man and wife, + is skillfully guided in at this moment to celebrate the wedding. Morose + flees for his life, and is found perched like a monkey on a crossbeam in + the attic, with all his nightcaps tied over his ears. He seeks a divorce, + but is driven frantic by the loud arguments of a lawyer and a divine, who + are no other than Cutbeard and a sea captain disguised. When Morose is + past all hope the nephew offers to release him from his wife and her noisy + friends if he will allow him five hundred pounds a year. Morose offers him + anything, everything, to escape his torment, and signs a deed to that + effect. Then comes the surprise of the play when Eugenie whips the wig + from Epicoene and shows a boy in disguise. + </p> + <p> + It will be seen that the <i>Silent Woman</i>, with its rapid action and + its unexpected situations, offers an excellent opportunity for the actors; + but the reading of the play, as of most of Jonson's comedies, is marred by + low intrigues showing a sad state of morals among the upper classes. + </p> + <p> + Besides these, and many other less known comedies, Jonson wrote two great + tragedies, <i>Sejanus</i> (1603) and <i>Catiline</i> (1611), upon severe + classical lines. After ceasing his work for the stage, Jonson wrote many + masques in honor of James I and of Queen Anne, to be played amid elaborate + scenery by the gentlemen of the court. The best of these are "The Satyr," + "The Penates," "Masque of Blackness," "Masque of Beauty," "Hue and Cry + after Cupid," and "The Masque of Queens." In all his plays Jonson showed a + strong lyric gift, and some of his little poems and songs, like "The + Triumph of Charis," "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes," and "To the Memory + of my Beloved Mother," are now better known than his great dramatic works. + A single volume of prose, called <i>Timber, or Discoveries made upon Men + and Matter</i>, is an interesting collection of short essays which are + more like Bacon's than any other work of the age. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6w" id="chap6w">Beaumont and Fletcher</a></b>. The work of + these two men is so closely interwoven that, though Fletcher outlived + Beaumont by nine years and the latter had no hand in some forty of the + plays that bear their joint names, we still class them together, and only + scholars attempt to separate their works so as to give each writer his due + share. Unlike most of the Elizabethan dramatists, they both came from + noble and cultured families and were university trained. Their work, in + strong contrast with Jonson's, is intensely romantic, and in it all, + however coarse or brutal the scene, there is still, as Emerson pointed + out, the subtle "recognition of gentility." + </p> + <p> + Beaumont (1584-1616) was the brother of Sir John Beaumont of + Leicestershire. From Oxford he came to London to study law, but soon gave + it up to write for the stage. Fletcher (1579-1625) was the son of the + bishop of London, and shows in all his work the influence of his high + social position and of his Cambridge education. The two dramatists met at + the Mermaid tavern under Ben Jonson's leadership and soon became + inseparable friends, living and working together. Tradition has it that + Beaumont supplied the judgment and the solid work of the play, while + Fletcher furnished the high-colored sentiment and the lyric poetry, + without which an Elizabethan play would have been incomplete. Of their + joint plays, the two best known are <i>Philaster</i>, whose old theme, + like that of <i>Cymbeline</i> and <i>Griselda</i>, is the jealousy of a + lover and the faithfulness of a girl, and <i>The Maid's Tragedy</i>. + Concerning Fletcher's work the most interesting literary question is how + much did he write of Shakespeare's <i>Henry VIII</i>, and how much did + Shakespeare help him in <i>The Two Noble Kinsmen</i>. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6x" id="chap6x">John Webster</a></b>. Of Webster's + personal history we know nothing except that he was well known as a + dramatist under James I. His extraordinary powers of expression rank him + with Shakespeare; but his talent seems to have been largely devoted to the + blood-and-thunder play begun by Marlowe. His two best known plays are <i>The + White Devil</i> (pub. 1612) and <i>The Duchess of Malfi</i> (pub. 1623). + The latter, spite of its horrors, ranks him as one of the greatest masters + of English tragedy. It must be remembered that he sought in this play to + reproduce the Italian life of the sixteenth century, and for this no + imaginary horrors are needed. The history of any Italian court or city in + this period furnishes more vice and violence and dishonor than even the + gloomy imagination of Webster could conceive. All the so-called blood + tragedies of the Elizabethan period, from Thomas Kyd's <i>Spanish Tragedy</i> + down, however much they may condemn the brutal taste of the English + audiences, are still only so many search lights thrown upon a history of + horrible darkness. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6y" id="chap6y">Thomas Middleton</a></b> (1570?-1627). + Middleton is best known by two great plays, <i>The Changeling</i><sup><a + href="#fn156" name="rfn156" id="rfn156">[156]</a></sup> and <i>Women + Beware Women</i>. In poetry and diction they are almost worthy at times to + rank with Shakespeare's plays; otherwise, in their sensationalism and + unnaturalness they do violence to the moral sense and are repulsive to the + modern reader. Two earlier plays, <i>A Trick to catch the Old One</i>, his + best comedy, and <i>A Fair Quarrel</i>, his earliest tragedy, are less + mature in thought and expression, but more readable, because they seem to + express Middleton's own idea of the drama rather than that of the corrupt + court and playwrights of his later age. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6za" id="chap6za">Thomas Heywood</a></b> (1580?-1650?). + Heywood's life, of which we know little in detail, covers the whole period + of the Elizabethan drama. To the glory of that drama he contributed, + according to his own statement, the greater part, at least, of nearly two + hundred and twenty plays. It was an enormous amount of work; but he seems + to have been animated by the modern literary spirit of following the best + market and striking while the financial iron is hot. Naturally good work + was impossible, even to genius, under such circumstances, and few of his + plays are now known. The two best, if the reader would obtain his own idea + of Heywood's undoubted ability, are <i>A Woman killed with Kindness</i>, a + pathetic story of domestic life, and <i>The Fair Maid of the West</i>, a + melodrama with plenty of fighting of the popular kind. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6zb" id="chap6zb">Thomas Dekker</a></b> (1570-?). Dekker + is in pleasing contrast with most of the dramatists of the time. All we + know of him must be inferred from his works, which show a happy and sunny + nature, pleasant and good to meet. The reader will find the best + expression of Dekker's personality and erratic genius in <i>The + Shoemakers' Holiday</i>, a humorous study of plain working people, and <i>Old + Fortunatus</i>, a fairy drama of the wishing hat and no end of money. + Whether intended for children or not, it had the effect of charming the + elders far more than the young people, and the play became immensely + popular. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6zc" id="chap6zc">Massinger, Ford, Shirley.</a></b> These + three men mark the end of the Elizabethan drama. Their work, done largely + while the struggle was on between the actors and the corrupt court, on one + side, and the Puritans on the other, shows a deliberate turning away not + only from Puritan standards but from the high ideals of their own art to + pander to the corrupt taste of the upper classes. + </p> + <p> + Philip Massinger (1584-1640) was a dramatic poet of great natural ability; + but his plots and situations are usually so strained and artificial that + the modern reader finds no interest in them. In his best comedy, <i>A New + Way to Pay Old Debts</i>, he achieved great popularity and gave us one + figure, Sir Giles Overreach, which is one of the typical characters of the + English stage. His best plays are <i>The Great Duke of Florence, The + Virgin Martyr</i>, and <i>The Maid of Honour</i>. + </p> + <p> + John Ford (1586-1642?) and James Shirley (1596-1666) have left us little + of permanent literary value, and their works are read only by those who + wish to understand the whole rise and fall of the drama. An occasional + scene in Ford's plays is as strong as anything that the Elizabethan Age + produced; but as a whole the plays are unnatural and tiresome. Probably + his best play is <i>The Broken Heart</i> (1633). Shirley was given to + imitation of his predecessors, and his very imitation is characteristic of + an age which had lost its inspiration. A single play, <i>Hyde Park</i>, + with its frivolous, realistic dialogue, is sometimes read for its + reflection of the fashionable gossipy talk of the day. Long before + Shirley's death the actors said, "Farewell! Othello's occupation's gone." + Parliament voted to close the theaters, thereby saving the drama from a + more inglorious death by dissipation.<sup><a href="#fn157" name="rfn157" + id="rfn157">[157]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + VI. <a name="chap6zd" id="chap6zd">THE PROSE WRITERS</a> + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6ze" id="chap6ze">Francis Bacon</a></b> (1561-1626) + </p> + <p> + In Bacon we see one of those complex and contradictory natures which are + the despair of the biographer. If the writer be an admirer of Bacon, he + finds too much that he must excuse or pass over in silence; and if he + takes his stand on the law to condemn the avarice and dishonesty of his + subject, he finds enough moral courage and nobility to make him question + the justice of his own judgment. On the one hand is rugged Ben Jonson's + tribute to his power and ability, and on the other Hallam's summary that + he was "a man who, being intrusted with the highest gifts of Heaven, + habitually abused them for the poorest purposes of earth--hired them out + for guineas, places, and titles in the service of injustice, covetousness, + and oppression." + </p> + <p> + Laying aside the opinions of others, and relying only upon the facts of + Bacon's life, we find on the one side the politician, cold, calculating, + selfish, and on the other the literary and scientific man with an + impressive devotion to truth for its own great sake; here a man using + questionable means to advance his own interests, and there a man seeking + with zeal and endless labor to penetrate the secret ways of Nature, with + no other object than to advance the interests of his fellow-men. So, in + our ignorance of the secret motives and springs of the man's life, + judgment is necessarily suspended. Bacon was apparently one of those + double natures that only God is competent to judge, because of the strange + mixture of intellectual strength and moral weakness that is in them. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Bacon was the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper of the + Seal, and of the learned Ann Cook, sister-in-law to Lord Burleigh, + greatest of the queen's statesmen. From these connections, as well as from + native gifts, he was attracted to the court, and as a child was called by + Elizabeth her "Little Lord Keeper." At twelve he went to Cambridge, but + left the university after two years, declaring the whole plan of education + to be radically wrong, and the system of Aristotle, which was the basis of + all philosophy in those days, to be a childish delusion, since in the + course of centuries it had "produced no fruit, but only a jungle of dry + and useless branches." Strange, even for a sophomore of fourteen, thus to + condemn the whole system of the universities; but such was the boy, and + the system! Next year, in order to continue his education, he accompanied + the English ambassador to France, where he is said to have busied himself + chiefly with the practical studies of statistics and diplomacy. + </p> + <p> + Two years later he was recalled to London by the death of his father. + Without money, and naturally with expensive tastes, he applied to his + Uncle Burleigh for a lucrative position. It was in this application that + he used the expression, so characteristic of the Elizabethan Age, that he + "had taken all knowledge for his province." Burleigh, who misjudged him as + a dreamer and self-seeker, not only refused to help him at the court but + successfully opposed his advancement by Elizabeth. Bacon then took up the + study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1582. That he had not lost + his philosophy in the mazes of the law is shown by his tract, written + about this time, "On the Greatest Birth of Time," which was a plea for his + inductive system of philosophy, reasoning from many facts to one law, + rather than from an assumed law to particular facts, which was the + deductive method that had been in use for centuries. In his famous plea + for progress Bacon demanded three things: the free investigation of + nature, the discovery of facts instead of theories, and the verification + of results by experiment rather than by argument. In our day these are the + A, B, C of science, but in Bacon's time they seemed revolutionary. + </p> + <p> + As a lawyer he became immediately successful; his knowledge and power of + pleading became widely known, and it was almost at the beginning of his + career that Jonson wrote, "The fear of every one that heard him speak was + that he should make an end." The publication of his <i>Essays</i> added + greatly to his fame; but Bacon was not content. His head was buzzing with + huge schemes,--the pacification of unhappy Ireland, the simplification of + English law, the reform of the church, the study of nature, the + establishment of a new philosophy. Meanwhile, sad to say, he played the + game of politics for his personal advantage. He devoted himself to Essex, + the young and dangerous favorite of the queen, won his friendship, and + then used him skillfully to better his own position. When the earl was + tried for treason it was partly, at least, through Bacon's efforts that he + was convicted and beheaded; and though Bacon claims to have been actuated + by a high sense of justice, we are not convinced that he understood either + justice or friendship in appearing as queen's counsel against the man who + had befriended him. His coldbloodedness and lack of moral sensitiveness + appear even in his essays on "Love" and "Friendship." Indeed, we can + understand his life only upon the theory that his intellectuality left him + cold and dead to the higher sentiments of our humanity. + </p> + <p> + During Elizabeth's reign Bacon had sought repeatedly for high office, but + had been blocked by Burleigh and perhaps also by the queen's own + shrewdness in judging men. With the advent of James I (1603) Bacon devoted + himself to the new ruler and rose rapidly in favor. He was knighted, and + soon afterwards attained another object of his ambition in marrying a rich + wife. The appearance of his great work, the <i>Advancement of Learning</i>, + in 1605, was largely the result of the mental stimulus produced by his + change in fortune. In 1613 he was made attorney-general, and speedily made + enemies by using the office to increase his personal ends. He justified + himself in his course by his devotion to the king's cause, and by the + belief that the higher his position and the more ample his means the more + he could do for science. It was in this year that Bacon wrote his series + of <i>State Papers</i>, which show a marvelous grasp of the political + tendencies of his age. Had his advice been followed, it would have + certainly averted the struggle between king and parliament that followed + speedily. In 1617 he was appointed to his father's office, Lord Keeper of + the Seal, and the next year to the high office of Lord Chancellor. With + this office he received the title of Baron Verulam, and later of Viscount + St. Alban, which he affixed with some vanity to his literary work. Two + years later appeared his greatest work, the <i>Novum Organum</i>, called + after Aristotle's famous <i>Organon</i>. + </p> + <p> + Bacon did not long enjoy his political honors. The storm which had been + long gathering against James's government broke suddenly upon Bacon's + head. When Parliament assembled in 1621 it vented its distrust of James + and his favorite Villiers by striking unexpectedly at their chief adviser. + Bacon was sternly accused of accepting bribes, and the evidence was so + great that he confessed that there was much political corruption abroad in + the land, that he was personally guilty of some of it, and he threw + himself upon the mercy of his judges. Parliament at that time was in no + mood for mercy. Bacon was deprived of his office and was sentenced to pay + the enormous fine of 40,000 pounds, to be imprisoned during the king's + pleasure, and thereafter to be banished forever from Parliament and court. + Though the imprisonment lasted only a few days and the fine was largely + remitted, Bacon's hopes and schemes for political honors were ended; and + it is at this point of appalling adversity that the nobility in the man's + nature asserts itself strongly. If the reader be interested to apply a + great man's philosophy to his own life, he will find the essay, "Of Great + Place," most interesting in this connection. + </p> + <p> + Bacon now withdrew permanently from public life, and devoted his splendid + ability to literary and scientific work. He completed the <i>Essays</i>, + experimented largely, wrote history, scientific articles, and one + scientific novel, and made additions to his <i>Instauratio Magna</i>, the + great philosophical work which was never finished. In the spring of 1626, + while driving in a snowstorm, it occurred to him that snow might be used + as a preservative instead of salt. True to his own method of arriving at + truth, he stopped at the first house, bought a fowl, and proceeded to test + his theory. The experiment chilled him, and he died soon after from the + effects of his exposure. As Macaulay wrote, "the great apostle of + experimental philosophy was destined to be its martyr." + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Bacon.</b> Bacon's philosophic works, <i>The Advancement of + Learning</i> and the <i>Novum Organum</i>, will be best understood in + connection with the <i>Instauratio Magna</i>, or <i>The Great Institution + of True Philosophy</i>, of which they were parts. The <i>Instauratio</i> + was never completed, but the very idea of the work was magnificent,--to + sweep away the involved philosophy of the schoolmen and the educational + systems of the universities, and to substitute a single great work which + should be a complete education, "a rich storehouse for the glory of the + Creator and for the relief of man's estate." The object of this education + was to bring practical results to all the people, instead of a little + selfish culture and much useless speculation, which, he conceived, were + the only products of the universities. + </p> + <p> + <b>The Instauratio Magna.</b> This was the most ambitious, though it is + not the best known, of Bacon's works. For the insight it gives us into the + author's mind, we note here a brief outline of his subject. It was divided + into six parts, as follows: + </p> + <p> + 1. <i>Partitiones Scientiarum</i>. This was to be a classification and + summary of all human knowledge. Philosophy and all speculation must be + cast out and the natural sciences established as the basis of all + education. The only part completed was <i>The Advancement of Learning</i>, + which served as an introduction. + </p> + <p> + 2. <i>Novum Organum</i>, or the "new instrument," that is, the use of + reason and experiment instead of the old Aristotelian logic. To find truth + one must do two things: (<i>a</i>) get rid of all prejudices or idols, as + Bacon called them. These "idols" are four: "idols of the tribe," that is, + prejudices due to common methods of thought among all races; "idols of the + cave or den," that is, personal peculiarities and prejudices; "idols of + the market place," due to errors of language; and "idols of the theater," + which are the unreliable traditions of men. (<i>b</i>) After discarding + the above "idols" we must interrogate nature; must collect facts by means + of numerous experiments, arrange them in order, and then determine the law + that underlies them. + </p> + <p> + It will be seen at a glance that the above is the most important of + Bacon's works. The <i>Organum</i> was to be in several books, only two of + which he completed, and these he wrote and rewrote twelve times until they + satisfied him. + </p> + <p> + 3. <i>Historic Naturalis et Experimentalis</i>, the study of all the + phenomena of nature. Of four parts of this work which he completed, one of + them at least, the <i>Sylva Sylvarum</i>, is decidedly at variance with + his own idea of fact and experiment. It abounds in fanciful explanations, + more worthy of the poetic than of the scientific mind. Nature is seen to + be full of desires and instincts; the air "thirsts" for light and + fragrance; bodies rise or sink because they have an "appetite" for height + or depth; the qualities of bodies are the result of an "essence," so that + when we discover the essences of gold and silver and diamonds it will be a + simple matter to create as much of them as we may need. + </p> + <p> + 4. <i>Scala Intellectus</i>, or "Ladder of the Mind," is the rational + application of the <i>Organum</i> to all problems. By it the mind should + ascend step by step from particular facts and instances to general laws + and abstract principles. + </p> + <p> + 5. <i>Prodromi</i>, "Prophecies or Anticipations," is a list of + discoveries that men shall make when they have applied Bacon's methods of + study and experimentation. + </p> + <p> + 6. <i>Philosophia Secunda</i>, which was to be a record of practical + results of the new philosophy when the succeeding ages should have applied + it faithfully. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible to regard even the outline of such a vast work without an + involuntary thrill of admiration for the bold and original mind which + conceived it. "We may," said Bacon, "make no despicable beginnings. The + destinies of the human race must complete the work ... for upon this will + depend not only a speculative good but all the fortunes of mankind and all + their power." There is the unconscious expression of one of the great + minds of the world. Bacon was like one of the architects of the Middle + Ages, who drew his plans for a mighty cathedral, perfect in every detail + from the deep foundation stone to the cross on the highest spire, and who + gave over his plans to the builders, knowing that, in his own lifetime, + only one tiny chapel would be completed; but knowing also that the very + beauty of his plans would appeal to others, and that succeeding ages would + finish the work which he dared to begin. + </p> + <p> + <b>The Essays.</b> Bacon's famous <i>Essays</i> is the one work which will + interest all students of our literature. His <i>Instauratio</i> was in + Latin, written mostly by paid helpers from short English abstracts. He + regarded Latin as the only language worthy of a great work; but the world + neglected his Latin to seize upon his English,--marvelous English, terse, + pithy, packed with thought, in an age that used endless circumlocutions. + The first ten essays, published in 1597, were brief notebook jottings of + Bacon's observations. Their success astonished the author, but not till + fifteen years later were they republished and enlarged. Their charm grew + upon Bacon himself, and during his retirement he gave more thought to the + wonderful language which he had at first despised as much as Aristotle's + philosophy. In 1612 appeared a second edition containing thirty-eight + essays, and in 1625, the year before his death, he republished the <i>Essays</i> + in their present form, polishing and enlarging the original ten to + fifty-eight, covering a wide variety of subjects suggested by the life of + men around him. + </p> + <p> + Concerning the best of these essays there are as many opinions as there + are readers, and what one gets out of them depends largely upon his own + thought and intelligence. In this respect they are like that Nature to + which Bacon directed men's thoughts. The whole volume may be read through + in an evening; but after one has read them a dozen times he still finds as + many places to pause and reflect as at the first reading. If one must + choose out of such a storehouse, we would suggest "Studies," "Goodness," + "Riches," "Atheism," "Unity in Religion," "Adversity," "Friendship," and + "Great Place" as an introduction to Bacon's worldly-wise philosophy. + </p> + <p> + <b>Miscellaneous Works.</b> Other works of Bacon are interesting as a + revelation of the Elizabethan mind, rather than because of any literary + value. <i>The New Atlantis</i> is a kind of scientific novel describing + another Utopia as seen by Bacon. The inhabitants of Atlantis have banished + Philosophy and applied Bacon's method of investigating Nature, using the + results to better their own condition. They have a wonderful civilization, + in which many of our later discoveries--academies of the sciences, + observatories, balloons, submarines, the modification of species, and + several others--were foreshadowed with a strange mixture of cold reason + and poetic intuition. <i>De Sapientia Veterum</i> is a fanciful attempt to + show the deep meaning underlying ancient myths,--a meaning which would + have astonished the myth makers themselves. The <i>History of Henry VII</i> + is a calm, dispassionate, and remarkably accurate history, which makes us + regret that Bacon did not do more historical work. Besides these are + metrical versions of certain Psalms--which are valuable, in view of the + controversy anent Shakespeare's plays, for showing Bacon's utter inability + to write poetry--and a large number of letters and state papers showing + the range and power of his intellect. + </p> + <p> + <b>Bacon's Place and Work.</b> Although Bacon was for the greater part of + his life a busy man of affairs, one cannot read his work without becoming + conscious of two things,--a perennial freshness, which the world insists + upon in all literature that is to endure, and an intellectual power which + marks him as one of the great minds of the world. + </p> + <p> + Of late the general tendency is to give less and less prominence to his + work in science and philosophy; but criticism of his <i>Instauratio</i>, + in view of his lofty aim, is of small consequence. It is true that his + "science" to-day seems woefully inadequate; true also that, though he + sought to discover truth, he thought perhaps to monopolize it, and so + looked with the same suspicion upon Copernicus as upon the philosophers. + The practical man who despises philosophy has simply misunderstood the + thing he despises. In being practical and experimental in a romantic age + he was not unique, as is often alleged, but only expressed the tendency of + the English mind in all ages. Three centuries earlier the monk Roger Bacon + did more practical experimenting than the Elizabethan sage; and the + latter's famous "idols" are strongly suggestive of the former's "Four + Sources of Human Ignorance." Although Bacon did not make any of the + scientific discoveries at which he aimed, yet the whole spirit of his + work, especially of <i>the Organum</i>, has strongly influenced science in + the direction of accurate observation and of carefully testing every + theory by practical experiment. "He that regardeth the clouds shall not + sow," said a wise writer of old; and Bacon turned men's thoughts from the + heavens above, with which they had been too busy, to the earth beneath, + which they had too much neglected. In an age when men were busy with + romance and philosophy, he insisted that the first object of education is + to make a man familiar with his natural environment; from books he turned + to men, from theory to fact, from philosophy to nature,--and that is + perhaps his greatest contribution to life and literature. Like Moses upon + Pisgah, he stood high enough above his fellows to look out over a promised + land, which his people would inherit, but into which he himself might + never enter. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6zf" id="chap6zf">Richard Hooker</a></b> (1554?-1600) In + strong contrast with Bacon is Richard Hooker, one of the greatest prose + writers of the Elizabethan Age. One must read the story of his life, an + obscure and lowly life animated by a great spirit, as told by Izaak + Walton, to appreciate the full force of this contrast. Bacon took all + knowledge for his province, but mastered no single part of it. Hooker, + taking a single theme, the law and practice of the English Church, so + handled it that no scholar even of the present day would dream of + superseding it or of building upon any other foundation than that which + Hooker laid down. His one great work is <i>The Laws of Ecclesiastical + Polity</i>,<sup><a href="#fn158" name="rfn158" id="rfn158">[158]</a></sup> + a theological and argumentative book; but, entirely apart from its + subject, it will be read wherever men desire to hear the power and + stateliness of the English language. Here is a single sentence, remarkable + not only for its perfect form but also for its expression of the reverence + for law which lies at the heart of Anglo-Saxon civilization: + </p> + <p> + Of law there can be no less acknowledged than that her seat is the bosom + of God, her voice the harmony of the world; all things in heaven and earth + do her homage; the very least as feeling her care, and the greatest as not + exempted from her power; both angels and men, and creatures of what + condition soever, though each in different sort and manner, yet all with + uniform consent admiring her as the mother of their peace and joy. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6zg" id="chap6zg">Sidney and Raleigh.</a></b> Among the + prose writers of this wonderful literary age there are many others that + deserve passing notice, though they fall far below the standard of Bacon + and Hooker. Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586), who has already been considered + as a poet, is quite as well known by his prose works, <i>Arcadia</i>, a + pastoral romance, and the <i>Defense of Poesie</i>, one of our earliest + literary essays. Sidney, whom the poet Shelley has eulogized, represents + the whole romantic tendency of his age; while Sir Walter Raleigh + (1552?-1618) represents its adventurous spirit and activity. The life of + Raleigh is an almost incomprehensible mixture of the poet, scholar, and + adventurer; now helping the Huguenots or the struggling Dutch in Europe, + and now leading an expedition into the unmapped wilds of the New World; + busy here with court intrigues, and there with piratical attempts to + capture the gold-laden Spanish galleons; one moment sailing the high seas + in utter freedom, and the next writing history and poetry to solace his + imprisonment. Such a life in itself is a volume far more interesting than + anything that he wrote. He is the restless spirit of the Elizabethan Age + personified. + </p> + <p> + Raleigh's chief prose works are the <i>Discoverie of Guiana</i>, a work + which would certainly have been interesting enough had he told simply what + he saw, but which was filled with colonization schemes and visions of an + El Dorado to fill the eyes and ears of the credulous; and the <i>History + of the World</i>, written to occupy his prison hours. The history is a + wholly untrustworthy account of events from creation to the downfall of + the Macedonian Empire. It is interesting chiefly for its style, which is + simple and dignified, and for the flashes of wit and poetry that break + into the fantastic combination of miracles, traditions, hearsay, and state + records which he called history. In the conclusion is the famous + apostrophe to Death, which suggests what Raleigh might have done had he + lived less strenuously and written more carefully. + </p> + <p> + O eloquent, just, and mighty Death! whom none could advise thou hast + persuaded; what none hath dared thou hast done; and whom all the world + hath flattered thou only hast cast out of the world and despised; thou + hast drawn together all the star-stretched greatness, all the pride, + cruelty, and ambition of man, and covered it all over with these two + narrow words, <i>Hic jacet</i>! + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6zh" id="chap6zh">John Foxe</a></b> (1516-1587). Foxe will + be remembered always for his famous <i>Book of Martyrs</i>, a book that + our elders gave to us on Sundays when we were young, thinking it good + discipline for us to afflict our souls when we wanted to be roaming the + sunlit fields, or when in our enforced idleness we would, if our own taste + in the matter had been consulted, have made good shift to be quiet and + happy with <i>Robinson Crusoe</i>. So we have a gloomy memory of Foxe, and + something of a grievance, which prevent a just appreciation of his worth. + </p> + <p> + Foxe had been driven out of England by the Marian persecutions, and in a + wandering but diligent life on the Continent he conceived the idea of + writing a history of the persecutions of the church from the earliest days + to his own. The part relating to England and Scotland was published, in + Latin, in 1559 under a title as sonorous and impressive as the Roman + office for the dead,--<i>Rerum in Ecclesia Gestarum Maximarumque per + Europam Persecutionum Commentarii</i>. On his return to England Foxe + translated this work, calling it the <i>Acts and Monuments</i>; but it + soon became known as the <i>Book of Martyrs</i>, and so it will always be + called. Foxe's own bitter experience causes him to write with more heat + and indignation than his saintly theme would warrant, and the "holy tone" + sometimes spoils a narrative that would be impressive in its bare + simplicity. Nevertheless the book has made for itself a secure place in + our literature. It is strongest in its record of humble men, like Rowland + Taylor and Thomas Hawkes, whose sublime heroism, but for this narrative, + would have been lost amid the great names and the great events that fill + the Elizabethan Age. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6zi" id="chap6zi">Camden and Knox.</a></b> Two historians, + William Camden and John Knox, stand out prominently among the numerous + historical writers of the age. Camden's <i>Britannia</i> (1586) is a + monumental work, which marks the beginning of true antiquarian research in + the field of history; and his <i>Annals of Queen Elizabeth</i> is worthy + of a far higher place than has thus far been given it. John Knox, the + reformer, in his <i>History of the Reformation in Scotland</i>, has some + very vivid portraits of his helpers and enemies. The personal and + aggressive elements enter too strongly for a work of history; but the + autobiographical parts show rare literary power. His account of his famous + interview with Mary Queen of Scots is clear-cut as a cameo, and shows the + man's extraordinary power better than a whole volume of biography. Such + scenes make one wish that more of his time had been given to literary + work, rather than to the disputes and troubles of his own Scotch kirk. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6zj" id="chap6zj">Hakluyt and Purchas.</a></b> Two editors + of this age have made for themselves an enviable place in our literature. + They are Richard Hakluyt (1552?-1616) and Samuel Purchas (1575?-1626). + Hakluyt was a clergyman who in the midst of his little parish set himself + to achieve two great patriotic ends,--to promote the wealth and commerce + of his country, and to preserve the memory of all his countrymen who added + to the glory of the realm by their travels and explorations. To further + the first object he concerned himself deeply with the commercial interests + of the East India Company, with Raleigh's colonizing plans in Virginia, + and with a translation of De Soto's travels in America. To further the + second he made himself familiar with books of voyages in all foreign + languages and with the brief reports of explorations of his own + countrymen. His <i>Principal Navigations, Voyages, and Discoveries of the + English Nation</i>, in three volumes, appeared first in 1589, and a second + edition followed in 1598-1600. The first volume tells of voyages to the + north; the second to India and the East; the third, which is as large as + the other two, to the New World. With the exception of the very first + voyage, that of King Arthur to Iceland in 517, which is founded on a myth, + all the voyages are authentic accounts of the explorers themselves, and + are immensely interesting reading even at the present day. No other book + of travels has so well expressed the spirit and energy of the English + race, or better deserves a place in our literature. + </p> + <p> + Samuel Purchas, who was also a clergyman, continued the work of Hakluyt, + using many of the latter's unpublished manuscripts and condensing the + records of numerous other voyages. His first famous book, <i>Purchas, His + Pilgrimage</i>, appeared in 1613, and was followed by <i>Hakluytus + Posthumus, or Purchas His Pilgrimes</i>, in 1625. The very name inclines + one to open the book with pleasure, and when one follows his + inclination--which is, after all, one of the best guides in literature--he + is rarely disappointed. Though it falls far below the standard of Hakluyt, + both in accuracy and literary finish, there is still plenty to make one + glad that the book was written and that he can now comfortably follow + Purchas on his pilgrimage. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6zk" id="chap6zk">Thomas North.</a></b> Among the + translators of the Elizabethan Age Sir Thomas North (1535?-1601?) is most + deserving of notice because of his version of <i>Plutarch's Lives</i> + (1579) from which Shakespeare took the characters and many of the + incidents for three great Roman plays. Thus in North we read: + </p> + <p> + Cæsar also had Cassius in great jealousy and suspected him much: + whereupon he said on a time to his friends: "What will Cassius do, think + ye? I like not his pale looks." Another time when Cæsar's friends + warned him of Antonius and Dolabella, he answered them again, "I never + reckon of them; but these pale-visaged and carrion lean people, I fear + them most," meaning Brutus and Cassius. + </p> + <p> + Shakespeare merely touches such a scene with the magic of his genius, and + his Cæsar speaks: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Let me have men about me that are fat:<br /> Sleek-headed men, and such + as sleep o' nights.<br /> Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look:<br /> + He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + A careful reading of North's <i>Plutarch</i> and then of the famous Roman + plays shows to how great an extent Shakespeare was dependent upon his + obscure contemporary. + </p> + <p> + North's translation, to which we owe so many heroic models in our + literature, was probably made not from Plutarch but from Amyot's excellent + French translation. Nevertheless he reproduces the spirit of the original, + and notwithstanding our modern and more accurate translations, he remains + the most inspiring interpreter of the great biographer whom Emerson calls + "the historian of heroism." + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6zl" id="chap6zl">Summary of the Age of Elizabeth</a></b>. + This period is generally regarded as the greatest in the history of our + literature. Historically, we note in this age the tremendous impetus + received from the Renaissance, from the Reformation, and from the + exploration of the New World. It was marked by a strong national spirit, + by patriotism, by religious tolerance, by social content, by intellectual + progress, and by unbounded enthusiasm. + </p> + <p> + Such an age, of thought, feeling, and vigorous action, finds its best + expression in the drama; and the wonderful development of the drama, + culminating in Shakespeare, is the most significant characteristic of the + Elizabethan period. Though the age produced some excellent prose works, it + is essentially an age of poetry; and the poetry is remarkable for its + variety, its freshness, its youthful and romantic feeling. Both the poetry + and the drama were permeated by Italian influence, which was dominant in + English literature from Chaucer to the Restoration. The literature of this + age is often called the literature of the Renaissance, though, as we have + seen, the Renaissance itself began much earlier, and for a century and a + half added very little to our literary possessions. + </p> + <p> + In our study of this great age we have noted (1) the Non-dramatic Poets, + that is, poets who did not write for the stage. The center of this group + is Edmund Spenser, whose <i>Shepherd's Calendar</i> (1579) marked the + appearance of the first national poet since Chaucer's death in 1400. His + most famous work is <i>The Faery Queen</i>. Associated with Spenser are + the minor poets, Thomas Sackville, Michael Drayton, George Chapman, and + Philip Sidney. Chapman is noted for his completion of Marlowe's poem, <i>Hero + and Leander</i>, and for his translation of Homer's <i>Iliad</i> and <i>Odyssey</i>. + Sidney, besides his poetry, wrote his prose romance <i>Arcadia</i>, and <i>The + Defense of Poesie</i>, one of our earliest critical essays. + </p> + <p> + (2) The Rise of the Drama in England; the Miracle plays, Moralities, and + Interludes; our first play, "Ralph Royster Doyster"; the first true + English comedy, "Gammer Gurton's Needle," and the first tragedy, + "Gorboduc"; the conflict between classic and native ideals in the English + drama. + </p> + <p> + (3) Shakespeare's Predecessors, Lyly, Kyd, Nash, Peele, Greene, Marlowe; + the types of drama with which they experimented,--the Marlowesque, one-man + type, or tragedy of passion, the popular Chronicle plays, the Domestic + drama, the Court or Lylian comedy, Romantic comedy and tragedy, Classical + plays, and the Melodrama. Marlowe is the greatest of Shakespeare's + predecessors. His four plays are "Tamburlaine," "Faustus," "The Jew of + Malta," and "Edward II." + </p> + <p> + (4) Shakespeare, his life, work, and influence. + </p> + <p> + (5) Shakespeare's Successors, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher, Webster, + Middleton, Heywood, Dekker; and the rapid decline of the drama. Ben Jonson + is the greatest of this group. His chief comedies are "Every Man in His + Humour," "The Silent Woman," and "The Alchemist"; his two extant tragedies + are "Sejanus" and "Catiline." + </p> + <p> + (6) The Prose Writers, of whom Bacon is the most notable. His chief + philosophical work is the <i>Instauratio Magna</i> (incomplete), which + includes "The Advancement of Learning" and the "Novum Organum"; but he is + known to literary readers by his famous <i>Essays</i>. Minor prose writers + are Richard Hooker, John Foxe, the historians Camden and Knox, the editors + Hakluyt and Purchas, who gave us the stirring records of exploration, and + Thomas North, the translator of Plutarch's <i>Lives</i>. + </p> + <p> + <b>Selections for Reading.</b> <i>Spenser</i>. Faery Queen, selections in + Standard English Classics; Bk. I, in Riverside Literature Series, etc.; + Shepherd's Calendar, in Cassell's National Library; Selected Poems, in + Canterbury Poets Series; Minor Poems, in Temple Classics; Selections in + Manly's English Poetry, or Ward's English Poets. + </p> + <p> + <i>Minor Poets</i>. Drayton, Sackville, Sidney, Chapman, Selections in + Manly or Ward; Elizabethan songs, in Schelling's Elizabethan Lyrics, and + in Palgrave's Golden Treasury; Chapman's Homer, in Temple Classics. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Early Drama</i>. Play of Noah's Flood, in Manly's Specimens of the + Pre-Shaksperean Drama, or in Pollard's English Miracle Plays, Moralities + and Interludes, or in Belles Lettres Series, sec. 2; L.T. Smith's The York + Miracle Plays. + </p> + <p> + <i>Lyly</i>. Endymion, in Holt's English Readings. + </p> + <p> + <i>Marlowe</i>. Faustus, in Temple Dramatists, or Mermaid Series, or + Morley's Universal Library, or Lamb's Specimens of English Dramatic Poets; + Selections in Manly's English Poetry, or Ward's English Poets; Edward II, + in Temple Dramatists, and in Holt's English Readings. + </p> + <p> + <i>Shakespeare</i>. Merchant of Venice, Julius Cæsar, Macbeth, etc., + in Standard English Classics (edited, with notes, with special reference + to college-entrance requirements). Good editions of single plays are + numerous and cheap. Hudson's and Rolfe's and the Arden Shakespeare are + suggested as satisfactory. The Sonnets, edited by Beeching, in Athenæum + Press Series. + </p> + <p> + <i>Ben Jonson</i>. The Alchemist, in Canterbury Poets Series, or Morley's + Universal Library; Selections in Manly's English Poetry, or Ward's English + Poets, or Canterbury Poets Series; Selections from Jonson's Masques, in + Evans's English Masques; Timber, edited by Schelling, in Athenæum + Press Series. + </p> + <p> + <i>Bacon</i>. Essays, school edition (Ginn and Company); Northup's + edition, in Riverside Literature Series (various other inexpensive + editions, in the Pitt Press, Golden Treasury Series, etc.); Advancement of + Learning, Bk. I, edited by Cook (Ginn and Company). Compare selections + from Bacon, Hooker, Lyly, and Sidney, in Manly's English Prose. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6zm" id="chap6zm">Bibliography.</a></b><sup><a + href="#fn159" name="rfn159" id="rfn159">[159]</a></sup> <i><b>History.</b> + Text-book</i>, Montgomery, pp. 208-238; Cheyney, pp. 330-410; Green, ch. + 7; Traill, Macaulay, Froude. + </p> + <p> + <i>Special works</i>. Creighton's The Age of Elizabeth; Hall's Society in + the Elizabethan Age; Winter's Shakespeare's England; Goadby's The England + of Shakespeare; Lee's Stratford on Avon; Harrison's Elizabethan England. + </p> + <p> + <b><i>Literature</i></b>. Saintsbury's History of Elizabethan Literature; + Whipple's Literature of the Age of Elizabeth; S. Lee's Great Englishmen of + the Sixteenth Century; Schilling's Elizabethan Lyrics, in Athenæum + Press Series; Vernon Lee's Euphorion. + </p> + <p> + <i>Spenser</i>. Texts, Cambridge, Globe, and Aldine editions; Noel's + Selected Poems of Spenser, in Canterbury Poets; Minor Poems, in Temple + Classics; Arber's Spenser Anthology; Church's Life of Spenser, in English + Men of Letters Series; Lowell's Essay, in Among My Books, or in Literary + Essays, vol. 4; Hazlitt's Chaucer and Spenser, in Lectures on the English + Poets; Dowden's Essay, in Transcripts and Studies. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Drama</i>. Texts, Manly's Specimens of the Pre-Shakesperean Drama, + 2 vols., in Athenæum Press Series; Pollard's English Miracle Plays, + Moralities and Interludes; the Temple Dramatists; Morley's Universal + Library; Arber's English Reprints; Mermaid Series, etc.; Thayer's The Best + Elizabethan Plays. + </p> + <p> + Gayley's Plays of Our Forefathers (Miracles, Moralities, etc.); Bates's + The English Religious Drama; Schelling's The English Chronicle Play; + Lowell's Old English Dramatists; Boas's Shakespeare and his Predecessors; + Symonds's Shakespeare's Predecessors in the English Drama; Schelling's + Elizabethan Drama; Lamb's Specimens of English Dramatic Poets; + Introduction to Hudson's Shakespeare: His Life, Art, and Characters; + Ward's History of English Dramatic Literature; Dekker's The Gull's + Hornbook, in King's Classics. + </p> + <p> + <i>Marlowe</i>. Works, edited by Bullen; chief plays in Temple Dramatists, + Mermaid Series of English Dramatists, Morley's Universal Library, etc.; + Lowell's Old English Dramatists; Symonds's introduction, in Mermaid + Series; Dowden's Essay, in Transcripts and Studies. + </p> + <p> + <i>Shakespeare</i>. Good texts are numerous. Furness's Variorum edition is + at present most useful for advanced work. Hudson's revised edition, each + play in a single volume, with notes and introductions, will, when + complete, be one of the very best for students' use. + </p> + <p> + Raleigh's Shakespeare, in English Men of Letters Series; Lee's Life of + Shakespeare; Hudson's Shakespeare: his Life, Art, and Characters; + Halliwell-Phillipps's Outlines of the Life of Shakespeare; Fleay's + Chronicle History of the Life and Work of Shakespeare; Dowden's + Shakespeare, a Critical Study of his Mind and Art; Shakespeare Primer + (same author); Baker's The Development of Shakespeare as a Dramatist; + Lounsbury's Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist; The Text of Shakespeare + (same author); Wendell's William Shakespeare; Bradley's Shakesperian + Tragedy; Hazlitt's Shakespeare and Milton, in Lectures on the English + Poets; Emerson's Essay, Shakespeare or the Poet; Lowell's Essay, in Among + My Books; Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare; Mrs. Jameson's Shakespeare's + Female Characters (called also Characteristics of Women); Rolfe's + Shakespeare the Boy; Brandes's William Shakespeare; Moulton's Shakespeare + as a Dramatic Artist; Mabie's William Shakespeare, Poet, Dramatist, and + Man; The Shakespeare Apocrypha, edited by C. F. T. Brooke; Shakespeare's + Holinshed, edited by Stone; Shakespeare Lexicon, by Schmidt; Concordance, + by Bartlett; Grammar, by Abbott, or by Franz. + </p> + <p> + <i>Ben Jonson</i>. Texts in Mermaid Series, Temple Dramatists, Morley's + Universal Library, etc.; Masques and Entertainments of Ben Jonson, edited + by Morley, in Carisbrooke Library; Timber, edited by Schelling, in Athenæum + Press Series. + </p> + <p> + <i>Beaumont, Fletcher, etc</i>. Plays in Mermaid Series, Temple + Dramatists, etc.; Schelling's Elizabethan Drama; Lowell's Old English + Dramatists; Lamb's Specimens of English Dramatic Poets; Fleay's + Biographical Chronicle of the English Drama; Swinburne's Essays, in Essays + in Prose and Poetry, and in Essays and Studies. + </p> + <p> + <i>Bacon</i>. Texts, Essays in Everyman's Library, etc.; Advancement of + Learning in Clarendon Press Series, Library of English Classics, etc.; + Church's Life of Bacon, in English Men of Letters Series; Nichol's Bacon's + Life and Philosophy; Francis Bacon, translated from the German of K. + Fischer (excellent, but rare); Macaulay's Essay on Bacon. + </p> + <p> + <i>Minor Prose Writers</i>. Sidney's Arcadia, edited by Somers; Defense of + Poesy, edited by Cook, in Athenæum Press Series; Arber's Reprints, + etc.; Selections from Sidney's prose and poetry in the Elizabethan + Library; Symonds's Life of Sidney, in English Men of Letters; Bourne's + Life of Sidney, in Heroes of the Nations; Lamb's Essay on Sidney's + Sonnets, in Essays of Elia. + </p> + <p> + Raleigh's works, published by the Oxford Press; Selections by Grosart, in + Elizabethan Library; Raleigh's Last Fight of the <i>Revenge</i>, in + Arber's Reprints; Life of Raleigh, by Edwards and by Gosse. Richard + Hooker's works, edited by Keble, Oxford Press; Laws of Ecclesiastical + Polity, in Everyman's Library, and in Morley's Universal Library; Life, in + Walton's Lives, in Morley's Universal Library; Dowden's Essay, in Puritan + and Anglican. + </p> + <p> + Lyly's Euphues, in Arber's Reprints; Endymion, edited by Baker; Campaspe, + in Manly's Pre-Shaksperean Drama. + </p> + <p> + North's Plutarch's Lives, edited by Wyndham, in Tudor Library; school + edition, by Ginn and Company. Hakluyt's Voyages, in Everyman's Library; + Jones's introduction to Hakluyt's Diverse Voyages; Payne's Voyages of + Elizabethan Seamen; Froude's Essay, in Short Studies on Great Subjects. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap6zn" id="chap6zn">Suggestive Questions.</a></b> 1. What + historical conditions help to account for the great literature of the + Elizabethan age? What are the general characteristics of Elizabethan + literature? What type of literature prevailed, and why? What work seems to + you to express most perfectly the Elizabethan spirit? + </p> + <p> + 2. Tell briefly the story of Spenser's life. What is the story or argument + of the <i>Faery Queen</i>? What is meant by the Spenserian stanza? Read + and comment upon Spenser's "Epithalamion." Why does the "Shepherd's + Calendar" mark a literary epoch? What are the main qualities of Spenser's + poetry? Can you quote or refer to any passages which illustrate these + qualities? Why is he called the poets' poet? + </p> + <p> + 3. For what is Sackville noted? What is the most significant thing about + his "Gorboduc"? Name other minor poets and tell what they wrote. + </p> + <p> + 4. Give an outline of the origin and rise of the drama in England. What is + meant by Miracle and Mystery plays? What purposes did they serve among the + common people? How did they help the drama? What is meant by cycles of + Miracle plays? How did the Moralities differ from the Miracles? What was + the chief purpose of the Interludes? What type of drama did they develop? + Read a typical play, like "Noah's Flood" or "Everyman," and write a brief + analysis of it. + </p> + <p> + 5. What were our first plays in the modern sense? What influence did the + classics exert on the English drama? What is meant by the dramatic + unities? In what important respect did the English differ from the classic + drama? + </p> + <p> + 6. Name some of Shakespeare's predecessors in the drama? What types of + drama did they develop? Name some plays of each type. Are any of these + plays still presented on the stage? + </p> + <p> + 7. What are Marlowe's chief plays? What is the central motive in each? Why + are they called one-man plays? What is meant by Marlowe's "mighty line"? + What is the story of "Faustus"? Compare "Faustus" and Goethe's "Faust," + having in mind the story, the dramatic interest, and the literary value of + each play. + </p> + <p> + 8. Tell briefly the story of Shakespeare's life. What fact in his life + most impressed you? How does Shakespeare sum up the work of all his + predecessors? What are the four periods of his work, and the chief plays + of each? Where did he find his plots? What are his romantic plays? his + chronicle or historical plays? What is the difference between a tragedy + and a comedy? Name some of Shakespeare's best tragedies, comedies, and + historical plays. Which play of Shakespeare's seems to you to give the + best picture of human life? Why is he called the myriad-minded + Shakespeare? For what reasons is he considered the greatest of writers? + Can you explain why Shakespeare's plays are still acted, while other plays + of his age are rarely seen? If you have seen any of Shakespeare's plays on + the stage, how do they compare in interest with a modern play? + </p> + <p> + 9. What are Ben Jonson's chief plays? In what important respects did they + differ from those of Shakespeare? Tell the story of "The Alchemist" or + "The Silent Woman." Name other contemporaries and successors of + Shakespeare. Give some reasons for the preëminence of the Elizabethan + drama. What causes led to its decline? + </p> + <p> + 10. Tell briefly the story of Bacon's life. What is his chief literary + work? his chief educational work? Why is he called a pioneer of modern + science? Can you explain what is meant by the inductive method of + learning? What subjects are considered in Bacon's <i>Essays</i>? What is + the central idea of the essay you like best? What are the literary + qualities of these essays? Do they appeal to the intellect or the + emotions? What is meant by the word "essay," and how does Bacon illustrate + the definition? Make a comparison between Bacon's essays and those of some + more recent writer, such as Addison, Lamb, Carlyle, Emerson, or Stevenson, + having in mind the subjects, style, and interest of both essayists. + </p> + <p> + 11. Who are the minor prose writers of the Elizabethan Age? What did they + write? Comment upon any work of theirs which you have read. What is the + literary value of North's Plutarch? What is the chief defect in + Elizabethan prose as a whole? What is meant by euphuism? Explain why + Elizabethan poetry is superior to the prose. + </p> + <table> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <big><a name="chap6zo" id="chap6zo">CHRONOLOGY</a></big> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + Last Half of the Sixteenth and First Half of the Seventeenth Centuries + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2"> + HISTORY + </th> + <th colspan="2"> + LITERATURE + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1558. + </td> + <td> + Elizabeth (_d_. 1603) + </td> + <td> + 1559. + </td> + <td> + John Knox in Edinburgh + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1562(?). + </td> + <td> + Gammer Gurton's Needle. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Gorboduc + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1564. + </td> + <td> + Birth of Shakespeare + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1571. + </td> + <td> + Rise of English Puritans + </td> + <td> + 1576. + </td> + <td> + First Theater + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1577. + </td> + <td> + Drake's Voyage around the + </td> + <td> + 1579. + </td> + <td> + Spenser's Shepherd's Calendar. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + World + </td> + <td></td> + <td> + Lyly's Euphues. North's Plutarch. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1587. + </td> + <td> + Shakespeare in London. Marlowe's + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Tamburlaine + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1588. + </td> + <td> + Defeat of the Armada + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1590. + </td> + <td> + Spenser's Faery Queen. Sidney's + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Arcadia + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1590-1595. + </td> + <td> + Shakespeare's Early Plays + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1597-1625. + </td> + <td> + Bacon's Essays + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1598-1614. + </td> + <td> + Chapman's Homer + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1598. + </td> + <td> + Ben Jonson's Every Man in His + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Humour + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1600-1607. + </td> + <td> + Shakespeare's Tragedies + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1603. + </td> + <td> + James I (<i>d</i>. 1625) + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1604. + </td> + <td> + Divine Right of Kings + </td> + <td> + 1605. + </td> + <td> + Bacon's Advancement of Learning + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + proclaimed + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1607. + </td> + <td> + Settlement at Jamestown, + </td> + <td> + 1608. + </td> + <td> + Birth of Milton + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Virginia + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1611. + </td> + <td> + Translation (King James Version) + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + of Bible + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1614. + </td> + <td> + Raleigh's History + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1616. + </td> + <td> + Death of Shakespeare + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1620. + </td> + <td> + Pilgrim Fathers at + </td> + <td> + 1620-1642. + </td> + <td> + Shakespeare's successors. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Plymouth + </td> + <td></td> + <td> + End of drama + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1620. + </td> + <td> + Bacon's Novum Organum + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1622. + </td> + <td> + First regular newspaper, The + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Weekly News + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1625. + </td> + <td> + Charles I + </td> + <td> + 1626. + </td> + <td> + Death of Bacon + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr /> + <h1> + <a name="chap7" id="chap7">CHAPTER VII</a> + </h1> + <h3> + THE PURITAN AGE (1620-1660) + </h3> + <p> + I. HISTORICAL SUMMARY + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7a" id="chap7a">The Puritan Movement</a></b>. In its + broadest sense the Puritan movement may be regarded as a second and + greater Renaissance, a rebirth of the moral nature of man following the + intellectual awakening of Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. + In Italy, whose influence had been uppermost in Elizabethan literature, + the Renaissance had been essentially pagan and sensuous. It had hardly + touched the moral nature of man, and it brought little relief from the + despotism of rulers. One can hardly read the horrible records of the + Medici or the Borgias, or the political observations of Machiavelli, + without marveling at the moral and political degradation of a cultured + nation. In the North, especially among the German and English peoples, the + Renaissance was accompanied by a moral awakening, and it is precisely that + awakening in England, "that greatest moral and political reform which ever + swept over a nation in the short space of half a century," which is meant + by the Puritan movement. We shall understand it better if we remember that + it had two chief objects: the first was personal righteousness; the second + was civil and religious liberty. In other words, it aimed to make men + honest and to make them free. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Wrong Ideas of the Puritans.</span>Such a + movement should be cleared of all the misconceptions which have clung to + it since the Restoration, when the very name of Puritan was made + ridiculous by the jeers of the gay courtiers of Charles II. Though the + spirit of the movement was profoundly religious, the Puritans were not a + religious sect; neither was the Puritan a narrow-minded and gloomy + dogmatist, as he is still pictured even in the histories. Pym and Hampden + and Eliot and Milton were Puritans; and in the long struggle for human + liberty there are few names more honored by freemen everywhere. Cromwell + and Thomas Hooker were Puritans; yet Cromwell stood like a rock for + religious tolerance; and Thomas Hooker, in Connecticut, gave to the world + the first written constitution, in which freemen, before electing their + officers, laid down the strict limits of the offices to which they were + elected. That is a Puritan document, and it marks one of the greatest + achievements in the history of government. + </p> + <p> + From a religious view point Puritanism included all shades of belief. The + name was first given to those who advocated certain changes in the form of + worship of the reformed English Church under Elizabeth; but as the ideal + of liberty rose in men's minds, and opposed to it were the king and his + evil counselors and the band of intolerant churchmen of whom Laud is the + great example, then Puritanism became a great national movement. It + included English churchmen as well as extreme Separatists, Calvinists, + Covenanters, Catholic noblemen,--all bound together in resistance to + despotism in Church and State, and with a passion for liberty and + righteousness such as the world has never since seen. Naturally such a + movement had its extremes and excesses, and it is from a few zealots and + fanatics that most of our misconceptions about the Puritans arise. Life + was stern in those days, too stern perhaps, and the intensity of the + struggle against despotism made men narrow and hard. In the triumph of + Puritanism under Cromwell severe laws were passed, many simple pleasures + were forbidden, and an austere standard of living was forced upon an + unwilling people. So the criticism is made that the wild outbreak of + immorality which followed the restoration of Charles was partly due to the + unnatural restrictions of the Puritan era. The criticism is just; but we + must not forget the whole spirit of the movement. That the Puritan + prohibited Maypole dancing and horse racing is of small consequence beside + the fact that he fought for liberty and justice, that he overthrew + despotism and made a man's life and property safe from the tyranny of + rulers. A great river is not judged by the foam on its surface, and + certain austere laws and doctrines which we have ridiculed are but froth + on the surface of the mighty Puritan current that has flowed steadily, + like a river of life, through English and American history since the Age + of Elizabeth. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7b" id="chap7b">Changing Ideals</a></b>. The political + upheaval of the period is summed up in the terrible struggle between the + king and Parliament, which resulted in the death of Charles at the block + and the establishment of the Commonwealth under Cromwell. For centuries + the English people had been wonderfully loyal to their sovereigns; but + deeper than their loyalty to kings was the old Saxon love for personal + liberty. At times, as in the days of Alfred and Elizabeth, the two ideals + went hand in hand; but more often they were in open strife, and a final + struggle for supremacy was inevitable. The crisis came when James I, who + had received the right of royalty from an act of Parliament, began, by the + assumption of "divine right," to ignore the Parliament which had created + him. Of the civil war which followed in the reign of Charles I, and of the + triumph of English freedom, it is unnecessary to write here. The blasphemy + of a man's divine right to rule his fellow-men was ended. Modern England + began with the charge of Cromwell's brigade of Puritans at Naseby. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Religious Ideals.</span>Religiously the age was + one of even greater ferment than that which marked the beginning of the + Reformation. A great ideal, the ideal of a national church, was pounding + to pieces, like a ship in the breakers, and in the confusion of such an + hour the action of the various sects was like that of frantic passengers, + each striving to save his possessions from the wreck. The Catholic church, + as its name implies, has always held true to the ideal of a united church, + a church which, like the great Roman government of the early centuries, + can bring the splendor and authority of Rome to bear upon the humblest + village church to the farthest ends of the earth. For a time that mighty + ideal dazzled the German and English reformers; but the possibility of a + united Protestant church perished with Elizabeth. Then, instead of the + world-wide church which was the ideal of Catholicism, came the ideal of a + purely national Protestantism. This was the ideal of Laud and the + reactionary bishops, no less than of the scholarly Richard Hooker, of the + rugged Scotch Covenanters, and of the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay. It is + intensely interesting to note that Charles called Irish rebels and Scotch + Highlanders to his aid by promising to restore their national religions; + and that the English Puritans, turning to Scotland for help, entered into + the solemn Covenant of 1643, establishing a national Presbyterianism, + whose object was: + </p> + <p> + To bring the churches of God in the three kingdoms to uniformity in + religion and government, to preserve the rights of Parliament and the + liberties of the Kingdom; ... that we and our posterity may as brethren + live in faith and love, and the Lord may delight to live in the midst of + us. + </p> + <p> + In this famous Covenant we see the national, the ecclesiastical, and the + personal dream of Puritanism, side by side, in all their grandeur and + simplicity. + </p> + <p> + Years passed, years of bitter struggle and heartache, before the + impossibility of uniting the various Protestant sects was generally + recognized. The ideal of a national church died hard, and to its death is + due all the religious unrest of the period. Only as we remember the + national ideal, and the struggle which it caused, can we understand the + amazing life and work of Bunyan, or appreciate the heroic spirit of the + American colonists who left home for a wilderness in order to give the new + ideal of a free church in a free state its practical demonstration. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7c" id="chap7c">Literary Characteristics</a></b>. In + literature also the Puritan Age was one of confusion, due to the breaking + up of old ideals. Mediaeval standards of chivalry, the impossible loves + and romances of which Spenser furnished the types, perished no less surely + than the ideal of a national church; and in the absence of any fixed + standard of literary criticism there was nothing to prevent the + exaggeration of the "metaphysical" poets, who are the literary parallels + to religious sects like the Anabaptists. Poetry took new and startling + forms in Donne and Herbert, and prose became as somber as Burton's <i>Anatomy + of Melancholy</i>. The spiritual gloom which sooner or later fastens upon + all the writers of this age, and which is unjustly attributed to Puritan + influence, is due to the breaking up of accepted standards in government + and religion. No people, from the Greeks to those of our own day, have + suffered the loss of old ideals without causing its writers to cry, + "Ichabod! the glory has departed." That is the unconscious tendency of + literary men in all times, who look backward for their golden age; and it + need not concern the student of literature, who, even in the break-up of + cherished institutions, looks for some foregleams of a better light which + is to break upon the world. This so-called gloomy age produced some minor + poems of exquisite workmanship, and one great master of verse whose work + would glorify any age or people,--John Milton, in whom the indomitable + Puritan spirit finds its noblest expression. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Puritan and Elizabethan Literature </span>There + are three main characteristics in which Puritan literature differs from + that of the preceding age: (1) Elizabethan literature, with all its + diversity, had a marked unity in spirit, resulting from the patriotism of + all classes and their devotion to a queen who, with all her faults, sought + first the nation's welfare. Under the Stuarts all this was changed. The + kings were the open enemies of the people; the country was divided by the + struggle for political and religious liberty; and the literature was as + divided in spirit as were the struggling parties. (2) Elizabethan + literature is generally inspiring; it throbs with youth and hope and + vitality. That which follows speaks of age and sadness; even its brightest + hours are followed by gloom, and by the pessimism inseparable from the + passing of old standards. (3) Elizabethan literature is intensely + romantic; the romance springs from the heart of youth, and believes all + things, even the impossible. The great schoolman's <i>credo</i>, "I + believe because it is impossible," is a better expression of Elizabethan + literature than of mediæval theology. In the literature of the + Puritan period one looks in vain for romantic ardor. Even in the lyrics + and love poems a critical, intellectual spirit takes its place, and + whatever romance asserts itself is in form rather than in feeling, a + fantastic and artificial adornment of speech rather than the natural + utterance of a heart in which sentiment is so strong and true that poetry + is its only expression. + </p> + <p> + II. LITERATURE OF THE PURITAN PERIOD + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7d" id="chap7d">The Transition Poets.</a></b> When one + attempts to classify the literature of the first half of the seventeenth + century, from the death of Elizabeth (1603) to the Restoration (1660), he + realizes the impossibility of grouping poets by any accurate standard. The + classifications attempted here have small dependence upon dates or + sovereigns, and are suggestive rather than accurate. Thus Shakespeare and + Bacon wrote largely in the reign of James I, but their work is Elizabethan + in spirit; and Bunyan is no less a Puritan because he happened to write + after the Restoration. The name Metaphysical poets, given by Dr. Johnson, + is somewhat suggestive but not descriptive of the followers of Donne; the + name Caroline or Cavalier poets brings to mind the careless temper of the + Royalists who followed King Charles with a devotion of which he was + unworthy; and the name Spenserian poets recalls the little band of + dreamers who clung to Spenser's ideal, even while his romantic mediæval + castle was battered down by Science at the one gate and Puritanism at the + other. At the beginning of this bewildering confusion of ideals expressed + in literature, we note a few writers who are generally known as Jacobean + poets, but whom we have called the Transition poets because, with the + later dramatists, they show clearly the changing standards of the age. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7e" id="chap7e">Samuel Daniel</a></b> (1562-1619). Daniel, + who is often classed with the first Metaphysical poets, is interesting to + us for two reasons,--for his use of the artificial sonnet, and for his + literary desertion of Spenser as a model for poets. His <i>Delia</i>, a + cycle of sonnets modeled, perhaps, after Sidney's <i>Astrophel and Stella</i>, + helped to fix the custom of celebrating love or friendship by a series of + sonnets, to which some pastoral pseudonym was affixed. In his sonnets, + many of which rank with Shakespeare's, and in his later poetry, especially + the beautiful "Complaint of Rosamond" and his "Civil Wars," he aimed + solely at grace of expression, and became influential in giving to English + poetry a greater individuality and independence than it had ever known. In + matter he set himself squarely against the mediæval tendency: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Let others sing of kings and paladines<br /> In aged accents and untimely + words,<br /> Paint shadows in imaginary lines.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + This fling at Spenser and his followers marks the beginning of the modern + and realistic school, which sees in life as it is enough poetic material, + without the invention of allegories and impossible heroines. Daniel's + poetry, which was forgotten soon after his death, has received probably + more homage than it deserves in the praises of Wordsworth, Southey, Lamb, + and Coleridge. The latter says: "Read Daniel, the admirable Daniel. The + style and language are just such as any pure and manly writer of the + present day would use. It seems quite modern in comparison with the style + of Shakespeare." + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7f" id="chap7f">The Song Writers</a></b>. In strong + contrast with the above are two distinct groups, the Song Writers and the + Spenserian poets. The close of the reign of Elizabeth was marked by an + outburst of English songs, as remarkable in its sudden development as the + rise of the drama. Two causes contributed to this result,--the increasing + influence of French instead of Italian verse, and the rapid development of + music as an art at the close of the sixteenth century. The two song + writers best worth studying are Thomas Campion (1567?-1619) and Nicholas + Breton (1545?-1626?). Like all the lyric poets of the age, they are a + curious mixture of the Elizabethan and the Puritan standards. They sing of + sacred and profane love with the same zest, and a careless love song is + often found on the same page with a plea for divine grace. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7g" id="chap7g">The Spenserian Poets</a></b>. Of the + Spenserian poets Giles Fletcher and Wither are best worth studying. Giles + Fletcher (1588?-1623) has at times a strong suggestion of Milton (who was + also a follower of Spenser in his early years) in the noble simplicity and + majesty of his lines. His best known work, "Christ's Victory and Triumph" + (1610), was the greatest religious poem that had appeared in England since + "Piers Plowman," and is not an unworthy predecessor of <i>Paradise Lost</i>. + </p> + <p> + The life of George Wither (1588-1667) covers the whole period of English + history from Elizabeth to the Restoration, and the enormous volume of his + work covers every phase of the literature of two great ages. His life was + a varied one; now as a Royalist leader against the Covenanters, and again + announcing his Puritan convictions, and suffering in prison for his faith. + At his best Wither is a lyric poet of great originality, rising at times + to positive genius; but the bulk of his poetry is intolerably dull. + Students of this period find him interesting as an epitome of the whole + age in which he lived; but the average reader is more inclined to note + with interest that he published in 1623 <i>Hymns and Songs of the Church</i>, + the first hymn book that ever appeared in the English language. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7h" id="chap7h">The Metaphysical Poets.</a></b> This + name--which was given by Dr. Johnson in derision, because of the fantastic + form of Donne's poetry--is often applied to all minor poets of the Puritan + Age. We use the term here in a narrower sense, excluding the followers of + Daniel and that later group known as the Cavalier poets. It includes + Donne, Herbert, Waller, Denham, Cowley, Vaughan, Davenant, Marvell, and + Crashaw. The advanced student finds them all worthy of study, not only for + their occasional excellent poetry, but because of their influence on later + literature. Thus Richard Crashaw (1613?-1649), the Catholic mystic, is + interesting because his troubled life is singularly like Donne's, and his + poetry is at times like Herbert's set on fire.<sup><a href="#fn160" + name="rfn160" id="rfn160">[160]</a></sup> Abraham Cowley (1618-1667), who + blossomed young and who, at twenty-five, was proclaimed the greatest poet + in England, is now scarcely known even by name, but his "Pindaric Odes"<sup><a + href="#fn161" name="rfn161" id="rfn161">[161]</a></sup> set an example + which influenced English poetry throughout the eighteenth century. Henry + Vaughan (1622-1695) is worthy of study because he is in some respects the + forerunner of Wordsworth;<sup><a href="#fn162" name="rfn162" id="rfn162">[162]</a></sup> + and Andrew Marvell (1621-1678), because of his loyal friendship with + Milton, and because his poetry shows the conflict between the two schools + of Spenser and Donne. Edmund Waller (1606-1687) stands between the Puritan + Age and the Restoration. He was the first to use consistently the "closed" + couplet which dominated our poetry for the next century. By this, and + especially by his influence over Dryden, the greatest figure of the + Restoration, he occupies a larger place in our literature than a reading + of his rather tiresome poetry would seem to warrant. + </p> + <p> + Of all these poets, each of whom has his special claim, we can consider + here only Donne and Herbert, who in different ways are the types of revolt + against earlier forms and standards of poetry. In feeling and imagery both + are poets of a high order, but in style and expression they are the + leaders of the fantastic school whose influence largely dominated poetry + during the half century of the Puritan period. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap7i" id="chap7i">JOHN DONNE</a> (1573-1631) + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> The briefest outline of Donne's life shows its intense human + interest. He was born in London, the son of a rich iron merchant, at the + time when the merchants of England were creating a new and higher kind of + princes. On his father's side he came from an old Welsh family, and on his + mother's side from the Heywoods and Sir Thomas More's family. Both + families were Catholic, and in his early life persecution was brought + near; for his brother died in prison for harboring a proscribed priest, + and his own education could not be continued in Oxford and Cambridge + because of his religion. Such an experience generally sets a man's + religious standards for life; but presently Donne, as he studied law at + Lincoln's Inn, was investigating the philosophic grounds of all faith. + Gradually he left the church in which he was born, renounced all + denominations, and called himself simply Christian. Meanwhile he wrote + poetry and shared his wealth with needy Catholic relatives. He joined the + expedition of Essex for Cadiz in 1596, and for the Azores in 1597, and on + sea and in camp found time to write poetry. Two of his best poems, "The + Storm" and "The Calm," belong to this period. Next he traveled in Europe + for three years, but occupied himself with study and poetry. Returning + home, he became secretary to Lord Egerton, fell in love with the latter's + young niece, Anne More, and married her; for which cause Donne was cast + into prison. Strangely enough his poetical work at this time is not a song + of youthful romance, but "The Progress of the Soul," a study of + transmigration. Years of wandering and poverty followed, until Sir George + More forgave the young lovers and made an allowance to his daughter. + Instead of enjoying his new comforts, Donne grew more ascetic and + intellectual in his tastes. He refused also the nattering offer of + entering the Church of England and of receiving a comfortable "living." By + his "Pseudo Martyr" he attracted the favor of James I, who persuaded him + to be ordained, yet left him without any place or employment. When his + wife died her allowance ceased, and Donne was left with seven children in + extreme poverty. Then he became a preacher, rose rapidly by sheer + intellectual force and genius, and in four years was the greatest of + English preachers and Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. There he + "carried some to heaven in holy raptures and led others to amend their + lives," and as he leans over the pulpit with intense earnestness is + likened by Izaak Walton to "an angel leaning from a cloud." + </p> + <p> + Here is variety enough to epitomize his age, and yet in all his life, + stronger than any impression of outward weal or woe, is the sense of + mystery that surrounds Donne. In all his work one finds a mystery, a + hiding of some deep thing which the world would gladly know and share, and + which is suggested in his haunting little poem, "The Undertaking": + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + I have done one braver thing<br /> Than all the worthies did;<br /> And + yet a braver thence doth spring,<br /> Which is, to keep that hid.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b>Donne's Poetry.</b> Donne's poetry is so uneven, at times so startling + and fantastic, that few critics would care to recommend it to others. Only + a few will read his works, and they must be left to their own browsing, to + find what pleases them, like deer which, in the midst of plenty, take a + bite here and there and wander on, tasting twenty varieties of food in an + hour's feeding. One who reads much will probably bewail Donne's lack of + any consistent style or literary standard. For instance, Chaucer and + Milton are as different as two poets could well be; yet the work of each + is marked by a distinct and consistent style, and it is the style as much + as the matter which makes the <i>Tales</i> or the <i>Paradise Lost</i> a + work for all time. Donne threw style and all literary standards to the + winds; and precisely for this reason he is forgotten, though his great + intellect and his genius had marked him as one of those who should do + things "worthy to be remembered." While the tendency of literature is to + exalt style at the expense of thought, the world has many men and women + who exalt feeling and thought above expression; and to these Donne is good + reading. Browning is of the same school, and compels attention. While + Donne played havoc with Elizabethan style, he nevertheless influenced our + literature in the way of boldness and originality; and the present + tendency is to give him a larger place, nearer to the few great poets, + than he has occupied since Ben Jonson declared that he was "the first poet + of the world in some things," but likely to perish "for not being + understood." For to much of his poetry we must apply his own satiric + verses on another's crudities: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Infinite work! which doth so far extend<br /> That none can study it to + any end.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <a name="chap7j" id="chap7j">GEORGE HERBERT</a> (1593-1633) + </p> + <p> + "O day most calm, most bright," sang George Herbert, and we may safely + take that single line as expressive of the whole spirit of his writings. + Professor Palmer, whose scholarly edition of this poet's works is a model + for critics and editors, calls Herbert the first in English poetry who + spoke face to face with God. That may be true; but it is interesting to + note that not a poet of the first half of the seventeenth century, not + even the gayest of the Cavaliers, but has written some noble verse of + prayer or aspiration, which expresses the underlying Puritan spirit of his + age. Herbert is the greatest, the most consistent of them all. In all the + others the Puritan struggles against the Cavalier, or the Cavalier breaks + loose from the restraining Puritan; but in Herbert the struggle is past + and peace has come. That his life was not all calm, that the Puritan in + him had struggled desperately before it subdued the pride and idleness of + the Cavalier, is evident to one who reads between his lines: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + I struck the board and cry'd, No more!<br /> I + will abroad.<br /> What? Shall I ever sigh and pine?<br /> My lines and + life are free, free as the road,<br /> Loose as the wind.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + There speaks the Cavalier of the university and the court; and as one + reads to the end of the little poem, which he calls by the suggestive name + of "The Collar," he may know that he is reading condensed biography. + </p> + <p> + Those who seek for faults, for strained imagery and fantastic verse forms + in Herbert's poetry, will find them in abundance; but it will better repay + the reader to look for the deep thought and fine feeling that are hidden + in these wonderful religious lyrics, even in those that appear most + artificial. The fact that Herbert's reputation was greater, at times, than + Milton's, and that his poems when published after his death had a large + sale and influence, shows certainly that he appealed to the men of his + age; and his poems will probably be read and appreciated, if only by the + few, just so long as men are strong enough to understand the Puritan's + spiritual convictions. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Herbert's life is so quiet and uneventful that to relate a + few biographical facts can be of little advantage. Only as one reads the + whole story by Izaak Walton can he share the gentle spirit of Herbert's + poetry. He was born at Montgomery Castle,<sup><a href="#fn163" + name="rfn163" id="rfn163">[163]</a></sup> Wales, 1593, of a noble Welsh + family. His university course was brilliant, and after graduation he + waited long years in the vain hope of preferment at court. All his life he + had to battle against disease, and this is undoubtedly the cause of the + long delay before each new step in his course. Not till he was + thirty-seven was he ordained and placed over the little church of + Bemerton. How he lived here among plain people, in "this happy corner of + the Lord's field, hoping all things and blessing all people, asking his + own way to Sion and showing others the way," should be read in Walton. It + is a brief life, less than three years of work before being cut off by + consumption, but remarkable for the single great purpose and the glorious + spiritual strength that shine through physical weakness. Just before his + death he gave some manuscripts to a friend, and his message is worthy of + John Bunyan: + </p> + <p> + Deliver this little book to my dear brother Ferrar, and tell him he shall + find in it a picture of the many spiritual conflicts that have passed + betwixt God and my soul before I could subject mine to the will of Jesus + my master, in whose service I have now found perfect freedom. Desire him + to read it; and then, if he can think it may turn to the advantage of any + dejected poor soul, let it be made public; if not, let him burn it, for I + and it are less than the least of God's mercies. + </p> + <p> + <b>Herbert's Poems.</b> Herbert's chief work, <i>The Temple</i>, consists + of over one hundred and fifty short poems suggested by the Church, her + holidays and ceremonials, and the experiences of the Christian life. The + first poem, "The Church Porch," is the longest and, though polished with a + care that foreshadows the classic school, the least poetical. It is a + wonderful collection of condensed sermons, wise precepts, and moral + lessons, suggesting Chaucer's "Good Counsel," Pope's "Essay on Man," and + Polonius's advice to Laertes, in <i>Hamlet;</i> only it is more packed + with thought than any of these. Of truth-speaking he says: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Dare to be true. Nothing can need a lie;<br /> A fault which needs it + most grows two thereby.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + and of calmness in argument: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Calmness is great advantage: he that lets<br /> Another chafe may warm + him at his fire.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Among the remaining poems of <i>The Temple</i> one of the most suggestive + is "The Pilgrimage." Here in six short stanzas, every line close-packed + with thought, we have the whole of Bunyan's <i>Pilgrim's Progress</i>. The + poem was written probably before Bunyan was born, but remembering the wide + influence of Herbert's poetry, it is an interesting question whether + Bunyan received the idea of his immortal work from this "Pilgrimage." + Probably the best known of all his poems is the one called "The Pulley," + which generally appears, however under the name "Rest," or "The Gifts of + God." + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + When God at first made man,<br /> Having a glass of blessings + standing by,<br /> Let us, said he, pour on him all we can:<br /> Let the + world's riches, which dispersed lie,<br /> Contract + into a span.<br /> So strength first made a way;<br /> Then + beauty flowed; then wisdom, honor, pleasure.<br /> When almost all was + out, God made a stay,<br /> Perceiving that, alone of all his treasure,<br /> + Rest in the bottom lay.<br /> For, if + I should, said he,<br /> Bestow this jewel also on my creature,<br /> He + would adore my gifts instead of me,<br /> And rest in Nature, not the God + of Nature:<br /> So both should losers be.<br /> + Yet let him keep the rest,<br /> But keep them with repining + restlessness:<br /> Let him be rich and weary, that at least,<br /> If + goodness lead him not, yet weariness<br /> May + toss him to my breast.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Among the poems which may be read as curiosities of versification, and + which arouse the wrath of the critics against the whole metaphysical + school, are those like "Easter Wings" and "The Altar," which suggest in + the printed form of the poem the thing of which the poet sings. More + ingenious is the poem in which rime is made by cutting off the first + letter of a preceding word, as in the five stanzas of "Paradise ": + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + I bless thee, Lord, because I grow<br /> Among thy trees, which in a row<br /> + To thee both fruit and order ow.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + And more ingenious still are odd conceits like the poem "Heaven," in which + Echo, by repeating the last syllable of each line, gives an answer to the + poet's questions. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7k" id="chap7k">The Cavalier Poets.</a></b> In the + literature of any age there are generally found two distinct tendencies. + The first expresses the dominant spirit of the times; the second, a secret + or an open rebellion. So in this age, side by side with the serious and + rational Puritan, lives the gallant and trivial Cavalier. The Puritan + finds expression in the best poetry of the period, from Donne to Milton, + and in the prose of Baxter and Bunyan; the Cavalier in a small group of + poets,--Herrick, Lovelace, Suckling, and Carew,--who write songs generally + in lighter vein, gay, trivial, often licentious, but who cannot altogether + escape the tremendous seriousness of Puritanism. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7l" id="chap7l">Thomas Carew</a></b> (1598?-1639?). Carew + may be called the inventor of Cavalier love poetry, and to him, more than + to any other, is due the peculiar combination of the sensual and the + religious which marked most of the minor poets of the seventeenth century. + His poetry is the Spenserian pastoral stripped of its refinement of + feeling and made direct, coarse, vigorous. His poems, published in 1640, + are generally, like his life, trivial or sensual; but here and there is + found one, like the following, which indicates that with the Metaphysical + and Cavalier poets a new and stimulating force had entered English + literature: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Ask me no more where Jove bestows,<br /> When June is past, the fading + rose,<br /> For in your beauty's orient deep<br /> These flowers, as in + their causes, sleep.<br /> Ask me no more where those stars light<br /> + That downwards fall in dead of night,<br /> For in your eyes they sit, + and there<br /> Fixèd become as in their sphere.<br /> Ask me no + more if east or west<br /> The phoenix builds her spicy nest,<br /> For + unto you at last she flies,<br /> And in your fragrant bosom dies.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7m" id="chap7m">Robert Herrick</a></b> (1591-1674). + Herrick is the true Cavalier, gay, devil-may-care in disposition, but by + some freak of fate a clergyman of Dean Prior, in South Devon, a county + made famous by him and Blackmore. Here, in a country parish, he lived + discontentedly, longing for the joys of London and the Mermaid Tavern, his + bachelor establishment consisting of an old housekeeper, a cat, a dog, a + goose, a tame lamb, one hen,--for which he thanked God in poetry because + she laid an egg every day,--and a pet pig that drank beer with Herrick out + of a tankard. With admirable good nature, Herrick made the best of these + uncongenial surroundings. He watched with sympathy the country life about + him and caught its spirit in many lyrics, a few of which, like "Corinna's + Maying," "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may," and "To Daffodils," are among + the best known in our language. His poems cover a wide range, from trivial + love songs, pagan in spirit, to hymns of deep religious feeling. Only the + best of his poems should be read; and these are remarkable for their + exquisite sentiment and their graceful, melodious expression. The rest, + since they reflect something of the coarseness of his audience, may be + passed over in silence. + </p> + <p> + Late in life Herrick published his one book, <i>Hesperides and Noble + Numbers</i> (1648). The latter half contains his religious poems, and one + has only to read there the remarkable "Litany" to see how the religious + terror that finds expression in Bunyan's <i>Grace Abounding</i> could + master even the most careless of Cavalier singers. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7n" id="chap7n">Suckling and Lovelace.</a></b> Sir John + Suckling (1609-1642) was one of the most brilliant wits of the court of + Charles I, who wrote poetry as he exercised a horse or fought a duel, + because it was considered a gentleman's accomplishment in those days. His + poems, "struck from his wild life like sparks from his rapier," are + utterly trivial, and, even in his best known "Ballad Upon a Wedding," + rarely rise above mere doggerel. It is only the romance of his life--his + rich, brilliant, careless youth, and his poverty and suicide in Paris, + whither he fled because of his devotion to the Stuarts--that keeps his + name alive in our literature. + </p> + <p> + In his life and poetry Sir Richard Lovelace (1618-1658) offers a + remarkable parallel to Suckling, and the two are often classed together as + perfect representatives of the followers of King Charles. Lovelace's <i>Lucasta</i>, + a volume of love lyrics, is generally on a higher plane than Suckling's + work; and a few of the poems like "To Lucasta," and "To Althea, from + Prison," deserve the secure place they have won. In the latter occur the + oft-quoted lines: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Stone walls do not a prison make,<br /> Nor iron + bars a cage;<br /> Minds innocent and quiet take<br /> That + for an hermitage.<br /> If I have freedom in my love,<br /> And + in my soul am free,<br /> Angels alone that soar above<br /> Enjoy + such liberty.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <a name="chap7o" id="chap7o">JOHN MILTON</a> (1608-1674) + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Thy soul was like a star and dwelt apart;<br /> Thou hadst a voice whose + sound was like the sea--<br /> Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free;<br /> + So didst thou travel on life's common way<br /> In cheerful godliness: + and yet thy heart<br /> The lowliest duties on herself did lay.<br /> + (From Wordsworth's + "Sonnet on Milton")<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Shakespeare and Milton are the two figures that tower conspicuously above + the goodly fellowship of men who have made our literature famous. Each is + representative of the age that produced him, and together they form a + suggestive commentary upon the two forces that rule our humanity,--the + force of impulse and the force of a fixed purpose. Shakespeare is the poet + of impulse, of the loves, hates, fears, jealousies, and ambitions that + swayed the men of his age. Milton is the poet of steadfast will and + purpose, who moves like a god amid the fears and hopes and changing + impulses of the world, regarding them as trivial and momentary things that + can never swerve a great soul from its course. + </p> + <p> + It is well to have some such comparison in mind while studying the + literature of the Elizabethan and the Puritan Age. While Shakespeare and + Ben Jonson and their unequaled company of wits make merry at the Mermaid + Tavern, there is already growing up on the same London street a poet who + shall bring a new force into literature, who shall add to the Renaissance + culture and love of beauty the tremendous moral earnestness of the + Puritan. Such a poet must begin, as the Puritan always began, with his own + soul, to discipline and enlighten it, before expressing its beauty in + literature. "He that would hope to write well hereafter in laudable + things," says Milton, "ought himself to be a true poem; that is, a + composition and pattern of the best and most honorable things." Here is a + new proposition in art which suggests the lofty ideal of Fra Angelico, + that before one can write literature, which is the expression of the + ideal, he must first develop in himself the ideal man. Because Milton is + human he must know the best in humanity; therefore he studies, giving his + days to music, art, and literature, his nights to profound research and + meditation. But because he knows that man is more than mortal he also + prays, depending, as he tells us, on "devout prayer to that Eternal Spirit + who can enrich with all utterance and knowledge." Such a poet is already + in spirit far beyond the Renaissance, though he lives in the autumn of its + glory and associates with its literary masters. "There is a spirit in + man," says the old Hebrew poet, "and the inspiration of the Almighty + giveth him understanding." Here, in a word, is the secret of Milton's life + and writing. Hence his long silences, years passing without a word; and + when he speaks it is like the voice of a prophet who begins with the + sublime announcement, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me." Hence his + style, producing an impression of sublimity, which has been marked for + wonder by every historian of our literature. His style was unconsciously + sublime because he lived and thought consciously in a sublime atmosphere. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life of Milton.</b> Milton is like an ideal in the soul, like a lofty + mountain on the horizon. We never attain the ideal; we never climb the + mountain; but life would be inexpressibly poorer were either to be taken + away. + </p> + <p> + From childhood Milton's parents set him apart for the attainment of noble + ends, and so left nothing to chance in the matter of training. His father, + John Milton, is said to have turned Puritan while a student at Oxford and + to have been disinherited by his family; whereupon he settled in London + and prospered greatly as a scrivener, that is, a kind of notary. In + character the elder Milton was a rare combination of scholar and business + man, a radical Puritan in politics and religion, yet a musician, whose + hymn tunes are still sung, and a lover of art and literature. The poet's + mother was a woman of refinement and social grace, with a deep interest in + religion and in local charities. So the boy grew up in a home which + combined the culture of the Renaissance with the piety and moral strength + of early Puritanism. He begins, therefore, as the heir of one great age + and the prophet of another. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el024" id="el024"><img width="50%" alt="Illustration: JOHN MILTON" + src="images/el024.jpg" /></a><br /> JOHN MILTON + </p> + <p> + Apparently the elder Milton shared Bacon's dislike for the educational + methods of the time and so took charge of his son's training, encouraging + his natural tastes, teaching him music, and seeking out a tutor who helped + the boy to what he sought most eagerly, not the grammar and mechanism of + Greek and Latin but rather the stories, the ideals, the poetry that hide + in their incomparable literatures. At twelve years we find the boy already + a scholar in spirit, unable to rest till after midnight because of the joy + with which his study was rewarded. From boyhood two great principles seem + to govern Milton's career: one, the love of beauty, of music, art, + literature, and indeed of every form of human culture; the other, a + steadfast devotion to duty as the highest object in human life. + </p> + <p> + A brief course at the famous St. Paul's school in London was the prelude + to Milton's entrance to Christ's College, Cambridge. Here again he + followed his natural bent and, like Bacon, found himself often in + opposition to the authorities. Aside from some Latin poems, the most + noteworthy song of this period of Milton's life is his splendid ode, '"On + the Morning of Christ's Nativity," which was begun on Christmas day, 1629. + Milton, while deep in the classics, had yet a greater love for his native + literature. Spenser was for years his master; in his verse we find every + evidence of his "loving study" of Shakespeare, and his last great poems + show clearly how he had been influenced by Fletcher's <i>Christ's Victory + and Triumph</i>. But it is significant that this first ode rises higher + than anything of the kind produced in the famous Age of Elizabeth. + </p> + <p> + While at Cambridge it was the desire of his parents that Milton should + take orders in the Church of England; but the intense love of mental + liberty which stamped the Puritan was too strong within him, and he + refused to consider the "oath of servitude," as he called it, which would + mark his ordination. Throughout his life Milton, though profoundly + religious, held aloof from the strife of sects. In belief, he belonged to + the extreme Puritans, called Separatists, Independents, + Congregationalists, of which our Pilgrim Fathers are the great examples; + but he refused to be bound by any creed or church discipline: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + As ever in my great Task-Master's eye.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In this last line of one of his sonnets<sup><a href="#fn164" name="rfn164" + id="rfn164">[164]</a></sup> is found Milton's rejection of every form of + outward religious authority in face of the supreme Puritan principle, the + liberty of the individual soul before God. + </p> + <p> + A long period of retirement followed Milton's withdrawal from the + university in 1632. At his father's country home in Horton he gave himself + up for six years to solitary reading and study, roaming over the wide + fields of Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Spanish, French, Italian, and English + literatures, and studying hard at mathematics, science, theology, and + music,--a curious combination. To his love of music we owe the melody of + all his poetry, and we note it in the rhythm and balance which make even + his mighty prose arguments harmonious. In "Lycidas," "L'Allegro," "Il + Penseroso," "Arcades," "Comus," and a few "Sonnets," we have the poetic + results of this retirement at Horton,--few, indeed, but the most perfect + of their kind that our literature has recorded. + </p> + <p> + Out of solitude, where his talent was perfected, Milton entered the busy + world where his character was to be proved to the utmost. From Horton he + traveled abroad, through France, Switzerland, and Italy, everywhere + received with admiration for his learning and courtesy, winning the + friendship of the exiled Dutch scholar Grotius, in Paris, and of Galileo + in his sad imprisonment in Florence.<sup><a href="#fn165" name="rfn165" + id="rfn165">[165]</a></sup> He was on his way to Greece when news reached + him of the break between king and parliament. With the practical insight + which never deserted him Milton saw clearly the meaning of the news. His + cordial reception in Italy, so chary of praise to anything not Italian, + had reawakened in Milton the old desire to write an epic which England + would "not willingly let die"; but at thought of the conflict for human + freedom all his dreams were flung to the winds. He gave up his travels and + literary ambitions and hurried to England. "For I thought it base," he + says, "to be traveling at my ease for intellectual culture while my + fellow-countrymen at home were fighting for liberty." + </p> + <p> + Then for nearly twenty years the poet of great achievement and still + greater promise disappears. We hear no more songs, but only the prose + denunciations and arguments which are as remarkable as his poetry. In all + our literature there is nothing more worthy of the Puritan spirit than + this laying aside of personal ambitions in order to join in the struggle + for human liberty. In his best known sonnet, "On His Blindness," which + reflects his grief, not at darkness, but at his abandoned dreams, we catch + the sublime spirit of this renunciation. + </p> + <p> + Milton's opportunity to serve came in the crisis of 1649. The king had + been sent to the scaffold, paying the penalty of his own treachery, and + England sat shivering at its own deed, like a child or a Russian peasant + who in sudden passion resists unbearable brutality and then is afraid of + the consequences. Two weeks of anxiety, of terror and silence followed; + then appeared Milton's <i>Tenure of Kings and Magistrates</i>. To England + it was like the coming of a strong man, not only to protect the child, but + to justify his blow for liberty. Kings no less than people are subject to + the eternal principle of law; the divine right of a people to defend and + protect themselves,--that was the mighty argument which calmed a people's + dread and proclaimed that a new man and a new principle had arisen in + England. Milton was called to be Secretary for Foreign Tongues in the new + government; and for the next few years, until the end of the Commonwealth, + there were two leaders in England, Cromwell the man of action, Milton the + man of thought. It is doubtful to which of the two humanity owes most for + its emancipation from the tyranny of kings and prelates. + </p> + <p> + Two things of personal interest deserve mention in this period of Milton's + life, his marriage and his blindness. In 1643 he married Mary Powell, a + shallow, pleasure-loving girl, the daughter of a Royalist; and that was + the beginning of sorrows. After a month, tiring of the austere life of a + Puritan household, she abandoned her husband, who, with the same radical + reasoning with which he dealt with affairs of state, promptly repudiated + the marriage. His <i>Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce</i> and his <i>Tetrachordon</i> + are the arguments to justify his position; but they aroused a storm of + protest in England, and they suggest to a modern reader that Milton was + perhaps as much to blame as his wife, and that he had scant understanding + of a woman's nature. When his wife, fearing for her position, appeared + before him in tears, all his ponderous arguments were swept aside by a + generous impulse; and though the marriage was never a happy one, Milton + never again mentioned his wife's desertion. The scene in <i>Paradise Lost</i>, + where Eve comes weeping to Adam, seeking peace and pardon, is probably a + reflection of a scene in Milton's own household. His wife died in 1653, + and a few years later he married another, whom we remember for the sonnet, + "Methought I saw my late espoused saint," in which she is celebrated. She + died after fifteen months, and in 1663 he married a third wife, who helped + the blind old man to manage his poor household. + </p> + <p> + From boyhood the strain on the poet's eyes had grown more and more severe; + but even when his sight was threatened he held steadily to his purpose of + using his pen in the service of his country. During the king's + imprisonment a book appeared called <i>Eikon Basilike</i> (Royal Image), + giving a rosy picture of the king's piety, and condemning the Puritans. + The book speedily became famous and was the source of all Royalist + arguments against the Commonwealth. In 1649 appeared Milton's <i>Eikonoklastes</i> + (Image Breaker), which demolished the flimsy arguments of the <i>Eikon + Basilike</i> as a charge of Cromwell's Ironsides had overwhelmed the + king's followers. After the execution of the king appeared another famous + attack upon the Puritans, <i>Defensio Regia pro Carlo I</i>, instigated by + Charles II, who was then living in exile. It was written in Latin by + Salmasius, a Dutch professor at Leyden, and was hailed by the Royalists as + an invincible argument. By order of the Council of State Milton prepared a + reply. His eyesight had sadly failed, and he was warned that any further + strain would be disastrous. His reply was characteristic of the man and + the Puritan. As he had once sacrificed his poetry, so he was now ready, he + said, to sacrifice his eyes also on the altar of English liberty. His + magnificent <i>Defensio pro Populo Anglicano</i> is one of the most + masterly controversial works in literature. The power of the press was + already strongly felt in England, and the new Commonwealth owed its + standing partly to Milton's prose, and partly to Cromwell's policy. The <i>Defensio</i> + was the last work that Milton saw. Blindness fell upon him ere it was + finished, and from 1652 until his death he labored in total darkness. + </p> + <p> + The last part of Milton's life is a picture of solitary grandeur unequaled + in literary history. With the Restoration all his labors and sacrifices + for humanity were apparently wasted. From his retirement he could hear the + bells and the shouts that welcomed back a vicious monarch, whose first act + was to set his foot upon his people's neck. Milton was immediately marked + for persecution; he remained for months in hiding; he was reduced to + poverty, and his books were burned by the public hangman. His daughters, + upon whom he depended in his blindness, rebelled at the task of reading to + him and recording his thoughts. In the midst of all these sorrows we + understand, in <i>Samson</i>, the cry of the blind champion of Israel: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Now blind, disheartened, shamed, dishonored, quelled,<br /> To what can I + be useful? wherein serve<br /> My nation, and the work from Heaven + imposed?<br /> But to sit idle on the household hearth,<br /> A burdenous + drone; to visitants a gaze,<br /> Or pitied object.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Milton's answer is worthy of his own great life. Without envy or + bitterness he goes back to the early dream of an immortal poem and begins + with superb consciousness of power to dictate his great epic. + </p> + <p> + <i>Paradise Lost</i> was finished in 1665, after seven years' labor in + darkness. With great difficulty he found a publisher, and for the great + work, now the most honored poem in our literature, he received less than + certain verse makers of our day receive for a little song in one of our + popular magazines. Its success was immediate, though, like all his work, + it met with venomous criticism. Dryden summed up the impression made on + thoughtful minds of his time when he said, "This man cuts us all out, and + the ancients too." Thereafter a bit of sunshine came into his darkened + home, for the work stamped him as one of the world's great writers, and + from England and the Continent pilgrims came in increasing numbers to + speak their gratitude. + </p> + <p> + The next year Milton began his <i>Paradise Regained</i>. In 1671 appeared + his last important work, <i>Samson Agonistes</i>, the most powerful + dramatic poem on the Greek model which our language possesses. The picture + of Israel's mighty champion, blind, alone, afflicted by thoughtless + enemies but preserving a noble ideal to the end, is a fitting close to the + life work of the poet himself. For years he was silent, dreaming who shall + say what dreams in his darkness, and saying cheerfully to his friends, + "Still guides the heavenly vision." He died peacefully in 1674, the most + sublime and the most lonely figure in our literature. + </p> + <p> + <b>Milton's Early Poetry.</b><sup><a href="#fn166" name="rfn166" + id="rfn166">[166]</a></sup> In his early work Milton appears as the + inheritor of all that was best in Elizabethan literature, and his first + work, the ode "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity," approaches the + high-water mark of lyric poetry in England. In the next six years, from + 1631 to 1637, he wrote but little, scarcely more than two thousand lines, + but these are among the most exquisite and the most perfectly finished in + our language. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> L'Allegro</span>"L'Allegro" and "II Penseroso" + are twin poems, containing many lines and short descriptive passages which + linger in the mind like strains of music, and which are known and loved + wherever English is spoken. "L'Allegro" (the joyous or happy man) is like + an excursion into the English fields at sunrise. The air is sweet; birds + are singing; a multitude of sights, sounds, fragrances, fill all the + senses; and to this appeal of nature the soul of man responds by being + happy, seeing in every flower and hearing in every harmony some exquisite + symbol of human life. "Il Penseroso" takes us over the same ground at + twilight and at moonrise. The air is still fresh and fragrant; the + symbolism is, if possible, more tenderly beautiful than before; but the + gay mood is gone, though its memory lingers in the afterglow of the + sunset. A quiet thoughtfulness takes the place of the pure, joyous + sensation of the morning, a thoughtfulness which is not sad, though like + all quiet moods it is akin to sadness, and which sounds the deeps of human + emotion in the presence of nature. To quote scattered lines of either poem + is to do injustice to both. They should be read in their entirety the same + day, one at morning, the other at eventide, if one is to appreciate their + beauty and suggestiveness. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Comus</span>The "Masque of Comus" is in many + respects the most perfect of Milton's poems. It was written in 1634 to be + performed at Ludlow Castle before the earl of Bridgewater and his friends. + There is a tradition that the earl's three children had been lost in the + woods, and, whether true or not, Milton takes the simple theme of a person + lost, calls in an Attendant Spirit to protect the wanderer, and out of + this, with its natural action and melodious songs, makes the most + exquisite pastoral drama that we possess. In form it is a masque, like + those gorgeous products of the Elizabethan age of which Ben Jonson was the + master. England had borrowed the idea of the masque from Italy and had + used it as the chief entertainment at all festivals, until it had become + to the nobles of England what the miracle play had been to the common + people of a previous generation. Milton, with his strong Puritan spirit, + could not be content with the mere entertainment of an idle hour. "Comus" + has the gorgeous scenic effects, the music and dancing of other masques; + but its moral purpose and its ideal teachings are unmistakable. "The + Triumph of Virtue" would be a better name for this perfect little masque, + for its theme is that virtue and innocence can walk through any peril of + this world without permanent harm. This eternal triumph of good over evil + is proclaimed by the Attendant Spirit who has protected the innocent in + this life and who now disappears from mortal sight to resume its life of + joy: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Mortals, that would follow me,<br /> Love Virtue; she alone is free.<br /> + She can teach ye how to climb<br /> Higher than the sphery chime;<br /> Or + if Virtue feeble were,<br /> Heaven itself would stoop to her.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + While there are undoubted traces of Jonson and John Fletcher in Milton's + "Comus," the poem far surpasses its predecessors in the airy beauty and + melody of its verses. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Lycidas</span>In the next poem, "Lycidas," a + pastoral elegy written in 1637, and the last of his Horton poems, Milton + is no longer the inheritor of the old age, but the prophet of a new. A + college friend, Edward King, had been drowned in the Irish Sea, and Milton + follows the poetic custom of his age by representing both his friend and + himself in the guise of shepherds leading the pastoral life. Milton also + uses all the symbolism of his predecessors, introducing fauns, satyrs, and + sea nymphs; but again the Puritan is not content with heathen symbolism, + and so introduces a new symbol of the Christian shepherd responsible for + the souls of men, whom he likens to hungry sheep that look up and are not + fed. The Puritans and Royalists at this time were drifting rapidly apart, + and Milton uses his new symbolism to denounce the abuses that had crept + into the Church. In any other poet this moral teaching would hinder the + free use of the imagination; but Milton seems equal to the task of + combining high moral purpose with the noblest poetry. In its exquisite + finish and exhaustless imagery "Lycidas" surpasses most of the poetry of + what is often called the pagan Renaissance. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Sonnets</span>Besides these well-known poems, + Milton wrote in this early period a fragmentary masque called "Arcades"; + several Latin poems which, like his English, are exquisitely finished; and + his famous "Sonnets," which brought this Italian form of verse nearly to + the point of perfection. In them he seldom wrote of love, the usual + subject with his predecessors, but of patriotism, duty, music, and + subjects of political interest suggested by the struggle into which + England was drifting. Among these sonnets each reader must find his own + favorites. Those best known and most frequently quoted are "On His + Deceased Wife," "To the Nightingale," "On Reaching the Age of + Twenty-three," "The Massacre in Piedmont," and the two "On His Blindness." + </p> + <p> + <b>Milton's Prose</b>. Of Milton's prose works there are many divergent + opinions, ranging from Macaulay's unbounded praise to the condemnation of + some of our modern critics. From a literary view point Milton's prose + would be stronger if less violent, and a modern writer would hardly be + excused for using his language or his methods; but we must remember the + times and the methods of his opponents. In his fiery zeal against + injustice the poet is suddenly dominated by the soldier's spirit. He first + musters his facts in battalions, and charges upon the enemy to crush and + overpower without mercy. For Milton hates injustice and, because it is an + enemy of his people, he cannot and will not spare it. When the victory is + won, he exults in a paean of victory as soul-stirring as the Song of + Deborah. He is the poet again, spite of himself, and his mind fills with + magnificent images. Even with a subject so dull, so barren of the bare + possibilities of poetry, as his "Animadversions upon the Remonstrants' + Defense," he breaks out into an invocation, "Oh, Thou that sittest in + light and glory unapproachable, parent of angels and men," which is like a + chapter from the Apocalypse. In such passages Milton's prose is, as Taine + suggests, "an outpouring of splendors," which suggests the noblest poetry. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Areopagitica</span>On account of their + controversial character these prose works are seldom read, and it is + probable that Milton never thought of them as worthy of a place in + literature. Of them all <i>Areopagitica</i> has perhaps the most permanent + interest and is best worth reading. In Milton's time there was a law + forbidding the publication of books until they were indorsed by the + official censor. Needless to say, the censor, holding his office and + salary by favor, was naturally more concerned with the divine right of + kings and bishops than with the delights of literature, and many books + were suppressed for no better reason than that they were displeasing to + the authorities. Milton protested against this, as against every other + form of tyranny, and his <i>Areopagitica</i>--so called from the Areopagus + or Forum of Athens, the place of public appeal, and the Mars Hill of St. + Paul's address--is the most famous plea in English for the freedom of the + press. + </p> + <p> + <b>Milton's Later Poetry</b>. Undoubtedly the noblest of Milton's works, + written when he was blind and suffering, are <i>Paradise Lost, Paradise + Regained</i>, and <i>Samson Agonistes</i>. The first is the greatest, + indeed the only generally acknowledged epic in our literature since <i>Beowulf;</i> + the last is the most perfect specimen of a drama after the Greek method in + our language. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Paradise Lost</span>Of the history of the great + epic we have some interesting glimpses. In Cambridge there is preserved a + notebook of Milton's containing a list of nearly one hundred subjects<sup><a + href="#fn167" name="rfn167" id="rfn167">[167]</a></sup> for a great poem, + selected while he was a boy at the university. King Arthur attracted him + at first; but his choice finally settled upon the Fall of Man, and we have + four separate outlines showing Milton's proposed treatment of the subject. + These outlines indicate that he contemplated a mighty drama or miracle + play; but whether because of Puritan antipathy to plays and players, or + because of the wretched dramatic treatment of religious subjects which + Milton had witnessed in Italy, he abandoned the idea of a play and settled + on the form of an epic poem; most fortunately, it must be conceded, for + Milton had not the knowledge of men necessary for a drama. As a study of + character <i>Paradise Lost</i> would be a grievous failure. Adam, the + central character, is something of a prig; while Satan looms up a + magnificent figure, entirely different from the devil of the miracle plays + and completely overshadowing the hero both in interest and in manliness. + The other characters, the Almighty, the Son, Raphael, Michael, the angels + and fallen spirits, are merely mouthpieces for Milton's declamations, + without any personal or human interest. Regarded as a drama, therefore, <i>Paradise + Lost</i> could never have been a success; but as poetry, with its sublime + imagery, its harmonious verse, its titanic background of heaven, hell, and + the illimitable void that lies between, it is unsurpassed in any + literature. + </p> + <p> + In 1658 Milton in his darkness sat down to dictate the work which he had + planned thirty years before. In order to understand the mighty sweep of + the poem it is necessary to sum up the argument of the twelve books, as + follows: + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Argument of Paradise Lost</span>Book I opens with + a statement of the subject, the Fall of Man, and a noble invocation for + light and divine guidance. Then begins the account of Satan and the rebel + angels, their banishment from heaven, and their plot to oppose the design + of the Almighty by dragging down his children, our first parents, from + their state of innocence. The book closes with a description of the land + of fire and endless pain where the fallen spirits abide, and the erection + of Pandemonium, the palace of Satan. Book II is a description of the + council of evil spirits, of Satan's consent to undertake the temptation of + Adam and Eve, and his journey to the gates of hell, which are guarded by + Sin and Death. Book III transports us to heaven again. God, foreseeing the + fall, sends Raphael to warn Adam and Eve, so that their disobedience shall + be upon their own heads. Then the Son offers himself a sacrifice, to take + away the sin of the coming disobedience of man. At the end of this book + Satan appears in a different scene, meets Uriel, the Angel of the Sun, + inquires from him the way to earth, and takes his journey thither + disguised as an angel of light. Book IV shows us Paradise and the innocent + state of man. An angel guard is set over Eden, and Satan is arrested while + tempting Eve in a dream, but is curiously allowed to go free again. Book V + shows us Eve relating her dream to Adam, and then the morning prayer and + the daily employment of our first parents. Raphael visits them, is + entertained by a banquet (which Eve proposes in order to show him that all + God's gifts are not kept in heaven), and tells them of the revolt of the + fallen spirits. His story is continued in Book VI. In Book VII we read the + story of the creation of the world as Raphael tells it to Adam and Eve. In + Book VIII Adam tells Raphael the story of his own life and of his meeting + with Eve. Book IX is the story of the temptation by Satan, following the + account in Genesis. Book X records the divine judgment upon Adam and Eve; + shows the construction by Sin and Death of a highway through chaos to the + earth, and Satan's return to Pandemonium. Adam and Eve repent of their + disobedience and Satan and his angels are turned into serpents. In Book XI + the Almighty accepts Adam's repentance, but condemns him to be banished + from Paradise, and the archangel Michael is sent to execute the sentence. + At the end of the book, after Eve's feminine grief at the loss of + Paradise, Michael begins a prophetic vision of the destiny of man. Book + XII continues Michael's vision. Adam and Eve are comforted by hearing of + the future redemption of their race. The poem ends as they wander forth + out of Paradise and the door closes behind them. + </p> + <p> + It will be seen that this is a colossal epic, not of a man or a hero, but + of the whole race of men; and that Milton's characters are such as no + human hand could adequately portray. But the scenes, the splendors of + heaven, the horrors of hell, the serene beauty of Paradise, the sun and + planets suspended between celestial light and gross darkness, are pictured + with an imagination that is almost superhuman. The abiding interest of the + poem is in these colossal pictures, and in the lofty thought and the + marvelous melody with which they are impressed on our minds. The poem is + in blank verse, and not until Milton used it did we learn the infinite + variety and harmony of which it is capable. He played with it, changing + its melody and movement on every page, "as an organist out of a single + theme develops an unending variety of harmony." + </p> + <p> + Lamartine has described <i>Paradise Lost</i> as the dream of a Puritan + fallen asleep over his Bible, and this suggestive description leads us to + the curious fact that it is the dream, not the theology or the + descriptions of Bible scenes, that chiefly interests us. Thus Milton + describes the separation of earth and water, and there is little or + nothing added to the simplicity and strength of <i>Genesis</i>; but the + sunset which follows is Milton's own dream, and instantly we are + transported to a land of beauty and poetry: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Now came still Evening on, and Twilight gray<br /> Had in her sober + livery all things clad;<br /> Silence accompanied; for beast and bird,<br /> + They to their grassy couch, these to their nests<br /> Were slunk, all + but the wakeful nightingale.<br /> She all night long her amorous descant + sung:<br /> Silence was pleased. Now glowed the firmament<br /> With + living sapphires; Hesperus, that led<br /> The starry host, rode + brightest, till the Moon,<br /> Rising in clouded majesty, at length<br /> + Apparent queen, unveiled her peerless light,<br /> And o'er the dark her + silver mantle threw.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + So also Milton's Almighty, considered purely as a literary character, is + unfortunately tinged with the narrow and literal theology of the time. He + is a being enormously egotistic, the despot rather than the servant of the + universe, seated upon a throne with a chorus of angels about him eternally + singing his praises and ministering to a kind of divine vanity. It is not + necessary to search heaven for such a character; the type is too common + upon earth. But in Satan Milton breaks away from crude mediæval + conceptions; he follows the dream again, and gives us a character to + admire and understand: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Is this the region, this the soil, the clime,"<br /> Said then the lost + Archangel, "this the seat<br /> That we must change for Heaven?--this + mournful gloom<br /> For that celestial light? Be it so, since He<br /> + Who now is sovran can dispose and bid<br /> What shall be right: farthest + from Him is best,<br /> Whom reason hath equalled, force hath made + supreme<br /> Above his equals. Farewell, happy fields,<br /> Where joy + forever dwells! Hail, horrors! hail,<br /> Infernal World! and thou, + profoundest Hell,<br /> Receive thy new possessor--one who brings<br /> A + mind not to be changed by place or time.<br /> The mind is its own place, + and in itself<br /> Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.<br /> + What matter where, if I be still the same,<br /> And what I should be, + all but less than he<br /> Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least<br /> + We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built<br /> Here for his envy, + will not drive us hence:<br /> Here we may reign secure; and, in my + choice,<br /> To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell:<br /> Better to + reign in Hell than serve in Heaven."<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In this magnificent heroism Milton has unconsciously immortalized the + Puritan spirit, the same unconquerable spirit that set men to writing + poems and allegories when in prison for the faith, and that sent them over + the stormy sea in a cockleshell to found a free commonwealth in the wilds + of America. + </p> + <p> + For a modern reader the understanding of <i>Paradise Lost</i> presupposes + two things,--a knowledge of the first chapters of the Scriptures, and of + the general principles of Calvinistic theology; but it is a pity to use + the poem, as has so often been done, to teach a literal acceptance of one + or the other. Of the theology of <i>Paradise Lost</i> the least said the + better; but to the splendor of the Puritan dream and the glorious melody + of its expression no words can do justice. Even a slight acquaintance will + make the reader understand why it ranks with the <i>Divina Commedia</i> of + Dante, and why it is generally accepted by critics as the greatest single + poem in our literature. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Paradise Regained</span>Soon after the completion + of <i>Paradise Lost</i>, Thomas Ellwood, a friend of Milton, asked one day + after reading the Paradise manuscript, "But what hast thou to say of + Paradise Found?" It was in response to this suggestion that Milton wrote + the second part of the great epic, known to us as <i>Paradise Regained</i>. + The first tells how mankind, in the person of Adam, fell at the first + temptation by Satan and became an outcast from Paradise and from divine + grace; the second shows how mankind, in the person of Christ, withstands + the tempter and is established once more in the divine favor. Christ's + temptation in the wilderness is the theme, and Milton follows the account + in the fourth chapter of Matthew's gospel. Though <i>Paradise Regained</i> + was Milton's favorite, and though it has many passages of noble thought + and splendid imagery equal to the best of <i>Paradise Lost</i>, the poem + as a whole falls below the level of the first, and is less interesting to + read. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Samson</span>In <i>Samson Agonistes</i> Milton + turns to a more vital and personal theme, and his genius transfigures the + story of Samson, the mighty champion of Israel, now blind and scorned, + working as a slave among the Philistines. The poet's aim was to present in + English a pure tragedy, with all the passion and restraint which marked + the old Greek dramas. That he succeeded where others failed is due to two + causes: first, Milton himself suggests the hero of one of the Greek + tragedies,--his sorrow and affliction give to his noble nature that touch + of melancholy and calm dignity which is in perfect keeping with his + subject. Second, Milton is telling his own story. Like Samson he had + struggled mightily against the enemies of his race; he had taken a wife + from the Philistines and had paid the penalty; he was blind, alone, + scorned by his vain and thoughtless masters. To the essential action of + the tragedy Milton could add, therefore, that touch of intense yet + restrained personal feeling which carries more conviction than any + argument. <i>Samson</i> is in many respects the most convincing of his + works. Entirely apart from the interest of its subject and treatment, one + may obtain from it a better idea of what great tragedy was among the + Greeks than from any other work in our language. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Nothing is here for tears, nothing to wail<br /> Or knock the breast, no + weakness, no contempt,<br /> Dispraise or blame,--nothing but well and + fair,<br /> And what may quiet us in a death so noble.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + III. <a name="chap7p" id="chap7p">PROSE WRITERS OF THE PURITAN PERIOD</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap7q" id="chap7q">JOHN BUNYAN</a> (1628-1688) + </p> + <p> + As there is but one poet great enough to express the Puritan spirit, so + there is but one commanding prose writer, John Bunyan. Milton was the + child of the Renaissance, inheritor of all its culture, and the most + profoundly educated man of his age. Bunyan was a poor, uneducated tinker. + From the Renaissance he inherited nothing; but from the Reformation he + received an excess of that spiritual independence which had caused the + Puritan struggle for liberty. These two men, representing the extremes of + English life in the seventeenth century, wrote the two works that stand + to-day for the mighty Puritan spirit. One gave us the only epic since <i>Beowulf</i>; + the other gave us our only great allegory, which has been read more than + any other book in our language save the Bible. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el025" id="el025"> <img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: JOHN BUNYAN" src="images/el025.png" /></a><br /> JOHN + BUNYAN + </p> + <p> + <b>Life of Bunyan</b>. Bunyan is an extraordinary figure; we must study + him, as well as his books. Fortunately we have his life story in his own + words, written with the same lovable modesty and sincerity that marked all + his work. Reading that story now, in <i>Grace Abounding</i>, we see two + great influences at work in his life. One, from within, was his own vivid + imagination, which saw visions, allegories, parables, revelations, in + every common event. The other, from without, was the spiritual ferment of + the age, the multiplication of strange sects,--Quakers, Free-Willers, + Ranters, Anabaptists, Millenarians,--and the untempered zeal of all + classes, like an engine without a balance wheel, when men were breaking + away from authority and setting up their own religious standards. Bunyan's + life is an epitome of that astonishing religious individualism which + marked the close of the English Reformation. + </p> + <p> + He was born in the little village of Elstow, near Bedford, in 1628, the + son of a poor tinker. For a little while the boy was sent to school, where + he learned to read and write after a fashion; but he was soon busy in his + father's shop, where, amid the glowing pots and the fire and smoke of his + little forge, he saw vivid pictures of hell and the devils which haunted + him all his life. When he was sixteen years old his father married the + second time, whereupon Bunyan ran away and became a soldier in the + Parliamentary army. + </p> + <p> + The religious ferment of the age made a tremendous impression on Bunyan's + sensitive imagination. He went to church occasionally, only to find + himself wrapped in terrors and torments by some fiery itinerant preacher; + and he would rush violently away from church to forget his fears by + joining in Sunday sports on the village green. As night came on the sports + were forgotten, but the terrors returned, multiplied like the evil spirits + of the parable. Visions of hell and the demons swarmed in his brain. He + would groan aloud in his remorse, and even years afterwards he bemoans the + sins of his early life. When we look for them fearfully, expecting some + shocking crimes and misdemeanors, we find that they consisted of playing + ball on Sunday and swearing. The latter sin, sad to say, was begun by + listening to his father cursing some obstinate kettle which refused to be + tinkered, and it was perfected in the Parliamentary army. One day his + terrible swearing scared a woman, "a very loose and ungodly wretch," as he + tells us, who reprimanded him for his profanity. The reproach of the poor + woman went straight home, like the voice of a prophet. All his profanity + left him; he hung down his head with shame. "I wished with all my heart," + he says, "that I might be a little child again, that my father might learn + me to speak without this wicked way of swearing." With characteristic + vehemence Bunyan hurls himself upon a promise of Scripture, and instantly + the reformation begins to work in his soul. He casts out the habit, root + and branch, and finds to his astonishment that he can speak more freely + and vigorously than before. Nothing is more characteristic of the man than + this sudden seizing upon a text, which he had doubtless heard many times + before, and being suddenly raised up or cast down by its influence. + </p> + <p> + With Bunyan's marriage to a good woman the real reformation in his life + began. While still in his teens he married a girl as poor as himself. "We + came together," he says, "as poor as might be, having not so much + household stuff as a dish or spoon between us both." The only dowry which + the girl brought to her new home was two old, threadbare books, <i>The + Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven</i>, and <i>The Practice of Piety</i><sup><a + href="#fn168" name="rfn168" id="rfn168">[168]</a></sup> Bunyan read these + books, which instantly gave fire to his imagination. He saw new visions + and dreamed terrible new dreams of lost souls; his attendance at church + grew exemplary; he began slowly and painfully to read the Bible for + himself, but because of his own ignorance and the contradictory + interpretations of Scripture which he heard on every side, he was tossed + about like a feather by all the winds of doctrine. + </p> + <p> + The record of the next few years is like a nightmare, so terrible is + Bunyan's spiritual struggle. One day he feels himself an outcast; the next + the companion of angels; the third he tries experiments with the Almighty + in order to put his salvation to the proof. As he goes along the road to + Bedford he thinks he will work a miracle, like Gideon with his fleece. He + will say to the little puddles of water in the horses' tracks, "Be ye + dry"; and to all the dry tracks he will say, "Be ye puddles." As he is + about to perform the miracle a thought occurs to him: "But go first under + yonder hedge and pray that the Lord will make you able to perform a + miracle." He goes promptly and prays. Then he is afraid of the test, and + goes on his way more troubled than before. + </p> + <p> + After years of such struggle, chased about between heaven and hell, Bunyan + at last emerges into a saner atmosphere, even as Pilgrim came out of the + horrible Valley of the Shadow. Soon, led by his intense feelings, he + becomes an open-air preacher, and crowds of laborers gather about him on + the village green. They listen in silence to his words; they end in groans + and tears; scores of them amend their sinful lives. For the Anglo-Saxon + people are remarkable for this, that however deeply they are engaged in + business or pleasure, they are still sensitive as barometers to any true + spiritual influence, whether of priest or peasant; they recognize what + Emerson calls the "accent of the Holy Ghost," and in this recognition of + spiritual leadership lies the secret of their democracy. So this village + tinker, with his strength and sincerity, is presently the acknowledged + leader of an immense congregation, and his influence is felt throughout + England. It is a tribute to his power that, after the return of Charles + II, Bunyan was the first to be prohibited from holding public meetings. + </p> + <p> + Concerning Bunyan's imprisonment in Bedford jail, which followed his + refusal to obey the law prohibiting religious meetings without the + authority of the Established Church, there is a difference of opinion. + That the law was unjust goes without saying; but there was no religious + persecution, as we understand the term. Bunyan was allowed to worship when + and how he pleased; he was simply forbidden to hold public meetings, which + frequently became fierce denunciations of the Established Church and + government. His judges pleaded with Bunyan to conform with the law. He + refused, saying that when the Spirit was upon him he must go up and down + the land, calling on men everywhere to repent. In his refusal we see much + heroism, a little obstinacy, and perhaps something of that desire for + martyrdom which tempts every spiritual leader. That his final sentence to + indefinite imprisonment was a hard blow to Bunyan is beyond question. He + groaned aloud at the thought of his poor family, and especially at the + thought of leaving his little blind daughter: + </p> + <p> + I found myself a man encompassed with infirmities; the parting was like + pulling the flesh from my bones.... Oh, the thoughts of the hardship I + thought my poor blind one might go under would break my heart to pieces. + Poor child, thought I, what sorrow thou art like to have for thy portion + in this world; thou must be beaten, must beg, suffer hunger, cold, + nakedness, and a thousand calamities, though I cannot now endure that the + wind should blow upon thee.<sup><a href="#fn169" name="rfn169" id="rfn169">[169]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + And then, because he thinks always in parables and seeks out most curious + texts of Scripture, he speaks of "the two milch kine that were to carry + the ark of God into another country and leave their calves behind them." + Poor cows, poor Bunyan! Such is the mind of this extraordinary man. + </p> + <p> + With characteristic diligence Bunyan set to work in prison making shoe + laces, and so earned a living for his family. His imprisonment lasted for + nearly twelve years; but he saw his family frequently, and was for some + time a regular preacher in the Baptist church in Bedford. Occasionally he + even went about late at night, holding the proscribed meetings and + increasing his hold upon the common people. The best result of this + imprisonment was that it gave Bunyan long hours for the working of his + peculiar mind and for study of his two only books, the King James Bible + and Foxe's <i>Book of Martyrs</i>. The result of his study and meditation + was <i>The Pilgrim's Progress</i>, which was probably written in prison, + but which for some reason he did not publish till long after his release. + </p> + <p> + The years which followed are the most interesting part of Bunyan's strange + career. The publication of <i>Pilgrim's Progress</i> in 1678 made him the + most popular writer, as he was already the most popular preacher, in + England. Books, tracts, sermons, nearly sixty works in all, came from his + pen; and when one remembers his ignorance, his painfully slow writing, and + his activity as an itinerant preacher, one can only marvel. His + evangelistic journeys carried him often as far as London, and wherever he + went crowds thronged to hear him. Scholars, bishops, statesmen went in + secret to listen among the laborers, and came away wondering and silent. + At Southwark the largest building could not contain the multitude of his + hearers; and when he preached in London, thousands would gather in the + cold dusk of the winter morning, before work began, and listen until he + had made an end of speaking. "Bishop Bunyan" he was soon called on account + of his missionary journeys and his enormous influence. + </p> + <p> + What we most admire in the midst of all this activity is his perfect + mental balance, his charity and humor in the strife of many sects. He was + badgered for years by petty enemies, and he arouses our enthusiasm by his + tolerance, his self-control, and especially by his sincerity. To the very + end he retained that simple modesty which no success could spoil. Once + when he had preached with unusual power some of his friends waited after + the service to congratulate him, telling him what a "sweet sermon" he had + delivered. "Aye," said Bunyan, "you need not remind me; the devil told me + that before I was out of the pulpit." + </p> + <p> + For sixteen years this wonderful activity continued without interruption. + Then, one day when riding through a cold storm on a labor of love, to + reconcile a stubborn man with his own stubborn son, he caught a severe + cold and appeared, ill and suffering but rejoicing in his success, at the + house of a friend in Reading. He died there a few days later, and was laid + away in Bunhill Fields burial ground, London, which has been ever since a + <i>campo santo</i> to the faithful. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Bunyan</b>. The world's literature has three great + allegories,--Spenser's <i>Faery Queen</i>, Dante's <i>Divina Commedia</i>, + and Bunyan's <i>Pilgrim's Progress</i>. The first appeals to poets, the + second to scholars, the third to people of every age and condition. Here + is a brief outline of the famous work: + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Argument of Pilgrim's Progress</span>"As I walked + through the wilderness of this world I lighted on a certain place where + was a den [Bedford jail] and laid me down in that place to sleep; and, as + I slept, I dreamed a dream." So the story begins. He sees a man called + Christian setting out with a book in his hand and a great load on his back + from the city of Destruction. Christian has two objects,--to get rid of + his burden, which holds the sins and fears of his life, and to make his + way to the Holy City. At the outset Evangelist finds him weeping because + he knows not where to go, and points him to a wicket gate on a hill far + away. As Christian goes forward his neighbors, friends, wife and children + call to him to come back; but he puts his fingers in his ears, crying out, + "Life, life, eternal life," and so rushes across the plain. + </p> + <p> + Then begins a journey in ten stages, which is a vivid picture of the + difficulties and triumphs of the Christian life. Every trial, every + difficulty, every experience of joy or sorrow, of peace or temptation, is + put into the form and discourse of a living character. Other allegorists + write in poetry and their characters are shadowy and unreal; but Bunyan + speaks in terse, idiomatic prose, and his characters are living men and + women. There are Mr. Worldly Wiseman, a self-satisfied and dogmatic kind + of man, youthful Ignorance, sweet Piety, courteous Demas, garrulous + Talkative, honest Faithful, and a score of others, who are not at all the + bloodless creatures of the <i>Romance of the Rose</i>, but men real enough + to stop you on the road and to hold your attention. Scene after scene + follows, in which are pictured many of our own spiritual experiences. + There is the Slough of Despond, into which we all have fallen, out of + which Pliable scrambles on the hither side and goes back grumbling, but + through which Christian struggles mightily till Helpful stretches him a + hand and drags him out on solid ground and bids him go on his way. Then + come Interpreter's house, the Palace Beautiful, the Lions in the way, the + Valley of Humiliation, the hard fight with the demon Apollyon, the more + terrible Valley of the Shadow, Vanity Fair, and the trial of Faithful. The + latter is condemned to death by a jury made up of Mr. Blindman, Mr. + Nogood, Mr. Heady, Mr. Liveloose, Mr. Hatelight, and others of their kind + to whom questions of justice are committed by the jury system. Most famous + is Doubting Castle, where Christian and Hopeful are thrown into a dungeon + by Giant Despair. And then at last the Delectable Mountains of Youth, the + deep river that Christian must cross, and the city of All Delight and the + glorious company of angels that come singing down the streets. At the very + end, when in sight of the city and while he can hear the welcome with + which Christian is greeted, Ignorance is snatched away to go to his own + place; and Bunyan quaintly observes, "Then I saw that there was a way to + hell even from the gates of heaven as well as from the city of + Destruction. So I awoke, and behold it was a dream!" + </p> + <p> + Such, in brief, is the story, the great epic of a Puritan's individual + experience in a rough world, just as <i>Paradise Lost</i> was the epic of + mankind as dreamed by the great Puritan who had "fallen asleep over his + Bible." + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Success of Pilgrim's Progress</span>The chief + fact which confronts the student of literature as he pauses before this + great allegory is that it has been translated into seventy-five languages + and dialects, and has been read more than any other book save one in the + English language. + </p> + <p> + As for the secret of its popularity, Taine says, "Next to the Bible, the + book most widely read in England is the <i>Pilgrim's Progress</i>.... + Protestantism is the doctrine of salvation by grace, and no writer has + equaled Bunyan in making this doctrine understood." And this opinion is + echoed by the majority of our literary historians. It is perhaps + sufficient answer to quote the simple fact that <i>Pilgrim's Progress</i> + is not exclusively a Protestant study; it appeals to Christians of every + name, and to Mohammedans and Buddhists in precisely the same way that it + appeals to Christians. When it was translated into the languages of + Catholic countries, like France and Portugal, only one or two incidents + were omitted, and the story was almost as popular there as with English + readers. The secret of its success is probably simple. It is, first of + all, not a procession of shadows repeating the author's declamations, but + a real story, the first extended story in our language. Our Puritan + fathers may have read the story for religious instruction; but all classes + of men have read it because they found in it a true personal experience + told with strength, interest, humor,--in a word, with all the qualities + that such a story should possess. Young people have read it, first, for + its intrinsic worth, because the dramatic interest of the story lured them + on to the very end; and second, because it was their introduction to true + allegory. The child with his imaginative mind--the man also, who has + preserved his simplicity--naturally personifies objects, and takes + pleasure in giving them powers of thinking and speaking like himself. + Bunyan was the first writer to appeal to this pleasant and natural + inclination in a way that all could understand. Add to this the fact that + <i>Pilgrim's Progress</i> was the only book having any story interest in + the great majority of English and American homes for a full century, and + we have found the real reason for its wide reading. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Other Works of Bunyan</span><i>The Holy War</i>, + published in 1665, is the first important work of Bunyan. It is a prose <i>Paradise + Lost</i>, and would undoubtedly be known as a remarkable allegory were it + not overshadowed by its great rival. <i>Grace Abounding to the Chief of + Sinners</i>, published in 1666, twelve years before <i>Pilgrim's Progress</i>, + is the work from which we obtain the clearest insight into Bunyan's + remarkable life, and to a man with historical or antiquarian tastes it is + still excellent reading. In 1682 appeared <i>The Life and Death of Mr. + Badman</i>, a realistic character study which is a precursor of the modern + novel; and in 1684 the second part of <i>Pilgrim's Progress</i>, showing + the journey of Christiana and her children to the city of All Delight. + Besides these Bunyan published a multitude of treatises and sermons, all + in the same style,--direct, simple, convincing, expressing every thought + and emotion perfectly in words that even a child can understand. Many of + these are masterpieces, admired by workingmen and scholars alike for their + thought and expression. Take, for instance, "The Heavenly Footman," put it + side by side with the best work of Latimer, and the resemblance in style + is startling. It is difficult to realize that one work came from an + ignorant tinker and the other from a great scholar, both engaged in the + same general work. As Bunyan's one book was the Bible, we have here a + suggestion of its influence in all our prose literature. + </p> + <p> + MINOR PROSE WRITERS + </p> + <p> + The Puritan Period is generally regarded as one destitute of literary + interest; but that was certainly not the result of any lack of books or + writers. Says Burton in his <i>Anatomy of Melancholy:</i> + </p> + <p> + I have ... new books every day, pamphlets, currantoes, stories, whole + catalogues of volumes of all sorts, new paradoxes, opinions, schisms, + heresies, controversies in philosophy and religion. Now come tidings of + weddings, maskings, entertainments, jubilees, embassies, sports, plays; + then again, as in a new-shipped scene, treasons, cheatings, tricks, + robberies, enormous villainies in all kinds, funerals, deaths, new + discoveries, expeditions; now comical, then tragical matters..... + </p> + <p> + So the record continues, till one rubs his eyes and thinks he must have + picked up by mistake the last literary magazine. And for all these + kaleidoscopic events there were waiting a multitude of writers, ready to + seize the abundant material and turn it to literary account for a tract, + an article, a volume, or an encyclopedia. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Three Good Books</span>If one were to recommend + certain of these books as expressive of this age of outward storm and + inward calm, there are three that deserve more than a passing notice, + namely, the <i>Religio Medici</i>, <i>Holy Living</i>, and <i>The Compleat + Angler</i>. The first was written by a busy physician, a supposedly + scientific man at that time; the second by the most learned of English + churchmen; and the third by a simple merchant and fisherman. Strangely + enough, these three great books--the reflections of nature, science, and + revelation--all interpret human life alike and tell the same story of + gentleness, charity, and noble living. If the age had produced only these + three books, we could still be profoundly grateful to it for its inspiring + message. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7r" id="chap7r">Robert Burton</a></b> (1577-1640). Burton + is famous chiefly as the author of the <i>Anatomy of Melancholy</i>, one + of the most astonishing books in all literature, which appeared in 1621. + Burton was a clergyman of the Established Church, an incomprehensible + genius, given to broodings and melancholy and to reading of every + conceivable kind of literature. Thanks to his wonderful memory, everything + he read was stored up for use or ornament, till his mind resembled a huge + curiosity shop. All his life he suffered from hypochondria, but curiously + traced his malady to the stars rather than to his own liver. It is related + of him that he used to suffer so from despondency that no help was to be + found in medicine or theology; his only relief was to go down to the river + and hear the bargemen swear at one another. + </p> + <p> + Burton's <i>Anatomy</i> was begun as a medical treatise on morbidness, + arranged and divided with all the exactness of the schoolmen's + demonstration of doctrines; but it turned out to be an enormous hodgepodge + of quotations and references to authors, known and unknown, living and + dead, which seemed to prove chiefly that "much study is a weariness to the + flesh." By some freak of taste it became instantly popular, and was + proclaimed one of the greatest books in literature. A few scholars still + explore it with delight, as a mine of classic wealth; but the style is + hopelessly involved, and to the ordinary reader most of his numerous + references are now as unmeaning as a hyper-jacobian surface. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7s" id="chap7s">Sir Thomas Browne</a></b> (1605-1682). + Browne was a physician who, after much study and travel, settled down to + his profession in Norwich; but even then he gave far more time to the + investigation of natural phenomena than to the barbarous practices which + largely constituted the "art" of medicine in his day. He was known far and + wide as a learned doctor and an honest man, whose scientific studies had + placed him in advance of his age, and whose religious views were liberal + to the point of heresy. With this in mind, it is interesting to note, as a + sign of the times, that this most scientific doctor was once called to + give "expert" testimony in the case of two old women who were being tried + for the capital crime of witchcraft. He testified under oath that "the + fits were natural, but heightened by the devil's coöperating with the + witches, at whose instance he [the alleged devil] did the villainies." + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Religio Medici</span>Browne's great work is the + <i>Religio Medici</i>, i.e. The Religion of a Physician (1642), which met + with most unusual success. "Hardly ever was a book published in Britain," + says Oldys, a chronicler who wrote nearly a century later, "that made more + noise than the <i>Religio Medici</i>." Its success may be due largely to + the fact that, among thousands of religious works, it was one of the few + which saw in nature a profound revelation, and which treated purely + religious subjects in a reverent, kindly, tolerant way, without + ecclesiastical bias. It is still, therefore, excellent reading; but it is + not so much the matter as the manner--the charm, the gentleness, the + remarkable prose style--which has established the book as one of the + classics of our literature. + </p> + <p> + Two other works of Browne are <i>Vulgar Errors</i> (1646), a curious + combination of scientific and credulous research in the matter of popular + superstition, and <i>Urn Burial</i>, a treatise suggested by the discovery + of Roman burial urns at Walsingham. It began as an inquiry into the + various methods of burial, but ended in a dissertation on the vanity of + earthly hope and ambitions. From a literary point of view it is Browne's + best work, but is less read than the <i>Religio Medici</i>. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7t" id="chap7t">Thomas Fuller</a></b> (1608-1661). Fuller + was a clergyman and royalist whose lively style and witty observations + would naturally place him with the gay Caroline poets. His best known + works are <i>The Holy War, The Holy State and the Profane State, Church + History of Britain</i>, and the <i>History of the Worthies of England. The + Holy and Profane State</i> is chiefly a biographical record, the first + part consisting of numerous historical examples to be imitated, the second + of examples to be avoided. The <i>Church History</i> is not a scholarly + work, notwithstanding its author's undoubted learning, but is a lively and + gossipy account which has at least one virtue, that it entertains the + reader. The <i>Worthies</i>, the most widely read of his works, is a racy + account of the important men of England. Fuller traveled constantly for + years, collecting information from out-of-the-way sources and gaining a + minute knowledge of his own country. This, with his overflowing humor and + numerous anecdotes and illustrations, makes lively and interesting + reading. Indeed, we hardly find a dull page in any of his numerous books. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7u" id="chap7u">Jeremy Taylor</a></b> (1613-1667). Taylor + was the greatest of the clergymen who made this period famous, a man who, + like Milton, upheld a noble ideal in storm and calm, and himself lived it + nobly. He has been called "the Shakespeare of divines," and "a kind of + Spenser in a cassock," and both descriptions apply to him very well. His + writings, with their exuberant fancy and their noble diction, belong + rather to the Elizabethan than to the Puritan age. + </p> + <p> + From the large number of his works two stand out as representative of the + man himself: <i>The Liberty of Prophesying</i> (1646), which Hallam calls + the first plea for tolerance in religion, on a comprehensive basis and on + deep-seated foundations; and <i>The Rules and Exercises of Holy Living</i> + (1650). To the latter might be added its companion volume, <i>Holy Dying</i>, + published in the following year. <i>The Holy Living and Dying</i>, as a + single volume, was for many years read in almost every English cottage. + With Baxter's <i>Saints' Rest, Pilgrim's Progress</i>, and the <i>King + James Bible</i>, it often constituted the entire library of multitudes of + Puritan homes; and as we read its noble words and breathe its gentle + spirit, we cannot help wishing that our modern libraries were gathered + together on the same thoughtful foundations. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7v" id="chap7v">Richard Baxter</a></b> (1615-1691). This + "busiest man of his age" strongly suggests Bunyan in his life and + writings. Like Bunyan, he was poor and uneducated, a nonconformist + minister, exposed continually to insult and persecution; and, like Bunyan, + he threw himself heart and soul into the conflicts of his age, and became + by his public speech a mighty power among the common people. Unlike Jeremy + Taylor, who wrote for the learned, and whose involved sentences and + classical allusions are sometimes hard to follow, Baxter went straight to + his mark, appealing directly to the judgment and feeling of his readers. + </p> + <p> + The number of his works is almost incredible when one thinks of his busy + life as a preacher and the slowness of manual writing. In all, he left + nearly one hundred and seventy different works, which if collected would + make fifty or sixty volumes. As he wrote chiefly to influence men on the + immediate questions of the day, most of this work has fallen into + oblivion. His two most famous books are <i>The Saints' Everlasting Rest</i> + and <i>A Call to the Unconverted</i>, both of which were exceedingly + popular, running through scores of successive editions, and have been + widely read in our own generation. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7w" id="chap7w">Izaak Walton</a></b> (1593-1683). Walton + was a small tradesman of London, who preferred trout brooks and good + reading to the profits of business and the doubtful joys of a city life; + so at fifty years, when he had saved a little money, he left the city and + followed his heart out into the country. He began his literary work, or + rather his recreation, by writing his famous <i>Lives</i>,--kindly and + readable appreciations of Donne, Wotton, Hooker, Herbert, and Sanderson, + which stand at the beginning of modern biographical writing. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Compleat Angler</span>In 1653 appeared <i>The + Compleat Angler</i>, which has grown steadily in appreciation, and which + is probably more widely read than any other book on the subject of + fishing. It begins with a conversation between a falconer, a hunter, and + an angler; but the angler soon does most of the talking, as fishermen + sometimes do; the hunter becomes a disciple, and learns by the easy method + of hearing the fisherman discourse about his art. The conversations, it + must be confessed, are often diffuse and pedantic; but they only make us + feel most comfortably sleepy, as one invariably feels after a good day's + fishing. So kindly is the spirit of the angler, so exquisite his + appreciation of the beauty of the earth and sky, that one returns to the + book, as to a favorite trout stream, with the undying expectation of + catching something. Among a thousand books on angling it stands almost + alone in possessing a charming style, and so it will probably be read as + long as men go fishing. Best of all, it leads to a better appreciation of + nature, and it drops little moral lessons into the reader's mind as gently + as one casts a fly to a wary trout; so that one never suspects his better + nature is being angled for. Though we have sometimes seen anglers catch + more than they need, or sneak ahead of brother fishermen to the best + pools, we are glad, for Walton's sake, to overlook such unaccountable + exceptions, and agree with the milkmaid that "we love all anglers, they be + such honest, civil, quiet men." + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7x" id="chap7x">Summary of the Puritan Period.</a></b> The + half century between 1625 and 1675 is called the Puritan period for two + reasons: first, because Puritan standards prevailed for a time in England; + and second, because the greatest literary figure during all these years + was the Puritan, John Milton. Historically the age was one of tremendous + conflict. The Puritan struggled for righteousness and liberty, and because + he prevailed, the age is one of moral and political revolution. In his + struggle for liberty the Puritan overthrew the corrupt monarchy, beheaded + Charles I, and established the Commonwealth under Cromwell. The + Commonwealth lasted but a few years, and the restoration of Charles II in + 1660 is often put as the end of the Puritan period. The age has no + distinct limits, but overlaps the Elizabethan period on one side, and the + Restoration period on the other. + </p> + <p> + The age produced many writers, a few immortal books, and one of the + world's great literary leaders. The literature of the age is extremely + diverse in character, and the diversity is due to the breaking up of the + ideals of political and religious unity. This literature differs from that + of the preceding age in three marked ways: (1) It has no unity of spirit, + as in the days of Elizabeth, resulting from the patriotic enthusiasm of + all classes. (2) In contrast with the hopefulness and vigor of Elizabethan + writings, much of the literature of this period is somber in character; it + saddens rather than inspires us. (3) It has lost the romantic impulse of + youth, and become critical and intellectual; it makes us think, rather + than feel deeply. + </p> + <p> + In our study we have noted (1) the Transition Poets, of whom Daniel is + chief; (2) the Song Writers, Campion and Breton; (3) the Spenserian Poets, + Wither and Giles Fletcher; (4) the Metaphysical Poets, Donne and Herbert; + (5) the Cavalier Poets, Herrick, Carew, Lovelace, and Suckling; (6) John + Milton, his life, his early or Horton poems, his militant prose, and his + last great poetical works; (7) John Bunyan, his extraordinary life, and + his chief work, <i>The Pilgrim's Progress;</i> (8) the Minor Prose + Writers, Burton, Browne, Fuller, Taylor, Baxter, and Walton. Three books + selected from this group are Browne's <i>Religio Medici</i>, Taylor's <i>Holy + Living and Dying</i>, and Walton's <i>Complete Angler</i>. + </p> + <p> + <b>Selections for Reading.</b> <i>Milton</i>. Paradise Lost, books 1-2, + L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, Comus, Lycidas, and selected Sonnets,--all in + Standard English Classics; same poems, more or less complete, in various + other series; Areopagitica and Treatise on Education, selections, in + Manly's English Prose, or Areopagitica in Arber's English Reprints, + Clarendon Press Series, Morley's Universal Library, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Minor Poets</i>. Selections from Herrick, edited by Hale, in Athenaeum + Press Series; selections from Herrick, Lovelace, Donne, Herbert, etc., in + Manly's English Poetry, Golden Treasury, Oxford Book of English Verse, + etc.; Vaughan's Silex Scintillans, in Temple Classics, also in the Aldine + Series; Herbert's The Temple, in Everyman's Library, Temple Classics, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Bunyan</i>. The Pilgrim's Progress, in Standard English Classics, + Pocket Classics, etc.; Grace Abounding, in Cassell's National Library. + </p> + <p> + <i>Minor Prose Writers</i>. Wentworth's Selections from Jeremy Taylor; + Browne's Religio Medici, Walton's Complete Angler, both in Everyman's + Library, Temple Classics, etc.; selections from Taylor, Browne, and Walton + in Manly's English Prose, also in Garnett's English Prose. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7y" id="chap7y">Bibliography.</a></b><sup><a href="#fn170" + name="rfn170" id="rfn170">[170]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + <i><b>History</b></i>. <i>Text-book</i>, Montgomery, pp. 238-257; Cheyney, + pp. 431-464; Green, ch. 8; Traill; Gardiner. + </p> + <p> + <i>Special Works</i>. Wakeling's King and Parliament (Oxford Manuals); + Gardiner's The First Two Stuarts and the Puritan Revolution; Tulloch's + English Puritanism and its Leaders; Lives of Cromwell by Harrison, by + Church, and by Morley; Carlyle's Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches. + </p> + <p> + <b><i>Literature</i>.</b> Saintsbury's Elizabethan Literature (extends to + 1660); Masterman's The Age of Milton; Dowden's Puritan and Anglican. + </p> + <p> + <i>Milton</i>. Texts, Poetical Works, Globe edition, edited by Masson; + Cambridge Poets edition, edited by Moody; English Prose Writings, edited + by Morley, in Carisbrooke Library; also in Bohn's Standard Library. + </p> + <p> + Masson's Life of John Milton (8 vols.); Life, by Garnett, by Pattison + (English Men of Letters). Raleigh's Milton; Trent's John Milton; Corson's + Introduction to Milton; Brooke's Milton, in Student's Library; Macaulay's + Milton; Lowell's Essays, in Among My Books, and in Latest Literary Essays; + M. Arnold's Essay, in Essays in Criticism; Dowden's Essay, in Puritan and + Anglican. + </p> + <p> + <i>Cavalier Poets</i>. Schelling's Seventeenth Century Lyrics, in + Athenaeum Press Series; Cavalier and Courtier Lyrists, in Canterbury Poets + Series; Gosse's Jacobean Poets; Lovelace, etc., in Library of Old Authors. + </p> + <p> + <i>Donne</i>. Poems, in Muses' Library; Life, in Walton's Lives, in Temple + Classics, and in Morley's Universal Library; Life, by Gosse; Jessup's John + Donne; Dowden's Essay, in New Studies; Stephen's Studies of a Biographer, + vol. 3. + </p> + <p> + <i>Herbert</i>. Palmer's George Herbert; Poems and Prose Selections, + edited by Rhys, in Canterbury Poets; Dowden's Essay, in Puritan and + Anglican. + </p> + <p> + <i>Bunyan</i>. Brown's John Bunyan, His Life, Times, and Works; Life, by + Venables, and by Froude (English Men of Letters); Essays by Macaulay, by + Dowden, <i>supra</i>, and by Woodberry, in Makers of Literature. + </p> + <p> + <i>Jeremy Taylor</i>. Holy Living, Holy Dying, in Temple Classics, and in + Bohn's Standard Library; Selections, edited by Wentworth; Life, by Heber, + and by Gosse (English Men of Letters); Dowden's Essay, <i>supra</i>. + </p> + <p> + <i>Thomas Browne</i>. Works, edited by Wilkin; the same, in Temple + Classics, and in Bohn's Library; Religio Medici, in Everyman's Library; + essay by Pater, in Appreciations; by Dowden, <i>supra;</i> and by L. + Stephen, in Hours in a Library; Life, by Gosse (English Men of Letters). + </p> + <p> + <i>Izaak Walton</i>. Works, in Temple Classics, Cassell's Library, and + Morley's Library; Introduction, in A. Lang's Walton's Complete Angler; + Lowell's Essay, in Latest Literary Essays. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap7za" id="chap7za">Suggestive Questions</a></b>. 1. What is + meant by the Puritan period? What were the objects and the results of the + Puritan movement in English history? + </p> + <p> + 2. What are the main characteristics of the literature of this period? + Compare it with Elizabethan literature. How did religion and politics + affect Puritan literature? Can you quote any passages or name any works + which justify your opinion? + </p> + <p> + 3. What is meant by the terms Cavalier poets, Spenserian poets, + Metaphysical poets? Name the chief writers of each group. To whom are we + indebted for our first English hymn book? Would you call this a work of + literature? Why? + </p> + <p> + 4. What are the qualities of Herrick's poetry? What marked contrasts are + found in Herrick and in nearly all the poets of this period? + </p> + <p> + 5. Who was George Herbert? For what purpose did he write? What qualities + are found in his poetry? + </p> + <p> + 6. Tell briefly the story of Milton's life. What are the three periods of + his literary work? What is meant by the Horton poems? Compare "L'Allegro" + and "Il Penseroso." Are there any Puritan ideals in "Comus"? Why is + "Lycidas" often put at the summit of English lyrical poetry? Give the main + idea or argument of <i>Paradise Lost</i>. What are the chief qualities of + the poem? Describe in outline <i>Paradise Regained</i> and <i>Samson + Agonistes</i>. What personal element entered into the latter? What quality + strikes you most forcibly in Milton's poetry? What occasioned Milton's + prose works? Do they properly belong to literature? Why? Compare Milton + and Shakespsare with regard to (1) knowledge of men, (2) ideals of life, + (3) purpose in writing. + </p> + <p> + 7. Tell the story of Bunyan's life. What unusual elements are found in his + life and writings? Give the main argument of <i>The Pilgrim's Progress</i>. + If you read the story before studying literature, tell why you liked or + disliked it. Why is it a work for all ages and for all races? What are the + chief qualities of Bunyan's style? + </p> + <p> + 8. Who are the minor prose writers of this age? Name the chief works of + Jeremy Taylor, Thomas Browne, and Izaak Walton. Can you describe from your + own reading any of these works? How does the prose of this age compare in + interest with the poetry? (Milton is, of course, excepted in this + comparison.) + </p> + <table> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <big><a name="chap7zb" id="chap7zb">CHRONOLOGY</a></big> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + Seventeenth Century + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2"> + HISTORY + </th> + <th> + LITERATURE + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1621. + </td> + <td> + Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1623. + </td> + <td> + Wither's Hymn Book + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1625. + </td> + <td> + Charles I + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Parliament dissolved + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1628. + </td> + <td> + Petition of Right + </td> + <td> + 1629. + </td> + <td> + Milton's Ode on the Nativity + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1630-1640. + </td> + <td> + King rules without + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Parliament. Puritan migration + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + to New England + </td> + <td> + 1630-1633. + </td> + <td> + Herbert's poems + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1632-1637. + </td> + <td> + Milton's Horton poems + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1640. + </td> + <td> + Long Parliament + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1642. + </td> + <td> + Civil War begins + </td> + <td> + 1642. + </td> + <td> + Browne's Religio Medici + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1643. + </td> + <td> + Scotch Covenant + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1643. + </td> + <td> + Press censorship + </td> + <td> + 1644. + </td> + <td> + Milton's Areopagitica + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1645. + </td> + <td> + Battle of Naseby; + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + triumph of Puritans + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1649. + </td> + <td> + Execution of Charles I. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Cavalier migration to Virginia + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1649-1660. + </td> + <td> + Commonwealth + </td> + <td> + 1649. + </td> + <td> + Milton's Tenure of Kings + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1650. + </td> + <td> + Baxter's Saints' Rest. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1651. + </td> + <td> + Hobbes's Leviathan + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1653-1658. + </td> + <td> + Cromwell, Protector + </td> + <td> + 1653. + </td> + <td> + Walton's Complete Angler + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1658-1660. + </td> + <td> + Richard Cromwell + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1660. + </td> + <td> + Restoration of Charles II + </td> + <td> + 1663-1694. + </td> + <td> + Dryden's dramas + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + (next chapter) + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1666. + </td> + <td> + Bunyan's Grace Abounding + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1667. + </td> + <td> + Paradise Lost + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1674. + </td> + <td> + Death of Milton + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1678. + </td> + <td> + Pilgrim's Progress published + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + (written earlier) + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr /> + <h1> + <a name="chap8" id="chap8">CHAPTER VIII</a> + </h1> + <h3> + <b>PERIOD OF THE RESTORATION (1660-1700)</b> + </h3> + <p> + THE AGE OF FRENCH INFLUENCE + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap8a" id="chap8a">History of the Period</a></b>. It seems a + curious contradiction, at first glance, to place the return of Charles II + at the beginning of modern England, as our historians are wont to do; for + there was never a time when the progress of liberty, which history + records, was more plainly turned backwards. The Puritan régime had + been too severe; it had repressed too many natural pleasures. Now, + released from restraint, society abandoned the decencies of life and the + reverence for law itself, and plunged into excesses more unnatural than + had been the restraints of Puritanism. The inevitable effect of excess is + disease, and for almost an entire generation following the Restoration, in + 1660, England lay sick of a fever. Socially, politically, morally, London + suggests an Italian city in the days of the Medici; and its literature, + especially its drama, often seems more like the delirium of illness than + the expression of a healthy mind. But even a fever has its advantages. + Whatever impurity is in the blood "is burnt and purged away," and a man + rises from fever with a new strength and a new idea of the value of life, + like King Hezekiah, who after his sickness and fear of death resolved to + "go softly" all his days. The Restoration was the great crisis in English + history; and that England lived through it was due solely to the strength + and excellence of that Puritanism which she thought she had flung to the + winds when she welcomed back a vicious monarch at Dover. The chief lesson + of the Restoration was this,--that it showed by awful contrast the + necessity of truth and honesty, and of a strong government of free men, + for which the Puritan had stood like a rock in every hour of his rugged + history. Through fever, England came slowly back to health; through gross + corruption in society and in the state England learned that her people + were at heart sober, sincere, religious folk, and that their character was + naturally too strong to follow after pleasure and be satisfied. So + Puritanism suddenly gained all that it had struggled for, and gained it + even in the hour when all seemed lost, when Milton in his sorrow + unconsciously portrayed the government of Charles and his Cabal in that + tremendous scene of the council of the infernal peers in Pandemonium, + plotting the ruin of the world. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The King and his Followers</span>Of the king and + his followers it is difficult to write temperately. Most of the dramatic + literature of the time is atrocious, and we can understand it only as we + remember the character of the court and society for which it was written. + Unspeakably vile in his private life, the king had no redeeming + patriotism, no sense of responsibility to his country for even his public + acts. He gave high offices to blackguards, stole from the exchequer like a + common thief, played off Catholics and Protestants against each other, + disregarding his pledges to both alike, broke his solemn treaty with the + Dutch and with his own ministers, and betrayed his country for French + money to spend on his own pleasures. It is useless to paint the dishonor + of a court which followed gayly after such a leader. The first Parliament, + while it contained some noble and patriotic members, was dominated by + young men who remembered the excess of Puritan zeal, but forgot the + despotism and injustice which had compelled Puritanism to stand up and + assert the manhood of England. These young politicians vied with the king + in passing laws for the subjugation of Church and State, and in their + thirst for revenge upon all who had been connected with Cromwell's iron + government. Once more a wretched formalism--that perpetual danger to the + English Church--came to the front and exercised authority over the free + churches. The House of Lords was largely increased by the creation of + hereditary titles and estates for ignoble men and shameless women who had + flattered the king's vanity. Even the Bench, that last strong refuge of + English justice, was corrupted by the appointment of judges, like the + brutal Jeffreys, whose aim, like that of their royal master, was to get + money and to exercise power without personal responsibility. Amid all this + dishonor the foreign influence and authority of Cromwell's strong + government vanished like smoke. The valiant little Dutch navy swept the + English fleet from the sea, and only the thunder of Dutch guns in the + Thames, under the very windows of London, awoke the nation to the + realization of how low it had fallen. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Revolution of 1688 </span>Two considerations must + modify our judgment of this disheartening spectacle. First, the king and + his court are not England. Though our histories are largely filled with + the records of kings and soldiers, of intrigues and fighting, these no + more express the real life of a people than fever and delirium express a + normal manhood. Though king and court and high society arouse our disgust + or pity, records are not wanting to show that private life in England + remained honest and pure even in the worst days of the Restoration. While + London society might be entertained by the degenerate poetry of Rochester + and the dramas of Dryden and Wycherley, English scholars hailed Milton + with delight; and the common people followed Bunyan and Baxter with their + tremendous appeal to righteousness and liberty. Second, the king, with all + his pretensions to divine right, remained only a figurehead; and the + Anglo-Saxon people, when they tire of one figurehead, have always the will + and the power to throw it overboard and choose a better one. The country + was divided into two political parties: the Whigs, who sought to limit the + royal power in the interests of Parliament and the people; and the Tories, + who strove to check the growing power of the people in the interests of + their hereditary rulers. Both parties, however, were largely devoted to + the Anglican Church; and when James II, after four years of misrule, + attempted to establish a national Catholicism by intrigues which aroused + the protest of the Pope<sup><a href="#fn171" name="rfn171" id="rfn171">[171]</a></sup> + as well as of Parliament, then Whigs and Tories, Catholics and + Protestants, united in England's last great revolution. + </p> + <p> + The complete and bloodless Revolution of 1688, which called William of + Orange to the throne, was simply the indication of England's restored + health and sanity. It proclaimed that she had not long forgotten, and + could never again forget, the lesson taught her by Puritanism in its + hundred years of struggle and sacrifice. Modern England was firmly + established by the Revolution, which was brought about by the excesses of + the Restoration. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> French Influence</span><b><a name="chap8b" + id="chap8b">Literary Characteristics</a></b>. In the literature of the + Restoration we note a sudden breaking away from old standards, just as + society broke away from the restraints of Puritanism. Many of the literary + men had been driven out of England with Charles and his court, or else had + followed their patrons into exile in the days of the Commonwealth. On + their return they renounced old ideals and demanded that English poetry + and drama should follow the style to which they had become accustomed in + the gayety of Paris. We read with astonishment in Pepys's <i>Diary</i> + (1660-1669) that he has been to see a play called <i>Midsummer Night's + Dream</i>, but that he will never go again to hear Shakespeare, "for it is + the most insipid, ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life." And again + we read in the diary of Evelyn,--another writer who reflects with + wonderful accuracy the life and spirit of the Restoration,--"I saw <i>Hamlet</i> + played; but now the old plays begin to disgust this refined age, since his + Majesty's being so long abroad." Since Shakespeare and the Elizabethans + were no longer interesting, literary men began to imitate the French + writers, with whose works they had just grown familiar; and here begins + the so-called period of French influence, which shows itself in English + literature for the next century, instead of the Italian influence which + had been dominant since Spenser and the Elizabethans. + </p> + <p> + One has only to consider for a moment the French writers of this period, + Pascal, Bossuet, Fénelon, Malherbe, Corneille, Racine, Molière,--all + that brilliant company which makes the reign of Louis XIV the Elizabethan + Age of French literature,--to see how far astray the early writers of the + Restoration went in their wretched imitation. When a man takes another for + his model, he should copy virtues not vices; but unfortunately many + English writers reversed the rule, copying the vices of French comedy + without any of its wit or delicacy or abundant ideas. The poems of + Rochester, the plays of Dryden, Wycherley, Congreve, Vanbrugh, and + Farquhar, all popular in their day, are mostly unreadable. Milton's "sons + of Belial, flown with insolence and wine," is a good expression of the + vile character of the court writers and of the London theaters for thirty + years following the Restoration. Such work can never satisfy a people, and + when Jeremy Collier,<sup><a href="#fn172" name="rfn172" id="rfn172">[172]</a></sup> + in 1698, published a vigorous attack upon the evil plays and the + playwrights of the day, all London, tired of the coarseness and excesses + of the Restoration, joined the literary revolution, and the corrupt drama + was driven from the stage. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> New Tendencies</span>With the final rejection of + the Restoration drama we reach a crisis in the history of our literature. + The old Elizabethan spirit, with its patriotism, its creative vigor, its + love of romance, and the Puritan spirit with its moral earnestness and + individualism, were both things of the past; and at first there was + nothing to take their places. Dryden, the greatest writer of the age, + voiced a general complaint when he said that in his prose and poetry he + was "drawing the outlines" of a new art, but had no teacher to instruct + him. But literature is a progressive art, and soon the writers of the age + developed two marked tendencies of their own,--the tendency to realism, + and the tendency to that preciseness and elegance of expression which + marks our literature for the next hundred years. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Realism</span>In realism--that is, the + representation of men exactly as they are, the expression of the plain, + unvarnished truth without regard to ideals or romance--the tendency was at + first thoroughly bad. The early Restoration writers sought to paint + realistic pictures of a corrupt court and society, and, as we have + suggested, they emphasized vices rather than virtues, and gave us coarse, + low plays without interest or moral significance. Like Hobbes, they saw + only the externals of man, his body and appetites, not his soul and its + ideals; and so, like most realists, they resemble a man lost in the woods, + who wanders aimlessly around in circles, seeing the confusing trees but + never the whole forest, and who seldom thinks of climbing the nearest high + hill to get his bearings. Later, however, this tendency to realism became + more wholesome. While it neglected romantic poetry, in which youth is + eternally interested, it led to a keener study of the practical motives + which govern human action. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Formalism</span>The second tendency of the age + was toward directness and simplicity of expression, and to this excellent + tendency our literature is greatly indebted. In both the Elizabethan and + the Puritan ages the general tendency of writers was towards extravagance + of thought and language. Sentences were often involved, and loaded with + Latin quotations and classical allusions. The Restoration writers opposed + this vigorously. From France they brought back the tendency to regard + established rules for writing, to emphasize close reasoning rather than + romantic fancy, and to use short, clean-cut sentences without an + unnecessary word. We see this French influence in the Royal Society,<sup><a + href="#fn173" name="rfn173" id="rfn173">[173]</a></sup> which had for one + of its objects the reform of English prose by getting rid of its + "swellings of style," and which bound all its members to use "a close, + naked, natural way of speaking ... as near to mathematical plainness as + they can." Dryden accepted this excellent rule for his prose, and adopted + the heroic couplet, as the next best thing, for the greater part of his + poetry. As he tells us himself: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + And this unpolished rugged verse I chose<br /> As fittest for discourse, + and nearest prose.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + It is largely due to him that writers developed that formalism of style, + that precise, almost mathematical elegance, miscalled classicism, which + ruled English literature for the next century.<sup><a href="#fn174" + name="rfn174" id="rfn174">[174]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Couplet</span>Another thing which the reader + will note with interest in Restoration literature is the adoption of the + heroic couplet; that is, two iambic pentameter lines which rime together, + as the most suitable form of poetry. Waller,<sup><a href="#fn175" + name="rfn175" id="rfn175">[175]</a></sup> who began to use it in 1623, is + generally regarded as the father of the couplet, for he is the first poet + to use it consistently in the bulk of his poetry. Chaucer had used the + rimed couplet wonderfully well in his <i>Canterbury Tales</i>, but in + Chaucer it is the poetical thought more than the expression which delights + us. With the Restoration writers, form counts for everything. Waller and + Dryden made the couplet the prevailing literary fashion, and in their + hands the couplet becomes "closed"; that is, each pair of lines must + contain a complete thought, stated as precisely as possible. Thus Waller + writes: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + The soul's dark cottage, battered and decayed,<br /> Lets in new light + through chinks that time has made.<sup><a href="#fn176" name="rfn176" + id="rfn176">[176]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + That is a kind of aphorism such as Pope made in large quantities in the + following age. It contains a thought, is catchy, quotable, easy to + remember; and the Restoration writers delighted in it. Soon this + mechanical closed couplet, in which the second line was often made first,<sup><a + href="#fn177" name="rfn177" id="rfn177">[177]</a></sup> almost excluded + all other forms of poetry. It was dominant in England for a full century, + and we have grown familiar with it, and somewhat weary of its monotony, in + such famous poems as Pope's "Essay on Man" and Goldsmith's "Deserted + Village." These, however, are essays rather than poems. That even the + couplet is capable of melody and variety is shown in Chaucer's <i>Tales</i> + and in Keats's exquisite <i>Endymion</i>. + </p> + <p> + These four things, the tendency to vulgar realism in the drama, a general + formalism which came from following set rules, the development of a + simpler and more direct prose style, and the prevalence of the heroic + couplet in poetry are the main characteristics of Restoration literature. + They are all exemplified in the work of one man, John Dryden. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap8c" id="chap8c">JOHN DRYDEN</a> (1631-1700) + </p> + <p> + Dryden is the greatest literary figure of the Restoration, and in his work + we have an excellent reflection of both the good and the evil tendencies + of the age in which he lived. If we can think for a moment of literature + as a canal of water, we may appreciate the figure that Dryden is the "lock + by which the waters of English poetry were let down from the mountains of + Shakespeare and Milton to the plain of Pope"; that is, he stands between + two very different ages, and serves as a transition from one to the other. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. Dryden's life contains so many conflicting elements of + greatness and littleness that the biographer is continually taken away + from the facts, which are his chief concern, to judge motives, which are + manifestly outside his knowledge and business. Judged by his own opinion + of himself, as expressed in the numerous prefaces to his works, Dryden was + the soul of candor, writing with no other master than literature, and with + no other object than to advance the welfare of his age and nation. Judged + by his acts, he was apparently a timeserver, catering to a depraved + audience in his dramas, and dedicating his work with much flattery to + those who were easily cajoled by their vanity into sharing their purse and + patronage. In this, however, he only followed the general custom of the + time, and is above many of his contemporaries. + </p> + <p> + Dryden was born in the village of Aldwinkle, Northamptonshire, in 1631. + His family were prosperous people, who brought him up in the strict + Puritan faith, and sent him first to the famous Westminster school and + then to Cambridge. He made excellent use of his opportunities and studied + eagerly, becoming one of the best educated men of his age, especially in + the classics. Though of remarkable literary taste, he showed little + evidence of literary ability up to the age of thirty. By his training and + family connections he was allied to the Puritan party, and his only + well-known work of this period, the "Heroic Stanzas," was written on the + death of Cromwell: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + His grandeur he derived from Heaven alone,<br /> For + he was great ere Fortune made him so;<br /> And wars, like mists that + rise against the sun,<br /> Made him but greater + seem, not greater grow.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In these four lines, taken almost at random from the "Heroic Stanzas," we + have an epitome of the thought, the preciseness, and the polish that mark + all his literary work. + </p> + <p> + This poem made Dryden well known, and he was in a fair way to become the + new poet of Puritanism when the Restoration made a complete change in his + methods. He had come to London for a literary life, and when the Royalists + were again in power he placed himself promptly on the winning side. His + "Astraea Redux," a poem of welcome to Charles II, and his "Panegyric to + his Sacred Majesty," breathe more devotion to "the old goat," as the king + was known to his courtiers, than had his earlier poems to Puritanism. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el026" id="el026"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: LIBRARY AT TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE " + src="images/el026.png" /></a><br /> LIBRARY AT TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE + </p> + <p> + In 1667 he became more widely known and popular by his "Annus Mirabilis," + a narrative poem describing the terrors of the great fire in London and + some events of the disgraceful war with Holland; but with the theaters + reopened and nightly filled, the drama offered the most attractive field + to one who made his living by literature; so Dryden turned to the stage + and agreed to furnish three plays yearly for the actors of the King's + Theater. For nearly twenty years, the best of his life, Dryden gave + himself up to this unfortunate work. Both by nature and habit he seems to + have been clean in his personal life; but the stage demanded unclean + plays, and Dryden followed his audience. That he deplored this is evident + from some of his later work, and we have his statement that he wrote only + one play, his best, to please himself. This was <i>All for Love</i>, which + was written in blank verse, most of the others being in rimed couplets. + </p> + <p> + During this time Dryden had become the best known literary man of London, + and was almost as much a dictator to the literary set which gathered in + the taverns and coffeehouses as Ben Jonson had been before him. His work, + meanwhile, was rewarded by large financial returns, and by his being + appointed poet laureate and collector of the port of London. The latter + office, it may be remembered, had once been held by Chaucer. + </p> + <p> + At fifty years of age, and before Jeremy Collier had driven his dramas + from the stage, Dryden turned from dramatic work to throw himself into the + strife of religion and politics, writing at this period his numerous prose + and poetical treatises. In 1682 appeared his <i>Religio Laici</i> + (Religion of a Layman), defending the Anglican Church against all other + sects, especially the Catholics and Presbyterians; but three years later, + when James II came to the throne with schemes to establish the Roman + faith, Dryden turned Catholic and wrote his most famous religious poem, + "The Hind and the Panther," beginning: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + A milk-white Hind, immortal and unchanged,<br /> Fed on the lawns and in + the forest ranged;<br /> Without unspotted, innocent within,<br /> She + feared no danger, for she knew no sin.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + This hind is a symbol for the Roman Church; and the Anglicans, as a + panther, are represented as persecuting the faithful. Numerous other + sects--Calvinists, Anabaptists, Quakers--were represented by the wolf, + boar, hare, and other animals, which gave the poet an excellent chance for + exercising his satire. Dryden's enemies made the accusation, often since + repeated, of hypocrisy in thus changing his church; but that he was + sincere in the matter can now hardly be questioned, for he knew how to + "suffer for the faith" and to be true to his religion, even when it meant + misjudgment and loss of fortune. At the Revolution of 1688 he refused + allegiance to William of Orange; he was deprived of all his offices and + pensions, and as an old man was again thrown back on literature as his + only means of livelihood. He went to work with extraordinary courage and + energy, writing plays, poems, prefaces for other men, eulogies for funeral + occasions,--every kind of literary work that men would pay for. His most + successful work at this time was his translations, which resulted in the + complete <i>Aeneid</i> and many selections from Homer, Ovid, and Juvenal, + appearing in English rimed couplets. His most enduring poem, the splendid + ode called "Alexander's Feast," was written in 1697. Three years later he + published his last work, <i>Fables</i>, containing poetical paraphrases of + the tales of Boccaccio and Chaucer, and the miscellaneous poems of his + last years. Long prefaces were the fashion in Dryden's day, and his best + critical work is found in his introductions. The preface to the <i>Fables</i> + is generally admired as an example of the new prose style developed by + Dryden and his followers. + </p> + <p> + From the literary view point these last troubled years were the best of + Dryden's life, though they were made bitter by obscurity and by the + criticism of his numerous enemies. He died in 1700 and was buried near + Chaucer in Westminster Abbey. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Dryden</b>. The numerous dramatic works of Dryden are best + left in that obscurity into which they have fallen. Now and then they + contain a bit of excellent lyric poetry, and in <i>All for Love</i>, + another version of <i>Antony and Cleopatra</i>, where he leaves his + cherished heroic couplet for the blank verse of Marlowe and Shakespeare, + he shows what he might have done had he not sold his talents to a depraved + audience. On the whole, reading his plays is like nibbling at a rotting + apple; even the good spots are affected by the decay, and one ends by + throwing the whole thing into the garbage can, where most of the dramatic + works of this period belong. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Poems</span>The controversial and satirical poems + are on a higher plane; though, it must be confessed, Dryden's satire often + strikes us as cutting and revengeful, rather than witty. The best known of + these, and a masterpiece of its kind, is "Absalom and Achitophel," which + is undoubtedly the most powerful political satire in our language. Taking + the Bible story of David and Absalom, he uses it to ridicule the Whig + party and also to revenge himself upon his enemies. Charles II appeared as + King David; his natural son, the Duke of Monmouth, who was mixed up in the + Rye House Plot, paraded as Absalom; Shaftesbury was Achitophel, the evil + Counselor; and the Duke of Buckingham was satirized as Zimri. The poem had + enormous political influence, and raised Dryden, in the opinion of his + contemporaries, to the front rank of English poets. Two extracts from the + powerful characterizations of Achitophel and Zimri are given here to show + the style and spirit of the whole work. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + (SHAFTESBURY)<br /> + Of these the false Achitophel was first;<br /> A name to all succeeding + ages cursed:<br /> For close designs and crooked counsels fit;<br /> + Sagacious, bold, and turbulent of wit;<br /> Restless, unfixed in + principles and place;<br /> In power unpleased, impatient of disgrace:<br /> + A fiery soul, which, working out its way,<br /> Fretted the pygmy body to + decay....<br /> A daring pilot in extremity,<br /> Pleased with the + danger, when the waves went high<br /> He sought the storms: but for a + calm unfit,<br /> Would steer too nigh the sands to boast his wit.<br /> + Great wits are sure to madness near allied,<br /> And thin partitions do + their bounds divide;<br /> Else why should he, with wealth and honor + blest,<br /> Refuse his age the needful hours of rest?<br /> Punish a body + which he could not please;<br /> Bankrupt of life, yet prodigal of ease?<br /> + And all to leave what with his toil he won,<br /> To that unfeathered + two-legged thing, a son....<br /> In friendship false, implacable in + hate;<br /> Resolved to ruin or to rule the state;...<br /> Then seized + with fear, yet still affecting fame,<br /> Usurped a patriot's + all-atoning name.<br /> So easy still it proves in factious times<br /> + With public zeal to cancel private crimes.<br /> (THE + DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM)<br /> Some of their chiefs were princes of the land;<br /> + In the first rank of these did Zimri stand,<br /> A man so various, that + he seemed to be<br /> Not one, but all mankind's epitome:<br /> Stiff in + opinions, always in the wrong,<br /> Was everything by starts and nothing + long;<br /> But, in the course of one revolving moon,<br /> Was chymist, + fiddler, statesman, and buffoon;<br /> Then all for women, painting, + rhyming, drinking,<br /> Besides ten thousand freaks that died in + thinking.<br /> Blest madman, who could every hour employ<br /> With + something new to wish or to enjoy!<br /> Railing and praising were his + usual themes,<br /> And both, to show his judgment, in extremes:<br /> So + over-violent, or over-civil,<br /> That every man with him was God or + devil.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Of the many miscellaneous poems of Dryden, the curious reader will get an + idea of his sustained narrative power from the <i>Annus Mirabilis</i>. The + best expression of Dryden's literary genius, however, is found in + "Alexander's Feast," which is his most enduring ode, and one of the best + in our language. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Prose and Criticism</span>As a prose writer + Dryden had a very marked influence on our literature in shortening his + sentences, and especially in writing naturally, without depending on + literary ornamentation to give effect to what he is saying. If we compare + his prose with that of Milton, or Browne, or Jeremy Taylor, we note that + Dryden cares less for style than any of the others, but takes more pains + to state his thought clearly and concisely, as men speak when they wish to + be understood. The classical school, which followed the Restoration, + looked to Dryden as a leader, and to him we owe largely that tendency to + exactness of expression which marks our subsequent prose writing. With his + prose, Dryden rapidly developed his critical ability, and became the + foremost critic<sup><a href="#fn178" name="rfn178" id="rfn178">[178]</a></sup> + of his age. His criticisms, instead of being published as independent + works, were generally used as prefaces or introductions to his poetry. The + best known of these criticisms are the preface to the <i>Fables</i>, "Of + Heroic Plays," "Discourse on Satire," and especially the "Essay of + Dramatic Poesy" (1668), which attempts to lay a foundation for all + literary criticism. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el027" id="el027"><img width="50%" alt="Illustration: WESTMINSTER" + src="images/el027.png" /></a><br /> WESTMINSTER + </p> + <p> + <b>Dryden's Influence on Literature</b>. Dryden's place among authors is + due partly to his great influence on the succeeding age of classicism. + Briefly, this influence may be summed up by noting the three new elements + which he brought into our literature. These are: (1) the establishment of + the heroic couplet as the fashion for satiric, didactic, and descriptive + poetry; (2) his development of a direct, serviceable prose style such as + we still cultivate; and (3) his development of the art of literary + criticism in his essays and in the numerous prefaces to his poems. This is + certainly a large work for one man to accomplish, and Dryden is worthy of + honor, though comparatively little of what he wrote is now found on our + bookshelves. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap8d" id="chap8d">Samuel Butler</a></b> (1612-1680). In + marked contrast with Dryden, who devoted his life to literature and won + his success by hard work, is Samuel Butler, who jumped into fame by a + single, careless work, which represents not any serious intent or effort, + but the pastime of an idle hour. We are to remember that, though the + Royalists had triumphed in the Restoration, the Puritan spirit was not + dead, nor even sleeping, and that the Puritan held steadfastly to his own + principles. Against these principles of justice, truth, and liberty there + was no argument, since they expressed the manhood of England; but many of + the Puritan practices were open to ridicule, and the Royalists, in revenge + for their defeat, began to use ridicule without mercy. During the early + years of the Restoration doggerel verses ridiculing Puritanism, and + burlesque,--that is, a ridiculous representation of serious subjects, or a + serious representation of ridiculous subjects,--were the most popular form + of literature with London society. Of all this burlesque and doggerel the + most famous is Butler's <i>Hudibras</i>, a work to which we can trace many + of the prejudices that still prevail against Puritanism. + </p> + <p> + Of Butler himself we know little; he is one of the most obscure figures in + our literature. During the days of Cromwell's Protectorate he was in the + employ of Sir Samuel Luke, a crabbed and extreme type of Puritan nobleman, + and here he collected his material and probably wrote the first part of + his burlesque, which, of course, he did not dare to publish until after + the Restoration. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Hudibras</span><i>Hudibras</i> is plainly modeled + upon the <i>Don Quixote</i> of Cervantes. It describes the adventures of a + fanatical justice of the peace, Sir Hudibras, and of his squire, Ralpho, + in their endeavor to put down all innocent pleasures. In Hudibras and + Ralpho the two extreme types of the Puritan party, Presbyterians and + Independents, are mercilessly ridiculed. When the poem first appeared in + public, in 1663, after circulating secretly for years in manuscript, it + became at once enormously popular. The king carried a copy in his pocket, + and courtiers vied with each other in quoting its most scurrilous + passages. A second and a third part, continuing the adventures of + Hudibras, were published in 1664 and 1668. At best the work is a wretched + doggerel, but it was clever enough and strikingly original; and since it + expressed the Royalist spirit towards the Puritans, it speedily found its + place in a literature which reflects every phase of human life. A few odd + lines are given here to show the character of the work, and to introduce + the reader to the best known burlesque in our language: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + He was in logic a great critic,<br /> Profoundly + skilled in analytic;<br /> He could distinguish, and divide<br /> A hair + 'twixt south and southwest side;<br /> On either which he would dispute,<br /> + Confute, change hands, and still confute;<br /> He'd undertake to prove, + by force<br /> Of argument, a man's no horse;<br /> He'd run in debt by + disputation,<br /> And pay with ratiocination.<br /> For he was of that + stubborn crew<br /> Of errant saints, whom all men grant<br /> To be the + true Church Militant;<br /> Such as do build their faith upon<br /> The + holy text of pike and gun;<br /> Decide all controversies by<br /> + Infallible artillery;<br /> And prove their doctrine orthodox<br /> By + apostolic blows and knocks;<br /> Compound for sins they are inclined to,<br /> + By damning those they have no mind to.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b><a name="chap8e" id="chap8e">Hobbes and Locke</a></b>. Thomas Hobbes + (1588-1679) is one of the writers that puzzle the historian with a doubt + as to whether or not he should be included in the story of literature. The + one book for which he is famous is called <i>Leviathan, or the Matter, + Form, and Power of a Commonwealth</i> (1651). It is partly political, + partly a philosophical book, combining two central ideas which challenge + and startle the attention, namely, that self-interest is the only guiding + power of humanity, and that blind submission to rulers is the only true + basis of government.<sup><a href="#fn179" name="rfn179" id="rfn179">[179]</a></sup> + In a word, Hobbes reduced human nature to its purely animal aspects, and + then asserted confidently that there was nothing more to study. Certainly, + therefore, as a reflection of the underlying spirit of Charles and his + followers it has no equal in any purely literary work of the time. + </p> + <p> + John Locke (1632-1704) is famous as the author of a single great + philosophical work, the <i>Essay concerning Human Understanding</i> + (1690). This is a study of the nature of the human mind and of the origin + of ideas, which, far more than the work of Bacon and Hobbes, is the basis + upon which English philosophy has since been built. Aside from their + subjects, both works are models of the new prose, direct, simple, + convincing, for which Dryden and the Royal Society labored. They are known + to every student of philosophy, but are seldom included in a work of + literature.<sup><a href="#fn180" name="rfn180" id="rfn180">[180]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap8f" id="chap8f">Evelyn and Pepys</a></b>. These two men, + John Evelyn (1620-1706) and Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), are famous as the + writers of diaries, in which they jotted down the daily occurrences of + their own lives, without any thought that the world would ever see or be + interested in what they had written. + </p> + <p> + Evelyn was the author of <i>Sylva</i>, the first book on trees and + forestry in English, and <i>Terra</i>, which is the first attempt at a + scientific study of agriculture; but the world has lost sight of these two + good books, while it cherishes his diary, which extends over the greater + part of his life and gives us vivid pictures of society in his time, and + especially of the frightful corruption of the royal court. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Pepys's Diary</span>Pepys began life in a small + way as a clerk in a government office, but soon rose by his diligence and + industry to be Secretary of the Admiralty. Here he was brought into + contact with every grade of society, from the king's ministers to the poor + sailors of the fleet. Being inquisitive as a blue jay, he investigated the + rumors and gossip of the court, as well as the small affairs of his + neighbors, and wrote them all down in his diary with evident interest. But + because he chattered most freely, and told his little book a great many + secrets which it were not well for the world to know, he concealed + everything in shorthand,--and here again he was like the blue jay, which + carries off and hides every bright trinket it discovers. The <i>Diary</i> + covers the years from 1660 to 1669, and gossips about everything, from his + own position and duties at the office, his dress and kitchen and cook and + children, to the great political intrigues of office and the scandals of + high society. No other such minute-picture of the daily life of an age has + been written. Yet for a century and a half it remained entirely unknown, + and not until 1825 was Pepys's shorthand deciphered and published. Since + then it has been widely read, and is still one of the most interesting + examples of diary writing that we possess. Following are a few extracts,<sup><a + href="#fn181" name="rfn181" id="rfn181">[181]</a></sup> covering only a + few days in April, 1663, from which one may infer the minute and + interesting character of the work that this clerk, politician, president + of the Royal Society, and general busybody wrote to please himself: + </p> + <p> + April 1st. I went to the Temple to my Cozen Roger Pepys, to see and talk + with him a little: who tells me that, with much ado, the Parliament do + agree to throw down Popery; but he says it is with so much spite and + passion, and an endeavor of bringing all Nonconformists into the same + condition, that he is afeard matters will not go so well as he could + wish.... To my office all the afternoon; Lord! how Sir J. Minnes, like a + mad coxcomb, did swear and stamp, swearing that Commissioner Pett hath + still the old heart against the King that ever he had, ... and all the + damnable reproaches in the world, at which I was ashamed, but said little; + but, upon the whole, I find him still a foole, led by the nose with + stories told by Sir W. Batten, whether with or without reason. So, vexed + in my mind to see things ordered so unlike gentlemen, or men of reason, I + went home and to bed. + </p> + <p> + 3d. To White Hall and to Chappell, which being most monstrous full, I + could not go into my pew, but sat among the quire. Dr. Creeton, the + Scotchman, preached a most admirable, good, learned, honest, and most + severe sermon, yet comicall.... He railed bitterly ever and anon against + John Calvin and his brood, the Presbyterians, and against the present + terme, now in use, of "tender consciences." He ripped up Hugh Peters + (calling him the execrable skellum), his preaching and stirring up the + mayds of the city to bring in their bodkins and thimbles. Thence going out + of White Hall, I met Captain Grove, who did give me a letter directed to + myself from himself. I discerned money to be in it, and took it, knowing, + as I found it to be, the proceed of the place I have got him, the taking + up of vessels for Tangier. But I did not open it till I came home to my + office, and there I broke it open, not looking into it till all the money + was out, that I might say I saw no money in the paper, if ever I should be + questioned about it. There was a piece of gold and 4£ in silver. + </p> + <p> + 4th. To my office. Home to dinner, whither by and by comes Roger Pepys, + etc. Very merry at, before, and after dinner, and the more for that my + dinner was great, and most neatly dressed by our owne only mayde. We had a + fricasee of rabbits and chickens, a leg of mutton boiled, three carps in a + dish, a great dish of a side of lambe, a dish of roasted pigeons, a dish + of four lobsters, three tarts, a lamprey pie (a most rare pie), a dish of + anchovies, good wine of several sorts, and all things mighty noble and to + my great content. + </p> + <p> + 5th (Lord's day). Up and spent the morning, till the Barber came, in + reading in my chamber part of Osborne's Advice to his Son, which I shall + not never enough admire for sense and language, and being by and by + trimmed, to Church, myself, wife, Ashwell, etc. Home and, while dinner was + prepared, to my office to read over my vows with great affection and to + very good purpose. Then to church again, where a simple bawling young Scot + preached. + </p> + <p> + 19th (Easter day). Up and this day put on my close-kneed coloured suit, + which, with new stockings of the colour, with belt and new gilt-handled + sword, is very handsome. To church alone, and after dinner to church + again, where the young Scotchman preaching, I slept all the while. After + supper, fell in discourse of dancing, and I find that Ashwell hath a very + fine carriage, which makes my wife almost ashamed of herself to see + herself so outdone, but to-morrow she begins to learn to dance for a month + or two. So to prayers and to bed. Will being gone, with my leave, to his + father's this day for a day or two, to take physique these holydays. + </p> + <p> + 23d. St. George's day and Coronacion, the King and Court being at Windsor, + at the installing of the King of Denmarke by proxy and the Duke of + Monmouth.... Spent the evening with my father. At cards till late, and + being at supper, my boy being sent for some mustard to a neat's tongue, + the rogue staid half an houre in the streets, it seems at a bonfire, at + which I was very angry, and resolve to beat him to-morrow. + </p> + <p> + 24th. Up betimes, and with my salt eele went down into the parler and + there got my boy and did beat him till I was fain to take breath two or + three times, yet for all I am afeard it will make the boy never the + better, he is grown so hardened in his tricks, which I am sorry for, he + being capable of making a brave man, and is a boy that I and my wife love + very well. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap8g" id="chap8g">Summary of the Restoration Period.</a></b> + The chief thing to note in England during the Restoration is the + tremendous social reaction from the restraints of Puritanism, which + suggests the wide swing of a pendulum from one extreme to the other. For a + generation many natural pleasures had been suppressed; now the theaters + were reopened, bull and bear baiting revived, and sports, music, + dancing,--a wild delight in the pleasures and vanities of this world + replaced that absorption in "other-worldliness" which characterized the + extreme of Puritanism. + </p> + <p> + In literature the change is no less marked. From the Elizabethan drama + playwrights turned to coarse, evil scenes, which presently disgusted the + people and were driven from the stage. From romance, writers turned to + realism; from Italian influence with its exuberance of imagination they + turned to France, and learned to repress the emotions, to follow the head + rather than the heart, and to write in a clear, concise, formal style, + according to set rules. Poets turned from the noble blank verse of + Shakespeare and Milton, from the variety and melody which had + characterized English poetry since Chaucer's day, to the monotonous heroic + couplet with its mechanical perfection. + </p> + <p> + The greatest writer of the age is John Dryden, who established the heroic + couplet as the prevailing verse form in English poetry, and who developed + a new and serviceable prose style suited to the practical needs of the + age. The popular ridicule of Puritanism in burlesque and doggerel is best + exemplified in Butler's <i>Hudibras</i>. The realistic tendency, the study + of facts and of men as they are, is shown in the work of the Royal + Society, in the philosophy of Hobbes and Locke, and in the diaries of + Evelyn and Pepys, with their minute pictures of social life. The age was + one of transition from the exuberance and vigor of Renaissance literature + to the formality and polish of the Augustan Age. In strong contrast with + the preceding ages, comparatively little of Restoration literature is + familiar to modern readers. + </p> + <p> + <b>Selections for Reading</b>. <i>Dryden</i>. Alexander's Feast, Song for + St. Cecilia's Day, selections from Absalom and Achitophel, Religio Laici, + Hind and Panther, Annus Mirabilis,--in Manly's English Poetry, or Ward's + English Poets, or Cassell's National Library; Palamon and Arcite (Dryden's + version of Chaucer's tale), in Standard English Classics, Riverside + Literature, etc.; Dryden's An Essay of Dramatic Poesy, in Manly's, or + Garnett's, English Prose. + </p> + <p> + <i>Butler</i>. Selections from Hudibras, in Manly's English Poetry, Ward's + English Poets, or Morley's Universal Library. + </p> + <p> + <i>Pepys</i>. Selections in Manly's English Prose; the Diary in Everyman's + Library. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap8h" id="chap8h">Bibliography.</a> <i>History</i></b>. <i>Text-book</i>, + Montgomery, pp. 257-280; Cheyney, pp. 466-514; Green, ch. 9; Traill; + Gardiner; Macaulay. + </p> + <p> + <i>Special Works</i>. Sydney's Social Life in England from the Restoration + to the Revolution; Airy's The English Restoration and Louis XIV; Hale's + The Fall of the Stuarts. + </p> + <p> + <b><i>Literature</i></b>. Garnett's The Age of Dryden; Dowden's Puritan + and Anglican. + </p> + <p> + <i>Dryden</i>. Poetical Works, with Life, edited by Christie; the same, + edited by Noyes, in Cambridge Poets Series; Life and Works (18 vols.), by + Walter Scott, revised (1893) by Saintsbury; Essays, edited by Ker; Life, + by Saintsbury (English Men of Letters); Macaulay's Essay; Lowell's Essay, + in Among My Books (or in Literary Essays, vol. 3); Dowden's Essay, <i>supra</i>. + </p> + <p> + <i>Butler</i>. Hudibras, in Morley's Universal Library; Poetical Works, + edited by Johnson; Dowden's Essay, <i>supra</i>. + </p> + <p> + <i>Pepys</i>. Diary in Everyman's Library; the same, edited by Wheatley (8 + vols.); Wheatley's Samuel Pepys and the World He Lived In; Stevenson's + Essay, in Familiar Studies of Men and Books. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Restoration Drama</i>. Plays in the Mermaid Series; Hazlitt's + Lectures on the English Comic Writers; Meredith's Essay on Comedy and the + Comic Spirit; Lamb's Essay on the Artificial Comedy; Thackeray's Essay on + Congreve, in English Humorists. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap8i" id="chap8i">Suggestive Questions</a></b>. 1. What + marked change in social conditions followed the Restoration? How are these + changes reflected in literature? + </p> + <p> + 2. What are the chief characteristics of Restoration literature? Why is + this period called the Age of French influence? What new tendencies were + introduced? What effect did the Royal Society and the study of science + have upon English prose? What is meant by realism? by formalism? + </p> + <p> + 3. What is meant by the heroic couplet? Explain why it became the + prevailing form of English poetry. What are its good qualities and its + defects? Name some well-known poems which are written in couplets. How do + Dryden's couplets compare with Chaucer's? Can you explain the difference? + </p> + <p> + 4. Give a brief account of Dryden's life. What are his chief poetical + works? For what new object did he use poetry? Is satire a poetical + subject? Why is a poetical satire more effective than a satire in prose? + What was Dryden's contribution to English prose? What influence did he + exert on our literature? + </p> + <p> + 5. What is Butler's <i>Hudibras</i>? Explain its popularity. Read a + passage and comment upon it, first, as satire; second, as a description of + the Puritans. Is <i>Hudibras</i> poetry? Why? + </p> + <p> + 6. Name the philosophers and political economists of this period. Can you + explain why Hobbes should call his work <i>Leviathan</i>? What important + American documents show the influence of Locke? + </p> + <p> + 7. Tell briefly the story of Pepys and his <i>Diary</i>. What light does + the latter throw on the life of the age? Is the <i>Diary</i> a work of + literature? Why? + </p> + <table> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <big><a name="chap8j" id="chap8j">CHRONOLOGY</a></big> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <i>Last Half of the Seventeenth Century</i> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2"> + HISTORY + </th> + <th colspan="2"> + LITERATURE + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1649. + </td> + <td> + Execution of Charles I + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1649-1660. + </td> + <td> + Commonwealth + </td> + <td> + 1651. + </td> + <td> + Hobbes's Leviathan + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1660. + </td> + <td> + Restoration of Charles II + </td> + <td> + 1660-1669. + </td> + <td> + Pepys's Diary + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1662. + </td> + <td> + Royal Society founded + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1663. + </td> + <td> + Butler's Hudibras + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1665-1666. + </td> + <td> + Plague and Fire of London + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + War with Holland + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1667. + </td> + <td> + Dutch fleet in the Thames + </td> + <td> + 1667. + </td> + <td> + Milton's Paradise Lost. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Dryden's Annus Mirabilis + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1663-1694. + </td> + <td> + Dryden's dramas + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1671. + </td> + <td> + Paradise Regained + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1678. + </td> + <td> + Pilgrim's Progress + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + published + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1680. + </td> + <td> + Rise of Whigs and Tories + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1681. + </td> + <td> + Dryden's Absalom and + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Achitophel + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1685. + </td> + <td> + James II + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Monmouth's Rebellion + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1687. + </td> + <td> + Newton's Principia + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + proves the law of + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + gravitation + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1688. + </td> + <td> + English Revolution, William of + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Orange called to throne + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1689. + </td> + <td> + Bill of Rights. Toleration Act + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1690. + </td> + <td> + Locke's Human + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Understanding + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1698. + </td> + <td> + Jeremy Collier attacks + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + stage + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1700. + </td> + <td> + Death of Dryden + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr /> + <h1> + <a name="chap9" id="chap9">CHAPTER IX</a> + </h1> + <h3> + <b>EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE (1700-1800)</b> + </h3> + <p> + I. AUGUSTAN OR CLASSIC AGE + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9a" id="chap9a">History of the Period.</a></b> The + Revolution of 1688, which banished the last of the Stuart kings and called + William of Orange to the throne, marks the end of the long struggle for + political freedom in England. Thereafter the Englishman spent his + tremendous energy, which his forbears had largely spent in fighting for + freedom, in endless political discussions and in efforts to improve his + government. In order to bring about reforms, votes were now necessary; and + to get votes the people of England must be approached with ideas, facts, + arguments, information. So the newspaper was born,<sup><a href="#fn182" + name="rfn182" id="rfn182">[182]</a></sup> and literature in its widest + sense, including the book, the newspaper, and the magazine, became the + chief instrument of a nation's progress. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Social Development</span>The first half of the + eighteenth century is remarkable for the rapid social development in + England. Hitherto men had been more or less governed by the narrow, + isolated standards of the Middle Ages, and when they differed they fell + speedily to blows. Now for the first time they set themselves to the task + of learning the art of living together, while still holding different + opinions. In a single generation nearly two thousand public coffeehouses, + each a center of sociability, sprang up in London alone, and the number of + private clubs is quite as astonishing.<sup><a href="#fn183" name="rfn183" + id="rfn183">[183]</a></sup> This new social life had a marked effect in + polishing men's words and manners. The typical Londoner of Queen Anne's + day was still rude, and a little vulgar in his tastes; the city was still + very filthy, the streets unlighted and infested at night by bands of + rowdies and "Mohawks"; but outwardly men sought to refine their manners + according to prevailing standards; and to be elegant, to have "good form," + was a man's first duty, whether he entered society or wrote literature. + One can hardly read a book or poem of the age without feeling this + superficial elegance. Government still had its opposing Tory and Whig + parties, and the Church was divided into Catholics, Anglicans, and + Dissenters; but the growing social life offset many antagonisms, producing + at least the outward impression of peace and unity. Nearly every writer of + the age busied himself with religion as well as with party politics, the + scientist Newton as sincerely as the churchman Barrow, the philosophical + Locke no less earnestly than the evangelical Wesley; but nearly all + tempered their zeal with moderation, and argued from reason and Scripture, + or used delicate satire upon their opponents, instead of denouncing them + as followers of Satan. There were exceptions, of course<i>;</i> but the + general tendency of the age was toward toleration. Man had found himself + in the long struggle for personal liberty; now he turned to the task of + discovering his neighbor, of finding in Whig and Tory, in Catholic and + Protestant, in Anglican and Dissenter, the same general human + characteristics that he found in himself. This good work was helped, + moreover, by the spread of education and by the growth of the national + spfrit, following the victories of Marlborough on the Continent. In the + midst of heated argument it needed only a word--Gibraltar, Blenheim, + Ramillies, Malplaquet--or a poem of victory written in a garret<sup><a + href="#fn184" name="rfn184" id="rfn184">[184]</a></sup> to tell a + patriotic people that under their many differences they were all alike + Englishmen. + </p> + <p> + In the latter half of the century the political and social progress is + almost bewildering. The modern form of cabinet government responsible to + Parliament and the people had been established under George I; and in 1757 + the cynical and corrupt practices of Walpole, premier of the first Tory + cabinet, were replaced by the more enlightened policies of Pitt. Schools + were established; clubs and coffeehouses increased; books and magazines + multiplied until the press was the greatest visible power in England; the + modern great dailies, the <i>Chronicle, Post</i>, and <i>Times</i>, began + their career of public education. Religiously, all the churches of England + felt the quickening power of that tremendous spiritual revival known as + Methodism, under the preaching of Wesley and Whitefield. Outside her own + borders three great men--Clive in India, Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham, + Cook in Australia and the islands of the Pacific--were unfurling the + banner of St. George over the untold wealth of new lands, and spreading + the world-wide empire of the Anglo-Saxons. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> An Age of Prose</span><b><a name="chap9b" + id="chap9b">Literary Characteristics</a></b>. In every preceding age we + have noted especially the poetical works, which constitute, according to + Matthew Arnold, the glory of English literature. Now for the first time we + must chronicle the triumph of English prose. A multitude of practical + interests arising from the new social and political conditions demanded + expression, not simply in books, but more especially in pamphlets, + magazines, and newspapers. Poetry was inadequate for such a task; hence + the development of prose, of the "unfettered word," as Dante calls it,--a + development which astonishes us by its rapidity and excellence. The + graceful elegance of Addison's essays, the terse vigor of Swift's satires, + the artistic finish of Fielding's novels, the sonorous eloquence of + Gibbon's history and of Burke's orations,--these have no parallel in the + poetry of the age. Indeed, poetry itself became prosaic in this respect, + that it was used not for creative works of imagination, but for essays, + for satire, for criticism,--for exactly the same practical ends as was + prose. The poetry of the first half of the century, as typified in the + work of Pope, is polished and witty enough, but artificial; it lacks fire, + fine feeling, enthusiasm, the glow of the Elizabethan Age and the moral + earnestness of Puritanism. In a word, it interests us as a study of life, + rather than delights or inspires us by its appeal to the imagination. The + variety and excellence of prose works, and the development of a + serviceable prose style, which had been begun by Dryden, until it served + to express clearly every human interest and emotion,--these are the chief + literary glories of the eighteenth century. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Satire</span>In the literature of the preceding + age we noted two marked tendencies,--the tendency to realism in + subject-matter, and the tendency to polish and refinement of expression. + Both these tendencies were continued in the Augustan Age, and are seen + clearly in the poetry of Pope, who brought the couplet to perfection, and + in the prose of Addison. A third tendency is shown in the prevalence of + satire, resulting from the unfortunate union of politics with literature. + We have already noted the power of the press in this age, and the + perpetual strife of political parties. Nearly every writer of the first + half of the century was used and rewarded by Whigs or Tories for + satirizing their enemies and for advancing their special political + interests. Pope was a marked exception, but he nevertheless followed the + prose writers in using satire too largely in his poetry. Now satire--that + is, a literary work which searches out the faults of men or institutions + in order to hold them up to ridicule--is at best a destructive kind of + criticism. A satirist is like a laborer who clears away the ruins and + rubbish of an old house before the architect and builders begin on a new + and beautiful structure. The work may sometimes be necessary, but it + rarely arouses our enthusiasm. While the satires of Pope, Swift, and + Addison are doubtless the best in our language, we hardly place them with + our great literature, which is always constructive in spirit; and we have + the feeling that all these men were capable of better things than they + ever wrote. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9c" id="chap9c">The Classic Age</a></b>. The period we are + studying is known to us by various names. It is often called the Age of + Queen Anne; but, unlike Elizabeth, this "meekly stupid" queen had + practically no influence upon our literature. The name Classic Age is more + often heard; but in using it we should remember clearly these three + different ways in which the word "classic" is applied to literature: (1) + the term "classic" refers, in general, to writers of the highest rank in + any nation. As used in our literature, it was first applied to the works + of the great Greek and Roman writers, like Homer and Virgil; and any + English book which followed the simple and noble method of these writers + was said to have a classic style. Later the term was enlarged to cover the + great literary works of other ancient nations; so that the Bible and the + Avestas, as well as the Iliad and the Aeneid, are called classics. (2) + Every national literature has at least one period in which an unusual + number of great writers are producing books, and this is called the + classic period of a nation's literature. Thus the reign of Augustus is the + classic or golden age of Rome; the generation of Dante is the classic age + of Italian literature; the age of Louis XIV is the French classic age; and + the age of Queen Anne is often called the classic age of England. (3) The + word "classic" acquired an entirely different meaning in the period we are + studying; and we shall better understand this by reference to the + preceding ages. The Elizabethan writers were led by patriotism, by + enthusiasm, and, in general, by romantic emotions. They wrote in a natural + style, without regard to rules; and though they exaggerated and used too + many words, their works are delightful because of their vigor and + freshness and fine feeling. In the following age patriotism had largely + disappeared from politics and enthusiasm from literature. Poets no longer + wrote naturally, but artificially, with strange and fantastic verse forms + to give effect, since fine feeling was wanting. And this is the general + character of the poetry of the Puritan Age.<sup><a href="#fn185" + name="rfn185" id="rfn185">[185]</a></sup> Gradually our writers rebelled + against the exaggerations of both the natural and the fantastic style. + They demanded that poetry should follow exact rules; and in this they were + influenced by French writers, especially by Boileau and Rapin, who + insisted on precise methods of writing poetry, and who professed to have + discovered their rules in the classics of Horace and Aristotle. In our + study of the Elizabethan drama we noted the good influence of the classic + movement in insisting upon that beauty of form and definiteness of + expression which characterize the dramas of Greece and Rome; and in the + work of Dryden and his followers we see a revival of classicism in the + effort to make English literature conform to rules established by the + great writers of other nations. At first the results were excellent, + especially in prose; but as the creative vigor of the Elizabethans was + lacking in this age, writing by rule soon developed a kind of elegant + formalism, which suggests the elaborate social code of the time. Just as a + gentleman might not act naturally, but must follow exact rules in doffing + his hat, or addressing a lady, or entering a room, or wearing a wig, or + offering his snuffbox to a friend, so our writers lost individuality and + became formal and artificial. The general tendency of literature was to + look at life critically, to emphasize intellect rather than imagination, + the form rather than the content of a sentence. Writers strove to repress + all emotion and enthusiasm, and to use only precise and elegant methods of + expression. This is what is often meant by the "classicism" of the ages of + Pope and Johnson. It refers to the critical, intellectual spirit of many + writers, to the fine polish of their heroic couplets or the elegance of + their prose, and not to any resemblance which their work bears to true + classic literature. In a word, the classic movement had become + pseudo-classic, i.e. a false or sham classicism; and the latter term is + now often used to designate a considerable part of eighteenth-century + literature.<sup><a href="#fn186" name="rfn186" id="rfn186">[186]</a></sup> + To avoid this critical difficulty we have adopted the term Augustan Age, a + name chosen by the writers themselves, who saw in Pope, Addison, Swift, + Johnson, and Burke the modern parallels to Horace, Virgil, Cicero, and all + that brilliant company who made Roman literature famous in the days of + Augustus. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9d" id="chap9d">ALEXANDER POPE</a> (1688-1744) + </p> + <p> + Pope is in many respects a unique figure. In the first place, he was for a + generation "the poet" of a great nation. To be sure, poetry was limited in + the early eighteenth century; there were few lyrics, little or no love + poetry, no epics, no dramas or songs of nature worth considering; but in + the narrow field of satiric and didactic verse Pope was the undisputed + master. His influence completely dominated the poetry of his age, and many + foreign writers, as well as the majority of English poets, looked to him + as their model. Second, he was a remarkably clear and adequate reflection + of the spirit of the age in which he lived. There is hardly an ideal, a + belief, a doubt, a fashion, a whim of Queen Anne's time, that is not + neatly expressed in his poetry. Third, he was the only important writer of + that age who gave his whole life to letters. Swift was a clergyman and + politician; Addison was secretary of state; other writers depended on + patrons or politics or pensions for fame and a livelihood; but Pope was + independent, and had no profession but literature. And fourth, by the + sheer force of his ambition he won his place, and held it, in spite of + religious prejudice, and in the face of physical and temperamental + obstacles that would have discouraged a stronger man. For Pope was + deformed and sickly, dwarfish in soul and body. He knew little of the + world of nature or of the world of the human heart. He was lacking, + apparently, in noble feeling, and instinctively chose a lie when the truth + had manifestly more advantages. Yet this jealous, peevish, waspish little + man became the most famous poet of his age and the acknowledged leader of + English literature. We record the fact with wonder and admiration; but we + do not attempt to explain it. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. Pope was born in London in 1688, the year of the Revolution. + His parents were both Catholics, who presently removed from London and + settled in Binfield, near Windsor, where the poet's childhood was passed. + Partly because of an unfortunate prejudice against Catholics in the public + schools, partly because of his own weakness and deformity, Pope received + very little school education, but browsed for himself among English books + and picked up a smattering of the classics. Very early he began to write + poetry, and records the fact with his usual vanity: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + As yet a child, nor yet a fool to fame,<br /> I lisped in numbers, for + the numbers came.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Being debarred by his religion from many desirable employments, he + resolved to make literature his life work; and in this he resembled + Dryden, who, he tells us, was his only master, though much of his work + seems to depend on Boileau, the French poet and critic.<sup><a + href="#fn187" name="rfn187" id="rfn187">[187]</a></sup> When only sixteen + years old he had written his "Pastorals"; a few years later appeared his + "Essay on Criticism," which made him famous. With the publication of the + <i>Rape of the Lock</i>, in 1712, Pope's name was known and honored all + over England, and this dwarf of twenty-four years, by the sheer force of + his own ambition, had jumped to the foremost place in English letters. It + was soon after this that Voltaire called him "the best poet of England + and, at present, of all the world,"--which is about as near the truth as + Voltaire generally gets in his numerous universal judgments. For the next + twelve years Pope was busy with poetry, especially with his translations + of Homer; and his work was so successful financially that he bought a + villa at Twickenham, on the Thames, and remained happily independent of + wealthy patrons for a livelihood. + </p> + <p> + Led by his success, Pope returned to London and for a time endeavored to + live the gay and dissolute life which was supposed to be suitable for a + literary genius; but he was utterly unfitted for it, mentally and + physically, and soon retired to Twickenham. There he gave himself up to + poetry, manufactured a little garden more artificial than his verses, and + cultivated his friendship with Martha Blount, with whom for many years he + spent a good part of each day, and who remained faithful to him to the end + of his life. At Twickenham he wrote his <i>Moral Epistles</i> (poetical + satires modeled after Horace) and revenged himself upon all his critics in + the bitter abuse of the <i>Dunciad</i>. He died in 1744 and was buried at + Twickenham, his religion preventing him from the honor, which was + certainly his due, of a resting place in Westminster Abbey. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Pope</b>. For convenience we may separate Pope's work into + three groups, corresponding to the early, middle, and later period of his + life. In the first he wrote his "Pastorals," "Windsor Forest," "Messiah," + "Essay on Criticism," "Eloise to Abelard," and the <i>Rape of the Lock;</i> + in the second, his translations of Homer; in the third the <i>Dunciad</i> + and the <i>Epistles</i>, the latter containing the famous "Essay on Man" + and the "Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot," which is in truth his "Apologia," and + in which alone we see Pope's life from his own view point. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Essay on Criticism</span>The "Essay on Criticism" + sums up the art of poetry as taught first by Horace, then by Boileau and + the eighteenth-century classicists. Though written in heroic couplets, we + hardly consider this as a poem but rather as a storehouse of critical + maxims. "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread"; "To err is human, + to forgive divine"; "A little learning is a dangerous thing,"--these + lines, and many more like them from the same source, have found their way + into our common speech, and are used, without thinking of the author, + whenever we need an apt quotation. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Rape of the Lock</span>The <i>Rape of the Lock</i> + is a masterpiece of its kind, and comes nearer to being a "creation" than + anything else that Pope has written. The occasion of the famous poem was + trivial enough. A fop at the court of Queen Anne, one Lord Petre, snipped + a lock of hair from the abundant curls of a pretty maid of honor named + Arabella Fermor. The young lady resented it, and the two families were + plunged into a quarrel which was the talk of London. Pope, being appealed + to, seized the occasion to construct, not a ballad, as the Cavaliers would + have done, nor an epigram, as French poets love to do, but a long poem in + which all the mannerisms of society are pictured in minutest detail and + satirized with the most delicate wit. The first edition, consisting of two + cantos, was published in 1712; and it is amazing now to read of the + trivial character of London court life at the time when English soldiers + were battling for a great continent in the French and Indian wars. Its + instant success caused Pope to lengthen the poem by three more cantos; and + in order to make a more perfect burlesque of an epic poem, he introduces + gnomes, sprites, sylphs, and salamanders,<sup><a href="#fn188" + name="rfn188" id="rfn188">[188]</a></sup> instead of the gods of the great + epics, with which his readers were familiar. The poem is modeled after two + foreign satires: Boileau's <i>Le Lutrin</i> (reading desk), a satire on + the French clergy, who raised a huge quarrel over the location of a + lectern; and <i>La Secchia Rapita</i> (stolen bucket), a famous Italian + satire on the petty causes of the endless Italian wars. Pope, however, + went far ahead of his masters in style and in delicacy of handling a + mock-heroic theme, and during his lifetime the <i>Rape of the Lock</i> was + considered as the greatest poem of its kind in all literature. The poem is + still well worth reading; for as an expression of the artificial life of + the age--of its cards, parties, toilettes, lapdogs, tea-drinking, + snuff-taking, and idle vanities--it is as perfect in its way as <i>Tamburlaine</i>, + which reflects the boundless ambition of the Elizabethans. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Pope's Translations</span>The fame of Pope's <i>Iliad</i>, + which was financially the most successful of his books, was due to the + fact that he interpreted Homer in the elegant, artificial language of his + own age. Not only do his words follow literary fashions but even the + Homeric characters lose their strength and become fashionable men of the + court. So the criticism of the scholar Bentley was most appropriate when + he said, "It is a pretty poem, Mr. Pope, but you must not call it Homer." + Pope translated the entire <i>Iliad</i> and half of the <i>Odyssey</i>; + and the latter work was finished by two Cambridge scholars, Elijah Fenton + and William Broome, who imitated the mechanical couplets so perfectly that + it is difficult to distinguish their work from that of the greatest poet + of the age. A single selection is given to show how, in the nobler + passages, even Pope may faintly suggest the elemental grandeur of Homer: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + The troops exulting sat in order round,<br /> And beaming fires illumined + all the ground.<br /> As when the moon, refulgent lamp of night,<br /> + O'er Heaven's clear azure spreads her sacred light,<br /> When not a + breath disturbs the deep serene,<br /> And not a cloud o'ercasts the + solemn scene;<br /> Around her throne the vivid planets roll,<br /> And + stars unnumbered gild the glowing pole,<br /> O'er the dark trees a + yellower verdure shed,<br /> And tip with silver every mountain's head.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Essay on Man</span>The "Essay" is the best known + and the most quoted of all Pope's works. Except in form it is not poetry, + and when one considers it as an essay and reduces it to plain prose, it is + found to consist of numerous literary ornaments without any very solid + structure of thought to rest upon. The purpose of the essay is, in Pope's + words, to "vindicate the ways of God to Man"; and as there are no + unanswered problems in Pope's philosophy, the vindication is perfectly + accomplished in four poetical epistles, concerning man's relations to the + universe, to himself, to society, and to happiness. The final result is + summed up in a few well-known lines: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + All nature is but art, unknown to thee;<br /> All chance, direction which + thou canst not see;<br /> All discord, harmony not understood;<br /> All + partial evil, universal good:<br /> And, spite of pride, in erring + reason's spite,<br /> One truth is clear, whatever is, is right.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Like the "Essay on Criticism," the poem abounds in quotable lines, such as + the following, which make the entire work well worth reading: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Hope springs eternal in the human breast:<br /> Man never is, but always + to be blest.<br /> Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;<br /> The + proper study of Mankind is Man.<br /> The same ambition can destroy or + save,<br /> And makes a patriot as it makes a knave.<br /> Honor and shame + from no condition rise;<br /> Act well your part, there all the honor + lies.<br /> Vice is a monster of so frightful + mien,<br /> As, to be hated, needs but to be seen;<br /> Yet seen too oft, + familiar with her face,<br /> We first endure, then pity, then embrace.<br /> + Behold the child, by Nature's kindly law,<br /> + Pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw:<br /> Some livelier + plaything gives his youth delight,<br /> A little louder, but as empty + quite:<br /> Scarfs, garters, gold, amuse his riper stage,<br /> And beads + and prayer books are the toys of age:<br /> Pleased with this bauble + still, as that before;<br /> Till tired he sleeps, and Life's poor play + is o'er.<sup><a href="#fn189" name="rfn189" id="rfn189">[189]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Miscellaneous Works</span><i>The Dunciad</i> + (i.e. the "Iliad of the Dunces") began originally as a controversy + concerning Shakespeare, but turned out to be a coarse and revengeful + satire upon all the literary men of the age who had aroused Pope's anger + by their criticism or lack of appreciation of his genius. Though + brilliantly written and immensely popular at one time, its present effect + on the reader is to arouse a sense of pity that a man of such acknowledged + power and position should abuse both by devoting his talents to personal + spite and petty quarrels. Among the rest of his numerous works the reader + will find Pope's estimate of himself best set forth in his "Epistle to Dr. + Arbuthnot," and it will be well to close our study of this strange mixture + of vanity and greatness with "The Universal Prayer," which shows at least + that Pope had considered, and judged himself, and that all further + judgment is consequently superfluous. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9e" id="chap9e">JONATHAN SWIFT</a> (1667-1745) + </p> + <p> + In each of Marlowe's tragedies we have the picture of a man dominated by a + single passion, the lust of power for its own sake. In each we see that a + powerful man without self-control is like a dangerous instrument in the + hands of a child; and the tragedy ends in the destruction of the man by + the ungoverned power which he possesses. The life of Swift is just such a + living tragedy. He had the power of gaining wealth, like the hero of the + <i>Jew of Malta</i>; yet he used it scornfully, and in sad irony left what + remained to him of a large property to found a hospital for lunatics. By + hard work he won enormous literary power, and used it to satirize our + common humanity. He wrested political power from the hands of the Tories, + and used it to insult the very men who had helped him, and who held his + fate in their hands. By his dominant personality he exercised a curious + power over women, and used it brutally to make them feel their + inferiority. Being loved supremely by two good women, he brought sorrow + and death to both, and endless misery to himself. So his power brought + always tragedy in its wake. It is only when we remember his life of + struggle and disappointment and bitterness that we can appreciate the + personal quality in his satire, and perhaps find some sympathy for this + greatest genius of all the Augustan writers. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el028" id="el028"> <img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: JONATHAN SWIFT" src="images/el028.png" /></a><br /> + JONATHAN SWIFT + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. Swift was born in Dublin, of English parents, in 1667. His + father died before he was born; his mother was poor, and Swift, though + proud as Lucifer, was compelled to accept aid from relatives, who gave it + grudgingly. At the Kilkenny school, and especially at Dublin University, + he detested the curriculum, reading only what appealed to his own nature; + but, since a degree was necessary to his success, he was compelled to + accept it as a favor from the examiners, whom he despised in his heart. + After graduation the only position open to him was with a distant + relative, Sir William Temple, who gave him the position of private + secretary largely on account of the unwelcome relationship. + </p> + <p> + Temple was a statesman and an excellent diplomatist; but he thought + himself to be a great writer as well, and he entered into a literary + controversy concerning the relative merits of the classics and modern + literature. Swift's first notable work, <i>The Battle of the Books</i>, + written at this time but not published, is a keen satire upon both parties + in the controversy. The first touch of bitterness shows itself here; for + Swift was in a galling position for a man of his pride, knowing his + intellectual superiority to the man who employed him, and yet being looked + upon as a servant and eating at the servants' table. Thus he spent ten of + the best years of his life in the pretty Moor Park, Surrey, growing more + bitter each year and steadily cursing his fate. Nevertheless he read and + studied widely, and, after his position with Temple grew unbearable, + quarreled with his patron, took orders, and entered the Church of England. + Some years later we find him settled in the little church of Laracor, + Ireland,--a country which he disliked intensely, but whither he went + because no other "living" was open to him. + </p> + <p> + In Ireland, faithful to his church duties, Swift labored to better the + condition of the unhappy people around him. Never before had the poor of + his parishes been so well cared for; but Swift chafed under his yoke, + growing more and more irritated as he saw small men advanced to large + positions, while he remained unnoticed in a little country + church,--largely because he was too proud and too blunt with those who + might have advanced him. While at Laracor he finished his <i>Tale of a Tub</i>, + a satire on the various churches of the day, which was published in London + with the <i>Battle of the Books</i> in 1704. The work brought him into + notice as the most powerful satirist of the age, and he soon gave up his + church to enter the strife of party politics. The cheap pamphlet was then + the most powerful political weapon known; and as Swift had no equal at + pamphlet writing, he soon became a veritable dictator. For several years, + especially from 1710 to 1713, Swift was one of the most important figures + in London. The Whigs feared the lash of his satire; the Tories feared to + lose his support. He was courted, flattered, cajoled on every side; but + the use he made of his new power is sad to contemplate. An unbearable + arrogance took possession of him. Lords, statesmen, even ladies were + compelled to sue for his favor and to apologize for every fancied slight + to his egoism. It is at this time that he writes in his <i>Journal to + Stella:</i> + </p> + <p> + Mr. Secretary told me the Duke of Buckingham had been talking much about + me and desired my acquaintance. I answered it could not be, for he had not + yet made sufficient advances; then Shrewsbury said he thought the Duke was + not used to make advances. I said I could not help that, for I always + expected advances in proportion to men's quality, and more from a Duke + than any other man. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el029" id="el029"> <img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN" src="images/el029.png" /> </a><br /> + TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN + </p> + <p> + Writing to the Duchess of Queensberry he says: + </p> + <p> + I am glad you know your duty; for it has been a known and established rule + above twenty years in England that the first advances have been constantly + made me by all ladies who aspire to my acquaintance, and the greater their + quality the greater were their advances. + </p> + <p> + When the Tories went out of power Swift's position became uncertain. He + expected and had probably been promised a bishopric in England, with a + seat among the peers of the realm; but the Tories offered him instead the + place of dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. It was galling to a + man of his proud spirit; but after his merciless satire on religion, in <i>The + Tale of a Tub</i>, any ecclesiastical position in England was rendered + impossible. Dublin was the best he could get, and he accepted it bitterly, + once more cursing the fate which he had brought upon himself. + </p> + <p> + With his return to Ireland begins the last act in the tragedy of his life. + His best known literary work, <i>Gulliver's Travels</i>, was done here; + but the bitterness of life grew slowly to insanity, and a frightful + personal sorrow, of which he never spoke, reached its climax in the death + of Esther Johnson, a beautiful young woman, who had loved Swift ever since + the two had met in Temple's household, and to whom he had written his <i>Journal + to Stella</i>. During the last years of his life a brain disease, of which + he had shown frequent symptoms, fastened its terrible hold upon Swift, and + he became by turns an idiot and a madman. He died in 1745, and when his + will was opened it was found that he had left all his property to found + St. Patrick's Asylum for lunatics and incurables. It stands to-day as the + most suggestive monument of his peculiar genius. + </p> + <p> + <b>The Works of Swift</b>. From Swift's life one can readily foresee the + kind of literature he will produce. Taken together his works are a + monstrous satire on humanity; and the spirit of that satire is shown + clearly in a little incident of his first days in London. There was in the + city at that time a certain astrologer named Partridge, who duped the + public by calculating nativities from the stars, and by selling a yearly + almanac predicting future events. Swift, who hated all shams, wrote, with + a great show of learning, his famous <i>Bickerstaff Almanac</i>, + containing "Predictions for the Year 1708, as Determined by the Unerring + Stars." As Swift rarely signed his name to any literary work, letting it + stand or fall on its own merits, his burlesque appeared over the pseudonym + of Isaac Bickerstaff, a name afterwards made famous by Steele in <i>The + Tatler</i>. Among the predictions was the following: + </p> + <p> + My first prediction is but a trifle; yet I will mention it to show how + ignorant those sottish pretenders to astrology are in their own concerns: + it relates to Partridge the almanack maker; I have consulted the star of + his nativity by my own rules, and find he will infallibly die upon the + 29th of March next, about eleven at night, of a raging fever; therefore I + advise him to consider of it, and settle his affairs in time. + </p> + <p> + On March 30, the day after the prediction was to be fulfilled, there + appeared in the newspapers a letter from a revenue officer giving the + details of Partridge's death, with the doings of the bailiff and the + coffin maker; and on the following morning appeared an elaborate "Elegy of + Mr. Partridge." When poor Partridge, who suddenly found himself without + customers, published a denial of the burial, Swift answered with an + elaborate "Vindication of Isaac Bickerstaff," in which he proved by + astrological rules that Partridge was dead, and that the man now in his + place was an impostor trying to cheat the heirs out of their inheritance. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Character of Swift's Satire</span>This ferocious + joke is suggestive of all Swift's satires. Against any case of hypocrisy + or injustice he sets up a remedy of precisely the same kind, only more + atrocious, and defends his plan with such seriousness that the satire + overwhelms the reader with a sense of monstrous falsity. Thus his solemn + "Argument to prove that the Abolishing of Christianity may be attended + with Some Inconveniences" is such a frightful satire upon the abuses of + Christianity by its professed followers that it is impossible for us to + say whether Swift intended to point out needed reforms, or to satisfy his + conscience,<sup><a href="#fn190" name="rfn190" id="rfn190">[190]</a></sup> + or to perpetrate a joke on the Church, as he had done on poor Partridge. + So also with his "Modest Proposal," concerning the children of Ireland, + which sets up the proposition that poor Irish farmers ought to raise + children as dainties, to be eaten, like roast pigs, on the tables of + prosperous Englishmen. In this most characteristic work it is impossible + to find Swift or his motive. The injustice under which Ireland suffered, + her perversity in raising large families to certain poverty, and the + indifference of English politicians to her suffering and protests are all + mercilessly portrayed; but why? That is still the unanswered problem of + Swift's life and writings. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Tale of a Tub</span>Swift's two greatest satires + are his <i>Tale of a Tub</i> and <i>Gulliver's Travels</i>. The <i>Tale</i> + began as a grim exposure of the alleged weaknesses of three principal + forms of religious belief, Catholic, Lutheran, and Calvinist, as opposed + to the Anglican; but it ended in a satire upon all science and philosophy. + </p> + <p> + Swift explains his whimsical title by the custom of mariners in throwing + out a tub to a whale, in order to occupy the monster's attention and + divert it from an attack upon the ship,--which only proves how little + Swift knew of whales or sailors. But let that pass. His book is a tub + thrown out to the enemies of Church and State to keep them occupied from + further attacks or criticism; and the substance of the argument is that + all churches, and indeed all religion and science and statesmanship, are + arrant hypocrisy. The best known part of the book is the allegory of the + old man who died and left a coat (which is Christian Truth) to each of his + three sons, Peter, Martin, and Jack, with minute directions for its care + and use. These three names stand for Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists; + and the way in which the sons evade their father's will and change the + fashion of their garment is part of the bitter satire upon all religious + sects. Though it professes to defend the Anglican Church, that institution + fares perhaps worse than the others; for nothing is left to her but a thin + cloak of custom under which to hide her alleged hypocrisy. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Gulliver's Travels</span>In <i>Gulliver's Travels</i> + the satire grows more unbearable. Strangely enough, this book, upon which + Swift's literary fame generally rests, was not written from any literary + motive, but rather as an outlet for the author's own bitterness against + fate and human society. It is still read with pleasure, as <i>Robinson + Crusoe</i> is read, for the interesting adventures of the hero; and + fortunately those who read it generally overlook its degrading influence + and motive. + </p> + <p> + <i>Gulliver's Travels</i> records the pretended four voyages of one Lemuel + Gulliver, and his adventures in four astounding countries. The first book + tells of his voyage and shipwreck in Lilliput, where the inhabitants are + about as tall as one's thumb, and all their acts and motives are on the + same dwarfish scale. In the petty quarrels of these dwarfs we are supposed + to see the littleness of humanity. The statesmen who obtain place and + favor by cutting monkey capers on the tight rope before their sovereign, + and the two great parties, the Littleendians and Bigendians, who plunge + the country into civil war over the momentous question of whether an egg + should be broken on its big or on its little end, are satires on the + politics of Swift's own day and generation. The style is simple and + convincing; the surprising situations and adventures are as absorbing as + those of Defoe's masterpiece; and altogether it is the most interesting of + Swift's satires. + </p> + <p> + On the second voyage Gulliver is abandoned in Brobdingnag, where the + inhabitants are giants, and everything is done upon an enormous scale. The + meanness of humanity seems all the more detestable in view of the + greatness of these superior beings. When Gulliver tells about his own + people, their ambitions and wars and conquests, the giants can only wonder + that such great venom could exist in such little insects. + </p> + <p> + In the third voyage Gulliver continues his adventures in Laputa, and this + is a satire upon all the scientists and philosophers. Laputa is a flying + island, held up in the air by a loadstone; and all the professors of the + famous academy at Lagado are of the same airy constitution. The + philosopher who worked eight years to extract sunshine from cucumbers is + typical of Swift's satiric treatment of all scientific problems. It is in + this voyage that we hear of the Struldbrugs, a ghastly race of men who are + doomed to live upon earth after losing hope and the desire for life. The + picture is all the more terrible in view of the last years of Swift's own + life, in which he was compelled to live on, a burden to himself and his + friends. + </p> + <p> + In these three voyages the evident purpose is to strip off the veil of + habit and custom, with which men deceive themselves, and show the crude + vices of humanity as Swift fancies he sees them. In the fourth voyage the + merciless satire is carried out to its logical conclusion. This brings us + to the land of the Houyhnhnms, in which horses, superior and intelligent + creatures, are the ruling animals. All our interest, however, is centered + on the Yahoos, a frightful race, having the form and appearance of men, + but living in unspeakable degradation. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Miscellaneous Works</span>The <i>Journal to + Stella</i>, written chiefly in the years 1710-1713 for the benefit of + Esther Johnson, is interesting to us for two reasons. It is, first, an + excellent commentary on contemporary characters and political events, by + one of the most powerful and original minds of the age; and second, in its + love passages and purely personal descriptions it gives us the best + picture we possess of Swift himself at the summit of his power and + influence. As we read now its words of tenderness for the woman who loved + him, and who brought almost the only ray of sunlight into his life, we can + only wonder and be silent. Entirely different are his <i>Drapier's Letters</i>, + a model of political harangue and of popular argument, which roused an + unthinking English public and did much benefit to Ireland by preventing + the politicians' plan of debasing the Irish coinage. Swift's poems, though + vigorous and original (like Defoe's, of the same period), are generally + satirical, often coarse, and seldom rise above doggerel. Unlike his friend + Addison, Swift saw, in the growing polish and decency of society, only a + mask for hypocrisy; and he often used his verse to shock the new-born + modesty by pointing out some native ugliness which his diseased mind + discovered under every beautiful exterior. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Character of Swift's Prose</span>That Swift is + the most original writer of his time, and one of the greatest masters of + English prose, is undeniable. Directness, vigor, simplicity, mark every + page. Among writers of that age he stands almost alone in his disdain of + literary effects. Keeping his object steadily before him, he drives + straight on to the end, with a convincing power that has never been + surpassed in our language. Even in his most grotesque creations, the + reader never loses the sense of reality, of being present as an eyewitness + of the most impossible events, so powerful and convincing is Swift's + prose. Defoe had the same power; but in writing <i>Robinson Crusoe</i>, + for instance, his task was comparatively easy, since his hero and his + adventures were both natural; while Swift gives reality to pygmies, + giants, and the most impossible situations, as easily as if he were + writing of facts. Notwithstanding these excellent qualities, the ordinary + reader will do well to confine himself to <i>Gulliver's Travels</i> and a + book of well-chosen selections. For, it must be confessed, the bulk of + Swift's work is not wholesome reading. It is too terribly satiric and + destructive; it emphasizes the faults and failings of humanity; and so + runs counter to the general course of our literature, which from Cynewulf + to Tennyson follows the Ideal, as Merlin followed the Gleam,<sup><a + href="#fn191" name="rfn191" id="rfn191">[191]</a></sup> and is not + satisfied till the hidden beauty of man's soul and the divine purpose of + his struggle are manifest. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9f" id="chap9f">JOSEPH ADDISON</a> (1672-1719) + </p> + <p> + In the pleasant art of living with one's fellows, Addison is easily a + master. It is due to his perfect expression of that art, of that new + social life which, as we have noted, was characteristic of the Age of + Anne, that Addison occupies such a large place in the history of + literature. Of less power and originality than Swift, he nevertheless + wields, and deserves to wield, a more lasting influence. Swift is the + storm, roaring against the ice and frost of the late spring of English + life. Addison is the sunshine, which melts the ice and dries the mud and + makes the earth thrill with light and hope. Like Swift, he despised shams, + but unlike him, he never lost faith in humanity; and in all his satires + there is a gentle kindliness which makes one think better of his + fellow-men, even while he laughs at their little vanities. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el030" id="el030"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: JOSEPH ADDISON" src="images/el030.png" /></a><br /> + JOSEPH ADDISON + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Addison's Influence</span>Two things Addison did + for our literature which are of inestimable value. First, he overcame a + certain corrupt tendency bequeathed by Restoration literature. It was the + apparent aim of the low drama, and even of much of the poetry of that age, + to make virtue ridiculous and vice attractive. Addison set himself + squarely against this unworthy tendency. To strip off the mask of vice, to + show its ugliness and deformity, but to reveal virtue in its own native + loveliness,--that was Addison's purpose; and he succeeded so well that + never, since his day, has our English literature seriously followed after + false gods. As Macaulay says, "So effectually did he retort on vice the + mockery which had recently been directed against virtue, that since his + time the open violation of decency has always been considered amongst us a + sure mark of a fool." And second, prompted and aided by the more original + genius of his friend Steele, Addison seized upon the new social life of + the clubs and made it the subject of endless pleasant essays upon types of + men and manners. <i>The Tatler</i> and <i>The Spectator</i> are the + beginning of the modern essay; and their studies of human character, as + exemplified in Sir Roger de Coverley, are a preparation for the modern + novel. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. Addison's life, like his writings, is in marked contrast to + that of Swift. He was born in Milston, Wiltshire, in 1672. His father was + a scholarly English clergyman, and all his life Addison followed naturally + the quiet and cultured ways to which he was early accustomed. At the + famous Charterhouse School, in London, and in his university life at + Oxford, he excelled in character and scholarship and became known as a + writer of graceful verses. He had some intention, at one time, of entering + the Church, but was easily persuaded by his friends to take up the + government service instead. Unlike Swift, who abused his political + superiors, Addison took the more tactful way of winning the friendship of + men in large places. His lines to Dryden won that literary leader's + instant favor, and one of his Latin poems, "The Peace of Ryswick" (1697), + with its kindly appreciation of King William's statesmen, brought him into + favorable political notice. It brought him also a pension of three hundred + pounds a year, with a suggestion that he travel abroad and cultivate the + art of diplomacy; which he promptly did to his own great advantage. + </p> + <p> + From a literary view point the most interesting work of Addison's early + life is his <i>Account of the Greatest English Poets</i> (1693), written + while he was a fellow of Oxford University. One rubs his eyes to find + Dryden lavishly praised, Spenser excused or patronized, while Shakespeare + is not even mentioned. But Addison was writing under Boileau's "classic" + rules; and the poet, like the age, was perhaps too artificial to + appreciate natural genius. + </p> + <p> + While he was traveling abroad, the death of William and the loss of power + by the Whigs suddenly stopped Addison's pension; necessity brought him + home, and for a time he lived in poverty and obscurity. Then occurred the + battle of Blenheim, and in the effort to find a poet to celebrate the + event, Addison was brought to the Tories' attention. His poem, "The + Campaign," celebrating the victory, took the country by storm. Instead of + making the hero slay his thousands and ten thousands, like the old epic + heroes, Addison had some sense of what is required in a modern general, + and so made Marlborough direct the battle from the outside, comparing him + to an angel riding on the whirlwind: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + 'T was then great Marlbro's mighty soul was proved,<br /> That, in the + shock of charging hosts unmoved,<br /> Amidst confusion, horror, and + despair,<br /> Examined all the dreadful scenes of war;<br /> In peaceful + thought the field of death surveyed,<br /> To fainting squadrons sent the + timely aid,<br /> Inspired repulsed battalions to engage,<br /> And taught + the doubtful battle where to rage.<br /> So when an angel by divine + command<br /> With rising tempests shakes a guilty land,<br /> (Such as of + late o'er pale Britannia past,)<br /> Calm and serene he drives the + furious blast;<br /> And, pleased th' Almighty's orders to perform,<br /> + Rides in the whirlwind, and directs the storm.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + That one doubtful simile made Addison's fortune. Never before or since was + a poet's mechanical work so well rewarded. It was called the finest thing + ever written, and from that day Addison rose steadily in political favor + and office. He became in turn Undersecretary, member of Parliament, + Secretary for Ireland, and finally Secretary of State. Probably no other + literary man, aided by his pen alone, ever rose so rapidly and so high in + office. + </p> + <p> + The rest of Addison's life was divided between political duties and + literature. His essays for the <i>Tatler</i> and <i>Spectator</i>, which + we still cherish, were written between 1709 and 1714; but he won more + literary fame by his classic tragedy <i>Cato</i>, which we have almost + forgotten. In 1716 he married a widow, the Countess of Warwick, and went + to live at her home, the famous Holland House. His married life lasted + only three years, and was probably not a happy one. Certainly he never + wrote of women except with gentle satire, and he became more and more a + clubman, spending most of his time in the clubs and coffeehouses of + London. Up to this time his life had been singularly peaceful; but his + last years were shadowed by quarrels, first with Pope, then with Swift, + and finally with his lifelong friend Steele. The first quarrel was on + literary grounds, and was largely the result of Pope's jealousy. The + latter's venomous caricature of Addison as Atticus shows how he took his + petty revenge on a great and good man who had been his friend. The other + quarrels with Swift, and especially with his old friend Steele, were the + unfortunate result of political differences, and show how impossible it is + to mingle literary ideals with party politics. He died serenely in 1719. A + brief description from Thackeray's <i>English Humorists</i> is his best + epitaph: + </p> + <p> + A life prosperous and beautiful, a calm death; an immense fame and + affection afterwards for his happy and spotless name. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Essays</span><b>Works of Addison.</b> The + most enduring of Addison's works are his famous <i>Essays</i>, collected + from the <i>Tatler</i> and <i>Spectator. </i> We have spoken of him as a + master of the art of gentle living, and these essays are a perpetual + inducement to others to know and to practice the same fine art. To an age + of fundamental coarseness and artificiality he came with a wholesome + message of refinement and simplicity, much as Ruskin and Arnold spoke to a + later age of materialism; only Addison's success was greater than theirs + because of his greater knowledge of life and his greater faith in men. He + attacks all the little vanities and all the big vices of his time, not in + Swift's terrible way, which makes us feel hopeless of humanity, but with a + kindly ridicule and gentle humor which takes speedy improvement for + granted. To read Swift's brutal "Letters to a Young Lady," and then to + read Addison's "Dissection of a Beau's Head" and his "Dissection of a + Coquette's Heart," is to know at once the secret of the latter's more + enduring influence. + </p> + <p> + Three other results of these delightful essays are worthy of attention: + first, they are the best picture we possess of the new social life of + England, with its many new interests; second, they advanced the art of + literary criticism to a much higher stage than it had ever before reached, + and however much we differ from their judgment and their interpretation of + such a man as Milton, they certainly led Englishmen to a better knowledge + and appreciation of their own literature; and finally, in Ned Softly the + literary dabbler, Will Wimble the poor relation, Sir Andrew Freeport the + merchant, Will Honeycomb the fop, and Sir Roger the country gentleman, + they give us characters that live forever as part of that goodly company + which extends from Chaucer's country parson to Kipling's Mulvaney. Addison + and Steele not only introduced the modern essay, but in such characters as + these they herald the dawn of the modern novel. Of all his essays the best + known and loved are those which introduce us to Sir Roger de Coverley, the + genial dictator of life and manners in the quiet English country. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Addison's Style</span>In style these essays are + remarkable as showing the growing perfection of the English language. + Johnson says, "Whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not + coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to + the volumes of Addison." And again he says, "Give nights and days, sir, to + the study of Addison if you mean to be a good writer, or, what is more + worth, an honest man." That was good criticism for its day, and even at + the present time critics are agreed that Addison's <i>Essays</i> are well + worth reading once for their own sake, and many times for their influence + in shaping a clear and graceful style of writing. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Poems</span>Addison's poems, which were + enormously popular in his day, are now seldom read. His <i>Cato</i>, with + its classic unities and lack of dramatic power, must be regarded as a + failure, if we study it as tragedy; but it offers an excellent example of + the rhetoric and fine sentiment which were then considered the essentials + of good writing. The best scene from this tragedy is in the fifth act, + where Cato soliloquizes, with Plato's <i>Immortality of the Soul</i> open + in his hand, and a drawn sword on the table before him: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + It must be so--Plato, thou reason'st well!--<br /> Else whence this + pleasing hope, this fond desire,<br /> This longing after immortality?<br /> + Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror,<br /> Of falling into + nought? why shrinks the soul<br /> Back on herself, and startles at + destruction?<br /> 'Tis the divinity that stirs within us;<br /> 'Tis + heaven itself, that points out an hereafter,<br /> And intimates eternity + to man.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Many readers make frequent use of one portion of Addison's poetry without + knowing to whom they are indebted. His devout nature found expression in + many hymns, a few of which are still used and loved in our churches. Many + a congregation thrills, as Thackeray did, to the splendid sweep of his + "God in Nature," beginning, "The spacious firmament on high." Almost as + well known and loved are his "Traveler's Hymn," and his "Continued Help," + beginning, "When all thy mercies, O my God." The latter hymn--written in a + storm at sea off the Italian coast, when the captain and crew were + demoralized by terror--shows that poetry, especially a good hymn that one + can sing in the same spirit as one would say his prayers, is sometimes the + most practical and helpful thing in the world. + </p> + <p> + <b>Richard Steele</b> (1672-1729). Steele was in almost every respect the + antithesis of his friend and fellow-worker,--a rollicking, good-hearted, + emotional, lovable Irishman. At the Charterhouse School and at Oxford he + shared everything with Addison, asking nothing but love in return. Unlike + Addison, he studied but little, and left the university to enter the Horse + Guards. He was in turn soldier, captain, poet, playwright, essayist, + member of Parliament, manager of a theater, publisher of a newspaper, and + twenty other things,--all of which he began joyously and then abandoned, + sometimes against his will, as when he was expelled from Parliament, and + again because some other interest of the moment had more attraction. His + poems and plays are now little known; but the reader who searches them out + will find one or two suggestive things about Steele himself. For instance, + he loves children; and he is one of the few writers of his time who show a + sincere and unswerving respect for womanhood. Even more than Addison he + ridicules vice and makes virtue lovely. He is the originator of the <i>Tatler</i>, + and joins with Addison in creating the <i>Spectator</i>,--the two + periodicals which, in the short space of less than four years, did more to + influence subsequent literature than all other magazines of the century + combined. Moreover, he is the original genius of Sir Roger, and of many + other characters and essays for which Addison usually receives the whole + credit. It is often impossible in the <i>Tatler</i> essays to separate the + work of the two men; but the majority of critics hold that the more + original parts, the characters, the thought, the overflowing kindliness, + are largely Steele's creation; while to Addison fell the work of polishing + and perfecting the essays, and of adding that touch of humor which made + them the most welcome literary visitors that England had ever received. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9g" id="chap9g">The Tatler and The Spectator.</a></b> On + account of his talent in writing political pamphlets, Steele was awarded + the position of official gazetteer. While in this position, and writing + for several small newspapers, the idea occurred to Steele to publish a + paper which should contain not only the political news, but also the + gossip of the clubs and coffeehouses, with some light essays on the life + and manners of the age. The immediate result--for Steele never let an idea + remain idle--was the famous <i>Tatler</i>, the first number of which + appeared April 12, 1709. It was a small folio sheet, appearing on post + days, three times a week, and it sold for a penny a copy. That it had a + serious purpose is evident from this dedication to the first volume of + collected <i>Tatler</i> essays: + </p> + <p> + The general purpose of this paper is to expose the false arts of life, to + pull off the disguises of cunning, vanity, and affectation, and to + recommend a general simplicity in our dress, our discourse, and our + behavior. + </p> + <p> + The success of this unheard-of combination of news, gossip, and essay was + instantaneous. Not a club or a coffeehouse in London could afford to be + without it, and over it's pages began the first general interest in + contemporary English life as expressed in literature. Steele at first + wrote the entire paper and signed his essays with the name of Isaac + Bickerstaff, which had been made famous by Swift a few years before. + Addison is said to have soon recognized one of his own remarks to Steele, + and the secret of the Authorship was out. From that time Addison was a + regular contributor, and occasionally other writers added essays on the + new social life of England.<sup><a href="#fn192" name="rfn192" id="rfn192">[192]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + Steele lost his position as gazetteer, and the <i>Tatler</i> was + discontinued after less than two years' life, but not till it won an + astonishing popularity and made ready the way for its successor. Two + months later, on March 1, 1711, appeared the first number of the <i>Spectator</i>. + In the new magazine politics and news, as such, were ignored; it was a + literary magazine, pure and simple, and its entire contents consisted of a + single light essay. It was considered a crazy venture at the time, but its + instant success proved that men were eager for some literary expression of + the new social ideals. The following whimsical letter to the editor may + serve to indicate the part played by the <i>Spectator</i> in the daily + life of London: + </p> + <p> + Mr. Spectator,--Your paper is a part of my tea equipage; and my servant + knows my humor so well, that in calling for my breakfast this morning (it + being past my usual hour) she answered, the <i>Spectator</i> was not yet + come in, but the teakettle boiled, and she expected it every moment. + </p> + <p> + It is in the incomparable <i>Spectator</i> papers that Addison shows + himself most "worthy to be remembered." He contributed the majority of its + essays, and in its first number appears this description of the Spectator, + by which name Addison is now generally known: + </p> + <p> + There is no place of general resort wherein I do not often make my + appearance; sometimes I am seen thrusting my head into a round of + politicians at Will's [Coffeehouse] and listening with great attention to + the narratives that are made in those little circular audiences. Sometimes + I smoke a pipe at Child's, and, whilst I seem attentive to nothing but <i>The + Postman</i>, overhear the conversation of every table in the room. I + appear on Sunday nights at St. James's, and sometimes join the little + committee of politics in the inner room, as one who comes to hear and + improve. My face is likewise very well known at the Grecian, the Cocoa + Tree, and in the theaters both of Drury Lane and the Haymarket. I have + been taken for a merchant upon the Exchange for above these ten years; and + sometimes pass for a Jew in the assembly of stock jobbers at + Jonathan's.... Thus I live in the world rather as a spectator of mankind + than as one of the species,... which is the character I intend to preserve + in this paper. + </p> + <p> + The large place which these two little magazines hold in our literature + seems most disproportionate to their short span of days. In the short + space of four years in which Addison and Steele worked together the light + essay was established as one of the most important forms of modern + literature, and the literary magazine won its place as the expression of + the social life of a nation. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9h" id="chap9h">SAMUEL JOHNSON</a> (1709-1784) + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:20%;"> + <img src="images/{8323}.jpg" alt="{8323} " width="100%" /> <br /> <a + href="images/{8323}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </div> + <p> + The reader of Boswell's <i>Johnson</i>, after listening to endless + grumblings and watching the clumsy actions of the hero, often finds + himself wondering why he should end his reading with a profound respect + for this "old bear" who is the object of Boswell's groveling attention. + Here is a man who was certainly not the greatest writer of his age, + perhaps not even a great writer at all, but who was nevertheless the + dictator of English letters, and who still looms across the centuries of a + magnificent literature as its most striking and original figure. Here, + moreover, is a huge, fat, awkward man, of vulgar manners and appearance, + who monopolizes conversation, argues violently, abuses everybody, clubs + down opposition,--"Madam" (speaking to his cultivated hostess at table), + "talk no more nonsense"; "Sir" (turning to a distinguished guest), "I + perceive you are a vile Whig." While talking he makes curious animal + sounds, "sometimes giving a half whistle, sometimes clucking like a hen"; + and when he has concluded a violent dispute and laid his opponents low by + dogmatism or ridicule, he leans back to "blow out his breath like a whale" + and gulp down numberless cups of hot tea. Yet this curious dictator of an + elegant age was a veritable lion, much sought after by society; and around + him in his own poor house gathered the foremost artists, scholars, actors, + and literary men of London,--all honoring the man, loving him, and + listening to his dogmatism as the Greeks listened to the voice of their + oracle. + </p> + <p> + What is the secret of this astounding spectacle? If the reader turns + naturally to Johnson's works for an explanation, he will be disappointed. + Reading his verses, we find nothing to delight or inspire us, but rather + gloom and pessimism, with a few moral observations in rimed couplets: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + But, scarce observed, the knowing and the bold<br /> Fall in the general + massacre of gold;<br /> Wide-wasting pest! that rages unconfined,<br /> + And crowds with crimes the records of mankind;<br /> For gold his sword + the hireling ruffian draws,<br /> For gold the hireling judge distorts + the laws;<br /> Wealth heaped on wealth nor truth nor safety buys;<br /> + The dangers gather as the treasures rise.<sup><a href="#fn193" + name="rfn193" id="rfn193">[193]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + That is excellent common sense, but it is not poetry; and it is not + necessary to hunt through Johnson's bulky volumes for the information, + since any moralist can give us offhand the same doctrine. As for his <i>Rambler</i> + essays, once so successful, though we marvel at the big words, the + carefully balanced sentences, the classical allusions, one might as well + try to get interested in an old-fashioned, three-hour sermon. We read a + few pages listlessly, yawn, and go to bed. + </p> + <p> + Since the man's work fails to account for his leadership and influence, we + examine his personality; and here everything is interesting. Because of a + few oft-quoted passages from Boswell's biography, Johnson appears to us as + an eccentric bear, who amuses us by his growlings and clumsy antics. But + there is another Johnson, a brave, patient, kindly, religious soul, who, + as Goldsmith said, had "nothing of the bear but his skin"; a man who + battled like a hero against poverty and pain and melancholy and the awful + fear of death, and who overcame them manfully. "<i>That trouble passed + away; so will this,</i>" sang the sorrowing Deor in the first old + Anglo-Saxon lyric; and that expresses the great and suffering spirit of + Johnson, who in the face of enormous obstacles never lost faith in God or + in himself. Though he was a reactionary in politics, upholding the + arbitrary power of kings and opposing the growing liberty of the people, + yet his political theories, like his manners, were no deeper than his + skin; for in all London there was none more kind to the wretched, and none + more ready to extend an open hand to every struggling man and woman who + crossed his path. When he passed poor homeless Arabs sleeping in the + streets he would slip a coin into their hands, in order that they might + have a happy awakening; for he himself knew well what it meant to be + hungry. Such was Johnson,--a "mass of genuine manhood," as Carlyle called + him, and as such, men loved and honored him.<sup><a href="#fn194" + name="rfn194" id="rfn194">[194]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + Life of Johnson. Johnson was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, in 1709. He + was the son of a small bookseller, a poor man, but intelligent and fond of + literature, as booksellers invariably were in the good days when every + town had its bookshop. From his childhood Johnson had to struggle against + physical deformity and disease and the consequent disinclination to hard + work. He prepared for the university, partly in the schools, but largely + by omnivorous reading in his father's shop, and when he entered Oxford he + had read more classical authors than had most of the graduates. Before + finishing his course he had to leave the university on account of his + poverty, and at once he began his long struggle as a hack writer to earn + his living. + </p> + <p> + At twenty-five years he married a woman old enough to be his mother,--a + genuine love match, he called it,--and with her dowry of £800 they started + a private school together, which was a dismal failure. Then, without money + or influential friends, he left his home and wife in Lichfield and tramped + to London, accompanied only by David Garrick, afterwards the famous actor, + who had been one of his pupils. Here, led by old associations, Johnson + made himself known to the booksellers, and now and then earned a penny by + writing prefaces, reviews, and translations. + </p> + <p> + It was a dog's life, indeed, that he led there with his literary brethren. + Many of the writers of the day, who are ridiculed in Pope's heartless <i>Dunciad</i>, + having no wealthy patrons to support them, lived largely in the streets + and taverns, sleeping on an ash heap or under a wharf, like rats; glad of + a crust, and happy over a single meal which enabled them to work for a + while without the reminder of hunger. A few favored ones lived in wretched + lodgings in Grub Street, which has since become a synonym for the fortunes + of struggling writers.<sup><a href="#fn195" name="rfn195" id="rfn195">[195]</a></sup> + Often, Johnson tells us, he walked the streets all night long, in dreary + weather, when it was too cold to sleep, without food or shelter. But he + wrote steadily for the booksellers and for the <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i>, + and presently he became known in London and received enough work to earn a + bare living. + </p> + <p> + The works which occasioned this small success were his poem, "London," and + his <i>Life of the Poet Savage</i>, a wretched life, at best, which were + perhaps better left without a biographer. But his success was genuine, + though small, and presently the booksellers of London are coming to him to + ask him to write a dictionary of the English language. It was an enormous + work, taking nearly eight years of his time, and long before he had + finished it he had eaten up the money which he received for his labor. In + the leisure intervals of this work he wrote "The Vanity of Human Wishes" + and other poems, and finished his classic tragedy of <i>Irene</i>. + </p> + <p> + Led by the great success of the <i>Spectator</i>, Johnson started two + magazines, <i>The Rambler</i> (1750--1752) and <i>The Idler</i> + (1758--1760). Later the <i>Rambler</i> essays were published in book form + and ran rapidly through ten editions; but the financial returns were + small, and Johnson spent a large part of his earnings in charity. When his + mother died, in 1759, Johnson, although one of the best known men in + London, had no money, and hurriedly finished <i>Rasselas</i>, his only + romance, in order, it is said, to pay for his mother's burial. + </p> + <p> + It was not till 1762, when Johnson was fifty-three years old, that his + literary labors were rewarded in the usual way by royalty, and he received + from George III a yearly pension of three hundred pounds. Then began a + little sunshine in his life. With Joshua Reynolds, the artist, he founded + the famous Literary Club, of which Burke, Pitt, Fox, Gibbon, Goldsmith, + and indeed all the great literary men and politicians of the time, were + members. This is the period of Johnson's famous conversations, which were + caught in minutest detail by Boswell and given to the world. His idea of + conversation, as shown in a hundred places in Boswell, is to overcome your + adversary at any cost; to knock him down by arguments, or, when these + fail, by personal ridicule; to dogmatize on every possible question, + pronounce a few oracles, and then desist with the air of victory. + Concerning the philosopher Hume's view of death he says: "Sir, if he + really thinks so, his perceptions are disturbed, he is mad. If he does not + think so, he lies." Exit opposition. There is nothing more to be said. + Curiously enough, it is often the palpable blunders of these monologues + that now attract us, as if we were enjoying a good joke at the dictator's + expense. Once a lady asked him, "Dr. Johnson, why did you define <i>pastern</i> + as the knee of a horse?" "Ignorance, madame, pure ignorance," thundered + the great authority. + </p> + <p> + When seventy years of age, Johnson was visited by several booksellers of + the city, who were about to bring out a new edition of the English poets, + and who wanted Johnson, as the leading literary man of London, to write + the prefaces to the several volumes. The result was his <i>Lives of the + Poets</i>, as it is now known, and this is his last literary work. He died + in his poor Fleet Street house, in 1784, and was buried among England's + honored poets in Westminster Abbey. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The English Dictionary</span><b>Johnson's Works.</b> + "A book," says Dr. Johnson, "should help us either to enjoy life or to + endure it." Judged by this standard, one is puzzled what to recommend + among Johnson's numerous books. The two things which belong among the + things "worthy to be remembered" are his <i>Dictionary</i> and his <i>Lives + of the Poets</i>, though both these are valuable, not as literature, but + rather as a study of literature. The <i>Dictionary</i>, as the first + ambitious attempt at an English lexicon, is extremely valuable, + notwithstanding the fact that his derivations are often faulty, and that + he frequently exercises his humor or prejudice in his curious definitions. + In defining "oats," for example, as a grain given in England to horses and + in Scotland to the people, he indulges his prejudice against the Scotch, + whom he never understood, just as, in his definition of "pension," he + takes occasion to rap the writers who had flattered their patrons since + the days of Elizabeth; though he afterwards accepted a comfortable pension + for himself. With characteristic honesty he refused to alter his + definition in subsequent editions of the <i>Dictionary</i>. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Lives of the Poets</span>The <i>Lives of the + Poets</i> are the simplest and most readable of his literary works. For + ten years before beginning these biographies he had given himself up to + conversation, and the ponderous style of his <i>Rambler</i> essays here + gives way to a lighter and more natural expression. As criticisms they are + often misleading, giving praise to artificial poets, like Cowley and Pope, + and doing scant justice or abundant injustice to nobler poets like Gray + and Milton; and they are not to be compared with those found in Thomas + Warton's <i>History of English Poetry</i>, which was published in the same + generation. As biographies, however, they are excellent reading, and we + owe to them some of our best known pictures of the early English poets. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Poems and Essays</span>Of Johnson's poems the + reader will have enough if he glance over "The Vanity of Human Wishes." + His only story, <i>Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia</i>, is a matter of + rhetoric rather than of romance, but is interesting still to the reader + who wants to hear Johnson's personal views of society, philosophy, and + religion. Any one of his <i>Essays</i>, like that on "Reading," or "The + Pernicious Effects of Revery," will be enough to acquaint the reader with + the Johnsonese style, which was once much admired and copied by orators, + but which happily has been replaced by a more natural way of speaking. + Most of his works, it must be confessed, are rather tiresome. It is not to + his books, but rather to the picture of the man himself, as given by + Boswell, that Johnson owes his great place in our literature. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9i" id="chap9i">BOSWELL'S "LIFE OF JOHNSON"</a></b> + </p> + <p> + In James Boswell (1740-1795) we have another extraordinary figure,--a + shallow little Scotch barrister, who trots about like a dog at the heels + of his big master, frantic at a caress and groveling at a cuff, and + abundantly contented if only he can be near him and record his oracles. + All his life long Boswell's one ambition seems to have been to shine in + the reflected glory of great men, and his chief task to record their + sayings and doings. When he came to London, at twenty-two years of age, + Johnson, then at the beginning of his great fame, was to this insatiable + little glory-seeker like a Silver Doctor to a hungry trout. He sought an + introduction as a man seeks gold, haunted every place where Johnson + declaimed, until in Davies's bookstore the supreme opportunity came. This + is his record of the great event: + </p> + <p> + I was much agitated [says Boswell] and recollecting his prejudice against + the Scotch, of which I had heard much, I said to Davies, "Don't tell him + where I come from." "From Scotland," cried Davies roguishly. "Mr. + Johnson," said I, "I do indeed come from Scotland, but I cannot help + it."... "That, sir" [cried Johnson], "I find is what a very great many of + your countrymen cannot help." This stroke stunned me a good deal; and when + we had sat down I felt myself not a little embarrassed, and apprehensive + of what might come next. + </p> + <p> + Then for several years, with a persistency that no rebuffs could abate, + and with a thick skin that no amount of ridicule could render sensitive, + he follows Johnson; forces his way into the Literary Club, where he is not + welcome, in order to be near his idol; carries him off on a visit to the + Hebrides; talks with him on every possible occasion; and, when he is not + invited to a feast, waits outside the house or tavern in order to walk + home with his master in the thick fog of the early morning. And the moment + the oracle is out of sight and in bed, Boswell patters home to record in + detail all that he has seen and heard. It is to his minute record that we + owe our only perfect picture of a great man; all his vanity as well as his + greatness, his prejudices, superstitions, and even the details of his + personal appearance: + </p> + <p> + There is the gigantic body, the huge face seamed with the scars of + disease, the brown coat, the black worsted stockings, the gray wig with + the scorched foretop, the dirty hands, the nails bitten and pared to the + quick. We see the eyes and mouth moving with convulsive twitches; we see + the heavy form rolling; we hear it puffing; and then comes the "Why, sir!" + and the "What then, sir?" and the "No, sir!" and the "You don't see your + way through the question, sir!"<sup><a href="#fn196" name="rfn196" + id="rfn196">[196]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + To Boswell's record we are indebted also for our knowledge of those famous + conversations, those wordy, knockdown battles, which made Johnson famous + in his time and which still move us to wonder. Here is a specimen + conversation, taken almost at random from a hundred such in Boswell's + incomparable biography. After listening to Johnson's prejudice against + Scotland, and his dogmatic utterances on Voltaire, Robertson, and twenty + others, an unfortunate theorist brings up a recent essay on the possible + future life of brutes, quoting some possible authority from the sacred + scriptures: + </p> + <p> + Johnson, who did not like to hear anything concerning a future state which + was not authorized by the regular canons of orthodoxy, discouraged this + talk; and being offended at its continuation, he watched an opportunity to + give the gentleman a blow of reprehension. So when the poor speculatist, + with a serious, metaphysical, pensive face, addressed him, "But really, + sir, when we see a very sensible dog, we don't know what to think of him"; + Johnson, rolling with joy at the thought which beamed in his eye, turned + quickly round and replied, "True, sir; and when we see a very <i>foolish + fellow</i>, we don't know what to think of <i>him</i>." He then rose up, + strided to the fire, and stood for some time laughing and exulting. + </p> + <p> + Then the oracle proceeds to talk of scorpions and natural history, denying + facts, and demanding proofs which nobody could possibly furnish: + </p> + <p> + He seemed pleased to talk of natural philosophy. "That woodcocks," said + he, "fly over the northern countries is proved, because they have been + observed at sea. Swallows certainly sleep all the winter. A number of them + conglobulate together by flying round and round, and then all in a heap + throw themselves under water and lie in the bed of a river." He told us + one of his first essays was a Latin poem upon the glowworm: I am sorry I + did not ask where it was to be found. + </p> + <p> + Then follows an astonishing array of subjects and opinions. He catalogues + libraries, settles affairs in China, pronounces judgment on men who marry + women superior to themselves, flouts popular liberty, hammers Swift + unmercifully, and adds a few miscellaneous oracles, most of which are + about as reliable as his knowledge of the hibernation of swallows. + </p> + <p> + When I called upon Dr. Johnson next morning I found him highly satisfied + with his colloquial prowess the preceding evening. "Well," said he, "we + had good talk." "Yes, sir" [says I], "you tossed and gored several + persons." + </p> + <p> + Far from resenting this curious mental dictatorship, his auditors never + seem to weary. They hang upon his words, praise him, flatter him, repeat + his judgments all over London the next day, and return in the evening + hungry for more. Whenever the conversation begins to flag, Boswell is like + a woman with a parrot, or like a man with a dancing bear. He must excite + the creature, make him talk or dance for the edification of the company. + He sidles obsequiously towards his hero and, with utter irrelevancy, + propounds a question of theology, a social theory, a fashion of dress or + marriage, a philosophical conundrum: "Do you think, sir, that natural + affections are born with us?" or, "Sir, if you were shut up in a castle + and a newborn babe with you, what would you do?" Then follow more + Johnsonian laws, judgments, oracles; the insatiable audience clusters + around him and applauds; while Boswell listens, with shining face, and + presently goes home to write the wonder down. It is an astonishing + spectacle; one does not know whether to laugh or grieve over it. But we + know the man, and the audience, almost as well as if we had been there; + and that, unconsciously, is the superb art of this matchless biographer. + </p> + <p> + When Johnson died the opportunity came for which Boswell had been watching + and waiting some twenty years. He would shine in the world now, not by + reflection, but by his own luminosity. He gathered together his endless + notes and records, and began to write his biography; but he did not hurry. + Several biographies of Johnson appeared, in the four years after his + death, without disturbing Boswell's perfect complacency. After seven + years' labor he gave the world his <i>Life of Johnson</i>. It is an + immortal work; praise is superfluous; it must be read to be appreciated. + Like the Greek sculptors, the little slave produced a more enduring work + than the great master. The man who reads it will know Johnson as he knows + no other man who dwells across the border; and he will lack sensitiveness, + indeed, if he lay down the work without a greater love and appreciation of + all good literature. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9j" id="chap9j">Later Augustan Writers.</a></b> With + Johnson, who succeeded Dryden and Pope in the chief place of English + letters, the classic movement had largely spent its force; and the latter + half of the eighteenth century gives us an imposing array of writers who + differ so widely that it is almost impossible to classify them. In + general, three schools of writers are noticeable: first, the classicists, + who, under Johnson's lead, insisted upon elegance and regularity of style; + second, the romantic poets, like Collins, Gray, Thomson, and Burns, who + revolted from Pope's artificial couplets and wrote of nature and the human + heart<sup><a href="#fn197" name="rfn197" id="rfn197">[197]</a></sup>; + third, the early novelists, like Defoe and Fielding, who introduced a new + type of literature. The romantic poets and the novelists are reserved for + special chapters; and of the other writers--Berkeley and Hume in + philosophy; Robertson, Hume, and Gibbon in history; Chesterfield and Lady + Montagu in letter writing; Adam Smith in economics; Pitt, Burke, Fox, and + a score of lesser writers in politics--we select only two, Burke and + Gibbon, whose works are most typical of the Augustan, i.e. the elegant, + classic style of prose writing. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9k" id="chap9k">EDMUND BURKE</a> (1729--1797) + </p> + <p> + To read all of Burke's collected works, and so to understand him + thoroughly, is something of a task. Few are equal to it. On the other + hand, to read selections here and there, as most of us do, is to get a + wrong idea of the man and to join either in fulsome praise of his + brilliant oratory, or in honest confession that his periods are ponderous + and his ideas often buried under Johnsonian verbiage. Such are the + contrasts to be found on successive pages of Burke's twelve volumes, which + cover the enormous range of the political and economic thought of the age, + and which mingle fact and fancy, philosophy, statistics, and brilliant + flights of the imagination, to a degree never before seen in English + literature. For Burke belongs in spirit to the new romantic school, while + in style he is a model for the formal classicists. We can only glance at + the life of this marvelous Irishman, and then consider his place in our + literature. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Burke was born in Dublin, the son of an Irish barrister, in + 1729. After his university course in Trinity College he came to London to + study law, but soon gave up the idea to follow literature, which in turn + led him to politics. He had the soul, the imagination of a poet, and the + law was only a clog to his progress. His two first works, <i>A Vindication + of Natural Society</i> and <i>The Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and + the Beautiful</i>, brought him political as well as literary recognition, + and several small offices were in turn given to him. When thirty-six years + old he was elected to Parliament as member from Wendover; and for the next + thirty years he was the foremost figure in the House of Commons and the + most eloquent orator which that body has ever known. Pure and + incorruptible in his politics as in his personal life, no more learned or + devoted servant of the Commonwealth ever pleaded for justice and human + liberty. He was at the summit of his influence at the time when the + colonies were struggling for independence; and the fact that he championed + their cause in one of his greatest speeches, "On Conciliation with + America," gives him an added interest in the eyes of American readers. His + championship of America is all the more remarkable from the fact that, in + other matters, Burke was far from liberal. He set himself squarely against + the teachings of the romantic writers, who were enthusiastic over the + French Revolution; he denounced the principles of the Revolutionists, + broke with the liberal Whig party to join the Tories, and was largely + instrumental in bringing on the terrible war with France, which resulted + in the downfall of Napoleon. + </p> + <p> + It is good to remember that, in all the strife and bitterness of party + politics, Burke held steadily to the noblest personal ideals of truth and + honesty; and that in all his work, whether opposing the slave trade, or + pleading for justice for America, or protecting the poor natives of India + from the greed of corporations, or setting himself against the popular + sympathy for France in her desperate struggle, he aimed solely at the + welfare of humanity. When he retired on a pension in 1794, he had won, and + he deserved, the gratitude and affection of the whole nation. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works.</b> There are three distinctly marked periods in Burke's career, + and these correspond closely to the years in which he was busied with the + affairs of America, India, and France successively. The first period was + one of prophecy. He had studied the history and temper of the American + colonies, and he warned England of the disaster which must follow her + persistence in ignoring the American demands, and especially the American + spirit. His great speeches, "On American Taxation" and "On Conciliation + with America," were delivered in 1774 and 1775, preceding the Declaration + of Independence. In this period Burke's labor seemed all in vain; he lost + his cause, and England her greatest colony. + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> + <img src="images/{0335}.jpg" alt="{0335}" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <h5> + <a href="images/{0335}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </h5> + <p> + The second period is one of denunciation rather than of prophecy. England + had won India; but when Burke studied the methods of her victory and + understood the soulless way in which millions of poor natives were made to + serve the interests of an English monopoly, his soul rose in revolt, and + again he was the champion of an oppressed people. His two greatest + speeches of this period are "The Nabob of Arcot's Debts" and his + tremendous "Impeachment of Warren Hastings." Again he apparently lost his + cause, though he was still fighting on the side of right. Hastings was + acquitted, and the spoliation of India went on; but the seeds of reform + were sown, and grew and bore fruit long after Burke's labors were ended. + </p> + <p> + The third period is, curiously enough, one of reaction. Whether because + the horrors of the French Revolution had frightened him with the danger of + popular liberty, or because his own advance in office and power had made + him side unconsciously with the upper classes, is unknown. That he was as + sincere and noble now as in all his previous life is not questioned. He + broke with the liberal Whigs and joined forces with the reactionary + Tories. He opposed the romantic writers, who were on fire with enthusiasm + over the French Revolution, and thundered against the dangers which the + revolutionary spirit must breed, forgetting that it was a revolution which + had made modern England possible. Here, where we must judge him to have + been mistaken in his cause, he succeeded for the first time. It was due + largely to Burke's influence that the growing sympathy for the French + people was checked in England, and war was declared, which ended in the + frightful victories of Trafalgar and Waterloo. + </p> + <p> + Burke's best known work of this period is his <i>Reflections on the French + Revolution</i>, which he polished and revised again Essay on and again + before it was finally printed. This ambitious literary essay, though it + met with remarkable success, is a disappointment to the reader. Though of + Celtic blood, Burke did not understand the French, or the principles for + which the common people were fighting in their own way<sup><a href="#fn198" + name="rfn198" id="rfn198">[198]</a></sup>; and his denunciations and + apostrophes to France suggest a preacher without humor, hammering away at + sinners who are not present in his congregation. The essay has few + illuminating ideas, but a great deal of Johnsonian rhetoric, which make + its periods tiresome, notwithstanding our admiration for the brilliancy of + its author. More significant is one of Burke's first essays, <i>A + Philosophical Inquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and + Beautiful</i>, which is sometimes read in order to show the contrast in + style with Addison's <i>Spectator</i> essays on the "Pleasures of the + Imagination." + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Burke's Orations</span>Burke's best known + speeches, "On Conciliation with America," "American Taxation," and the + "Impeachment of Warren Hastings," are still much studied in our schools as + models of English prose; and this fact tends to give them an exaggerated + literary importance. Viewed purely as literature, they have faults enough; + and the first of these, so characteristic of the Classic Age, is that they + abound in fine rhetoric but lack simplicity.<sup><a href="#fn199" + name="rfn199" id="rfn199">[199]</a></sup> In a strict sense, these + eloquent speeches are not literature, to delight the reader and to suggest + ideas, but studies in rhetoric and in mental concentration. All this, + however, is on the surface. A careful study of any of these three famous + speeches reveals certain admirable qualities which account for the + important place they are given in the study of English. First, as showing + the stateliness and the rhetorical power of our language, these speeches + are almost unrivaled. Second, though Burke speaks in prose, he is + essentially a poet, whose imagery, like that of Milton's prose works, is + more remarkable than that of many of our writers of verse. He speaks in + figures, images, symbols; and the musical cadence of his sentences + reflects the influence of his wide reading of poetry. Not only in + figurative expression, but much more in spirit, he belongs with the poets + of the revival. At times his language is pseudo-classic, reflecting the + influence of Johnson and his school; but his thought is always romantic; + he is governed by ideal rather than by practical interests, and a profound + sympathy for humanity is perhaps his most marked characteristic. + </p> + <p> + Third, the supreme object of these orations, so different from the + majority of political speeches, is not to win approval or to gain votes, + but to establish the truth. Like our own Lincoln, Burke had a superb faith + in the compelling power of the truth, a faith in men also, who, if the + history of our race means anything, will not willingly follow a lie. The + methods of these two great leaders are strikingly similar in this respect, + that each repeats his idea in many ways, presenting the truth from + different view points, so that it will appeal to men of widely different + experiences. Otherwise the two men are in marked contrast. The uneducated + Lincoln speaks in simple, homely words, draws his illustrations from the + farm, and often adds a humorous story, so apt and "telling" that his + hearers can never forget the point of his argument. The scholarly Burke + speaks in ornate, majestic periods, and searches all history and all + literature for his illustrations. His wealth of imagery and allusions, + together with his rare combination of poetic and logical reasoning, make + these orations remarkable, entirely apart from their subject and purpose. + </p> + <p> + Fourth (and perhaps most significant of the man and his work), Burke takes + his stand squarely upon the principle of justice. He has studied history, + and he finds that to establish justice, between man and man and between + nation and nation, has been the supreme object of every reformer since the + world began. No small or merely temporary success attracts him; only the + truth will suffice for an argument; and nothing less than justice will + ever settle a question permanently. Such is his platform, simple as the + Golden Rule, unshakable as the moral law. Hence, though he apparently + fails of his immediate desire in each of these three orations, the + principle for which he contends cannot fail. As a modern writer says of + Lincoln, "The full, rich flood of his life through the nation's pulse is + yet beating"; and his words are still potent in shaping the course of + English politics in the way of justice. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9l" id="chap9l">EDWARD GIBBON</a> (1737-1794) + </p> + <p> + To understand Burke or Johnson, one must read a multitude of books and be + wary in his judgment; but with Gibbon the task is comparatively easy, for + one has only to consider two books, his <i>Memoirs</i> and the first + volume of his <i>History</i>, to understand the author. In his <i>Memoirs</i> + we have an interesting reflection of Gibbon's own personality,--a man who + looks with satisfaction on the material side of things, who seeks always + the easiest path for himself, and avoids life's difficulties and + responsibilities. "I sighed as a lover; but I obeyed as a son," he says, + when, to save his inheritance, he gave up the woman he loved and came home + to enjoy the paternal loaves and fishes. That is suggestive of the man's + whole life. His <i>History</i>, on the other hand, is a remarkable work. + It was the first in our language to be written on scientific principles, + and with a solid basis of fact; and the style is the very climax of that + classicism which had ruled England for an entire century. Its combination + of historical fact and literary style makes <i>The Decline and Fall of the + Roman Empire</i> the one thing of Gibbon's life that is "worthy to be + remembered." + </p> + <p> + <b>Gibbon's History.</b> For many years Gibbon had meditated, like Milton, + upon an immortal work, and had tried several historical subjects, only to + give them up idly. In his <i>Journal</i> he tells us how his vague + resolutions were brought to a focus: + </p> + <p> + It was at Rome, on the fifteenth of October, 1764, as I sat musing amidst + the ruins of the Capitol, while the barefooted friars were singing vespers + in the Temple of Jupiter, that the idea of writing the decline and fall of + the city first started to my mind. + </p> + <p> + Twelve years later, in 1776, Gibbon published the first volume of <i>The + Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire;</i> and the enormous success of the + work encouraged him to go on with the other five volumes, which were + published at intervals during the next twelve years. The History begins + with the reign of Trajan, in A.D. 98, and "builds a straight Roman road" + through the confused histories of thirteen centuries, ending with the fall + of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. The scope of the History is enormous. It + includes not only the decline of the Roman Empire, but such movements as + the descent of the northern barbarians, the spread of Christianity, the + reorganization of the European nations, the establishment of the great + Eastern Empire, the rise of Mohammedanism, and the splendor of the + Crusades. On the one hand it lacks philosophical insight, being satisfied + with facts without comprehending the causes; and, as Gibbon seems lacking + in ability to understand spiritual and religious movements, it is utterly + inadequate in its treatment of the tremendous influence of Christianity. + On the other hand, Gibbon's scholarship leaves little to criticise; he + read enormously, sifted his facts out of multitudes of books and records, + and then marshaled them in the imposing array with which we have grown + familiar. Moreover, he is singularly just and discriminating in the use of + all documents and authorities at his command. Hence he has given us the + first history in English that has borne successfully the test of modern + research and scholarship. + </p> + <p> + The style of the work is as imposing as his great subject. Indeed, with + almost any other subject the sonorous roll of his majestic sentences would + be out of place. While it deserves all the adjectives that have been + applied to it by enthusiastic admirers,--finished, elegant, splendid, + rounded, massive, sonorous, copious, elaborate, ornate, exhaustive,--it + must be confessed, though one whispers the confession, that the style + sometimes obscures our interest in the narrative. As he sifted his facts + from a multitude of sources, so he often hides them again in endless + periods, and one must often sift them out again in order to be quite sure + of even the simple facts. Another drawback is that Gibbon is hopelessly + worldly in his point of view; he loves pageants and crowds rather than + individuals, and he is lacking in enthusiasm and in spiritual insight. The + result is so frankly material at times that one wonders if he is not + reading of forces or machines, rather than of human beings. A little + reading of his History here and there is an excellent thing, leaving one + impressed with the elegant classical style and the scholarship; but a + continued reading is very apt to leave us longing for simplicity, for + naturalness, and, above all, for the glow of enthusiasm which makes the + dead heroes live once more in the written pages. + </p> + <p> + This judgment, however, must not obscure the fact that the book had a + remarkably large sale; and that this, of itself, is an evidence that + multitudes of readers found it not only erudite, but readable and + interesting. + </p> + <p> + II. <a name="chap9m" id="chap9m">THE REVIVAL OF ROMANTIC POETRY</a> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + The old order changeth, yielding place to new;<br /> + And God fulfills Himself in many ways,<br /> + Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.<br /> + Tennyson's + "The Passing of Arthur."<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b>The Meaning of Romanticism</b>. While Dryden, Pope, and Johnson were + successively the dictators of English letters, and while, under their + leadership, the heroic couplet became the fashion of poetry, and + literature in general became satiric or critical in spirit, and formal in + expression, a new romantic movement quietly made its appearance. Thomson's + <i>The Seasons</i> (1730) was the first noteworthy poem of the romantic + revival; and the poems and the poets increased steadily in number and + importance till, in the age of Wordsworth and Scott, the spirit of + Romanticism dominated our literature more completely than Classicism had + ever done. This romantic movement--which Victor Hugo calls "liberalism in + literature"--is simply the expression of life as seen by imagination, + rather than by prosaic "common sense," which was the central doctrine of + English philosophy in the eighteenth century. It has six prominent + characteristics which distinguish it from the so-called classic literature + which we have just studied: + </p> + <p> + 1. The romantic movement was marked, and is always marked, by a strong + reaction and protest against the bondage of rule and custom, which, in + science and theology, as well as in literature, generally tend to fetter + the free human spirit. + </p> + <p> + 2. Romanticism returned to nature and to plain humanity for its material, + and so is in marked contrast to Classicism, which had confined itself + largely to the clubs and drawing-rooms, and to the social and political + life of London. Thomson's <i>Seasons</i>, whatever its defects, was a + revelation of the natural wealth and beauty which, for nearly a century, + had been hardly noticed by the great writers of England. + </p> + <p> + 3. It brought again the dream of a golden age<sup><a href="#fn200" + name="rfn200" id="rfn200">[200]</a></sup> in which the stern realities of + life were forgotten and the ideals of youth were established as the only + permanent realities. "For the dreamer lives forever, but the toiler dies + in a day," expresses, perhaps, only the wild fancy of a modern poet; but, + when we think of it seriously, the dreams and ideals of a people are + cherished possessions long after their stone monuments have crumbled away + and their battles are forgotten. The romantic movement emphasized these + eternal ideals of youth, and appealed to the human heart as the classic + elegance of Dryden and Pope could never do. + </p> + <p> + 4. Romanticism was marked by intense human sympathy, and by a consequent + understanding of the human heart. Not to intellect or to science does the + heart unlock its treasures, but rather to the touch of a sympathetic + nature; and things that are hidden from the wise and prudent are revealed + unto children. Pope had no appreciable humanity; Swift's work is a + frightful satire; Addison delighted polite society, but had no message for + plain people; while even Johnson, with all his kindness, had no feeling + for men in the mass, but supported Sir Robert Walpole in his policy of + letting evils alone until forced by a revolution to take notice of + humanity's appeal. With the romantic revival all this was changed. While + Howard was working heroically for prison reform, and Wilberforce for the + liberation of the slaves, Gray wrote his "short and simple annals of the + poor," and Goldsmith his <i>Deserted Village</i>, and Cowper sang, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + My + ear is pained,<br /> My soul is sick with every day's report<br /> Of + wrong and outrage with which earth is filled.<br /> There is no flesh in + man's obdurate heart,<br /> It does not feel for man.<sup><a href="#fn201" + name="rfn201" id="rfn201">[201]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + This sympathy for the poor, and this cry against oppression, grew stronger + and stronger till it culminated in "Bobby" Burns, who, more than any other + writer in any language, is the poet of the unlettered human heart. + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:20%;"> + <img src="images/{8359}.jpg" alt="{8359} " width="100%" /> <br /> <a + href="images/{8359}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </div> + <p> + 5. The romantic movement was the expression of individual genius rather + than of established rules. In consequence, the literature of the revival + is as varied as the characters and moods of the different writers. When we + read Pope, for instance, we have a general impression of sameness, as if + all his polished poems were made in the same machine; but in the work of + the best romanticists there is endless variety. To read them is like + passing through a new village, meeting a score of different human types, + and finding in each one something to love or to remember. Nature and the + heart of man are as new as if we had never studied them. Hence, in reading + the romanticists, who went to these sources for their material, we are + seldom wearied but often surprised; and the surprise is like that of the + sunrise, or the sea, which always offers some new beauty and stirs us + deeply, as if we had never seen it before. + </p> + <p> + 6. The romantic movement, while it followed its own genius, was not + altogether unguided. Strictly speaking, there is no new movement either in + history or in literature; each grows out of some good thing which has + preceded it, and looks back with reverence to past masters. Spenser, + Shakespeare, and Milton were the inspiration of the romantic revival; and + we can hardly read a poem of the early romanticists without finding a + suggestion of the influence of one of these great leaders.<sup><a + href="#fn202" name="rfn202" id="rfn202">[202]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + There are various other characteristics of Romanticism, but these six--the + protest against the bondage of rules, the return to nature and the human + heart, the interest in old sagas and mediæval romances as suggestive + of a heroic age, the sympathy for the toilers of the world, the emphasis + upon individual genius, and the return to Milton and the Elizabethans, + instead of to Pope and Dryden, for literary models--are the most + noticeable and the most interesting. Remembering them, we shall better + appreciate the work of the following writers who, in varying degree, + illustrate the revival of romantic poetry in the eighteenth century. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9n" id="chap9n">THOMAS GRAY</a> (1716-1771) + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + The curfew tolls the knell of parting day;<br /> The lowing herd wind + slowly o'er the lea;<br /> The plowman homeward plods his weary way,<br /> + And leaves the world to darkness and to me.<br /> Now fades the + glimmering landscape on the sight,<br /> And all the air a solemn + stillness holds,<br /> Save where the beetle wheels his droning flight,<br /> + And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + So begins "the best known poem in the English language," a poem full of + the gentle melancholy which marks all early romantic poetry. It should be + read entire, as a perfect model of its kind. Not even Milton's "Il + Penseroso," which it strongly suggests, excels it in beauty and + suggestiveness. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life of Gray.</b> The author of the famous "Elegy" is the most + scholarly and well-balanced of all the early romantic poets. In his youth + he was a weakling, the only one of twelve children who survived infancy; + and his unhappy childhood, the tyranny of his father, and the separation + from his loved mother, gave to his whole life the stamp of melancholy + which is noticeable in all his poems. At the famous Eton school and again + at Cambridge, he seems to have followed his own scholarly tastes rather + than the curriculum, and was shocked, like Gibbon, at the general idleness + and aimlessness of university life. One happy result of his school life + was his friendship for Horace Walpole, who took him abroad for a three + years' tour of the Continent. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el033" id="el033"><img width="50%" alt="Illustration: THOMAS GRAY" + src="images/el033.jpg" /></a><br /> THOMAS GRAY + </p> + <p> + No better index of the essential difference between the classical and the + new romantic school can be imagined than that which is revealed in the + letters of Gray and Addison, as they record their impressions of foreign + travel. Thus, when Addison crossed the Alps, some twenty-five years + before, in good weather, he wrote: "A very troublesome journey.... You + cannot imagine how I am pleased with the sight of a plain." Gray crossed + the Alps in the beginning of winter, "wrapped in muffs, hoods and masks of + beaver, fur boots, and bearskins," but wrote ecstatically, "Not a + precipice, not a torrent, not a cliff but is pregnant with religion and + poetry." + </p> + <p> + On his return to England, Gray lived for a short time at Stoke Poges, + where he wrote his "Ode on Eton," and probably sketched his "Elegy," + which, however, was not finished till 1750, eight years later. During the + latter years of his shy and scholarly life he was Professor of Modern + History and Languages at Cambridge, without any troublesome work of + lecturing to students. Here he gave himself up to study and to poetry, + varying his work by "prowlings" among the manuscripts of the new British + Museum, and by his "Lilliputian" travels in England and Scotland. He died + in his rooms at Pembroke College in 1771, and was buried in the little + churchyard of Stoke Poges. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el034" id="el034"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: CHURCH AT STOKE POGES" src="images/el034.png" /></a><br /> + CHURCH AT STOKE POGES + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Gray.</b> Gray's <i>Letters</i>, published in 1775, are + excellent reading, and his <i>Journal</i> is still a model of natural + description; but it is to a single small volume of poems that he owes his + fame and his place in literature. These poems divide themselves naturally + into three periods, in which we may trace the progress of Gray's + emancipation from the classic rules which had so long governed English + literature. In the first period he wrote several minor poems, of which the + best are his "Hymn to Adversity" and the odes "To Spring" and "On a + Distant Prospect of Eton College." These early poems reveal two suggestive + things: first, the appearance of that melancholy which characterizes all + the poetry of the period; and second, the study of nature, not for its own + beauty or truth, but rather as a suitable background for the play of human + emotions. + </p> + <p> + The second period shows the same tendencies more strongly developed. The + "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" (1750), the most perfect poem of + the age, belongs to this period. To read Milton's "Il Penseroso" and + Gray's "Elegy" is to see the beginning and the perfection of that + "literature of melancholy" which largely occupied English poets for more + than a century. Two other well-known poems of this second period are the + Pindaric odes, "The Progress of Poesy" and "The Bard." The first is + strongly suggestive of Dryden's "Alexander's Feast," but shows Milton's + influence in a greater melody and variety of expression. "The Bard" is, in + every way, more romantic and original. An old minstrel, the last of the + Welsh singers, halts King Edward and his army in a wild mountain pass, and + with fine poetic frenzy prophesies the terror and desolation which must + ever follow the tyrant. From its first line, "Ruin seize thee, ruthless + King!" to the end, when the old bard plunges from his lofty crag and + disappears in the river's flood, the poem thrills with the fire of an + ancient and noble race of men. It breaks absolutely with the classical + school and proclaims a literary declaration of independence. + </p> + <p> + In the third period Gray turns momentarily from his Welsh material and + reveals a new field of romantic interest in two Norse poems, "The Fatal + Sisters" and "The Descent of Odin" (1761). Gray translated his material + from the Latin, and though these two poems lack much of the elemental + strength and grandeur of the Norse sagas, they are remarkable for calling + attention to the unused wealth of literary material that was hidden in + Northern mythologv. To Gray and to Percy (who published his <i>Northern + Antiquities</i> in 1770) is due in large measure the profound interest in + the old Norse sagas which has continued to our own day. + </p> + <p> + Taken together, Gray's works form a most interesting commentary on the + varied life of the eighteenth century. He was a scholar, familiar with all + the intellectual interests of his age, and his work has much of the + precision and polish of the classical school; but he shares also the + reawakened interest in nature, in common man, and in mediæval + culture, and his work is generally romantic both in style and in spirit. + The same conflict between the classic and romantic schools, and the + triumph of Romanticism, is shown clearly in the most versatile of Gray's + contemporaries, Oliver Goldsmith. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9o" id="chap9o">OLIVER GOLDSMITH</a> (1728-1774) + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el035" id="el035"> <img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: OLIVER GOLDSMITH" src="images/el035.png" /> </a><br /> + OLIVER GOLDSMITH + </p> + <p> + Because <i>The Deserted Village</i> is one of the most familiar poems in + our language, Goldsmith is generally given a high place among the poets of + the romantic dawn. But the <i>Village</i>, when we read it carefully, + turns out to be a rimed essay in the style of Pope's famous <i>Essay on + Man</i>; it owes its popularity to the sympathetic memories which it + awakens, rather than to its poetic excellence. It is as a prose writer + that Goldsmith excels. He is an essayist, with Addison's fine polish but + with more sympathy for human life; he is a dramatist, one of the very few + who have ever written a comedy that can keep its popularity unchanged + while a century rolls over its head; but greater, perhaps, than the poet + and essayist and dramatist is Goldsmith the novelist, who set himself to + the important work of purifying the early novel of its brutal and indecent + tendencies, and who has given us, in <i>The Vicar of Wakefield</i>, one of + the most enduring characters in English fiction. In his manner, especially + in his poetry, Goldsmith was too much influenced by his friend Johnson and + the classicists; but in his matter, in his sympathy for nature and human + life, he belongs unmistakably to the new romantic school. Altogether he is + the most versatile, the most charming, the most inconsistent, and the most + lovable genius of all the literary men who made famous the age of Johnson. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Goldsmith's career is that of an irresponsible, unbalanced + genius, which would make one despair if the man himself did not remain so + lovable in all his inconsistencies. He was born in the village of Pallas, + Ireland, the son of a poor Irish curate whose noble character is portrayed + in Dr. Primrose, of <i>The Vicar of Wakefield</i>, and in the country + parson of <i>The Deserted Village</i>. After an unsatisfactory course in + various schools, where he was regarded as hopelessly stupid, Goldsmith + entered Trinity College, Dublin, as a sizar, i.e. a student who pays with + labor for his tuition. By his escapades he was brought into disfavor with + the authorities, but that troubled him little. He was also wretchedly + poor, which troubled him less; for when he earned a few shillings by + writing ballads for street singers, his money went oftener to idle beggars + than to the paying of his honest debts. After three years of university + life he ran away, in dime-novel fashion, and nearly starved to death + before he was found and brought back in disgrace. Then he worked a little, + and obtained his degree in 1749. + </p> + <p> + Strange that such an idle and irresponsible youth should have been urged + by his family to take holy orders; but such was the fact. For two years + more Goldsmith labored with theology, only to be rejected when he + presented himself as a candidate for the ministry. He tried teaching, and + failed. Then his fancy turned to America, and, provided with money and a + good horse, he started off for Cork, where he was to embark for the New + World. He loafed along the pleasant Irish ways, missed his ship, and + presently turned up cheerfully amongst his relatives, minus all his money, + and riding a sorry nag called Fiddleback, for which he had traded his own + on the way.<sup><a href="#fn203" name="rfn203" id="rfn203">[203]</a></sup> + He borrowed fifty pounds more, and started for London to study law, but + speedily lost his money at cards, and again appeared, amiable and + irresponsible as ever, among his despairing relatives. The next year they + sent him to Edinburgh to study medicine. Here for a couple of years he + became popular as a singer of songs and a teller of tales, to whom + medicine was only a troublesome affliction. Suddenly the <i>Wanderlust</i> + seized him and he started abroad, ostensibly to complete his medical + education, but in reality to wander like a cheerful beggar over Europe, + singing and playing his flute for food and lodging. He may have studied a + little at Leyden and at Padua, but that was only incidental. After a year + or more of vagabondage he returned to London with an alleged medical + degree, said to have been obtained at Louvain or Padua. + </p> + <p> + The next few years are a pitiful struggle to make a living as tutor, + apothecary's assistant, comedian, usher in a country school, and finally + as a physician in Southwark. Gradually he drifted into literature, and + lived from hand to mouth by doing hack work for the London booksellers. + Some of his essays and his <i>Citizen of the World</i> (1760-1761) brought + him to the attention of Johnson, who looked him up, was attracted first by + his poverty and then by his genius, and presently declared him to be "one + of the first men we now have as an author." Johnson's friendship proved + invaluable, and presently Goldsmith found himself a member of the + exclusive Literary Club. He promptly justified Johnson's confidence by + publishing <i>The Traveller</i> (1764), which was hailed as one of the + finest poems of the century. Money now came to him liberally, with orders + from the booksellers; he took new quarters in Fleet Street and furnished + them gorgeously; but he had an inordinate vanity for bright-colored + clothes, and faster than he earned money he spent it on velvet cloaks and + in indiscriminate charity. For a time he resumed his practice as a + physician, but his fine clothes did not bring patients, as he expected; + and presently he turned to writing again, to pay his debts to the + booksellers. He produced several superficial and grossly inaccurate + schoolbooks,--like his <i>Animated Nature</i> and his histories of + England, Greece, and Rome,--which brought him bread and more fine clothes, + and his <i>Vicar of Wakefield, The Deserted Village</i>, and <i>She Stoops + to Conquer</i>, which brought him undying fame. + </p> + <p> + After meeting with Johnson, Goldsmith became the object of Boswell's + magpie curiosity; and to Boswell's <i>Life of Johnson</i> we are indebted + for many of the details of Goldsmith's life,--his homeliness, his awkward + ways, his drolleries and absurdities, which made him alternately the butt + and the wit of the famous Literary Club. Boswell disliked Goldsmith, and + so draws an unflattering Portrait, but even this does not disguise the + contagious good humor which made men love him. When in his forty-seventh + year, he fell sick of a fever, and with childish confidence turned to a + quack medicine to cure himself. He died in 1774, and Johnson placed a + tablet, with a sonorous Latin epitaph, in Westminster Abbey, though + Goldsmith was buried elsewhere. "Let not his frailties be remembered; he + was a very great man," said Johnson; and the literary world--which, like + that old dictator, is kind enough at heart, though often rough in its + methods--is glad to accept and record the verdict. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Goldsmith.</b> Of Goldsmith's early essays and his later + school histories little need be said. They have settled into their own + place, far out of sight of the ordinary reader. Perhaps the most + interesting of these is a series of letters for the <i>Public Ledger</i> + (afterwards published as <i>The Citizen of the World</i>), written from + the view point of an alleged Chinese traveler, and giving the latter's + comments on English civilization.<sup><a href="#fn204" name="rfn204" + id="rfn204">[204]</a></sup> The following five works are those upon which + Goldsmith's fame chiefly rests: + </p> + <p> + <i>The Traveller</i> (1764) made Goldsmith's reputation among his + contemporaries, but is now seldom read, except by students who would + understand how Goldsmith was, at one time, dominated by Johnson and his + pseudo-classic ideals. It is a long poem, in rimed couplets, giving a + survey and criticism of the social life of various countries in Europe, + and reflects many of Goldsmith's own wanderings and impressions. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Deserted Village</span><i>The Deserted + Village</i> (1770), though written in the same mechanical style, is so + permeated with honest human sympathy, and voices so perfectly the revolt + of the individual man against institutions, that a multitude of common + people heard it gladly, without consulting the critics as to whether they + should call it good poetry. Notwithstanding its faults, to which Matthew + Arnold has called sufficient attention, it has become one of our best + known poems, though we cannot help wishing that the monotony of its + couplets had been broken by some of the Irish folk songs and ballads that + charmed street audiences in Dublin, and that brought Goldsmith a welcome + from the French peasants wherever he stopped to sing. In the village + parson and the schoolmaster, Goldsmith has increased Chaucer's list by two + lovable characters that will endure as long as the English language. The + criticism that the picture of prosperous "Sweet Auburn" never applied to + any village in Ireland is just, no doubt, but it is outside the question. + Goldsmith was a hopeless dreamer, bound to see everything, as he saw his + debts and his gay clothes, in a purely idealistic way. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Good-Natured Man</i> and <i>She Stoops to Conquer</i> are + Goldsmith's two comedies. The former, a comedy of character, though it has + some laughable scenes and one laughable character, Croaker, met with + failure on the stage, and has never been revived with any success. The + latter, a comedy of intrigue, is one of the few plays that has never lost + its popularity. Its lively, bustling scenes, and its pleasantly absurd + characters, Marlowe, the Hardcastles, and Tony Lumpkin, still hold the + attention of modern theater goers; and nearly every amateur dramatic club + sooner or later places <i>She Stoops to Conquer</i> on its list of + attractions. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Vicar of Wakefield</span><i>The Vicar of + Wakefield</i> is Goldsmith's only novel, and the first in any language + that gives to home life an enduring romantic interest. However much we + admire the beginnings of the English novel, to which we shall presently + refer, we are nevertheless shocked by its frequent brutalities and + indecencies. Goldsmith like Steele, had the Irish reverence for pure + womanhood, and this reverence made him shun as a pest the vulgarity and + coarseness in which contemporary novelists, like Smollett and Sterne, + seemed to delight. So he did for the novel what Addison and Steele had + done for the satire and the essay; he refined and elevated it, making it + worthy of the old Anglo-Saxon ideals which are our best literary heritage. + </p> + <p> + Briefly, <i>The Vicar of Wakefield</i> is the story of a simple English + clergyman, Dr. Primrose, and his family, who pass from happiness through + great tribulation. Misfortunes, which are said never to come singly, + appear in this case in flocks; but through poverty, sorrow, imprisonment, + and the unspeakable loss of his daughters, the Vicar's faith in God and + man emerges triumphant. To the very end he is like one of the old martyrs, + who sings <i>Alleluia</i> while the lions roar about him and his children + in the arena. Goldsmith's optimism, it must be confessed, is here + stretched to the breaking point. The reader is sometimes offered fine + Johnsonian phrases where he would naturally expect homely and vigorous + language; and he is continually haunted by the suspicion that, even in + this best of all possible worlds, the Vicar's clouds of affliction were + somewhat too easily converted into showers of blessing; yet he is forced + to read on, and at the end he confesses gladly that Goldsmith has + succeeded in making a most interesting story out of material that, in + other hands, would have developed either a burlesque or a brutal tragedy. + Laying aside all romantic passion, intrigue, and adventure, upon which + other novelists depended, Goldsmith, in this simple story of common life, + has accomplished three noteworthy results: he has made human fatherhood + almost a divine thing; he has glorified the moral sentiments which cluster + about the family life as the center of civilization; and he has given us, + in Dr. Primrose, a striking and enduring figure, which seems more like a + personal acquaintance than a character in a book. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9p" id="chap9p">WILLIAM COWPER</a> (1731--1800) + </p> + <p> + In Cowper we have another interesting poet, who, like Gray and Goldsmith, + shows the struggle between romantic and classic ideals. In his first + volume of poems, Cowper is more hampered by literary fashions than was + Goldsmith in his <i>Traveller</i> and his <i>Deserted Village</i>. In his + second period, however, Cowper uses blank verse freely; and his delight in + nature and in homely characters, like the teamster and the mail carrier of + <i>The Task</i>, shows that his classicism is being rapidly thawed out by + romantic feeling. In his later work, especially his immortal "John + Gilpin," Cowper flings fashions aside, gives Pegasus the reins, takes to + the open road, and so proves himself a worthy predecessor of Burns, who is + the most spontaneous and the most interesting of all the early + romanticists. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el036" id="el036"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: WILLIAM COWPER" src="images/el036.jpg" /></a><br /> + WILLIAM COWPER + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Cowper's life is a pathetic story of a shy and timid genius, + who found the world of men too rough, and who withdrew to nature like a + wounded animal. He was born at Great Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, in 1731, + the son of an English clergyman. He was a delicate, sensitive child, whose + early life was saddened by the death of his mother and by his neglect at + home. At six years he was sent away to a boys' school, where he was + terrified by young barbarians who made his life miserable. There was one + atrocious bully into whose face Cowper could never look; he recognized his + enemy by his shoe buckles, and shivered at his approach. The fierce + invectives of his "Tirocinium, or a Review of Schools" (1784), shows how + these school experiences had affected his mind and health. For twelve + years he studied law, but at the approach of a public examination for an + office he was so terrified that he attempted suicide. The experience + unsettled his reason, and the next twelve months were spent in an asylum + at St. Alban's. The death of his father, in 1756, had brought the poet a + small patrimony, which placed him above the necessity of struggling, like + Goldsmith, for his daily bread. Upon his recovery he boarded for years at + the house of the Unwins, cultured people who recognized the genius hidden + in this shy and melancholy yet quaintly humorous man. Mrs. Unwin, in + particular, cared for him as a son; and whatever happiness he experienced + in his poor life was the result of the devotion of this good woman, who is + the "Mary" of all his poems. + </p> + <p> + A second attack of insanity was brought on by Cowper's morbid interest in + religion, influenced, perhaps, by the untempered zeal of one John Newton, + a curate, with whom Cowper worked in the small parish of Olney, and with + whom he compiled the famous Olney Hymns. The rest of his life, between + intervals of melancholia or insanity, was spent in gardening, in the care + of his numerous pets, and in writing his poems, his translation of Homer, + and his charming letters. His two best known poems were suggested by a + lively and cultivated widow, Lady Austen, who told him the story of John + Gilpin and called for a ballad on the subject. She also urged him to write + a long poem in blank verse; and when he demanded a subject, she + whimsically suggested the sofa, which was a new article of furniture at + that time. Cowper immediately wrote "The Sofa," and, influenced by the + poetic possibilities that lie in unexpected places, he added to this poem + from time to time, and called his completed work <i>The Task</i>. This was + published in 1785, and the author was instantly recognized as one of the + chief poets of his age. The last years of his life were a long battle with + insanity, until death mercifully ended the struggle in 1800. His last + poem, "The Castaway," is a cry of despair, in which, under guise of a man + washed overboard in a storm, he describes himself perishing in the sight + of friends who are powerless to help. + </p> + <p> + <b>Cowper's Works.</b> Cowper's first volume of poems, containing "The + Progress of Error," "Truth," "Table Talk," etc., is interesting chiefly as + showing how the poet was bound by the classical rules of his age. These + poems are dreary, on the whole, but a certain gentleness, and especially a + vein of pure humor, occasionally rewards the reader. For Cowper was a + humorist, and only the constant shadow of insanity kept him from becoming + famous in that line alone. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Task</span><i>The Task</i>, written in blank + verse, and published in 1785, is Cowper's longest poem. Used as we are to + the natural poetry of Wordsworth and Tennyson, it is hard for us to + appreciate the striking originality of this work. Much of it is + conventional and "wooden," to be sure, like much of Wordsworth's poetry; + but when, after reading the rimed essays and the artificial couplets of + Johnson's age, we turn suddenly to Cowper's description of homely scenes, + of woods and brooks, of plowmen and teamsters and the letter carrier on + his rounds, we realize that we are at the dawn of a better day in poetry: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + He comes, the herald of a noisy world,<br /> With spatter'd boots, + strapp'd waist, and frozen locks:<br /> News from all nations lumbering + at his back.<br /> True to his charge, the close-packed load behind,<br /> + Yet careless what he brings, his one concern<br /> Is to conduct it to + the destined inn,<br /> And, having dropped the expected bag, pass on.<br /> + He whistles as he goes, light-hearted wretch,<br /> Cold and yet + cheerful: messenger of grief<br /> Perhaps to thousands, and of joy to + some;<br /> To him indifferent whether grief or joy.<br /> Houses in + ashes, and the fall of stocks,<br /> Births, deaths, and marriages, + epistles wet<br /> With tears that trickled down the writer's cheeks<br /> + Fast as the periods from his fluent quill,<br /> Or charged with amorous + sighs of absent swains,<br /> Or nymphs responsive, equally affect<br /> + His horse and him, unconscious of them all.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Miscellaneous Works</span>Cowper's most laborious + work, the translation of Homer in blank verse, was published in 1791. Its + stately, Milton-like movement, and its better rendering of the Greek, make + this translation far superior to Pope's artificial couplets. It is also + better, in many respects, than Chapman's more famous and more fanciful + rendering; but for some reason it was not successful, and has never + received the recognition which it deserves. Entirely different in spirit + are the poet's numerous hymns, which were published in the Olney + Collection in 1779 and which are still used in our churches. It is only + necessary to mention a few first lines--"God moves in a mysterious way," + "Oh, for a closer walk with God," "Sometimes a light surprises"--to show + how his gentle and devout spirit has left its impress upon thousands who + now hardly know his name. With Cowper's charming <i>Letters</i>, published + in 1803, we reach the end of his important works, and the student who + enjoys reading letters will find that these rank among the best of their + kind. It is not, however, for his ambitious works that Cowper is + remembered, but rather for his minor poems, which have found their own way + into so many homes. Among these, the one that brings quickest response + from hearts that understand is his little poem, "On the Receipt of My + Mother's Picture." beginning with the striking line, "Oh, that those lips + had language." Another, called "Alexander Selkirk," beginning, "I am + monarch of all I survey," suggests how Selkirk's experiences as a castaway + (which gave Defoe his inspiration for <i>Robinson Crusoe</i>) affected the + poet's timid nature and imagination. Last and most famous of all is his + immortal "John Gilpin." Cowper was in a terrible fit of melancholy when + Lady Austen told him the story, which proved to be better than medicine, + for all night long chuckles and suppressed laughter were heard in the + poet's bedroom. Next morning at breakfast he recited the ballad that had + afforded its author so much delight in the making. The student should read + it, even if he reads nothing else by Cowper; and he will be lacking in + humor or appreciation if he is not ready to echo heartily the last stanza: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Now let us sing, Long live the King,<br /> And Gilpin, long live he!<br /> + And when he next doth ride abroad<br /> May I be there to see.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <a name="chap9q" id="chap9q">ROBERT BURNS</a> (1759-1796) + </p> + <p> + After a century and more of Classicism, we noted with interest the work of + three men, Gray, Goldsmith, and Cowper, whose poetry, like the chorus of + awakening birds, suggests the dawn of another day. Two other poets of the + same age suggest the sunrise. The first is the plowman Burns, who speaks + straight from the heart to the primitive emotions of the race; the second + is the mystic Blake, who only half understands his own thoughts, and whose + words stir a sensitive nature as music does, or the moon in midheaven, + rousing in the soul those vague desires and aspirations which ordinarily + sleep, and which can never be expressed because they have no names. Blake + lived his shy, mystic, spiritual life in the crowded city, and his message + is to the few who can understand. Burns lived his sad, toilsome, erring + life in the open air, with the sun and the rain, and his songs touch all + the world. The latter's poetry, so far as it has a philosophy, rests upon + two principles which the classic school never understood,--that common + people are at heart romantic and lovers of the ideal, and that simple + human emotions furnish the elements of true poetry. Largely because he + follows these two principles, Burns is probably the greatest song writer + of the world. His poetic creed may be summed up in one of his own stanzas: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Give me ae spark o' Nature's fire,<br /> That's a' the learning I desire;<br /> + Then, though I trudge thro' dub an' mire<br /> At + pleugh or cart,<br /> My Muse, though hamely in attire,<br /> May + touch the heart.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p> + ROBERT BURNS + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b><sup><a href="#fn205" name="rfn205" id="rfn205">[205]</a></sup> + Burns's life is "a life of fragments," as Carlyle called it; and the + different fragments are as unlike as the noble "Cotter's Saturday Night" + and the rant and riot of "The Jolly Beggars." The details of this sad and + disjointed life were better, perhaps, forgotten. We call attention only to + the facts which help us to understand the man and his poetry. + </p> + <p> + Burns was born in a clay cottage at Alloway, Scotland, in the bleak winter + of 1759. His father was an excellent type of the Scotch peasant of those + days,--a poor, honest, God-fearing man, who toiled from dawn till dark to + wrest a living for his family from the stubborn soil. His tall figure was + bent with unceasing labor; his hair was thin and gray, and in his eyes was + the careworn, hunted look of a peasant driven by poverty and unpaid rents + from one poor farm to another. The family often fasted of necessity, and + lived in solitude to avoid the temptation of spending their hard-earned + money. The children went barefoot and bareheaded in all weathers, and + shared the parents' toil and their anxiety over the rents. At thirteen + Bobby, the eldest, was doing a peasant's full day's labor; at sixteen he + was chief laborer on his father's farm; and he describes the life as "the + cheerless gloom of a hermit, and the unceasing moil of a galley slave." In + 1784 the father, after a lifetime of toil, was saved from a debtor's + prison by consumption and death. To rescue something from the wreck of the + home, and to win a poor chance of bread for the family, the two older boys + set up a claim for arrears of wages that had never been paid. With the + small sum allowed them, they buried their father, took another farm, + Mossgiel, in Mauchline, and began again the long struggle with poverty. + </p> + <p> + Such, in outline, is Burns's own story of his early life, taken mostly + from his letters. There is another and more pleasing side to the picture, + of which we have glimpses in his poems and in his Common-place Book. Here + we see the boy at school; for like most Scotch peasants, the father gave + his boys the best education he possibly could. We see him following the + plow, not like a slave, but like a free man, crooning over an old Scotch + song and making a better one to match the melody. We see him stop the plow + to listen to what the wind is saying, or turn aside lest he disturb the + birds at their singing and nest making. At supper we see the family about + the table, happy notwithstanding their scant fare, each child with a spoon + in one hand and a book in the other. We hear Betty Davidson reciting, from + her great store, some heroic ballad that fired the young hearts to + enthusiasm and made them forget the day's toil. And in "The Cotter's + Saturday Night" we have a glimpse of Scotch peasant life that makes us + almost reverence these heroic men and women, who kept their faith and + their self-respect in the face of poverty, and whose hearts, under their + rough exteriors, were tender and true as steel. + </p> + <p> + A most unfortunate change in Burns's life began when he left the farm, at + seventeen, and went to Kirkoswald to study surveying. The town was the + haunt of smugglers, rough-living, hard-drinking men; and Burns speedily + found his way into those scenes of "riot and roaring dissipation" which + were his bane ever afterwards. For a little while he studied diligently, + but one day, while taking the altitude of the sun, he saw a pretty girl in + the neighboring garden, and love put trigonometry to flight. Soon he gave + up his work and wandered back to the farm and poverty again. + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> + <img src="images/{0361}.jpg" alt="{0361}" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <h5> + <a href="images/{0361}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </h5> + <p> + When twenty-seven years of age Burns first attracted literary attention, + and in the same moment sprang to the first place in Scottish letters. In + despair over his poverty and personal habits, he resolved to emigrate to + Jamaica, and gathered together a few of his early poems, hoping to sell + them for enough to pay the expenses of his journey. The result was the + famous Kilmarnock edition of Burns, published in 1786, for which he was + offered twenty pounds. It is said that he even bought his ticket, and on + the night before the ship sailed wrote his "Farewell to Scotland," + beginning, "The gloomy night is gathering fast," which he intended to be + his last song on Scottish soil. + </p> + <p> + In the morning he changed his mind, led partly by some dim foreshadowing + of the result of his literary adventure; for the little book took all + Scotland by storm. Not only scholars and literary men, but "even plowboys + and maid servants," says a contemporary, eagerly spent their hard-earned + shillings for the new book. Instead of going to Jamaica, the young poet + hurried to Edinburgh to arrange for another edition of his work. His + journey was a constant ovation, and in the capital he was welcomed and + feasted by the best of Scottish society. This inexpected triumph lasted + only one winter. Burns's fondness for taverns and riotous living shocked + his cultured entertainers, and when he returned to Edinburgh next winter, + after a pleasure jaunt through the Highlands, he received scant attention. + He left the city in anger and disappointment, and went back to the soil + where he was more at home. + </p> + <p> + The last few years of Burns's life are a sad tragedy, and we pass over + them hurriedly. He bought the farm Ellisland, Dumfriesshire, and married + the faithful Jean Armour, in 1788, That he could write of her, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + I see her in the dewy flowers,<br /> I see her sweet and fair;<br /> I + hear her in the tunefu' birds,<br /> I hear her charm the air:<br /> + There's not a bonie flower that springs<br /> By fountain, shaw, or + green;<br /> There's not a bonie bird that sings,<br /> But minds me o' my + Jean,<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + is enough for us to remember. The next year he was appointed exciseman, + i.e. collector of liquor revenues, and the small salary, with the return + from his poems, would have been sufficient to keep his family in modest + comfort, had he but kept away from taverns. For a few years his life of + alternate toil and dissipation was occasionally illumined by his splendid + lyric genius, and he produced many songs--"Bonnie Doon," "My Love's like a + Red, Red Rose," "Auld Lang Syne," "Highland Mary," and the soul-stirring + "Scots wha hae," composed while galloping over the moor in a storm--which + have made the name of Burns known wherever the English language is spoken, + and honored wherever Scotchmen gather together. He died miserably in 1796, + when only thirty-seven years old. His last letter was an appeal to a + friend for money to stave off the bailiff, and one of his last poems a + tribute to Jessie Lewars, a kind lassie who helped to care for him in his + illness. This last exquisite lyric, "O wert thou in the cauld blast," set + to Mendelssohn's music, is one of our best known songs, though its history + is seldom suspected by those who sing it. + </p> + <p> + <b>The Poetry of Burns.</b> The publication of the Kilmarnock Burns, with + the title <i>Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect</i> (1786), marks an + epoch in the history of English Literature, like the publication of + Spenser's <i>Shepherd's Calendar</i>. After a century of cold and formal + poetry, relieved only by the romanticism of Gray and Cowper, these fresh + inspired songs went straight to the heart, like the music of returning + birds in springtime. It was a little volume, but a great book; and we + think of Marlowe's line, "Infinite riches in a little room," in connection + with it. Such poems as "The Cotter's Saturday Night," "To a Mouse," "To + Mountain Daisy," "Man was Made To Mourn," "The Twa Dogs," "Address to the + Deil," and "Halloween," suggest that the whole spirit of the romantic + revival is embodied in this obscure plowman. Love, humor, pathos, the + response to nature,--all the poetic qualities that touch the human heart + are here; and the heart was touched as it had not been since the days of + Elizabeth. If the reader will note again the six characteristics of the + romantic movement, and then read six poems of Burns, he will see at once + how perfectly this one man expresses the new idea. Or take a single + suggestion,-- + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Ae fond kiss, and then we sever!<br /> Ae farewell, and then forever!<br /> + Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,<br /> Warring sighs and + groans I'll wage thee.<br /> Who shall say that Fortune grieves him<br /> + While the star of hope she leaves him?<br /> Me, nae cheerfu' twinkle + lights me;<br /> Dark despair around benights me.<br /> I'll ne'er blame + my partial fancy,<br /> Naething could resist my Nancy;<br /> But to see + her was to love her;<br /> Love but her, and love forever.<br /> Had we + never lov'd sae kindly,<br /> Had we never lov'd sae blindly,<br /> Never + met--or never parted--<br /> We had ne'er been broken-hearted.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The "essence of a thousand love tales" is in that one little song. Because + he embodies the new spirit of romanticism, critics give him a high place + in the history of our literature; and because his songs go straight to the + heart, he is the poet of common men. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Songs for Music</span>Of Burns's many songs for + music little need be said. They have found their way into the hearts of a + whole people, and there they speak for themselves. They range from the + exquisite "O wert thou in the cauld blast," to the tremendous appeal to + Scottish patriotism in "Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled," which, Carlyle + said, should be sung with the throat of the whirlwind. Many of these songs + were composed in his best days, when following the plow or resting after + his work, while the music of some old Scotch song was ringing in his head. + It is largely because he thought of music while he composed that so many + of his poems have the singing quality, suggesting a melody as we read + them. + </p> + <p> + Among his poems of nature, "To a Mouse" and "To a Mountain Daisy" are + unquestionably the best, suggesting the poetical possibilities that daily + pass unnoticed under our feet. These two poems are as near as Burns ever + comes to appreciating nature for its own sake. The majority of his poems, + like "Winter" and "Ye banks and braes o' bonie Doon," regard nature in the + same way that Gray regarded it, as a background for the play of human + emotions. + </p> + <p> + Of his poems of emotion there is an immense number. It is a curious fact + that the world is always laughing and crying at the same moment; and we + can hardly read a page of Burns without finding this natural juxtaposition + of smiles and tears. It is noteworthy also that all strong emotions, when + expressed naturally, lend themselves to poetry; and Burns, more than any + other writer, has an astonishing faculty of describing his own emotions + with vividness and simplicity, so that they appeal instantly to our own. + One cannot read, "I love my Jean," for instance, without being in love + with some idealized woman; or "To Mary in Heaven," without sharing the + personal grief of one who has loved and lost. + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> + <img src="images/{0365}.jpg" alt="{0365}" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <h5> + <a href="images/{0365}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </h5> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Miscellaneous Poems</span>Besides the songs of + nature and of human emotion, Burns has given us a large number of poems + for which no general title can be given. Noteworthy among these are "A + man's a man for a' that," which voices the new romantic estimate of + humanity; "The Vision," from which we get a strong impression of Burns's + early ideals; the "Epistle to a Young Friend," from which, rather than + from his satires, we learn Burns's personal views of religion and honor; + the "Address to the Unco Guid," which is the poet's plea for mercy in + judgment; and "A Bard's Epitaph," which, as a summary of his own life, + might well be written at the end of his poems. "Halloween," a picture of + rustic merrymaking, and "The Twa Dogs" a contrast between the rich and + poor, are generally classed among the poet's best works; but one + unfamiliar with the Scotch dialect will find them rather difficult. + </p> + <p> + Of Burns's longer poems the two best worth reading are "The Cotter's + Saturday Night" and "Tam o' Shanter,"--the one giving the most perfect + picture we possess of a noble poverty; the other being the most lively and + the least objectionable of his humorous works. It would be difficult to + find elsewhere such a combination of the grewsome and the ridiculous as is + packed up in "Tam o' Shanter." With the exception of these two, the longer + poems add little to the author's fame or to our own enjoyment. It is + better for the beginner to read Burns's exquisite songs and gladly to + recognize his place in the hearts of a people, and forget the rest, since + they only sadden us and obscure the poet's better nature. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9r" id="chap9r">WILLIAM BLAKE</a> (1757-1827) + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Piping down the valleys wild,<br /> Piping songs + of pleasant glee,<br /> On a cloud I saw a child,<br /> And + he laughing said to me:<br /> "Pipe a song about a lamb;"<br /> So + I piped with merry cheer.<br /> "Piper, pipe that song again;"<br /> + So I piped:, he wept to hear.<br /> "Piper, sit + thee down and write<br /> In a book, that all may + read;"<br /> So he vanished from my sight,<br /> And + I plucked a hollow reed,<br /> And I made a rural pen,<br /> And + I stained the water clear,<br /> And I wrote my happy songs<br /> Every + child may joy to hear.<sup><a href="#fn206" name="rfn206" id="rfn206">[206]</a></sup><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Of all the romantic poets of the eighteenth century, Blake is the most + independent and the most original. In his earliest work, written when he + was scarcely more than a child, he seems to go back to the Elizabethan + song writers for his models; but for the greater part of his life he was + the poet of inspiration alone, following no man's lead, and obeying no + voice but that which he heard in his own mystic soul. Though the most + extraordinary literary genius of his age, he had practically no influence + upon it. Indeed, we hardly yet understand this poet of pure fancy, this + mystic this transcendental madman, who remained to the end of his busy + life an incomprehensible child. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Blake, the son of a London tradesman, was a strange, + imaginative child, whose soul was more at home with brooks and flowers and + fairies than with the crowd of the city streets. Beyond learning to read + and write, he received education; but he began, at ten years, to copy + prints and to write verses. He also began a long course of art study, + which resulted in his publishing his own books, adorned with marginal + engravings colored by hand,--an unusual setting, worthy of the strong + artistic sense that shows itself in many of his early verses. As a child + he had visions of God and the angels looking in at his window; and as a + man he thought he received visits from the souls of the great dead, Moses, + Virgil, Homer, Dante, Milton,--"majestic shadows, gray but luminous," he + calls them. He seems never to have asked himself the question how far + these visions were pure illusions, but believed and trusted them + implicitly. To him all nature was a vast spiritual symbolism, wherein he + saw elves, fairies, devils, angels,--all looking at him in friendship or + enmity through the eyes of flowers and stars: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + With the blue sky spread over with wings,<br /> And + the mild sun that mounts and sings;<br /> With trees and fields full of + fairy elves,<br /> And little devils who fight + for themselves;<br /> With angels planted in hawthorne bowers,<br /> + And God himself in the passing hours.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + And this curious, pantheistic conception of nature was not a matter of + creed, but the very essence of Blake's life. Strangely enough, he made no + attempt to found a new religious cult, but followed his own way, singing + cheerfully, working patiently, in the face of discouragement and failure. + That writers of far less genius were exalted to favor, while he remained + poor and obscure, does not seem to have troubled him in the least. For + over forty years he labored diligently at book engraving, guided in his + art by Michael Angelo. but inventing his own curious designs, at which we + still wonder. The illustrations for Young's "Night Thoughts," for Blair's + "Grave," and the "Inventions to the Book of Job," show the peculiarity of + Blake's mind quite as clearly as his poems. While he worked at his trade + he flung off--for he never seemed to compose--disjointed visions and + incomprehensible rhapsodies, with an occasional little gem that still sets + our hearts to singing: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Ah, sunflower, weary of time,<br /> Who countest + the steps of the sun;<br /> Seeking after that sweet golden clime<br /> + Where the traveller's journey is done;<br /> + Where the youth pined away with desire,<br /> And + the pale virgin shrouded in snow,<br /> Rise from their graves, and + aspire<br /> Where my sunflower wishes to go!<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + That is a curious flower to find growing in the London street; but it + suggests Blake's own life, which was outwardly busy and quiet, but + inwardly full of adventure and excitement. His last huge prophetic works, + like <i>Jerusalem</i> and <i>Milton</i> (1804), were dictated to him, he + declares, by supernatural means, and even against his own will. They are + only half intelligible, but here and there one sees flashes of the same + poetic beauty that marks his little poems. Critics generally dismiss Blake + with the word "madman"; but that is only an evasion. At best, he is the + writer of exquisite lyrics; at worst, he is mad only "north-northwest," + like Hamlet; and the puzzle is to find the method in his madness. The most + amazing thing about him is the perfectly sane and cheerful way in which he + moved through poverty and obscurity, flinging out exquisite poems or + senseless rhapsodies, as a child might play with gems or straws or + sunbeams indifferently. He was a gentle, kindly, most unworldly little + man, with extraordinary eyes, which seem even in the lifeless portraits to + reflect some unusual hypnotic power. He died obscurely, smiling at a + vision of Paradise, in 1827. That was nearly a century ago, yet he still + remains one of the most incomprehensible figures in our literature. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Blake.</b> The <i>Poetical Sketches</i>, published in 1783, is + a collection of Blake's earliest poetry, much of it written in boyhood. It + contains much crude and incoherent work, but also a few lyrics of striking + originality. Two later and better known volumes are <i>Songs of Innocence</i> + and <i>Songs of Experience</i>, reflecting two widely different views of + the human soul. As in all his works, there is an abundance of apparently + worthless stuff in these songs; but, in the language of miners, it is all + "pay dirt"; it shows gleams of golden grains that await our sifting, and + now and then we find a nugget unexpectedly: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + My lord was like a flower upon the brows<br /> Of lusty May; ah life as + frail as flower!<br /> My lord was like a star in highest heaven<br /> + Drawn down to earth by spells and wickedness;<br /> My lord was like the + opening eye of day;<br /> But he is darkened; like the summer moon<br /> + Clouded; fall'n like the stately tree, cut down;<br /> The breath of + heaven dwelt among his leaves.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + On account of the chaotic character of most of Blake's work, it is well to + begin our reading with a short book of selections, containing the best + songs of these three little volumes. Swinburne calls Blake the only poet + of "supreme and simple poetic genius" of the eighteenth century, the one + man of that age fit, on all accounts, to rank with the old great masters.<sup><a + href="#fn207" name="rfn207" id="rfn207">[207]</a></sup> The praise is + doubtless extravagant, and the criticism somewhat intemperate; but when we + have read "The Evening Star," "Memory," "Night," "Love," "To the Muses," + "Spring," "Summer," "The Tiger," "The Lamb," "The Clod and the Pebble," we + may possibly share Swinburne's enthusiasm. Certainly, in these three + volumes we have some of the most perfect and the most original songs in + our language. + </p> + <p> + Of Blake's longer poems, his titanic prophecies and apocalyptic splendors, + it is impossible to write justly in such a brief work as this. Outwardly + they suggest a huge chaff pile, and the scattered grains of wheat hardly + warrant the labor of winnowing. The curious reader will get an idea of + Blake's amazing mysticism by dipping into any of the works of his middle + life,--<i>Urizen, Gates of Paradise, Marriage of Heaven and Hell, America, + The French Revolution</i>, or <i>The Vision of the Daughters of Albion</i>. + His latest works, like <i>Jerusalem</i> and <i>Milton</i>, are too obscure + to have any literary value. To read any of these works casually is to call + the author a madman; to study them, remembering Blake's songs and his + genius, is to quote softly his own answer to the child who asked about the + land of dreams: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + "O what land is the land of dreams,<br /> What are its mountains and what + are its streams?<br /> --O father, I saw my mother there,<br /> Among the + lilies by waters fair."<br /> "Dear child, I also by pleasant streams<br /> + Have wandered all night in the land of dreams;<br /> But though calm and + warm the waters wide,<br /> I could not get to the other side."<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <a name="chap9s" id="chap9s">MINOR POETS OF THE REVIVAL</a> + </p> + <p> + We have chosen the five preceding poets, Gray, Goldsmith, Cowper, Burns, + and Blake, as the most typical and the most interesting of the writers who + proclaimed the dawn of Romanticism in the eighteenth century. With them we + associate a group of minor writers, whose works were immensely popular in + their own day. The ordinary reader will pass them by, but to the student + they are all significant as expressions of very different phases of the + romantic revival. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9t" id="chap9t">James Thomson</a></b> (1700-1748). Thomson + belongs among the pioneers of Romanticism. Like Gray and Goldsmith, he + wavered between Pseudo-classic and the new romantic ideals, and for this + reason, if for no other, his early work is interesting, like the + uncertainty of a child who hesitates whether to creep safely on all fours + or risk a fall by walking. He is "worthy to be remembered" for three + poems,--"Rule Britannia," which is still one of the national songs of + England <i>The Castle of Indolence</i>, and <i>The Seasons</i>. The dreamy + and romantic <i>Castle</i> (1748), occupied by enchanter Indolence and his + willing captives in the land of Drowsyhed, is purely Spenserian in its + imagery, and is written in the Spenserian stanza. <i>The Seasons</i> + (1726-1730), written in blank verse, describes the sights and sounds of + the changing year and the poet's own feelings in the presence of nature. + These two poems, though rather dull to a modern reader, were significant + of the early romantic revival in three ways: they abandoned the prevailing + heroic couplet; they went back to the Elizabethans, instead of to Pope, + for their models; and they called attention to the long-neglected life of + nature as a subject for poetry. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9u" id="chap9u">William Collins</a></b> (1721-1759). + Collins, the friend and disciple of Thomson, was of a delicate, nervous + temperament, like Cowper; and over him also brooded the awful shadow of + insanity. His first work, <i>Oriental Eclogues</i> (1742), is romantic in + feeling, but is written in the prevailing mechanical couplets. All his + later work is romantic in both thought and expression. His "Ode on the + Popular Superstitions of the Highlands" (1750) is an interesting event in + the romantic revival, for it introduced a new world, of witches, pygmies, + fairies, and mediæval kings, for the imagination to play in. + Collins's best known poems are the odes "To Simplicity," "To Fear," "To + the Passions," the little unnamed lyric beginning "How sleep the brave," + and the exquisite "Ode to Evening." In reading the latter, one is scarcely + aware that the lines are so delicately balanced that they have no need of + rime to accentuate their melody. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9v" id="chap9v">George Crabbe</a></b> (1754-1832). Crabbe + is an interesting combination of realism and romanticism, his work of + depicting common life being, at times, vaguely suggestive of Fielding's + novels. <i>The Village</i> (1783), a poem without a rival as a picture of + the workingmen of his age, is sometimes like Fielding in its coarse vigor, + and again like Dryden in its precise versification. The poem was not + successful at first, and Crabbe abandoned his literary dreams. For over + twenty years he settled down as a clergyman in a country parish, observing + keenly the common life about him. Then he published more poems, exactly + like <i>The Village</i>, which immediately brought him fame and money. + They brought him also the friendship of Walter Scott, who, like others, + regarded Crabbe as one of the first poets of the age. These later poems, + <i>The Parish Register</i> (1807), <i>The Borough</i> (1810), <i>Tales in + Verse</i> (1812), and <i>Tales of the Hall</i> (1819), are in the same + strain. They are written in couplets; they are reflections of nature and + of country life; they contain much that is sordid and dull, but are + nevertheless real pictures of real men and women, just as Crabbe saw them, + and as such they are still interesting. Goldsmith and Burns had idealized + the poor, and we admire them for their sympathy and insight. It remained + for Crabbe to show that in wretched fishing villages, in the lives of + hardworking men and women, children, laborers, smugglers, paupers,--all + sorts and conditions of common men,--there is abundant romantic without + exaggerating or idealizing their vices and virtues. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9w" id="chap9w">James Macpherson</a></b> (1736-1796). In + Macpherson we have an unusual figure, who catered to the new romantic + interest in the old epic heroes, and won immense though momentary fame, by + a series of literary forgeries. Macpherson was a Scotch schoolmaster, an + educated man, but evidently not over-tender of conscience, whose + imagination had been stirred by certain old poems which he may have heard + in Gaelic among the Highlanders. In 1760 he published his <i>Fragments of + Ancient Poetry collected in the Highlands</i>, and alleged that his work + was but a translation of Gaelic manuscripts. Whether the work of itself + would have attracted attention is doubtful; but the fact that an abundance + of literary material might be awaiting discovery led to an interest such + as now attends the opening of an Egyptian tomb, and a subscription was + promptly raised in Edinburgh to send Macpherson through the Highlands to + collect more "manuscripts." The result was the epic <i>Fingal</i> (1762), + "that lank and lamentable counterfeit of poetry," as Swinburne calls it, + which the author professed to have translated from the Gaelic of the poet + Ossian. Its success was astonishing, and Macpherson followed it up with <i>Temora</i> + (1763), another epic in the same strain. In both these works Macpherson + succeeds in giving an air of primal grandeur to his heroes; the characters + are big and shadowy; the imagery is at times magnificent; the language is + a kind of chanting, bombastic prose: + </p> + <p> + Now Fingal arose in his might and thrice he reared his voice. Cromla + answered around, and the sons of the desert stood still. They bent their + red faces to earth, ashamed at the presence of Fingal. He came like a + cloud of rain in the days of the sun, when slow it rolls on the hill, and + fields expect the shower. Swaran beheld the terrible king of Morven, and + stopped in the midst of his course. Dark he leaned on his spear rolling + his red eyes around. Silent and tall he seemed as an oak on the banks of + Lubar, which had its branches blasted of old by the lightning of heaven. + His thousands pour around the hero, and the darkness of battle gathers on + the hill.<sup><a href="#fn208" name="rfn208" id="rfn208">[208]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + The publication of this gloomy, imaginative work produced a literary + storm. A few critics, led by Dr. Johnson, demanded to see the original + manuscripts, and when Macpherson refused to produce them,<sup><a + href="#fn209" name="rfn209" id="rfn209">[209]</a></sup> the Ossianic poems + were branded as a forgery; nevertheless they had enormous success. + Macpherson was honored as a literary explorer; he was given an official + position, carrying a salary for life; and at his death, in 1796, he was + buried in Westminster Abbey. Blake, Burns, and indeed most of the poets of + the age were influenced by this sham poetry. Even the scholarly Gray was + deceived and delighted with "Ossian"; and men as far apart as Goethe and + Napoleon praised it immoderately. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9x" id="chap9x">Thomas Chatterton</a></b> (1752-1770). + This "marvelous boy," to whom Keats dedicated his "Endymion," and who is + celebrated in Shelley's "Adonais," is one of the saddest and most + interesting figures of the romantic revival. During his childhood he + haunted the old church of St. Mary Redcliffe, in Bristol, where he was + fascinated by the mediæval air of the place, and especially by one + old chest, known as Canynge's coffer, containing musty documents which had + been preserved for three hundred years. With strange, uncanny intentness + the child pored over these relics of the past, copying them instead of his + writing book, until he could imitate not only the spelling and language + but even the handwriting of the original. Soon after the "Ossian" + forgeries appeared, Chatterton began to produce documents, apparently very + old, containing mediæval poems, legends, and family histories, + centering around two characters,--Thomas Rowley, priest and poet, and + William Canynge, merchant of Bristol in the days of Henry VI. It seems + incredible that the whole design of these mediæval romances should + have been worked out by a child of eleven, and that he could reproduce the + style and the writing of Caxton's day so well that the printers were + deceived; but such is the fact. More and more <i>Rowley Papers</i>, as + they were called, were produced by Chatterton,--apparently from the + archives of the old church; in reality from his own + imagination,--delighting a large circle of readers, and deceiving all but + Gray and a few scholars who recognized the occasional misuse of + fifteenth-century English words. All this work was carefully finished, and + bore the unmistakable stamp of literary genius. Reading now his "Ælla," + or the "Ballad of Charite," or the long poem in ballad style called + "Bristowe Tragedie," it is hard to realize that it is a boy's work. At + seventeen years of age Chatterton went for a literary career to London, + where he soon afterwards took poison and killed himself in a fit of + childish despondency, brought on by poverty and hunger. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9y" id="chap9y">Thomas Percy</a></b> (1729-1811). To + Percy, bishop of the Irish church, in Dromore, we are indebted for the + first attempt at a systematic collection of the folk songs and ballads + which are counted among the treasures of a nation's literature.<sup><a + href="#fn210" name="rfn210" id="rfn210">[210]</a></sup> In 1765 he + published, in three volumes, his famous <i>Reliques of Ancient English + Poetry</i>. The most valuable part of this work is the remarkable + collection of old English and Scottish Ballads, such as "Chevy Chase," the + "Nut Brown Mayde," "Children of the Wood," "Battle of Otterburn," and many + more, which but for his labor might easily have perished. We have now much + better and more reliable editions of these same ballads; for Percy garbled + his materials, adding and subtracting freely, and even inventing a few + ballads of his own. Two motives probably influenced him in this. First, + the different versions of the same ballad varied greatly; and Percy, in + changing them to suit himself, took the same liberty as had many other + writers in dealing with the same material. Second; Percy was under the + influence of Johnson and his school, and thought it necessary to add a few + elegant ballads "to atone for the rudeness of the more obsolete poems." + That sounds queer now, used as we are to exactness in dealing with + historical and literary material; but it expresses the general spirit of + the age in which he lived. + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding these drawbacks, Percy's <i>Reliques</i> marks an epoch in + the history of Romanticism, and it is difficult to measure its influence + on the whole romantic movement. Scott says of it, "The first time I could + scrape a few shillings together, I bought myself a copy of these beloved + volumes; nor do I believe I ever read a book half so frequently, or with + half the enthusiasm." Scott's own poetry is strongly modeled upon these + early ballads, and his <i>Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border</i> is due + chiefly to the influence of Percy's work. + </p> + <p> + Besides the <i>Reliques</i>, Percy has given us another good work in his + <i>Northern Antiquities</i> (1770) translated from the French of Mallet's + <i>History of Denmark</i>. This also was of immense influence, since it + introduced to English readers a new and fascinating mythology, more rugged + and primitive than that of the Greeks; and we are still, in music as in + letters, under the spell of Thor and Odin, of Frea and the Valkyr maidens, + and of that stupendous drama of passion and tragedy which ended in the + "Twilight of the Gods." The literary world owes a debt of gratitude to + Percy, who wrote nothing of importance himself, but who, by collecting and + translating the works of other men, did much to hasten the triumph of + Romanticism in the nineteenth century. + </p> + <p> + III. <a name="chap9za" id="chap9za">THE FIRST ENGLISH NOVELISTS</a> + </p> + <p> + The chief literary phenomena of the complex eighteenth century are the + reign of so-called Classicism, the revival of romantic poetry, and the + discovery of the modern novel. Of these three, the last is probably the + most important. Aside from the fact that the novel is the most modern, and + at present the most widely read and influential type of literature, we + have a certain pride in regarding it as England's original contribution to + the world of letters. Other great types of literature, like the epic, the + romance, and the drama, were first produced by other nations; but the idea + of the modern novel seems to have been worked out largely on English soil;<sup><a + href="#fn211" name="rfn211" id="rfn211">[211]</a></sup> and in the number + and the fine quality of her novelists, England has hardly been rivaled by + any other nation. Before we study the writers who developed this new type + of literature, it is well to consider briefly its meaning and history. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Story Element</span><b><a name="chap9zb" + id="chap9zb">Meaning of the Novel.</a></b> Probably the most significant + remark made by the ordinary reader concerning a work of fiction takes the + form of a question: Is it a good story? For the reader of to-day is much + like the child and the primitive man in this respect, that he must be + attracted and held by the story element of a narrative before he learns to + appreciate its style or moral significance. The story element is therefore + essential to the novel; but where the story originates is impossible to + say. As well might we seek for the origin of the race; for wherever + primitive men are found, there we see them gathering eagerly about the + story-teller. In the halls of our Saxon ancestors the scop and the + tale-bringer were ever the most welcome guests; and in the bark wigwams of + the American Indians the man who told the legends of Hiawatha had an + audience quite as attentive as that which gathered at the Greek festivals + to hear the story of Ulysses's wanderings. To man's instinct or innate + love for a story we are indebted for all our literature; and the novel + must in some degree satisfy this instinct, or fail of appreciation. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Romance</span>The second question which we + ask concerning a work of fiction is, How far does the element of + imagination enter into it? For upon the element of imagination depends, + largely, our classification of works of fiction into novels, romances, and + mere adventure stories. The divisions here are as indefinite as the border + land between childhood and youth, between instinct and reason; but there + are certain principles to guide us. We note, in the development of any + normal child, that there comes a time when for his stories he desires + knights, giants, elves, fairies, witches, magic, and marvelous adventures + which have no basis in experience. He tells extraordinary tales about + himself, which may be only the vague remembrances of a dream or the + creations of a dawning imagination,--both of which are as real to him as + any other part of life. When we say that such a child "romances," we give + exactly the right name to it; for this sudden interest in extraordinary + beings and events marks the development of the human imagination,--running + riot at first, because it is not guided by reason, which is a later + development,--and to satisfy this new interest the romance<sup><a + href="#fn212" name="rfn212" id="rfn212">[212]</a></sup> was invented. The + romance is, originally, a work of fiction in which the imagination is + given full play without being limited by facts or probabilities. It deals + with extraordinary events, with heroes whose powers are exaggerated, and + often adds the element of superhuman or supernatural characters. It is + impossible to draw the line where romance ends; but this element of + excessive imagination and of impossible heroes and incidents is its + distinguishing mark in every literature. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Novel</span>Where the novel begins it is + likewise impossible to say; but again we have a suggestion in the + experience of every reader. There comes a time, naturally and inevitably, + in the life of every youth when the romance no longer enthralls him. He + lives in a world of facts; gets acquainted with men and women, some good, + some bad, but all human; and he demands that literature shall express life + as he knows it by experience. This is the stage of the awakened intellect, + and in our stories the intellect as well as the imagination must now be + satisfied. At the beginning of this stage we delight in <i>Robinson + Crusoe;</i> we read eagerly a multitude of adventure narratives and a few + so-called historical novels; but in each case we must be lured by a story, + must find heroes and "moving accidents by flood and field" to appeal to + our imagination; and though the hero and the adventure may be exaggerated, + they must both be natural and within the bounds of probability. Gradually + the element of adventure or surprising incident grows less and less + important, as we learn that true life is not adventurous, but a plain, + heroic matter of work and duty, and the daily choice between good and + evil. Life is the most real thing in the world now,--not the life of + kings, or heroes, or superhuman creatures, but the individual life with + its struggles and temptations and triumphs or failures, like our own; and + any work that faithfully represents life becomes interesting. So we drop + the adventure story and turn to the novel. For the novel is a work of + fiction in which the imagination and the intellect combine to express life + in the form of a story and the imagination is always directed and + controlled by the intellect. It is interested chiefly, not in romance or + adventure, but in men and women as they are; it aims to show the motives + and influences which govern human life, and the effects of personal choice + upon character and destiny. Such is the true novel,<sup><a href="#fn213" + name="rfn213" id="rfn213">[213]</a></sup> and as such it opens a wider and + more interesting field than any other type of literature. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9zc" id="chap9zc">Precursors of the Novel.</a></b> Before + the novel could reach its modern stage, of a more or less sincere attempt + to express human life and character, it had to pass through several + centuries of almost imperceptible development. Among the early precursors + of the novel we must place a collection of tales known as the Greek + Romances, dating from the second to the sixth centuries. These are + imaginative and delightful stories of ideal love and marvelous adventure,<sup><a + href="#fn214" name="rfn214" id="rfn214">[214]</a></sup> which profoundly + affected romance writing for the next thousand years. A second group of + predecessors is found in the Italian and Spanish pastoral romances, which + were inspired by the <i>Eclogues</i> of Virgil. These were extremely + popular in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and their influence is + seen later in Sidney's <i>Arcadia</i>, which is the best of this type in + English. + </p> + <p> + The third and most influential group of predecessors of the novel is made + up of the romances of chivalry, such as are found in Malory's <i>Morte + d'Arthur</i>. It is noticeable, in reading these beautiful old romances in + different languages, that each nation changes them somewhat, so as to make + them more expressive of national traits and ideals. In a word, the old + romance tends inevitably towards realism, especially in England, where the + excessive imagination is curbed and the heroes become more human. In + Malory, in the unknown author of <i>Sir Gawain and the Green Knight</i>, + and especially in Chaucer, we see the effect of the practical English mind + in giving these old romances a more natural setting, and in making the + heroes suggest, though faintly, the men and women of their own day. The <i>Canterbury + Tales</i>, with their story interest and their characters delightfully + true to nature, have in them the suggestion, at least, of a connected + story whose chief aim is to reflect life as it is. + </p> + <p> + In the Elizabethan Age the idea of the novel grows more definite. In + Sidney's <i>Arcadia</i> (1580), a romance of chivalry, the pastoral + setting at least is generally true to nature; our credulity is not taxed, + as in the old romances, by the continual appearance of magic or miracles; + and the characters, though idealized till they become tiresome, + occasionally give the impression of being real men and women. In Bacon's + <i>The New Atlantis</i> (1627) we have the story of the discovery by + mariners of an unknown country, inhabited by a superior race of men, more + civilized than ourselves,--an idea which had been used by More in his <i>Utopia</i> + in 1516. These two books are neither romances nor novels, in the strict + sense, but studies of social institutions. They use the connected story as + a means of teaching moral lessons, and of bringing about needed reforms; + and this valuable suggestion has been adopted by many of our modern + writers in the so-called problem novels and novels of purpose. + </p> + <p> + Nearer to the true novel is Lodge's romantic story of <i>Rosalynde</i>, + which was used by Shakespeare in <i>As You Like It</i>. This was modeled + upon the Italian novella, or short story, which became very popular in + England during the Elizabethan Age. In the same age we have introduced + into England the Spanish picaresque novel (from <i>picaro</i>, a knave or + rascal), which at first was a kind of burlesque on the mediæval + romance, and which took for its hero some low scoundrel or outcast, + instead of a knight, and followed him through a long career of scandals + and villainies. One of the earliest types of this picaresque novel in + English is Nash's <i> The Unfortunate Traveller, or the Life of Jack + Wilton</i> (1594), which is also a forerunner of the historical novel, + since its action takes place during that gorgeous interview between Henry + VIII and the king of France on the Field of the Cloth of Gold. In all + these short stories and picaresque novels the emphasis was laid not so + much on life and character as on the adventures of the hero; and the + interest consisted largely in wondering what would happen next, and how + the plot would end. The same method is employed in all trashy novels and + it is especially the bane of many modern story-writers. This excessive + interest in adventures or incidents for their own sake, and not for their + effect on character, is what distinguishes the modern adventure story from + the true novel. + </p> + <p> + In the Puritan Age we approach still nearer to the modern novel, + especially in the work of Bunyan; and as the Puritan always laid emphasis + on character, stories appeared having a definite moral purpose. Bunyan's + <i>The Pilgrim's Progress</i> (1678) differs from the <i>Faery Queen</i>, + and from all other mediæval allegories, in this important + respect,--that the characters, far from being bloodless abstractions, are + but thinly disguised men and women. Indeed, many a modern man, reading the + story of the Christian;--has found in it the reflection of his own life + and experience. In <i>The Life and Death of Mr. Badman</i> (1682) we have + another and even more realistic study of a man as he was in Bunyan's day. + These two striking figures, Christian and Mr. Badman, belong among the + great characters of English fiction. Bunyan's good work,--his keen + insight, his delineation of character, and his emphasis upon the moral + effects of individual action,--was carried on by Addison and Steele some + thirty years later. The character of Sir Roger de Coverley is a real + reflection of English country life in the eighteenth century; and with + Steele's domestic sketches in <i>The Tatler, The Spectator</i>, and <i>The + Guardian</i> (1709-1713), we definitely cross the border land that lies + outside of romance, and enter the region of character study where the + novel has its beginning. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9zd" id="chap9zd">The Discovery of the Modern Novel.</a></b> + Notwithstanding this long history of fiction, to which we have called + attention, it is safe to say that, until the publication of Richardson's + <i>Pamela</i> in 1740, no true novel had appeared in any literature. By a + true novel we mean simply a work of fiction which relates the story of a + plain human life, under stress of emotion, which depends for its interest + not on incident or adventure, but on its truth to nature. A number of + English novelists--Goldsmith, Richardson, Fielding, Smollett, Sterne--all + seem to have seized upon the idea of reflecting life as it is, in the form + of a story, and to have developed it simultaneously. The result was an + extraordinary awakening of interest, especially among people who had never + before been greatly concerned with literature. We are to remember that, in + previous periods, the number of readers was comparatively small; and that, + with the exception of a few writers like Langland and Bunyan, authors + wrote largely for the upper classes. In the eighteenth century the spread + of education and the appearance of newspapers and magazines led to an + immense increase in the number of readers; and at the same time the + middle-class people assumed a foremost place in English life and history. + These new readers and this new, powerful middle class had no classic + tradition to hamper them. They cared little for the opinions of Dr. + Johnson and the famous Literary Club; and, so far as they read fiction at + all, they apparently took little interest in the exaggerated romances, of + impossible heroes and the picaresque stories of intrigue and villainy + which had interested the upper classes. Some new type of literature was + demanded, this new type must express the new ideal of the eighteenth + century, namely, the value and the importance of the individual life. So + the novel was born, expressing, though in a different way, exactly the + same ideals of personality and of the dignity of common life which were + later proclaimed in the American and in the French Revolution, and were + welcomed with rejoicing by the poets of the romantic revival. To tell men, + not about knights or kings or types of heroes, but about themselves in the + guise of plain men and women, about their own thoughts and motives and + struggles, and the results of actions upon their own characters,--this was + the purpose of our first novelists. The eagerness with which their + chapters were read in England, and the rapidity with which their work was + copied abroad, show how powerfully the new discovery appealed to readers + everywhere. + </p> + <p> + Before we consider the work of these writers who first developed the + modern novel, we must glance at the work of a pioneer, Daniel Defoe, whom + we place among the early novelists for the simple reason that we do not + know how else to classify him. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9ze" id="chap9ze">DANIEL DEFOE</a> (1661(?)-1731) + </p> + <p> + To Defoe is often given the credit for the discovery of the modern novel; + but whether or not he deserves that honor is an open question. Even a + casual reading of <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> (1719), which generally heads the + list of modern fiction, shows that this exciting tale is largely an + adventure story, rather than the study of human character which Defoe + probably intended it to be. Young people still read it as they might a + dime novel, skipping its moralizing passages and hurrying on to more + adventures; but they seldom appreciate the excellent mature reasons which + banish the dime novel to a secret place in the haymow, while <i>Crusoe</i> + hangs proudly on the Christmas tree or holds an honored place on the + family bookshelf. Defoe's <i>Apparition of Mrs. Veal, Memoirs of a + Cavalier</i>, and <i>Journal of the Plague Year</i> are such mixtures of + fact, fiction, and credulity that they defy classification; while other + so-called "novels," like <i>Captain Singleton, Moll Flanders</i>, and <i>Roxana</i>, + are but, little better than picaresque stories, with a deal of unnatural + moralizing and repentance added for puritanical effect. In <i>Crusoe</i>, + Defoe brought the realistic adventure story to a very high stage of its + development; but his works hardly deserve, to be classed as true novels, + which must subordinate incident to the faithful portrayal of human life + and character. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el040" id="el040"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: DANIEL DEFOE" src="images/el040.jpg" /></a><br /> DANIEL + DEFOE + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Defoe was the son of a London butcher named Foe, and kept his + family name until he was forty years of age, when he added the + aristocratic prefix with which we have grown familiar. The events of his + busy seventy years of life, in which he passed through all extremes, from + poverty to wealth, from prosperous brickmaker to starveling journalist, + from Newgate prison to immense popularity and royal favor, are obscure + enough in details; but four facts stand out clearly, which help the reader + to understand the character of his work. First, Defoe was a + jack-at-all-trades, as well as a writer; his interest was largely with the + working classes, and notwithstanding many questionable practices, he seems + to have had some continued purpose of educating and uplifting the common + people. This partially accounts for the enormous popularity of his works, + and for the fact that they were criticised by literary men as being "fit + only for the kitchen." Second, he was a radical Nonconformist in religion, + and was intended by his father for the independent ministry. The Puritan + zeal for reform possessed him, and he tried to do by his pen what Wesley + was doing by his preaching, without, however, having any great measure of + the latter's sincerity or singleness of purpose. This zeal for reform + marks all his numerous works, and accounts for the moralizing to be found + everywhere. Third, Defoe was a journalist and pamphleteer, with a + reporter's eye for the picturesque and a newspaper man's instinct for + making a "good story." He wrote an immense number of pamphlets, poems, and + magazine articles; conducted several papers,--one of the most popular, the + <i>Review</i>, being issued from prison,--and the fact that they often + blew hot and cold upon the same question was hardly noticed. Indeed, so + extraordinarily interesting and plausible were Defoe's articles that he + generally managed to keep employed by the party in power, whether Whig or + Tory. This long journalistic career, lasting half a century, accounts for + his direct, simple, narrative style, which holds us even now by its + intense reality. To Defoe's genius we are also indebted for two + discoveries, the "interview" and the leading editorial, both of which are + still in daily use in our best newspapers. + </p> + <p> + The fourth fact to remember is that Defoe knew prison life; and thereby + hangs a tale. In 1702 Defoe published a remarkable pamphlet called "The + Shortest Way with the Dissenters," supporting the claims of the free + churches against the "High Fliers," i.e. Tories and Anglicans. In a vein + of grim humor which recalls Swift's "Modest Proposal," Defoe advocated + hanging all dissenting ministers, and sending all members of the free + churches into exile; and so ferociously realistic was the satire that both + Dissenters and Tories took the author literally. Defoe was tried, found + guilty of seditious libel, and sentenced to be fined, to stand three days + in the pillory, and to be imprisoned. Hardly had the sentence been + pronounced when Defoe wrote his "Hymn to the Pillory,"-- + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Hail hieroglyphic state machine,<br /> Contrived to punish fancy in,--<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + a set of doggerel verses ridiculing his prosecutors, which Defoe, with a + keen eye for advertising, scattered all over London. Crowds flocked to + cheer him in the pillory; and seeing that Defoe was making popularity out + of persecution, his enemies bundled him off to Newgate prison. He turned + this experience also to account by publishing a popular newspaper, and by + getting acquainted with rogues, pirates, smugglers, and miscellaneous + outcasts, each one with a "good story" to be used later. After his release + from prison, in 1704, he turned his knowledge of criminals to further + account, and entered the government employ as a kind of spy or + secret-service agent. His prison experience, and the further knowledge of + criminals gained in over twenty years as a spy, accounts for his numerous + stories of thieves and pirates, <i>Jonathan Wild</i> and <i>Captain Avery</i>, + and also for his later novels, which deal almost exclusively with villains + and outcasts. + </p> + <p> + When Defoe was nearly sixty years of age he turned to fiction and wrote + the great work by which he is remembered. <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> was an + instant success, and the author became famous all over Europe. Other + stories followed rapidly, and Defoe earned money enough to retire to + Newington and live in comfort; but not idly, for his activity in producing + fiction is rivaled only by that of Walter Scott. Thus, in 1720 appeared <i>Captain + Singleton, Duncan Campbell</i>, and <i>Memoirs of a Cavalier</i>; in 1722, + <i>Colonel Jack, Moll Flanders</i>, and the amazingly realistic <i>Journal + of the Plague Year</i>. So the list grows with astonishing rapidity, + ending with the <i>History of the Devil</i> in 1726. + </p> + <p> + In the latter year Defoe's secret connection with the government became + known, and a great howl of indignation rose against him in the public + print, destroying in an hour the popularity which he had gained by a + lifetime of intrigue and labor. He fled from his home to London, where he + died obscurely, in 1731, while hiding from real or imaginary enemies. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Defoe</b>. At the head of the list stands <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> + (1719-1720), one of the few books in any literature which has held its + popularity undiminished for nearly two centuries. The story is based upon + the experiences of Alexander Selkirk, or Selcraig, who had been marooned + in the island of Juan Fernandez, off the coast of Chile, and who had lived + there in solitude for five years. On his return to England in 1709, + Selkirk's experiences became known, and Steele published an account of + them in <i>The Englishman</i>, without, however, attracting any wide + attention. That Defoe used Selkirk's story is practically certain; but + with his usual duplicity he claimed to have written <i>Crusoe</i> in 1708, + a year before Selkirk's return. However that may be, the story itself is + real enough to have come straight from a sailor's logbook. Defoe, as shown + in his <i>Journal of the Plague Year</i> and his <i>Memoirs of a Cavalier</i>, + had the art of describing things he had never seen with the accuracy of an + eyewitness. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Robinson Crusoe</span>The charm of the story is + its intense reality, in the succession of thoughts, feelings, incidents, + which every reader recognizes to be absolutely true to life. At first + glance it would seem that one man on a desert island could not possibly + furnish the material for a long story; but as we read we realize with + amazement that every slightest thought and action--the saving of the cargo + of the shipwrecked vessel, the preparation for defense against imaginary + foes, the intense agitation over the discovery of a footprint in the + sand--is a record of what the reader himself would do and feel if he were + alone in such a place. Defoe's long and varied experience now stood him in + good stead; in fact, he "was the only man of letters in his time who might + have been thrown on a desert island without finding himself at a loss what + to do;"<sup><a href="#fn215" name="rfn215" id="rfn215">[215]</a></sup> and + he puts himself so perfectly in his hero's place that he repeats his + blunders as well as his triumphs. Thus, what reader ever followed Defoe's + hero through weary, feverish months of building a huge boat, which was too + big to be launched by one man, without recalling some boy who spent many + stormy days in shed or cellar building a boat or dog house, and who, when + the thing was painted and finished, found it a foot wider than the door, + and had to knock it to pieces? This absolute naturalness characterizes the + whole story. It is a study of the human will also,--of patience, + fortitude, and the indomitable Saxon spirit overcoming all obstacles; and + it was this element which made Rousseau recommend <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> + as a better treatise on education than anything which Aristotle or the + moderns had ever written. And this suggests the most significant thing + about Defoe's masterpiece, namely, that the hero represents the whole of + human society, doing with his own hands all the things which, by the + division of labor and the demands of modern civilization, are now done by + many different workers. He is therefore the type of the whole civilized + race of men. + </p> + <p> + In the remaining works of Defoe, more than two hundred in number, there is + an astonishing variety; but all are marked by the same simple, narrative + style, and the same intense realism. The best known of these are the <i>Journal + of the Plague Year</i>, in which the horrors of a frightful plague are + minutely recorded; the <i>Memoirs of a Cavalier</i>, so realistic that + Chatham quoted it as history in Parliament; and several picaresque novels, + like <i>Captain Singleton, Colonel Jack, Moll Flanders</i>, and <i>Roxana</i>. + The last work is by some critics given a very high place in realistic + fiction, but like the other three, and like Defoe's minor narratives of + Jack Sheppard and Cartouche, it is a disagreeable study of vice, ending + with a forced and unnatural repentance. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9zl" id="chap9zl">SAMUEL RICHARDSON</a> (1689-1761) + </p> + <p> + To Richardson belongs the credit of writing the first modern novel. He was + the son of a London joiner, who, for economy's sake, resided in some + unknown town in Derbyshire, where Samuel was born in 1689. The boy + received very little education, but he had a natural talent for writing + letters, and even as a boy we find him frequently employed by working + girls to write their love letters for them. This early experience, + together with his fondness for the society of "his dearest ladies" rather + than of men, gave him that intimate knowledge of the hearts of sentimental + and uneducated women which is manifest in all his work. Moreover, he was a + keen observer of manners, and his surprisingly accurate descriptions often + compel us to listen, even when he is most tedious. At seventeen years of + age he went to London and learned the printer's trade, which he followed + to the end of his life. When fifty years of age he had a small reputation + as a writer of elegant epistles, and this reputation led certain + publishers to approach him with a proposal that he write a series of <i>Familiar + Letters</i>, which could be used as models by people unused to writing. + Richardson gladly accepted the proposal, and had the happy inspiration to + make these letters tell the connected story of a girl's life. Defoe had + told an adventure story of human life on a desert island, but Richardson + would tell the story of a girl's inner life in the midst of English + neighbors. That sounds simple enough now, but it marked an epoch in the + history of literature. Like every other great and simple discovery, it + makes us wonder why some one had not thought of it before. + </p> + <p> + <b>Richardson's Novels</b>. The result of Richardson's inspiration was <i>Pamela, + or Virtue Rewarded</i>, an endless series of letters<sup><a href="#fn216" + name="rfn216" id="rfn216">[216]</a></sup> telling of the trials, + tribulations, and the final happy marriage of a too sweet young maiden, + published in four volumes extending over the years 1740 and 1741. Its + chief fame lies in the fact that it is our first novel in the modern + sense. Aside from this important fact, and viewed solely as a novel, it is + sentimental, grandiloquent, and wearisome. Its success at the time was + enormous, and Richardson began another series of letters (he could tell a + story in no other way) which occupied his leisure hours for the next six + years. The result was <i>Clarissa, or The History of a Young Lady</i>, + published in eight volumes in 1747-1748. This was another, and somewhat + better, sentimental novel; and it was received with immense enthusiasm. Of + all Richardson's heroines Clarissa is the most human. In her doubts and + scruples of conscience, and especially in her bitter grief and + humiliation, she is a real woman, in marked contrast with the mechanical + hero, Lovelace, who simply illustrates the author's inability to portray a + man's character. The dramatic element in this novel is strong, and is + increased by means of the letters, which enable the reader to keep close + to the characters of the story and to see life from their different view + points. Macaulay, who was deeply impressed by <i>Clarissa</i>, is said to + have made the remark that, were the novel lost, he could restore almost + the whole of it from memory. + </p> + <p> + Richardson now turned from his middle-class heroines, and in five or six + years completed another series of letters, in which he attempted to tell + the story of a man and an aristocrat. The result was <i>Sir Charles + Grandison</i> (1754), a novel in seven volumes, whose hero was intended to + be a model of aristocratic manners and virtues for the middle-class + people, who largely constituted the novelist's readers. For Richardson, + who began in <i>Pamela</i> with the purpose of teaching his hearers how to + write, ended with the deliberate purpose of teaching them how to live; and + in most of his work his chief object was, in his own words, to inculcate + virtue and good deportment. His novels, therefore, suffer as much from his + purpose as from his own limitations. Notwithstanding his tedious + moralizing and his other defects, Richardson in these three books gave + something entirely new to the literary world, and the world appreciated + the gift. This was the story of human life, told from within, and + depending for its interest not on incident or adventure, but on its truth + to human nature. Reading his work is, on the whole, like examining the + antiquated model of a stern-wheel steamer; it is interesting for its + undeveloped possibilities rather than for its achievement. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9zf" id="chap9zf">HENRY FIELDING</a> (1707-1754) + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. Judged by his ability alone, Fielding was the greatest of + this new group of novel writers, and one of the most artistic that our + literature has produced. He was born in East Stour, Dorsetshire, in 1707. + In contrast with Richardson, he was well educated, having spent several + years at the famous Eton school, and taken a degree in letters at the + University of Leyden in 1728. Moreover, he had a deeper knowledge of life, + gained from his own varied and sometimes riotous experience. For several + years after returning from Leyden he gained a precarious living by writing + plays, farces, and buffoneries for the stage. In 1735 he married an + admirable woman, of whom we have glimpses in two of his characters, + Amelia, and Sophia Western, and lived extravagantly on her little fortune + at East Stour. Having used up all his money, he returned to London and + studied law, gaining his living by occasional plays and by newspaper work. + For ten years, or more, little is definitely known of him, save that he + published his first novel, <i>Joseph Andrews</i>, in 1742, and that he was + made justice of the peace for Westminster in 1748. The remaining years of + his life, in which his best novels were written, were not given to + literature, but rather to his duties as magistrate, and especially to + breaking up the gangs of thieves and cutthroats which infested the streets + of London after nightfall. He died in Lisbon, whither he had gone for his + health, in 1754, and lies buried there in the English cemetery. The + pathetic account of this last journey, together with an inkling of the + generosity and kind-heartedness of the man, notwithstanding the scandals + and irregularities of his life, are found in his last work, the <i>Journal + of a Voyage to Lisbon</i>. + </p> + <p> + <b>Fielding's Work</b>. Fielding's first novel, <i>Joseph Andrews</i> + (1742), was inspired by the success of <i>Pamela</i>, and began as a + burlesque of the false sentimentality and the conventional virtues of + Richardson's heroine. He took for his hero the alleged brother of Pamela, + who was exposed to the same kind of temptations, but who, instead of being + rewarded for his virtue, was unceremoniously turned out of doors by his + mistress. There the burlesque ends; the hero takes to the open road, and + Fielding forgets all about Pamela in telling the adventures of Joseph and + his companion, Parson Adams. Unlike Richardson, who has no humor, who + minces words, and moralizes, and dotes on the sentimental woes of his + heroines, Fielding is direct, vigorous, hilarious, and coarse to the point + of vulgarity. He is full of animal spirits, and he tells the story of a + vagabond life, not for the sake of moralizing, like Richardson, or for + emphasizing a forced repentance, like Defoe, but simply because it + interests him, and his only concern is "to laugh men out of their + follies." So his story, though it abounds in unpleasant incidents, + generally leaves the reader with the strong impression of reality. + </p> + <p> + Fielding's later novels are <i>Jonathan Wild</i>, the story of a rogue, + which suggests Defoe's narrative; <i>The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling</i> + (1749), his best work; and <i>Amelia</i> (1751), the story of a good wife + in contrast with an unworthy husband. His strength in all these works is + in the vigorous but coarse figures, like those of Jan Steen's pictures, + which fill most of his pages; his weakness is in lack of taste, and in + barrenness of imagination or invention, which leads him to repeat his + plots and incidents with slight variations. In all his work sincerity is + perhaps the most marked characteristic. Fielding likes virile men, just as + they are, good and bad, but detests shams of every sort. His satire has + none of Swift's bitterness, but is subtle as that of Chaucer, and + good-natured as that of Steele. He never moralizes, though some of his + powerfully drawn scenes suggest a deeper moral lesson than anything in + Defoe or Richardson; and he never judges even the worst of his characters + without remembering his own frailty and tempering justice with mercy. On + the whole, though much of his work is perhaps in bad taste and is too + coarse for pleasant or profitable reading, Fielding must be regarded as an + artist, a very great artist, in realistic fiction; and the advanced + student who reads him will probably concur in the judgment of a modern + critic that, by giving us genuine pictures of men and women of his own + age, without moralizing over their vices and virtues, he became the real + founder of the modern novel. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap9zg" id="chap9zg">SMOLLETT AND STERNE</a> + </p> + <p> + Tobias Smollett (1721-1771) apparently tried to carry on Fielding's work; + but he lacked Fielding's genius, as well as his humor and inherent + kindness, and so crowded his pages with the horrors and brutalities which + are sometimes mistaken for realism. Smollett was a physician, of eccentric + manners and ferocious instincts, who developed his unnatural peculiarities + by going as a surgeon on a battleship, where he seems to have picked up + all the evils of the navy and of the medical profession to use later in + his novels. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Smollett's Novels</span>His three best known + works are <i>Roderick Random</i> (1748), a series of adventures related by + the hero; <i>Peregrine Pickle</i> (1751) in which he reflects with brutal + directness the worst of his experiences at sea; and <i>Humphrey Clinker</i> + (1771), his last work, recounting the mild adventures of a Welsh family in + a journey through England and Scotland. This last alone can be generally + read without arousing the readers profound disgust. Without any particular + ability, he models his novels on <i>Don Quixote</i>, and the result is + simply a series of coarse adventures which are characteristic of the + picaresque novel of his age. Were it not for the fact that he + unconsciously imitates Jonson's <i>Every Man in His Humour</i>, he would + hardly be named among our writers of fiction; but in seizing upon some + grotesque habit or peculiarity and making a character out of it--such as + Commodore Trunnion in <i>Peregrine Pickle</i>, Matthew Bramble in <i>Humphrey + Clinker</i>, and Bowling in <i>Roderick Random</i>--he laid the foundation + for that exaggeration in portraying human eccentricities which finds a + climax in Dickens's caricatures. + </p> + <p> + Lawrence Sterne (1713-1768) has been compared to a "little bronze satyr of + antiquity in whose hollow body exquisite odors were stored." That is true, + so far as the satyr is concerned; for a more weazened, unlovely + personality would be hard to find. The only question in the comparison is + in regard to the character of the odors, and that is a matter of taste. In + his work he is the reverse of Smollett, the latter being given over to + coarse vulgarities, which are often mistaken for realism; the former to + whims and vagaries and sentimental tears, which frequently only disguise a + sneer at human grief and pity. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Sterne's Work</span>The two books by which Sterne + is remembered are <i>Tristram Shandy</i> and <i>A Sentimental Journey + through France and Italy</i>. These are termed novels for the simple + reason that we know not what else to call them. The former was begun, in + his own words, "with no real idea of how it was to turn out"; its nine + volumes, published at intervals from 1760 to 1767, proceeded in the most + aimless way, recording the experiences of the eccentric Shandy family; and + the book was never finished. Its strength lies chiefly in its brilliant + style, the most remarkable of the age, and in its odd characters, like + Uncle Toby and Corporal Trim, which, with all their eccentricities, are so + humanized by the author's genius that they belong among the great + "creations" of our literature. The <i>Sentimental Journey</i> is a curious + combination of fiction, sketches of travel, miscellaneous essays on odd + subjects,--all marked by the same brilliancy of style, and all stamped + with Sterne's false attitude towards everything in life. Many of its best + passages were either adapted or taken bodily from Burton, Rabelais, and a + score of other writers; so that, in reading Sterne, one is never quite + sure how much is his own work, though the mark of his grotesque genius is + on every page. + </p> + <p> + <b>The First Novelists and their Work</b>. With the publication of + Goldsmith's <i>Vicar of Wakefield</i> in 1766 the first series of English + novels came to a suitable close. Of this work, with its abundance of + homely sentiment clustering about the family life as the most sacred of + Anglo-Saxon institutions, we have already spoken<sup><a href="#fn217" + name="rfn217" id="rfn217">[217]</a></sup> If we except <i>Robinson Crusoe</i>, + as an adventure story, the <i>Vicar of Wakefield</i> is the only novel of + the period which can be freely recommended to all readers, as giving an + excellent idea of the new literary type, which was perhaps more remarkable + for its promise than for its achievement. In the short space of + twenty-five years there suddenly appeared and flourished a new form of + literature, which influenced all Europe for nearly a century, and which + still furnishes the largest part of our literary enjoyment. Each + successive novelist brought some new element to the work, as when Fielding + supplied animal vigor and humor to Richardson's analysis of a human heart, + and Sterne added brilliancy, and Goldsmith emphasized purity and the + honest domestic sentiments which are still the greatest ruling force among + men. So these early workers were like men engaged in carving a perfect + cameo from the reverse side. One works the profile, another the eyes, a + third the mouth and the fine lines of character; and not till the work is + finished, and the cameo turned, do we see the complete human face and read + its meaning. Such, in a parable, is the story of the English novel. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9zh" id="chap9zh">Summary of the Eighteenth Century</a></b>. + The period we are studying is included between the English Revolution of + 1688 and the beginning of the French Revolution of 1789. Historically, the + period begins in a remarkable way by the adoption of the Bill of Rights in + 1689. This famous bill was the third and final step in the establishment + of constitutional government, the first step being the Great Charter + (1215), and the second the Petition of Right (1628). The modern form of + cabinet government was established in the reign of George I (1714-1727). + The foreign prestige of England was strengthened by the victories of + Marlborough on the Continent, in the War of the Spanish Succession; and + the bounds of empire were enormously increased by Clive in India, by Cook + in Australia and the islands of the Pacific, and by English victories over + the French in Canada and the Mississippi Valley, during the Seven Years', + or French and Indian, Wars. Politically, the country was divided into + Whigs and Tories: the former seeking greater liberty for the people; the + latter upholding the king against popular government. The continued strife + between these two political parties had a direct (and generally a harmful) + influence on literature, as many of the great writers were used by the + Whig or Tory party to advance its own interests and to satirize its + enemies. Notwithstanding this perpetual strife of parties, the age is + remarkable for the rapid social development, which soon expressed itself + in literature. Clubs and coffeehouses multiplied, and the social life of + these clubs resulted in better manners, in a general feeling of + toleration, and especially in a kind of superficial elegance which shows + itself in most of the prose and poetry of the period. On the other hand, + the moral standard of the nation was very low; bands of rowdies infested + the city streets after nightfall; bribery and corruption were the rule in + politics; and drunkenness was frightfully prevalent among all classes. + Swift's degraded race of Yahoos is a reflection of the degradation to be + seen in multitudes of London saloons. This low standard of morals + emphasizes the importance of the great Methodist revival under Whitefield + and Wesley, which began in the second quarter of the eighteenth century. + </p> + <p> + The literature of the century is remarkably complex, but we may classify + it all under three general heads,--the Reign of so-called Classicism, the + Revival of Romantic Poetry, and the Beginning of the Modern Novel. The + first half of the century, especially, is an age of prose, owing largely + to the fact that the practical and social interests of the age demanded + expression. Modern newspapers, like the <i>Chronicle, Post</i>, and <i>Times</i>, + and literary magazines, like the <i>Tatler</i> and <i>Spectator</i>, which + began in this age, greatly influenced the development of a serviceable + prose style. The poetry of the first half of the century, as typified in + Pope, was polished, unimaginative, formal; and the closed couplet was in + general use, supplanting all other forms of verse. Both prose and poetry + were too frequently satiric, and satire does not tend to produce a high + type of literature. These tendencies in poetry were modified, in the + latter part of the century, by the revival of romantic poetry. + </p> + <p> + In our study we have noted: (1) the Augustan or Classic Age; the meaning + of Classicism; the life and work of Alexander Pope, the greatest poet of + the age; of Jonathan Swift, the satirist; of Joseph Addison, the essayist; + of Richard Steele, who was the original genius of the <i>Tatler</i> and + the <i>Spectator</i>; of Samuel Johnson, who for nearly half a century was + the dictator of English letters; of James Boswell, who gave us the + immortal <i>Life of Johnson</i>; of Edmund Burke, the greatest of English + orators; and of Edward Gibbon, the historian, famous for his <i>Decline + and Fall of the Roman Empire</i>. + </p> + <p> + (2) The Revival of Romantic Poetry; the meaning of Romanticism; the life + and work of Thomas Gray; of Oliver Goldsmith, famous as poet, dramatist, + and novelist; of William Cowper; of Robert Burns, the greatest of Scottish + poets; of William Blake, the mystic; and the minor poets of the early + romantic movement,--James Thomson, William Collins, George Crabbe, James + Macpherson, author of the Ossian poems, Thomas Chatterton, the boy who + originated the Rowley Papers, and Thomas Percy, whose work for literature + was to collect the old ballads, which he called the <i>Reliques of Ancient + English Poetry</i>, and to translate the stories of Norse mythology in his + <i>Northern Antiquities</i>. + </p> + <p> + (3) The First English Novelists; the meaning and history of the modern + novel; the life and work of Daniel Defoe, author of <i>Robinson Crusoe</i>, + who is hardly to be called a novelist, but whom we placed among the + pioneers; and the novels of Richardson, Fielding, Smollett, Sterne, and + Goldsmith. + </p> + <p> + <b>Selections for Reading</b>. Manly's English Poetry and Manly's English + Prose (Ginn and Company) are two excellent volumes containing selections + from all authors studied. Ward's English Poets (4 vols.), Craik's English + Prose Selections (5 vols.), and Garnett's English Prose from Elizabeth to + Victoria are useful for supplementary reading. All important works should + be read entire, in one of the following inexpensive editions, published + for school use. (For titles and publishers, see General Bibliography at + end of this book.) + </p> + <p> + <i>Pope</i>. Rape of the Lock and Other Poems, edited by Parrott, in + Standard English Classics. Various other school editions of the Essay on + Man, and Rape of the Lock, in Riverside Literature Series, Pocket + Classics, etc.; Pope's Iliad, I, VI, XXII, XXIV, in Standard English + Classics, etc. Selections from Pope, edited by Reed, in Holt's English + Readings. + </p> + <p> + <i>Swift</i>. Gulliver's Travels, school edition by Ginn and Company; also + in Temple Classics, etc. Selections from Swift, edited by Winchester, in + Athenaeum Press (announced); the same, edited by Craik, in Clarendon + Press; the same, edited by Prescott, in Holt's English Readings. Battle of + the Books, in King's Classics, Bohn's Library, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Addison and Steele</i>. Sir Roger de Coverley Papers, in Standard + English Classics, Riverside Literature, etc.; Selections from Addison, + edited by Wendell and Greenough, and Selections from Steele, edited by + Carpenter, both in Athenaeum Press; various other selections, in Golden + Treasury Series, Camelot Series, Holt's English Readings, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Johnson</i>. Lives of the Poets, in Cassell's National Library; + Selected Essays, edited by G.B. Hill (Dent); Selections, in Little + Masterpieces Series; Rasselas, in Holt's English Readings, and in Morley's + Universal Library. + </p> + <p> + <i>Boswell</i>. Life of Johnson (2 vols.), in Everyman's Library; the same + (3 vols.), in Library of English Classics; also in Temple Classics, and + Bohn's Library. + </p> + <p> + <i>Burke</i>. American Taxation, Conciliation with America, Letter to a + Noble Lord, in Standard English Classics; various speeches, in Pocket + Classics, Riverside Literature Series, etc.; Selections, edited by B. + Perry (Holt); Speeches on America (Heath, etc.). + </p> + <p> + <i>Gibbon</i>. The Student's Gibbon, abridged (Murray); Memoirs, edited by + Emerson, in Athenaeum Press. + </p> + <p> + <i>Gray</i>. Selections, edited by W.L. Phelps, in Athenaeum Press; + Selections from Gray and Cowper, in Canterbury Poets, Riverside + Literature, etc.; Gray's Elegy, in Selections from Five English Poets + (Ginn and Company). + </p> + <p> + <i>Goldsmith</i>. Deserted Village, in Standard English Classics, etc.; + Vicar of Wakefield, in Standard English Classics, Everyman's Library, + King's Classics, etc.; She Stoops to Conquer, in Pocket Classics, Belles + Lettres Series, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Cowper</i>. Selections, edited by Murray, in Athenaeum Press; + Selections, in Cassell's National Library, Canterbury Poets, etc.; The + Task, in Temple Classics. + </p> + <p> + <i>Burns</i>. Representative Poems, with Carlyle's Essay on Burns, edited + by C.L. Hanson, in Standard English Classics; Selections, in Pocket + Classics, Riverside Literature, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Blake</i>. Poems, edited by W.B. Yeats, in Muses' Library; Selections, + in Canterbury Poets, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Minor Poets</i>. Thomson, Collins, Crabbe, etc. Selections, in Manly's + English Poetry. Thomson's The Seasons, and Castle of Indolence, in Modern + Classics; the same poems in Clarendon Press, and in Temple Classics; + Selections from Thomson, in Cassell's National Library. Chatterton's + poems, in Canterbury Poets. Macpherson's Ossian, in Canterbury Poets. + Percy's Reliques, in Everyman's Library, Chandos Classics, Bohn's Library, + etc. More recent and reliable collections of popular ballads, for school + use, are Gummere's Old English Ballads, in Athenaeum Press; The Ballad + Book, edited by Allingham, in Goldern Treasury Series; Gayley and + Flaherty's Poetry of the People (Ginn and Company), etc. See Bibliography + on p. 64. + </p> + <p> + <i>Defoe</i>. Robinson Crusoe, school edition, by Ginn and Company; the + same in Pocket Classics, etc.; Journal of the Plague Year, edited by + Hurlbut (Ginn and Company); the same, in Everyman's Library, etc.; Essay + on Projects, in Cassell's National Library. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Novelists</i>. Manly's English Prose; Craik's English Prose + Selections, vol. 4; Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield (see above); Selected + Essays of Fielding, edited by Gerould, in Athenæum Press. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9zi" id="chap9zi">Bibliography</a></b>.<sup><a + href="#fn218" name="rfn218" id="rfn218">[218]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + <i><b>History</b></i>. <i>Text-book</i>, Montgomery, pp. 280-322; Cheyney, + pp. 516-574. <i>General Works</i>, Greene, ch. 9, sec. 7, to ch. 10, sec. + 4; Traill, Gardiner, Macaulay, etc. <i>Special Works</i>, Lecky's History + of England in the Eighteenth Century, vols. 1-3; Morris's The Age of Queen + Anne and the Early Hanoverians (Epochs of Modern History); Seeley's The + Expansion of England; Macaulay's Clive, and Chatham; Thackeray's The Four + Georges, and the English Humorists; Ashton's Social Life in the Reign of + Queen Anne; Susan Hale's Men and Manners of the Eighteenth Century; + Sydney's England and the English in the Eighteenth Century. + </p> + <p> + <i><b>Literature</b>. General Works</i>. The Cambridge Literature, Taine, + Saintsbury, etc. <i>Special Works</i>. Perry's English Literature in the + Eighteenth Century; L. Stephen's English Literature in the Eighteenth + Century; Seccombe's The Age of Johnson; Dennis's The Age of Pope; Gosse's + History of English Literature in the Eighteenth Century; Whitwell's Some + Eighteenth Century Men of Letters (Cowper, Sterne, Fielding, Goldsmith, + Gray, Johnson, and Boswell); Johnson's Eighteenth Century Letters and + Letter Writers; Williams's English Letters and Letter Writers of the + Eighteenth Century; Minto's Manual of English Prose Writers; Clark's Study + of English Prose Writers; Bourne's English Newspapers; J.B. Williams's A + History of English Journalism; L. Stephen's History of English Thought in + the Eighteenth Century. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Romantic Revival</i>. W.L. Phelps's The Beginnings of the English + Romantic Movement; Beers's English Romanticism in the Eighteenth Century. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Novel</i>. Raleigh's The English Novel; Simonds's An Introduction + to the Study of English Fiction; Cross's The Development of the English + Novel; Jusserand's The English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare; + Stoddard's The Evolution of the English Novel; Warren's The History of the + English Novel previous to the Seventeenth Century; Masson's British + Novelists and their Styles; S. Lanier's The English Novel; Hamilton's the + Materials and Methods of Fiction; Perry's A Study of Prose Fiction. + </p> + <p> + <i>Pope</i>. Texts: Works in Globe Edition, edited by A.W. Ward; in + Cambridge Poets, edited by H.W. Boynton; Satires and Epistles, in + Clarendon Press; Letters, in English Letters and Letter Writers of the + Eighteenth Century, edited by H. Williams (Bell). Life: by Courthope; by + L. Stephen (English Men of Letters Series); by Ward, in Globe Edition; by + Johnson, in Lives of the Poets (Cassell's National Library, etc.). + Criticism: Essays, by L. Stephen, in Hours in a Library; by Lowell, in My + Study Windows; by De Quincey, in Biographical Essays, and in Essays on the + Poets; by Thackeray, in English Humorists; by Sainte-Beuve, in English + Portraits. Warton's Genius and Writings of Pope (interesting chiefly from + the historical view point, as the first definite and extended attack on + Pope's writings). + </p> + <p> + <i>Swift</i>. Texts: Works, 19 vols., ed. by Walter Scott (Edinburgh, + 1814-1824); best edition of prose works is edited by T. Scott, with + introduction by Lecky, 12 vols. (Bonn's Library); Selections, edited by + Winchester (Ginn and Company); also in Camelot Series, Carisbrooke + Library, etc., Journal to Stella, (Dutton, also Putnam); Letters, in + Eighteenth Century Letters and Letter Writers, ed. by T.B. Johnson. Life: + by L. Stephen (English Men of Letters); by Collins; by Craik; by J. + Forster; by Macaulay; by Walter Scott; by Johnson, in Lives of the Poets. + Criticism: Essays, by Thackeray, in English Humorists; by A. Dobson, in + Eighteenth Century Vignettes; by Masson, in the Three Devils and Other + Essays. + </p> + <p> + <i>Addison</i>. Texts: Works, in Bohn's British Classics; Selections, in + Athenaeum Press, etc. Life: by Lucy Aiken; by Courthope (English Men of + Letters); by Johnson, in Lives of the Poets. Criticism: Essays, by + Macaulay; by Thackeray. + </p> + <p> + <i>Steele</i>. Texts: Selections, edited by Carpenter in Athenaeum Press + (Ginn and Company); various other Selections published by Putnam, Bangs, + in Camelot Series, etc.; Plays, edited by Aitken, in Mermaid Series. Life: + by Aitken; by A. Dobson (English Worthies Series). Criticism: Essays by + Thackeray; by Dobson, in Eighteenth Century Vignettes. + </p> + <p> + <i>Johnson</i>. Texts: Works, edited by Walesby, 11 vols. (Oxford, 1825); + the same, edited by G.B. Hill, in Clarendon Press. Essays, edited by G.B. + Hill (Dent); the same, in Camelot series; Rasselas, various school + editions, by Ginn and Company, Holt, etc.; Selections from Lives of the + Poets, with Macaulay's Life of Johnson, edited by Matthew Arnold + (Macmillan). Life: Boswell's Life of Johnson, in Everyman's Library, + Temple Classics, Library of English Classics, etc.; by L. Stephen (English + Men of Letters); by Grant. Criticism: G.B. Hill's Dr. Johnson, his Friends + and Critics; Essays, by L. Stephen, in Hours in a Library; by Macaulay, + Birrell, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Boswell</i>. Texts: Life of Johnson, edited by G.B. Hill (London, + 1874); various other editions (see above). Life: by Fitzgerald (London, + 1891); Roger's Boswelliana (London, 1874). Whitfield's Some Eighteenth + Century Men of Letters. + </p> + <p> + <i>Burke</i>. Texts: Works, 12 vols. (Boston, 1871); reprinted, 6 vols., + in Bohn's Library; Selected Works, edited by Payne, in Clarendon Press; On + the Sublime and Beautiful, in Temple Classics. For various speeches, see + Selections for Reading, above. Life: by Prior; by Morley (English Men of + Letters). Criticism: Essay, by Birrell, in Obiter Dicta. See also Dowden's + French Revolution and English Literature, and Woodrow Wilson's Mere + Literature. + </p> + <p> + <i>Gibbon</i>. Texts: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, edited by + Bury, 7 vols. (London, 1896-1900); various other editions; The Student's + Gibbon, abridged (Murray); Memoirs, edited by Emerson, in Athenaeum Press + (Ginn and Company). Life: by Morison (English Men of Letters). Criticism: + Essays, by Birrell, in Collected Essays and Res Judicatae; by Stephen, in + Studies of a Biographer; by Robertson, in Pioneer Humanists; by Frederick + Harrison, in Ruskin and Other Literary Estimates; by Bagehot, in Literary + Studies; by Sainte-Beuve, in English Portraits. See also Anton's Masters + in History. + </p> + <p> + <i>Sheridan</i>. Texts: Speeches, 5 vols. (London, 1816); Plays, edited by + W.F. Rae (London, 1902); the same, edited by R. Dircks, in Camelot Series; + Major Dramas, in Athenaeum Press; Plays also in Morley's Universal + Library, Macmillan's English Classics, etc. Life: by Rae; by M. Oliphant + (English Men of Letters); by L. Sanders (Great Writers). + </p> + <p> + <i>Gray</i>. Texts: Works, edited by Gosse (Macmillan); Poems, in + Routledge's Pocket Library, Chandos Classics, etc.; Selections, in + Athenaeum Press, etc.; Letters, edited by D.C. Tovey (Bohn). Life: by + Gosse (English Men of Letters). Criticism: Essays, by Lowell, in Latest + Literary Essays; by M. Arnold, in Essays in Criticism; by L. Stephen, in + Hours in a Library; by A. Dobson, in Eighteenth Century Vignettes. + </p> + <p> + <i>Goldsmith</i>. Texts: edited by Masson, Globe edition; Works, edited by + Aiken and Tuckerman (Crowell); the same, edited by A. Dobson (Dent); + Morley's Universal Library; Arber's The Goldsmith Anthology (Frowde). See + also Selections for Reading, above. Life: by Washington Irving; by A. + Dobson (Great Writer's Series); by Black (English Men of Letters); by J. + Forster; by Prior. Criticism: Essays, by Macaulay; by Thackeray; by De + Quincey; by A. Dobson, in Miscellanies. + </p> + <p> + <i>Cowper</i>. Texts: Works, Globe and Aldine editions; also in Chandos + Classics; Selections, in Athenasum Press, Canterbury Poets, etc. The + Correspondence of William Cowper, edited by T. Wright, 4 vols. (Dodd, Mead + & Company). Life: by Goldwin Smith (English Men of Letters); by + Wright; by Southey. Criticism: Essays, by L. Stephen; by Bagehot; by + Sainte-Beuve; by Birrell; by Stopford Brooke; by A. Dobson (see above). + See also Woodberry's Makers of Literature. + </p> + <p> + <i>Burns</i>. Texts: Works, Cambridge Poets Edition (containing Henley's + Study of Burns), Globe and Aldine editions, Clarendon Press, Canterbury + Poets, etc.; Selections, in Athenaeum Press, etc.; Letters, in Camelot + Series. Life: by Cunningham; by Henley; by Setoun; by Blackie (Great + Writers); by Shairp (English Men of Letters). Criticism: Essays, by + Carlyle; by R.L. Stevenson, in Familiar Studies; by Hazlitt, in Lectures + on the English Poets; by Stopford Brooke, in Theology in the English + Poets; by J. Forster, in Great Teachers. + </p> + <p> + <i>Blake</i>. Texts: Poems, Aldine edition; also in Canterbury Poets; + Complete Works, edited by Ellis and Yeats (London, 1893); Selections, + edited by W.B. Yeats, in the Muses' Library (Dutton); Letters, with Life + by F. Tatham, edited by A.G.B. Russell (Scribner's, 1896). Life: by + Gilchrist; by Story; by Symons. Criticism: Swinburne's William Blake, a + Critical Study; Ellis's The Real Blake (McClure, 1907); Elizabeth Cary's + The Art of William Blake (Moffat, Yard & Company, 1907). Essay, by + A.C. Benson, in Essays. + </p> + <p> + <i>Thomson</i>. Texts: Works, Aldine edition; The Seasons, and Castle of + Indolence, in Clarendon Press, etc. Life: by Bayne; by G.B. Macaulay + (English Men of Letters). Essay, by Hazlitt, in Lectures on the English + Poets. + </p> + <p> + <i>Collins</i>. Works, edited by Bronson, in Athenaeum Press; also in + Aldine edition. Life: by Johnson, in Lives of the Poets. Essay, by + Swinburne, in Miscellanies. See also Beers's English Romanticism in the + Eighteenth Century. + </p> + <p> + <i>Crabbe</i>. Works, with memoir by his son, G. Crabbe, 8 vols. (London, + 1834-1835); Poems, edited by A.W. Ward, 3 vols., in Cambridge English + Classics (Cambridge, 1905); Selections, in Temple Classics, Canterbury + Poets, etc. Life: by Kebbel (Great Writers); by Ainger (English Men of + Letters). Essays, by L. Stephen, in Hours in a Library; by Woodberry, in + Makers of Literature; by Saintsbury, in Essays in English Literature; by + Courthope, in Ward's English Poets; by Edward Fitzgerald, in Miscellanies; + by Hazlitt, in Spirit of the Age. + </p> + <p> + <i>Macpherson</i>. Texts: Ossian, in Canterbury Poets; Poems, translated + by Macpherson, edited by Todd (London, 1888). Life and Letters, edited by + Saunders (London, 1894). Criticism: J.S. Smart's James Macpherson (Nutt, + 1905). See also Beers's English Romanticism. For relation of Macpherson's + work to the original Ossian, see Dean of Lismore's Book, edited by + MacLauchlan (Edinburgh, 1862); also Poems of Ossian, translated by Clerk + (Edinburgh, 1870). + </p> + <p> + <i>Chatterton</i>. Works, edited by Skeat (London, 1875); Poems, in + Canterbury Poets. Life: by Russell; by Wilson; Masson's Chatterton, a + Biography. Criticism: C.E. Russell's Thomas Chatterton (Moffatt, Yard + & Company); Essays, by Watts-Dunton, in Ward's English Poets; by + Masson, in Essays Biographical and Critical. See also Beers's English + Romanticism. + </p> + <p> + <i>Percy</i>. Reliques, edited by Wheatley (London, 1891); the same, in + Everyman's Library, Chandos Classics, etc. Essay, by J.W. Hales, Revival + of Ballad Poetry, in Folia Literaria. See also Beers's English + Romanticism, etc. (Special works, above.) + </p> + <p> + <i>Defoe</i>. Texts: Romances and Narratives, edited by Aitken (Dent); + Poems and Pamphlets, in Arber's English Garner, vol. 8; school editions of + Robinson Crusoe, and Journal of the Plague Year (Ginn and Company, etc.); + Captain Singleton, and Memoirs of a Cavalier, in Everyman's Library; Early + Writings, in Carisbrooke Library (Routledge). Life: by W. Lee; by Minto + (English Men of Letters); by Wright; also in Westminster Biographies + (Small, Maynard). Essay, by L. Stephen, in Hours in a Library. + </p> + <p> + <i>Richardson</i>. Works: edited by L. Stephen (London, 1883); edited by + Philips, with life (New York, 1901); Correspondence, edited by A. + Barbauld, 6 vols. (London, 1804). Life: by Thomson; by A. Dobson. Essays, + by L. Stephen, in Hours in a Library; by A. Dobson, in Eighteenth Century + Vignettes. + </p> + <p> + <i>Fielding</i>. Works: Temple Edition, edited by Saintsbury (Dent); + Selected Essays, in Athenaeum Press; Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon, in + Cassell's National Library. Life: by Dobson (English Men of Letters); + Lawrence's Life and Times of Fielding. Essays, by Lowell; by Thackeray; by + L. Stephen; by A. Dobson (see above); by G.B. Smith, in Poets and + Novelists. + </p> + <p> + <i>Smollett</i>. Works, edited by Saintsbury (London, 1895); Works, edited + by Henley (Scribner). Life: by Hannah (Great Writers); by Smeaton; by + Chambers. Essays, by Thackeray; by Henley; by Dobson, in Eighteenth + Century Vignettes. + </p> + <p> + <i>Sterne</i>. Works: edited by Saintsbury (Dent); Tristram Shandy, and A + Sentimental Journey, in Temple Classics, Morley's Universal Library, etc. + Life: by Fitzgerald; by Traill (English Men of Letters); Life and Times, + by W.L. Cross (Macmillan). Essays, by Thackeray; by Bagehot, in Literary + Studies. + </p> + <p> + <i>Horace Walpole</i>. Texts: Castle of Otranto, in King's Classics, + Cassell's National Library, etc. Letters, edited by C.D. Yonge. Morley's + Walpole, in Twelve English Statesmen (Macmillan). Essay, by L. Stephen, in + Hours in a Library. See also Beers's English Romanticism. + </p> + <p> + <i>Frances Burney</i> (Madame d'Arblay). Texts: Evelina, in Temple + Classics, 2 vols. (Macmillan). Diary and Letters, edited by S.C. Woolsey. + Seeley's Fanny Burney and her Friends. Essay, by Macaulay. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap9zj" id="chap9zj">Suggestive Questions</a></b>. 1. + Describe briefly the social development of the eighteenth century. What + effect did this have on literature? What accounts for the prevalence of + prose? What influence did the first newspapers exert on life and + literature? How do the readers of this age compare with those of the Age + of Elizabeth? + </p> + <p> + 2. How do you explain the fact that satire was largely used in both prose + and poetry? Name the principal satires of the age. What is the chief + object of satire? of literature? How do the two objects conflict? + </p> + <p> + 3. What is the meaning of the term "classicism," as applied to the + literature of this age? Did the classicism of Johnson, for instance, have + any relation to classic literature in its true sense? Why is this period + called the Augustan Age? Why was Shakespeare not regarded by this age as a + classical writer? + </p> + <p> + 4. <i>Pope</i>. In what respect is Pope a unique writer? Tell briefly the + story of his life. What are his principal works? How does he reflect the + critical spirit of his age? What are the chief characteristics of his + poetry? What do you find to copy in his style? What is lacking in his + poetry? Compare his subjects with those of Burns of Tennyson or Milton, + for instance. How would Chaucer or Burns tell the story of the Rape of the + Lock? What similarity do you find between Pope's poetry and Addison's + prose? + </p> + <p> + 5. <i>Swift</i>. What is the general character of Swift's work? Name his + chief satires. What is there to copy in his style? Does he ever strive for + ornament or effect in writing? Compare Swift's <i>Gulliver's Travels</i> + with Defoe's <i>Robinson Crusoe</i>, in style, purpose of writing, and + interest. What resemblances do you find in these two contemporary writers? + Can you explain the continued popularity of <i>Gulliver's Travels</i>? + </p> + <p> + 6. <i>Addison and Steele</i>. What great work did Addison and Steele do + for literature? Make a brief comparison between these two men, having in + mind their purpose, humor, knowledge of life, and human sympathy, as + shown, for instance, in No. 112 and No. 2 of the Spectator Essays. Compare + their humor with that of Swift. How is their work a preparation for the + novel? + </p> + <p> + 7. <i>Johnson</i>. For what is Dr. Johnson famous in literature? Can you + explain his great influence? Compare his style with that of Swift or + Defoe. What are the remarkable elements in Boswell's <i>Life of Johnson</i>? + Write a description of an imaginary meeting of Johnson, Goldsmith, and + Boswell in a coffeehouse. + </p> + <p> + 8. <i>Burke</i>. For what is Burke remarkable? What great objects + influenced him in the three periods of his life? Why has he been called a + romantic poet who speaks in prose? Compare his use of imagery with that of + other writers of the period. What is there to copy and what is there to + avoid in his style? Can you trace the influence of Burke's American + speeches on later English politics? What similarities do you find between + Burke and Milton, as revealed in their prose works? + </p> + <p> + 9. <i>Gibbon</i>. For what is Gibbon "worthy to be remembered"? Why does + he mark an epoch in historical writing? What is meant by the scientific + method of writing history? Compare Gibbon's style with that of Johnson. + Contrast it with that of Swift, and also with that of some modern + historian, Parkman, for example. + </p> + <p> + 10. What is meant by the term "romanticism?" What are its chief + characteristics? How does it differ from classicism? Illustrate the + meaning from the work of Gray, Cowper, or Burns. Can you explain the + prevalence of melancholy in romanticism? + </p> + <p> + 11. <i>Gray</i>. What are the chief works of Gray? Can you explain the + continued popularity of his "Elegy"? What romantic elements are found in + his poetry? What resemblances and what differences do you find in the + works of Gray and of Goldsmith? + </p> + <p> + 12. <i>Goldsmith</i>. Tell the story of Goldsmith's life. What are his + chief works? Show from <i>The Deserted Village</i> the romantic and the + so-called classic elements in his work. What great work did he do for the + early novel, in <i>The Vicar of Wakefield</i>? Can you explain the + popularity of <i>She Stoops to Conquer</i>? Name some of Goldsmith's + characters who have found a permanent place in our literature. What + personal reminiscences have you noted in <i>The Traveller</i>, <i>The + Deserted Village</i>, and <i>She Stoops to Conquer</i>? + </p> + <p> + 13. <i>Cowper</i>. Describe Cowper's <i>The Task</i>. How does it show the + romantic spirit? Give passages from "John Gilpin" to illustrate Cowper's + humor. + </p> + <p> + 14. <i>Burns</i>. Tell the story of Burns's life. Some one has said, "The + measure of a man's sin is the difference between what he is and what he + might be." Comment upon this, with reference to Burns. What is the general + character of his poetry? Why is he called the poet of common men? What + subjects does he choose for his poetry? Compare him, in this respect, with + Pope. What elements in the poet's character are revealed in such poems as + "To a Mouse" and "To a Mountain Daisy"? How do Burns and Gray regard + nature? What poems show his sympathy with the French Revolution, and with + democracy? Read "The Cotter's Saturday Night," and explain its enduring + interest. Can you explain the secret of Burns's great popularity? + </p> + <p> + 15. <i>Blake</i>. What are the characteristics of Blake's poetry? Can you + explain why Blake, though the greatest poetic genius of the age, is so + little appreciated? + </p> + <p> + 16. <i>Percy</i>. In what respect did Percy's <i>Reliques</i> influence + the romantic movement? What are the defects in his collection of ballads? + Can you explain why such a crude poem as "Chevy Chase" should be popular + with an age that delighted in Pope's "Essay on Man"? + </p> + <p> + 17. <i>Macpherson</i>. What is meant by Macpherson's "Ossian"? Can you + account for the remarkable success of the Ossianic forgeries? + </p> + <p> + 18. <i>Chatterton</i>. Tell the story of Chatterton and the Rowley Poems. + Read Chatterton's "Bristowe Tragedie," and compare it, in style and + interest, with the old ballads, like "The Battle of Otterburn" or "The + Hunting of the Cheviot" (all in Manly's <i>English Poetry</i>). + </p> + <p> + 19. <i>The First Novelists</i>. What is meant by the modern novel? How + does it differ from the early romance and from the adventure story? What + are some of the precursors of the novel? What was the purpose of stories + modeled after <i>Don Quixote</i>? What is the significance of <i>Pamela</i>? + What elements did Fielding add to the novel? What good work did + Goldsmith's <i>Vicar of Wakefield</i> accomplish? Compare Goldsmith, in + this respect, with Steele and Addison. + </p> + <table> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <big><a name="chap9zk" id="chap9zk">CHRONOLOGY</a></big> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <i>End of Seventeenth and the Eighteenth Century</i> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2"> + HISTORY + </th> + <th colspan="2"> + LITERATURE + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1689. + </td> + <td> + William and Mary + </td> + <td> + 1683-1719. + </td> + <td> + Defoe's early writings + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Bill of Rights. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Toleration Act + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1695. + </td> + <td> + Press made free + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1700(?) + </td> + <td> + Beginning of London clubs + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1702. + </td> + <td> + Anne (d. 1714) + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + War of Spanish Succession + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1702. + </td> + <td> + First daily newspaper + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1704. + </td> + <td> + Battle of Blenheim + </td> + <td> + 1704. + </td> + <td> + Addison's The Campaign + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Swift's Tale of a Tub + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1707. + </td> + <td> + Union of England and Scotland + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1709. + </td> + <td> + The Tatler + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Johnson born (d. 1784) + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1710-1713. + </td> + <td> + Swift in London. Journal + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + to Stella + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1711. + </td> + <td> + The Spectator + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1712. + </td> + <td> + Pope's Rape of the Lock + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1714. + </td> + <td> + George I (d. 1727) + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1719. + </td> + <td> + Robinson Crusoe + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1721. + </td> + <td> + Cabinet government, Walpole + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + first prime minister + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1726. + </td> + <td> + Gulliver's Travels + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1726-1730. + </td> + <td> + Thomson's The Seasons + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1727. + </td> + <td> + George II (d. 1760) + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1732-1734. + </td> + <td> + Essay on Man + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1738. + </td> + <td> + Rise of Methodism + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1740. + </td> + <td> + Richardson's Pamela + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1740. + </td> + <td> + War of Austrian Succession + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1742. + </td> + <td> + Fielding's Joesph Andrews + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1746. + </td> + <td> + Jacobite Rebellion + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1749. + </td> + <td> + Fielding's Tom Jones + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1750-1752. + </td> + <td> + Johnson's The Rambler + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1750-1757. + </td> + <td> + Conquest of India + </td> + <td> + 1751. + </td> + <td> + Gray's Elegy + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1755. + </td> + <td> + Johnson's Dictionary + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1756. + </td> + <td> + War with France + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1759. + </td> + <td> + Wolf at Quebec + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1760. + </td> + <td> + George III (d. 1820) + </td> + <td> + 1760-1767. + </td> + <td> + Sterne's Tristram Shandy + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1764. + </td> + <td> + Johnson's Literary Club + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1765. + </td> + <td> + Stamp Act + </td> + <td> + 1765. + </td> + <td> + Percy's Reliques + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1766. + </td> + <td> + Goldsmith's Vicar of + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Wakefield + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1770. + </td> + <td> + Goldsmith's Deserted Village + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1771. + </td> + <td> + Beginning of great newspapers + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1773. + </td> + <td> + Boston Tea Party + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1774. + </td> + <td> + Howard's prison reforms + </td> + <td> + 1774-1775. + </td> + <td> + Burke's American speeches + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1775. + </td> + <td> + American Revolution + </td> + <td> + 1776-1788. + </td> + <td> + Gibbon's Rome + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1776. + </td> + <td> + Declaration of Independence + </td> + <td> + 1779. + </td> + <td> + Cowper's Olney Hymns + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1779-81. + </td> + <td> + Johnson's Lives of the Poets + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1783. + </td> + <td> + Treaty of Paris + </td> + <td> + 1783. + </td> + <td> + Blake's Poetical Sketches + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1785. + </td> + <td> + Cowper's The Task + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + The London Times + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1786. + </td> + <td> + Trial of Warren Hastings + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1786. + </td> + <td> + Burns's first poems (the + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Kilmarnock Burns) + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Burke's Warren Hastings + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1789-1799. + </td> + <td> + French Revolution + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1790. + </td> + <td> + Burke's French Revolution + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1791. + </td> + <td> + Boswell's Life of Johnson + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1793. + </td> + <td> + War with France + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr /> + <h1> + <a name="chap10" id="chap10">CHAPTER X</a> + </h1> + <h3> + <b>THE AGE OF ROMANTICISM (1800-1850)</b> + </h3> + <p> + THE SECOND CREATIVE PERIOD OF ENGLISH LITERATURE + </p> + <p> + The first half of the nineteenth century records the triumph of + Romanticism in literature and of democracy in government; and the two + movements are so closely associated, in so many nations and in so many + periods of history, that one must wonder if there be not some relation of + cause and effect between them. Just as we understand the tremendous + energizing influence of Puritanism in the matter of English liberty by + remembering that the common people had begun to read, and that their book + was the Bible, so we may understand this age of popular government by + remembering that the chief subject of romantic literature was the + essential nobleness of common men and the value of the individual. As we + read now that brief portion of history which lies between the Declaration + of Independence (1776) and the English Reform Bill of 1832, we are in the + presence of such mighty political upheavals that "the age of revolution" + is the only name by which we can adequately characterize it. Its great + historic movements become intelligible only when we read what was written + in this period; for the French Revolution and the American commonwealth, + as well as the establishment of a true democracy in England by the Reform + Bill, were the inevitable results of ideas which literature had spread + rapidly through the civilized world. Liberty is fundamentally an ideal; + and that ideal--beautiful, inspiring, compelling, as a loved banner in the + wind--was kept steadily before men's minds by a multitude of books and + pamphlets as far apart as Burns's <i>Poems</i> and Thomas Paine's <i>Rights + of Man</i>,--all read eagerly by the common people, all proclaiming the + dignity of common life, and all uttering the same passionate cry against + every form of class or caste oppression. + </p> + <p> + First the dream, the ideal in some human soul; then the written word which + proclaims it, and impresses other minds with its truth and beauty; then + the united and determined effort of men to make the dream a reality,--that + seems to be a fair estimate of the part that literature plays, even in our + political progress. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap10a" id="chap10a">Historical Summary</a></b>. The period + we are considering begins in the latter half of the reign of George III + and ends with the accession of Victoria in 1837. When on a foggy morning + in November, 1783, King George entered the House of Lords and in a + trembling voice recognized the independence of the United States of + America, he unconsciously proclaimed the triumph of that free government + by free men which had been the ideal of English literature for more than a + thousand years; though it was not till 1832, when the Reform Bill became + the law of the land, that England herself learned the lesson taught her by + America, and became the democracy of which her writers had always dreamed. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The French Revolution</span>The half century + between these two events is one of great turmoil, yet of steady advance in + every department of English life. The storm center of the political unrest + was the French Revolution, that frightful uprising which proclaimed the + natural rights of man and the abolition of class distinctions. Its effect + on the whole civilized world is beyond computation. Patriotic clubs and + societies multiplied in England, all asserting the doctrine of Liberty, + Equality, Fraternity, the watchwords of the Revolution. Young England, led + by Pitt the younger, hailed the new French republic and offered it + friendship; old England, which pardons no revolutions but her own, looked + with horror on the turmoil in France and, misled by Burke and the nobles + of the realm, forced the two nations into war. Even Pitt saw a blessing in + this at first; because the sudden zeal for fighting a foreign + nation--which by some horrible perversion is generally called + patriotism--might turn men's thoughts from their own to their neighbors' + affairs, and so prevent a threatened revolution at home. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Economic Conditions</span>The causes of this + threatened revolution were not political but economic. By her invention in + steel and machinery, and by her monopoly of the carrying trade, England + had become the workshop of the world. Her wealth had increased beyond her + wildest dreams; but the unequal distribution of that wealth was a + spectacle to make angels weep. The invention of machinery at first threw + thousands of skilled hand workers out of employment; in order to protect a + few agriculturists, heavy duties were imposed on corn and wheat, and bread + rose to famine prices just when laboring men had the least money to pay + for it. There followed a curious spectacle. While England increased in + wealth, and spent vast sums to support her army and subsidize her allies + in Europe, and while nobles, landowners, manufacturers, and merchants + lived in increasing luxury, a multitude of skilled laborers were clamoring + for work. Fathers sent their wives and little children into the mines and + factories, where sixteen hours' labor would hardly pay for the daily + bread; and in every large city were riotous mobs made up chiefly of hungry + men and women. It was this unbearable economic condition, and not any + political theory, as Burke supposed, which occasioned the danger of + another English revolution. + </p> + <p> + It is only when we remember these conditions that we can understand two + books, Adam Smith's <i>Wealth of Nations</i> and Thomas Paine's <i>Rights + of Man</i>, which can hardly be considered as literature, but which + exercised an enormous influence in England. Smith was a Scottish thinker, + who wrote to uphold the doctrine that labor is the only source of a + nation's wealth, and that any attempt to force labor into unnatural + channels, or to prevent it by protective duties from freely obtaining the + raw materials for its industry, is unjust and destructive. Paine was a + curious combination of Jekyll and Hyde, shallow and untrustworthy + personally, but with a passionate devotion to popular liberty. His <i>Rights + of Man</i> published in London in 1791, was like one of Burns's lyric + outcries against institutions which oppressed humanity. Coming so soon + after the destruction of the Bastille, it added fuel to the flames kindled + in England by the French Revolution. The author was driven out of the + country, on the curious ground that he endangered the English + constitution, but not until his book had gained a wide sale and influence. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Reforms</span>All these dangers, real and + imaginary, passed away when England turned from the affairs of France to + remedy her own economic conditions. The long Continental war came to an + end with Napoleon's overthrow at Waterloo, in 1815; and England, having + gained enormously in prestige abroad, now turned to the work of reform at + home. The destruction of the African slave trade; the mitigation of + horribly unjust laws, which included poor debtors and petty criminals in + the same class; the prevention of child labor; the freedom of the press; + the extension of manhood suffrage; the abolition of restrictions against + Catholics in Parliament; the establishment of hundreds of popular schools, + under the leadership of Andrew Bell and Joseph Lancaster,--these are but a + few of the reforms which mark the progress of civilization in a single + half century. When England, in 1833, proclaimed the emancipation of all + slaves in all her colonies, she unconsciously proclaimed her final + emancipation from barbarism. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Romantic Enthusiasm</span><b><a name="chap10b" + id="chap10b">Literary Characteristics of the Age.</a></b> It is intensely + interesting to note how literature at first reflected the political + turmoil of the age; and then, when the turmoil was over and England began + her mighty work of reform, how literature suddenly developed a new + creative spirit, which shows itself in the poetry of Wordsworth, + Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, and in the prose of Scott, Jane Austen, + Lamb, and De Quincey,--a wonderful group of writers, whose patriotic + enthusiasm suggests the Elizabethan days, and whose genius has caused + their age to be known as the second creative period of our literature. + Thus in the early days, when old institutions seemed crumbling with the + Bastille, Coleridge and Southey formed their youthful scheme of a + "Pantisocracy on the banks of the Susquehanna,"--an ideal commonwealth, in + which the principles of More's <i>Utopia</i> should be put in practice. + Even Wordsworth, fired with political enthusiasm, could write, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,<br /> But to be young was very + heaven.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The essence of Romanticism was, it must be remembered, that literature + must reflect all that is spontaneous and unaffected in nature and in man, + and be free to follow its own fancy in its own way. We have already noted + this characteristic in the work of the Elizabethan dramatists, who + followed their own genius in opposition to all the laws of the critics. In + Coleridge we see this independence expressed in "Kubla Khan" and "The + Ancient Mariner," two dream pictures, one of the populous Orient, the + other of the lonely sea. In Wordsworth this literary independence led him + inward to the heart of common things. Following his own instinct, as + Shakespeare does, he too + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,<br /> Sermons in + stones, and good in everything.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + And so, more than any other writer of the age, he invests the common life + of nature, and the souls of common men and women, with glorious + significance. These two poets, Coleridge and Wordsworth, best represent + the romantic genius of the age in which they lived, though Scott had a + greater literary reputation, and Byron and Shelley had larger audiences. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> An Age of Poetry</span>The second characteristic + of this age is that it is emphatically an age of poetry. The previous + century, with its practical outlook on life, was largely one of prose; but + now, as in the Elizabethan Age, the young enthusiasts turned as naturally + to poetry as a happy man to singing. The glory of the age is in the poetry + of Scott, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Moore, and + Southey. Of its prose works, those of Scott alone have attained a very + wide reading, though the essays of Charles Lamb and the novels of Jane + Austen have slowly won for their authors a secure place in the history of + our literature. Coleridge and Southey (who with Wordsworth form the trio + of so-called Lake Poets) wrote far more prose than poetry; and Southey's + prose is much better than his verse. It was characteristic of the spirit + of this age, so different from our own, that Southey could say that, in + order to earn money, he wrote in verse "what would otherwise have been + better written in prose." + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Women as Novelists</span>It was during this + period that woman assumed, for the first time, an important place in our + literature. Probably the chief reason for this interesting phenomenon lies + in the fact that woman was for the first time given some slight chance of + education, of entering into the intellectual life of the race; and as is + always the case when woman is given anything like a fair opportunity she + responded magnificently. A secondary reason may be found in the nature of + the age itself, which was intensely emotional. The French Revolution + stirred all Europe to its depths, and during the following half century + every great movement in literature, as in politics and religion, was + characterized by strong emotion; which is all the more noticeable by + contrast with the cold, formal, satiric spirit of the early eighteenth + century. As woman is naturally more emotional than man, it may well be + that the spirit of this emotional age attracted her, and gave her the + opportunity to express herself in literature. + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> + <img src="images/{0497}.jpg" alt="{0497}" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <h5> + <a href="images/{0497}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </h5> + <p> + As all strong emotions tend to extremes, the age produced a new type of + novel which seems rather hysterical now, but which in its own day + delighted multitudes of readers whose nerves were somewhat excited, and + who reveled in "bogey" stories of supernatural terror. Mrs. Anne Radcliffe + (1764-1823) was one of the most successful writers of this school of + exaggerated romance. Her novels, with their azure-eyed heroines, haunted + castles, trapdoors, bandits, abductions, rescues in the nick of time, and + a general medley of overwrought joys and horrors,<sup><a href="#fn219" + name="rfn219" id="rfn219">[219]</a></sup> were immensely popular, not only + with the crowd of novel readers, but also with men of unquestioned + literary genius, like Scott and Byron. + </p> + <p> + In marked contrast to these extravagant stories is the enduring work of + Jane Austen, with her charming descriptions of everyday life, and of Maria + Edgeworth, whose wonderful pictures of Irish life suggested to Walter + Scott the idea of writing his Scottish romances. Two other women who + attained a more or less lasting fame were Hannah More, poet, dramatist, + and novelist, and Jane Porter, whose <i>Scottish Chiefs</i> and <i>Thaddeus + of Warsaw</i> are still in demand in our libraries. Beside these were + Fanny Burney (Madame D'Arblay) and several other writers whose works, in + the early part of the nineteenth century, raised woman to the high place + in literature which she has ever since maintained. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Modern Magazines</span>In this age literary + criticism became firmly established by the appearance of such magazines as + the <i>Edinburgh Review</i> (18O2), <i>The Quarterly Review</i> (1808), <i>Blackwood's + Magazine</i> (1817), the <i>Westminster Review</i> (1824), <i>The + Spectator</i> (1828), <i>The Athenæum</i> (1828), and <i>Fraser's + Magazine</i> (1830). These magazines, edited by such men as Francis + Jeffrey, John Wilson (who is known to us as Christopher North), and John + Gibson Lockhart, who gave us the <i>Life of Scott</i>, exercised an + immense influence on all subsequent literature. At first their criticisms + were largely destructive, as when Jeffrey hammered Scott, Wordsworth, and + Byron most unmercifully; and Lockhart could find no good in either Keats + or Tennyson; but with added wisdom, criticism assumed its true function of + construction. And when these magazines began to seek and to publish the + works of unknown writers, like Hazlitt, Lamb, and Leigh Hunt, they + discovered the chief mission of the modern magazine, which is to give + every writer of ability the opportunity to make his work known to the + world. + </p> + <p> + I. <a name="chap10c" id="chap10c">THE POETS OF ROMANTICISM</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap10d" id="chap10d">WILLIAM WORDSWORTH</a> (1770-1850) + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el041" id="el041"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: WILLIAM WORDSWORTH" src="images/el041.png" /></a><br /> + WILLIAM WORDSWORTH + </p> + <p> + It was in 1797 that the new romantic movement in our literature assumed + definite form. Wordsworth and Coleridge retired to the Quantock Hills, + Somerset, and there formed the deliberate purpose to make literature + "adapted to interest mankind permanently," which, they declared, classic + poetry could never do. Helping the two poets was Wordsworth's sister + Dorothy, with a woman's love for flowers and all beautiful things; and a + woman's divine sympathy for human life even in its lowliest forms. Though + a silent partner, she furnished perhaps the largest share of the + inspiration which resulted in the famous <i>Lyrical Ballads</i> of 1798. + In their partnership Coleridge was to take up the "supernatural, or at + least romantic"; while Wordsworth was "to give the charm of novelty to + things of everyday ... by awakening the mind's attention from the lethargy + of custom and directing it to the loveliness and the wonders of the world + before us." The whole spirit of their work is reflected in two poems of + this remarkable little volume, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," which is + Coleridge's masterpiece, and "Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern + Abbey," which expresses Wordsworth's poetical creed, and which is one of + the noblest and most significant of our poems. That the <i>Lyrical Ballads</i> + attracted no attention,<sup><a href="#fn220" name="rfn220" id="rfn220">[220]</a></sup> + and was practically ignored by a public that would soon go into raptures + over Byron's <i>Childe Harold</i> and <i>Don Juan</i>, is of small + consequence. Many men will hurry a mile to see skyrockets, who never + notice Orion and the Pleiades from their own doorstep. Had Wordsworth and + Coleridge written only this one little book, they would still be among the + representative writers of an age that proclaimed the final triumph of + Romanticism. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life of Wordsworth.</b> To understand the life of him who, in + Tennyson's words, "uttered nothing base," it is well to read first <i>The + Prelude</i>, which records the impressions made upon Wordsworth's mind + from his earliest recollection until his full manhood, in 1805, when the + poem was completed.<sup><a href="#fn221" name="rfn221" id="rfn221">[221]</a></sup> + Outwardly his long and uneventful life divides itself naturally into four + periods: (1) his childhood and youth, in the Cumberland Hills, from 1770 + to 1787; (2) a period of uncertainty, of storm and stress, including his + university life at Cambridge, his travels abroad, and his revolutionary + experience, from 1787 to 1797; (3) a short but significant period of + finding himself and his work, from 1797 to 1799; (4) a long period of + retirement in the northern lake region, where he was born, and where for a + full half century he lived so close to nature that her influence is + reflected in all his poetry. When one has outlined these four periods he + has told almost all that can be told of a life which is marked, not by + events, but largely by spiritual experiences. + </p> + <p> + Wordsworth was born in 1770 at Cockermouth, Cumberland, where the Derwent, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Fairest + of all rivers, loved<br /> To blend his murmurs with my nurse's song,<br /> + And from his alder shades and rocky falls,<br /> And from his fords and + shallows, sent a voice<br /> That flowed along my dreams.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + It is almost a shock to one who knows Wordsworth only by his calm and + noble poetry to read that he was of a moody and violent temper, and that + his mother despaired of him alone among her five children. She died when + he was but eight years old, but not till she had exerted an influence + which lasted all his life, so that he could remember her as "the heart of + all our learnings and our loves." The father died some six years later, + and the orphan was taken in charge by relatives, who sent him to school at + Hawkshead, in the beautiful lake region. Here, apparently, the unroofed + school of nature attracted him more than the discipline of the classics, + and he learned more eagerly from the flowers and hills and stars than from + his books; but one must read Wordsworth's own record, in <i>The Prelude</i>, + to appreciate this. Three things in this poem must impress even the casual + reader: first, Wordsworth loves to be alone, and is never lonely, with + nature; second, like every other child who spends much time alone in the + woods and fields, he feels the presence of some living spirit, real though + unseen, and companionable though silent; third, his impressions are + exactly like our own, and delightfully familiar. When he tells of the long + summer day spent in swimming, basking in the sun, and questing over the + hills; or of the winter night when, on his skates, he chased the + reflection of a star in the black ice; or of his exploring the lake in a + boat, and getting suddenly frightened when the world grew big and + strange,--in all this he is simply recalling a multitude of our own vague, + happy memories of childhood. He goes out into the woods at night to tend + his woodcock snares; he runs across another boy's snares, follows them, + finds a woodcock caught, takes it, hurries away through the night. And + then, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + I heard among the solitary hills<br /> Low breathings coming after me, + and sounds<br /> Of undistinguishable motion.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + That is like a mental photograph. Any boy who has come home through the + woods at night will recognize it instantly. Again he tells as of going + bird's-nesting on the cliffs: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Oh, + when I have hung<br /> Above the raven's nest, by knots of grass<br /> And + half-inch fissures in the slippery rock<br /> But ill-sustained, and + almost (so it seemed)<br /> Suspended by the blast that blew amain,<br /> + Shouldering the naked crag,--oh, at that time,<br /> While on the + perilous ridge I hung alone,<br /> With what strange utterance did the + loud dry wind<br /> Blow through my ear! The sky seemed not a sky<br /> Of + earth,--and with what motion moved the clouds!<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + No man can read such records without finding his own boyhood again, and + his own abounding joy of life, in the poet's early impressions. + </p> + <p> + The second period of Wordsworth's life begins with his university course + at Cambridge, in 1787. In the third book of <i>The Prelude</i> we find a + dispassionate account of student life, with its trivial occupations, its + pleasures and general aimlessness. Wordsworth proved to be a very ordinary + scholar, following his own genius rather than the curriculum, and looking + forward more eagerly to his vacation among the hills than to his + examinations. Perhaps the most interesting thing in his life at Cambridge + was his fellowship with the young political enthusiasts, whose spirit is + expressed in his remarkable poem on the French Revolution,--a poem which + is better than a volume of history to show the hopes and ambitions that + stirred all Europe in the first days of that mighty upheaval. Wordsworth + made two trips to France, in 1790 and 1791, seeing things chiefly through + the rosy spectacles of the young Oxford Republicans. On his second visit + he joined the Girondists, or the moderate Republicans, and only the + decision of his relatives, who cut off his allowance and hurried him back + to England, prevented his going headlong to the guillotine with the + leaders of his party. Two things rapidly cooled Wordsworth's revolutionary + enthusiasm, and ended the only dramatic interest of his placid life. One + was the excesses of the Revolution itself, and especially the execution of + Louis XVI; the other was the rise of Napoleon, and the slavish adulation + accorded by France to this most vulgar and dangerous of tyrants. His + coolness soon grew to disgust and opposition, as shown by his subsequent + poems; and this brought upon him the censure of Shelley, Byron, and other + extremists, though it gained the friendship of Scott, who from the first + had no sympathy with the Revolution or with the young English enthusiasts. + </p> + <p> + Of the decisive period of Wordsworth's life, when he was living with his + sister Dorothy and with Coleridge at Alfoxden, we have already spoken. The + importance of this decision to give himself to poetry is evident when we + remember that, at thirty years of age, he was without money or any + definite aim or occupation in life. He considered the law, but confessed + he had no sympathy for its contradictory precepts and practices; he + considered the ministry, but though strongly inclined to the Church, he + felt himself not good enough for the sacred office; once he had wanted to + be a soldier and serve his country, but had wavered at the prospect of + dying of disease in a foreign land and throwing away his life without + glory or profit to anybody. An apparent accident, which looks more to us + like a special Providence, determined his course. He had taken care of a + young friend, Raisley Calvert, who died of consumption and left Wordsworth + heir to a few hundred pounds, and to the request that he should give his + life to poetry. It was this unexpected gift which enabled Wordsworth to + retire from the world and follow his genius. All his life he was poor, and + lived in an atmosphere of plain living and high thinking. His poetry + brought him almost nothing in the way of money rewards, and it was only by + a series of happy accidents that he was enabled to continue his work. One + of these accidents was that he became a Tory, and soon accepted the office + of a distributor of stamps, and was later appointed poet laureate by the + government,--which occasioned Browning's famous but ill-considered poem of + "The Lost Leader": + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Just for a handful of silver he left us,<br /> Just for a riband to stick + in his coat.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The last half century of Wordsworth's life, in which he retired to his + beloved lake district and lived successively at Grasmere and Rydal Mount, + remind one strongly of Browning's long struggle for literary recognition. + It was marked by the same steadfast purpose, the same trusted ideal, the + same continuous work, and the same tardy recognition by the public. His + poetry was mercilessly ridiculed by nearly all the magazine critics, who + seized upon the worst of his work as a standard of judgment; and book + after book of poems appeared without meeting any success save the approval + of a few loyal friends. Without doubt or impatience he continued his work, + trusting to the future to recognize and approve it. His attitude here + reminds one strongly of the poor old soldier whom he met in the hills,<sup><a + href="#fn222" name="rfn222" id="rfn222">[222]</a></sup> who refused to beg + or to mention his long service or the neglect of his country, saying with + noble simplicity, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + My trust is in the God of Heaven<br /> And in the + eye of him who passes me.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Such work and patience are certain of their reward, and long before + Wordsworth's death he felt the warm sunshine of general approval. The wave + of popular enthusiasm for Scott and Byron passed by, as their limitations + were recognized; and Wordsworth was hailed by critics as the first living + poet, and one of the greatest that England had ever produced. On the death + of Southey (1843) he was made poet laureate, against his own inclination. + The late excessive praise left him quite as unmoved as the first excessive + neglect. The steady decline in the quality of his work is due not, as + might be expected, to self-satisfaction at success, but rather to his + intense conservatism, to his living too much alone and failing to test his + work by the standards and judgment of other literary men. He died + tranquilly in 1850, at the age of eighty years, and was buried in the + churchyard at Grasmere. + </p> + <p> + Such is the brief outward record of the world's greatest interpreter of + nature's message; and only one who is acquainted with both nature and the + poet can realize how inadequate is any biography; for the best thing about + Wordsworth must always remain unsaid. It is a comfort to know that his + life, noble, sincere, "heroically happy," never contradicted his message. + Poetry was his life; his soul was in all his work; and only by reading + what he has written can we understand the man. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el042" id="el042"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: WORDSWORTH'S HOME AT RYDAL MOUNT" src="images/el042.png" /></a><br /> + WORDSWORTH'S HOME AT RYDAL MOUNT + </p> + <p> + <b>The Poetry of Wordsworth</b>. There is often a sense of disappointment + when one reads Wordsworth for the first time; and this leads us to speak + first of two difficulties which may easily prevent a just appreciation of + the poet's worth. The first difficulty is in the reader, who is often + puzzled by Wordsworth's absolute simplicity. We are so used to stage + effects in poetry, that beauty unadorned is apt to escape our + notice,--like Wordsworth's "Lucy": + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + A violet by a mossy stone,<br /> Half hidden from + the eye;<br /> Fair as a star, when only one<br /> Is + shining in the sky.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Wordsworth set himself to the task of freeing poetry from all its + "conceits," of speaking the language of simple truth, and of portraying + man and nature as they are; and in this good work we are apt to miss the + beauty, the passion, the intensity, that hide themselves under his + simplest lines. The second difficulty is in the poet, not in the reader. + It must be confessed that Wordsworth is not always melodious; that he is + seldom graceful, and only occasionally inspired. When he is inspired, few + poets can be compared with him; at other times the bulk of his verse is so + wooden and prosy that we wonder how a poet could have written it. Moreover + he is absolutely without humor, and so he often fails to see the small + step that separates the sublime from the ridiculous. In no other way can + we explain "The Idiot Boy," or pardon the serious absurdity of "Peter + Bell" and his grieving jackass. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Poems of Nature</span>On account of these + difficulties it is well to avoid at first the longer works and begin with + a good book of selections.<sup><a href="#fn223" name="rfn223" id="rfn223">[223]</a></sup> + When we read these exquisite shorter poems, with their noble lines that + live forever in our memory, we realize that Wordsworth is the greatest + poet of nature that our literature has produced. If we go further, and + study the poems that impress us, we shall find four remarkable + characteristics: (1) Wordsworth is sensitive as a barometer to every + subtle change in the world about him. In <i>The Prelude</i> he compares + himself to an æolian harp, which answers with harmony to every touch + of the wind; and the figure is strikingly accurate, as well as + interesting, for there is hardly a sight or a sound, from a violet to a + mountain and from a bird note to the thunder of the cataract, that is not + reflected in some beautiful way in Wordsworth's poetry. + </p> + <p> + (2) Of all the poets who have written of nature there is none that + compares with him in the truthfulness of his representation. Burns, like + Gray, is apt to read his own emotions into natural objects, so that there + is more of the poet than of nature even in his mouse and mountain daisy; + but Wordsworth gives you the bird and the flower, the wind and the tree + and the river, just as they are, and is content to let them speak their + own message. + </p> + <p> + (3) No other poet ever found such abundant beauty in the common world. He + had not only sight, but insight, that is, he not only sees clearly and + describes accurately, but penetrates to the heart of things and always + finds some exquisite meaning that is not written on the surface. It is + idle to specify or to quote lines on flowers or stars, on snow or vapor. + Nothing is ugly or commonplace in his world; on the contrary, there is + hardly one natural phenomenon which he has not glorified by pointing out + some beauty that was hidden from our eyes. + </p> + <p> + (4) It is the <i>life</i> of nature which is everywhere recognized; not + mere growth and cell changes, but sentient, personal life; and the + recognition of this personality in nature characterizes all the world's + great poetry. In his childhood Wordsworth regarded natural objects, the + streams, the hills, the flowers, even the winds, as his companions; and + with his mature belief that all nature is the reflection of the living + God, it was inevitable that his poetry should thrill with the sense of a + Spirit that "rolls through all things." Cowper, Burns, Keats, + Tennyson,--all these poets give you the outward aspects of nature in + varying degrees; but Wordsworth gives you her very life, and the + impression of some personal living spirit that meets and accompanies the + man who goes alone through the woods and fields. We shall hardly find, + even in the philosophy of Leibnitz, or in the nature myths of our Indians, + any such impression of living nature as this poet awakens in us. And that + suggests another delightful characteristic of Wordsworth's poetry, namely, + that he seems to awaken rather than create an impression; he stirs our + memory deeply, so that in reading him we live once more in the vague, + beautiful wonderland of our own childhood. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Poems of Human Life</span>Such is the philosophy + of Wordsworth's nature poetry. If we search now for his philosophy of + human life, we shall find four more doctrines, which rest upon his basal + conception that man is not apart from nature, but is the very "life of her + life." (1) In childhood man is sensitive as a wind harp to all natural + influences; he is an epitome of the gladness and beauty of the world. + Wordsworth explains this gladness and this sensitiveness to nature by the + doctrine that the child comes straight from the Creator of nature: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:<br /> The Soul that rises with + us, our life's Star,<br /> Hath had elsewhere its + setting,<br /> And cometh + from afar:<br /> Not in entire forgetfulness<br /> + And not in utter nakedness,<br /> But trailing + clouds of glory do we come<br /> From God, who is + our home.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In this exquisite ode, which he calls "Intimations of Immortality from + Recollections of Early Childhood" (1807), Wordsworth sums up his + philosophy of childhood; and he may possibly be indebted here to the poet + Vaughan, who, more than a century before, had proclaimed in "The Retreat" + the same doctrine. This kinship with nature and with God, which glorifies + childhood, ought to extend through a man's whole life and ennoble it. This + is the teaching of "Tintern Abbey," in which the best part of our life is + shown to be the result of natural influences. According to Wordsworth, + society and the crowded unnatural life of cities tend to weaken and + pervert humanity; and a return to natural and simple living is the only + remedy for human wretchedness. + </p> + <p> + (2) The natural instincts and pleasures of childhood are the true + standards of a man's happiness in this life. All artificial pleasures soon + grow tiresome. The natural pleasures, which a man so easily neglects in + his work, are the chief means by which we may expect permanent and + increasing joy. In "Tintern Abbey," "The Rainbow," "Ode to Duty," and + "Intimations of Immortality" we see this plain teaching; but we can hardly + read one of Wordsworth's pages without finding it slipped in + unobtrusively, like the fragrance of a wild flower. + </p> + <p> + (3) The <i>truth</i> of humanity, that is, the common life which labors + and loves and shares the general heritage of smiles and tears, is the only + subject of permanent literary interest. Burns and the early poets of the + Revival began the good work of showing the romantic interest of common + life; and Wordsworth continued it in "Michael," "The Solitary Reaper," "To + a Highland Girl," "Stepping Westward," <i>The Excursion</i>, and a score + of lesser poems. Joy and sorrow, not of princes or heroes, but "in widest + commonalty spread," are his themes; and the hidden purpose of many of his + poems is to show that the keynote of all life is happiness,--not an + occasional thing, the result of chance or circumstance, but a heroic + thing, to be won, as one would win any other success, by work and + patience. + </p> + <p> + (4) To this natural philosophy of man Wordsworth adds a mystic element, + the result of his own belief that in every natural object there is a + reflection of the living God. Nature is everywhere transfused and + illumined by Spirit; man also is a reflection of the divine Spirit; and we + shall never understand the emotions roused by a flower or a sunset until + we learn that nature appeals through the eye of man to his inner spirit. + In a word, nature must be "spiritually discerned." In "Tintern Abbey" the + spiritual appeal of nature is expressed in almost every line; but the + mystic conception of man is seen more clearly in "Intimations of + Immortality," which Emerson calls "the high-water mark of poetry in the + nineteenth century." In this last splendid ode Wordsworth adds to his + spiritual interpretation of nature and man the alluring doctrine of + preëxistence, which has appealed so powerfully to Hindoo and Greek in + turn, and which makes of human life a continuous, immortal thing, without + end or beginning. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Recluse</span>Wordsworth's longer poems, + since they contain much that is prosy and uninteresting, may well be left + till after we have read the odes, sonnets, and short descriptive poems + that have made him famous. As showing a certain heroic cast of + Wordsworth's mind, it is interesting to learn that the greater part of his + work, including <i>The Prelude</i> and <i>The Excursion</i>, was intended + for a place in a single great poem, to be called <i>The Recluse</i>, which + should treat of nature, man, and society. <i>The Prelude</i>, treating of + the growth of a poet's mind, was to introduce the work. The <i>Home at + Grasmere</i>, which is the first book of <i>The Recluse</i>, was not + published till 1888, long after the poet's death. <i>The Excursion</i> + (1814) is the second book of <i>The Recluse</i>; and the third was never + completed, though Wordsworth intended to include most of his shorter poems + in this third part, and so make an immense personal epic of a poet's life + and work. It is perhaps just as well that the work remained unfinished. + The best of his work appeared in the <i>Lyrical Ballads</i> (1798) and in + the sonnets, odes, and lyrics of the next ten years; though "The Duddon + Sonnets" (1820), "To a Skylark" (1825), and "Yarrow Revisited" (1831) show + that he retained till past sixty much of his youthful enthusiasm. In his + later years, however, he perhaps wrote too much; his poetry, like his + prose, becomes dull and unimaginative; and we miss the flashes of insight, + the tender memories of childhood, and the recurrence of noble lines--each + one a poem--that constitutes the surprise and the delight of reading + Wordsworth. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + The outward shows of sky and earth,<br /> Of hill + and valley, he has viewed;<br /> And impulses of deeper birth<br /> Have + come to him in solitude.<br /> In common things that round us lie<br /> + Some random truths he can impart--<br /> The + harvest of a quiet eye<br /> That broods and + sleeps on his own heart.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <a name="chap10e" id="chap10e">SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE</a> (1772-1834) + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + A grief without a pang, void, dark and drear,<br /> A + stifled, drowsy, unimpassioned grief,<br /> Which finds no natural + outlet, no relief,<br /> In word, or sigh, or + tear.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In the wonderful "Ode to Dejection," from which the above fragment is + taken, we have a single strong impression of Coleridge's whole life,--a + sad, broken, tragic life, in marked contrast with the peaceful existence + of his friend Wordsworth. For himself, during the greater part of his + life, the poet had only grief and remorse as his portion; but for + everybody else, for the audiences that were charmed by the brilliancy of + his literary lectures, for the friends who gathered about him to be + inspired by his ideals and conversation, and for all his readers who found + unending delight in the little volume which holds his poetry, he had and + still has a cheering message, full of beauty and hope and inspiration. + Such is Coleridge, a man of grief who makes the world glad. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. In 1772 there lived in Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire, a queer + little man, the Rev. John Coleridge, vicar of the parish church and master + of the local grammar school. In the former capacity he preached profound + sermons, quoting to open-mouthed rustics long passages from the Hebrew, + which he told them was the very tongue of the Holy Ghost. In the latter + capacity he wrote for his boys a new Latin grammar, to mitigate some of + the difficulties of traversing that terrible jungle by means of ingenious + bypaths and short cuts. For instance, when his boys found the ablative a + somewhat difficult case to understand, he told them to think of it as the + <i>quale-quare-quidditive</i> case, which of course makes its meaning + perfectly clear. In both these capacities the elder Coleridge was a + sincere man, gentle and kindly, whose memory was "like a religion" to his + sons and daughters. In that same year was born Samuel Taylor Coleridge, + the youngest of thirteen children. He was an extraordinarily precocious + child, who could read at three years of age, and who, before he was five, + had read the Bible and the Arabian Nights, and could remember an + astonishing amount from both books. From three to six he attended a "dame" + school; and from six till nine (when his father died and left the family + destitute) he was in his father's school, learning the classics, reading + an enormous quantity of English books, avoiding novels, and delighting in + cumbrous theological and metaphysical treatises. At ten he was sent to the + Charity School of Christ's Hospital, London, where he met Charles Lamb, + who records his impression of the place and of Coleridge in one of his + famous essays.<sup><a href="#fn224" name="rfn224" id="rfn224">[224]</a></sup> + Coleridge seems to have remained in this school for seven or eight years + without visiting his home,--a poor, neglected boy, whose comforts and + entertainments were all within himself. Just as, when a little child, he + used to wander over the fields with a stick in his hand, slashing the tops + from weeds and thistles, and thinking himself to be the mighty champion of + Christendom against the infidels, so now he would lie on the roof of the + school, forgetting the play of his fellows and the roar of the London + streets, watching the white clouds drifting over and following them in + spirit into all sorts of romantic adventures. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el043" id="el043"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE" src="images/el043.jpg" /></a><br /> + SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE + </p> + <p> + At nineteen this hopeless dreamer, who had read more books than an old + professor, entered Cambridge as a charity student. He remained for nearly + three years, then ran away because of a trifling debt and enlisted in the + Dragoons, where he served several months before he was discovered and + brought back to the university. He left in 1794 without taking his degree; + and presently we find him with the youthful Southey,--a kindred spirit, + who had been fired to wild enthusiasm by the French Revolution,--founding + his famous Pantisocracy for the regeneration of human society. "The Fall + of Robespierre," a poem composed by the two enthusiasts, is full of the + new revolutionary spirit. The Pantisocracy, on the banks of the + Susquehanna, was to be an ideal community, in which the citizens combined + farming and literature; and work was to be limited to two hours each day. + Moreover, each member of the community was to marry a good woman, and take + her with him. The two poets obeyed the latter injunction first, marrying + two sisters, and then found that they had no money to pay even their + traveling expenses to the new Utopia. + </p> + <p> + During all the rest of his career a tragic weakness of will takes + possession of Coleridge, making it impossible for him, with all his genius + and learning, to hold himself steadily to any one work or purpose. He + studied in Germany; worked as a private secretary, till the drudgery wore + upon his free spirit; then he went to Rome and remained for two years, + lost in study. Later he started <i>The Friend</i>, a paper devoted to + truth and liberty; lectured on poetry and the fine arts to enraptured + audiences in London, until his frequent failures to meet his engagements + scattered his hearers; was offered an excellent position and a half + interest (amounting to some £2000) in the <i>Morning Post</i> and <i>The + Courier</i>, but declined it, saying "that I would not give up the country + and the lazy reading of old folios for two thousand times two thousand + pounds,--in short, that beyond £350 a year I considered money a real + evil." His family, meanwhile, was almost entirely neglected; he lived + apart, following his own way, and the wife and children were left in + charge of his friend Southey. Needing money, he was on the point of + becoming a Unitarian minister, when a small pension from two friends + enabled him to live for a few years without regular employment. + </p> + <p> + A terrible shadow in Coleridge's life was the apparent cause of most of + his dejection. In early life he suffered from neuralgia, and to ease the + pain began to use opiates. The result on such a temperament was almost + inevitable. He became a slave to the drug habit; his naturally weak will + lost all its directing and sustaining force, until, after fifteen years of + pain and struggle and despair, he gave up and put himself in charge of a + physician, one Mr. Gillman, of Highgate. Carlyle, who visited him at this + time, calls him "a king of men," but records that "he gave you the idea of + a life that had been full of sufferings, a life heavy-laden, + half-vanquished, still swimming painfully in seas of manifold physical and + other bewilderment." + </p> + <p> + The shadow is dark indeed; but there are gleams of sunshine that + occasionally break through the clouds. One of these is his association + with Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy, in the Quantock hills, out of + which came the famous <i>Lyrical Ballads</i> of 1798. Another was his + loyal devotion to poetry for its own sake. With the exception of his + tragedy <i>Remorse</i>, which through Byron's influence was accepted at + Drury Lane Theater, and for which he was paid £400, he received almost + nothing for his poetry. Indeed, he seems not to have desired it; for he + says: "Poetry has been to me its own exceeding great reward; it has + soothed my afflictions; it has multiplied and refined my enjoyments; it + has endeared solitude, and it has given me the habit of wishing to + discover the good and the beautiful in all that meets and surrounds me." + One can better understand his exquisite verse after such a declaration. A + third ray of sunlight came from the admiration of his contemporaries; for + though he wrote comparatively little, he was by his talents and learning a + leader among literary men, and his conversations were as eagerly listened + to as were those of Dr. Johnson. Wordsworth says of him that, though other + men of the age had done some wonderful things, Coleridge was the only + wonderful man he had ever known. Of his lectures on literature a + contemporary says: "His words seem to flow as from a person repeating with + grace and energy some delightful poem." And of his conversation it is + recorded: "Throughout a long-drawn summer's day would this man talk to you + in low, equable but clear and musical tones, concerning things human and + divine; marshalling all history, harmonizing all experiment, probing the + depths of your consciousness, and revealing visions of glory and terror to + the imagination." + </p> + <p> + The last bright ray of sunlight comes from Coleridge's own soul, from the + gentle, kindly nature which made men love and respect him in spite of his + weaknesses, and which caused Lamb to speak of him humorously as "an + archangel a little damaged." The universal law of suffering seems to be + that it refines and softens humanity; and Coleridge was no exception to + the law. In his poetry we find a note of human sympathy, more tender and + profound than can be found in Wordsworth or, indeed, in any other of the + great English poets. Even in his later poems, when he has lost his first + inspiration and something of the splendid imaginative power that makes his + work equal to the best of Blake's, we find a soul tender, triumphant, + quiet, "in the stillness of a great peace." He died in 1834, and was + buried in Highgate Church. The last stanza of the boatman's song, in <i>Remorse</i>, + serves better to express the world's judgment than any epitaph: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Hark! the cadence dies away<br /> On the quiet moon-lit sea;<br /> The + boatmen rest their oars and say,<br /> <i>Miserere + Domini!</i><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b>Works of Coleridge</b>. The works of Coleridge naturally divide + themselves into three classes,--the poetic, the critical, and the + philosophical, corresponding to the early, the middle, and the later + periods of his career. Of his poetry Stopford Brooke well says: "All that + he did excellently might be bound up in twenty pages, but it should be + bound in pure gold." His early poems show the influence of Gray and Blake, + especially of the latter. When Coleridge begins his "Day Dream" with the + line, "My eyes make pictures when they're shut," we recall instantly + Blake's haunting <i>Songs of Innocence</i>. But there is this difference + between the two poets,--in Blake we have only a dreamer; in Coleridge we + have the rare combination of the dreamer and the profound scholar. The + quality of this early poetry, with its strong suggestion of Blake, may be + seen in such poems as "A Day Dream," "The Devil's Thoughts," "The + Suicide's Argument," and "The Wanderings of Cain." His later poems, + wherein we see his imagination bridled by thought and study, but still + running very freely, may best be appreciated in "Kubla Khan," + "Christabel," and "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." It is difficult to + criticise such poems; one can only read them and wonder at their melody, + and at the vague suggestions which they conjure up in the mind. "Kubla + Khan" is a fragment, painting a gorgeous Oriental dream picture, such as + one might see in an October sunset. The whole poem came to Coleridge one + morning when he had fallen asleep over Purchas, and upon awakening he + began to write hastily, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + In Xanadu did Kubla Khan<br /> A stately pleasure-dome decree:<br /> Where + Alph, the sacred river, ran<br /> Through caverns measureless to man<br /> + Down to a sunless sea.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + He was interrupted after fifty-four lines were written, and he never + finished the poem. + </p> + <p> + "Christabel" is also a fragment, which seems to have been planned as the + story of a pure young girl who fell under the spell of a sorcerer, in the + shape of the woman Geraldine. It is full of a strange melody, and contains + many passages of exquisite poetry; but it trembles with a strange, unknown + horror, and so suggests the supernatural terrors of the popular hysterical + novels, to which we have referred. On this account it is not wholesome + reading; though one flies in the face of Swinburne and of other critics by + venturing to suggest such a thing. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Rime of the Ancient Mariner</span>"The Rime + of the Ancient Mariner" is Coleridge's chief contribution to the <i>Lyrical + Ballads</i> of 1798, and is one of the world's masterpieces. Though it + introduces the reader to a supernatural realm, with a phantom ship, a crew + of dead men, the overhanging curse of the albatross, the polar spirit, and + the magic breeze, it nevertheless manages to create a sense of absolute + reality concerning these manifest absurdities. All the mechanisms of the + poem, its meter, rime, and melody are perfect; and some of its + descriptions of the lonely sea have never been equaled. Perhaps we should + say suggestions, rather than descriptions; for Coleridge never describes + things, but makes a suggestion, always brief and always exactly right, and + our own imagination instantly supplies the details. It is useless to quote + fragments; one must read the entire poem, if he reads nothing else of the + romantic school of poetry. + </p> + <p> + Among Coleridge's shorter poems there is a wide variety, and each reader + must be left largely to follow his own taste. The beginner will do well to + read a few of the early poems, to which we have referred, and then try the + "Ode to France," "Youth and Age," "Dejection," "Love Poems," "Fears in + Solitude," "Religious Musings," "Work Without Hope," and the glorious + "Hymn Before Sunrise in the Vale of Chamouni." One exquisite little poem + from the Latin, "The Virgin's Cradle Hymn," and his version of Schiller's + <i>Wallenstein</i>, show Coleridge's remarkable power as a translator. The + latter is one of the best poetical translations in our literature. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Prose Works </span>Of Coleridge's prose works, + the <i>Biographia, Literaria, or Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions</i> + (1817), his collected <i>Lectures on Shakespeare</i> (1849), and <i>Aids + to Reflection</i> (1825) are the most interesting from a literary view + point. The first is an explanation and criticism of Wordsworth's theory of + poetry, and contains more sound sense and illuminating ideas on the + general subject of poetry than any other book in our language. The <i>Lectures</i>, + as refreshing as a west wind in midsummer, are remarkable for their + attempt to sweep away the arbitrary rules which for two centuries had + stood in the way of literary criticism of Shakespeare, in order to study + the works themselves. No finer analysis and appreciation of the master's + genius has ever been written. In his philosophical work Coleridge + introduced the idealistic philosophy of Germany into England. He set + himself in line with Berkeley, and squarely against Bentham, Malthus, + Mill, and all the materialistic tendencies which were and still are the + bane of English philosophy. The <i>Aids to Reflection</i> is Coleridge's + most profound work, but is more interesting to the student of religion and + philosophy than to the readers of literature. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap10f" id="chap10f">ROBERT SOUTHEY</a> (1774-1843) + </p> + <p> + Closely associated with Wordsworth and Coleridge is Robert Southey; and + the three, on account of their residence in the northern lake district, + were referred to contemptuously as the "Lakers" by the Scottish magazine + reviewers. Southey holds his place in this group more by personal + association than by his literary gifts. He was born at Bristol, in 1774; + studied at Westminster School, and at Oxford, where he found himself in + perpetual conflict with the authorities on account of his independent + views. He finally left the university and joined Coleridge in his scheme + of a Pantisocracy. For more than fifty years he labored steadily at + literature, refusing to consider any other occupation. He considered + himself seriously as one of the greatest writers of the day, and a reading + of his ballads--which connected him at once with the romantic + school--leads us to think that, had he written less, he might possibly + have justified his own opinion of himself. Unfortunately he could not wait + for inspiration, being obliged to support not only his own family but + also, in large measure, that of his friend Coleridge. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Works of Southey</span>Southey gradually + surrounded himself with one of the most extensive libraries in England, + and set himself to the task of of writing something every working day. The + results of his industry were one hundred and nine volumes, besides some + hundred and fifty articles for the magazines, most of which are now + utterly forgotten. His most ambitious poems are <i>Thalaba</i>, a tale of + Arabian enchantment; <i>The Curse of Kehama</i>, a medley of Hindoo + mythology; <i>Madoc</i>, a legend of a Welsh prince who discovered the + western world; and <i>Roderick</i>, a tale of the last of the Goths. All + these, and many more, although containing some excellent passages, are on + the whole exaggerated and unreal, both in manner and in matter. Southey + wrote far better prose than poetry, and his admirable <i>Life of Nelson</i> + is still often read. Besides these are his <i>Lives of British Admirals</i>, + his lives of Cowper and Wesley, and his histories of Brazil and of the + Peninsular War. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el044" id="el044"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: ROBERT SOUTHEY" src="images/el044.jpg" /></a><br /> + ROBERT SOUTHEY + </p> + <p> + Southey was made Poet Laureate in 1813, and was the first to raise that + office from the low estate into which it had fallen since the death of + Dryden. The opening lines of Thalaba, beginning, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + How beautiful is night!<br /> A dewy freshness fills the silent air,<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + are still sometimes quoted; and a few of his best known short poems, like + "The Scholar," "Auld Cloots," "The Well of St. Keyne," "The Inchcape + Rock," and "Lodore," will repay the curious reader. The beauty of + Southey's character, his patience and helpfulness, make him a worthy + associate of the two greater poets with whom he is generally named. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap10g" id="chap10g">WALTER SCOTT</a> (1771-1832) + </p> + <p> + We have already called attention to two significant movements of the + eighteenth century, which we must for a moment recall if we are to + appreciate Scott, not simply as a delightful teller of tales, but as a + tremendous force in modern literature. The first is the triumph of + romantic poetry in Wordsworth and Coleridge; the second is the success of + our first English novelists, and the popularization of literature by + taking it from the control of a few patrons and critics and putting it + into the hands of the people as one of the forces which mold our modern + life. Scott is an epitome of both these movements. The poetry of + Wordsworth and Coleridge was read by a select few, but Scott's <i>Marmion</i> + and <i>Lady of the Lake</i> aroused a whole nation to enthusiasm, and for + the first time romantic poetry became really popular. So also the novel + had been content to paint men and women of the present, until the + wonderful series of Waverley novels appeared, when suddenly, by the magic + of this "Wizard of the North," all history seemed changed. The past, which + had hitherto appeared as a dreary region of dead heroes, became alive + again, and filled with a multitude of men and women who had the surprising + charm of reality. It is of small consequence that Scott's poetry and prose + are both faulty; that his poems are read chiefly for the story, rather + than for their poetic excellence; and that much of the evident crudity and + barbarism of the Middle Ages is ignored or forgotten in Scott's writings. + By their vigor, their freshness, their rapid action, and their breezy, + out-of-door atmosphere, Scott's novels attracted thousands of readers who + else had known nothing of the delights of literature. He is, therefore, + the greatest known factor in establishing and in popularizing that + romantic element in prose and poetry which has been for a hundred years + the chief characteristic of our literature. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. Scott was born in Edinburgh, on August 15, 1771. On both his + mother's and father's side he was descended from old Border families, + distinguished more for their feuds and fighting than for their + intellectual attainments. His father was a barrister, a just man, who + often lost clients by advising them to be, first of all, honest in their + lawsuits. His mother was a woman of character and education, strongly + imaginative, a teller of tales which stirred young Walter's enthusiasm by + revealing the past as a world of living heroes. + </p> + <p> + As a child, Scott was lame and delicate, and was therefore sent away from + the city to be with his grandmother in the open country at Sandy Knowe, in + Roxburghshire, near the Tweed. This grandmother was a perfect + treasure-house of legends concerning the old Border feuds. From her + wonderful tales Scott developed that intense love of Scottish history and + tradition which characterizes all his work. + </p> + <p> + By the time he was eight years old, when he returned to Edinburgh, Scott's + tastes were fixed for life. At the high school he was a fair scholar, but + without enthusiasm, being more interested in Border stories than in the + text-books. He remained at school only six or seven years, and then + entered his father's office to study law, at the same time attending + lectures at the university. He kept this up for some six years without + developing any interest in his profession, not even when he passed his + examinations and was admitted to the Bar, in 1792. After nineteen years of + desultory work, in which he showed far more zeal in gathering Highland + legends than in gaining clients, he had won two small legal offices which + gave him enough income to support him comfortably. His home, meanwhile, + was at Ashestiel on the Tweed, where all his best poetry was written. + </p> + <p> + Scott's literary work began with the translation from the German of + Bürger's romantic ballad of <i>Lenore</i> (1796) and of Goethe's <i>Götz + von Berlichingen</i> (1799); but there was romance enough in his own loved + Highlands, and in 1802-1803 appeared three volumes of his <i>Minstrelsy of + the Scottish Border</i>, which he had been collecting for many years. In + 1805, when Scott was 34 years old, appeared his first original work, <i>The + Lay of the Last Minstrel</i>. Its success was immediate, and when <i>Marmion</i> + (1808) and <i>The Lady of the Lake</i> (1810) aroused Scotland and England + to intense enthusiasm, and brought unexpected fame to the author,--without + in the least spoiling his honest and lovable nature,--Scott gladly + resolved to abandon the law, in which he had won scant success, and give + himself wholly to literature. Unfortunately, however, in order to increase + his earnings, he entered secretly into partnership with the firms of + Constable and the brothers Ballantyne, as printer-publishers,--a sad + mistake, indeed, and the cause of that tragedy which closed the life of + Scotland's greatest writer. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el045" id="el045"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: WALTER SCOTT" src="images/el045.jpg" /></a><br /> WALTER + SCOTT + </p> + <p> + The year 1811 is remarkable for two things in Scott's life. In this year + he seems to have realized that, notwithstanding the success of his poems, + he had not yet "found himself"; that he was not a poetic genius, like + Burns; that in his first three poems he had practically exhausted his + material, though he still continued to write verse; and that, if he was to + keep his popularity, he must find some other work. The fact that, only a + year later, Byron suddenly became the popular favorite, shows how + correctly Scott had judged himself and the reading public, which was even + more fickle than usual in this emotional age. In that same year, 1811, + Scott bought the estate of Abbotsford, on the Tweed, with which place his + name is forever associated. Here he began to spend large sums, and to + dispense the generous hospitality of a Scotch laird, of which he had been + dreaming for years. In 1820 he was made a baronet; and his new title of + Sir Walter came nearer to turning his honest head than had all his + literary success. His business partnership was kept secret, and during all + the years when the Waverley novels were the most popular books in the + world, their authorship remained unknown; for Scott deemed it beneath the + dignity of his title to earn money by business or literature, and sought + to give the impression that the enormous sums spent at Abbotsford in + improving the estate and in entertaining lavishly were part of the dignity + of the position and came from ancestral sources. + </p> + <p> + It was the success of Byron's <i>Childe Harold</i>, and the comparative + failure of Scott's later poems, <i>Rokeby</i>, <i>The Bridal of Triermain</i>, + and <i>The Lord of the Isles</i>, which led our author into the new field, + where he was to be without a rival. Rummaging through a cabinet one day in + search of some fishing tackle, Scott found the manuscript of a story which + he had begun and laid aside nine years before. He read this old story + eagerly, as if it had been another's work; finished it within three weeks, + and published it without signing his name. The success of this first + novel, <i>Waverley</i> (1814), was immediate and unexpected. Its great + sales and the general chorus of praise for its unknown author were without + precedent; and when <i>Guy Mannering, The Antiquary, Black Dwarf, Old + Mortality, Rob Roy</i>, and <i>The Heart of Midlothian</i> appeared within + the next four years, England's delight and wonder knew no bounds. Not only + at home, but also on the Continent, large numbers of these fresh and + fascinating stories were sold as fast as they could be printed. + </p> + <p> + During the seventeen years which followed the appearance of <i>Waverley</i>, + Scott wrote on an average nearly two novels per year, creating an unusual + number of characters and illustrating many periods of Scotch, English, and + French history, from the time of the Crusades to the fall of the Stuarts. + In addition to these historical novels, he wrote <i>Tales of a + Grandfather, Demonology and Witchcraft</i>, biographies of Dryden and of + Swift, the <i>Life of Napoleon</i>, in nine volumes, and a large number of + articles for the reviews and magazines. It was an extraordinary amount of + literary work, but it was not quite so rapid and spontaneous as it seemed. + He had been very diligent in looking up old records, and we must remember + that, in nearly all his poems and novels, Scott was drawing upon a fund of + legend, tradition, history, and poetry, which he had been gathering for + forty years, and which his memory enabled him to produce at will with + almost the accuracy of an encyclopedia. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el046" id="el046"><img width="50%" alt="Illustration: ABBOTSFORD" + src="images/el046.png" /></a><br /> ABBOTSFORD + </p> + <p> + For the first six years Scott held himself to Scottish history, giving us + in nine remarkable novels the whole of Scotland, its heroism, its superb + faith and enthusiasm, and especially its clannish loyalty to its + hereditary chiefs; giving us also all parties and characters, from + Covenanters to Royalists, and from kings to beggars. After reading these + nine volumes we know Scotland and Scotchmen as we can know them in no + other way. In 1819 he turned abruptly from Scotland, and in <i>Ivanhoe</i>, + the most popular of his works, showed what a mine of neglected wealth lay + just beneath the surface of English history. It is hard to realize now, as + we read its rapid, melodramatic action, its vivid portrayal of Saxon and + Norman character, and all its picturesque details, that it was written + rapidly, at a time when the author was suffering from disease and could + hardly repress an occasional groan from finding its way into the rapid + dictation. It stands to-day as the best example of the author's own theory + that the will of a man is enough to hold him steadily, against all + obstacles, to the task of "doing what he has a mind to do." <i>Kenilworth, + Nigel, Peveril</i>, and <i>Woodstock</i>, all written in the next few + years, show his grasp of the romantic side of English annals; <i>Count + Robert</i> and <i>The Talisman</i> show his enthusiasm for the heroic side + of the Crusaders' nature; and <i>Quentin Durward</i>and <i>Anne of + Geierstein</i> suggest another mine of romance which he discovered in + French history. + </p> + <p> + For twenty years Scott labored steadily at literature, with the double + object of giving what was in him, and of earning large sums to support the + lavish display which he deemed essential to a laird of Scotland. In 1826, + while he was blithely at work on <i>Woodstock</i>, the crash came. Not + even the vast earnings of all these popular novels could longer keep the + wretched business of Ballantyne on its feet, and the firm failed, after + years of mismanagement. Though a silent partner, Scott assumed full + responsibility, and at fifty-five years of age, sick, suffering, and with + all his best work behind him, he found himself facing a debt of over half + a million dollars. The firm could easily have compromised with its + creditors; but Scott refused to hear of bankruptcy laws under which he + could have taken refuge. He assumed the entire debt as a personal one, and + set resolutely to work to pay every penny. Times were indeed changed in + England when, instead of a literary genius starving until some wealthy + patron gave him a pension, this man, aided by his pen alone, could + confidently begin to earn that enormous amount of money. And this is one + of the unnoticed results of the popularization of literature. Without a + doubt Scott would have accomplished the task, had he been granted only a + few years of health. He still lived at Abbotsford, which he had offered to + his creditors, but which they generously refused to accept; and in two + years, by miscellaneous work, had paid some two hundred thousand dollars + of his debt, nearly half of this sum coming from his <i>Life of Napoleon</i>. + A new edition of the Waverley novels appeared, which was very successful + financially, and Scott had every reason to hope that he would soon face + the world owing no man a penny, when he suddenly broke under the strain. + In 1830 occurred a stroke of paralysis from which he never fully + recovered; though after a little time he was again at work, dictating with + splendid patience and resolution. He writes in his diary at this time: + "The blow is a stunning one, I suppose, for I scarcely feel it. It is + singular, but it comes with as little surprise as if I had a remedy ready, + yet God knows I am at sea in the dark, and the vessel leaky." + </p> + <p> + It is good to remember that governments are not always ungrateful, and to + record that, when it became known that a voyage to Italy might improve + Scott's health, the British government promptly placed a naval vessel at + the disposal of a man who had led no armies to the slaughter, but had only + given pleasure to multitudes of peaceable men and women by his stories. He + visited Malta, Naples, and Rome; but in his heart he longed for Scotland, + and turned homeward after a few months of exile. The river Tweed, the + Scotch hills, the trees of Abbotsford, the joyous clamor of his dogs, + brought forth the first exclamation of delight which had passed Scott's + lips since he sailed away. He died in September of the same year, 1832, + and was buried with his ancestors in the old Dryburgh Abbey. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Scott</b>. Scott's work is of a kind which the critic gladly + passes over, leaving each reader to his own joyous and uninstructed + opinion. From a literary view point the works are faulty enough, if one is + looking for faults; but it is well to remember that they were intended to + give delight, and that they rarely fail of their object. When one has read + the stirring <i>Marmion</i> or the more enduring <i>Lady of the Lake</i>, + felt the heroism of the Crusaders in <i>The Talisman</i>, the + picturesqueness of chivalry in <i>Ivanhoe</i>, the nobleness of soul of a + Scotch peasant girl in <i>The Heart of Midlothian</i>, and the quality of + Scotch faith in <i>Old Mortality</i>, then his own opinion of Scott's + genius will be of more value than all the criticisms that have ever been + written. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Scott's Poetry</span>At the outset we must + confess frankly that Scott's poetry is not artistic, in the highest sense, + and that it lacks the deeply imaginative and suggestive qualities which + make a poem the noblest and most enduring work of humanity. We read it + now, not for its poetic excellence, but for its absorbing story interest. + Even so, it serves an admirable purpose. <i>Marmion</i> and <i>The Lady of + the Lake</i>, which are often the first long poems read by the beginner in + literature, almost invariably lead to a deeper interest in the subject; + and many readers owe to these poems an introduction to the delights of + poetry. They are an excellent beginning, therefore, for young readers, + since they are almost certain to hold the attention, and to lead + indirectly to an interest in other and better poems. Aside from this, + Scott's poetry is marked by vigor and youthful abandon; its interest lies + in its vivid pictures, its heroic characters, and especially in its rapid + action and succession of adventures, which hold and delight us still, as + they held and delighted the first wondering readers. And one finds here + and there terse descriptions, or snatches of song and ballad, like the + "Boat Song" and "Lochinvar," which are among the best known in our + literature. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Scott's Novels</span>In his novels Scott plainly + wrote too rapidly and too much. While a genius of the first magnitude, the + definition of genius as "the infinite capacity for taking pains" hardly + belongs to him. For details of life and history, for finely drawn + characters, and for tracing the logical consequences of human action, he + has usually no inclination. He sketches a character roughly, plunges him + into the midst of stirring incidents, and the action of the story carries + us on breathlessly to the end. So his stories are largely adventure + stories, at the best; and it is this element of adventure and glorious + action, rather than the study of character, which makes Scott a perennial + favorite of the young. The same element of excitement is what causes + mature readers to turn from Scott to better novelists, who have more power + to delineate human character, and to create, or discover, a romantic + interest in the incidents of everyday life rather than in stirring + adventure.<sup><a href="#fn225" name="rfn225" id="rfn225">[225]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Scott's Work for Literature</span>Notwithstanding + these limitations, it is well--especially in these days, when we hear that + Scott is outgrown--to emphasize four noteworthy things that he + accomplished. + </p> + <p> + (1) He created the historical novel<sup><a href="#fn226" name="rfn226" + id="rfn226">[226]</a></sup>; and all novelists of the last century who + draw upon history for their characters and events are followers of Scott + and acknowledge his mastery. + </p> + <p> + (2) His novels are on a vast scale, covering a very wide range of action, + and are concerned with public rather than with private interests. So, with + the exception of <i>The Bride of Lammermoor</i>, the love story in his + novels is generally pale and feeble; but the strife and passions of big + parties are magnificently portrayed. A glance over even the titles of his + novels shows how the heroic side of history for over six hundred years + finds expression in his pages; and all the parties of these six + centuries--Crusaders, Covenanters, Cavaliers, Roundheads, Papists, Jews, + Gypsies, Rebels--start into life again, and fight or give a reason for the + faith that is in them. No other novelist in England, and only Balzac in + France, approaches Scott in the scope of his narratives. + </p> + <p> + (3) Scott was the first novelist in any language to make the scene an + essential element in the action. He knew Scotland, and loved it; and there + is hardly an event in any of his Scottish novels in which we do not + breathe the very atmosphere of the place, and feel the presence of its + moors and mountains. The place, morever, is usually so well chosen and + described that the action seems almost to be the result of natural + environment. Perhaps the most striking illustration of this harmony + between scene and incident is found in <i>Old Mortality</i>, where Morton + approaches the cave of the old Covenanter, and where the spiritual terror + inspired by the fanatic's struggle with imaginary fiends is paralleled by + the physical terror of a gulf and a roaring flood spanned by a slippery + tree trunk. A second illustration of the same harmony of scene and + incident is found in the meeting of the arms and ideals of the East and + West, when the two champions fight in the burning desert, and then eat + bread together in the cool shade of the oasis, as described in the opening + chapter of <i>The Talisman</i>. A third illustration is found in that + fascinating love scene, where Ivanhoe lies wounded, raging at his + helplessness, while the gentle Rebecca alternately hides and reveals her + love as she describes the terrific assault on the castle, which goes on + beneath her window. His thoughts are all on the fight; hers on the man she + loves; and both are natural, and both are exactly what we expect under the + circumstances. These are but striking examples of the fact that, in all + his work, Scott tries to preserve perfect harmony between the scene and + the action. + </p> + <p> + (4) Scott's chief claim to greatness lies in the fact that he was the + first novelist to recreate the past; that he changed our whole conception + of history by making it to be, not a record of dry facts, but a stage on + which living men and women played their parts. Carlyle's criticism is here + most pertinent: "These historical novels have taught this truth ... + unknown to writers of history: that the bygone ages of the world were + actually filled by living men, not by protocols, state papers, + controversies, and abstractions of men." Not only the pages of history, + but all the hills and vales of his beloved Scotland are filled with living + characters,--lords and ladies, soldiers, pirates, gypsies, preachers, + schoolmasters, clansmen, bailiffs, dependents,--all Scotland is here + before our eyes, in the reality of life itself. It is astonishing, with + his large numbers of characters, that Scott never repeats himself. + Naturally he is most at home in Scotland, and with humble people. Scott's + own romantic interest in feudalism caused him to make his lords altogether + too lordly; his aristocratic maidens are usually bloodless, conventional, + exasperating creatures, who talk like books and pose like figures in an + old tapestry. But when he describes characters like Jeanie Deans, in <i>The + Heart of Midlothian</i>, and the old clansman, Evan Dhu, in <i>Waverley</i>, + we know the very soul of Scotch womanhood and manhood. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps one thing more should be said, or rather repeated, of Scott's + enduring work. He is always sane, wholesome, manly, inspiring. We know the + essential nobility of human life better, and we are better men and women + ourselves, because of what he has written. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap10h" id="chap10h">GEORGE GORDON, LORD BYRON</a> (1788-1824) + </p> + <p> + There are two distinct sides to Byron and his poetry, one good, the other + bad; and those who write about him generally describe one side or the + other in superlatives. Thus one critic speaks of his "splendid and + imperishable excellence of sincerity and strength"; another of his "gaudy + charlatanry, blare of brass, and big bow-wowishness." As both critics are + fundamentally right, we shall not here attempt to reconcile their + differences, which arise from viewing one side of the man's nature and + poetry to the exclusion of the other. Before his exile from England, in + 1816, the general impression made by Byron is that of a man who leads an + irregular life, poses as a romantic hero, makes himself out much worse + than he really is, and takes delight in shocking not only the conventions + but the ideals of English society. His poetry of this first period is + generally, though not always, shallow and insincere in thought, and + declamatory or bombastic in expression. After his exile, and his meeting + with Shelley in Italy, we note a gradual improvement, due partly to + Shelley's influence and partly to his own mature thought and experience. + We have the impression now of a disillusioned man who recognizes his true + character, and who, though cynical and pessimistic, is at least honest in + his unhappy outlook on society. His poetry of this period is generally + less shallow and rhetorical, and though he still parades his feelings in + public, he often surprises us by being manly and sincere. Thus in the + third canto of <i>Childe Harold</i>, written just after his exile, he + says: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + In my youth's summer I did sing of one,<br /> The wandering outlaw of his + own dark mind;<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + and as we read on to the end of the splendid fourth canto--with its poetic + feeling for nature, and its stirring rhythm that grips and holds the + reader like martial music--we lay down the book with profound regret that + this gifted man should have devoted so much of his talent to describing + trivial or unwholesome intrigues and posing as the hero of his own verses. + The real tragedy of Byron's life is that he died just as he was beginning + to find himself. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. Byron was born in London in 1788, the year preceding the + French Revolution. We shall understand him better, and judge him more + charitably, if we remember the tainted stock from which he sprang. His + father was a dissipated spendthrift of unspeakable morals; his mother was + a Scotch heiress, passionate and unbalanced. The father deserted his wife + after squandering her fortune; and the boy was brought up by the mother + who "alternately petted and abused" him. In his eleventh year the death of + a granduncle left him heir to Newstead Abbey and to the baronial title of + one of the oldest houses in England. He was singularly handsome; and a + lameness resulting from a deformed foot lent a suggestion of pathos to his + make-up. All this, with his social position, his pseudo-heroic poetry, and + his dissipated life,--over which he contrived to throw a veil of romantic + secrecy,--made him a magnet of attraction to many thoughtless young men + and foolish women, who made the downhill path both easy and rapid to one + whose inclinations led him in that direction. Naturally he was generous, + and easily led by affection. He is, therefore, largely a victim of his own + weakness and of unfortunate surroundings. + </p> + <p> + At school at Harrow, and in the university at Cambridge, Byron led an + unbalanced life, and was more given to certain sports from which he was + not debarred by lameness, than to books and study. His school life, like + his infancy, is sadly marked by vanity, violence, and rebellion against + every form of authority; yet it was not without its hours of nobility and + generosity. Scott describes him as "a man of real goodness of heart, and + the kindest and best feelings, miserably thrown away by his foolish + contempt of public opinion." While at Cambridge, Byron published his first + volume of poems, <i>Hours of Idleness</i>, in 1807. A severe criticism of + the volume in the <i>Edinburgh Review</i> wounded Byron's vanity, and + threw him into a violent passion, the result of which was the now famous + satire called <i>English Bards and Scotch Reviewers</i>, in which not only + his enemies, but also Scott, Wordsworth, and nearly all the literary men + of his day, were satirized in heroic couplets after the manner of Pope's + <i>Dunciad</i>. It is only just to say that he afterwards made friends + with Scott and with others whom he had abused without provocation; and it + is interesting to note, in view of his own romantic poetry, that he + denounced all masters of romance and accepted the artificial standards of + Pope and Dryden. His two favorite books were the Old Testament and a + volume of Pope's poetry. Of the latter he says, "His is the greatest name + in poetry ... all the rest are barbarians." + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el047" id="el047"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: GEORGE GORDON, LORD BYRON" src="images/el047.jpg" /></a><br /> + GEORGE GORDON, LORD BYRON + </p> + <p> + In 1809 Byron, when only twenty-one years of age, started on a tour of + Europe and the Orient. The poetic results of this trip were the first two + cantos of <i>Childe Harold's Pilgrimage</i>, with their famous + descriptions of romantic scenery. The work made him instantly popular, and + his fame overshadowed Scott's completely. As he says himself, "I awoke one + morning to find myself famous," and presently he styles himself "the grand + Napoleon of the realms of rhyme." The worst element in Byron at this time + was his insincerity, his continual posing as the hero of his poetry. His + best works were translated, and his fame spread almost as rapidly on the + Continent as in England. Even Goethe was deceived, and declared that a man + so wonderful in character had never before appeared in literature, and + would never appear again. Now that the tinsel has worn off, and we can + judge the man and his work dispassionately, we see how easily even the + critics of the age were governed by romantic impulses. + </p> + <p> + The adulation of Byron lasted only a few years in England. In 1815 he + married Miss Milbanke, an English heiress, who abruptly left him a year + later. With womanly reserve she kept silence; but the public was not slow + to imagine plenty of reasons for the separation. This, together with the + fact that men had begun to penetrate the veil of romantic secrecy with + which Byron surrounded himself and found a rather brassy idol beneath, + turned the tide of public opinion against him. He left England under a + cloud of distrust and disappointment, in 1816, and never returned. Eight + years were spent abroad, largely in Italy, where he was associated with + Shelley until the latter's tragic death in 1822. His house was ever the + meeting place for Revolutionists and malcontents calling themselves + patriots, whom he trusted too greatly, and with whom he shared his money + most generously. Curiously enough, while he trusted men too easily, he had + no faith in human society or government, and wrote in 1817: "I have + simplified my politics to an utter detestation of all existing + governments." During his exile he finished <i>Childe Harold, The Prisoner + of Chillon</i>, his dramas <i>Cain</i> and <i>Manfred</i>, and numerous + other works, in some of which, as in <i>Don Juan</i>, he delighted in + revenging himself upon his countrymen by holding up to ridicule all that + they held most sacred. + </p> + <p> + In 1824 Byron went to Greece to give himself and a large part of his + fortune to help that country in its struggle for liberty against the + Turks. How far he was led by his desire for posing as a hero, and how far + by a certain vigorous Viking spirit that was certainly in him, will never + be known. The Greeks welcomed him and made him a leader, and for a few + months he found himself in the midst of a wretched squabble of lies, + selfishness, insincerity, cowardice, and intrigue, instead of the heroic + struggle for liberty which he had anticipated. He died of fever, in + Missolonghi, in 1824. One of his last poems, written there on his + thirty-sixth birthday, a few months before he died, expresses his own view + of his disappointing life: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + My days are in the yellow leaf,<br /> The flowers and fruits of love are + gone:<br /> The worm, the canker, and the grief<br /> Are + mine alone.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b>Works of Byron</b>. In reading Byron it is well to remember that he was + a disappointed and embittered man, not only in his personal life, but also + in his expectation of a general transformation of human society. As he + pours out his own feelings, chiefly, in his poetry, he is the most + expressive writer of his age in voicing the discontent of a multitude of + Europeans who were disappointed at the failure of the French Revolution to + produce an entirely new form of government and society. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Hours of Idleness</span>One who wishes to + understand the whole scope of Byron's genius and poetry will do well to + begin with his first work, <i>Hours of Idleness</i>, written when he was a + young man at the university. There is very little poetry in the volume, + only a striking facility in rime, brightened by the devil-may-care spirit + of the Cavalier poets; but as a revelation of the man himself it is + remarkable. In a vain and sophomoric preface he declares that poetry is to + him an idle experiment, and that this is his first and last attempt to + amuse himself in that line. Curiously enough, as he starts for Greece on + his last, fatal journey, he again ridicules literature, and says that the + poet is a "mere babbler." It is this despising of the art which alone + makes him famous that occasions our deepest disappointment. Even in his + magnificent passages, in a glowing description of nature or of a Hindoo + woman's exquisite love, his work is frequently marred by a wretched pun, + or by some cheap buffoonery, which ruins our first splendid impression of + his poetry. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Longer Poems</span>Byron's later volumes, <i>Manfred</i> + and <i>Cain</i>, the one a curious, and perhaps unconscious, parody of <i>Faust</i>, + the other of <i>Paradise Lost</i>, are his two best known dramatic works. + Aside from the question of their poetic value, they are interesting as + voicing Byron's excessive individualism and his rebellion against society. + The best known and the most readable of Byron's works <i>Mazeppa, The + Prisoner of Chillon</i>, and <i>Childe Harold's Pilgrimage</i>. The first + two cantos of <i>Childe Harold</i> (1812) are perhaps more frequently read + than any other work of the same author, partly because of their melodious + verse, partly because of their descriptions of places along the lines of + European travel; but the last two cantos (1816-1818) written after his + exile from England, have more sincerity, and are in every way better + expressions of Byron's mature genius. Scattered through all his works one + finds magnificent descriptions of natural scenery, and exquisite lyrics of + love and despair; but they are mixed with such a deal of bombast and + rhetoric, together with much that is unwholesome, that the beginner will + do well to confine himself to a small volume of well-chosen selections.<sup><a + href="#fn227" name="rfn227" id="rfn227">[227]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + Byron is often compared with Scott, as having given to us Europe and the + Orient, just as Scott gave us Scotland and its people; but while there is + a certain resemblance in the swing and dash of the verses, the resemblance + is all on the surface, and the underlying difference between the two poets + is as great as that between Thackeray and Bulwer-Lytton. Scott knew his + country well,--its hills and valleys which are interesting as the abode of + living and lovable men and women. Byron pretended to know the secret, + unwholesome side of Europe, which generally hides itself in the dark; but + instead of giving us a variety of living men, he never gets away from his + own unbalanced and egotistical self. All his characters, in <i>Cain, + Manfred, The Corsair, The Giaour, Childe Harold, Don Juan</i>, are + tiresome repetitions of himself,--a vain, disappointed, cynical man, who + finds no good in life or love or anything. Naturally, with such a + disposition, he is entirely incapable of portraying a true woman. To + nature alone, especially in her magnificent moods, Byron remains faithful; + and his portrayal of the night and the storm and the ocean in <i>Childe + Harold</i> are unsurpassed in our language. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap10i" id="chap10i">PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY</a> (1792-1822) + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:<br /> What + if my leaves are falling like its own!<br /> The tumult of thy mighty + harmonies<br /> Will take from both a deep, + autumnal tone,<br /> Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, spirit fierce,<br /> + My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el048" id="el048"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY" src="images/el048.png" /></a><br /> + PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY + </p> + <p> + In this fragment, from the "Ode to the West Wind," we have a suggestion of + Shelley's own spirit, as reflected in all his poetry. The very spirit of + nature, which appeals to us in the wind and the cloud, the sunset and the + moonrise, seems to have possessed him, at times, and made him a chosen + instrument of melody. At such times he is a true poet, and his work is + unrivaled. At other times, unfortunately, Shelley joins with Byron in + voicing a vain rebellion against society. His poetry, like his life, + divides itself into two distinct moods. In one he is the violent reformer, + seeking to overthrow our present institutions and to hurry the millennium + out of its slow walk into a gallop. Out of this mood come most of his + longer poems, like <i>Queen Mab, Revolt of Islam, Hellas</i>, and <i>The + Witch of Atlas</i>, which are somewhat violent diatribes against + government, priests, marriage, religion, even God as men supposed him to + be. In a different mood, which finds expression <i>Alastor, Adonais</i>, + and his wonderful lyrics, Shelley is like a wanderer following a vague, + beautiful vision, forever sad and forever unsatisfied. In the latter mood + he appeals profoundly to all men who have known what it is to follow after + an unattainable ideal. + </p> + <p> + <b>Shelley's Life</b>. There are three classes of men who see visions, and + all three are represented in our literature. The first is the mere + dreamer, like Blake, who stumbles through a world of reality without + noticing it, and is happy in his visions. The second is the seer, the + prophet, like Langland, or Wyclif, who sees a vision and quietly goes to + work, in ways that men understand, to make the present world a little more + like the ideal one which he sees in his vision. The third, who appears in + many forms,--as visionary, enthusiast, radical, anarchist, revolutionary, + call him what you will,--sees a vision and straightway begins to tear down + all human institutions, which have been built up by the slow toil of + centuries, simply because they seem to stand in the way of his dream. To + the latter class belongs Shelley, a man perpetually at war with the + present world, a martyr and exile, simply because of his inability to + sympathize with men and society as they are, and because of his own + mistaken judgment as to the value and purpose of a vision. + </p> + <p> + Shelley was born in Field Place, near Horsham, Sussex, in 1792. On both + his father's and his mother's side he was descended from noble old + families, famous in the political and literary history of England. From + childhood he lived, like Blake, in a world of fancy, so real that certain + imaginary dragons and headless creatures of the neighboring wood kept him + and his sisters in a state of fearful expectancy. He learned rapidly, + absorbed the classics as if by intuition, and, dissatisfied with ordinary + processes of learning, seems to have sought, like Faustus, the + acquaintance of spirits, as shown in his "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty": + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + While yet a boy, I sought for ghosts, and sped<br /> Through + many a listening chamber, cave and ruin,<br /> And + starlight wood, with fearful steps pursuing<br /> Hopes of high talk with + the departed dead.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Shelley's first public school, kept by a hard-headed Scotch master, with + its floggings and its general brutality, seemed to him like a combination + of hell and prison; and his active rebellion against existing institutions + was well under way when, at twelve years of age, he entered the famous + preparatory school at Eton. He was a delicate, nervous, marvelously + sensitive boy, of great physical beauty; and, like Cowper, he suffered + torments at the hands of his rough schoolfellows. Unlike Cowper, he was + positive, resentful, and brave to the point of rashness; soul and body + rose up against tyranny; and he promptly organized a rebellion against the + brutal fagging system. "Mad Shelley" the boys called him, and they chivied + him like dogs around a little coon that fights and cries defiance to the + end. One finds what he seeks in this world, and it is not strange that + Shelley, after his Eton experiences, found causes for rebellion in all + existing forms of human society, and that he left school "to war among + mankind," as he says of himself in the <i>Revolt of Islam</i>. His + university days are but a repetition of his earlier experiences. While a + student at Oxford he read some scraps of Hume's philosophy, and + immediately published a pamphlet called "The Necessity of Atheism." It was + a crude, foolish piece of work, and Shelley distributed it by post to + every one to whom it might give offense. Naturally this brought on a + conflict with the authorities, but Shelley would not listen to reason or + make any explanation, and was expelled from the university in 1811. + </p> + <p> + Shelley's marriage was even more unfortunate. While living in London, on a + generous sister's pocket money, a certain young schoolgirl, Harriet + Westbrook, was attracted by Shelley's crude revolutionary doctrines. She + promptly left school, as her own personal part in the general rebellion, + and refused to return or even to listen to her parents upon the subject. + Having been taught by Shelley, she threw herself upon his protection; and + this unbalanced couple were presently married, as they said, "in deference + to anarch custom." The two infants had already proclaimed a rebellion + against the institution of marriage, for which they proposed to substitute + the doctrine of elective affinity. For two years they wandered about + England, Ireland, and Wales, living on a small allowance from Shelley's + father, who had disinherited his son because of his ill-considered + marriage. The pair soon separated, and two years later Shelley, having + formed a strong friendship with one Godwin,--a leader of young enthusiasts + and a preacher of anarchy,--presently showed his belief in Godwin's + theories by eloping with his daughter Mary. It is a sad story, and the + details were perhaps better forgotten. We should remember that in Shelley + we are dealing with a tragic blend of high-mindedness and + light-headedness. Byron wrote of him, "The most gentle, the most amiable, + and the least worldly-minded person I ever met!" + </p> + <p> + Led partly by the general hostility against him, and partly by his own + delicate health, Shelley went to Italy in 1818, and never returned to + England. After wandering over Italy he finally settled in Pisa, beloved of + so many English poets,--beautiful, sleepy Pisa, where one looks out of his + window on the main street at the busiest hour of the day, and the only + living thing in sight is a donkey, dozing lazily, with his head in the + shade and his body in the sunshine. Here his best poetry was written, and + here he found comfort in the friendship of Byron, Hunt, and Trelawney, who + are forever associated with Shelley's Italian life. He still remained + hostile to English social institutions; but life is a good teacher, and + that Shelley dimly recognized the error of his rebellion is shown in the + increasing sadness of his later poems: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + O world, O life, O time!<br /> On whose last steps I climb,<br /> Trembling + at that where I had stood before;<br /> When will return the glory of + your prime?<br /> No more--oh, never more!<br /> + Out of the day and night<br /> A joy has taken flight;<br /> Fresh + spring, and summer, and winter hoar,<br /> Move my faint heart with + grief, but with delight<br /> No more--oh, never + more!<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In 1822, when only thirty years of age, Shelley was drowned while sailing + in a small boat off the Italian coast. His body was washed ashore several + days later, and was cremated, near Viareggio, by his friends, Byron, Hunt, + and Trelawney. His ashes might, with all reverence, have been given to the + winds that he loved and that were a symbol of his restless spirit; + instead, they found a resting place near the grave of Keats, in the + English cemetery at Rome. One rarely visits the spot now without finding + English and American visitors standing in silence before the significant + inscription, <i>Cor Cordium</i>. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Shelley</b>. As a lyric poet, Shelley is one of the supreme + geniuses of our literature; and the reader will do well to begin with the + poems which show him at his very best. "The Cloud," "To a Skylark," "Ode + to the West Wind," "To Night,"--poems like these must surely set the + reader to searching among Shelley's miscellaneous works, to find for + himself the things "worthy to be remembered." + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Alastor</span>In reading Shelley's longer poems + one must remember that there are in this poet two distinct men: one, the + wanderer, seeking ideal beauty and forever unsatisfied; the other, the + unbalanced reformer, seeking the overthrow of present institutions and the + establishment of universal happiness. <i>Alastor, or the Spirit of + Solitude</i> (1816) is by far the best expression of Shelley's greater + mood. Here we see him wandering restlessly through the vast silences of + nature, in search of a loved dream-maiden who shall satisfy his love of + beauty. Here Shelley is the poet of the moonrise, and of the tender + exquisite fancies that can never be expressed. The charm of the poem lies + in its succession of dreamlike pictures; but it gives absolutely no + impressions of reality. It was written when Shelley, after his long + struggle, had begun to realize that the world was too strong for him. <i>Alastor</i> + is therefore the poet's confession, not simply of failure, but of undying + hope in some better thing that is to come. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Prometheus</span><i>Prometheus Unbound</i> + (1818-1820), a lyrical drama, is the best work of Shelley's revolutionary + enthusiasm, and the most characteristic of all his poems. Shelley's + philosophy (if one may dignify a hopeless dream by such a name) was a + curious aftergrowth of the French Revolution, namely, that it is only the + existing tyranny of State, Church, and society which keeps man from growth + into perfect happiness. Naturally Shelley forgot, like many other + enthusiasts, that Church and State and social laws were not imposed upon + man from without, but were created by himself to minister to his + necessities. In Shelley's poem the hero, Prometheus, represents mankind + itself,--a just and noble humanity, chained and tortured by Jove, who is + here the personification of human institutions.<sup><a href="#fn228" + name="rfn228" id="rfn228">[228]</a></sup> In due time Demogorgon (which is + Shelley's name for Necessity) overthrows the tyrant Jove and releases + Prometheus (Mankind), who is presently united to Asia, the spirit of love + and goodness in nature, while the earth and the moon join in a wedding + song, and everything gives promise that they shall live together happy + ever afterwards. + </p> + <p> + Shelley here looks forward, not back, to the Golden Age, and is the + prophet of science and evolution. If we compare his Titan with similar + characters in <i>Faust</i> and <i>Cain</i>, we shall find this interesting + difference,--that while Goethe's Titan is cultured and self-reliant, and + Byron's stoic and hopeless, Shelley's hero is patient under torture, + seeing help and hope beyond his suffering. And he marries Love that the + earth may be peopled with superior beings who shall substitute brotherly + love for the present laws and conventions of society. Such is his + philosophy; but the beginner will read this poem, not chiefly for its + thought, but for its youthful enthusiasm, for its marvelous imagery, and + especially for its ethereal music. Perhaps we should add here that <i>Prometheus</i> + is, and probably always will be, a poem for the chosen few who can + appreciate its peculiar spiritlike beauty. In its purely pagan conception + of the world, it suggests, by contrast, Milton's Christian philosophy in + <i>Paradise Regained</i>. + </p> + <p> + Shelley's revolutionary works, <i>Queen Mab</i> (1813), <i>The Revolt of + Islam</i> (1818), <i>Hellas</i> (1821), and <i>The Witch of Atlas</i> + (1820), are to be judged in much the same way as is <i>Prometheus Unbound</i>. + They are largely invectives against religion, marriage, kingcraft, and + priestcraft, most impractical when considered as schemes for reform, but + abounding in passages of exquisite beauty, for which alone they are worth + reading. In the drama called <i>The Cenci</i> (1819), which is founded + upon a morbid Italian story, Shelley for the first and only time descends + to reality. The heroine, Beatrice, driven to desperation by the monstrous + wickedness of her father, kills him and suffers the death penalty in + consequence. She is the only one of Shelley's characters who seems to us + entirely human. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Adonais </span>Far different in character is <i>Epipsychidion</i> + (1821), a rhapsody celebrating Platonic love, the most impalpable, and so + one of the most characteristic, of all Shelley's works. It was inspired by + a beautiful Italian girl, Emilia Viviani, who was put into a cloister + against her will, and in whom Shelley imagined he found his long-sought + ideal of womanhood. With this should be read <i>Adonais</i> (1821), the + best known of all Shelley's longer poems. <i>Adonais</i> is a wonderful + threnody, or a song of grief, over the death of the poet Keats. Even in + his grief Shelley still preserves a sense of unreality, and calls in many + shadowy allegorical figures,--Sad Spring, Weeping Hours, Glooms, + Splendors, Destinies,--all uniting in bewailing the loss of a loved one. + The whole poem is a succession of dream pictures, exquisitely beautiful, + such as only Shelley could imagine; and it holds its place with Milton's + <i>Lycidas</i> and Tennyson's <i>In Memoriam</i> as one of the three + greatest elegies in our language. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Shelley and Wordsworth </span>In his + interpretation of nature Shelley suggests Wordsworth, both by resemblance + and by contrast. To both poets all natural objects are symbols of truth; + both regard nature as permeated by the great spiritual life which animates + all things; but while Wordsworth finds a spirit of thought, and so of + communion between nature and the soul of man, Shelley finds a spirit of + love, which exists chiefly for its own delight; and so "The Cloud," "The + Skylark," and "The West Wind," three of the most beautiful poems in our + language, have no definite message for humanity. In his "Hymn to + Intellectual Beauty" Shelley is most like Wordsworth; but in his + "Sensitive Plant," with its fine symbolism and imagery, he is like nobody + in the world but himself. Comparison is sometimes an excellent thing; and + if we compare Shelley's exquisite "Lament," beginning "O world, O life, O + time," with Wordsworth's "Intimations of Immortality," we shall perhaps + understand both poets better. Both poems recall many happy memories of + youth; both express a very real mood of a moment; but while the beauty of + one merely saddens and disheartens us, the beauty of the other inspires us + with something of the poet's own faith and hopefulness. In a word, + Wordsworth found and Shelley lost himself in nature. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap10j" id="chap10j">JOHN KEATS</a> (1795-1821) + </p> + <p> + Keats was not only the last but also the most perfect of the Romanticists. + While Scott was merely telling stories, and Wordsworth reforming poetry or + upholding the moral law, and Shelley advocating impossible reforms, and + Byron voicing his own egoism and the political discontent of the times, + Keats lived apart from men and from all political measures, worshiping + beauty like a devotee, perfectly content to write what was in his own + heart, or to reflect some splendor of the natural world as he saw or + dreamed it to be. He had, moreover, the novel idea that poetry exists for + its own sake, and suffers loss by being devoted to philosophy or politics + or, indeed, to any cause, however great or small. As he says in "Lamia": + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + ... + Do not all charms fly<br /> At the mere touch of cold philosophy?<br /> + There was an awful rainbow once in heaven:<br /> We know her woof, her + texture; she is given<br /> In the dull catalogue of common things.<br /> + Philosophy will clip an Angel's wings,<br /> Conquer all mysteries by + rule and line,<br /> Empty the haunted air, and gnomed mine--<br /> + Unweave a rainbow, as it erewhile made<br /> The tender-person'd Lamia + melt into a shade.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Partly because of this high ideal of poetry, partly because he studied and + unconsciously imitated the Greek classics and the best works of the + Elizabethans, Keats's last little volume of poetry is unequaled by the + work of any of his contemporaries. When we remember that all his work was + published in three short years, from 1817 to 1820, and that he died when + only twenty-five years old, we must judge him to be the most promising + figure of the early nineteenth century, and one of the most remarkable in + the history of literature. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Keats's life of devotion to beauty and to poetry is all the + more remarkable in view of his lowly origin. He was the son of a hostler + and stable keeper, and was born in the stable of the Swan and Hoop Inn, + London, in 1795. One has only to read the rough stable scenes from our + first novelists, or even from Dickens, to understand how little there was + in such an atmosphere to develop poetic gifts. Before Keats was fifteen + years old both parents died, and he was placed with his brothers and + sisters in charge of guardians. Their first act seems to have been to take + Keats from school at Enfield, and to bind him as an apprentice to a + surgeon at Edmonton. For five years he served his apprenticeship, and for + two years more he was surgeon's helper in the hospitals; but though + skillful enough to win approval, he disliked his work, and his thoughts + were on other things. "The other day, during a lecture," he said to a + friend, "there came a sunbeam into the room, and with it a whole troop of + creatures floating in the ray; and I was off with them to Oberon and + fairyland." A copy of Spenser's <i>Faery Queen</i>, which had been given + him by Charles Cowden Clark, was the prime cause of his abstraction. He + abandoned his profession in 1817, and early in the same year published his + first volume of <i>Poems</i>. It was modest enough in spirit, as was also + his second volume, <i>Endymion</i> (1818); but that did not prevent brutal + attacks upon the author and his work by the self-constituted critics of <i>Blackwood's + Magazine</i> and the <i>Quarterly</i>. It is often alleged that the poet's + spirit and ambition were broken by these attacks;<sup><a href="#fn229" + name="rfn229" id="rfn229">[229]</a></sup> but Keats was a man of strong + character, and instead of quarreling with his reviewers, or being crushed + by their criticism, he went quietly to work with the idea of producing + poetry that should live forever. As Matthew Arnold says, Keats "had flint + and iron in him"; and in his next volume he accomplished his own purpose + and silenced unfriendly criticism. + </p> + <p> + For the three years during which Keats wrote his poetry he lived chiefly + in London and in Hampstead, but wandered at times over England and + Scotland, living for brief spaces in the Isle of Wight, in Devonshire, and + in the Lake district, seeking to recover his own health, and especially to + restore that of his brother. His illness began with a severe cold, but + soon developed into consumption; and added to this sorrow was + another,--his love for Fannie Brawne, to whom he was engaged, but whom he + could not marry on account of his poverty and growing illness. When we + remember all this personal grief and the harsh criticism of literary men, + the last small volume, <i>Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other + Poems</i> (1820), is most significant, as showing not only Keats's + wonderful poetic gifts, but also his beautiful and indomitable spirit. + Shelley, struck by the beauty and promise of "Hyperion," sent a generous + invitation to the author to come to Pisa and live with him; but Keats + refused, having little sympathy with Shelley's revolt against society. The + invitation had this effect, however, that it turned Keats's thoughts to + Italy, whither he soon went in the effort to save his life. He settled in + Rome with his friend Severn, the artist, but died soon after his arrival, + in February, 1821. His grave, in the Protestant cemetery at Rome, is still + an object of pilgrimage to thousands of tourists; for among all our poets + there is hardly another whose heroic life and tragic death have so + appealed to the hearts of poets and young enthusiasts. + </p> + <p> + <b>The Work of Keats.</b> "None but the master shall praise us; and none + but the master shall blame" might well be written on the fly leaf of every + volume of Keats's poetry; for never was there a poet more devoted to his + ideal, entirely independent of success or failure. In strong contrast with + his contemporary, Byron, who professed to despise the art that made him + famous, Keats lived for poetry alone, and, as Lowell pointed out, a virtue + went out of him into everything he wrote. In all his work we have the + impression of this intense loyalty to his art; we have the impression also + of a profound dissatisfaction that the deed falls so far short of the + splendid dream. Thus after reading Chapman's translation of Homer he + writes: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Much have I travelled in the realms of gold,<br /> And many goodly states + and kingdoms seen;<br /> Round many western islands have I been<br /> + Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.<br /> Oft of one wide expanse had I + been told<br /> That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne;<br /> Yet did + I never breathe its pure serene<br /> Till I heard Chapman speak out loud + and bold:<br /> Then felt I like some watcher of the skies<br /> When a + new planet swims into his ken;<br /> Or like stout Cortez when with eagle + eyes<br /> He stared at the Pacific--and all his men<br /> Looked at each + other with a wild surmise--<br /> Silent, upon a peak in Darien.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In this striking sonnet we have a suggestion of Keats's high ideal, and of + his sadness because of his own ignorance, when he published his first + little volume of poems in 1817. He knew no Greek; yet Greek literature + absorbed and fascinated him, as he saw its broken and imperfect reflection + in an English translation. Like Shakespeare, who also was but poorly + educated in the schools, he had a marvelous faculty of discerning the real + spirit of the classics,--a faculty denied to many great scholars, and to + most of the "classic" writers of the preceding century,--and so he set + himself to the task of reflecting in modern English the spirit of the old + Greeks. + </p> + <p> + The imperfect results of this attempt are seen in his next volume, <i>Endymion</i>, + which is the story of a young shepherd beloved by a moon goddess. The poem + begins with the striking lines: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + A thing of beauty is a joy forever;<br /> Its loveliness increases; it + will never<br /> Pass into nothingness; but still will keep<br /> A bower + quiet for us; and a sleep<br /> Full of sweet dreams, and health, and + quiet breathing,<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + which well illustrate the spirit of Keats's later work, with its perfect + finish and melody. It has many quotable lines and passages, and its "Hymn + to Pan" should be read in connection with Wordsworth's famous sonnet + beginning, "The world is too much with us." The poem gives splendid + promise, but as a whole it is rather chaotic, with too much ornament and + too little design, like a modern house. That Keats felt this defect + strongly is evident from his modest preface, wherein he speaks of <i>Endymion</i>, + not as a deed accomplished, but only as an unsuccessful attempt to suggest + the underlying beauty of Greek mythology. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Lamia and Other Poems </span>Keats's third and + last volume, <i>Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems</i> + (1820), is the one with which the reader should begin his acquaintance + with this master of English verse. It has only two subjects, Greek + mythology and mediæval romance. "Hyperion" is a magnificent + fragment, suggesting the first arch of a cathedral that was never + finished. Its theme is the overthrow of the Titans by the young sun-god + Apollo. Realizing his own immaturity and lack of knowledge, Keats laid + aside this work, and only the pleadings of his publisher induced him to + print the fragment with his completed poems. + </p> + <p> + Throughout this last volume, and especially in "Hyperion," the influence + of Milton is apparent, while Spenser is more frequently suggested in + reading <i>Endymion</i>. + </p> + <p> + Of the longer poems in the volume, "Lamia" is the most suggestive. It is + the story of a beautiful enchantress, who turns from a serpent into a + glorious woman and fills every human sense with delight, until, as a + result of the foolish philosophy of old Apollonius, she vanishes forever + from her lover's sight. "The Eve of St. Agnes," the most perfect of + Keats's mediæval poems, is not a story after the manner of the + metrical romances, but rather a vivid painting of a romantic mood, such as + comes to all men, at times, to glorify a workaday world. Like all the work + of Keats and Shelley, it has an element of unreality; and when we read at + the end, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + And they are gone; aye, ages long ago<br /> These lovers fled away into + the storm,<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + it is as if we were waking from a dream,--which is the only possible + ending to all of Keats's Greek and mediæval fancies. We are to + remember, however, that no beautiful thing, though it be intangible as a + dream, can enter a man's life and leave him quite the same afterwards. + Keats's own word is here suggestive. "The imagination," he said, "may be + likened to Adam's dream; he awoke and found it true." + </p> + <p> + It is by his short poems that Keats is known to the majority of + present-day readers. Among these exquisite shorter poems we mention only + the four odes, "On a Grecian Urn," "To a Nightingale," "To Autumn," and + "To Psyche." These are like an invitation to a feast; one who reads them + will hardly be satisfied until he knows more of such delightful poetry. + Those who study only the "Ode to a Nightingale" may find four things,--a + love of account, when he paused in the crowded street tears would spring + to his eyes,--tears of pure pleasure at the abundance of so much good + life; and when he wrote, he simply interpreted that crowded human life of + joy and sorrow, as Wordsworth interpreted the woods and waters, without + any desire to change or to reform them. He has given us the best pictures + we possess of Coleridge, Hazlitt, Landor, Hood, Cowden Clarke, and many + more of the interesting men and women of his age; and it is due to his + insight and sympathy that the life of those far-off days seems almost as + real to us as if we ourselves remembered it. Of all our English essayists + he is the most lovable; partly because of his delicate, old-fashioned + style and humor, but more because of that cheery and heroic struggle + against misfortune which shines like a subdued light in all his writings. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el049" id="el049"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: CHARLES LAMB" src="images/el049.png" /></a><br /> CHARLES + LAMB + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. In the very heart of London there is a curious, old-fashioned + place known as the Temple,--an enormous, rambling, apparently forgotten + structure, dusty and still, in the midst of the endless roar of the city + streets. Originally it was a chapter house of the Knights Templars, and so + suggests to us the spirit of the Crusades and of the Middle Ages; but now + the building is given over almost entirely to the offices and lodgings of + London lawyers. It is this queer old place which, more than all others, is + associated with the name of Charles Lamb. "I was born," he says, "and + passed the first seven years of my life in the Temple. Its gardens, its + halls, its fountain, its river... these are my oldest recollections." He + was the son of a poor clerk, or rather servant, of one of the barristers, + and was the youngest of seven children, only three of whom survived + infancy. Of these three, John, the elder, was apparently a selfish + creature, who took no part in the heroic struggle of his brother and + sister. At seven years, Charles was sent to the famous "Bluecoat" charity + school of Christ's Hospital. Here he remained seven years; and here he + formed his lifelong friendship for another poor, neglected boy, whom the + world remembers as Coleridge.<sup><a href="#fn230" name="rfn230" + id="rfn230">[230]</a></sup> + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el050" id="el050"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: CHRIST'S HOSPITAL, LONDON" src="images/el050.png" /></a><br /> + CHRIST'S HOSPITAL, LONDON + </p> + <p> + When only fourteen years old, Lamb left the charity school and was soon at + work as a clerk in the South Sea House. Two years later he became a clerk + in the famous India House, where he worked steadily for thirty-three + years, with the exception of six weeks, in the winter of 1795-1796, spent + within the walls of an asylum. In 1796 Lamb's sister Mary, who was as + talented and remarkable as Lamb himself, went violently insane and killed + her own mother. For a long time after this appalling tragedy she was in an + asylum at Hoxton; then Lamb, in 1797, brought her to his own little house, + and for the remainder of his life cared for her with a tenderness and + devotion which furnishes one of the most beautiful pages in our literary + history. At times the malady would return to Mary, giving sure warning of + its terrible approach; and then brother and sister might be seen walking + silently, hand in hand, to the gates of the asylum, their cheeks wet with + tears. One must remember this, as well as Lamb's humble lodgings and the + drudgery of his daily work in the-big commercial house, if he would + appreciate the pathos of "The Old Familiar Faces," or the heroism which + shines through the most human and the most delightful essays in our + language. + </p> + <p> + When Lamb was fifty years of age the East India Company, led partly by his + literary fame following his first <i>Essays of Elia</i>, and partly by his + thirty-three years of faithful service, granted him a comfortable pension; + and happy as a boy turned loose from school he left India House forever to + give himself up to literary work.<sup><a href="#fn231" name="rfn231" + id="rfn231">[231]</a></sup> He wrote to Wordsworth, in April, 1825, "I + came home <i>forever</i> on Tuesday of last week--it was like passing from + life into eternity." Curiously enough Lamb seems to lose power after his + release from drudgery, and his last essays, published in 1833, lack + something of the grace and charm of his earlier work. He died at Edmonton + in 1834; and his gifted sister Mary sank rapidly into the gulf from which + his strength and gentleness had so long held her back. No literary man was + ever more loved and honored by a rare circle of friends; and all who knew + him bear witness to the simplicity and goodness which any reader may find + for himself between the lines of his essays. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works</b>. The works of Lamb divide themselves naturally into three + periods. First, there are his early literary efforts, including the poems + signed "C. L." in Coleridge's <i>Poems on Various Subjects</i> (1796); his + romance <i>Rosamund Gray</i> (1798); his poetical drama <i>John Woodvil</i> + (1802); and various other immature works in prose and poetry. This period + comes to an end in 1803, when he gave up his newspaper work, especially + the contribution of six jokes, puns, and squibs daily to the <i>Morning + Post</i> at sixpence apiece. The second period was given largely to + literary criticism; and the <i>Tales from Shakespeare</i> (1807)--written + by Charles and Mary Lamb, the former reproducing the tragedies, and the + latter the comedies--may be regarded as his first successful literary + venture. The book was written primarily for children; but so thoroughly + had brother and sister steeped themselves in the literature of the + Elizabethan period that young and old alike were delighted with this new + version of Shakespeare's stories, and the <i>Tales</i> are still regarded + as the best of their kind in our literature. In 1808 appeared his <i>Specimens + of English Dramatic Poets Contemporary with Shakespeare</i>. This carried + out the splendid critical work of Coleridge, and was the most noticeable + influence in developing the poetic qualities of Keats, as shown in his + last volume. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Essays of Elia</span>The third period includes + Lamb's criticisms of life, which are gathered together in his <i>Essays of + Elia</i> (1823), and his <i>Last Essays of Elia</i>, which were published + ten years later. These famous essays began in 1820 with the appearance of + the new <i>London Magazine</i><sup><a href="#fn232" name="rfn232" + id="rfn232">[232]</a></sup> and were continued for many years, such + subjects as the "Dissertation on Roast Pig," "Old China," "Praise of + Chimney Sweepers," "Imperfect Sympathies," "A Chapter on Ears," "Mrs. + Battle's Opinions on Whist," "Mackery End," "Grace Before Meat," "Dream + Children," and many others being chosen apparently at random, but all + leading to a delightful interpretation of the life of London, as it + appeared to a quiet little man who walked unnoticed through its crowded + streets. In the first and last essays which we have mentioned, + "Dissertation on Roast Pig" and "Dream Children," we have the extremes of + Lamb's humor and pathos. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Lamb's style</span>The style of all these essays + is gentle, old-fashioned, irresistibly attractive. Lamb was especially + fond of old writers and borrowed unconsciously from the style of Burton's + <i>Anatomy of Melancholy</i> and from Browne's <i>Religio Medici</i> and + from the early English dramatists. But this style had become a part of + Lamb by long reading, and he was apparently unable to express his new + thought without using their old quaint expressions. Though these essays + are all criticisms or appreciations of the life of his age, they are all + intensely personal. In other words, they are an excellent picture of Lamb + and of humanity. Without a trace of vanity or self-assertion, Lamb begins + with himself, with some purely personal mood or experience, and from this + he leads the reader to see life and literature as he saw it. It is this + wonderful combination of personal and universal interests, together with + Lamb's rare old style and quaint humor, which make the essays remarkable. + They continue the best tradition of Addison and Steele, our first great + essayists; but their sympathies are broader and deeper, and their humor + more delicious than any which preceded them. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap10m" id="chap10m">THOMAS DE QUINCY</a> (1785-1859) + </p> + <p> + In De Quincey the romantic element is even more strongly developed than in + Lamb, not only in his critical work, but also in his erratic and + imaginative life. He was profoundly educated, even more so than Coleridge, + and was one of the keenest intellects of the age; yet his wonderful + intellect seems always subordinate to his passion for dreaming. Like Lamb, + he was a friend and associate of the Lake poets, making his headquarters + in Wordsworth's old cottage at Grasmere for nearly twenty years. Here the + resemblance ceases, and a marked contrast begins. As a man, Lamb is the + most human and lovable of all our essayists; while De Quincey is the most + uncanny and incomprehensible. Lamb's modest works breathe the two + essential qualities of sympathy and humor; the greater number of De + Quincey's essays, while possessing more or less of both these qualities, + are characterized chiefly by their brilliant style. Life, as seen through + De Quincey's eyes, is nebulous and chaotic, and there is a suspicion of + the fabulous in all that he wrote. Even in <i>The Revolt of the Tartars</i> + the romantic element is uppermost, and in much of De Quincey's prose the + element of unreality is more noticeable than in Shelley's poetry. Of his + subject-matter, his facts, ideas, and criticisms, we are generally + suspicious; but of his style, sometimes stately and sometimes headlong, + now gorgeous as an Oriental dream, now musical as Keats's <i>Endymion</i>, + and always, even in the most violent contrasts, showing a harmony between + the idea and the expression such as no other English writer, with the + possible exception of Newman, has ever rivaled,--say what you will of the + marvelous brilliancy of De Quincey's style, you have still only half + expressed the truth. It is the style alone which makes these essays + immortal. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. De Quincey was born in Manchester in 1785. In neither his + father, who was a prosperous merchant, nor his mother, who was a quiet, + unsympathetic woman, do we see any suggestion of the son's almost uncanny + genius. As a child he was given to dreams, more vivid and intense but less + beautiful than those of the young Blake to whom he bears a strong + resemblance. In the grammar school at Bath he displayed astonishing + ability, and acquired Greek and Latin with a rapidity that frightened his + slow tutors. At fifteen he not only read Greek, but spoke it fluently; and + one of his astounded teachers remarked, "That boy could harangue an + Athenian mob better than you or I could address an English one." From the + grammar school at Manchester, whither he was sent in 1800, he soon ran + away, finding the instruction far below his abilities, and the rough life + absolutely intolerable to his sensitive nature. An uncle, just home from + India, interceded for the boy lest he be sent back to the school, which he + hated; and with an allowance of a guinea a week he started a career of + vagrancy, much like that of Goldsmith, living on the open hills, in the + huts of shepherds and charcoal burners, in the tents of gypsies, wherever + fancy led him. His fear of the Manchester school finally led him to run + away to London, where, without money or friends, his life was even more + extraordinary than his gypsy wanderings. The details of this vagrancy are + best learned in his <i>Confessions of an English Opium-Eater</i>, where we + meet not simply the facts of his life, but also the confusion of dreams + and fancies in the midst of which he wandered like a man lost on the + mountains, with storm clouds under his feet hiding the familiar earth. + After a year of vagrancy and starvation he was found by his family and + allowed to go to Oxford, where his career was marked by the most brilliant + and erratic scholarship. When ready for a degree, in 1807, he passed his + written tests successfully, but felt a sudden terror at the thought of the + oral examination and disappeared from the university, never to return. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el051" id="el051"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: THOMAS DE QUINCEY" src="images/el051.png" /></a><br /> + THOMAS DE QUINCEY + </p> + <p> + It was in Oxford that De Quincey began the use of opium; to relieve the + pains of neuralgia, and the habit increased until he was an almost + hopeless slave to the drug. Only his extraordinary will power enabled him + to break away from the habit, after some thirty years of misery. Some + peculiarity of his delicate constitution enabled De Quincey to take + enormous quantities of opium, enough to kill several ordinary men; and it + was largely opium, working upon a sensitive imagination, which produced + his gorgeous dreams, broken by intervals of weakness and profound + depression. For twenty years he resided at Grasmere in the companionship + of the Lake poets; and here, led by the loss of his small fortune, he + began to write, with the idea of supporting his family. In 1821 he + published his first famous work, the <i>Confessions of an English + Opium-Eater</i>, and for nearly forty years afterwards he wrote + industriously, contributing to various magazines an astonishing number of + essays on a great variety of subjects. Without thought of literary fame, + he contributed these articles anonymously; but fortunately, in 1853, he + began to collect his own works, and the last of fourteen volumes was + published just after his death. + </p> + <p> + In 1830, led by his connection with <i>Blackwood's Magazine</i>, to which + he was the chief contributor, De Quincey removed with his family to + Edinburgh, where his erratic genius and his singularly childlike ways + produced enough amusing anecdotes to fill a volume. He would take a room + in some place unknown to his friends and family; would live in it for a + few years, until he had filled it, even to the bath tub, with books and + with his own chaotic manuscripts, allowing no one to enter or disturb his + den; and then, when the place became too crowded, he would lock the door + and go away and take another lodging, where he repeated the same + extraordinary performance. He died in Edinburgh in 1859. Like Lamb, he was + a small, boyish figure, gentle, and elaborately courteous. Though + excessively shy, and escaping as often as possible to solitude, he was + nevertheless fond of society, and his wide knowledge and vivid imagination + made his conversations almost as prized as those of his friend Coleridge. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works</b>. De Quincey's works may be divided into two general classes. + The first includes his numerous critical articles, and the second his + autobiographical sketches. All his works, it must be remembered, were + contributed to various magazines, and were hastily collected just before + his death. Hence the general impression of chaos which we get from reading + them. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Critical essays</span>From a literary view point + the most illuminating of De Quincey's critical works is his. <i>Literary + Reminiscences</i>. This contains brilliant appreciations of Wordsworth, + Coleridge, Lamb, Shelley, Keats, Hazlitt, and Landor, as well as some + interesting studies of the literary figures of the age preceding. Among + the best of his brilliant critical essays are <i>On the Knocking at the + Gate in Macbeth</i> (1823), which is admirably suited to show the man's + critical genius, and <i>Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts</i> + (1827), which reveals his grotesque humor Other suggestive critical works, + if one must choose among such a multitude, are his <i>Letters to a Young + Man</i> (1823), <i>Joan of Arc</i> (1847), <i>The Revolt of the Tartars</i> + (1840), and <i>The English Mail-Coach</i> (1849). In the last-named essay + the "Dream Fugue" is one of the most imaginative of all his curious works. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Confessions of an Opium-Eater, etc.</span>Of De + Quincey's autobiographical sketches the best known is his <i>Confessions + of an English Opium-Eater</i> (1821). This is only partly a record of + opium dreams, and its chief interest lies in glimpses it gives us of De + Quincey's own life and wanderings. This should be followed by <i>Suspiria + de Profundis</i> (1845), which is chiefly a record of gloomy and terrible + dreams produced by opiates. The most interesting parts of his <i>Suspiria</i>, + showing De Quincey's marvelous insight into dreams, are those in which we + are brought face to face with the strange feminine creations "Levana," + "Madonna," "Our Lady of Sighs," and "Our Lady of Darkness." A series of + nearly thirty articles which he collected in 1853, called <i>Autobiographic + Sketches</i>, completes the revelation of the author's own life. Among his + miscellaneous works may be mentioned, in order to show his wide range of + subjects, <i>Klosterheim</i>, a novel, <i>Logic of Political Economy</i>, + the <i>Essays on Style and Rhetoric, Philosophy of Herodotus</i>, and his + articles on Goethe, Pope, Schiller, and Shakespeare which he contributed + to the <i>Encyclopedia Britannica</i>. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The style of De Quincey</span>De Quincey's style + is a revelation of the beauty of the English language, and it profoundly + influenced Ruskin and other prose writers of the Victorian Age. It has two + chief faults,--diffuseness, which continually leads De Quincey away from + his object, and triviality, which often makes him halt in the midst of a + marvelous paragraph to make some light jest or witticism that has some + humor but no mirth in it. Notwithstanding these faults, De Quincey's prose + is still among the few supreme examples of style in our language. Though + he was profoundly influenced by the seventeenth-century writers, he + attempted definitely to create a new style which should combine the best + elements of prose and poetry. In consequence, his prose works are often, + like those of Milton, more imaginative and melodious than much of our + poetry. He has been well called "the psychologist of style," and as such + his works will never be popular; but to the few who can appreciate him he + will always be an inspiration to better writing. One has a deeper respect + for our English language and literature after reading him. + </p> + <p> + <b>Secondary Writers of Romanticism.</b> One has only to glance back over + the authors we have been studying--Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey, Byron, + Shelley, Keats, Scott, Lamb, De Quincey--to realize the great change which + swept over the life and literature of England in a single half century, + under two influences which we now know as the French Revolution in history + and the Romantic Movement in literature. In life men had rebelled against + the too strict authority of state and society; in literature they rebelled + even more vigorously against the bonds of classicism, which had sternly + repressed a writer's ambition to follow his own ideals and to express them + in his own way. Naturally such an age of revolution was essentially + poetic,--only the Elizabethan Age surpasses it in this respect,--and it + produced a large number of minor writers, who followed more or less + closely the example of its great leaders. Among novelists we have Jane + Austen, Frances Burney, Maria Edgeworth, Jane Porter, and Susan + Ferrier,--all women, be it noted; among the poets, Campbell, Moore, Hogg + ("the Ettrick Shepherd"), Mrs. Hemans, Heber, Keble, Hood, and "Ingoldsby" + (Richard Barham); and among miscellaneous writers, Sidney Smith, + "Christopher North" (John Wilson), Chalmers, Lockhart, Leigh Hunt, + Hazlitt, Hallam, and Landor. Here is an astonishing variety of writers, + and to consider all their claims to remembrance would of itself require a + volume. Though these are generally classed as secondary writers, much of + their work has claims to popularity, and some of it to permanence. Moore's + <i>Irish Melodies</i>, Campbell's lyrics, Keble's <i>Christian Year</i>, + and Jane Porter's <i>Thaddeus of Warsaw</i> and <i>Scottish Chiefs</i> + have still a multitude of readers, where Keats, Lamb, and De Quincey are + prized only by the cultured few; and Hallam's historical and critical + works are perhaps better known than those of Gibbon, who nevertheless + occupies a larger place in our literature. Among all these writers we + choose only two, Jane Austen and Walter Savage Landor, whose works + indicate a period of transition from the Romantic to the Victorian Age. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap10n" id="chap10n">JANE AUSTEN</a> (1775-1817) + </p> + <p> + We have so lately rediscovered the charm and genius of this gifted young + woman that she seems to be a novelist of yesterday, rather than the + contemporary of Wordsworth and Coleridge; and few even of her readers + realize that she did for the English novel precisely what the Lake poets + did for English poetry,--she refined and simplified it, making it a true + reflection of English life. Like the Lake poets, she met with scanty + encouragement in her own generation. Her greatest novel, <i>Pride and + Prejudice</i>, was finished in 1797, a year before the appearance of the + famous <i>Lyrical Ballads</i> of Wordsworth and Coleridge; but while the + latter book was published and found a few appreciative readers, the + manuscript of this wonderful novel went begging for sixteen years before + it found a publisher. As Wordsworth began with the deliberate purpose of + making poetry natural and truthful, so Miss Austen appears to have begun + writing with the idea of presenting the life of English country society + exactly as it was, in opposition to the romantic extravagance of Mrs. + Radcliffe and her school. But there was this difference,--that Miss Austen + had in large measure the saving gift of humor, which Wordsworth sadly + lacked. Maria Edgeworth, at the same time, set a sane and excellent + example in her tales of Irish life, <i>The Absentee</i> and <i>Castle + Rackrent;</i> and Miss Austen followed up the advantage with at least six + works, which have grown steadily in value until we place them gladly in + the first rank of our novels of common life. It is not simply for her + exquisite charm, therefore, that we admire her, but also for her influence + in bringing our novels back to their true place as an expression of human + life. It is due partly, at least, to her influence that a multitude of + readers were ready to appreciate Mrs. Gaskell's <i>Cranford</i>, and the + powerful and enduring work of George Eliot. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. Jane Austen's life gives little opportunity for the + biographer, unless, perchance, he has something of her own power to show + the beauty and charm of commonplace things. She was the seventh child of + Rev. George Austen, rector of Steventon, and was born in the parsonage of + the village in 1775. With her sisters she was educated at home, and passed + her life very quietly, cheerfully, in the doing of small domestic duties, + to which love lent the magic lamp that makes all things beautiful. She + began to write at an early age, and seems to have done her work on a + little table in the family sitting room, in the midst of the family life. + When a visitor entered, she would throw a paper or a piece of sewing over + her work, and she modestly refused to be known as the author of novels + which we now count among our treasured possessions. With the publishers + she had little success. <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> went begging, as we + have said, for sixteen years; and <i>Northanger Abbey</i> (1798) was sold + for a trivial sum to a publisher, who laid it aside and forgot it, until + the appearance and moderate success of <i>Sense and Sensibility</i> in + 1811. Then, after keeping the manuscript some fifteen years, he sold it + back to the family, who found another publisher. + </p> + <p> + An anonymous article in the <i>Quarterly Review</i>, following the + appearance of <i>Emma</i> in 1815, full of generous appreciation of the + charm of the new writer, was the beginning of Jane Austen's fame; and it + is only within a few years that we have learned that the friendly and + discerning critic was Walter Scott. He continued to be her admirer until + her early death; but these two, the greatest writers of fiction in their + age, were never brought together. Both were home-loving people, and Miss + Austen especially was averse to publicity and popularity. She died, + quietly as she had lived, at Winchester, in 1817, and was buried in the + cathedral. She was a bright, attractive little woman, whose sunny + qualities are unconsciously reflected in all her books. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works</b>. Very few English writers ever had so narrow a field of work + as Jane Austen. Like the French novelists, whose success seems to lie in + choosing the tiny field that they know best, her works have an exquisite + perfection that is lacking in most of our writers of fiction. With the + exception of an occasional visit to the watering place of Bath, her whole + life was spent in small country parishes, whose simple country people + became the characters of her novels. Her brothers were in the navy, and so + naval officers furnish the only exciting elements in her stories; but even + these alleged heroes lay aside their imposing martial ways and act like + themselves and other people. Such was her literary field, in which the + chief duties were of the household, the chief pleasures in country + gatherings, and the chief interests in matrimony. Life, with its mighty + interests, its passions, ambitions, and tragic struggles, swept by like a + great river; while the secluded interests of a country parish went round + and round quietly, like an eddy behind a sheltering rock. We can easily + understand, therefore, the limitations of Jane Austen; but within her own + field she is unequaled. Her characters are absolutely true to life, and + all her work has the perfection of a delicate miniature painting. The most + widely read of her novels is <i>Pride and Prejudice;</i> but three others, + <i>Sense and Sensibility, Emma</i>, and <i>Mansfield Park</i>, have slowly + won their way to the front rank of fiction. From a literary view point <i>Northanger + Abbey</i> is perhaps the best; for in it we find that touch of humor and + delicate satire with which this gentle little woman combated the grotesque + popular novels of the <i>Udolpho</i> type. Reading any of these works, one + is inclined to accept the hearty indorsement of Sir Walter Scott: "That + young lady has a talent for describing the involvements and feelings and + characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I ever met + with. The big bowwow strain I can do myself, like any now going; but the + exquisite touch which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters + interesting from the truth of the description and the sentiment, is denied + to me. What a pity such a gifted creature died so early!" + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap10o" id="chap10o">WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR</a> (1775-1864) + </p> + <p> + While Hazlitt, Lamb, De Quincey, and other romantic critics went back to + early English literature for their inspiration, Landor shows a reaction + from the prevailing Romanticism by his imitation of the ancient classic + writers. His life was an extraordinary one and, like his work, abounded in + sharp contrasts. On the one hand, there are his egoism, his + unncontrollable anger, his perpetual lawsuits, and the last sad tragedy + with his children, which suggests <i>King Lear</i> and his daughters; on + the other hand there is his steady devotion to the classics and to the + cultivation of the deep wisdom of the ancients, which suggests Pindar and + Cicero. In his works we find the wild extravagance of <i>Gebir</i>, + followed by the superb classic style and charm of <i>Pericles and Aspasia</i>. + Such was Landor, a man of high ideals, perpetually at war with himself and + the world. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Lander's stormy life covers the whole period from + Wordsworth's childhood to the middle of the Victorian Era. He was the son + of a physician, and was born at Warwick, in 1775. From his mother he + inherited a fortune; but it was soon scattered by large expenditures and + law quarrels; and in his old age, refused help by his own children, only + Browning's generosity kept Landor from actual want. At Rugby, and at + Oxford, his extreme Republicanism brought him into constant trouble; and + his fitting out a band of volunteers to assist the Spaniards against + Napoleon, in 1808, allies him with Byron and his Quixotic followers. The + resemblance to Byron is even more strikingly shown in the poem <i>Gebir</i>, + published in 1798, a year made famous by the <i>Lyrical Ballads</i> of + Wordsworth and Coleridge. + </p> + <p> + A remarkable change in Lander's life is noticeable in 1821, when, at + forty-six years of age, after having lost his magnificent estate of + Llanthony Abbey, in Glamorganshire, and after a stormy experience in Como, + he settled down for a time at Fiesole near Florence. To this period of + calm after storm we owe the classical prose works for which he is famous. + The calm, like that at the center of a whirlwind, lasted but a short time, + and Landor, leaving his family in great anger, returned to Bath, where he + lived alone for more than twenty years. Then, in order to escape a libel + suit, the choleric old man fled back to Italy. He died at Florence, in + 1864. The spirit of his whole life may be inferred from the defiant + farewell which he flung to it: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + I strove with none, for none was worth my strife;<br /> Nature + I loved, and next to Nature Art;<br /> I warmed both hands before the + fire of life;<br /> It sinks, and I + am ready to depart.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b>Works.</b> Landor's reaction from Romanticism is all the more + remarkable in view of his early efforts, such as <i>Gebir</i>, a wildly + romantic poem, which rivals any work of Byron or Shelley in its + extravagance. Notwithstanding its occasional beautiful and suggestive + lines, the work was not and never has been successful; and the same may be + said of all his poetical works. His first collection of poems was + published in 1795, his last a full half century later, in 1846. In the + latter volume, <i>The Hellenics</i>,--which included some translations of + his earlier Latin poems, called <i>Idyllia Heroica,--</i>one has only to + read "The Hamadryad," and compare it with the lyrics of the first volume, + in order to realize the astonishing literary vigor of a man who published + two volumes, a half century apart, without any appreciable diminution of + poetical feeling. In all these poems one is impressed by the striking and + original figures of speech which Landor uses to emphasize his meaning. + </p> + <p> + It is by his prose works, largely, that Landor has won a place in our + literature; partly because of their intrinsic worth, their penetrating + thought, and severe classic style; and partly because of their profound + influence upon the writers of the present age. The most noted of his prose + works are his six volumes of <i>Imaginary Conversations</i> (1824-1846). + For these conversations Landor brings together, sometimes in groups, + sometimes in couples, well-known characters, or rather shadows, from the + four corners of the earth and from the remotest ages of recorded history. + Thus Diogenes talks with Plato, Æsop with a young slave girl in + Egypt, Henry VIII with Anne Boleyn in prison, Dante with Beatrice, Leofric + with Lady Godiva,--all these and many others, from Epictetus to Cromwell, + are brought together and speak of life and love and death, each from his + own view point. Occasionally, as in the meeting of Henry and Anne Boleyn, + the situation is tense and dramatic; but as a rule the characters simply + meet and converse in the same quiet strain, which becomes, after much + reading, somewhat monotonous. On the other hand, one who reads the <i>Imaginary + Conversations</i> is lifted at once into a calm and noble atmosphere which + braces and inspires him, making him forget petty things, like a view from + a hilltop. By its combination of lofty thought and severely classic style + the book has won, and deserves, a very high place among our literary + records. + </p> + <p> + The same criticism applies to <i>Pericles and Aspasia</i>, which is a + series of imaginary letters, telling the experiences of Aspasia, a young + lady from Asia Minor, who visits Athens at the summit of its fame and + glory, in the great age of Pericles. This is, in our judgment, the best + worth reading of all Landor's works. One gets from it not only Landor's + classic style, but--what is well worth while--a better picture of Greece + in the days of its greatness than can be obtained from many historical + volumes. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap10p" id="chap10p">Summary of the Age of Romanticism</a></b>. + This period extends from the war with the colonies, following the + Declaration of Independence, in 1776, to the accession of Victoria in + 1837, both limits being very indefinite, as will be seen by a glance at + the Chronology following. During the first part of the period especially, + England was in a continual turmoil, produced by political and economic + agitation at home, and by the long wars that covered two continents and + the wide sea between them. The mighty changes resulting from these two + causes have given this period the name of the Age of Revolution. The storm + center of all the turmoil at home and abroad was the French Revolution, + which had a profound influence on the life and literature of all Europe. + On the Continent the overthrow of Napoleon at Waterloo (1815) apparently + checked the progress of liberty, which had started with the French + Revolution,<sup><a href="#fn233" name="rfn233" id="rfn233">[233]</a></sup> + but in England the case was reversed. The agitation for popular liberty, + which at one time threatened a revolution, went steadily forward till it + resulted in the final triumph of democracy, in the Reform Bill of 1832, + and in a number of exceedingly important reforms, such as the extension of + manhood suffrage, the removal of the last unjust restrictions against + Catholics, the establishment of a national system of schools, followed by + a rapid increase in popular education, and the abolition of slavery in all + English colonies (1833). To this we must add the changes produced by the + discovery of steam and the invention of machinery, which rapidly changed + England from an agricultural to a manufacturing nation, introduced the + factory system, and caused this period to be known as the Age of + Industrial Revolution. + </p> + <p> + The literature of the age is largely poetical in form, and almost entirely + romantic in spirit. For, as we have noted, the triumph of democracy in + government is generally accompanied by the triumph of romanticism in + literature. At first the literature, as shown especially in the early work + of Wordsworth, Byron, and Shelley, reflected the turmoil of the age and + the wild hopes of an ideal democracy occasioned by the French Revolution. + Later the extravagant enthusiasm subsided, and English writers produced so + much excellent literature that the age is often called the Second Creative + period, the first being the Age of Elizabeth. The six chief + characteristics of the age are: the prevalence of romantic poetry; the + creation of the historical novel by Scott; the first appearance of women + novelists, such as Mrs. Anne Radcliffe, Jane Porter, Maria Edgeworth, and + Jane Austen; the development of literary criticism, in the work of Lamb, + De Quincey, Coleridge, and Hazlitt; the practical and economic bent of + philosophy, as shown in the work of Malthus, James Mill, and Adam Smith; + and the establishment of great literary magazines, like the <i>Edinburgh + Review</i>, the <i>Quarterly</i>, <i>Blackwood's</i>, and the <i>Athenaeum</i>. + </p> + <p> + In our study we have noted (1) the Poets of Romanticism: the importance of + the <i>Lyrical Ballads</i> of 1798; the life and work of Wordsworth, + Coleridge, Scott, Byron, Shelley, and Keats; (2) the Prose Writers: the + novels of Scott; the development of literary criticism; the life and work + of the essayists, Lamb, De Quincey, Landor, and of the novelist Jane + Austen. + </p> + <p> + <b>Selections for Reading.</b> Manly's English Poetry and Manly's English + Prose (each one vol.) contain good selections from all authors studied. + Ward's English Poets (4 vols.), Craik's English Prose Selections (5 + vols.), Braithwaite's The Book of Georgian Verse, Page's British Poets of + the Nineteenth Century, and Garnett's English Prose from Elizabeth to + Victoria, may also be used to advantage. Important works, however, should + be read entire in one of the inexpensive school editions given below. + (Full titles and publishers may be found in the General Bibliography at + the end of this book.) + </p> + <p> + <i>Wordsworth</i>. Intimations of Immortality, Tintern Abbey, best lyrics + and sonnets, in Selections, edited by Dowden (Athenaeum Press Series); + selections and short poems, edited by M. Arnold, in Golden Treasury + Series; Selections, also in Everyman's Library, Riverside Literature + Series, Cassell's National Library, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Coleridge</i>. Ancient Mariner, edited by L. R. Gibbs, in Standard + English Classics; same poem, in Pocket Classics, Eclectic English + Classics, etc.; Poems, edited by J. M. Hart, in Athenæum Press + (announced, 1909); Selections, Golden Book of Coleridge, in Everyman's + Library; Selections from Coleridge and Campbell, in Riverside Literature; + Prose Selections (Ginn and Company, also Holt); Lectures on Shakespeare, + in Everyman's Library, Bohn's Standard Library, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Scott</i>. Lady of the Lake, Marmion, Ivanhoe, The Talisman, Guy + Mannering, Quentin Durward. Numerous inexpensive editions of Scott's best + poems and novels in Standard English Classics, Pocket Classics, Cassell's + National Library, Eclectic English Classics, Everyman's Library, etc.; + thus, Lady of the Lake, edited by Edwin Ginn, and Ivanhoe, edited by W. D. + Lewis, both in Standard English Classics; Marmion, edited by G. B. Acton, + and The Talisman, edited by F. Treudly, in Pocket Classics, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Byron</i>. Mazeppa and The Prisoner of Chillon, edited by S. M. Tucker, + in Standard English Classics; short poems, Selections from Childe Harold, + etc., in Canterbury Poets, Riverside Literature, Holt's English Readings, + Pocket Classics, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Shelley</i>. To a Cloud, To a Skylark, West Wind, Sensitive Plant, + Adonais, etc., all in Selections from Shelley, edited by Alexander, in + Athenæum Press Series; Selections, edited by Woodberry, in Belles + Lettres Series; Selections, also in Pocket Classics, Heath's English + Classics, Golden Treasury Series, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Keats</i>. Ode on a Grecian Urn, Eve of St. Agnes, Hyperion, Lamia, To + a Nightingale, etc., in Selections from Keats, in Athenæum Press; + Selections also in Muses' Library, Riverside Literature, Golden Treasury + Series, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Lamb</i>. Essays: Dream Children, Old China, Dissertation on Roast Pig, + etc., edited by Wauchope, in Standard English Classics; various essays + also in Camelot Series, Temple Classics, Everyman's Library, etc. Tales + from Shakespeare, in Home and School Library (Ginn and Company); also in + Riverside Literature, Pocket Classics, Golden Treasury, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>De Quincey</i>. The English Mail-Coach and Joan of Arc, in Standard + English Classics, etc.; Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, in Temple + Classics, Morley's Universal Library, Everyman's Library, Pocket Classics, + etc.; Selections, edited by M. H. Turk, in Athenæum Press; + Selections, edited by B. Perry (Holt). + </p> + <p> + <i>Landor</i>. Selections, edited by W. Clymer, in Athenæum Press; + Pericles and Aspasia, in Camelot Series; Imaginary Conversations, selected + (Ginn and Company); the same, 2 vols., in Dutton's Universal Library; + selected poems, in Canterbury Poets; selections, prose and verse, in + Golden Treasury Series. + </p> + <p> + <i>Jane Austen</i>. Pride and Prejudice, in Everyman's Library, Pocket + Classics, etc. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap10q" id="chap10q">Bibliography.</a></b><sup><a + href="#fn234" name="rfn234" id="rfn234">[234]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + <i><b>History.</b> Text-book</i>, Montgomery, pp. 323-357; Cheyney, + 576-632. <i>General Works</i>. Green, X, 2-4, Traill, Gardiner, Macaulay, + etc. <i>Special Works</i>. Cheyney's Industrial and Social History of + England; Warner's Landmarks of English Industrial History; Hassall's + Making of the British Empire; Macaulay's William Pitt; Trevelyan's Early + Life of Charles James Fox; Morley's Edmund Burke; Morris's Age of Queen + Anne and the Early Hanoverians. + </p> + <p> + <i><b>Literature.</b> General Works.</i> Mitchell, Courthope, Garnett and + Gosse, Taine (see General Bibliography). <i>Special Works</i>. Beers's + English Romanticism in the Nineteenth Century; A. Symons's The Romantic + Movement in English Poetry; Dowden's The French Revolution and English + Literature, also Studies in Literature, 1789-1877; Hancock's The French + Revolution and the English Poets; Herford's The Age of Wordsworth + (Handbooks of English Literature); Mrs. Oliphant's Literary History of + England in the End of the Eighteenth and Beginning of the Nineteenth + Centuries; Saintsbury's History of Nineteenth Century Literature; Masson's + Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, and Other Essays; Poets and Poetry of the + Nineteenth Century, vols. 1-3; Gates's Studies and Appreciations; S. + Brooke's Studies in Poetry; Rawnsley's Literary Associations of the + English Lakes (2 vols.). + </p> + <p> + <i>Wordsworth</i>. Texts: Globe, Aldine, Cambridge editions, etc.; + Poetical and Prose Works, with Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal, edited by + Knight, Eversley Edition (London and New York, 1896); Letters of the + Wordsworth Family, edited by Knight, 3 vols. (Ginn and Company); Poetical + Selections, edited by Dowden, in Athenaeum Press; various other + selections, in Golden Treasury, etc.; Prose Selections, edited by Gayley + (Ginn and Company). Life: Memoirs, 2 vols., by Christopher Wordsworth; by + Knight, 3 vols.; by Myers (English Men of Letters); by Elizabeth + Wordsworth; Early Life (a Study of the Prelude) by E. Legouis, translated + by J. Matthews; Raleigh's Wordsworth; N.C. Smith's Wordsworth's Literary + Criticism; Rannie's Wordsworth and His Circle. Criticism: Herford's The + Age of Wordsworth; Masson's Wordsworth, Shelley, and Keats; Magnus's + Primer of Wordsworth; Wilson's Helps to the Study of Arnold's Wordsworth; + Essays, by Lowell, in Among My Books; by M. Arnold, in Essays in + Criticism; by Hutton, in Literary Essays; by L. Stephen, in Hours in a + Library, and in Studies of a Biographer; by Bagehot, in Literary Studies; + by Hazlitt, in The Spirit of the Age; by Pater, in Appreciations; by De + Quincey, in Essays on the Poets; by Fields, in Yesterdays with Authors; by + Shairp, in Studies in Poetry and Philosophy. See also Knight's Through the + Wordsworth Country, and Rawnsley's Literary Associations of the English + Lakes. + </p> + <p> + <i>Coleridge</i>. Texts: Complete Works, edited by Shedd, 7 vols. (New + York 1884); Poems, Globe, Aldine, and Cambridge editions, in Athenaeum + Press (announced, 1909), Muses' Library, Canterbury Poets, etc.; + Biographia Literaria, in Everyman's Library; the same, in Clarendon Press; + Prose Selections, Lectures on Shakespeare, etc. (see Selections for + Reading, above); Letters, edited by E.H. Coleridge (London, 1895). Life: + by J.D. Campbell; by Traill (English Men of Letters); by Dykes; by Hall + Caine (Great Writers Series); see also Coleridge's Biographia Literaria, + and Lamb's essay, Christ's Hospital, in Essays of Elia. Criticism: + Brandl's Coleridge and the English Romantic Movement. Essays, by Shairp, + in Studies in Poetry and Philosophy; by Woodberry, in Makers of + Literature; by J. Forster, in Great Teachers; by Dowden, in New Studies; + by Swinburne, in Essays and Studies; by Brooke, in Theology in the English + Poets; by Saintsbury, in Essays in English Literature; by Lowell in + Democracy and Other Essays; by Hazlitt, and by Pater (see Wordsworth, + above). See also Beers's English Romanticism; Carlyle's chapter on + Coleridge, in Life of John Sterling. + </p> + <p> + <i>Southey</i>. Texts: Poems, edited by Dowden (Macmillan); Poetical Works + (Crowell); Selections in Canterbury Poets; Life of Nelson, in Everyman's + Library, Temple Classics, Morley's Universal Library, etc. Life: by Dowden + (English Men of Letters). Essays, by L. Stephen, in Studies of a + Biographer; by Hazlitt and Saintsbury (see above). + </p> + <p> + <i>Scott</i>. Texts: Numerous good editions of novels and poems. For + single works, see Selections for Reading, above. Life: by Lockhart, 5 + vols. (several editions; best by Pollard, 1900); by Hutton (English Men of + Letters); by A. Lang, in Literary Lives; by C. D. Yonge (Great Writers); + by Hudson; by Saintsbury (Famous Scots Series). Criticism: Essays, by + Stevenson, Gossip on Romance, in Memories and Portraits; by Shairp, in + Aspects of Poetry; by Swinburne, in Studies in Prose and Poetry; by + Carlyle, in Miscellaneous Essays; by Hazlitt, Bagehot, L. Stephen, Brooke, + and Saintsbury (see Coleridge and Wordsworth, above). + </p> + <p> + <i>Byron</i>. Texts: Complete Works, Globe, Cambridge Poets, and Oxford + editions; Selections, edited by M. Arnold, in Golden Treasury (see also + Selections for Reading, above); Letters and Journals of Byron, edited by + Moore (unreliable). Life: by Noel (Great Writers); by Nichol (English Men + of Letters); The Real Lord Byron, by J. C. Jeaffreson; Trelawny's + Recollections of Shelley and Byron. Criticism: Hunt's Lord Byron and His + Contemporaries; Essays, by Morley, Macaulay, Hazlitt, Swinburne, and M. + Arnold. + </p> + <p> + <i>Shelley</i>. Texts: Centenary Edition, edited by Woodberry, 4 vols.; + Globe and Cambridge Poets editions; Essays and Letters, in Camelot Series + (see Selections for Reading, above). Life: by Symonds (English Men of + Letters); by Dowden, 2 vols.; by Sharp (Great Writers); by T. J. Hogg, 2 + vols.; by W. M. Rossetti. Criticism: Salt's A Shelley Primer; Essays, by + Dowden, in Transcripts and Studies; by M. Arnold, Woodberry, Bagehot, + Forster, L. Stephen, Brooke, De Quincey, and Hutton (see Coleridge and + Wordsworth, above). + </p> + <p> + <i>Keats</i>. Texts: Complete Works, edited by Forman, 4 vols. (London, + 1883); Cambridge Poets Edition, with Letters, edited by H. E. Scudder + (Houghton, Mifflin); Aldine Edition, with Life, edited by Lord Houghton + (Macmillan); Selected Poems, with introduction and notes by Arlo Bates + (Ginn and Company); Poems, also in Everyman's Library, Muses' Library, + Golden Treasury, etc.; Letters, edited by S. Colvin, in Eversley Edition. + Life: by Forman, in Complete Works; by Colvin (English Men of Letters); by + W. M. Rossetti (Great Writers); by A. E. Hancock. Criticism: H. C. + Shelley's Keats and His Circle; Masson's Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, and + Other Essays; Essays, by M. Arnold, in Essays in Criticism, also in Ward's + English Poets, vol. 4; by Hudson, in Studies in Interpretation; by Lowell, + in Among My Books, or Literary Essays, vol. 2; by Brooke, De Quincey, and + Swinburne (above). + </p> + <p> + <i>Lamb</i>. Texts: Complete Works and Letters, edited by E. V. Lucas, 7 + vols. (Putnam); the same, edited by Ainger, 6 vols. (London, 1883-1888); + Essays of Elia, in Standard English Classics, etc. (see Selections for + Reading); Dramatic Essays, edited by B. Matthews (Dodd, Mead); Specimens + of English Dramatic Poets, in Bohn's Library. Life: by E. V. Lucas, 2 + vols.; by Ainger (English Men of Letters); by Barry Cornwall; Talfourd's + Memoirs of Charles Lamb. Criticism: Essays, by De Quincey, in Biographical + Essays; by F. Harrison, in Tennyson, Ruskin, Mill, and Other Literary + Estimates; by Pater, and Woodberry (see Wordsworth and Coleridge, above). + See also Fitzgerald's Charles Lamb, his Friends, his Haunts, and his + Books. + </p> + <p> + <i>De Quincey</i>. Texts: Collected Writings, edited by Masson, 14 vols. + (London, 1889-1891); Confessions of an Opium-Eater, etc. (see Selections + for Reading). Life: by Masson (English Men of Letters); Life and Writings, + by H. A. Page, 2 vols.; Hogg's De Quincey and his Friends; Findlay's + Personal Recollections of De Quincey; see also De Quincey's + Autobiographical Sketches, and Confessions. Criticism: Essays, by + Saintsbury, in Essays in English Literature; by Masson, in Wordsworth, + Shelley, Keats, and Other Essays; by L. Stephen, in Hours in a Library. + See also Minto's Manual of English Prose Literature. + </p> + <p> + <i>Landor</i>. Texts: Works, with Life by Forster, 8 vols. (London, 1876); + Works, edited by Crump (London, 1897); Letters, etc., edited by Wheeler + (London, 1897 and 1899); Imaginary Conversations, etc. (see Selections for + Reading). Life: by Colvin (English Men of Letters); by Forster. Criticism: + Essays, by De Quincey, Woodberry, L. Stephen, Saintsbury, Swinburne, + Dow-den (see above). See also Stedman's Victorian Poets. + </p> + <p> + <i>Jane Austen</i>. Texts: Works, edited by R. B. Johnson (Dent); various + other editions of novels; Letters, edited by Woolsey (Roberts). Life: + Austen-Leigh's Memoir of Jane Austen; Hill's Jane Austen, her Home and her + Friends; Mitton's Jane Austen and her Times. Life, by Goldwin Smith; by + Maiden (Famous Women Series); by O. F. Adams. Criticism: Pollock's Jane + Austen; Pellew's Jane Austen's Novels; A. A. Jack's Essay on the Novel as + Illustrated by Scott and Miss Austen; H. H. Bonnell's Charlotte Brontë, + George Eliot, and Jane Austen; Essay, by Howells, in Heroines of Fiction. + </p> + <p> + <i>Maria Edgeworth</i>. Texts: Tales and Novels, New Langford Edition, 10 + vols. (London, 1893) various editions of novels (Dent, etc.); The + Absentee, and Castle Rackrent, in Morley's Universal Library. Life: by + Helen Zimmerman; Memoir, by Hare. + </p> + <p> + <i>Mrs. Anne Radclife</i>. Romances, with introduction by Scott, in + Ballantynes' Novelists Library (London, 1824); various editions of + Udolpho, etc.; Saintsbury's Tales of Mystery, vol. i. See Beers's English + Romanticism. + </p> + <p> + <i>Moore</i>. Poetical Works, in Canterbury Poets, Chandos Classics, etc.; + Selected poems, in Golden Treasury; Gunning's Thomas Moore, Poet and + Patriot; Symington's Life and Works of Moore. Essay, by Saintsbury. + </p> + <p> + <i>Campbell</i>. Poems, Aldine edition; Selections, in Golden Treasury. + Life, by Hadden. + </p> + <p> + <i>Hazlitt</i>. Texts: Works, edited by Henley, 12 vols. (London, 1902); + Selected Essays, in Temple Classics, Camelot Series, etc. Life: by Birrell + (English Men of Letters); Memoirs, by W. C. Hazlitt. Essays, by + Saintsbury; by L. Stephen. + </p> + <p> + <i>Leigh Hunt</i>. Texts: Selected essays, in Camelot Series, also in + Cavendish Library (Warne); Stories from the Italian Poets (Putnam). Life: + by Monkhouse (Great Writers). Essays, by Macaulay; by Saintsbury; by + Hazlitt. See also Mrs. Field's A Shelf of Old Books. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap10r" id="chap10r">Suggestive Questions.</a></b> (<b>NOTE</b>. + In a period like the Age of Romanticism, the poems and essays chosen for + special study vary so widely that only a few general questions on the + selections for reading are attempted.) + </p> + <p> + 1. Why is this period of Romanticism (1789-1837) called the Age of + Revolution? Give some reasons for the influence of the French Revolution + on English literature, and illustrate from poems or essays which you have + read. Explain the difference between Classicism and Romanticism. Which of + these two types of literature do you prefer? + </p> + <p> + 2. What are the general characteristics of the literature of this period? + What two opposing tendencies are illustrated in the novels of Scott and + Jane Austen? in the poetry of Byron and Wordsworth? + </p> + <p> + 3. <i>Wordsworth</i>. Tell briefly the story of Wordsworth's life, and + name some of his best poems. Why do the <i>Lyrical Ballads</i> (1798) mark + an important literary epoch? Read carefully, and make an analysis of the + "Intimations of Immortality"; of "Tintern Abbey." Can you explain what + political conditions are referred to in Wordsworth's "Sonnet on Milton"? + in his "French Revolution"? Does he attempt to paint a picture in his + sonnet on Westminster Bridge, or has he some other object in view? What is + the central teaching of the "Ode to Duty"? Compare Wordsworth's two + Skylark poems with Shelley's. Make a brief comparison between Wordsworth's + sonnets and those of Shakespeare and of Milton, having in mind the + thought, the melody, the view of nature, and the imagery of the three + poets. Quote from Wordsworth's poems to show his belief that nature is + conscious; to show the influence of nature on man; to show his interest in + children; his sensitiveness to sounds; to illustrate the chastening + influence of sorrow. Make a brief comparison between the characters of + Wordsworth's "Michael" and of Burns's "The Cotter's Saturday Night." + Compare Wordsworth's point of view and method, in the three poems "To a + Daisy," with Burns's view, as expressed in his famous lines on the same + subject. + </p> + <p> + 4. <i>Coleridge</i>. What are the general characteristics of Coleridge's + life? What explains the profound sympathy for humanity that is reflected + in his poems? For what, beside his poems, is he remarkable? Can you quote + any passages from his poetry which show, the influence of Wordsworth? What + are the characters in "The Ancient Mariner"? In what respect is this poem + romantic? Give your own reasons for its popularity. Does the thought or + the style of this poem impress you? If you have read any of the <i>Lectures + on Shakespeare</i>, explain why Coleridge's work is called romantic + criticism. + </p> + <p> + 5. <i>Scott</i>. Tell the story of Scott's life, and name his chief poems + and novels. Do you recall any passage from his poetry which suggests his + own heroism? Why was he called "the wizard of the North"? What is the + general character of his poetry? Compare <i>Marmion</i> with one of the + old ballads, having in mind the characters, the dramatic interest of the + story, and the style of writing. In what sense is he the creator of the + historical novel? Upon what does he depend to hold the reader's attention? + Compare him, in this respect, with Jane Austen. Which of his characters + impress you as being the most lifelike? Name any novels of the present day + which copy Scott or show his influence. Read <i>Ivanhoe</i> and the <i>Lady + of the Lake</i>; make a brief analysis of each work, having in mind the + style, the plot, the dramatic interest, the use of adventure, and the + truth to nature of the different characters. + </p> + <p> + 6. <i>Byron</i>. Why is Byron called the revolutionary poet? (Illustrate, + if possible, from his poetry.) What is the general character of his work? + In what kind of poetry does he excel? (Quote from <i>Childe Harold</i> to + illustrate your opinion.) Describe the typical Byronic hero. Can you + explain his great popularity at first, and his subsequent loss of + influence? Why is he still popular on the Continent? Do you find more of + thought or of emotion in his poetry? Compare him, in this respect, with + Shelley; with Wordsworth. Which is the more brilliant writer, Byron or + Wordsworth? Which has the more humor? Which has the healthier mind? Which + has the higher ideal of poetry? Which is the more inspiring and helpful? + Is it fair to say that Byron's quality is power, not charm? + </p> + <p> + 7. <i>Shelley</i>. What are the chief characteristics of Shelley's poetry? + Is it most remarkable for its thought, form, or imagery? What poems show + the influence of the French Revolution? What subjects are considered in + "Lines written among the Euganean Hills"? What does Shelley try to teach + in "The Sensitive Plant"? Compare Shelley's view of nature, as reflected + in "The Cloud" or "The West Wind," with Wordsworth's view, as reflected in + "The Prelude," "Tintern Abbey," "Daffodils," etc. To what class of poems + does "Adonais" belong? What is the subject of the poem? Name others of the + same class. How does Shelley describe himself in this poem? Compare + Shelley's "Adonais" and Milton's "Lycidas" with regard to the view of life + after death as expressed in the poems. What kinds of scenes does Shelley + like best to describe? Compare his characters with those of Wordsworth; of + Byron. Do you recall any poems in which he writes of ordinary people or of + ordinary experiences? + </p> + <p> + 8. <i>Keats</i>. What is the essence of Keats's poetical creed, as + expressed in the "Ode on a Grecian Urn"? What are the remarkable elements + in his life and work? What striking difference do you find between his + early poems and those of Shelley and Byron? What are the chief subjects of + his verse? What poems show the influence of the classics? of Elizabethan + literature? Can you explain why his work has been called literary poetry? + Keats and Shelley are generally classed together. What similarities do you + find in their poems? Give some reasons why Keats introduces the old + Bedesman in "The Eve of Saint Agnes." Name some of the literary friends + mentioned in Keats's poetry. + </p> + <p> + Compare Keats's characters with those of Wordsworth; of Byron. Does Keats + ever remind you of Spenser? In what respects? Is your personal preference + for Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, or Keats? Why? + </p> + <p> + 9. <i>Lamb</i>. Tell briefly the story of Lamb's life and name his + principal works. Why is he called the most human of essayists? His friends + called him "the last of the Elizabethans." Why? What is the general + character of the <i>Essays of Elia</i>? How is the personality of Lamb + shown in all these essays? Cite any passages showing Lamb's skill in + portraying people. Make a brief comparison between Lamb and Addison, + having in mind the subjects treated, the style, the humor, and the + interest of both essayists. Which do you prefer, and why? + </p> + <p> + 10. <i>De Quincey</i>. What are the general characteristics of De + Quincey's essays? Explain why he is called the psychologist of style. What + accounts for a certain unreal element in all his work. Read a passage from + <i>The English Mail-Coach</i>, or from <i>Joan of Arc</i>, or from <i>Levana, + Our Lady of Sorrows</i>, and comment freely upon it, with regard to style, + ideas, interest, and the impression of reality or unreality which it + leaves. + </p> + <p> + 11. <i>Landor</i>. In what respect does Landor show a reaction from + Romanticism? What qualities make Landor's poems stand out so clearly in + the memory? Why, for instance, do you think Lamb was so haunted by "Rose + Aylmer"? Quote from Landor's poems to illustrate his tenderness, his + sensitiveness to beauty, his power of awakening emotion, his delicacy of + characterization. Do you find the same qualities in his prose? Can you + explain why much of his prose seems like a translation from the Greek? + Compare a passage from the <i>Imaginary Conversations</i> with a passage + from Gibbon or Johnson, to show the difference between the classic and the + pseudo-classic style. Compare one of Landor's characters, in <i>Imaginary + Conversations</i>, with the same character in history. + </p> + <p> + 12. <i>Jane Austen</i>. How does Jane Austen show a reaction from + Romanticism? What important work did she do for the novel? To what kind of + fiction was her work opposed? In what does the charm of her novels + consist? Make a brief comparison between Jane Austen and Scott (as + illustrated in <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> and <i>Ivanhoe</i>), having in + mind the subject, the characters, the manner of treatment, and the + interest of both narratives. Do Jane Austen's characters have to be + explained by the author, or do they explain themselves? Which method calls + for the greater literary skill? What does Jane Austen say about Mrs. + Radcliffe, in <i>Northanger Abbey</i>? Does she make any other + observations on eighteenth-century novelists? + </p> + <table> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <big><a name="chap10s" id="chap10s">CHRONOLOGY</a></big> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <i>End of the Eighteenth and Beginning of the Nineteenth Century</i> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2"> + HISTORY + </th> + <th colspan="2"> + LITERATURE + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1760-1820. + </td> + <td> + George III + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1770-1850. + </td> + <td> + Wordsworth + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1771-1832. + </td> + <td> + Scott + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1789-1799. + </td> + <td> + French Revolution + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1796-1816. + </td> + <td> + Jane Austen's novels + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1798. + </td> + <td> + Lyrical Balads of Wordsworth + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + and Coleridge + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1800. + </td> + <td> + Union of Great Britain and + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + Ireland + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1802. + </td> + <td> + Colonization of Australia + </td> + <td> + 1802. + </td> + <td> + Scotts Minstrelsy of the Scottish + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Border + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1805. + </td> + <td> + Battle of Trafalgar + </td> + <td> + 1805-1817. + </td> + <td> + Scotts poems + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1807. + </td> + <td> + Wordsworth's Intimations of + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1807. + </td> + <td> + Abolition of slave trade + </td> + <td></td> + <td> + Immortality. Lamb's Tales + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + from Shakespeare + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1808-1814. + </td> + <td> + Peninsular War + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1809-1818. + </td> + <td> + Byron's Childe Harold + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1812. + </td> + <td> + Second war with United States + </td> + <td> + 1810-1813. + </td> + <td> + Coleridge's Lectures on + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Shakespeare + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1814. + </td> + <td> + Congress of Vienna + </td> + <td> + 1814-1831. + </td> + <td> + Waverley Novels + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1815. + </td> + <td> + Battle of Waterloo + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1816. + </td> + <td> + Shelley's Alastor + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1817. + </td> + <td> + Coleridge's Biographia Literaria + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1817-1820. + </td> + <td> + Keats's poems + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1818-1820. + </td> + <td> + Shelley's Prometheus + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1819. + </td> + <td> + First Atlantic steamship + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1820. + </td> + <td> + George IV (<i>d</i>. 1830) + </td> + <td> + 1820. + </td> + <td> + Wordsworth's Duddon Sonnets + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1820-1833. + </td> + <td> + Lamb's Essays of Elia + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1821. + </td> + <td> + De Quincey's Confessions + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1824-1846. + </td> + <td> + Landor's Imaginary Conversations. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1826. + </td> + <td> + First Temperance Society + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1829. + </td> + <td> + Catholic Emancipation Bill + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1830. + </td> + <td> + William IV (<i>d</i>. 1837) + </td> + <td> + 1830. + </td> + <td> + Tennyson's first poems + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + First railway + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1831. + </td> + <td> + Scott's last novel + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1832. + </td> + <td> + Reform Bill + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1833. + </td> + <td> + Emancipation of slaves + </td> + <td> + 1833. + </td> + <td> + Carlyle's Sartor Resartus + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Browning's Pauline + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1834. + </td> + <td> + System of national education + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1837. + </td> + <td> + Victoria (<i>d</i>. 1901) + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1853-1861. + </td> + <td> + De Quincey's Collected + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Essays + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr /> + <h1> + <a name="chap11" id="chap11">CHAPTER XI</a> + </h1> + <h3> + <b>THE VICTORIAN AGE (1850-1900)</b> + </h3> + <p> + THE MODERN PERIOD OF PROGRESS AND UNREST + </p> + <p> + When Victoria became queen, in 1837, English literature seemed to have + entered upon a period of lean years, in marked contrast with the poetic + fruitfulness of the romantic age which we have just studied. Coleridge, + Shelley, Keats, Byron, and Scott had passed away, and it seemed as if + there were no writers in England to fill their places. Wordsworth had + written, in 1835, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Like clouds that rake, the mountain summits,<br /> Or + waves that own no curbing hand,<br /> How fast has brother followed + brother,<br /> From sunshine to the sunless land!<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In these lines is reflected the sorrowful spirit of a literary man of the + early nineteenth century who remembered the glory that had passed away + from the earth. But the leanness of these first years is more apparent + than real. Keats and Shelley were dead, it is true, but already there had + appeared three disciples of these poets who were destined to be far more + widely, read than were their masters. Tennyson had been publishing poetry + since 1827, his first poems appearing almost simultaneously with the last + work of Byron, Shelley, and Keats; but it was not until 1842, with the + publication of his collected poems, in two volumes, that England + recognized in him one of her great literary leaders. So also Elizabeth + Barrett had been writing since 1820, but not till twenty years later did + her poems become deservedly popular; and Browning had published his <i>Pauline</i> + in 1833, but it was not until 1846, when he published the last of the + series called <i>Bells and Pomegranates</i>, that the reading public began + to appreciate his power and originality. Moreover, even as romanticism + seemed passing away, a group of great prose writers--Dickens, Thackeray, + Carlyle, and Ruskin--had already begun to proclaim the literary glory of a + new age, which now seems to rank only just below the Elizabethan and the + Romantic periods. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Democracy</span><b><a name="chap11a" id="chap11a">Historical + Summary</a></b>. Amid the multitude of social and political forces of this + great age, four things stand out clearly. First, the long struggle of the + Anglo-Saxons for personal liberty is definitely settled, and democracy + becomes the established order of the day. The king, who appeared in an age + of popular weakness and ignorance, and the peers, who came with the + Normans in triumph, are both stripped of their power and left as + figureheads of a past civilization. The last vestige of personal + government and of the divine right of rulers disappears; the House of + Commons becomes the ruling power in England; and a series of new reform + bills rapidly extend the suffrage, until the whole body of English people + choose for themselves the men who shall represent them. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Social Unrest</span>Second, because it is an age + of democracy, it is an age of popular education, of religious tolerance, + of growing brotherhood, and of profound social unrest. The slaves had been + freed in 1833; but in the middle of the century England awoke to the fact + that slaves are not necessarily negroes, stolen in Africa to be sold like + cattle in the market place, but that multitudes of men, women, and little + children in the mines and factories were victims of a more terrible + industrial and social slavery. To free these slaves also, the unwilling + victims of our unnatural competitive methods, has been the growing purpose + of the Victorian Age until the present day. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Ideal of Peace</span>Third, because it is an + age of democracy and education, it is an age of comparative peace. England + begins to think less of the pomp and false glitter of fighting, and more + of its moral evils, as the nation realizes that it is the common people + who bear the burden and the sorrow and the poverty of war, while the + privileged classes reap most of the financial and political rewards. + Moreover, with the growth of trade and of friendly foreign relations, it + becomes evident that the social equality for which England was contending + at home belongs to the whole race of men; that brotherhood is universal, + not insular; that a question of justice is never settled by fighting; and + that war is generally unmitigated horror and barbarism. Tennyson, who came + of age when the great Reform Bill occupied attention, expresses the ideals + of the Liberals of his day who proposed to spread the gospel of peace, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Till the war-drum throbb'd no longer, and the battle-flags were furled<br /> + In the Parliament of Man, the Federation of the world. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Arts and Sciences </span>Fourth, the Victorian + Age is especially remarkable because of its rapid progress in all the arts + and sciences and in mechanical inventions. A glance at any record of the + industrial achievements of the nineteenth century will show how vast they + are, and it is unnecessary to repeat here the list of the inventions, from + spinning looms to steamboats, and from matches to electric lights. All + these material things, as well as the growth of education, have their + influence upon the life of a people, and it is inevitable that they should + react upon its prose and poetry; though as yet we are too much absorbed in + our sciences and mechanics to determine accurately their influence upon + literature. When these new things shall by long use have became familiar + as country roads, or have been replaced by newer and better things, then + they also will have their associations and memories, and a poem on the + railroads may be as suggestive as Wordsworth's sonnet on Westminster + Bridge; and the busy, practical workingmen who to-day throng our streets + and factories may seem, to a future and greater age, as quaint and + poetical as to us seem the slow toilers of the Middle Ages. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> An Age of Prose </span><b><a name="chap11b" + id="chap11b">Literary Characteristics.</a></b> When one is interested + enough to trace the genealogy of Victoria he finds, to his surprise, that + in her veins flowed the blood both of William the Conqueror and of Cerdic, + the first Saxon king of England; and this seems to be symbolic of the + literature of her age, which embraces the whole realm of Saxon and Norman + life,--the strength and ideals of the one, and the culture and refinement + of the other. The romantic revival had done its work, and England entered + upon a new free period, in which every form of literature, from pure + romance to gross realism, struggled for expression. At this day it is + obviously impossible to judge the age as a whole; but we are getting far + enough away from the early half of it to notice certain definite + characteristics. First, though the age produced many poets, and two who + deserve to rank among the greatest, nevertheless this is emphatically an + age of prose. And since the number of readers has increased a thousandfold + with the spread of popular education, it is the age of the newspaper, the + magazine, and the modern novel,--the first two being the story of the + world's daily life, and the last our pleasantest form of literary + entertainment, as well as our most successful method of presenting modern + problems and modern ideals. The novel in this age fills a place which the + drama held in the days of Elizabeth; and never before, in any age or + language, has the novel appeared in such numbers and in such perfection. + </p> + <p> + [Moral Purpose] The second marked characteristic of the age is that + literature, both in prose and in poetry, seems to depart from the purely + artistic standard, of art for art's sake, and to be actuated by a definite + moral purpose Tennyson, Browning, Carlyle, Ruskin,--who and what were + these men if not the teachers of England, not vaguely but definitely, with + superb faith in their message, and with the conscious moral purpose to + uplift and to instruct? Even the novel breaks away from Scott's romantic + influence, and first studies life as it is, and then points out what life + may and ought to be. Whether we read the fun and sentiment of Dickens, the + social miniatures of Thackeray, or the psychological studies of George + Eliot, we find in almost every case a definite purpose to sweep away error + and to reveal the underlying truth of human life. So the novel sought to + do for society in this age precisely what Lyell and Darwin sought to do + for science, that is, to find the truth, and to show how it might be used + to uplift humanity. Perhaps for this reason the Victorian Age is + emphatically an age of realism rather than of romance,--not the realism of + Zola and Ibsen, but a deeper realism which strives to tell the whole + truth, showing moral and physical diseases as they are, but holding up + health and hope as the normal conditions of humanity. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Idealism</span>It is somewhat customary to speak + of this age as an age of doubt and pessimism, following the new conception + of man and of the universe which was formulated by science under the name + of involution. It is spoken of also as a prosaic age, lacking in great + ideals. Both these criticisms seem to be the result of judging a large + thing when we are too close to it to get its true proportions, just as + Cologne Cathedral, one of the world's most perfect structures, seems to be + a shapeless pile of stone when we stand too close beneath its mighty walls + and buttresses. Tennyson's immature work, like that of the minor poets, is + sometimes in a doubtful or despairing strain; but his <i>In Memoriam</i> + is like the rainbow after storm; and Browning seems better to express the + spirit of his age in the strong, manly faith of "Rabbi Ben Ezra," and in + the courageous optimism of all his poetry. Stedman's <i>Victorian + Anthology</i> is, on the whole, a most inspiring book of poetry. It would + be hard to collect more varied cheer from any age. And the great + essayists, like Macaulay, Carlyle, Ruskin, and the great novelists, like + Dickens, Thackeray, George Eliot, generally leave us with a larger charity + and with a deeper faith in our humanity. + </p> + <p> + So also the judgment that this age is too practical for great ideals may + be only a description of the husk that hides a very full ear of corn. It + is well to remember that Spenser and Sidney judged their own age (which we + now consider to be the greatest in our literary history) to be altogether + given over to materialism, and to be incapable of literary greatness. Just + as time has made us smile at their blindness, so the next century may + correct our judgment of this as a material age, and looking upon the + enormous growth of charity and brotherhood among us, and at the literature + which expresses our faith in men, may judge the Victorian Age to be, on + the whole, the noblest and most inspiring in the history of the world. + </p> + <p> + I. <a name="chap11c" id="chap11c">THE POETS OF THE VICTORIAN AGE</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap11d" id="chap11d">ALFRED TENNYSON</a> (1809-1892) + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + O young Mariner,<br /> You from the haven<br /> Under the sea-cliff,<br /> + You that are watching<br /> The gray Magician<br /> With eyes of wonder,<br /> + <i>I</i> am Merlin,<br /> And <i>I</i> am dying,<br /> <i>I</i> am Merlin<br /> + Who follow The Gleam.<br /> . . . . . . .<br /> O + young Mariner,<br /> Down to the haven<br /> Call your companions,<br /> + Launch your vessel,<br /> And crowd your canvas,<br /> And, ere it + vanishes<br /> Over the margin,<br /> After it, follow it,<br /> Follow The + Gleam.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + One who reads this haunting poem of "Merlin and The Gleam" finds in it a + suggestion of the spirit of the poet's whole life,--his devotion to the + ideal as expressed in poetry, his early romantic impressions, his + struggles, doubts, triumphs, and his thrilling message to his race. + Throughout the entire Victorian period Tennyson stood at the summit of + poetry in England. Not in vain was he appointed laureate at the death of + Wordsworth, in 1850; for, almost alone among those who have held the + office, he felt the importance of his place, and filled and honored it. + For nearly half a century Tennyson was not only a man and a poet; he was a + voice, the voice of a whole people, expressing in exquisite melody their + doubts and their faith, their griefs and their triumphs. In the wonderful + variety of his verse he suggests all the qualities of England's greatest + poets. The dreaminess of Spenser, the majesty of Milton, the natural + simplicity of Wordsworth, the fantasy of Blake and Coleridge, the melody + of Keats and Shelley, the narrative vigor of Scott and Byron,--all these + striking qualities are evident on successive pages of Tennyson's poetry. + The only thing lacking is the dramatic power of the Elizabethans. In + reflecting the restless spirit of this progressive age Tennyson is as + remarkable as Pope was in voicing the artificiality of the early + eighteenth century. As a poet, therefore, who expresses not so much a + personal as a national spirit, he is probably the most representative + literary man of the Victorian era. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Tennyson's life is a remarkable one in this respect, that + from beginning to end he seems to have been dominated by a single impulse, + the impulse of poetry. He had no large or remarkable experiences, no wild + oats to sow, no great successes or reverses, no business cares or public + offices. For sixty-six years, from the appearance of the <i>Poems by Two + Brothers</i>, in 1827, until his death in 1892, he studied and practiced + his art continually and exclusively. Only Browning, his fellow-worker, + resembles him in this; but the differences in the two men are world-wide. + Tennyson was naturally shy, retiring, indifferent to men, hating noise and + publicity, loving to be alone with nature, like Wordsworth. Browning was + sociable, delighting in applause, in society, in travel, in the noise and + bustle of the big world. + </p> + <p> + Tennyson was born in the rectory of Somersby, Lincolnshire, in 1809. The + sweet influences of his early natural surroundings can be better + understood from his early poems than from any biography. He was one of the + twelve children of the Rev. George Clayton Tennyson, a scholarly + clergyman, and his wife Elizabeth Fytche, a gentle, lovable woman, "not + learned, save in gracious household ways," to whom the poet pays a son's + loyal tribute near the close of <i>The Princess</i>. It is interesting to + note that most of these children were poetically inclined, and that two of + the brothers, Charles and Frederick, gave far greater promise than did + Alfred. + </p> + <p> + When seven years old the boy went to his grandmother's house at Louth, in + order to attend a famous grammar school at that place. Not even a man's + memory, which generally makes light of hardship and glorifies early + experiences, could ever soften Tennyson's hatred of school life. His + complaint was not so much at the roughness of the boys, which had so + frightened Cowper, as at the brutality of the teachers, who put over the + school door a wretched Latin inscription translating Solomon's barbarous + advice about the rod and the child. In these psychologic days, when the + child is more important than the curriculum, and when we teach girls and + boys rather than Latin and arithmetic, we read with wonder Carlyle's + description of his own schoolmaster, evidently a type of his kind, who + "knew of the human soul thus much, that it had a faculty called memory, + and could be acted on through the muscular integument by appliance of + birch rods." After four years of most unsatisfactory school life, Tennyson + returned home, and was fitted for the university by his scholarly father. + With his brothers he wrote many verses, and his first efforts appeared in + a little volume called <i>Poems by Two Brothers</i>, in 1827. The next + year he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, where he became the center of + a brilliant circle of friends, chief of whom was the young poet Arthur + Henry Hallam. + </p> + <p> + At the university Tennyson soon became known for his poetical ability, and + two years after his entrance he gained the prize of the Chancellor's Medal + for a poem called "Timbuctoo," the subject, needless to say, being chosen + by the chancellor. Soon after winning this honor Tennyson published his + first signed work, called <i>Poems Chiefly Lyrical</i> (1830), which, + though it seems somewhat crude and disappointing to us now, nevertheless + contained the germ of all his later poetry. One of the most noticeable + things in this volume is the influence which Byron evidently exerted over + the poet in his early days; and it was perhaps due largely to the same + romantic influence that Tennyson and his friend Hallam presently sailed + away to Spain, with the idea of joining the army of insurgents against + King Ferdinand. Considered purely as a revolutionary venture, this was + something of a fiasco, suggesting the noble Duke of York and his ten + thousand men,--"he marched them up a hill, one day; and he marched them + down again." From a literary view point, however, the experience was not + without its value. The deep impression which the wild beauty of the + Pyrenees made upon the young poet's mind is reflected clearly in the poem + "Oenone." + </p> + <p> + In 1831 Tennyson left the university without taking his degree. The + reasons for this step are not clear; but the family was poor, and poverty + may have played a large part in his determination. His father died a few + months later; but, by a generous arrangement with the new rector, the + family retained the rectory at Somersby, and here, for nearly six years, + Tennyson lived in a retirement which strongly suggests Milton at Horton. + He read and studied widely, cultivated an intimate acquaintance with + nature, thought deeply on the problems suggested by the Reform Bill which + was then agitating England, and during his leisure hours wrote poetry. The + first fruits of this retirement appeared, late in 1832, in a wonderful + little volume bearing the simple name <i>Poems</i>. As the work of a youth + only twenty-three, this book is remarkable for the variety and melody of + its verse. Among its treasures we still read with delight "The Lotos + Eaters," "Palace of Art," "A Dream of Fair Women," "The Miller's + Daughter," "Oenone," and "The Lady of Shalott"; but the critics of the <i>Quarterly</i>, + who had brutally condemned his earlier work, were again unmercifully + severe. The effect of this harsh criticism upon a sensitive nature was + most unfortunate; and when his friend Hallam died, in 1833, Tennyson was + plunged into a period of gloom and sorrow. The sorrow may be read in the + exquisite little poem beginning, "Break, break, break, On thy cold gray + stones, O Sea!" which was his first published elegy for his friend; and + the depressing influence of the harsh and unjust criticism is suggested in + "Merlin and The Gleam," which the reader will understand only after he has + read Tennyson's biography. + </p> + <p> + For nearly ten years after Hallam's death Tennyson published nothing, and + his movements are hard to trace as the family went here and there, seeking + peace and a home in various parts of England. But though silent, he + continued to write poetry, and it was in these sad wandering days that he + began his immortal <i>In Memoriam</i> and his <i>Idylls of the King</i>. + In 1842 his friends persuaded him to give his work to the world, and with + some hesitation he published his <i>Poems</i>. The success of this work + was almost instantaneous, and we can appreciate the favor with which it + was received when we read the noble blank verse of "Ulysses" and "Morte + d'Arthur," the perfect little song of grief for Hallam which we have + already mentioned, and the exquisite idyls like "Dora" and "The Gardener's + Daughter," which aroused even Wordsworth's enthusiasm and brought from him + a letter saying that he had been trying all his life to write such an + English pastoral as "Dora" and had failed. From this time forward + Tennyson, with increasing confidence in himself and his message, steadily + maintained his place as the best known and best loved poet in England. + </p> + <p> + The year 1850 was a happy one for Tennyson. He was appointed poet + laureate, to succeed Wordsworth; and he married Emily Sellwood, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Her whose gentle will has changed my fate<br /> And + made my life a perfumed altar flame,<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + whom he had loved for thirteen years, but whom his poverty had prevented + him from marrying. The year is made further remarkable by the publication + of <i>In Memoriam</i>, probably the most enduring of his poems, upon which + he had worked at intervals for sixteen years. Three years later, with the + money that his work now brought him, he leased the house Farringford, in + the Isle of Wight, and settled in the first permanent home he had known + since he left the rectory at Somersby. + </p> + <p> + For the remaining forty years of his life he lived, like Wordsworth, "in + the stillness of a great peace," writing steadily, and enjoying the + friendship of a large number of people, some distinguished, some obscure, + from the kindly and sympathetic Victoria to the servants on his own farm. + All of these he called with equal sincerity his friends, and to each one + he was the same man, simple, strong, kindly, and noble. Carlyle describes + him as "a fine, large-featured, dim-eyed, bronze-colored, shaggy-headed + man, ... most restful, brotherly, solid-hearted." Loving solitude and + hating publicity as he did, the numerous tourists from both sides of the + ocean, who sought him out in his retreat and insisted upon seeing him, + made his life at times intolerable. Influenced partly by the desire to + escape such popularity, he bought land and built for himself a new house, + Aldworth, in Surrey, though he made his home in Farringford for the + greater part of the year. + </p> + <p> + His labor during these years and his marvelous freshness and youthfulness + of feeling are best understood by a glance at the contents of his complete + works. Inferior poems, like <i>The Princess</i>, which was written in the + first flush of his success, and his dramas, which were written against the + advice of his best friends, may easily be criticised; but the bulk of his + verse shows an astonishing originality and vigor to the very end. He died + very quietly at Aldworth, with his family about him in the moonlight, and + beside him a volume of Shakespeare, open at the dirge in <i>Cymbeline:</i> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Fear no more the heat o' the sun,<br /> Nor the + furious winter's rages;<br /> Thou thy worldly task hast done,<br /> + Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + The strong and noble spirit of his life is reflected in one of his best + known poems, "Crossing the Bar," which was written in his eighty-first + year, and which he desired should be placed at the end of his collected + works: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Sunset and evening star,<br /> And one clear call + for me!<br /> And may there be no moaning of the bar,<br /> When + I put out to sea,<br /> But such a tide as, moving, seems asleep,<br /> + Too full for sound and foam,<br /> When that + which drew from out the boundless deep<br /> Turns + again home.<br /> Twilight and evening bell,<br /> And + after that the dark!<br /> And may there be no sadness of farewell,<br /> + When I embark;<br /> For tho' from out our bourne + of Time and Place<br /> The flood may bear me + far,<br /> I hope to see my Pilot face to face<br /> When + I have crost the bar.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b>Works.</b> At the outset of our study of Tennyson's works it may be + well to record two things, by way of suggestion. First, Tennyson's poetry + is not so much to be studied as to be read and appreciated; he is a poet + to have open on one's table, and to enjoy as one enjoys his daily + exercise. And second, we should by all means begin to get acquainted with + Tennyson in the days of our youth. Unlike Browning, who is generally + appreciated by more mature minds, Tennyson is for enjoyment, for + inspiration, rather than for instruction. Only youth can fully appreciate + him; and youth, unfortunately, except in a few rare, beautiful cases, is + something which does not dwell with us long after our school days. The + secret of poetry, especially of Tennyson's poetry, is to be eternally + young, and, like Adam in Paradise, to find every morning a new world, + fresh, wonderful, inspiring, as if just from the hands of God. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Early Poems and Dramas</span>Except by the + student, eager to understand the whoje range of poetry in this age, + Tennyson's earlier poems and his later dramas may well be omitted. + Opinions vary about both; but the general judgment seems to be that the + earlier poems show too much of Byron's influence, and their crudeness + suffers by comparison with the exquisitely finished work of Tennyson's + middle life. Of dramatic works he wrote seven, his great ambition being to + present a large part of the history of England in a series of dramas. <i>Becket</i> + was one of the best of these works and met with considerable favor on the + stage; but, like all the others, it indicates that Tennyson lacked the + dramatic power and the humor necessary for a successful playwright. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Princess and Maud</span>Among the remaining + poems there is such a wide variety that every reader must be left largely + to follow his own delightful choice.<sup><a href="#fn235" name="rfn235" + id="rfn235">[235]</a></sup> Of the <i>Poems</i> of 1842 we have already + mentioned those best worth reading. <i>The Princess, a Medley</i> (1847), + a long poem of over three thousand lines of blank verse, is Tennyson's + answer to the question of woman's rights and woman's sphere, which was + then, as in our own day, strongly agitating the public mind. In this poem + a baby finally solves the problem which philosophers have pondered ever + since men began to think connectedly about human society. A few exquisite + songs, like "Tears, Idle Tears," "Bugle Song," and "Sweet and Low," form + the most delightful part of this poem, which in general is hardly up to + the standard of the poet's later work. <i>Maud</i> (1855) is what is + called in literature a monodrama, telling the story of a lover who passes + from morbidness to ecstasy, then to anger and murder, followed by insanity + and recovery. This was Tennyson's favorite, and among his friends he read + aloud from it more than from any other poem. Perhaps if we could hear + Tennyson read it, we should appreciate it better; but, on the whole, it + seems overwrought and melodramatic. Even its lyrics, like "Come into the + Garden, Maud," which make this work a favorite with young lovers, are + characterized by "prettiness" rather than by beauty or strength. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> In Memoriam</span>Perhaps the most loved of all + Tennyson's works is <i>In Memoriam</i>, which, on account of both its + theme and its exquisite workmanship, is "one of the few immortal names + that were not born to die." The immediate occasion of this remarkable poem + was Tennyson's profound personal grief at the death of his friend Hallam. + As he wrote lyric after lyric, inspired by this sad subject, the poet's + grief became less personal, and the greater grief of humanity mourning for + its dead and questioning its immortality took possession of him. Gradually + the poem became an expression, first, of universal doubt, and then of + universal faith, a faith which rests ultimately not on reason or + philosophy but on the soul's instinct for immortality. The immortality of + human love is the theme of the poem, which is made up of over one hundred + different lyrics. The movement takes us through three years, rising slowly + from poignant sorrow and doubt to a calm peace and hope, and ending with a + noble hymn of courage and faith,--a modest courage and a humble faith, + love-inspired,--which will be a favorite as long as saddened men turn to + literature for consolation. Though Darwin's greatest books had not yet + been written, science had already overturned many old conceptions of life; + and Tennyson, who lived apart and thought deeply on all the problems of + his day, gave this poem to the world as his own answer to the doubts and + questionings of men. This universal human interest, together with its + exquisite form and melody, makes the poem, in popular favor at least, the + supreme threnody, or elegiac poem, of our literature; though Milton's <i>Lycidas</i> + is, from the critical view point, undoubtedly a more artistic work. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el053" id="el053"><img width="50%" alt="Illustration: Sir Galahad" + src="images/el053.jpg" /></a><br /> Sir Galahad + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Idylls of the King</span><i>The Idylls of the + King</i> ranks among the greatest of Tennyson's later works. Its general + subject is the Celtic legends of King Arthur and his knights of the Round + Table, and the chief source of its material is Malory's <i>Morte d'Arthur</i>. + Here, in this mass of beautiful legends, is certainly the subject of a + great national epic; yet after four hundred years, during which many poets + have used the material, the great epic is still unwritten. Milton and + Spenser, as we have already noted, considered this material carefully; and + Milton alone, of all English writers, had perhaps the power to use it in a + great epic. Tennyson began to use these legends in his <i>Morte d'Arthur</i> + (1842); but the epic idea probably occurred to him later, in 1856, when he + began "Geraint and Enid," and he added the stories of "Vivien," "Elaine," + "Guinevere," and other heroes and heroines at intervals, until "Balin," + the last of the <i>Idylls</i>, appeared in 1885. Later these works were + gathered together and arranged with an attempt at unity. The result is in + no sense an epic poem, but rather a series of single poems loosely + connected by a thread of interest in Arthur, the central personage, and in + his unsuccessful attempt to found an ideal kingdom. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> English Idyls</span>Entirely different in spirit + is another collection of poems called <i>English Idyls,</i><sup><a + href="#fn236" name="rfn236" id="rfn236">[236]</a></sup> which began in the + <i>Poems</i> of 1842, and which Tennyson intended should reflect the + ideals of widely different types of English life. Of these varied poems, + "Dora," "The Gardener's Daughter," "Ulysses," "Locksley Hall" and "Sir + Galahad" are the best; but all are worthy of study. One of the most famous + of this series is "Enoch Arden" (1864), in which Tennyson turns from mediæval + knights, from lords, heroes, and fair ladies, to find the material for + true poetry among the lowly people that make up the bulk of English life. + Its rare melody, its sympathy for common life, and its revelation of the + beauty and heroism which hide in humble men and women everywhere, made + this work an instant favorite. Judged by its sales alone, it was the most + popular of his works during the poet's lifetime. + </p> + <p> + Tennyson's later volumes, like the <i>Ballads</i> (1880) and <i>Demeter</i> + (1889), should not be overlooked, since they contain some of his best + work. The former contains stirring war songs, like "The Defence of + Lucknow," and pictures of wild passionate grief, like "Rizpah"; the latter + is notable for "Romney's Remorse," a wonderful piece of work; "Merlin and + The Gleam," which expresses the poet's lifelong ideal; and several + exquisite little songs, like "The Throstle," and "The Oak," which show how + marvelously the aged poet retained his youthful freshness and inspiration. + Here certainly is variety enough to give us long years of literary + enjoyment; and we need hardly mention miscellaneous poems, like "The + Brook" and "The Charge of the Light Brigade," which are known to every + schoolboy; and "Wages" and "The Higher Pantheism," which should be read by + every man who thinks about the old, old problem of life and death. + </p> + <p> + <b>Characteristics of Tennyson's Poetry.</b> If we attempt to sum up the + quality of Tennyson, as shown in all these works, the task is a difficult + one; but three things stand out more or less plainly. First, Tennyson is + essentially the artist. No other in his age studied the art of poetry so + constantly or with such singleness of purpose; and only Swinburne rivals + him in melody and the perfect finish of his verse. Second, like all the + great writers of his age, he is emphatically a teacher, often a leader. In + the preceding age, as the result of the turmoil produced by the French + Revolution, lawlessness was more or less common, and individuality was the + rule in literature. Tennyson's theme, so characteristic of his age, is the + reign of order,--of law in the physical world, producing evolution, and of + law in the spiritual world, working out the perfect man. <i>In Memoriam, + Idylls of the King, The Princess</i>,-here are three widely different + poems; yet the theme of each, so far as poetry is a kind of spiritual + philosophy and weighs its words before it utters them, is the orderly + development of law in the natural and in the spiritual world. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Tennyson's Message</span>This certainly is a new + doctrine in poetry, but the message does not end here. Law implies a + source, a method, an object. Tennyson, after facing his doubts honestly + and manfully, finds law even in the sorrows and losses of humanity. He + gives this law an infinite and personal source, and finds the supreme + purpose of all law to be a revelation of divine love. All earthly love, + therefore, becomes an image of the heavenly. What first perhaps attracted + readers to Tennyson, as to Shakespeare, was the character of his + women,--pure, gentle, refined beings, whom we must revere as our + Anglo-Saxon forefathers revered the women they loved. Like Browning, the + poet had loved one good woman supremely, and her love made clear the + meaning of all life. The message goes one step farther. Because law and + love are in the world, faith is the only reasonable attitude toward life + and death, even though we understand them not. Such, in a few words, seems + to be Tennyson's whole message and philosophy. + </p> + <p> + If we attempt now to fix Tennyson's permanent place in literature, as the + result of his life and work, we must apply to him the same test that we + applied to Milton and Wordsworth, and, indeed, to all our great poets, and + ask with the German critics, "What new thing has he said to the world or + even to his own country?" The answer is, frankly, that we do not yet know + surely; that we are still too near Tennyson to judge him impersonally. + This much, however, is clear. In a marvelously complex age, and amid a + hundred great men, he was regarded as a leader. For a full half century he + was the voice of England, loved and honored as a man and a poet, not + simply by a few discerning critics, but by a whole people that do not + easily give their allegiance to any one man. And that, for the present, is + Tennyson's sufficient eulogy. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap11e" id="chap11e">ROBERT BROWNING</a> (1812-1889) + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + How good is man's life, the mere living! how fit to employ<br /> All the + heart and the soul and the senses for ever in joy!<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + In this new song of David, from Browning's <i>Saul</i>, we have a + suggestion of the astonishing vigor and hope that characterize all the + works of Browning, the one poet of the age who, after thirty years of + continuous work, was finally recognized and placed beside Tennyson, and + whom future ages may judge to be a greater poet,--perhaps, even, the + greatest in our literature since Shakespeare. + </p> + <p> + The chief difficulty in reading Browning is the obscurity of his style, + which the critics of half a century ago held up to ridicule. Their + attitude towards the poet's early work may be inferred from Tennyson's + humorous criticism of <i>Sordello</i>. It may be remembered that the first + line of this obscure poem is, "Who will may hear Sordello's story told"; + and that the last line is, "Who would has heard Sordello's story told." + Tennyson remarked that these were the only lines in the whole poem that he + understood, and that they were evidently both lies. If we attempt to + explain this obscurity, which puzzled Tennyson and many less friendly + critics, we find that it has many sources. First, the poet's thought is + often obscure, or else so extremely subtle that language expresses it + imperfectly,-- + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Thoughts hardly to be packed<br /> Into a narrow act,<br /> Fancies that + broke through language and escaped.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <div class="figleft" style="width:20%;"> + <img src="images/{9510}.jpg" alt="{9510}" width="100%" /> <br /> <a + href="images/{9510}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </div> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Browning's Obscurity</span>Second, Browning is + led from one thing to another by his own mental associations, and forgets + that the reader's associations may be of an entirely different kind. + Third, Browning is careless in his English, and frequently clips his + speech, giving us a series of ejaculations. As we do not quite understand + his processes of thought, we must stop between the ejaculations to trace + out the connections. Fourth, Browning's, allusions are often far-fetched, + referring to some odd scrap of information which he has picked up in his + wide reading, and the ordinary reader finds it difficult to trace and + understand them. Finally, Browning wrote too much and revised too Little. + The time which he should have given to making one thought clear was used + in expressing other thoughts that flitted through his head like a flock of + swallows. His field was the individual soul, never exactly alike in any + two men, and he sought to express the hidden motives and principles which + govern individual action. In this field he is like a miner delving + underground, sending up masses of mingled earth and ore; and the reader + must sift all this material to separate the gold from the dross. + </p> + <p> + Here, certainly, are sufficient reasons for Browning's obscurity; and we + must add the word that the fault seems unpardonable, for the simple reason + that Browning shows himself capable, at times, of writing directly, + melodiously, and with noble simplicity. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Browning as a teacher</span>So much for the + faults, which must be faced and overlooked before one finds the treasure + that is hidden in Browning's poetry. Of all the poets in our literature, + no other is so completely, so consciously, so magnificently a teacher of + men. He feels his mission of faith and courage in a world of doubt and + timidity. For thirty years he faced indifference or ridicule, working + bravely and cheerfully the while, until he made the world recognize and + follow him. The spirit of his whole life is well expressed in his <i>Paracelsus</i>, + written when he was only twenty-two years old: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + I see my way as birds their trackless way.<br /> I shall arrive,--what + time, what circuit first,<br /> I ask not; but unless God send his hail<br /> + Or blinding fire-balls, sleet or stifling snow,<br /> In some time, his + good time, I shall arrive;<br /> He guides me and the bird. In his good + time.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + He is not, like so many others, an entertaining poet. One cannot read him + after dinner, or when settled in a comfortable easy-chair. One must sit + up, and think, and be alert when he reads Browning. If we accept these + conditions, we shall probably find that Browning is the most stimulating + poet in our language. His influence upon our life is positive and + tremendous. His strength, his joy of life, his robust faith, and his + invincible optimism enter into us, making us different and better men + after reading him. And perhaps the best thing he can say of Browning is + that his thought is slowly but surely taking possession of all + well-educated men and women. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Browning's father was outwardly a business man, a clerk for + fifty years in the Bank of England; inwardly he was an interesting + combination of the scholar and the artist, with the best tastes of both. + His mother was a sensitive, musical woman, evidently very lovely in + character, the daughter of a German shipowner and merchant who had settled + in Scotland. She was of Celtic descent, and Carlyle describes her as the + true type of a Scottish gentlewoman. From his neck down, Browning was the + typical Briton,--short, stocky, large-chested, robust; but even in the + lifeless portrait his face changes as we view it from different angles. + Now it is like an English business man, now like a German scientist, and + now it has a curious suggestion of Uncle Remus,--these being, no doubt, so + many different reflections of his mixed and unremembered ancestors. + </p> + <p> + He was born in Camberwell, on the outskirts of London, in 1812. From his + home and from his first school, at Peckham, he could see London; and the + city lights by night and the smoky chimneys by day had the same powerful + fascination for the child that the woods and fields and the beautiful + country had for his friend Tennyson. His schooling was short and + desultory, his education being attended to by private tutors and by his + father, who left the boy largely to follow his own inclination. Like the + young Milton, Browning was fond of music, and in many of his poems, + especially in "Abt Vogler" and "A Toccata of Galuppi's," he interprets the + musical temperament better, perhaps, than any other writer in our + literature. But unlike Milton, through whose poetry there runs a great + melody, music seems to have had no consistent effect upon his verse, which + is often so jarring that one must wonder how a musical ear could have + endured it. + </p> + <p> + Like Tennyson, this boy found his work very early, and for fifty years + hardly a week passed that he did not write poetry. He began at six to + produce verses, in imitation of Byron; but fortunately this early work has + been lost. Then he fell under the influence of Shelley, and his first + known work, <i>Pauline</i> (1833), must be considered as a tribute to + Shelley and his poetry. Tennyson's earliest work, <i>Poems by Two Brothers</i>, + had been published and well paid for, five years before; but Browning + could find no publisher who would even consider <i>Pauline</i>, and the + work was published by means of money furnished by an indulgent relative. + This poem received scant notice from the reviewers, who had pounced like + hawks on a dovecote upon Tennyson's first two modest volumes. Two years + later appeared <i>Paracelsus</i>, and then his tragedy <i>Strafford</i> + was put upon the stage; but not till <i>Sordello</i> was published, in + 1840, did he attract attention enough to be denounced for the obscurity + and vagaries of his style. Six years later, in 1846, he suddenly became + famous, not because he finished in that year his <i>Bells and Pomegranates</i> + (which is Browning's symbolic name for "poetry and thought" or "singing + and sermonizing"), but because he eloped with the best known literary + woman in England, Elizabeth Barrett, whose fame was for many years, both + before and after her marriage, much greater than Browning's, and who was + at first considered superior to Tennyson. Thereafter, until his own work + compelled attention, he was known chiefly as the man who married Elizabeth + Barrett. For years this lady had been an almost helpless invalid, and it + seemed a quixotic thing when Browning, having failed to gain her family's + consent to the marriage, carried her off romantically. Love and Italy + proved better than her physicians, and for fifteen years Browning and his + wife lived an ideally happy life in Pisa and in Florence. The exquisite + romance of their love is preserved in Mrs. Browning's <i>Sonnets from the + Portuguese</i>, and in the volume of <i>Letters</i> recently + published,--wonderful letters, but so tender and intimate that it seems + almost a sacrilege for inquisitive eyes to read them. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Browning died in Florence in 1861. The loss seemed at first too much + to bear, and Browning fled with his son to England. For the remainder of + his life he lived alternately in London and in various parts of Italy, + especially at the Palazzo Rezzonico, in Venice, which is now an object of + pilgrimage to almost every tourist who visits the beautiful city. Wherever + he went he mingled with men and women, sociable, well dressed, courteous, + loving crowds and popular applause, the very reverse of his friend + Tennyson. His earlier work had been much better appreciated in America + than in England; but with the publication of <i>The Ring and the Book</i>, + in 1868, he was at last recognized by his countrymen as one of the + greatest of English poets. He died in Venice, on December 12, 1889, the + same day that saw the publication of his last work, <i>Asolando</i>. + Though Italy offered him an honored resting place, England claimed him for + her own, and he lies buried beside Tennyson in Westminster Abbey. The + spirit of his whole life is magnificently expressed in his own lines, in + the Epilogue of his last book: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + One who never turned his back, but marched breast forward,<br /> Never + doubted clouds would break,<br /> Never dreamed, tho' right were worsted, + wrong would triumph,<br /> Held + we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better,<br /> Sleep + to wake.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <b>Works.</b> A glance at even the titles which Browning gave to his best + known volumes--<i>Dramatic Lyrics</i> (1842), <i>Dramatic Romances and + Lyrics</i> (1845), <i>Men and Women</i> (1853), <i>Dramatis Persona</i> + (1864)--will suggest how strong the dramatic element is in all his work. + Indeed, all his poems may be divided into three classes,--pure dramas, + like <i>Strafford</i> and <i>A Blot in the 'Scutcheon</i>; dramatic + narratives, like <i>Pippa Passes</i>, which are dramatic in form, but were + not meant to be acted; and dramatic lyrics, like <i>The Last Ride Together</i>, + which are short poems expressing some strong personal emotion, or + describing some dramatic episode in human life, and in which the hero + himself generally tells the story. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Browning and Shakespeare</span>Though Browning is + often compared with Shakespeare, the reader will understand that he has + very little of Shakespeare's dramatic talent. He cannot bring a group of + people together and let the actions and words of his characters show us + the comedy and tragedy of human life. Neither can the author be + disinterested, satisfied, as Shakespeare was, with life itself, without + drawing any moral conclusions. Browning has always a moral ready, and + insists upon giving us his own views of life, which Shakespeare never + does. His dramatic power lies in depicting what he himself calls the + history of a soul. Sometimes, as in <i>Paracelsus</i>, he endeavors to + trace the progress of the human spirit. More often he takes some dramatic + moment in life, some crisis in the ceaseless struggle between good and + evil, and describes with wonderful insight the hero's own thoughts and + feelings; but he almost invariably tells us how, at such and such a point, + the good or the evil in his hero must inevitably have triumphed. And + generally, as in "My Last Duchess," the speaker adds a word here and + there, aside from the story, which unconsciously shows the kind of man he + is. It is this power of revealing the soul from within that causes + Browning to fascinate those who study him long enough. His range is + enormous, and brings all sorts and conditions of men under analysis. The + musician in "Abt Vogler," the artist in "Andrea del Sarto," the early + Christian in "A Death in the Desert," the Arab horseman in "Muteykeh," the + sailor in "Herve Kiel," the mediæval knight in "Childe Roland," the + Hebrew in "Saul," the Greek in "Balaustion's Adventure," the monster in + "Caliban," the immortal dead in "Karshish,"--all these and a hundred more + histories of the soul show Browning's marvelous versatility. It is this + great range of sympathy with many different types of life that constitutes + Browning's chief likeness to Shakespeare, though otherwise there is no + comparison between the two men. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> First Period of Work</span>If we separate all + these dramatic poems into three main periods,--the early, from 1833 to + 1841; the middle, from 1841 to 1868; and the late, from 1868 to 1889,--the + work of the beginner will be much more easily designated. Of his early + soul studies, <i>Pauline</i> (1833), <i>Paracelsus</i> (1835), and <i>Sordello</i> + (1840), little need be said here, except perhaps this: that if we begin + with these works, we shall probably never read anything else by Browning. + And that were a pity. It is better to leave these obscure works until his + better poems have so attracted us to Browning that we will cheerfully + endure his worst faults for the sake of his undoubted virtues. The same + criticism applies, though in less degree, to his first drama, <i>Strafford</i> + (1837), which belongs to the early period of his work. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Second period </span>The merciless criticism + which greeted <i>Sordello</i> had a wholesome effect on Browning, as is + shown in the better work of his second period. Moreover, his new power was + developing rapidly, as may be seen by comparing the eight numbers of his + famous <i>Bells and Pomegranates</i> series (1841-1846) with his earlier + work. Thus, the first number of this wonderful series, published in 1841, + contains <i>Pippa Passes</i>, which is, on the whole, the most perfect of + his longer poems; and another number contains <i>A Blot in the 'Scutcheon</i>, + which is the most readable of his dramas. Even a beginner must be thrilled + by the beauty and the power of these two works. Two other noteworthy + dramas of the period are <i>Colombe's Birthday</i> (1844) and <i>In a + Balcony</i> (1855), which, however, met with scant appreciation on the + stage, having too much subtle analysis and too little action to satisfy + the public. Nearly all his best lyrics, dramas, and dramatic poems belong + to this middle period of labor; and when <i>The Ring and the Book</i> + appeared, in 1868, he had given to the world the noblest expression of his + poetic genius. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Third Period</span>In the third period, beginning + when Browning was nearly sixty years old, he wrote even more industriously + than before, and published on an average nearly a volume of poetry a year. + Such volumes as <i>Fifine at the Fair, Red Cotton Night-Cap Country, The + Inn Album, Jocoseria</i>, and many others, show how Browning gains + steadily in the power of revealing the hidden springs of human action; but + he often rambles most tiresomely, and in general his work loses in + sustained interest. It is perhaps significant that most of his best work + was done under Mrs. Browning's influence. + </p> + <p> + <b>What to Read</b>. Of the short miscellaneous poems there is such an + unusual variety that one must hesitate a little in suggesting this or that + to the beginner's attention. "My Star," "Evelyn Hope," "Wanting is--What?" + "Home Thoughts from Abroad," "Meeting at Night," "One Word More" (an + exquisite tribute to his dead wife), "Prospice" (Look Forward); songs from + <i>Pippa Passes;</i> various love poems like "By the Fireside" and "The + Last Ride Together"; the inimitable "Pied Piper," and the ballads like + "Hervé Riel" and "How They Brought the Good News,"--these are a + mere suggestion, expressing only the writer's personal preference; but a + glance at the contents of Browning's volumes will reveal scores of other + poems, which another writer might recommend as being better in themselves + or more characteristic of Browning.<sup><a href="#fn237" name="rfn237" + id="rfn237">[237]</a></sup> + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Soul Studies</span>Among Browning's dramatic soul + studies there is also a very wide choice. "Andrea del Sarto" is one of the + best, revealing as it does the strength and the weakness of "the perfect + painter," whose love for a soulless woman with a pretty face saddens his + life and hampers his best work. Next in importance to "Andrea" stands "An + Epistle," reciting the experiences of Karshish, an Arab physician, which + is one of the best examples of Browning's peculiar method of presenting + the truth. The half-scoffing, half-earnest, and wholly bewildered state of + this Oriental scientist's mind is clearly indicated between the lines of + his letter to his old master. His description of Lazarus, whom he meets by + chance, and of the state of mind of one who, having seen the glories of + immortality, must live again in the midst of the jumble of trivial and + stupendous things which constitute our life, forms one of the most + original and suggestive poems in our literature. "My Last Duchess" is a + short but very keen analysis of the soul of a selfish man, who reveals his + character unconsciously by his words of praise concerning his dead wife's + picture. In "The Bishop Orders his Tomb" we have another extraordinarily + interesting revelation of the mind of a vain and worldly man, this time a + churchman, whose words tell you far more than he dreams about his own + character. "Abt Vogler," undoubtedly one of Browning's finest poems, is + the study of a musician's soul. "Muléykeh" gives us the soul of an + Arab, vain and proud of his fast horse, which was never beaten in a race. + A rival steals the horse and rides away upon her back; but, used as she is + to her master's touch, she will not show her best pace to the stranger. + Muléykeh rides up furiously; but instead of striking the thief from + his saddle, he boasts about his peerless mare, saying that if a certain + spot on her neck were touched with the rein, she could never be overtaken. + Instantly the robber touches the spot, and the mare answers with a burst + of speed that makes pursuit hopeless. Muléykeh has lost his mare; + but he has kept his pride in the unbeaten one, and is satisfied. "Rabbi + Ben Ezra," which refuses analysis, and which must be read entire to be + appreciated, is perhaps the most quoted of all Browning's works, and + contains the best expression of his own faith in life, both here and + hereafter. All these wonderful poems are, again, merely a suggestion. They + indicate simply the works to which one reader turns when he feels mentally + vigorous enough to pick up Browning. Another list of soul studies, citing + "A Toccata of Galuppi's," "A Grammarian's Funeral," "Fra Lippo Lippi," + "Saul," "Cleon," "A Death in the Desert," and "Soliloquy of the Spanish + Cloister," might, in another's judgment, be more interesting and + suggestive. + </p> + <p> + [Pippa Passes] Among Browning's longer poems there are two, at least, that + well deserve our study. <i>Pippa Passes</i>, aside from its rare poetical + qualities, is a study of unconscious influence. The idea of the poem was + suggested to Browning while listening to a gypsy girl singing in the woods + near his home; but he transfers the scene of the action to the little + mountain town of Asolo, in Italy. Pippa is a little silk weaver, who goes + out in the morning to enjoy her one holiday of the whole year. As she + thinks of her own happiness she is vaguely wishing that she might share + it, and do some good. Then, with her childish imagination, she begins to + weave a little romance in which she shares in the happiness of the four + greatest and happiest people in Asolo. It never occurs to her that perhaps + there is more of misery than of happiness in the four great ones of whom + she dreams; and so she goes on her way singing, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + The year's at the spring<br /> And day's at the morn;<br /> Morning's at + seven;<br /> The hillside's dew-pearled;<br /> The lark's on the wing;<br /> + The snail's on the thorn:<br /> God's in his heaven--<br /> All's right + with the world!<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Fate wills it that the words and music of her little songs should come to + the ears of four different groups of people at the moment when they are + facing the greatest crises of their lives, and turn the scale from evil to + good. But Pippa knows nothing of this. She enjoys her holiday, and goes to + bed still singing, entirely ignorant of the good she has done in the + world. With one exception, it is the most perfect of all Browning's works. + At best it is not easy, nor merely entertaining reading; but it richly + repays whatever hours we spend in studying it. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Ring and the Book</span><i>The Ring and the + Book</i> is Browning's masterpiece. It is an immense poem, twice as long + as <i>Paradise Lost</i>, and longer by some two thousand lines than the <i>Iliad;</i> + and before we begin the undoubted task of reading it, we must understand + that there is no interesting story or dramatic development to carry us + along. In the beginning we have an outline of the story, such as it is--a + horrible story of Count Guido's murder of his beautiful young wife; and + Browning tells us in detail just when and how he found a book containing + the record of the crime and the trial. There the story element ends, and + the symbolism of the book begins. The title of the poem is explained by + the habit of the old Etruscan goldsmiths who, in making one of their + elaborately chased rings, would mix the pure gold with an alloy, in order + to harden it. When the ring was finished, acid was poured upon it; and the + acid ate out the alloy, leaving the beautiful design in pure gold. + Browning purposes to follow the same plan with his literary material, + which consists simply of the evidence given at the trial of Guido in Rome, + in 1698. He intends to mix a poet's fancy with the crude facts, and create + a beautiful and artistic work. + </p> + <p> + The result of Browning's purpose is a series of monologues, in which the + same story is retold nine different times by the different actors in the + drama. The count, the young wife, the suspected priest, the lawyers, the + Pope who presides at the trial,--each tells the story, and each + unconsciously reveals the depths of his own nature in the recital. The + most interesting of the characters are Guido, the husband, who changes + from bold defiance to abject fear; Caponsacchi, the young priest, who aids + the wife in her flight from her brutal husband, and is unjustly accused of + false motives; Pompilia, the young wife, one of the noblest characters in + literature, fit in all respects to rank with Shakespeare's great heroines; + and the Pope, a splendid figure, the strongest of all Browning's masculine + characters. When we have read the story, as told by these four different + actors, we have the best of the poet's work, and of the most original poem + in our language. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Browning and Tennyson</span><b>Browning's Place + and Message</b>. Browning's place in our literature will be better + appreciated by comparison with his friend Tennyson, whom we have just + studied. In one respect, at least, these poets are in perfect accord. Each + finds in love the supreme purpose and meaning of life. In other respects, + especially in their methods of approaching the truth, the two men are the + exact opposites. Tennyson is first the artist and then the teacher; but + with Browning the message is always the important thing, and he is + careless, too careless, of the form in which it is expressed. Again, + Tennyson is under the influence of the romantic revival, and chooses his + subjects daintily; but "all's fish" that comes to Browning's net. He takes + comely and ugly subjects with equal pleasure, and aims to show that truth + lies hidden in both the evil and the good. This contrast is all the more + striking when we remember that Browning's essentially scientific attitude + was taken by a man who refused to study science. Tennyson, whose work is + always artistic, never studied art, but was devoted to the sciences; while + Browning, whose work is seldom artistic in form, thought that art was the + most suitable subject for a man's study. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Browning's Message</span>The two poets differ + even more widely in their respective messages. Tennyson's message reflects + the growing order of the age, and is summed up in the word "law." in his + view, the individual will must be suppressed; the self must always be + subordinate. His resignation is at times almost Oriental in its fatalism, + and occasionally it suggests Schopenhauer in its mixture of fate and + pessimism. Browning's message, on the other hand, is the triumph of the + individual will over all obstacles; the self is not subordinate but + supreme. There is nothing Oriental, nothing doubtful, nothing pessimistic + in the whole range of his poetry. His is the voice of the Anglo-Saxon, + standing up in the face of all obstacles and saying, "I can and I will." + He is, therefore, far more radically English than is Tennyson; and it may + be for this reason that he is the more studied, and that, while youth + delights in Tennyson, manhood is better satisfied with Browning. Because + of his invincible will and optimism, Browning is at present regarded as + the poet who has spoken the strongest word of faith to an age of doubt. + His energy, his cheerful courage, his faith in life and in the development + that awaits us beyond the portals of death, are like a bugle-call to good + living. This sums up his present influence upon the minds of those who + have learned to appreciate him. Of the future we can only say that, both + at home and abroad, he seems to be gaining steadily in appreciation as the + years go by. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap11f" id="chap11f">MINOR POETS OF THE VISTORIAN AGE</a> + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11g" id="chap11g">Elizabeth Barrett.</a></b> Among the + minor poets of the past century Elizabeth Barrett (Mrs. Browning) occupies + perhaps the highest place in popular favor. She was born at Coxhoe Hall, + near Durham, in 1806; but her childhood and early youth were spent in + Herefordshire, among the Malvern Hills made famous by <i>Piers Plowman</i>. + In 1835 the Barrett family moved to London, where Elizabeth gained a + literary reputation by the publication of <i>The Seraphim and Other Poems</i> + (1838). Then illness and the shock caused by the tragic death of her + brother, in 1840, placed her frail life in danger, and for six years she + was confined to her own room. The innate strength and beauty of her spirit + here showed itself strongly in her daily study, her poetry, and especially + in her interest in the social problems which sooner or later occupied all + the Victorian writers. "My mind to me a kingdom is" might well have been + written over the door of the room where this delicate invalid worked and + suffered in loneliness and in silence. + </p> + <p> + In 1844 Miss Barrett published her <i>Poems</i>, which, though somewhat + impulsive and overwrought, met with remarkable public favor. Such poems as + "The Cry of the Children," which voices the protest of humanity against + child labor, appealed tremendously to the readers of the age, and this + young woman's fame as a poet temporarily overshadowed that of Tennyson and + Browning. Indeed, as late as 1850, when Wordsworth died, she was seriously + considered for the position of poet laureate, which was finally given to + Tennyson. A reference to Browning, in "Lady Geraldine's Courtship," is + supposed to have first led the poet to write to Miss Barrett in 1845. Soon + afterwards he visited the invalid; they fell in love almost at first + sight, and the following year, against the wishes of her father,--who was + evidently a selfish old tyrant,--Browning carried her off and married her. + The exquisite romance of their love is reflected in Mrs. Browning's <i>Sonnets + from the Portuguese</i> (1850). This is a noble and inspiring book of love + poems; and Stedman regards the opening sonnet, "I thought once how + Theocritus had sung," as equal to any in our language. + </p> + <p> + For fifteen years the Brownings lived an ideally happy life at Pisa, and + at Casa Guidi, Florence, sharing the same poetical ambitions. And love was + the greatest thing in the world,-- + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.<br /> I love thee to the depth + and breadth and height<br /> My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight<br /> + For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.<br /> I love thee to the level of + everyday's<br /> Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.<br /> I love + thee freely, as men strive for Right;<br /> I love thee purely, as they + turn from Praise;<br /> I love thee with the passion put to use<br /> In + my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith;<br /> I love thee with a + love I seemed to lose<br /> With my lost saints--I love thee with the + breath,<br /> Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose,<br /> I + shall but love thee better after death.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + Mrs. Browning entered with whole-souled enthusiasm into the aspirations of + Italy in its struggle against the tyranny of Austria; and her <i>Casa + Guidi Windows</i> (1851) is a combination of poetry and politics, both, it + must be confessed, a little too emotional. In 1856 she published <i>Aurora + Leigh</i>, a novel in verse, having for its hero a young social reformer, + and for its heroine a young woman, poetical and enthusiastic, who strongly + suggests Elizabeth Barrett herself. It emphasizes in verse precisely the + same moral and social ideals which Dickens and George Eliot were + proclaiming in all their novels. Her last two volumes were <i>Poems before + Congress</i> (1860), and <i>Last Poems</i>, published after her death. She + died suddenly in 1861 and was buried in Florence. Browning's famous line, + "O lyric love, half angel and half bird," may well apply to her frail life + and aerial spirit. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el055" id="el055"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: MRS. BROWNING" src="images/el055.jpg" /></a><br /> MRS. + BROWNING + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11h" id="chap11h">Rossetti</a></b>. Dante Gabriel Rossetti + (1828-1882), the son of an exiled Italian painter and scholar, was + distinguished both as a painter and as a poet. He was a leader in the + Pre-Raphaelite movement<sup><a href="#fn238" name="rfn238" id="rfn238">[238]</a></sup> + and published in the first numbers of <i>The Germ</i> his "Hand and Soul," + a delicate prose study, and his famous "The Blessed Damozel," beginning, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + The blessed damozel leaned out<br /> From the + gold bar of Heaven;<br /> Her eyes were deeper than the depth<br /> Of + waters stilled at even;<br /> She had three lilies in her hand,<br /> + And the stars in her hair were seven.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + These two early works, especially "The Blessed Damozel," with its + simplicity and exquisite spiritual quality, are characteristic of the + ideals of the Pre-Raphaelites. + </p> + <p> + In 1860, after a long engagement, Rossetti married Elizabeth Siddal, a + delicate, beautiful English girl, whom he has immortalized both in his + pictures and in his poetry. She died two years later, and Rossetti never + entirely recovered from the shock. At her burial he placed in her coffin + the manuscripts of all his unpublished poems, and only at the persistent + demands of his friends did he allow them to be exhumed and printed in + 1870. The publication of this volume of love poems created a sensation in + literary circles, and Rossetti was hailed as one of the greatest of living + poets. In 1881 he published his <i>Ballads and Sonnets</i>, a remarkable + volume containing, among other poems, "The Confession," modeled after + Browning; "The Ballad of Sister Helen," founded on a mediæval + superstition; "The King's Tragedy," a masterpiece of dramatic narrative; + and "The House of Life," a collection of one hundred and one sonnets + reflecting the poet's love and loss. This last collection deserves to rank + with Mrs. Browning's <i>Sonnets from the Portuguese</i> and with + Shakespeare's <i>Sonnets</i>, as one of the three great cycles of love + poems in our language. It has been well said that both Rossetti and Morris + paint pictures as well in their poems as on their canvases, and this + pictorial quality of their verse is its chief characteristic. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11i" id="chap11i">Morris.</a></b> William Morris + (1834-1896) is a most interesting combination of literary man and artist. + In the latter capacity, as architect, designer, and manufacturer of + furniture, carpets, and wall paper, and as founder of the Kelmscott Press + for artistic printing and bookbinding, he has laid us all under an immense + debt of gratitude. From boyhood he had steeped himself in the legends and + ideals of the Middle Ages, and his best literary work is wholly mediæval + in spirit. <i>The Earthly Paradise</i> (1868-1870) is generally regarded + as his masterpiece. This delightful collection of stories in verse tells + of a roving band of Vikings, who are wrecked on the fabled island of + Atlantis, and who discover there a superior race of men having the + characteristics of ideal Greeks. The Vikings remain for a year, telling + stories of their own Northland, and listening to the classic and Oriental + tales of their hosts. Morris's interest in Icelandic literature is further + shown by his <i>Sigurd the Volsung</i>, an epic founded upon one of the + old sagas, and by his prose romances, <i>The House of the Wolfings, The + Story of the Glittering Plain</i>, and <i>The Roots of the Mountains</i>. + Later in life he became deeply interested in socialism, and two other + romances, <i>The Dream of John Ball</i> and <i>News from Nowhere</i>, are + interesting as modern attempts at depicting an ideal society governed by + the principles of More's <i>Utopia</i>. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11j" id="chap11j">Swinburne</a></b>. Algernon Charles + Swinburne (1837-1909) is, chronologically, the last of the Victorian + poets. As an artist in technique--having perfect command of all old + English verse forms and a remarkable faculty for inventing new--he seems + at the present time to rank among the best in our literature. Indeed, as + Stedman says, "before his advent we did not realize the full scope of + English verse." This refers to the melodious and constantly changing form + rather than to the content of Swinburne's poetry. At the death of + Tennyson, in 1892, he was undoubtedly the greatest living poet, and only + his liberal opinions, his scorn of royalty and of conventions, and the + prejudice aroused by the pagan spirit of his early work prevented his + appointment as poet laureate. He has written a very large number of poems, + dramas, and essays in literary criticism; but we are still too near to + judge of the permanence of his work or of his place in literature. Those + who would read and estimate his work for themselves will do well to begin + with a volume of selected poems, especially those which show his love of + the sea and his exquisite appreciation of child life. His <i>Atalanta in + Calydon</i> (1864), a beautiful lyric drama modeled on the Greek tragedy, + is generally regarded as his masterpiece. In all his work Swinburne + carries Tennyson's love of melody to an extreme, and often sacrifices + sense to sound. His poetry is always musical, and, like music, appeals + almost exclusively to the emotions. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + We have chosen, somewhat arbitrarily, these four writers--Mrs. Browning, + D. G. Rossetti, Morris, and Swinburne--as representative of the minor + poets of the age; but there are many others who are worthy of + study,--Arthur Hugh Clough and Matthew Arnold,<sup><a href="#fn239" + name="rfn239" id="rfn239">[239]</a></sup> who are often called the poets + of skepticism, but who in reality represent a reverent seeking for truth + through reason and human experience; Frederick William Faber, the Catholic + mystic, author of some exquisite hymns; and the scholarly John Keble, + author of <i>The Christian Year</i>, our best known book of devotional + verse; and among the women poets, Adelaide Procter, Jean Ingelow, and + Christina Rossetti, each of whom had a large, admiring circle of readers. + It would be a hopeless task at the present time to inquire into the + relative merits of all these minor poets. We note only their careful + workmanship and exquisite melody, their wide range of thought and feeling, + their eager search for truth, each in his own way, and especially the note + of freshness and vitality which they have given to English poetry. + </p> + <p> + II. <a name="chap11k" id="chap11k">THE NOVELISTS OF THE VICTORIAN AGE</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap11l" id="chap11l">CHARLES DICKENS</a> (1812-1870) + </p> + <p> + When we consider Dickens's life and work, in comparison with that of the + two great poets we have been studying, the contrast is startling. While + Tennyson and Browning were being educated for the life of literature, and + shielded most tenderly from the hardships of the world, Dickens, a poor, + obscure, and suffering child, was helping to support a shiftless family by + pasting labels on blacking bottles, sleeping under a counter like a + homeless cat, and once a week timidly approaching the big prison where his + father was confined for debt. In 1836 his <i>Pickwick</i> was published, + and life was changed as if a magician had waved his wand over him. While + the two great poets were slowly struggling for recognition, Dickens, with + plenty of money and too much fame, was the acknowledged literary hero of + England, the idol of immense audiences which gathered to applaud him + wherever he appeared. And there is also this striking contrast between the + novelist and the poets,--that while the whole tendency of the age was + toward realism, away from the extremes of the romanticists and from the + oddities and absurdities of the early novel writers, it was precisely by + emphasizing oddities and absurdities, by making caricatures rather than + characters, that Dickens first achieved his popularity. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. In Dickens's early life we see a stern but unrecognized + preparation for the work that he was to do. Never was there a better + illustration of the fact that a boy's early hardship and suffering are + sometimes only divine messengers disguised, and that circumstances which + seem only evil are often the source of a man's strength and of the + influence which he is to wield in the world. He was the second of eight + poor children, and was born at Landport in 1812. His father, who is + supposed to be the original of Mr. Micawber, was a clerk in a navy office. + He could never make both ends meet, and after struggling with debts in his + native town for many years, moved to London when Dickens was nine years + old. The debts still pursued him, and after two years of grandiloquent + misfortune he was thrown into the poor-debtors' prison. His wife, the + original of Mrs. Micawber, then set up the famous Boarding Establishment + for Young Ladies; but, in Dickens's words, no young ladies ever came. The + only visitors were creditors, and they were quite ferocious. In the + picture of the Micawber family, with its tears and smiles and general + shiftlessness, we have a suggestion of Dickens's own family life. + </p> + <p> + At eleven years of age the boy was taken out of school and went to work in + the cellar of a blacking factory. At this time he was, in his own words, a + "queer small boy," who suffered as he worked; and we can appreciate the + boy and the suffering more when we find both reflected in the character of + David Copperfield. It is a heart-rending picture, this sensitive child + working from dawn till dark for a few pennies, and associating with toughs + and waifs in his brief intervals of labor; but we can see in it the + sources of that intimate knowledge of the hearts of the poor and outcast + which was soon to be reflected in literature and to startle all England by + its appeal for sympathy. A small legacy ended this wretchedness, bringing + the father from the prison and sending the boy to Wellington House + Academy,--a worthless and brutal school, evidently, whose head master was, + in Dickens's words, a most ignorant fellow and a tyrant. He learned little + at this place, being interested chiefly in stories, and in acting out the + heroic parts which appealed to his imagination; but again his personal + experience was of immense value, and resulted in his famous picture of + Dotheboys Hall, in <i>Nicholas Nickleby</i>, which helped largely to + mitigate the evils of private schools in England. Wherever he went, + Dickens was a marvelously keen observer, with an active imagination which + made stories out of incidents and characters that ordinary men would have + hardly noticed. Moreover he was a born actor, and was at one time the + leading spirit of a band of amateurs who gave entertainments for charity + all over England. These three things, his keen observation, his active + imagination, and the actor's spirit which animated him, furnish a key to + his life and writings. + </p> + <p> + When only fifteen years old, he left the school and again went to work, + this time as clerk in a lawyer's office. By night he studied shorthand, in + order to fit himself to be a reporter,--this in imitation of his father, + who was now engaged by a newspaper to report the speeches in Parliament. + Everything that Dickens attempted seems to have been done with vigor and + intensity, and within two years we find him reporting important speeches, + and writing out his notes as the heavy coach lurched and rolled through + the mud of country roads on its dark way to London town. It was largely + during this period that he gained his extraordinary knowledge of inns and + stables and "horsey" persons, which is reflected in his novels. He also + grew ambitious, and began to write on his own account. At the age of + twenty-one he dropped his first little sketch "stealthily, with fear and + trembling, into a dark letter-box, in a dark office up a dark court in + Fleet Street." The name of this first sketch was "Mr. Minns and his + Cousin," and it appeared with other stories in his first book, <i>Sketches + by Boz</i>, in 1835. One who reads these sketches now, with their intimate + knowledge of the hidden life of London, can understand Dickens's first + newspaper success perfectly. His best known work, <i>Pickwick</i>, was + published serially in 1836-1837, and Dickens's fame and fortune were made. + Never before had a novel appeared so full of vitality and merriment. + Though crude in design, a mere jumble of exaggerated characters and + incidents, it fairly bubbled over with the kind of humor in which the + British public delights, and it still remains, after three quarters of a + century, one of our most care-dispelling books. + </p> + <p> + The remainder of Dickens's life is largely a record of personal triumphs. + <i>Pickwick</i> was followed rapidly by <i>Oliver Twist, Nicholas + Nickleby, Old Curiosity Shop</i>, and by many other works which seemed to + indicate that there was no limit to the new author's invention of odd, + grotesque, uproarious, and sentimental characters. In the intervals of his + novel writing he attempted several times to edit a weekly paper; but his + power lay in other directions, and with the exception of <i>Household + Words</i>, his journalistic ventures were not a marked success. Again the + actor came to the surface, and after managing a company of amateur actors + successfully, Dickens began to give dramatic readings from his own works. + As he was already the most popular writer in the English language, these + readings were very successful. Crowds thronged to hear him, and his + journeys became a continuous ovation. Money poured into his pockets from + his novels and from his readings, and he bought for himself a home, + Gadshill Place, which he had always desired, and which is forever + associated with his memory. Though he spent the greater part of his time + and strength in travel at this period, nothing is more characteristic of + the man than the intense energy with which he turned from his lecturing to + his novels, and then, for relaxation, gave himself up to what he called + the magic lantern of the London streets. + </p> + <p> + In 1842, while still a young man, Dickens was invited to visit the United + States and Canada, where his works were even better known than in England, + and where he was received as the guest of the nation and treated with + every mark of honor and appreciation. At this time America was, to most + Europeans, a kind of huge fairyland, where money sprang out of the earth, + and life was happy as a long holiday. Dickens evidently shared this rosy + view, and his romantic expectations were naturally disappointed. The + crude, unfinished look of the big country seems to have roused a strong + prejudice in his mind, which was not overcome at the time of his second + visit, twenty-five years later, and which brought forth the harsh + criticism of his <i>American Notes</i> (1842) and of <i>Martin Chuzzlewit</i> + (1843-1844). These two unkind books struck a false note, and Dickens began + to lose something of his great popularity. In addition he had spent money + beyond his income. His domestic life, which had been at first very happy, + became more and more irritating, until he separated from his wife in 1858. + To get inspiration, which seemed for a time to have failed, he journeyed + to Italy, but was disappointed. Then he turned back to the London streets, + and in the five years from 1848 to 1853 appeared <i>Dombey and Son, David + Copperfield</i>, and <i>Bleak House</i>,--three remarkable novels, which + indicate that he had rediscovered his own power and genius. Later he + resumed the public readings, with their public triumph and applause, which + soon came to be a necessity to one who craved popularity as a hungry man + craves bread. These excitements exhausted Dickens, physically and + spiritually, and death was the inevitable result. He died in 1870, over + his unfinished <i>Edwin Drood</i>, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. + </p> + <p> + <b>Dickens's Work in View of his Life</b>. A glance through even this + unsatisfactory biography gives us certain illuminating suggestions in + regard to all of Dickens's work. First, as a child, poor and lonely, + longing for love and for society, he laid the foundation for those + heartrending pictures of children, which have moved so many readers to + unaccustomed tears. Second, as clerk in a lawyer's office and in the + courts, he gained his knowledge of an entirely different side of human + life. Here he learned to understand both the enemies and the victims of + society, between whom the harsh laws of that day frequently made no + distinction. Third, as a reporter, and afterwards as manager of various + newspapers, he learned the trick of racy writing, and of knowing to a + nicety what would suit the popular taste. Fourth, as an actor, always an + actor in spirit, he seized upon every dramatic possibility, every tense + situation, every peculiarity of voice and gesture in the people whom he + met, and reproduced these things in his novels, exaggerating them in the + way that most pleased his audience. + </p> + <p> + When we turn from his outward training to his inner disposition we find + two strongly marked elements. The first is his excessive imagination, + which made good stories out of incidents that ordinarily pass unnoticed, + and which described the commonest things--a street, a shop, a fog, a + lamp-post, a stagecoach--with a wealth of detail and of romantic + suggestion that makes many of his descriptions like lyric poems. The + second element is his extreme sensibility, which finds relief only in + laughter and tears. Like shadow and sunshine these follow one another + closely throughout all his books. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Dickens and his Public</span>Remembering these + two things, his training and disposition, we can easily foresee the kind + of novel he must produce. He will be sentimental, especially over children + and outcasts; he will excuse the individual in view of the faults of + society; he will be dramatic or melodramatic; and his sensibility will + keep him always close to the public, studying its tastes and playing with + its smiles and tears. If pleasing the public be in itself an art, then + Dickens is one of our greatest artists. And it is well to remember that in + pleasing his public there was nothing of the hypocrite or demagogue in his + make-up. He was essentially a part of the great drifting panoramic crowd + that he loved. His sympathetic soul made all their joys and griefs his + own. He fought against injustice; he championed the weak against the + strong; he gave courage to the faint, and hope to the weary in heart; and + in the love which the public gave him in return he found his best reward. + Here is the secret of Dickens's unprecedented popular success, and we may + note here a very significant parallel with Shakespeare. The great + different in the genius and work of the two men does not change the fact + that each won success largely because he studied and pleased his public. + </p> + <p> + <b>General Plan of Dickens's Novels.</b> An interesting suggestion comes + to us from a study of the conditions which led to Dickens's first three + novels. <i>Pickwick</i> was written, at the suggestion of an editor, for + serial publication. Each chapter was to be accompanied by a cartoon by + Seymor (a comic artist of the day), and the object was to amuse the + public, and, incidentally, to sell the paper. The result was a series of + characters and scenes and incidents which for vigor and boundless fun have + never been equaled in our language. Thereafter, no matter what he wrote, + Dickins was lbeled a humorist. Like a certain American writer of our own + generation, everything he said, whether for a feast or a funeral, was + spposed to contain a laugh. In a word, he was the victim of his own book. + Dickens was keen enough to understand his danger, and his next novel, <i>Oliver + Twist</i>, had the serious purpose of mitigating the evils under which the + poor were suffering. Its hero was a poor child, the unfortunate victim of + society; and, in order to draw attention to the real need, Dickens + exaggerated the woeful condition of the poor, and filled his pages with + sentiment which easily slipped over into sentimentality. This also was a + popular success, and in his third novel, <i>Nicholas Nickleby,</i> and + indeed in most of his remaining works, Dickens combined the principles of + his first two books, giving us mirth on the one hand, injustice and + suffering on the other; mingling humor and pathos, tears and laughter, as + we find them in life itself. And in order to increase the lights and + shadows in his scenes, and to give greater dramatic effect to his + narrative, he introduced odious and lothsome characters, and made vice + more hateful by contrasting it with innocence and virtue. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> His characters</span>We find, therefore, in most + of Dickens's novels three or four widely different types of character: + first, the innocent little child, like Oliver, Joe, Paul, Tiny Tim, and + Little Nell, appealing powerfully to the child love in every human heart; + scond, the horrible or grotesque foil, like Sqeers, Fagin, Quilp, Uriah + Heep, and Bill Sykes; third, the grandiloquent or broadly humorous fellow, + the fun maker, like Micawber and Sam Weller; and fourth, a tenderly or + powerfully drawn figure, like Lady Deadlock of <i>Bleak House,</i> and + Sydney Carton of <i>A Tale of Two Cities,</i> which rise to the dignity of + true characters. We note also that most of Dickens's novels belong + decidely to the class of purpose or problem novels. Thus <i>Bleak House</i> + attacks "the law's delays"; <i>Little Dorrit,</i> the injustice which + persecutes poor debtors; <i>Nicholas Nickleby,</i> the abuses of charity + schools and brutal schoolmasters; and <i>Oliver Twist,</i> the unnecessary + degradation and suffering of the poor in English workhouses. Dickens's + serious purpose was to make the novel the instrument of morality and + justice, and whatver we may think of the exaggeration of his characters, + it is certain that his stories did more to correct the general selfishness + and injustice of society toward the poor than all the works of other + literary men of his age combined. + </p> + <p> + <b>The Limitations of Dickens.</b> Any severe criticism of Dickens as a + novelist must seem, at first glance, unkind an unnecessary. In almost + every house he is a welcome guest, a personal friend who has beguiled many + an hour with his stories, and who has furnished us much good laughter and + a few good tears. Moreover, he has always a cheery message. He emphasizes + the fact that this is an excellant world; that some errors have crept into + it, due largely to thoughtlessness, but that they can be easily remedied + by a little human sympathy. That is a most welcome creed to an age + overburdened with social problems; and to criticise our cheery companion + seems as discourteous as to speak unkindly of a guest who has just left + our home. But we must consider Dickens not merely as a friend, but as a + novelist, and apply to his work the same standards of art which we apply + to other writers; and when we do this we are sometimes a little + disappointed. We must confess that his novels, while they contain many + realistic details, seldom give the impression of reality. His characters, + though we laugh or weep or shudder at them, are sometimes only + caricatures, each one an exaggeration of some peculiarity, which suggest + Ben Jonson's <i>Every Man in His Humour</i>. It is Dickens's art to give + his heroes sufficient reality to make them suggest certain types of men + and women whom we know; but in reading him we find ourselves often in the + mental state of a man who is watching through a microscope the swarming + life of a water drop. Here are lively, bustling, extraordinary creatures, + some beautiful, some grotesque, but all far apart from the life that we + know in daily experience. It is certainly not the reality of these + characters, but rather the genius of the author in managing them, which + interests us and holds our attention. Notwithstanding this criticism, + which we would gladly have omitted, Dickens is excellent reading, and his + novels will continue to be popular just so long as men enjoy a wholesome + and absorbing story. + </p> + <p> + <b>What to Read.</b> Aside from the reforms in schools and prisons and + workhouses which Dickens accomplished, he has laid us all, rich and poor + alike, under a debt of gratitude. After the year 1843 the one literary + work which he never neglected was to furnish a Christmas story for his + readers; and it is due in some measure to the help of these stories, + brimming over with good cheer, that Christmas has become in all + English-speaking countries a season of gladness, of gift giving at home, + and of remembering those less fortunate than ourselves, who are still + members of a common brotherhood. If we read nothing else of Dickens, once + a year, at Christmas time, we should remember him and renew our youth by + reading one of his holiday stories,--<i>The Cricket on the Hearth, The + Chimes</i>, and above all the unrivaled <i>Christmas Carol</i>. The latter + especially will be read and loved as long as men are moved by the spirit + of Christmas. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Tale of Two Cities</span>Of the novels, <i>David + Copperfield</i> is regarded by many as Dickens's masterpiece. It is well + to begin with this novel, not simply for the unusual interest of the + story, but also for the glimpse it gives us of the author's own boyhood + and family. For pure fun and hilarity <i>Pickwick</i> will always be a + favorite; but for artistic finish, and for the portrayal of one great + character, Sydney Carton, nothing else that Dickens wrote is comparable to + <i>A Tale of Two Cities</i>. Here is an absorbing story, with a carefully + constructed plot, and the action moves swiftly to its thrilling, + inevitable conclusion. Usually Dickens introduces several pathetic or + grotesque or laughable characters besides the main actors, and records + various unnecessary dramatic episodes for their own sake; but in <i>A Tale + of Two Cities</i> everything has its place in the development of the main + story. There are, as usual, many characters,--Sydney Carton, the outcast, + who lays down his life for the happiness of one whom he loves; Charles + Darnay, an exiled young French noble; Dr. Manette, who has been "recalled + to life" from a frightful imprisonment, and his gentle daughter Lucie, the + heroine; Jarvis Lorry, a lovable, old-fashioned clerk in the big banking + house; the terrible Madame Defarge, knitting calmly at the door of her + wine shop and recording, with the ferocity of a tiger licking its chops, + the names of all those who are marked for vengeance; and a dozen others, + each well drawn, who play minor parts in the tragedy. The scene is laid in + London and Paris, at the time of the French Revolution; and, though + careless of historical details, Dickens reproduces the spirit of the Reign + of Terror so well that <i>A Tale of Two Cities</i> is an excellent + supplement to the history of the period. It is written in Dickens's usual + picturesque style, and reveals his usual imaginative outlook on life and + his fondness for fine sentiments and dramatic episodes. Indeed, all his + qualities are here shown, not brilliantly or garishly, as in other novels, + but subdued and softened, like a shaded light, for artistic effect. + </p> + <p> + Those who are interested in Dickens's growth and methods can hardly do + better than to read in succession his first three novels, <i>Pickwick, + Oliver Twist</i>, and <i>Nicholas Nickleby</i>, which, as we have + indicated, show clearly how he passed from fun to serious purpose, and + which furnish in combination the general plan of all his later works. For + the rest, we can only indicate those which, in our personal judgment, seem + best worth reading,--<i>Bleak House, Dombey and Son, Our Mutual Friend</i>, + and <i>Old Curiosity Shop</i>,--but we are not yet far enough away from + the first popular success of these works to determine their permanent + value and influence. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap11m" id="chap11m">WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY</a> (1811-1863) + </p> + <p> + As the two most successful novelists of their day, it is natural for us, + as it was for their personal friends and admirers, to compare Dickens and + Thackeray with respect to their life and work, and their attitude toward + the world in which they lived. Dickens, after a desperately hard struggle + in his boyhood, without friends or higher education, comes into manhood + cheery, self-confident, energetic, filled with the joy of his work; and in + the world, which had at first treated him so harshly, he finds good + everywhere, even in the jails and in the slums, simply because he is + looking for it. Thackeray, after a boyhood spent in the best of English + schools, with money, friends, and comforts of every kind, faces life + timidly, distrustfully, and dislikes the literary work which makes him + famous. He has a gracious and lovable personality, is kind of heart, and + reveres all that is pure and good in life; yet he is almost cynical toward + the world which uses him so well, and finds shams, deceptions, vanities + everywhere, because he looks for them. One finds what one seeks in this + world, but it is perhaps significant that Dickens sought his golden fleece + among plain people, and Thackeray in high society. The chief difference + between the two novelists, however, is not one of environment but of + temperament. Put Thackeray in a workhouse, and he will still find material + for another <i>Book of Snobs;</i> put Dickens in society, and he cannot + help finding undreamed-of possibilities among bewigged and bepowdered high + lords and ladies. For Dickens is romantic and emotional, and interprets + the world largely through his imagination; Thackeray is the realist and + moralist, who judges solely by observation and reflection. He aims to give + us a true picture of the society of his day, and as he finds it pervaded + by intrigues and snobbery he proceeds to satirize it and point out its + moral evils. In his novels he is influenced by Swift and Fielding, but he + is entirely free from the bitterness of the one and the coarseness of the + other, and his satire is generally softened by a noble tenderness. Taken + together, the novels of Dickens and Thackeray give us a remarkable picture + of all classes of English society in the middle of the nineteenth century. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Thackeray was born in 1811, in Calcutta, where his father + held a civil position under the Indian government. When the boy was five + years old his father died, and the mother returned with her child to + England. Presently she married again, and Thackeray was sent to the famous + Charterhouse school, of which he has given us a vivid picture in <i>The + Newcomes</i>. Such a school would have been a veritable heaven to Dickens, + who at this time was tossed about between poverty and ambition; but + Thackeray detested it for its rude manners, and occasionally referred to + it as the "Slaughterhouse." Writing to his mother he says: "There are + three hundred and seventy boys in the school. I wish, there were only + three hundred and sixty-nine." + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el057" id="el057"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY " src="images/el057.jpg" /></a><br /> + WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY + </p> + <p> + In 1829 Thackeray entered Trinity College, Cambridge, but left after less + than two years, without taking a degree, and went to Germany and France + where he studied with the idea of becoming an artist. When he became of + age, in 1832, he came into possession of a comfortable fortune, returned + to England, and settled down in the Temple to study law. Soon he began to + dislike the profession intensely, and we have in <i>Pendennis</i> a + reflection of his mental attitude toward the law and the young men who + studied it. He soon lost his fortune, partly by gambling and speculation, + partly by unsuccessful attempts at running a newspaper, and at twenty-two + began for the first time to earn his own living, as an artist and + illustrator. An interesting meeting between Thackeray and Dickens at this + time (1836) suggests the relative importance of the two writers. Seymour, + who was illustrating the <i>Pickwick Papers</i>, had just died, and + Thackeray called upon Dickens with a few drawings and asked to be allowed + to continue the illustrations. Dickens was at this time at the beginning + of his great popularity. The better literary artist, whose drawings were + refused, was almost unknown, and had to work hard for more than ten years + before he received recognition. Disappointed by his failure as an + illustrator, he began his literary career by writing satires on society + for <i>Fraser's Magazine</i>. This was the beginning of his success; but + though the <i>Yellowplush Papers, The Great Hoggarty Diamond, Catherine, + The Fitz Boodlers, The Book of Snobs, Barry Lyndon</i>, and various other + immature works made him known to a few readers of <i>Punch</i> and of <i>Fraser's + Magazine</i>, it was not till the publication of <i>Vanity Fair</i> + (1847-1848) that he began to be recognized as one of the great novelists + of his day. All his earlier works are satires, some upon society, others + upon the popular novelists,--Bulwer, Disraeli, and especially + Dickens,--with whose sentimental heroes and heroines he had no patience + whatever. He had married, meanwhile, in 1836, and for a few years was very + happy in his home. Then disease and insanity fastened upon his young wife, + and she was placed in an asylum. The whole after life of our novelist was + darkened by this loss worse than death. He became a man of the clubs, + rather than of his own home, and though his wit and kindness made him the + most welcome of clubmen, there was an undercurrent of sadness in all that + he wrote. Long afterwards he said that, though his marriage ended in + shipwreck, he "would do it over again; for behold Love is the crown and + completion of all earthly good." + </p> + <p> + After the moderate success of <i>Vanity Fair</i>, Thackeray wrote the + three novels of his middle life upon which his fame chiefly rests,--<i>Pendennis</i> + in 1850, <i>Henry Esmond</i> in 1852, and <i>The Newcomes</i> in 1855. + Dickens's great popular success as a lecturer and dramatic reader had led + to a general desire on the part of the public to see and to hear literary + men, and Thackeray, to increase his income, gave two remarkable courses of + lectures, the first being <i>English Humorists of the Eighteenth Century</i>, + and the second <i>The Four Georges</i>,--both courses being delivered with + gratifying success in England and especially in America. Dickens, as we + have seen, was disappointed in America and vented his displeasure in + outrageous criticism; but Thackeray, with his usual good breeding, saw + only the best side of his generous entertainers, and in both his public + and private utterances emphasized the virtues of the new land, whose + restless energy seemed to fascinate him. Unlike Dickens, he had no + confidence in himself when he faced an audience, and like most literary + men he disliked lecturing, and soon gave it up. In 1860 he became editor + of the <i>Cornhill Magazine</i>, which prospered in his hands, and with a + comfortable income he seemed just ready to do his best work for the world + (which has always believed that he was capable of even better things than + he ever wrote) when he died suddenly in 1863. His body lies buried in + Kensal Green, and only a bust does honor to his memory in Westminster + Abbey. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Henry Esmond </span><b>Works of Thackeray.</b> + The beginner will do well to omit the earlier satires of Thackeray, + written while he was struggling to earn a living from the magazines, and + open <i>Henry Esmond</i> (1852), his most perfect novel, though not the + most widely known and read. The fine historical and literary, flavor of + this story is one of its most marked characteristics, and only one who + knows something of the history and literature of the eighteenth century + can appreciate its value. The hero, Colonel Esmond; relates his own story, + carrying the reader through the courts and camps of Queen Anne's reign, + and giving the most complete and accurate picture of a past age that has + ever appeared in a novel. Thackeray is, as we have said, a realist, and he + begins his story by adopting the style and manner of a scholarly gentleman + of the period he is describing. He has an extraordinary knowledge of + eighteenth-century literature, and he reproduces its style in detail, + going so far as to insert in his narrative an alleged essay from the <i>Tatler</i>. + And so perfectly is it done that it is impossible to say wherein it + differs from the style of Addison and Steele. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Realism of Esmond</span>In his matter also + Thackeray is realistic, reflecting not the pride and pomp of war, which + are largely delusions, but its brutality and barbarism, which are all too + real; painting generals and leaders, not as the newspaper heroes to whom + we are accustomed, but as moved by intrigues, petty jealousies, and + selfish ambitions; showing us the great Duke of Marlborough not as the + military hero, the idol of war-crazed multitudes, but as without personal + honor, and governed by despicable avarice. In a word, Thackeray gives us + the "back stairs" view of war, which is, as a rule, totally neglected in + our histories. When he deals with the literary men of the period, he uses + the same frank realism, showing us Steele and Addison and other leaders, + not with halos about their heads, as popular authors, but in slippers and + dressing gowns, smoking a pipe in their own rooms, or else growing tipsy + and hilarious in the taverns,--just as they appeared in daily life. Both + in style and in matter, therefore, <i>Esmond</i> deserves to rank as + probably the best historical novel in our language. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Plot of Esmond</span>The plot of the story + is, like most of Thackeray's plots, very slight, but perfectly suited to + the novelist's purpose. The plans of his characters fail; their ideals + grow dim; there is a general disappearance of youthful ambitions. There is + a love story at the center; but the element of romance, which furnishes + the light and music and fragrance of love, is inconspicuous. The hero, + after ten years of devotion to a young woman, a paragon of beauty, finally + marries her mother, and ends with a few pious observations concerning + Heaven's mercy and his own happy lot. Such an ending seems disappointing, + almost bizarre, in view of the romantic novels to which we are accustomed; + but we must remember that Thackeray's purpose was to paint life as he saw + it, and that in life men and things often take a different way from that + described in romances. As we grow acquainted with Thackeray's characters, + we realize that no other ending was possible to his story, and conclude + that his plot, like his style, is perhaps as near perfection as a + realistic novelist can ever come. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Vanity Fair</span><i>Vanity Fair</i> (1847--1848) + is the best known of Thackeray's novels. It was his first great work, and + was intended to express his own views of the social life about him, and to + protest against the overdrawn heroes of popular novels. He takes for his + subject that Vanity Fair to which Christian and Faithful were conducted on + their way to the Heavenly City, as recorded in <i>Pilgrim's Progress</i>. + In this fair there are many different booths, given over to the sale of + "all sorts of vanities," and as we go from one to another we come in + contact with "juggling, cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, knaves, rogues, + and that of every kind." Evidently this is a picture of one side of social + life; but the difference between Bunyan and Thackeray is simply + this,--that Bunyan made Vanity Fair a small incident in a long journey, a + place through which most of us pass on our way to better things; while + Thackeray, describing high society in his own day, makes it a place of + long sojourn, wherein his characters spend the greater part of their + lives. Thackeray styles this work "a novel without a hero." The whole + action of the story, which is without plot or development, revolves about + two women,--Amelia, a meek creature of the milk-and-water type, and Becky + Sharp, a keen, unprincipled intriguer, who lets nothing stand in the way + of her selfish desire to get the most out of the fools who largely + constitute society. On the whole, it is the most powerful but not the most + wholesome of Thackeray's works. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Pendennis</span>In his second important novel, <i>Pendennis</i> + (1849-1850), we have a continuation of the satire on society begun in <i>Vanity + Fair</i>. This novel, which the beginner should read after <i>Esmond</i>, + is interesting to us for two reasons,--because it reflects more of the + details of Thackeray's life than all his other writings, and because it + contains one powerfully drawn character who is a perpetual reminder of the + danger of selfishness. The hero is "neither angel nor imp," in Thackeray's + words, but the typical young man of society, whom he knows thoroughly, and + whom he paints exactly as he is,--a careless, good-natured but essentially + selfish person, who goes through life intent on his own interests. <i>Pendennis</i> + is a profound moral study, and the most powerful arraignment of + well-meaning selfishness in our literature, not even excepting George + Eliot's <i>Romola</i>, which it suggests. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Newcomes</span>Two other novels, <i>The + Newcomes</i> (1855) and <i>The Virginians</i> (1859), complete the list of + Thackeray's great works of fiction. The former is a sequel to <i>Pendennis</i>, + and the latter to <i>Henry Esmond;</i> and both share the general fate of + sequels in not being quite equal in power or interest to their + predecessors. <i>The Newcomes</i>, however, deserves a very high + place,--some critics, indeed, placing it at the head of the author's + works. Like all Thackeray's novels, it is a story of human frailty; but + here the author's innate gentleness and kindness are seen at their best, + and the hero is perhaps the most genuine and lovable of all his + characters. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Thackeray's Essays</span>Thackeray is known in + English literature as an essayist as well as a novelist. His <i>English + Humorists</i> and <i>The Four Georges</i> are among the finest essays of + the nineteenth century. In the former especially, Thackeray shows not only + a wide knowledge but an extraordinary understanding of his subject. + Apparently this nineteenth-century writer knows Addison, Fielding, Swift, + Smollett, and other great writers of the past century almost as intimately + as one knows his nearest friend; and he gives us the fine flavor of their + humor in a way which no other writer, save perhaps Larnb, has ever + rivaled.<sup><a href="#fn240" name="rfn240" id="rfn240">[240]</a></sup> <i>The + Four Georges</i> is in a vein of delicate satire, and presents a rather + unflattering picture of four of England's rulers and of the courts in + which they moved. Both these works are remarkable for their exquisite + style, their gentle humor, their keen literary criticisms, and for the + intimate knowledge and sympathy which makes the' people of a past age live + once more in the written pages. + </p> + <p> + <b>General Characteristics.</b> In treating of Thackeray's view of life, + as reflected in his novels, critics vary greatly, and the following + summary must be taken not as a positive judgment but only as an attempt to + express the general impression of his works on an uncritical reader. He is + first of a realist, who paints life as he sees it. As he says himself, "I + have no brains above my eyes; I describe what I see.". His pictures of + certain types, notably the weak and vicious elements of society, are + accurate and true to life, but they seem to play too large a part in his + books, and have perhaps too greatly influenced his general judgment of + humanity. An excessive sensibility, or the capacity for fine feelings and + emotions, is a marked characteristic of Thackeray, as it is of Dickens and + Carlyle. He is easily offended, as they are, by the shams of society; but + he cannot find an outlet, as Dickens does, in laughter and tears, and he + is too gentle to follow Carlyle in violent denunciations and prophecies. + He turns to satire,--influenced, doubtless, by eighteenth-century + literature which he knew so well, and in which satire played too large a + part.<sup><a href="#fn241" name="rfn241" id="rfn241">[241]</a></sup> His + satire is never personal, like Pope's, or brutal, like Swift's, and is + tempered by kindness and humor; but it is used too freely, and generally + lays too much emphasis on faults and foibles to be considered a true + picture of any large class of English society. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Thackeray as a Moralist </span>Besides being a + realist and satirist, Thackeray is essentially a moralist, like Addison, + aiming definitely in all his work at producing a moral impression. So much + does he revere goodness, and so determined is he that his Pendennis or his + Becky Sharp shall be judged at their true value, that he is not content, + like Shakespeare, to be simply an artist, to tell an artistic tale and let + it speak its own message; he must explain and emphasize the moral + significance of his work. There is no need to consult our own conscience + over the actions of Thackeray's characters; the beauty of virtue and the + ugliness of vice are evident on every page. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> His Style </span>Whatever we may think of + Thackeray's matter, there is one point in which critics are agreed,--that + he is master of a pure and simple English style. Whether his thought be + sad or humorous, commonplace or profound, he expresses it perfectly, + without effort or affectation. In all his work there is a subtle charm, + impossible to describe, which gives the impression that we are listening + to a gentleman. And it is the ease, the refinement, the exquisite + naturalness of Thackeray's style that furnishes a large part of our + pleasure in reading him. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap11n" id="chap11n">MARY ANN EVANS, GEORGE ELIOT</a> + (1819-1880) + </p> + <p> + In nearly all the writers of the Victorian Age we note, on the one hand, a + strong intellectual tendency to analyze the problems of life, and on the + other a tendency to teach, that is, to explain to men the method by which + these problems may be solved. The novels especially seem to lose sight of + the purely artistic ideal of writing, and to aim definitely at moral + instruction. In George Eliot both these tendencies reach a climax. She is + more obviously, more consciously a preacher and moralizer than any of her + great contemporaries. Though profoundly religious at heart, she was + largely occupied by the scientific spirit of the age; and finding no + religious creed or political system satisfactory, she fell back upon duty + as the supreme law of life. All her novels aim, first, to show in + individuals the play of universal moral forces, and second, to establish + the moral law as the basis of human society. Aside from this moral + teaching, we look to George Eliot for the reflection of country life in + England, just as we look to Dickens for pictures of the city streets, and + to Thackeray for the vanities of society. Of all the women writer's who + have helped and are still helping to place our English novels at the head + of the world's fiction, she holds at present unquestionably the highest + rank. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Mary Ann (or Marian) Evans, known to us by her pen name of + George Eliot, began to write late in life, when nearly forty years of age, + and attained the leading position among living English novelists in the + ten years between 1870 and 1880, after Thackeray and Dickens had passed + away. She was born at Arbury Farm, Warwickshire, some twenty miles from + Stratford-on-Avon, in 1819. Her parents were plain, honest folk, of the + farmer class, who brought her up in the somewhat strict religious manner + of those days. Her father seems to have been a man of sterling integrity + and of practical English sense,--one of those essentially noble characters + who do the world's work silently and well, and who by their solid worth + obtain a position of influence among their fellow-men. + </p> + <p> + A few months after George Eliot's birth the family moved to another home, + in the parish of Griff, where her childhood was largely passed. The + scenery of the Midland counties and many details of her own family life + are reflected in her earlier novels. Thus we find her and her brother, as + Maggie and Tom Tulliver, in <i>The Mill on the Floss;</i> her aunt, as + Dinah Morris, and her mother, as Mrs. Poyser, in <i>Adam Bede</i>. We have + a suggestion of her father in the hero of the latter novel, but the + picture is more fully drawn as Caleb Garth, in <i>Middlemarch</i>. For a + few years she studied at two private schools for young ladies, at Nuneaton + and Coventry; but the death of her mother called her, at seventeen years + of age, to take entire charge of the household. Thereafter her education + was gained wholly by miscellaneous reading. We have a suggestion of her + method in one of her early letters, in which she says: "My mind presents + an assemblage of disjointed specimens of history, ancient and modern; + scraps of poetry picked up from Shakespeare, Cowper, Wordsworth, and + Milton; newspaper topics, morsels of Addison and Bacon, Latin verbs, + geometry, entomology, and chemistry; reviews and metaphysics, all arrested + and petrified and smothered by the fast-thickening everyday accession of + actual events, relative anxieties, and household cares and vexations." + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:20%;"> + <img src="images/{9546}.jpg" alt="{9546}" width="100%" /> <br /> <a + href="images/{9546}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </div> + <p> + When Mary was twenty-one years old the family again moved, this time to + Foleshill Road, near Coventry. Here she became acquainted with the family + of Charles Bray, a prosperous ribbon manufacturer, whose house was a + gathering place for the freethinkers of the neighborhood. The effect of + this liberal atmosphere upon Miss Evans, brought up in a narrow way, with + no knowledge of the world, was to unsettle many of her youthful + convictions. From a narrow, intense dogmatism, she went to the other + extreme of radicalism; then (about 1860) she lost all sympathy with the + freethinkers, and, being instinctively religious, seemed to be groping + after a definite faith while following the ideal of duty. This spiritual + struggle, which suggests that of Carlyle, is undoubtedly the cause of that + gloom and depression which hang, like an English fog, over much of her + work; though her biographer, Cross, tells us that she was not by any means + a sad or gloomy woman. + </p> + <p> + In 1849 Miss Evans's father died, and the Brays took her abroad for a tour + of the continent. On her return to England she wrote several liberal + articles for the <i>Westminster Review</i>, and presently was made + assistant editor of that magazine. Her residence in London at this time + marks a turning point in her career and the real beginning of her literary + life. She made strong friendships with Spencer, Mill, and other scientists + of the day, and through Spencer met George Henry Lewes, a miscellaneous + writer, whom she afterwards married. + </p> + <p> + Under his sympathetic influence she began to write fiction for the + magazines, her first story being "Amos Barton" (1857), which was later + included in the <i>Scenes of Clerical Life</i> (1858). Her first long + novel, <i>Adam Bede</i>, appeared early in 1859 and met with such popular + favor that to the end of her life she despaired of ever again repeating + her triumph. But the unexpected success proved to be an inspiration, and + she completed <i>The Mill on the Floss</i> and began <i>Silas Marner</i> + during the following year. Not until the great success of these works led + to an insistent demand to know the author did the English public learn + that it was a woman, and not an English clergyman, as they supposed, who + had suddenly jumped to the front rank of living writers. + </p> + <p> + Up to this point George Eliot had confined herself to English country + life, but now she suddenly abandoned the scenes and the people with whom + she was most familiar in order to write an historical novel. It was in + 1860, while traveling in Italy, that she formed "the great project" of <i>Romola</i>,--a + mingling of fiction and moral philosophy, against the background of the + mighty Renaissance movement. In this she was writing of things of which + she had no personal knowledge, and the book cost her many months of hard + and depressing labor. She said herself that she was a young woman when she + began the work, and an old woman when she finished it. <i>Romola</i> + (1862--1863) was not successful with the public, and the same may be said + of <i>Felix Holt the Radical</i> (1866) and <i>The Spanish Gypsy</i> + (1868). The last-named work was the result of the author's ambition to + write a dramatic poem which should duplicate the lesson of <i>Romola</i>; + and for the purpose of gathering material she visited Spain, which she had + decided upon as the scene of her poetical effort. With the publication of + <i>Middlemarch</i> (1871-1872) George Eliot came back again into popular + favor, though this work is less spontaneous, and more labored and + pedantic, than her earlier novels. The fault of too much analysis and + moralizing was even more conspicuous in <i>Daniei Deronda</i> (1876), + which she regarded as her greatest book. Her life during all this time was + singularly uneventful, and the chief milestones along the road mark the + publication of her successive novels. + </p> + <p> + During all the years of her literary success her husband Lewes had been a + most sympathetic friend and critic, and when he died, in 1878, the loss + seemed to be more than she could bear. Her letters of this period are + touching in their loneliness and their craving for sympathy. Later she + astonished everybody by marrying John Walter Cross, much younger than + herself, who is known as her biographer. "Deep down below there is a river + of sadness, but ... I am able to enjoy my newly re-opened life," writes + this woman of sixty, who, ever since she was the girl whom we know as + Maggie Tulliver, must always have some one to love and to depend upon. Her + new interest in life lasted but a few months, for she died in December of + the same year (1880). One of the best indications of her strength and her + limitations is her portrait, with its strong masculine features, + suggesting both by resemblance and by contrast that wonderful portrait of + Savonarola which hangs over his old desk in the monastery at Florence. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of George Eliot</b>. These are conveniently divided into three + groups, corresponding to the three periods of her life. The first group + includes all her early essays and miscellaneous work, from her translation + of Strauss's <i>Leben Jesu</i>, in 1846, to her union with Lewes in 1854. + The second group includes <i>Scenes of Clerical Life, Adam Bede, Mill on + the Floss</i>, and <i>Silas Marner</i>, all published between 1858 and + 1861. These four novels of the middle period are founded on the author's + own life and experience; their scenes are laid in the country, and their + characters are taken from the stolid people of the Midlands, with whom + George Eliot had been familiar since childhood. They are probably the + author's most enduring works. They have a naturalness, a spontaneity, at + times a flash of real humor, which are lacking in her later novels; and + they show a rapid development of literary power which reaches a climax in + <i>Silas Marner</i>. + </p> + <p> + The novel of Italian life, <i>Romola</i> (1862-1863), marks a transition + to the third group, which includes three more novels,--<i>Felix Holt</i> + (1866), <i>Middlemarch</i> (1871-1872), <i>Daniel Deronda</i> (1876), the + ambitious dramatic poem <i>The Spanish Gypsy</i> (1868), and a collection + of miscellaneous essays called <i>The Impressions of Theophrastus Such</i> + (1879). The general impression, of these works is not so favorable as that + produced by the novels of the middle period. They are more labored and + less interesting; they contain much deep reflection and analysis of + character, but less observation, less delight in picturing country life as + it is, and very little of what we call inspiration. We must add, however, + that this does not express a unanimous literary judgment, for critics are + not wanting who assert that <i>Daniel Deronda</i> is the highest + expression of the author's genius. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> General Character</span>The general character of + all these novels may be described, in the author's own term, as + psychologic realism. This means that George Eliot sought to do in her + novels what Browning attempted in his poetry; that is, to represent the + inner struggle of a soul, and to reveal the motives, impulses, and + hereditary influences which govern human action. Browning generally stops + when he tells his story, and either lets you draw your own conclusion or + else gives you his in a few striking lines. But George Eliot is not + content until she has minutely explained the motives of her characters and + the moral lesson to be learned from them. Moreover, it is the development + of a soul, the slow growth or decline of moral power, which chiefly + interests her. Her heroes and heroines differ radically from those of + Dickens and Thackeray in this respect,--that when we meet the men and + women of the latter novelists, their characters are already formed, and we + are reasonably sure what they will do under given circumstances. In George + Eliot's novels the characters develop gradually as we come to know them. + They go from weakness to strength, or from strength to weakness, according + to the works that they do and the thoughts that they cherish. In <i>Romola</i>, + for instance, Tito, as we first meet him, may be either good or bad, and + we know not whether he will finally turn to the right hand or to the left. + As time passes, we see him degenerate steadily because he follows his + selfish impulses, while Romola, whose character is at first only faintly + indicated, grows into beauty and strength with every act of + self-renunciation. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Moral Teaching</span>In these two characters, + Tito and Romola, we have an epitome of our author's moral teaching. The + principle of law was in the air during the Victorian era, and we have + already noted how deeply Tennyson was influenced by it. With George Eliot + law is like fate; it overwhelms personal freedom and inclination. Moral + law was to her as inevitable, as automatic, as gravitation. Tito's + degeneration, and the sad failure of Dorothea and Lydgate in <i>Middlemarch</i>, + may be explained as simply as the fall of an apple, or as a bruised knee + when a man loses his balance. A certain act produces a definite moral + effect on the individual; and character is the added sum of all, the acts + of a man's; life,--just as the weight of a body is the sum of the weights + of many different atoms which constitute it. The matter of rewards and + punishments, therefore, needs no final judge or judgment, since these + things take care of themselves automatically in a world of inviolable + moral law. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps one thing more should be added to the general characteristics of + George Eliot's novels,--they are all rather depressing. The gladsomeness + of life, the sunshine of smiles and laughter, is denied her. It is said + that once, when her husband remarked that her novels were all essentially + sad, she wept, and answered that she must describe life as she had found + it. + </p> + <p> + <b>What to Read</b>. George Eliot's first stories are in some respects her + best, though her literary power increases during her second period, + culminating in <i>Silas Marner</i>, and her psychological analysis is more + evident in <i>Daniel Deronda</i>. On the whole, it is an excellent way to + begin with the freshness and inspiration of the <i>Scenes of Clerical Life</i> + and read her books in the order in which they were written. In the first + group of novels <i>Adam Bede</i> is the most natural, and probably + interests more readers than all the others combined. <i>The Mill on the + Floss</i> has a larger personal interest, because it reflects much of + George Eliot's history and the scenes and the friends of her early life. + The lack of proportion in this story, which gives rather too much space to + the girl-and-boy experiences, is naturally explained by the tendency in + every man and woman to linger over early memories. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Silas Marner</span><i>Silas Marner</i> is + artistically the most perfect of George Eliot's novels, and we venture to + analyze it as typical of her ideals and methods. We note first the style, + which is heavy and a little self-conscious, lacking the vigor and + picturesqueness of Dickens, and the grace and naturalness of Thackeray. + The characters are the common people of the Midlands, the hero being a + linen weaver, a lonely outcast who hoards and gloats over his hard-earned + money, is robbed, thrown into utter despair, and brought back to life and + happiness by the coming of an abandoned child to his fire. In the + development of her story the author shows herself, first, a realist, by + the naturalness of her characters and the minute accuracy with which she + reproduces their ways and even the accents of their speech; second, a + psychologist, by the continual analysis and explanation of motives; third, + a moralist, by showing in each individual the action and reaction of + universal moral forces, and especially by making every evil act bring + inevitable punishment to the man who does it. Tragedy, therefore, plays a + large part in the story; for, according to George Eliot, tragedy and + suffering walk close behind us, or lurk at every turn in the road of life. + Like all her novels, <i>Silas Marner</i> is depressing. We turn away from + even the wedding of Eppie--which is just as it should be--with a sense of + sadness and incompleteness. Finally, as we close the book, we are + conscious of a powerful and enduring impression of reality. Silas, the + poor weaver; Godfrey Cass, the well-meaning, selfish man; Mr. Macey, the + garrulous, and observant parish clerk; Dolly Winthrop, the kind-hearted + countrywoman who cannot understand the mysteries of religion and so + interprets God in terms of human love,--these are real people, whom having + once met we can never forget. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Romola</span><i>Romola</i> has the same general + moral theme as the English novels; but the scenes are entirely different, + and opinion is divided as to the comparative merit of the work. It is a + study, a very profound study of moral development in one character and of + moral degeneracy in another. Its characters and its scenes are both + Italian, and the action takes place during a critical period of the + Renaissance movement, when Savonarola was at the height of his power in + Florence. Here is a magnificent theme and a superb background for a great + novel, and George Eliot read and studied till she felt sure that she + understood the place, the time, and the people of her story. <i>Romola</i> + is therefore interesting reading, in many respects the most interesting of + her works. It has been called one of our greatest historical novels; but + as such it has one grievous fault. It is not quite true to the people or + even to the locality which it endeavors to represent. One who reads it + here, in a new and different land, thinks only of the story and of the + novelist's power; but one who reads it on the spot which it describes, and + amidst the life which it pictures, is continually haunted by the + suggestion that George Eliot understood neither Italy nor the Italians. It + is this lack of harmony with Italian life itself which caused Morris and + Rossetti and even Browning, with all his admiration for the author, to lay + aside the book, unable to read it with pleasure or profit. In a word, <i>Romola</i> + is a great moral study and a very interesting book; but the characters are + not Italian, and the novel as a whole lacks the strong reality which marks + George Eliot's English studies. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap11o" id="chap11o">MINOR NOVELISTS OF THE VICTORIAN AGE</a> + </p> + <p> + In the three great novelists just considered we have an epitome of the + fiction of the age, Dickens using the novel to solve social problems, + Thackeray to paint the life of society as he saw it, and George Eliot to + teach the fundamental principles of morality. The influence of these three + writers is reflected in all the minor novelists of the Victorian Age. + Thus, Dickens is reflected in Charles Reade, Thackeray in Anthony Trollope + and the Brontë sisters, and George Eliot's psychology finds artistic + expression in George Meredith. To these social and moral and realistic + studies we should add the element of romance, from which few of our modern + novelist's can long escape. The nineteenth century, which began with the + romanticism of Walter Scott, returns to its first love, like a man glad to + be home, in its delight over Blackmore's <i>Lorna Doone</i> and the + romances of Robert Louis Stevenson. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11p" id="chap11p">Charles Reade</a></b>. In his fondness + for stage effects, for picturing the romantic side of common life, and for + using the novel as the instrument of social reform, there is a strong + suggestion of Dickens in the work of Charles Reade (1814-1884). Thus his + <i>Peg Woffington</i> is a study of stage life from behind the scenes; <i>A + Terrible Temptation</i> is a study of social reforms and reformers; and <i>Put + yourself in his Place</i> is the picture of a workingman who struggles + against the injustice of the trades unions. His masterpiece, <i>The + Cloister and the Hearth</i> (1861), one of our best historical novels, is + a somewhat laborious study of student and vagabond life in Europe in the + days of the German Renaissance. It has small resemblance to George Eliot's + <i>Romola</i>, whose scene is laid in Italy during the same period; but + the two works may well be read in succession, as the efforts of two very + different novelists of the same period to restore the life of an age long + past. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11q" id="chap11q">Anthony Trollope</a></b>. In his + realism, and especially in his conception of the novel as the + entertainment of an idle hour, Trollope (1815-1882) is a reflection of + Thackeray. It would be hard to find a better duplicate of Becky Sharp, the + heroine of <i>Vanity Fair</i>, for instance, than is found in Lizzie + Eustace, the heroine of <i>The Eustace Diamonds</i>. Trollope was the most + industrious and systematic of modern novelists, writing a definite amount + each day, and the wide range of his characters suggests the <i>Human + Comedy</i> of Balzac. His masterpiece is <i>Barchester Towers</i> (1857). + This is a study of life in a cathedral town, and is remarkable for its + minute pictures of bishops and clergymen, with their families and + dependents. It would be well to read this novel in connection with <i>The + Warden</i> (1855), <i>The Last Chronicle of Barset</i> (1867), and other + novels of the same series, since the scenes and characters are the same in + all these books, and they are undoubtedly the best expression of the + author's genius. Hawthorne says of his novels: "They precisely suit my + taste,--solid and substantial, and ... just as real as if some giant had + hewn a great lump out of the earth and put it under a glass case, with all + the inhabitants going about their daily business and not suspecting that + they were being made a show of." + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11r" id="chap11r">Charlotte Brontë</a></b>. We have + another suggestion of Thackeray in the work of Charlotte Brontë + (1816-1855). She aimed to make her novels a realistic picture of society, + but she added to Thackeray's realism the element of passionate and + somewhat unbalanced romanticism. The latter element was partly the + expression of Miss Brontë's own nature, and partly the result of her + lonely and grief-stricken life, which was darkened by a succession of + family tragedies. It will help us to understand her work if we remember + that both Charlotte Brontë and her sister Emily<sup><a href="#fn242" + name="rfn242" id="rfn242">[242]</a></sup> turned to literature because + they found their work as governess and teacher unendurable, and sought to + relieve the loneliness and sadness of their own lot by creating a new + world of the imagination. In this new world, however, the sadness of the + old remains, and all the Brontë novels have behind them an aching heart. + Charlotte Brontë's best known work is <i>Jane Eyre</i> (1847), which, with + all its faults, is a powerful and fascinating study of elemental love and + hate, reminding us vaguely of one of Marlowe's tragedies. This work won + instant favor with the public, and the author was placed in the front rank + of living novelists. Aside from its value as a novel, it is interesting, + in many of its early passages, as the reflection of the author's own life + and experience. <i>Shirley</i> (1849) and <i>Villette</i> (1853) make up + the trio of novels by which this gifted woman is generally remembered. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11s" id="chap11s">Bulwer Lytton.</a></b> Edward Bulwer + Lytton (1803-1873) was an extremely versatile writer, who tried almost + every kind of novel known to the nineteenth century. In his early life he + wrote poems and dramas, under the influence of Byron; but his first + notable work, <i>Pelham</i> (1828), one of the best of his novels, was a + kind of burlesque on the Byronic type of gentleman. As a study of + contemporary manners in high society, <i>Pelham</i> has a suggestion of + Thackeray, and the resemblance is more noticeable in other novels of the + same type, such as <i>Ernest Maltravers</i> (1837), <i>The Caxtons</i> + (1848-1849), <i>My Novel</i> (1853), and <i>Kenelm Chillingly</i> (1873). + We have a suggestion of Dickens in at least two of Lytton's novels, <i>Paul + Clifford</i> and <i>Eugene Aram</i>, the heroes of which are criminals, + pictured as the victims rather than as the oppressors of society. Lytton + essayed also, with considerable popular success, the romantic novel in <i>The + Pilgrims of the Rhine</i> and <i>Zanoni</i>, and tried the ghost story in + <i>The Haunted and the Haunters</i>. His fame at the present day rests + largely upon his historical novels, in imitation of Walter Scott, <i>The + Last Days of Pompeii</i> (1834), <i>Riettza</i> (1835), and <i>Harold</i> + (1848), the last being his most ambitious attempt to make the novel the + supplement of history. In all his novels Lytton is inclined to + sentimentalism and sensationalism, and his works, though generally + interesting, seem hardly worthy of a high place in the history of fiction. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11t" id="chap11t">Kingsley.</a></b> Entirely different in + spirit are the novels of the scholarly clergyman, Charles Kingsley + (1819-1875). His works naturally divide themselves into three classes. In + the first are his social studies and problem novels, such as <i>Alton + Locke</i> (1850), having for its hero a London tailor and poet, and <i>Yeast</i> + (1848), which deals with the problem of the agricultural laborer. In the + second class are his historical novels, <i>Hereward the Wake, Hypatia</i>, + and <i>Westward Ho! Hypatia</i> is a dramatic story of Christianity in + contact with paganism, having its scene laid in Alexandria at the + beginning of the fifth century. <i>Westward Ho</i>! (1855), his best known + work, is a stirring tale of English conquest by land and sea in the days + of Elizabeth. In the third class are his various miscellaneous works, not + the least of which is <i>Water-Babies</i>, a fascinating story of a + chimney sweep, which mothers read to their children at bedtime,--to the + great delight of the round-eyed little listeners under the counterpane. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11u" id="chap11u">Mrs. Gaskell.</a></b> Mrs. Elizabeth + Gaskell (1810-1865) began, like Kingsley, with the idea of making the + novel the instrument of social reform. As the wife of a clergyman in + Manchester, she had come in close contact with the struggles and ideals of + the industrial poor of a great city, and she reflected her sympathy as + well as her observation in <i>Mary Barton</i> (1848) and in <i>North and + South</i> (1855). Between these two problem novels she published her + masterpiece, <i>Cranford</i>, in 1853. The original of this country + village, which is given over to spinsters, is undoubtedly Knutsford, in + Cheshire, where Mrs. Gaskell had spent her childhood. The sympathy, the + keen observation, and the gentle humor with which the small affairs of a + country village are described make <i>Cranford</i> one of the most + delightful stories in the English language. We are indebted to Mrs. + Gaskell also for the <i>Life of Charlotte Brontë</i>, which is one of our + best biographies. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11v" id="chap11v">Blackmore.</a></b> Richard Doddridge + Blackrhore (1825--1900) was a prolific writer, but he owes his fame almost + entirely to one splendid novel, <i>Lorna Doone</i>, which was published in + 1869. The scene of this fascinating romance is laid in Exmoor in the + seventeenth century. The story abounds in romantic scenes and incidents; + its descriptions of natural scenery are unsurpassed; the rhythmic language + is at times almost equal to poetry; and the whole tone of the book is + wholesome and refreshing. Altogether it would be hard to find a more + delightful romance in any language, and it well deserves the place it has + won as one of the classics of our literature. Other works of Blackmore + which will repay the reader are <i>Clara Vaughan</i> (1864), his first + novel, <i>The Maid of Sker</i> (1872), <i>Springhaven</i> (1887), <i>Perlycross</i> + (1894), and <i>Tales from the Telling House</i> (1896); but none of these, + though he counted them his best work, has met with the same favor as <i>Lorna + Doone</i>. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11w" id="chap11w">Meredith</a></b>. So much does George + Meredith (1828-1909) belong to our own day that it is difficult to think + of him as one of the Victorian novelists. His first notable work, <i>The + Ordeal of Richard Feverel</i>, was published in 1859, the same year as + George Eliot's <i>Adam Bede;</i> but it was not till the publication of <i>Diana + of the Crossways</i> in 1885, that his power as a novelist was widely + recognized. He resembles Browning not only in his condensed style, packed + with thought, but also in this respect,--that he labored for years in + obscurity, and after much of his best work was published and apparently + forgotten he slowly won the leading place in English fiction. We are still + too near him to speak of the permanence of his work, but a casual reading + of any of his novels suggests a comparison and a contrast with George + Eliot. Like her, he is a realist and a psychologist; but while George + Eliot uses tragedy to teach a moral lesson, Meredith depends more upon + comedy, making vice not terrible but ridiculous. For the hero or heroine + of her novel George Eliot invariably takes an individual, and shows in + each one the play of universal moral forces. Meredith constructs a + type-man as a hero, and makes this type express his purpose and meaning. + So his characters seldom speak naturally, as George Eliot's do; they are + more like Browning's characters in packing a whole paragraph into a single + sentence or an exclamation. On account of his enigmatic style and his + psychology, Meredith will never be popular; but by thoughtful men and + women he will probably be ranked among our greatest writers of fiction. + The simplest and easiest of his novels for a beginner is <i>The Adventures + of Henry Richmond</i> (1871). Among the best of his works, besides the two + mentioned above, are <i>Beauchamp's Career</i> (1876) and <i>The Egoist</i> + (1879). The latter is, in our personal judgment, one of the strongest and + most convincing novels of the Victorian Age. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11v2" id="chap11v2">Hardy.</a></b> Thomas Hardy (1840-) + seems, like Meredith, to belong to the present rather than to a past age, + and an interesting comparison may be drawn between these two novelists. In + style, Meredith is obscure and difficult, while Hardy is direct and + simple, aiming at realism in all things. Meredith makes man the most + important phenomenon in the universe; and the struggles of men are + brightened by the hope of victory. Hardy makes man an insignificant part + of the world, struggling against powers greater than himself,--sometimes + against systems which he cannot reach or influence, sometimes against a + kind of grim world-spirit who delights in making human affairs go wrong. + He is, therefore, hardly a realist, but rather a man blinded by pessimism; + and his novels, though generally powerful and sometimes fascinating, are + not pleasant or wholesome reading. From the reader's view point some of + his earlier works, like the idyllic love story <i>Under the Greenwood Tree</i> + (1872) and <i>A Pair of Blue Eyes</i> (1873), are the most interesting. + Hardy became noted, however, when he published <i>Far from the Madding + Crowd</i>, a book which, when it appeared anonymously in the <i>Cornhill + Magazine</i> (1874), was generally attributed to George Eliot, for the + simple reason that no other novelist was supposed to be capable of writing + it. <i>The Return of the Native</i> (1878) and <i>The Woodlanders</i> are + generally regarded as Hardy's masterpieces; but two novels of our own day, + <i>Tess of the D'Ubervilles</i> (1891) and <i>Jude the Obscure</i> (1895), + are better expressions of Hardy's literary art and of his gloomy + philosophy. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11w2" id="chap11w2">Stevenson.</a></b> In pleasing + contrast with Hardy is Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), a brave, + cheery, wholesome spirit, who has made us all braver and cheerier by what + he has written. Aside from their intrinsic value, Stevenson's novels are + interesting in this respect,--that they mark a return to the pure + romanticism of Walter Scott. The novel of the nineteenth century had, as + we have shown, a very definite purpose. It aimed not only to represent + life but to correct it, and to offer a solution to pressing moral and + social problems. At the end of the century Hardy's gloom in the face of + modern social conditions became oppressive, and Stevenson broke away from + it into that land of delightful romance in which youth finds an answer to + all its questions. Problems differ, but youth is ever the same, and + therefore Stevenson will probably be regarded by future generations as one + of our most enduring writers. To his life, with its "heroically happy" + struggle, first against poverty, then against physical illness, it is + impossible to do justice in a short article. Even a longer biography is + inadequate, for Stevenson's spirit, not the incidents of his life, is the + important thing; and the spirit has no biographer. Though he had written + much better work earlier, he first gained fame by his <i>Treasure Island</i> + (1883), an absorbing story of pirates and of a hunt for buried gold. <i>Dr. + Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i> (1886) is a profound ethical parable, in which, + however, Stevenson leaves the psychology and the minute analysis of + character to his readers, and makes the story the chief thing in his + novel. <i>Kidnapped</i> (1886), <i>The Master of Ballantrae</i> (1889), + and <i>David Balfour</i> (1893) are novels of adventure, giving us vivid + pictures of Scotch life. Two romances left unfinished by his early death + in Samoa are <i>The Weir of Hermiston</i> and <i>St. Ives</i>. The latter + was finished by Quiller-Couch in 1897; the former is happily just as + Stevenson left it, and though unfinished is generally regarded as his + masterpiece. In addition to these novels, Stevenson wrote a large number + of essays, the best of which are collected in <i>Virginibus Puerisque, + Familiar Studies of Men and Books</i>, and <i>Memories and Portraits</i>. + Delightful sketches of his travels are found in <i>An Inland Voyage</i> + (1878), <i>Travels with a Donkey</i> (1879), <i>Across the Plains</i> + (1892), and <i>The Amateur Emigrant</i> (1894). <i>Underwoods</i> (1887) + is an exquisite little volume of poetry, and <i>A Child's Garden of Verses</i> + is one of the books that mothers will always keep to read to their + children. + </p> + <p> + In all his books Stevenson gives the impression of a man at play rather + than at work, and the reader soon shares in the happy spirit of the + author. Because of his beautiful personality, and because of the love and + admiration he awakened for himself in multitudes of readers, we are + naturally inclined to exaggerate his importance as a writer. However that + may be, a study of his works shows him to be a consummate literary artist. + His style is always simple, often perfect, and both in his manner and in + his matter he exercises a profound influence, on the writers of the + present generation. + </p> + <p> + III. <a name="chap11x" id="chap11x">ESSAYISTS OF THE VICTORIAN AGE</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap11y" id="chap11y">THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY</a> (1800-1859) + </p> + <p> + Macaulay is one of the most typical figures of the nineteenth century. + Though not a great writer, if we compare him with Browning or Thackeray, + he was more closely associated than any of his literary contemporaries + with the social and political struggles of the age. While Carlyle was + proclaiming the gospel of labor, and Dickens writing novels to better the + condition of the poor, Macaulay went vigorously to work on what he thought + to be the most important task of the hour, and by his brilliant speeches + did perhaps more than any other single man to force the passage of the + famous Reform Bill. Like many of the Elizabethans, he was a practical man + of affairs rather than a literary man, and though we miss in his writings + the imagination and the spiritual insight which stamp the literary genius, + we have the impression always of a keen, practical, honest mind, which + looks at present problems in the light of past experience. Moreover, the + man himself, with his marvelous mind, his happy spirit, and his absolute + integrity of character, is an inspiration to better living. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Macaulay was born at Rothley Temple, Leicestershire, in 1800. + His father, of Scotch descent, was at one time governor of the Sierra + Leone colony for liberated negroes, and devoted a large part of his life + to the abolition of the slave trade. His mother, of Quaker parentage, was + a brilliant, sensitive woman, whose character is reflected in that of her + son. The influence of these two, and the son's loyal devotion to his + family, can best be read in Trevelyan's interesting biography. + </p> + <p> + As a child, Macaulay is strongly suggestive of Coleridge. At three years + of age he began to read eagerly; at five he "talked like a book"; at ten + he had written a compendium of universal history, besides various hymns, + verse romances, arguments for Christianity, and one ambitious epic poem. + The habit of rapid reading, begun in childhood, continued throughout his + life, and the number and vari ety of books which he read is almost + incredible. His memory was phenomenal. He could repeat long poems and + essays after a single reading; he could quote not only passages but the + greater part of many books, including <i>Pilgrim's Progress, Paradise Lost</i>, + and various novels like <i>Clarissa</i>. Once, to test his memory, he + recited two newspaper poems which he had read in a coffeehouse forty years + before, and which he had never thought of in the interval. + </p> + <p> + At twelve years of age this remarkable boy was sent to a private school at + Little Shelford, and at eighteen he eqgered Trinity College, Cambridge. + Here he made a reputation as a classical scholar and a brilliant talker, + but made a failure of his mathematics. In a letter to his mother he wrote: + "Oh for words to express my abomination of that science.... Discipline of + the mind! Say rather starvation, confinement, torture, annihilation!" We + quote this as a commentary on Macaulay's later writings, which are + frequently lacking in the exactness and the logical sequence of the + science which he detested. + </p> + <p> + After his college course Macaulay studied law, was admitted to the bar, + devoted himself largely to politics, entered Parliament in 1830, and + almost immediately won a reputation as the best debater and the most + eloquent speaker, of the Liberal or Whig party. Gladstone says of him: + "Whenever he arose to speak it was a summons like a trumpet call to fill + the benches." At the time of his election he was poor, and the loss of his + father's property threw upon him the support of his brothers and sisters; + but he took up the burden with cheerful courage, and by his own efforts + soon placed himself and his family in comfort. His political progress was + rapid, and was due not to favoritism or intrigue, but to his ability, his + hard work, and his sterling character. He was several times elected to + Parliament, was legal adviser to the Supreme Council of India, was a + member of the cabinet, and declined many offices for which other men labor + a lifetime. In 1857 his great ability and services to his country were + recognized by his being raised to the peerage with the title of Baron + Macaulay of Rothley. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el059" id="el059"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY" src="images/el059.jpg" /></a><br /> + THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY + </p> + <p> + Macaulay's literary work began in college with the contribution of various + ballads and essays to the magazines. In his later life practical affairs + claimed the greater part of his time, and his brilliant essays were + written in the early morning or late at night. His famous <i>Essay on + Milton</i> appeared in the <i>Edinburgh Review</i> in 1825. It created a + sensation, and Macaulay, having gained the ear of the public, never once + lost it during the twenty years in which he was a contributor to the + magazines. His <i>Lays of Ancient Rome</i> appeared in 1842, and in the + following year three volumes of his collected <i>Essays</i>. In 1847 he + lost his seat in Parliament, temporarily, through his zealous efforts in + behalf of religious toleration; and the loss was most fortunate, since it + gave him opportunity to begin his <i>History of England</i>,--a monumental + work which he had been planning for many years. The first two volumes + appeared in 1848, and their success can be compared only to that of the + most popular novels. The third and fourth volumes of the <i>History</i> + (1855) were even more successful, and Macaulay was hard at work on the + remaining volumes when he died, quite suddenly, in 1859. He was buried, + near Addison, in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A paragraph from + one of his letters, written at the height of his fame and influence, may + give us an insight into his life and work: + </p> + <p> + I can truly say that I have not, for many years, been so happy as I am at + present.... I am free. I am independent. I am in Parliament, as honorably + seated as man can be. My family is comfortably off. I have leisure for + literature, yet I am not reduced to the necessity of writing for money. If + I had to choose a lot from all that there are in human life, I am not sure + that I should prefer any to that which has fallen to me. I am sincerely + and thoroughly contented. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Essay on Milton</span><b>Works of Macaulay.</b> + Macaulay is famous in literature for his essays, for his martial ballads, + and for his <i>History of England</i>. His first important work, the <i>Essay + on Milton</i> (1825), is worthy of study not only for itself, as a + critical estimate of the Puritan poet, but as a key to all Macaulay's + writings. Here, first of all, is an interesting work, which, however much + we differ from the author's opinion, holds our attention and generally + makes us regret that the end comes so soon. The second thing to note is + the historical flavor of the essay. We study not only Milton, but also the + times in which he lived, and the great movements of which he was a part. + History and literature properly belong together, and Macaulay was one of + the first writers to explain the historical conditions which partly + account for a writer's work and influence. The third thing to note is + Macaulay's enthusiasm for his subject,--an enthusiasm which is often + partisan, but which we gladly share for the moment as we follow the + breathless narrative. Macaulay generally makes a hero of his man, shows + him battling against odds, and the heroic side of our own nature awakens + and responds to the author's plea. The fourth, and perhaps most + characteristic thing in the essay is the style, which is remarkably clear, + forceful, and convincing. Jeffrey, the editor of the <i>Edinburgh Review</i>, + wrote enthusiastically when he received the manuscript, "The more I think, + the less I can conceive where you picked up that style." We still share in + the editor's wonder; but the more we think, the less we conceive that such + a style could be picked up. It was partly the result of a well-stored + mind, partly of unconscious imitation of other writers, and partly of that + natural talent for clear speaking and writing which is manifest in all + Macaulay's work. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Other Essays</span>In the remaining essays we + find the same general qualities which characterize Macaulay's first + attempt. They cover a wide range of subjects, but they may be divided into + two general classes, the literary or critical, and the historical. Of the + literary essays the best are those on Milton, Addison, Goldsmith, Byron, + Dryden, Leigh Hunt, Bunyan, Bacon, and Johnson. Among the best known of + the historical essays are those on Lord Clive, Chatham, Warren Hastings, + Hallam's Constitutional History, Von Ranke's History of the Papacy, + Frederick the Great, Horace Walpole, William Pitt, Sir William Temple, + Machiavelli, and Mirabeau. Most of these were produced in the vigor of + young manhood, between 1825 and 1845, while the writer was busy with + practical affairs of state. They are often one-sided and inaccurate, but + always interesting, and from them a large number of busy people have + derived their first knowledge of history and literature. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Lays of Ancient Rome</span>The best of Macaulay's + poetical work is found in the <i>Lays of Ancient Rome</i> (1842), a + collection of ballads in the style of Scott, which sing of the old heroic + days of the Rome Roman republic. The ballad does not require much thought + or emotion. It demands clearness, vigor, enthusiasm, action; and it suited + Macaulay's genius perfectly. He was, however, much more careful than other + ballad writers in making his narrative true to tradition. The stirring + martial spirit of these ballads, their fine workmanship, and their appeal + to courage and patriotism made them instantly popular. Even to-day, after + more than fifty years, such ballads as those on Virginius and Horatius at + the Bridge are favorite pieces in many school readers. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> History of England</span>The <i>History of + England</i>, Macaulay's masterpiece, is still one of the most popular + historical works in the English language. Originally it was intended to + cover the period from the accession of James II, in 1685, to the death of + George IV, in 1830. Only five volumes of the work were finished, and so + thoroughly did Macaulay go into details that these five volumes cover only + sixteen years. It has been estimated that to complete the work on the same + scale would require some fifty volumes and the labor of one man for over a + century. + </p> + <p> + In his historical method Macaulay suggests Gibbon. His own knowledge of + history was very great, but before writing he read numberless pages, + consulted original documents, and visited the scenes which he intended to + describe. Thackeray's remark, that "Macaulay reads twenty books to write a + sentence and travels one hundred miles to make a line of description," is, + in view of his industry, a well-warranted exaggeration. + </p> + <p> + As in his literary essays, he is fond of making heroes, and he throws + himself so heartily into the spirit of the scene he is describing that his + word pictures almost startle us by their vivid reality. The story of + Monmouth's rebellion, for instance, or the trial of the seven bishops, is + as fascinating as the best chapters of Scott's historical novels. + </p> + <p> + While Macaulay's search for original sources of information suggests the + scientific historian, his use of his material is much more like that of a + novelist or playwright. In his essay on Machiavelli he writes: "The best + portraits are perhaps those in which there is a slight mixture of + caricature, and we are not certain that the best histories are not those + in which a little of the exaggeration of fictitious narrative is + judiciously employed. Something is lost in accuracy, but much is gained in + effect."<sup><a href="#fn243" name="rfn243" id="rfn243">[243]</a></sup> + Whether this estimate of historical writing be true or false, Macaulay + employed it in his own work and made his narrative as absorbing as a + novel. To all his characters he gives the reality of flesh and blood, and + in his own words he "shows us over their houses and seats us at their + tables." All that is excellent, but it has its disadvantages. In his + admiration for heroism, Macaulay makes some of his characters too good and + others too bad. In his zeal for details he misses the importance of great + movements, and of great leaders who are accustomed to ignore details; and + in his joy of describing events he often loses sight of underlying causes. + In a word, he is without historical insight, and his work, though + fascinating, is seldom placed among the reliable histories of England. + </p> + <p> + <b>General Characteristics.</b> To the reader who studies Macaulay's + brilliant essays and a few chosen chapters of his <i>History</i>, three + things soon become manifest. First, Macaulay's art is that of a public + speaker rather than that of a literary man. He has a wonderful command of + language, and he makes his meaning clear by striking phrases, vigorous + antitheses, anecdotes, and illustrations. His style is so clear that "he + who runs may read," and from beginning to end he never loses the attention + of his readers. Second, Macaulay's good spirits and enthusiasm are + contagious. As he said himself, he wrote "out of a full head," chiefly for + his own pleasure or recreation; and one who writes joyously generally + awakens a sense of pleasure in his readers. Third, Macaulay has "the + defect of his qualities." He reads and remembers so much that he has no + time to think or to form settled opinions. As Gladstone said, Macaulay is + "always conversing or recollecting or reading or composing, but reflecting + never." So he wrote his brilliant <i>Essay on Milton</i>, which took all + England by storm, and said of it afterward that it contained "scarcely a + paragraph which his mature judgment approved." Whether he speaks or + writes, he has always before him an eager audience, and he feels within + him the born orator's power to hold and fascinate. So he gives loose rein + to his enthusiasm, quotes from a hundred books, and in his delight at + entertaining us forgets that the first quality of a critical or historical + work is to be accurate, and the second to be interesting. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap11za" id="chap11za">THOMAS CARLYLE</a> (1795-1881) + </p> + <p> + In marked contrast with Macaulay, the brilliant and cheerful essayist, is + Thomas Carlyle, the prophet and censor of the nineteenth century. Macaulay + is the practical man of affairs, helping and rejoicing in the progress of + his beloved England. Carlyle lives apart from all practical interests, + looks with distrust on the progress of his age, and tells men that truth, + justice, and immortality are the only worthy objects of human endeavor. + Macaulay is delighted with material comforts; he is most at home in + brilliant and fashionable company; and he writes, even when ill and + suffering, with unfailing hopefulness and good nature. Carlyle is like a + Hebrew prophet just in from the desert, and the burden of his message is, + "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion!" Both men are, in different ways, + typical of the century, and somewhere between the two extremes--the + practical, helpful activity of Macaulay and the spiritual agony and + conflict of Carlyle--we shall find the measure of an age which has left + the deepest impress upon our own. + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:50%;"> + <img src="images/{0569}.jpg" alt="{0569}" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <h5> + <a href="images/{0569}.jpg"> <img src="images/enlarge.jpg" alt="" /> </a> + </h5> + <p> + <b>Life of Carlyle.</b> Carlyle was born at Ecclefechan, Dumfriesshire, in + 1795, a few months before Burns's death, and before Scott had published + his first work. Like Burns, he came of peasant stock,--strong, simple, + God-fearing folk, whose influence in Carlyle's later life is beyond + calculation. Of his mother he says, "She was too mild and peaceful for the + planet she lived in"; and of his father, a stone mason, he writes, "Could + I write my books as he built his houses, walk my way so manfully through + this shadow world, and leave it with so little blame, it were more than + all my hopes." + </p> + <p> + Of Carlyle's early school life we have some interesting glimpses in <i>Sartor + Resartus</i>. At nine years he entered the Annan grammar school, where he + was bullied by the older boys, who nicknamed him Tom the Tearful. For the + teachers of those days he has only ridicule, calling them "hide-bound + pedants," and he calls the school by the suggestive German name of <i>Hinterschlag + Gymnasium</i>. At the wish of his parents, who intended Carlyle for the + ministry, he endured this hateful school life till 1809, when he entered + Edinburgh University. There he spent five miserable years, of which his + own record is: "I was without friends, experience, or connection in the + sphere of human business, was of sly humor, proud enough and to spare, and + had begun my long curriculum of dyspepsia." This nagging illness was the + cause of much of that irritability of temper which frequently led him to + scold the public, and for which he has been harshly handled by unfriendly + critics. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el060" id="el060"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH" src="images/el060.jpg" /></a><br /> + UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH + </p> + <p> + The period following his university course was one of storm and stress for + Carlyle. Much to the grief of the father whom he loved, he had given up + the idea of entering the ministry. Wherever he turned, doubts like a thick + fog surrounded him,--doubts of God, of his fellow-men, of human progress, + of himself. He was poor, and to earn an honest living was his first + problem. He tried successively teaching school, tutoring, the study of + law, and writing miscellaneous articles for the <i>Edinburgh Encyclopedia</i>. + All the while he was fighting his doubts, living, as he says, "in a + continual, indefinite, pining fear." After six or seven years of mental + agony, which has at times a suggestion of Bunyan's spiritual struggle, the + crisis came in 1821, when Carlyle suddenly shook off his doubts and found + himself. "All at once," he says in <i>Sartor</i>, "there arose a thought + in me, and I asked myself: 'What <i>Art</i> thou afraid of? Wherefore like + a coward dost thou forever pip and whimper, and go cowering and trembling? + Despicable biped! What is the sum total of the worst that lies before + thee? Death? Well, Death; and say the pangs of Tophet too, and all that + the Devil and Man may, will, or can do against thee! Hast thou not a + heart; canst thou not suffer whatsoever it be; and, as a Child of Freedom, + though outcast, trample Tophet itself under thy feet, while it consumes + thee? Let it come then; I will meet it and defy it!' And as I so thought, + there rushed like a stream of fire over my whole soul; and I shook base + Fear away from me forever." This struggle between fear and faith, and the + triumph of the latter, is recorded in two remarkable chapters, "The + Everlasting No" and "The Everlasting Yea," of <i>Sartor Resartus</i>. + </p> + <p> + Carlyle now definitely resolved on a literary life, and began with any + work that offered a bare livelihood. He translated Legendre's <i>Geometry</i> + from the French, wrote numerous essays for the magazines, and continued + his study of German while making translations from that language. His + translation of Goethe's <i>Wilhelm Meister</i> Appeared in 1824, his <i>Life + of Schiller</i> in 1825, and his <i>Specimens of German Romance</i> in + 1827. He began at this time a correspondence with Goethe, his literary + hero, which lasted till the German poet's death in 1832. While still busy + with "hack work," Carlyle, in 1826, married Jane Welsh, a brilliant and + beautiful woman, whose literary genius almost equaled that of her husband. + Soon afterwards, influenced chiefly by poverty, the Carlyles retired to a + farm, at Craigen-puttoch (Hawks' Hill), a dreary and lonely spot, far from + friends and even neighbors. They remained here six years, during which + time Carlyle wrote many of his best essays, and <i>Sartor Resartus</i>, + his most original work. The latter went begging among publishers for two + years, and was finally published serially in <i>Fraser's Magazine</i>, in + 1833-1834. By this time Carlyle had begun to attract attention as a + writer, and, thinking that one who made his living by the magazines should + be in close touch with the editors, took his wife's advice and moved to + London "to seek work and bread." He settled in Cheyne Row, Chelsea,--a + place made famous by More, Erasmus, Bolingbroke, Smollett, Leigh Hunt, and + many lesser lights of literature,--and began to enjoy the first real peace + he had known since childhood. In 1837 appeared <i>The French Revolution</i>, + which first made Carlyle famous; and in the same year, led by the + necessity of earning money, he began the series of lectures--<i>German. + Literature</i> (1837), <i>Periods of European Culture</i> (1838), <i>Revolutions + of Modern Europe</i> (1839), <i>Heroes and Hero Worship</i> (1841)--which + created a sensation in London. "It was," says Leigh Hunt, "as if some + Puritan had come to life again, liberalized by German philosophy and his + own intense reflection and experience." + </p> + <p> + Though Carlyle set himself against the spirit of his age, calling the + famous Reform Bill a "progress into darkness," and democracy "the rule of + the worst rather than the best," his rough sincerity was unquestioned, and + his remarks were more quoted than those of any other living man. He was + supported, moreover, by a rare circle of friends,--Edward Irving, Southey, + Sterling, Landor, Leigh Hunt, Dickens, Mill, Tennyson, Browning, and, most + helpful of all, Emerson, who had visited Carlyle at Craigenputtoch in + 1833. It was due largely to Emerson's influence that Carlyle's works were + better appreciated, and brought better financial rewards, in America than + in England. + </p> + <p> + Carlyle's fame reached its climax in the monumental <i>History of + Frederick the Great</i> (1858-1865), published after thirteen years of + solitary toil, which, in his own words, "made entire devastation of home + life and happiness." The proudest moment of his life was when he was + elected to succeed Gladstone as lord rector of Edinburgh University, in + 1865, the year in which <i>Frederick the Great</i> was finished. In the + midst of his triumph, and while he was in Scotland to deliver his + inaugural address, his happiness was suddenly destroyed by the death of + his wife,--a terrible blow, from which he never recovered. He lived on for + fifteen years, shorn of his strength and interest in life; and his closing + hours were like the dull sunset of a November day. Only as we remember his + grief and remorse at the death of the companion who had shared his toil + but not his triumph, can we understand the sorrow that pervades the pages + of his <i>Reminiscences</i>. He died in 1881, and at his own wish was + buried, not in Westminster Abbey, but among his humble kinsfolk in + Ecclefechan. However much we may differ from his philosophy or regret the + harshness of his minor works, we shall probably all agree in this + sentiment from one of his own letters,--that the object of all his + struggle and writing was "that men should find out and believe the truth, + and match their lives to it." + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Carlyle.</b> There are two widely different judgments of + Carlyle as a man and a writer. The first, which is founded largely on his + minor writings, like <i>Chartism, Latter-Day Pamphlets</i>, and <i>Shooting + Niagara</i>, declares that he is a misanthrope and dyspeptic with a + barbarous style of writing; that he denounces progress, democracy, + science, America, Darwin,--everybody and everything that he does not + understand; that his literary opinions are largely prejudices; that he + began as a prophet and ended as a scold; and that in denouncing shams of + every sort he was something of a sham himself, since his practice was not + in accord with his own preaching. The second judgment, which is founded + upon <i>Heroes and Hero Worship, Cromwell</i>, and <i>Sartor Resartus</i>, + declares that these works are the supreme manifestation of genius; that + their rugged, picturesque style makes others look feeble or colorless by + comparison; and that the author is the greatest teacher, leader, and + prophet of the nineteenth century. + </p> + <p> + Somewhere between these two extremes will be found the truth about + Carlyle. We only note here that, while there are some grounds for the + first unfavorable criticism, we are to judge an author by his best rather + than by his worst work; and that a man's aims as well as his + accomplishments must be taken into consideration. As it is written, + "Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst + well that it was in thine heart." Whatever the defects of Carlyle and his + work, in his heart he was always planning a house or temple to the God of + truth and justice. + </p> + <p> + Carlyle's important works may be divided into three general + classes,--critical and literary essays, historical works, and <i>Sartor + Resartus</i>, the last being in a class by itself, since there is nothing + like it in literature. To these should be added a biography, the admirable + <i>Life of John Sterling</i>, and Carlyle's <i>Letters</i> and <i>Reminiscences</i>, + which are more interesting and suggestive than some of his better known + works. We omit here all consideration of translations, and his intemperate + denunciations of men and institutions in <i>Chartism, Latter-Day Pamphlets</i>, + and other essays, which add nothing to the author's fame or influence. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Essay on Burns</span>Of the essays, which are all + characterized by Carlyle's zeal to get at the heart of things, and to + reveal the soul rather than the works of a writer, the best are those on + "Burns," "Scott," "Novalis," "Goethe," "Characteristics," "Signs of the + Times," and "Boswell's Life of Johnson."<sup><a href="#fn244" name="rfn244" + id="rfn244">[244]</a></sup> In the famous <i>Essay on Burns</i>, which is + generally selected for special study, we note four significant things: (1) + Carlyle is peculiarly well fitted for his task, having many points in + common with his hero. (2) In most of his work Carlyle, by his style and + mannerisms and positive opinions, generally attracts our attention away + from his subject; but in this essay he shows himself capable of forgetting + himself for a moment. To an unusual extent he sticks to his subject, and + makes us think of Burns rather than of Carlyle. The style, though + unpolished, is fairly simple and readable, and is free from the breaks, + crudities, ejaculations, and general "nodulosities" which disfigure much + of his work. (3) Carlyle has an original and interesting theory of + biography and criticism. The object of criticism is to show the man + himself, his aims, ideals, and outlook on the universe; the object of + biography is "to show what and how produced was the effect of society upon + him; what and how produced was his effect on society." (4) Carlyle is + often severe, even harsh, in his estimates of other men, but in this case + the tragedy of Burns's "life of fragments" attracts and softens him. He + grows enthusiastic and--a rare thing for Carlyle--apologizes for his + enthusiasm in the striking sentence, "We love Burns, and we pity him; and + love and pity are prone to magnify." So he gives us the most tender and + appreciative of his essays, and one of the most illuminating criticisms of + Burns that has appeared in our language. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Heroes and Hero Worship</span>The central idea of + Carlyle's historical works is found in his <i>Heroes and Hero Worship</i> + (1841), his most widely read book. "Universal history," he says, "is at + bottom the history of the great men who have worked here." To get at the + truth of history we must study not movements but men, and read not state + papers but the biographies of heroes. His summary of history as presented + in this work has six divisions: (1) The Hero as Divinity, having for its + general subject Odin, the "type Norseman," who, Carlyle thinks, was some + old heroic chief, afterwards deified by his countrymen; (2) The Hero as + Prophet, treating of Mahomet and the rise of Islam; (3) The Hero as Poet, + in which Dante and Shakespeare are taken as types; (4) The Hero as Priest, + or religious leader, in which Luther appears as the hero of the + Reformation, and Knox as the hero of Puritanism; (5) The Hero as Man of + Letters, in which we have the curious choice of Johnson, Rousseau, and + Burns; (6) The Hero as King, in which Cromwell and Napoleon appear as the + heroes of reform by revolution. + </p> + <p> + It is needless to say that <i>Heroes</i> is not a book of history; neither + is it scientifically written in the manner of Gibbon. With science in any + form Carlyle had no patience; and he miscalculated the value of that + patient search for facts and evidence which science undertakes before + building any theories, either of kings or cabbages. The book, therefore, + abounds in errors; but they are the errors of carelessness and are perhaps + of small consequence. His misconception of history, however, is more + serious. With the modern idea of history, as the growth of freedom among + all classes, he has no sympathy. The progress of democracy was to him an + evil thing, a "turning of the face towards darkness and anarchy." At + certain periods, according to Carlyle, God sends us geniuses, sometimes as + priests or poets, sometimes as soldiers or statesmen; but in whatever + guise they appear, these are our real rulers. He shows, moreover, that + whenever such men appear, multitudes follow them, and that a man's + following is a sure index of his heroism and kingship. + </p> + <p> + Whether we agree with Carlyle or not, we must accept for the moment his + peculiar view of history, else <i>Heroes</i> can never open its treasures + to us. The book abounds in startling ideas, expressed with originality and + power, and is pervaded throughout by an atmosphere of intense moral + earnestness. The more we read it, the more we find to admire and to + remember. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> French Revolution</span>Carlyle's <i>French + Revolution</i> (1837) is to be taken more seriously as a historical work; + but here again his hero worship comes to the front, and his book is a + series of flashlights thrown upon men in dramatic situations, rather than + a tracing of causes to their consequences. The very titles of his + chapters--"Astraea Redux," "Windbags," "Broglie the War God"--do violence + to our conception of history, and are more suggestive of Carlyle's + individualism than of French history. He is here the preacher rather than + the historian; his text is the eternal justice; and his message is that + all wrongdoing is inevitably followed by vengeance. His method is + intensely dramatic. From a mass of historical details he selects a few + picturesque incidents and striking figures, and his vivid pictures of the + storming of the Bastille, the rush of the mob to Versailles, the death of + Louis XVI, and the Reign of Terror, seem like the work of an eyewitness + describing some terrible catastrophe. At times, as it portrays Danton, + Robespierre, and the great characters of the tragedy, Carlyle's work is + suggestive of an historical play of Shakespeare; and again, as it + describes the rush and riot of men led by elemental passion, it is more + like a great prose epic. Though not a reliable history in any sense, it is + one of the most dramatic and stirring narratives in our language. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Oliver Cromwell</span>Two other historical works + deserve at least a passing notice. The <i>History of Frederick the Great</i> + (1858-1865), in six volumes, is a colossal picture of the life and times + of the hero of the Prussian Empire. <i>Oliver Cromwell's Letters and + Speeches</i> is, in our personal judgment, Carlyle's best historical work. + His idea is to present the very soul of the great Puritan leader. He gives + us, as of first importance, Cromwell's own words, and connects them by a + commentary in which other men and events are described with vigor and + vividness. Cromwell was one of Carlyle's greatest heroes, and in this case + he is most careful to present the facts which occasion his own enthusiasm. + The result is, on the whole, the most lifelike picture of a great + historical character that we possess. Other historians had heaped calumny + upon Cromwell till the English public regarded him with prejudice and + horror; and it is an indication of Carlyle's power that by a single book + he revolutionized England's opinion of one of her greatest men. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Sartor Resartus</span>Carlyle's <i>Sartor + Resartus</i> (1834), his only creative work, is a mixture of philosophy + and romance, of wisdom and nonsense,--a chaotic jumble of the author's + thoughts, feelings, and experiences during the first thirty-five years of + his life. The title, which means "The Tailor Patched-up," is taken from an + old Scotch song. The hero is Diogenes Teufelsdroeckh, a German professor + at the University of Weissnichtwo (don't know where); the narrative + concerns this queer professor's life and opinions; and the central thought + of the book is the philosophy of clothes, which are considered + symbolically as the outward expression of spirit. Thus, man's body is the + outward garment of his soul, and the universe is the visible garment of + the invisible God. The arrangement of <i>Sartor</i> is clumsy and hard to + follow. In order to leave himself free to bring in everything he thought + about, Carlyle assumed the position of one who was translating and editing + the old professor's manuscripts, which are supposed to consist of numerous + sheets stuffed into twelve paper bags, each labeled with a sign of the + zodiac. The editor pretends to make order out of this chaos; but he is + free to jump from one subject to another and to state the most startling + opinion by simply using quotation marks and adding a note that he is not + responsible for Teufelsdroeckh's crazy notions,--which are in reality + Carlyle's own dreams and ideals. Partly because of the matter, which is + sometimes incoherent, partly because of the style, which, though + picturesque, is sometimes confused and ungrammatical, <i>Sartor</i> is not + easy reading; but it amply repays whatever time and study we give to it. + Many of its passages are more like poetry than prose; and one cannot read + such chapters as "The Everlasting No," "The Everlasting Yea," + "Reminiscences," and "Natural Supernaturalism," and be quite the same man + afterwards; for Carlyle's thought has entered into him, and he walks + henceforth more gently, more reverently through the world, as in the + presence of the Eternal. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Carlyle's Style</span><b>General Characteristics.</b> + Concerning Carlyle's style there are almost as many opinions as there are + readers. This is partly because he impresses different people in widely + different ways, and partly because his expression varies greatly. At times + he is calm, persuasive, grimly humorous, as if conversing; at other times, + wildly exclamatory, as if he were shouting and waving his arms at the + reader. We have spoken of Macaulay's style as that of the finished orator, + and we might reasonably speak of Carlyle's as that of the exhorter, who + cares little for methods so long as he makes a strong impression on his + hearers. "Every sentence is alive to its finger tips," writes a modern + critic; and though Carlyle often violates the rules of grammar and + rhetoric, we can well afford to let an original genius express his own + intense conviction in his own vivid and picturesque way. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> His Message</span>Carlyle's message may be summed + up in two imperatives,--labor, and be sincere. He lectured and wrote + chiefly for the upper classes who had begun to think, somewhat + sentimentally, of the conditions of the laboring men of the world; and he + demanded for the latter, not charity or pity, but justice and honor. All + labor, whether of head or hand, is divine; and labor alone justifies a man + as a son of earth and heaven. To society, which Carlyle thought to be + occupied wholly with conventional affairs, he came with the stamp of + sincerity, calling upon men to lay aside hypocrisy and to think and speak + and live the truth. He had none of Addison's delicate satire and humor, + and in his fury at what he thought was false he was generally + unsympathetic and often harsh; but we must not forget that Thackeray--who + knew society much better than did Carlyle--gave a very unflattering + picture of it in <i>Vanity Fair</i> and <i>The Book of Snobs</i>. + Apparently the age needed plain speaking, and Carlyle furnished it in + scripture measure. Harriet Martineau, who knew the world for which Carlyle + wrote, summed up his influence when she said that he had "infused into the + mind of the English nation ... sincerity, earnestness, healthfulness, and + courage." If we add to the above message Carlyle's conceptions of the + world as governed by a God of justice who never forgets, and of human + history as "an inarticulate Bible," slowly revealing the divine purpose, + we shall understand better the force of his ethical appeal and the + profound influence he exercised on the moral and intellectual life of the + past century. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap11zb" id="chap11zb">JOHN RUSKIN</a> (1819-1900) + </p> + <p> + In approaching the study of Ruskin we are to remember, first of all, that + we are dealing with a great and good man, who is himself more inspiring + than any of his books. In some respects he is like his friend Carlyle, + whose disciple he acknowledged himself to be; but he is broader in his + sympathies, and in every way more hopeful, helpful, and humane. Thus, in + the face of the drudgery and poverty of the competitive system, Carlyle + proposed, with the grim satire of Swift's "Modest Proposal," to organize + an annual hunt in which successful people should shoot the unfortunate, + and to use the game for the support of the army and navy. Ruskin, facing + the same problem, wrote: "I will endure it no longer quietly; but + henceforward, with any few or many who will help, do my best to abate this + misery." Then, leaving the field of art criticism, where he was the + acknowledged leader, he begins to write of labor and justice; gives his + fortune in charity, in establishing schools and libraries; and founds his + St. George's Guild of workingmen, to put in practice the principles of + brotherhood and cooperation for which he and Carlyle contended. Though his + style marks him as one of the masters of English prose, he is generally + studied not as a literary man but as an ethical teacher, and we shall + hardly appreciate his works unless we see behind every book the figure of + the heroically sincere man who wrote it. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Ruskin was born in London, in 1819. His father was a + prosperous wine merchant who gained a fortune in trade, and who spent his + leisure hours in the company of good books and pictures. On his tombstone + one may still read this inscription written by Ruskin: "He was an entirely + honest merchant and his memory is to all who keep it dear and helpful. His + son, whom he loved to the uttermost and taught to speak truth, says this + of him." Ruskin's mother, a devout and somewhat austere woman, brought her + son up with Puritanical strictness, not forgetting Solomon's injunction + that "the rod and reproof give wisdom." + </p> + <p> + Of Ruskin's early years at Herne Hill, on the outskirts of London, it is + better to read his own interesting record in <i>Praeterita</i>. It was in + some respects a cramped and lonely childhood, but certain things which + strongly molded his character are worthy of mention. First, he was taught + by word and example in all things to speak the truth, and he never forgot + the lesson. Second, he had few toys, and spent much time in studying the + leaves, the flowers, the grass, the clouds, even the figures and colors of + the carpet, and so laid the foundation for that minute and accurate + observation which is manifest in all his writings. Third, he was educated + first by his mother, then by private tutors, and so missed the discipline + of the public schools. The influence of this lonely training is evident in + all his work. Like Carlyle, he is often too positive and dogmatic,--the + result of failing to test his work by the standards of other men of his + age. Fourth, he was obliged to read the Bible every day and to learn long + passages verbatim. The result of this training was, he says, "to make + every word of the Scriptures familiar to my ear in habitual music." We can + hardly read a page of his later work without finding some reflection of + the noble simplicity or vivid imagery of the sacred records. Fifth, he + traveled much with his father and mother, and his innate love of nature + was intensified by what he saw on his leisurely journeys through the most + beautiful parts of England and the Continent. + </p> + <p> + Ruskin entered Christ Church College, Oxford, in 1836, when only seventeen + years old. He was at this time a shy, sensitive boy, a lover of nature and + of every art which reflects nature, but almost entirely ignorant of the + ways of boys and men. An attack of consumption, with which he had long + been threatened, caused him to leave Oxford in 1840, and for nearly two + years he wandered over Italy searching for health and cheerfulness, and + gathering materials for the first volume of <i>Modern Painters</i>, the + book that made him famous. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el062" id="el062"><img width="50%" alt="Illustration: JOHN RUSKIN" + src="images/el062.jpg" /></a><br /> JOHN RUSKIN + </p> + <p> + Ruskin's literary work began in childhood, when he was encouraged to write + freely in prose and poetry. A volume of poems illustrated by his own + drawings was published in 1859, after he had won fame as a prose writer, + but, save for the drawings, it is of small importance. The first volume of + <i>Modern Painters</i> (1843) was begun as a heated defense of the artist + Turner, but it developed into an essay on art as a true picture of nature, + "not only in her outward aspect but in her inward spirit." The work, which + was signed simply "Oxford Graduate," aroused a storm of mingled approval + and protest; but however much critics warred over its theories of art, all + were agreed that the unknown author was a master of descriptive prose. + Ruskin now made frequent trips to the art galleries of the Continent, and + produced four more volumes of <i>Modern Painters</i> during the next + seventeen years. Meanwhile he wrote other books,--<i>Seven Lamps of + Architecture</i> (1849), <i>Stones of Venice</i> (1851-1853), <i>Pre-Raphaelitism</i>, + and numerous lectures and essays, which gave him a place in the world of + art similar to that held by Matthew Arnold in the world of letters. In + 1869 he was appointed professor of art at Oxford, a position which greatly + increased his prestige and influence, not only among students but among a + great variety of people who heard his lectures and read his published + works. <i>Lectures on Art, Aratra Pentelici</i> (lectures on sculpture), + <i>Ariadne Florentina</i> (lectures on engraving), <i>Michael Angela and + Tintoret, The Art of England, Val d'Arno</i> (lectures on Tuscan art), <i>St. + Mark's Rest</i> (a history of Venice), <i>Mornings in Florence</i> + (studies in Christian art, now much used as a guidebook to the picture + galleries of Florence), <i>The Laws of Fiesole</i> (a treatise on drawing + and painting for schools), <i>Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, Pleasures of + England</i>,--all these works on art show Ruskin's literary industry. And + we must also record <i>Love's Meinie</i> (a study of birds), <i>Proserpina</i> + (a study of flowers), <i>Deucalion</i> (a study of waves and stones), + besides various essays on political economy which indicate that Ruskin, + like Arnold, had begun to consider the practical problems of his age. + </p> + <p> + At the height of his fame, in 1860, Ruskin turned for a time from art, to + consider questions of wealth and labor,--terms which were used glibly by + the economists of the age without much thought for their fundamental + meaning. "There is no wealth but life," announced Ruskin,--"life, + including all its powers of love, of joy, and of admiration. That country + is the richest which nourishes the greatest number of noble and happy + human beings." Such a doctrine, proclaimed by Goldsmith in his <i>Deserted + Village</i>, was regarded as a pretty sentiment, but coming from one of + the greatest leaders and teachers of England it was like a bombshell. + Ruskin wrote four essays establishing this doctrine and pleading for a + more socialistic form of government in which reform might be possible. The + essays were published in the <i>Cornhill Magazine</i>, of which Thackeray + was editor, and they aroused such a storm that the publication was + discontinued. Ruskin then published the essays in book form, with the + title <i>Unto This Last</i>, in 1862. <i>Munera Pulveris</i> (1862) was + another work in which the principles of capital and labor and the evils of + the competitive system were discussed in such a way that the author was + denounced as a visionary or a madman. Other works of this practical period + are <i>Time and Tide, Fors Clavigera, Sesame and Lilies</i>, and the <i>Crown + of Wild Olive</i>. + </p> + <p> + The latter part of Ruskin's life was a time of increasing sadness, due + partly to the failure of his plans, and partly to public attacks upon his + motives or upon his sanity. He grew bitter at first, as his critics + ridiculed or denounced his principles, and at times his voice is as + querulous as that of Carlyle. We are to remember, however, the conditions + under which he struggled. His health had been shattered by successive + attacks of disease; he had been disappointed in love; his marriage was + unhappy; and his work seemed a failure. He had given nearly all his + fortune in charity, and the poor were more numerous than ever before. His + famous St. George's Guild was not successful, and the tyranny of the + competitive system seemed too deeply rooted to be overthrown. On the death + of his mother he left London and, in 1879, retired to Brantwood, on + Coniston Lake, in the beautiful region beloved of Wordsworth. Here he + passed the last quiet years of his life under the care of his cousin, Mrs. + Severn, the "angel of the house," and wrote, at Professor Norton's + suggestion, <i>Praeterita</i>, one of his most interesting books, in which + he describes the events of his youth from his own view point. He died + quietly in 1900, and was buried, as he wished, without funeral pomp or + public ceremony, in the little churchyard at Coniston. + </p> + <p> + <b>Works of Ruskin.</b> There are three little books which, in popular + favor, stand first on the list of Ruskin's numerous works,--<i>Ethics-of-the-Dust</i>, + a series of Lectures to Little Housewives, which appeals most to women; <i>Crown + of Wild Olive</i>, three lectures on Work, Traffic, and War, which appeals + to thoughtful men facing the problems of work and duty; and <i>Sesame and + Lilies</i>, which appeals to men and women alike. The last is the most + widely known of Ruskin's works and the best with which to begin our + reading. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Sesame and Lilies</span>The first thing we notice + in <i>Sesame and Lilies</i> is the symbolical title. "Sesame," taken from + the story of the robbers' cave in the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, means a + secret word or talisman which unlocks a treasure house. It was intended, + no doubt, to introduce the first part of the work, called "Of Kings' + Treasuries," which treats of books and reading. "Lilies," taken from + Isaiah as a symbol of beauty, purity, and peace, introduces the second + lecture, "Of Queens' Gardens," which is an exquisite study of woman's life + and education. These two lectures properly constitute the book, but a + third is added, on "The Mystery of Life." The last begins in a monologue + upon his own failures in life, and is pervaded by an atmosphere of + sadness, sometimes of pessimism, quite different from the spirit of the + other two lectures. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Kings' Treasuries</span>Though the theme of the + first lecture is books, Ruskin manages to present to his audience his + whole philosophy of life. He gives us, with a wealth of detail, a + description of what constitutes a real book; he looks into the meaning of + words, and teaches us how to read, using a selection from Milton's <i>Lycidas</i> + as an illustration. This study of words gives us the key with which we are + to unlock "Kings' Treasuries," that is, the books which contain the + precious thoughts of the kingly minds of all ages. He shows the real + meaning and end of education, the value of labor and of a purpose in life; + he treats of nature, science, art, literature, religion; he defines the + purpose of government, showing that soul-life, not money or trade, is the + measure of national greatness; and he criticises the general injustice of + his age, quoting a heartrending story of toil and suffering from the + newspapers to show how close his theory is to daily needs. Here is an + astonishing variety in a small compass; but there is no confusion. + Ruskin's mind was wonderfully analytical, and one subject develops + naturally from the other. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Of Queens' Gardens</span>In the second lecture, + "Of Queens' Gardens," he considers the question of woman's place and + education, which Tennyson had attempted to answer in <i>The Princess</i>. + Ruskin's theory is that the purpose of all education is to acquire power + to bless and to redeem human society; and that in this noble work woman + must always play the leading part. He searches all literature for + illustrations, and his description of literary heroines, especially of + Shakespeare's perfect women, is unrivaled. Ruskin is always at his best in + writing of women or for women, and the lofty idealism of this essay, + together with its rare beauty of expression, makes it, on the whole, the + most delightful and inspiring of his works. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Unto This Last</span>Among Ruskin's practical + works the reader will find in <i>Fors Clavigera</i>, a series of letters + to workingmen, and <i>Unto This Last</i>, four essays on the principles of + political economy, the substance of his economic teachings. In the latter + work, starting with the proposition that our present competitive system + centers about the idea of wealth, Ruskin tries to find out what wealth is; + and the pith of his teaching is this,--that men are of more account than + money; that a man's real wealth is found in his soul; not in his pocket; + and that the prime object of life and labor is "the producing of as many + as possible full-breathed, bright-eyed, and happy-hearted human + creatures." To make this ideal practical, Ruskin makes four suggestions: + (1) that training schools be established to teach young men and women + three things,--the laws and practice of health, habits of gentleness and + justice, and the trade or calling by which they are to live; (2) that the + government establish farms and workshops for the production of all the + necessaries of life, where only good and honest work shall be tolerated + and where a standard of work and wages shall be maintained; (3) that any + person out of employment shall be received at the nearest government + school: if ignorant he shall be educated, and if competent to do any work + he shall have the opportunity to do it; (4) that comfortable homes be + provided for the sick and for the aged, and that this be done in justice, + not in charity. A laborer serves his country as truly as does a soldier or + a statesman, and a pension should be no more disgraceful in one case than + in the other. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Works on Art</span>Among Ruskin's numerous books + treating of art, we recommend the <i>Seven Lamps of Architecture</i> + (1849), <i>Stones of Venice</i> (1851-1853), and the first two volumes of + <i>Modern Painters</i> (1843-1846). With Ruskin's art theories, which, as + Sydney Smith prophesied, "worked a complete revolution in the world of + taste," we need not concern ourselves here. We simply point out four + principles that are manifest in all his work: (1) that the object of art, + as of every other human endeavor, is to find and to express the truth; (2) + that art, in order to be true, must break away from conventionalities and + copy nature; (3) that morality is closely allied with art, and that a + careful study of any art reveals the moral strength or weakness of the + people that produced it; (4) that the main purpose of art is not to + delight a few cultured people but to serve the daily uses of common life. + "The giving brightness to pictures is much," he says, "but the giving + brightness to life is more." In this attempt to make art serve the + practical ends of life, Ruskin is allied with all the great writers of the + period, who use literature as the instrument of human progress. + </p> + <p> + <b>General Characteristics</b>. One who reads Ruskin is in a state of mind + analogous to that of a man who goes through a picture gallery, pausing now + to admire a face or a landscape for its own sake, and again to marvel at + the technical skill of the artist, without regard to his subject. For + Ruskin is a great literary artist and a great ethical teacher, and we + admire one page for its style, and the next for its message to humanity. + The best of his prose, which one may find in the descriptive passages of + <i>Præterita</i> and <i>Modern Painters</i>, is written in a richly + ornate style, with a wealth of figures and allusions, and at times a + rhythmic, melodious quality which makes it almost equal to poetry. Ruskin + had a rare sensitiveness to beauty in every form, and more, perhaps, than + any other writer in our language, he has helped us to see and appreciate + the beauty of the world around us. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Ethical Teaching</span>As for Ruskin's ethical + teaching, it appears in so many forms and in so many different works that + any summary must appear inadequate. For a full half century he was "the + apostle of beauty" in England, and the beauty for which he pleaded was + never sensuous or pagan, as in the Renaissance, but always spiritual, + appealing to the soul of man rather than to his eyes, leading to better + work and better living. In his economic essays Ruskin is even more + directly and positively ethical. To mitigate the evils of the unreasonable + competitive system under which we labor and sorrow; to bring master and + man together in mutual trust and helpfulness; to seek beauty, truth, + goodness as the chief ends of life, and, having found them, to make our + characters correspond; to share the best treasures of art and literature + with rich and poor alike; to labor always, and, whether we work with hand + or head, to do our work in praise of something that we love,--this sums up + Ruskin's purpose and message. And the best of it is that, like Chaucer's + country parson, he practiced his doctrine before he preached it. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap11zc" id="chap11zc">MATTHEW ARNOLD</a> (1822-1888) + </p> + <p> + In the world of literature Arnold has occupied for many years an + authoritative position as critic and teacher, similar to that held by + Ruskin in the world of art. In his literary work two very different moods + are manifest. In his poetry he reflects the doubt of an age which + witnessed the conflict between science and revealed religion. Apparently + he never passed through any such decisive personal struggle as is recorded + in <i>Sartor Resartus</i>, and he has no positive conviction such as is + voiced in "The Everlasting Yea." He is beset by doubts which he never + settles, and his poems generally express sorrow or regret or resignation. + In his prose he shows the cavalier spirit,--aggressive, light-hearted, + self-confident. Like Carlyle, he dislikes shams, and protests against what + he calls the barbarisms of society; but he writes with a light touch, + using satire and banter as the better part of his argument. Carlyle + denounces with the zeal of a Hebrew prophet, and lets you know that you + are hopelessly lost if you reject his message. Arnold is more like the + cultivated Greek; his voice is soft, his speech suave, but he leaves the + impression, if you happen to differ with him, that you must be deficient + in culture. Both these men, so different in spirit and methods, confronted + the same problems, sought the same ends, and were dominated by the same + moral sincerity. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life</b>. Arnold was born in Laleham, in the valley of the Thames, in + 1822. His father was Dr. Thomas Arnold, head master of Rugby, with whom + many of us have grown familiar by reading <i>Tom Brown's School Days</i>. + After fitting for the university at Winchester and at Rugby, Arnold + entered Balliol College, Oxford, where he was distinguished by winning + prizes in poetry and by general excellence in the classics. More than any + other poet Arnold reflects the spirit of his university. "The + Scholar-Gipsy" and "Thyrsis" contain many references to Oxford and the + surrounding country, but they are more noticeable for their spirit of + aloofness,--as if Oxford men were too much occupied with classic dreams + and ideals to concern themselves with the practical affairs of life. + </p> + <p> + After leaving the university Arnold first taught the classics at Rugby; + then, in 1847, he became private secretary to Lord Lansdowne, who + appointed the young poet to the position of inspector of schools under the + government. In this position Arnold worked patiently for the next + thirty-five years, traveling about the country, examining teachers, and + correcting endless examination papers. For ten years (1857-1867) he was + professor of poetry at Oxford, where his famous lectures <i>On Translating + Homer</i> were given. He made numerous reports on English and foreign + schools, and was three times sent abroad to study educational methods on + the Continent. From this it will be seen that Arnold led a busy, often a + laborious life, and we can appreciate his statement that all his best + literary work was done late at night, after a day of drudgery. It is well + to remember that, while Carlyle was preaching about labor, Arnold labored + daily; that his work was cheerfully and patiently done; and that after the + day's work he hurried away, like Lamb, to the Elysian fields of + literature. He was happily married, loved his home, and especially loved + children, was free from all bitterness and envy, and, notwithstanding his + cold manner, was at heart sincere, generous, and true. We shall appreciate + his work better if we can see the man himself behind all that he has + written. + </p> + <p> + Arnold's literary work divides itself into three periods, which we may + call the poetical, the critical, and the practical. He had written poetry + since his school days, and his first volume, <i>The Strayed Reveller and + Other Poems</i>, appeared anonymously in 1849. Three years later he + published <i>Empedocles on Etna and other Poems;</i> but only a few copies + of these volumes were sold, and presently both were withdrawn from + circulation. In 1853-1855 he published his signed <i>Poems</i>, and twelve + years later appeared his last volume of poetry. Compared with the early + work of Tennyson, these works met with little favor, and Arnold + practically abandoned poetry in favor of critical writing. + </p> + <p> + The chief works of his critical period are the lectures <i>On Translating + Homer</i> (1861) and the two volumes of <i>Essays in Criticism</i> + (1865-1888), which made Arnold one of the best known literary men in + England. Then, like Ruskin, he turned to practical questions, and his <i>Friendship's + Garland</i> (1871) was intended to satirize and perhaps reform the great + middle class of England, whom he called the Philistines. <i>Culture and + Anarchy</i>, the most characteristic work of his practical period, + appeared in 1869. These were followed by four books on religious + subjects,--<i>St. Paul and Protestantism</i> (1870), <i>Literature and + Dogma</i> (1873), <i>God and the Bible</i> (1875), and <i>Last Essays on + Church and Religion</i> (1877). The <i>Discourses in America</i> (1885) + completes the list of his important works. At the height of his fame and + influence he died suddenly, in 1888, and was buried in the churchyard at + Laleham. The spirit of his whole life is well expressed in a few lines of + one of his own early sonnets: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + One lesson, Nature, let me learn of thee,<br /> One lesson which in every + wind is blown,<br /> One lesson of two duties kept at one<br /> Though the + loud world proclaim their enmity--<br /> Of toil unsever'd from + tranquillity;<br /> Of labour, that in lasting fruit outgrows<br /> Far + noisier schemes, accomplish'd in repose,<br /> Too great for haste, too + high for rivalry.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> His Poetry.</span><b>Works of Matthew Arnold.</b> + We shall better appreciate Arnold's poetry if we remember two things: + First, he had been taught in his home a simple and devout faith in + revealed religion, and in college he was thrown into a world of doubt and + questioning. He faced these doubts honestly, reverently,--in his heart + longing to accept the faith of his fathers, but in his head demanding + proof and scientific exactness. The same struggle between head and heart, + between reason and intuition, goes on to-day, and that is one reason why + Arnold's poetry, which wavers on the borderland between doubt and faith, + is a favorite with many readers. Second, Arnold, as shown in his essay on + <i>The Study of Poetry</i>, regarded poetry as "a criticism of life under + the conditions fixed for such criticism by the laws of poetic truth and + poetic beauty." Naturally, one who regards poetry as a "criticism" will + write very differently from one who regards poetry as the natural language + of the soul. He will write for the head rather than for the heart, and + will be cold and critical rather than enthusiastic. According to Arnold, + each poem should be a unit, and he protested against the tendency of + English poets to use brilliant phrases and figures of speech which only + detract attention from the poem as a whole. For his models he went to + Greek poetry, which he regarded as "the only sure guidance to what is + sound and true in poetical art." Arnold is, however, more indebted than he + thinks to English masters, especially to Wordsworth and Milton, whose + influence is noticeable in a large part of his poetry. + </p> + <p> + Of Arnold's narrative poems the two best known are <i>Balder Dead</i> + (1855), an incursion into the field of Norse mythology which is suggestive + of Gray, and <i>Sohrab and Rustum</i> (1853), which takes us into the + field of legendary Persian history. The theme of the latter poem is taken + from the <i>Shah-Namah</i> (Book of Kings) of the Persian poet Firdausi, + who lived and wrote in the eleventh century. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Sohrab and Rustrum</span>Briefly, the story is of + one Rustem or Rustum, a Persian Achilles, who fell asleep one day when he + had grown weary of hunting. While he slept a band of robbers stole his + favorite horse, Ruksh. In trailing the robbers Rustum came to the palace + of the king of Samengan, where he was royally welcomed, and where he fell + in love with the king's daughter, Temineh, and married her. But he was of + a roving, adventurous disposition, and soon went back to fight among his + own people, the Persians. While he was gone his son Sohrab was born, grew + to manhood, and became the hero of the Turan army. War arose between the + two peoples, and two hostile armies were encamped by the Oxus. Each army + chose a champion, and Rustum and Sohrab found themselves matched in mortal + combat between the lines. At this point Sohrab, whose chief interest in + life was to find his father, demanded to know if his enemy were not + Rustum; but the latter was disguised and denied his identity. On the first + day of the fight Rustum was overcome, but his life was spared by a trick + and by the generosity of Sohrab. On the second day Rustum prevailed, and + mortally wounded his antagonist. Then he recognized his own son by a gold + bracelet which he had long ago given to his wife Temineh. The two armies, + rushing into battle, were stopped by the sight of father and son weeping + in each other's arms. Sohrab died, the war ceased, and Rustum went home to + a life of sorrow and remorse. + </p> + <p> + Using this interesting material, Arnold produced a poem which has the rare + and difficult combination of classic reserve and romantic feeling. It is + written in blank verse, and one has only to read the first few lines to + see that the poet is not a master of his instrument. The lines are seldom + harmonious, and we must frequently change the accent of common words, or + lay stress on unimportant particles, to show the rhythm. Arnold frequently + copies Milton, especially in his repetition of ideas and phrases; but the + poem as a whole is lacking in Milton's wonderful melody. + </p> + <p> + The classic influence on <i>Sohrab and Rustum</i> is especially noticeable + in Arnold's use of materials. Fights are short; grief is long; therefore + the poet gives few lines to the combat, but lingers over the son's joy at + finding his father, and the father's quenchless sorrow at the death of his + son. The last lines especially, with their "passionate grief set to solemn + music," make this poem one of the best, on the whole, that Arnold has + written. And the exquisite ending, where the Oxus, unmindful of the + trivial strifes of men, flows on sedately to join "his luminous home of + waters" is most suggestive of the poet's conception of the orderly life of + nature, in contrast with the doubt and restlessness of human life. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Miscellaneous Poems</span>Next in importance to + the narrative poems are the elegies, "Thyrsis," "The Scholar-Gipsy," + "Memorial Verses," "A Southern Night," "Obermann," "Stanzas from the + Grande Chartreuse," and "Rugby Chapel." All these are worthy of careful + reading, but the best is "Thyrsis," a lament for the poet Clough, which is + sometimes classed with Milton's <i>Lycidas</i> and Shelley's <i>Adonais</i>. + Among the minor poems the reader will find the best expression of Arnold's + ideals and methods in "Dover Beach," the love lyrics entitled + "Switzerland," "Requiescat," "Shakespeare," "The Future," "Kensington + Gardens," "Philomela," "Human Life," "Callicles's Song," "Morality," and + "Geist's Grave."--the last being an exquisite tribute to a little dog + which, like all his kind, had repaid our scant crumbs of affection with a + whole life's devotion. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Essays in Criticism</span>The first place among + Arnold's prose works must be given to the <i>Essays in Criticism</i>, + which raised the author to the front rank of living critics. His + fundamental idea of criticism appeals to us strongly. The business of + criticism, he says, is neither to find fault nor to display the critic's + own learning or influence; it is to know "the best which has been thought + and said in the world," and by using this knowledge to create a current of + fresh and free thought. If a choice must be made among these essays, which + are all worthy of study, we would suggest "The Study of Poetry," + "Wordsworth," "Byron," and "Emerson." The last-named essay, which is found + in the <i>Discourses in America</i>, is hardly a satisfactory estimate of + Emerson, but its singular charm of manner and its atmosphere of + intellectual culture make it perhaps the most characteristic of Arnold's + prose writings. + </p> + <p> + Among the works of Arnold's practical period there are two which may be + taken as typical of all the rest. <i>Literature and Dogma</i> (1873) is, + in general, a plea for liberality in religion. Arnold would have us read + the Bible, for instance, as we would read any other great work, and apply + to it the ordinary standards of literary criticism. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Culture and Anarchy</span><i>Culture and Anarchy</i> + (1869) contains most of the terms--culture, sweetness and light, + Barbarian, Philistine, Hebraism, and many others--which are now associated + with Arnold's work and influence. The term "Barbarian" refers to the + aristocratic classes, whom Arnold thought to be essentially crude in soul, + notwithstanding their good clothes and superficial graces. "Philistine" + refers to the middle classes,--narrow-minded and self-satisfied people, + according to Arnold, whom he satirizes with the idea of opening their + minds to new ideas. "Hebraism" is Arnold's term for moral education. + Carlyle had emphasized the Hebraic or moral element in life, and Arnold + undertook to preach the Hellenic or intellectual element, which welcomes + new ideas, and delights in the arts that reflect the beauty of the world. + "The uppermost idea with. Hellenism," he says, "is to see things as they + are; the uppermost idea with Hebraism is conduct and obedience." With + great clearness, sometimes with great force, and always with a play of + humor and raillery aimed at the "Philistines," Arnold pleads for both + these elements in life which together aim at "Culture," that is, at moral + and intellectual perfection. + </p> + <p> + <b>General Characteristics.</b> Arnold's influence in our literature may + be summed up, in a word, as intellectual rather than inspirational. One + cannot be enthusiastic over his poetry, for the simple reason that he + himself lacked enthusiasm. He is, however, a true reflection of a very + real mood of the past century, the mood of doubt and sorrow; and a future + generation may give him a higher place than he now holds as a poet. Though + marked by "the elemental note of sadness," all Arnold's poems are + distinguished by clearness, simplicity, and the restrained emotion of his + classic models. + </p> + <p> + As a prose writer the cold intellectual quality, which mars his poetry by + restraining romantic feeling, is of first importance, since it leads him + to approach literature with an open mind and with the single desire to + find "the best which has been thought and said in the world." We cannot + yet speak with confidence of his rank in literature; but by his + crystal-clear style, his scientific spirit of inquiry and comparison, + illumined here and there by the play of humor, and especially by his broad + sympathy and intellectual culture, he seems destined to occupy a very high + place among the masters of literary criticism. + </p> + <p> + <a name="chap11zd" id="chap11zd">JOHN HENRY NEWMAN</a> (1801-1890) + </p> + <p> + Any record of the prose literature of the Victorian era, which includes + the historical essays of Macaulay and the art criticism of Ruskin, should + contain also some notice of its spiritual leaders. For there was never a + time when the religious ideals that inspire the race were kept more + constantly before men's minds through the medium of literature. + </p> + <p> + Among the religious writers of the age the first place belongs + unquestionably to Cardinal Newman. Whether we consider him as a man, with + his powerful yet gracious personality, or as a religious reformer, who did + much to break down old religious prejudices by showing the underlying + beauty and consistency of the Roman church, or as a prose writer whose + style is as near perfection as we have ever reached, Newman is one of the + most interesting figures of the whole nineteenth century. + </p> + <p> + <b>Life.</b> Three things stand out clearly in Newman's life: first, his + unshaken faith in the divine companionship and guidance; second, his + desire to find and to teach the truth of revealed religion; third, his + quest of an authoritative standard of faith, which should remain steadfast + through the changing centuries and amid all sorts and conditions of men. + The first led to that rare and beautiful spiritual quality which shines in + all his work; the second to his frequent doctrinal and controversial + essays; the third to his conversion to the Catholic church, which he + served as priest and teacher for the last forty-five years of his life. + Perhaps we should add one more characteristic,--the practical bent of his + religion; for he was never so busy with study or controversy that he + neglected to give a large part of his time to gentle ministration among + the poor and needy. + </p> + <p> + He was born in London, in 1801. His father was an English banker; his + mother, a member of a French Huguenot family, was a thoughtful, devout + woman, who brought up her son in a way which suggests the mother of + Ruskin. Of his early training, his reading of doctrinal and argumentative + works, and of his isolation from material things in the thought that there + were "two and only two absolute and luminously self-evident beings in the + world," himself and his Creator, it is better to read his own record in + the <i>Apologia</i>, which is a kind of spiritual biography. + </p> + <p> + At the age of fifteen Newman had begun his profound study of theological + subjects. For science, literature, art, nature,--all the broad interests + which attracted other literary men of his age,--he cared little, his mind + being wholly occupied with the history and doctrines of the Christian + church, to which he had already devoted his life. He was educated first at + the school in Ealing, then at Oxford, taking his degree in the latter + place in 1820. Though his college career was not more brilliant than that + of many unknown men, his unusual ability was recognized and he was made a + fellow of Oriel College, retaining the fellowship, and leading a scholarly + life for over twenty years. In 1824 he was ordained in the Anglican + church, and four years later was chosen vicar of St. Mary's, at Oxford, + where his sermons made a deep impression on the cultivated audiences that + gathered from far and near to hear him. + </p> + <p class="figure"> + <a name="el063" id="el063"><img width="50%" + alt="Illustration: QUADRANGLE OF ORIEL COLLEGE, OXFORD" + src="images/el063.jpg" /></a><br /> QUADRANGLE OF ORIEL COLLEGE, OXFORD + </p> + <p> + A change is noticeable in Newman's life after his trip to the + Mediterranean in 1832. He had begun his life as a Calvinist, but while in + Oxford, then the center of religious unrest, he described himself as + "drifting in the direction of Liberalism." Then study and bereavement and + an innate mysticism led him to a profound sympathy with the mediæval + Church. He had from the beginning opposed Catholicism; but during his + visit to Italy, where he saw the Roman church at the center of Its power + and splendor, many of his prejudices were overcome. In this enlargement of + his spiritual horizon Newman was greatly influenced by his friend Hurrell + Froude, with whom he made the first part of the journey. His poems of this + period (afterwards collected in the <i>Lyra Apostolica</i>), among which + is the famous "Lead, Kindly Light," are noticeable for their radiant + spirituality; but one who reads them carefully sees the beginning of that + mental struggle which ended in his leaving the church in which he was + born. Thus he writes of the Catholic church, whose services he had + attended as "one who in a foreign land receives the gifts of a good + Samaritan": + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + O that thy creed were sound!<br /> For thou dost + soothe the heart, thou church of Rome,<br /> By thy unwearied watch and + varied round<br /> Of service, in thy Saviour's + holy home.<br /> I cannot walk the city's sultry streets,<br /> But the + wide porch invites to still retreats,<br /> Where + passion's thirst is calmed, and care's unthankful gloom.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + On his return to England, in 1833, he entered into the religious struggle + known as the Oxford or Tractarian Movement,<sup><a href="#fn245" + name="rfn245" id="rfn245">[245]</a></sup> and speedily became its + acknowledged leader. Those who wish to follow this attempt at religious + reform, which profoundly affected the life of the whole English church, + will find it recorded in the <i>Tracts for the Times</i>, twenty-nine of + which were written by Newman, and in his <i>Parochial and Plain Sermons</i> + (1837-1843). After nine years of spiritual conflict Newman retired to + Littlemore, where, with a few followers, he led a life of almost monastic + seclusion, still striving to reconcile his changing belief with the + doctrines of his own church. Two years later he resigned his charge at St. + Mary's and left the Anglican communion,--not bitterly, but with a deep and + tender regret. His last sermon at Littlemore on "The Parting of Friends" + still moves us profoundly, like the cry of a prophet torn by personal + anguish in the face of duty. In 1845 he was received into the Catholic + church, and the following year, at Rome, he joined the community of St. + Philip Neri, "the saint of gentleness and kindness," as Newman describes + him, and was ordained to the Roman priesthood. + </p> + <p> + By his preaching and writing Newman had exercised a strong influence over + his cultivated English hearers, and the effect of his conversion was + tremendous. Into the theological controversy of the next twenty years we + have no mind to enter. Through it all Newman retained his serenity, and, + though a master of irony and satire, kept his literary power always + subordinate to his chief aim, which was to establish the truth as he saw + it. Whether or not we agree with his conclusions, we must all admire the + spirit of the man, which is above praise or criticism. His most widely + read work, <i>Apologia Pro Vita Sua</i> (1864), was written in answer to + an unfortunate attack by Charles Kingsley, which would long since have + been forgotten had it not led to this remarkable book. In 1854 Newman was + appointed rector of the Catholic University in Dublin, but after four + years returned to England and founded a Catholic school at Edgbaston. In + 1879 he was made cardinal by Pope Leo XIII. The grace and dignity of his + life, quite as much as the sincerity of his <i>Apologia</i>, had long + since disarmed criticism, and at his death, in 1890, the thought of all + England might well be expressed by his own lines in "The Dream of + Gerontius": + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + I had a dream. Yes, some one softly said,<br /> "He's + gone," and then a sigh went round the room;<br /> And then I surely heard + a priestly voice<br /> Cry + <i>Subvenite</i>; and they knelt in prayer.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Apologia Pro Vita Sua</span><b>Works of Newman.</b> + Readers approach Newman from so many different motives, some for doctrine, + some for argument, some for a pure prose style, that it is difficult to + recommend the best works for the beginner's use. As an expression of + Newman's spiritual struggle the <i>Apologia Pro Vita Sua</i> is perhaps + the most significant. This book is not light reading and one who opens it + should understand clearly the reasons for which it was written. Newman had + been accused of insincerity, not only by Kingsley but by many other men, + in the public press. His retirement to solitude and meditation at + Littlemore had been outrageously misunderstood, and it was openly charged + that his conversion was a cunningly devised plot to win a large number of + his followers to the Catholic church. This charge involved others, and it + was to defend them, as well as to vindicate himself, that Newman wrote the + <i>Apologia</i>. The perfect sincerity with which he traced his religious + history, showing that his conversion was only the final step in a course + he had been following since boyhood, silenced his critics and + revolutionized public opinion concerning himself and the church which he + had joined. As the revelation of a soul's history, and as a model of pure, + simple, unaffected English, this book, entirely apart from its doctrinal + teaching, deserves a high place in our prose literature. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Callista</span>In Newman's doctrinal works, the + <i>Via Media</i>, the <i>Grammar of Assent</i>, and in numerous + controversial essays the student of literature will have little interest. + Much more significant are his sermons, the unconscious reflection of a + rare spiritual nature, of which Professor Shairp said: "His power shows + itself clearly in the new and unlooked-for way in which he touched into + life old truths, moral or spiritual.... And as he spoke, how the old truth + became new! and how it came home with a meaning never felt before! He laid + his finger how gently yet how powerfully on some inner place in the + hearer's heart, and told him things about himself he had never known till + then. Subtlest truths, which would have taken philosophers pages of + circumlocution and big words to state, were dropped out by the way in a + sentence or two of the most transparent Saxon." Of greater interest to the + general reader are <i>The Idea of a University</i>, discourses delivered + at Dublin, and his two works of fiction, <i>Loss and Gain</i>, treating of + a man's conversion to Catholicism, and <i>Callista</i>, which is, in his + own words, "an attempt to express the feelings and mutual relations of + Christians and heathens in the middle of the third century." The latter + is, in our judgment, the most readable and interesting of Newman's works. + The character of Callista, a beautiful Greek sculptor of idols, is + powerfully delineated; the style is clear and transparent as air, and the + story of the heroine's conversion and death makes one of the most + fascinating chapters in fiction, though it is not the story so much as the + author's unconscious revelation of himself that charms us. It would be + well to read this novel in connection with Kingsley's <i>Hypatia</i>, + which attempts to reconstruct the life and ideals of the same period. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Poems</span>Newman's poems are not so well known + as his prose, but the reader who examines the <i>Lyra Apostolica</i> and + <i>Verses on Various Occasions</i> will find many short poems that stir a + religious nature profoundly by their pure and lofty imagination; and + future generations may pronounce one of these poems, "The Dream of + Gerontius," to be Newman's most enduring work. This poem aims to reproduce + the thoughts and feelings of a man whose soul is just quitting the body, + and who is just beginning a new and greater life. Both in style and in + thought "The Dream" is a powerful and original poem and is worthy of + attention not only for itself but, as a modern critic suggests, "as a + revelation of that high spiritual purpose which animated Newman's life + from beginning to end." + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Newman's style</span>Of Newman's style it is as + difficult to write as it would be to describe the dress of a gentleman we + had met, who was so perfectly dressed that we paid no attention to his + clothes. His style is called transparent, because at first we are not + conscious of his manner; and unobtrusive, because we never think of Newman + himself, but only of the subject he is discussing. He is like the best + French prose writers in expressing his thought with such naturalness and + apparent ease that, without thinking of style, we receive exactly the + impression which he means to convey. In his sermons and essays he is + wonderfully simple and direct; in his controversial writings, gently + ironical and satiric, and the satire is pervaded by a delicate humor; but + when his feelings are aroused he speaks with poetic images and symbols, + and his eloquence is like that of the Old Testament prophets. Like + Ruskin's, his style is modeled largely on that of the Bible, but not even + Ruskin equals him in the poetic beauty and melody of his sentences. On the + whole he comes nearer than any other of his age to our ideal of a perfect + prose writer. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> Critical Writers</span><b>Other Essayists of the + Victorian Age.</b> We have selected the above five essayists, Macaulay, + Carlyle, Arnold, Newman, and Ruskin, as representative writers of the + Victorian Age; but there are many others who well repay our study. Notable + among these are John Addington Symonds, author of <i>The Renaissance in + Italy</i>, undoubtedly his greatest work, and of many critical essays; + Walter Pater, whose <i>Appreciations</i> and numerous other works mark him + as one of our best literary critics; and Leslie Stephen, famous for his + work on the monumental <i>Dictionary of National Biography</i>, and for + his <i>Hours in a Library</i>, a series of impartial and excellent + criticisms, brightened by the play of an original and delightful humor. + </p> + <p> + <span class="rightnote"> The Scientists</span>Among the most famous + writers of the age are the scientists, Lyell, Darwin, Huxley, Spencer, + Tyndall, and Wallace,--a wonderful group of men whose works, though they + hardly belong to our present study, have exercised an incalculable + influence on our life and literature. Darwin's <i>Origin of Species</i> + (1859), which apparently established the theory of evolution, was an + epoch-making book. It revolutionized not only our conceptions of natural + history, but also our methods of thinking on all the problems of human + society. Those who would read a summary of the greatest scientific + discovery of the age will find it in Wallace's <i>Darwinism</i>,--a most + interesting book, written by the man who claims, with Darwin, the honor of + first announcing the principle of evolution. And, from a multitude of + scientific works, we recommend also to the general reader Huxley's <i>Autobiography</i> + and his <i>Lay Sermons, Addresses, and Reviews</i>, partly because they + are excellent expressions of the spirit and methods of science, and partly + because Huxley as a writer is perhaps the clearest and the most readable + of the scientists. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11ze" id="chap11ze">The Spirit of Modern Literature.</a></b> + As we reflect on the varied work of the Victorian writers, three marked + characteristics invite our attention. First, our great literary men, no + less than our great scientists, have made truth the supreme object of + human endeavor. All these eager poets, novelists, and essayists, questing + over so many different ways, are equally intent on discovering the truth + of life. Men as far apart as Darwin and Newman are strangely alike in + spirit, one seeking truth in the natural, the other in the spiritual + history of the race. Second, literature has become the mirror of truth; + and the first requirement of every serious novel or essay is to be true to + the life or the facts which it represents. Third, literature has become + animated by a definite moral purpose. It is not enough for the Victorian + writers to create or attempt an artistic work for its own sake; the work + must have a definite lesson for humanity. The poets are not only singers, + but leaders; they hold up an ideal, and they compel men to recognize and + follow it. The novelists tell a story which pictures human life, and at + the same time call us to the work Of social reform, or drive home a moral + lesson. The essayists are nearly all prophets or teachers, and use + literature as the chief instrument of progress and education. Among them + all we find comparatively little of the exuberant fancy, the romantic + ardor, and the boyish gladness of the Elizabethans. They write books not + primarily to delight the artistic sense, but to give bread to the hungry + and water to the thirsty in soul. Milton's famous sentence, "A good book + is the precious life-blood of a master spirit," might be written across + the whole Victorian era. We are still too near these writers to judge how + far their work suffers artistically from their practical purpose; but this + much is certain,--that whether or not they created immortal works, their + books have made the present world a better and a happier place to live in. + And that is perhaps the best that can be said of the work of any artist or + artisan. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11zf" id="chap11zf">Summary of the Victorian Age.</a></b> + The year 1830 is generally placed at the beginning of this period, but its + limits are very indefinite. In general we may think of it as covering the + reign of Victoria (1837-1901). Historically the age is remarkable for the + growth of democracy following the Reform Bill of 1832; for the spread of + education among all classes; for the rapid development of the arts and + sciences; for important mechanical inventions; and for the enormous + extension of the bounds of human knowledge by the discoveries of science. + </p> + <p> + At the accession of Victoria the romantic movement had spent its force; + Wordsworth had written his best work; the other romantic poets, Coleridge, + Shelley, Keats, and Byron, had passed away; and for a time no new + development was apparent in English poetry. Though the Victorian Age + produced two great poets, Tennyson and Browning, the age, as a whole, is + remarkable for the variety and excellence of its prose. A study of all the + great writers of the period reveals four general characteristics: (1) + Literature in this Age has come very close to daily life, reflecting its + practical problems and interests, and is a powerful instrument of human + progress. (2) The tendency of literature is strongly ethical; all the + great poets, novelists, and essayists of the age are moral teachers. (3) + Science in this age exercises an incalculable influence. On the one hand + it emphasizes truth as the sole object of human endeavor; it has + established the principle of law throughout the universe; and it has given + us an entirely new view of life, as summed up in the word "evolution," + that is, the principle of growth or development from simple to complex + forms. On the other hand, its first effect seems to be to discourage works + of the imagination. Though the age produced an incredible number of books, + very few of them belong among the great creative works of literature. (4) + Though the age is generally characterized as practical and materialistic, + it is significant that nearly all the writers whom the nation delights to + honor vigorously attack materialism, and exalt a purely ideal conception + of life. On the whole, we are inclined to call this an idealistic age + fundamentally, since love, truth, justice, brotherhood--all great + ideals--are emphasized as the chief ends of life, not only by its poets + but also by its novelists and essayists. + </p> + <p> + In our study we have considered: (1) The Poets; the life and works of + Tennyson and Browning; and the chief characteristics of the minor poets, + Elizabeth Barrett (Mrs. Browning), Rossetti, Morris, and Swinburne. (2) + The Novelists; the life and works of Dickens, Thackeray, and George Eliot; + and the chief works of Charles Reade, Anthony Trollope, Charlotte Brontë, + Bulwer-Lytton, Kingsley, Mrs. Gaskell, Blackmore, George Meredith, Hardy, + and Stevenson. (3) The Essayists; the life and works of Macaulay, Matthew + Arnold, Carlyle, Newman, and Ruskin. These were selected, from among many + essayists and miscellaneous writers, as most typical of the Victorian Age. + The great scientists, like Lyell, Darwin, Huxley, Wallace, Tyndall, and + Spencer, hardly belong to our study of literature, though their works are + of vast importance; and we omit the works of living writers who belong to + the present rather than to the past century. + </p> + <p> + <b>Selections for Reading.</b> Manly's English Poetry and Manly's English + Prose (Ginn and Company) contain excellent selections from all authors of + this period. Many other collections, like Ward's English Poets, Garnett's + English Prose from Elizabeth to Victoria, Page's British Poets of the + Nineteenth Century, and Stedman's A Victorian Anthology, may be used to + advantage. All important works may be found in the convenient and + inexpensive school editions given below. (For full titles and publishers + see the General Bibliography.) + </p> + <p> + <i>Tennyson</i>. Short poems, and selections from Idylls of the King, In + Memoriam, Enoch Arden, and The Princess. These are found in various school + editions, Standard English Classics, Pocket Classics, Riverside Literature + Series, etc. Poems by Tennyson, selected and edited with notes by Henry + Van Dyke (Athenaeum Press Series), is an excellent little volume for + beginners. + </p> + <p> + <i>Browning</i>. Selections, edited by R.M. Lovett, in Standard English + Classics. Other school editions in Everyman's Library, Belles Lettres + Series, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Elizabeth Barrett Browning</i>. Selections, edited by Elizabeth Lee, in + Standard English Classics. Selections also in Pocket Classics, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Matthew Arnold</i>. Sohrab and Rustum, edited by Trent and Brewster, in + Standard English Classics. The same poem in Riverside Literature Series, + etc. Selections in Golden Treasury Series, etc. Poems, students' edition + (Crowell). Essays in Everyman's Library, etc. Prose selections (Holt, + Allyn & Bacon, etc.). + </p> + <p> + <i>Dickens</i>. Tale of Two Cities, edited by J.W. Linn, in Standard + English Classics. A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, and Pickwick + Papers. Various good school editions of these novels in Everyman's + Library, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Thackeray</i>. Henry Esmond, edited by H.B. Moore, in Standard English + Classics. The same novel, in Everyman's Library, Pocket Classics, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>George Eliot</i>. Silas Marner, edited by R. Adelaide Witham, in + Standard English Classics. The same novel, in Pocket Classics, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Carlyle</i>. Essay on Burns, edited by C.L. Hanson, in Standard English + Classics, and Heroes and Hero Worship, edited by A. MacMechan, in + Athenaeum Press Series. Selections, edited by H.W. Boynton (Allyn & + Bacon). Various other inexpensive editions, in Pocket Classics, Eclectic + English Classics, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Ruskin</i>. Sesame and Lilies, edited by Lois G. Hufford, in Standard + English Classics. Other editions in Riverside Literature, Everyman's + Library, etc. Selected Essays and Letters, edited by Hufford, in Standard + English Classics. Selections, edited by Vida D. Scudder (Sibley); edited + by C.B. Tinker, in Riverside Literature. + </p> + <p> + <i>Macaulay</i>. Essays on Addison and Milton, edited by H.A. Smith, in + Standard English Classics. Same essays, in Cassell's National Library, + Riverside Literature, etc. Lays of Ancient Rome, in Standard English + Classics, Pocket Classics, etc. + </p> + <p> + <i>Newman</i>. Selections, with introduction by L.E. Gates (Holt); + Selections from prose and poetry, in Riverside Literature. The Idea of a + University, in Manly's English Prose. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11zg" id="chap11zg">Bibliography.</a></b> (note. For full + titles and publishers of general reference books, see General + Bibliography.) <i><b>History.</b> Text-book</i>, Montgomery, pp. 357-383; + Cheyney, pp. 632-643. <i>General Works</i>. Gardiner, and Traill. <i>Special + Works</i>. McCarthy's History of Our Own Times; Bright's History of + England, vols. 4-5; Lee's Queen Victoria; Bryce's Studies in Contemporary + Biography. + </p> + <p> + <i><b>Literature.</b> General Works</i>. Garnett and Gosse, Taine. <i>Special + Works</i>. Harrison's Early Victorian Literature; Saintsbury's A History + of Nineteenth Century Literature; Walker's The Age of Tennyson; same + author's The Greater Victorian Poets; Morley's Literature of the Age of + Victoria; Stedman's Victorian Poets; Mrs. Oliphant's Literary History of + England in the Nineteenth Century; Beers's English Romanticism in the + Nineteenth Century; Dowden's Victorian Literature, in Transcripts and + Studies; Brownell's Victorian Prose Masters. + </p> + <p> + <i>Tennyson</i>. Texts: Cabinet edition (London, 1897) is the standard. + Various good editions, Globe, Cambridge Poets, etc. Selections in + Athenaeum Press (Ginn and Company). + </p> + <p> + Life: Alfred Lord Tennyson, a Memoir by his son, is the standard; by Lyall + (in English Men of Letters); by Horton; by Waugh. See also Anne T. + Ritchie's Tennyson and His Friends; Napier's The Homes and Haunts of + Tennyson; Rawnsley's Memories of the Tennysons. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Brooke's Tennyson, his Art and his Relation to Modern Life; A. + Lang's Alfred Tennyson; Van Dyke's The Poetry of Tennyson; Sneath's The + Mind of Tennyson; Gwynn's A Critical Study of Tennyson's Works; Luce's + Handbook to Tennyson's Works; Dixon's A Tennyson Primer; Masterman's + Tennyson as a Religious Teacher; Collins's The Early Poems of Tennyson; + Macallum's Tennyson's Idylls of the King and the Arthurian Story; + Bradley's Commentary on In Memoriam; Bagehot's Literary Studies, vol. 2; + Brightwell's Concordance; Shepherd's Bibliography. + </p> + <p> + Essays: By F. Harrison, in Tennyson, Ruskin, Mill, and Other Literary + Estimates; by Stedman, in Victorian Poets; by Hutton, in Literary Essays; + by Dowden, in Studies in Literature; by Gates, in Studies and + Appreciations; by Forster, in Great Teachers; by Forman, in Our Living + Poets. See also Myers's Science and a Future Life. + </p> + <p> + <i>Browning</i>. Texts: Cambridge and Globe editions, etc. Various + editions of selections. (See Selections for Reading, above.) + </p> + <p> + Life: by W. Sharp (Great Writers); by Chesterton (English Men of Letters); + Life and Letters, by Mrs. Sutherland Orr; by Waugh, in Westminster + Biographies (Small & Maynard). + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Symons's An Introduction to the Study of Browning; same title, + by Corson; Mrs. Orr's Handbook to the Works of Browning; Nettleship's + Robert Browning; Brooke's The Poetry of Robert Browning; Cooke's Browning + Guide Book; Revell's Browning's Criticism of Life; Berdoe's Browning's + Message to his Times; Berdoe's Browning Cyclopedia. + </p> + <p> + Essays: by Hutton, Stedman, Dowden, Forster (for titles, see Tennyson, + above); by Jacobs, in Literary Studies; by Chapman, in Emerson and Other + Essays; by Cooke, in Poets and Problems; by Birrell, in Obiter Dicta. + </p> + <p> + <i>Elizabeth Barrett Browning</i>. Texts: Globe and Cambridge editions, + etc.; various editions of selections. Life: by J. H. Ingram; see also + Bayne's Two Great Englishmen. Kenyon's Letters of E. B. Browning. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Essays, by Stedman, in Victorian Poets; by Benson, in Essays. + </p> + <p> + <i>Matthew Arnold</i>. Texts: Poems, Globe edition, etc. See Selections + for Reading, above. Life: by Russell; by Saintsbury; by Paul (English Men + of Letters); Letters, by Russell. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Essays by Woodberry, in Makers of Literature; by Gates, in + Three Studies in Literature; by Hutton, in Modern Guides of English + Thought; by Brownell, in Victorian Prose Masters; by F. Harrison (see + Tennyson, above). + </p> + <p> + <i>Dickens</i>. Texts: numerous good editions of novels. Life: by J. + Forster; by Marzials (Great Writers); by Ward (English Men of Letters); + Langton's The Childhood and Youth of Dickens. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Gissing's Charles Dickens; Chesterton's Charles Dickens; + Kitten's The Novels of Charles Dickens; Fitzgerald's The History of + Pickwick. Essays: by F. Harrison (see above); by Bagehot, in Literary + Studies; by Lilly, in Four English Humorists; by A. Lang, in Gadshill + edition of Dickens's works. + </p> + <p> + <i>Thackeray</i>. Texts: numerous good editions of novels and essays. + Life: by Melville; by Merivale and Marzials (Great Writers); by A. + Trollope (English Men of Letters); by L. Stephen, in Dictionary of + National Biography. See also Crowe's Homes and Haunts of Thackeray; + Wilson's Thackeray in the United States. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Essays, by Lilly, in Four English Humorists; by Harrison, in + Studies in Early Victorian Literature; by Scudder, in Social Ideals in + English Letters; by Brownell, in Victorian Prose Masters. + </p> + <p> + <i>George Eliot</i>. Texts: numerous editions. Life: by L. Stephen + (English Men of Letters); by O. Browning (Great Writers); by her husband, + J.W. Cross. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Cooke's George Eliot, a Critical Study of her Life and + Writings. Essays: by J. Jacobs, in Literary Studies; by H. James, in + Partial Portraits; by Dowden, in Studies in Literature; by Hutton, + Harrison, Brownell, Lilly (see above). See also Parkinson's Scenes from + the George Eliot Country. + </p> + <p> + <i>Carlyle</i>. Texts: various editions of works. Heroes, and Sartor + Resartus, in Athenaeum Press (Ginn and Company); Sartor, and Past and + Present, 1 vol. (Harper); Critical and Miscellaneous Essays, 1 vol. + (Appleton); Letters and Reminiscences, edited by C. E. Norton, 6 vols. + (Macmillan). + </p> + <p> + Life: by Garnett (Great Writers); by Nichol (English Men of Letters); by + Froude, 2 vols. (very full, but not trustworthy). See also Carlyle's + Reminiscences and Correspondence, and Craig's The Making of Carlyle. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Masson's Carlyle Personally and in his Writings. Essays: by + Lowell, in My Study Windows; by Harrison, Brownell, Hutton, Lilly (see + above). + </p> + <p> + <i>Ruskin</i>. Texts: Brantwood edition, edited by C.E. Norton; various + editions of separate works. Life: by Harrison (English Men of Letters); by + Collingwood, 2 vols.; see also Ruskin's Praeterita. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Mather's Ruskin, his Life and Teaching; Cooke's Studies in + Ruskin; Waldstein's The Work of John Ruskin; Hobson's John Ruskin, Social + Reformer; Mrs. Meynell's John Ruskin; Sizeranne's Ruskin and the Religion + of Beauty, translated from the French; White's Principles of Art; W. M. + Rossetti's Ruskin, Rossetti, and Pre-Raphaelitism. + </p> + <p> + Essays: by Robertson, in Modern Humanists; by Saintsbury, in Corrected + Impressions; by Brownell, Harrison, Forster (see above). + </p> + <p> + <i>Macaulay</i>. Texts: Complete works, edited by his sister, Lady + Trevelyan (London, 1866); various editions of separate works (see + Selections for Reading, above). Life: Life and Letters, by Trevelyan, 2 + vols.; by Morrison (English Men of Letters). + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Essays, by Bagehot, in Literary Studies; by L. Stephen, in + Hours in a Library; by Saintsbury, in Corrected Impressions; by Harrison, + in Studies in Early Victorian Literature; by Matthew Arnold. + </p> + <p> + <i>Newman</i>. Texts: Uniform edition of important works (London, + 1868-1881); Apologia (Longmans); Selections (Holt, Riverside Literature, + etc.). Life: Jennings's Cardinal Newman; Button's Cardinal Newman; Early + Life, by F. Newman; by Waller and Barrow, in Westminster Biographies. See + also Church's The Oxford Movement; Fitzgerald's Fifty Years of Catholic + Life and Progress. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Essays, by Donaldson, in Five Great Oxford Leaders; by Church, + in Occasional Papers, vol. 2; by Gates, in Three Studies in Literature; by + Jacobs, in Literary Studies; by Hutton, in Modern Guides of English + Thought; by Lilly, in Essays and Speeches; by Shairp, in Studies in Poetry + and Philosophy. See also Button's Cardinal Newman. + </p> + <p> + <i>Rossetti</i>. Works, 2 vols. (London, 1901). Selections, in Golden + Treasury Series. Life: by Knight (Great Writers); by Sharp; Hall Caine's + Recollections of Dante Gabriel Rossetti; Gary's The Rossettis; Marillier's + Rossetti; Wood's Rossetti and the Pre-Raphaelite Movement; W.M. Hunt's + Pre-Raphaelitism and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Tirebuck's Rossetti, his Work and Influence. Essays: by + Swinburne, in Essays and Studies; by Forman, in Our Living Poets; by + Pater, in Ward's English Poets; by F.W.H. Myers, in Essays Modern. + </p> + <p> + <i>Morris</i>. Texts: Story of the Glittering Plain, House of the + Wolfings, etc. (Reeves & Turner); Early Romances, in Everyman's + Library; Sigurd the Volsung, in Camelot Series; Socialistic writings + (Humboldt Publishing Co.). Life: by Mackail; by Cary; by Vallance. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Essays, by Symons, in Studies in Two Literatures; by Dawson, in + Makers of Modern English; by Saintsbury, in Corrected Impressions. See + also Nordby's Influence of Old Norse Literature. + </p> + <p> + <i>Swinburne</i>. Texts: Complete works (Chatto and Windus); Poems and + Ballads (Lovell); Selections (Rivington, Belles Lettres Series, etc.). + Life: Wratislaw's Algernon Charles Swinburne, a Study. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Essays, by Forman, Saintsbury (see above); by Lowell, in My + Study Windows; see also Stedman's Victorian Poets. + </p> + <p> + <i>Charles Keade</i>. Texts: Cloister and the Hearth, in Everyman's + Library; various editions of separate novels. Life: by C. Reade. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Essay, by Swinburne, in Miscellanies. + </p> + <p> + <i>Anthony Trollope</i>. Texts: Royal edition of principal novels + (Philadelphia, 1900); Barchester Towers, etc., in Everyman's Library. + Life: Autobiography (Harper, 1883). + </p> + <p> + Criticism: H.T. Peck's Introduction to Royal edition, vol. 1. Essays: by + H. James, in Partial Portraits; by Harrison, in Early Victorian + Literature. See also Cross, The Development of the English Novel. + </p> + <p> + <i>Charlotte and Emily Brontë</i>. Texts: Works, Haworth edition, edited + by Mrs. H. Ward (Harper); Complete works (Dent, 1893); Jane Eyre, Shirley, + and Wuthering Heights, in Everyman's Library. Life of Charlotte Brontë: by + Mrs. Gaskell; by Shorter; by Birrell (Great Writers). Life of Emily + Brontë: by Robinson. See also Leyland's The Brontë Family. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Essays, by L. Stephen, in Hours in a Library; by Gates, in + Studies and Appreciations; by Harrison, in Early Victorian Literature; by + G.B. Smith, in Poets and Novelists. See also Swinburne's A Note on + Charlotte Brontë. + </p> + <p> + <i>Bulwer-Lytton</i>. Texts: Works, Knebsworth edition (Routledge); + various editions of separate works; Last Days of Pompeii, etc., in + Everyman's Library. Life: by his son, the Earl of Lytton; by Cooper; by + Ten Brink. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Essay, by W. Senior, in Essays in Fiction. + </p> + <p> + <i>Mrs. Gaskell</i>. Various editions of separate works; Cranford, in + Standard English Classics, etc. Life: see Dictionary of National + Biography. Criticism: see Saintsbury's Nineteenth-Century Literature. + </p> + <p> + <i>Kingsley</i>. Texts: Works, Chester edition; Hypatia, Westward Ho! + etc., in Everyman's Library. Life: Letters and Memories, by his wife; by + Kaufmann. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Essays, by Harrison, in Early Victorian Literature; by L. + Stephen, in Hours in a Library. + </p> + <p> + <i>Stevenson</i>. Texts: Works (Scribner); Treasure Island, in Everyman's + Library; Master of Ballantrae, in Pocket Classics; Letters, edited by + Colvin (Scribner). Life: by Balfour; by Baildon; by Black; by Cornford. + See also Simpson's Edinburgh Days; Eraser's In Stevenson's Samoa; Osborne + and Strong's Memories of Vailima. + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Raleigh's Stevenson; Alice Brown's Stevenson. Essays: by H. + James, in Partial Portraits; by Chapman, in Emerson and Other Essays. + </p> + <p> + <i>Hardy</i>. Texts: Works (Harper). Criticism: Macdonnell's Thomas Hardy; + Johnson's The Art of Thomas Hardy. See also Windle's The Wessex of Thomas + Hardy; and Dawson's Makers of English Fiction. + </p> + <p> + <i>George Meredith</i>. Texts: Novels and Selected Poems (Scribner). + </p> + <p> + Criticism: Le Gallienne's George Meredith; Hannah Lynch's George Meredith. + Essays: by Henley, in Views and Reviews; by Brownell, in Victorian Prose + Masters; by Monkhouse, in Books and Plays. See also Bailey's The Novels of + George Meredith; Curie's Aspects of George Meredith; and Cross's The + Development of the English Novel. + </p> + <p> + <b><a name="chap11zh" id="chap11zh">Suggestive Questions.</a></b> (NOTE. + The best questions are those which are based upon the books, essays, and + poems read by the pupil. As the works chosen for special study vary + greatly with different teachers and classes, we insert here only a few + questions of general interest.) 1. What are the chief characteristics of + Victorian literature? Name the chief writers of the period in prose and + poetry. What books of this period are, in your judgment, worthy to be + placed among the great works of literature? What effect did the + discoveries of science have upon the literature of the age? What poet + reflects the new conception of law and evolution? What historical + conditions account for the fact that most of the Victorian writers are + ethical teachers? + </p> + <p> + 2. <i>Tennyson</i>. Give a brief sketch of Tennyson's life, and name his + chief works. Why is he, like Chaucer, a national poet? Is your pleasure in + reading Tennyson due chiefly to the thought or the melody of expression? + Note this figure in "The Lotos Eaters": + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Music that gentlier on the spirit lies<br /> Than tired eyelids upon + tired eyes.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + What does this suggest concerning Tennyson's figures of speech in general? + Compare "Locksley Hall" with "Locksley Hall Sixty Years After." What + differences do you find in thought, in workmanship, and in poetic + enthusiasm? What is Tennyson's idea of faith and immortality as expressed + in <i>In Memoriam</i>? + </p> + <p> + 3. <i>Browning</i>. In what respects is Browning like Shakespeare? What is + meant by the optimism of his poetry? Can you explain why many thoughtful + persons prefer him to Tennyson? What is Browning's creed as expressed in + "Rabbi Ben Ezra"? Read "Fra Lippo Lippi" or "Andrea del Sarto," and tell + what is meant by a dramatic monologue. In "Andrea" what is meant by the + lines, + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,<br /> Or what's a heaven + for?<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + 4. <i>Dickens</i>. What experiences in Dickens's life are reflected in his + novels? What are his favorite types of character? What is meant by the + exaggeration of Dickens? What was the serious purpose of his novels? Make + a brief analysis of the <i>Tale of Two Cities</i>, having in mind the + plot, the characters, and the style, as compared with Dickens's other + novels. + </p> + <p> + 5. <i>Thackeray</i>. Read <i>Henry Esmond</i> and explain Thackeray's + realism. What is there remarkable in the style of this novel? Compare it + with <i>Ivanhoe</i> as a historical novel. What is the general character + of Thackeray's satire? What are the chief characteristics of his novels? + Describe briefly the works which show his great skill as a critical + writer. + </p> + <p> + 6. <i>George Eliot</i>. Read <i>Silas Marner</i> and make a brief + analysis, having in mind the plot, the characters, the style, and the + ethical teaching of the novel. Is the moral teaching of George Eliot + convincing; that is, does it suggest itself from the story, or is it added + for effect? What is the general impression left by her books? How do her + characters compare with those of Dickens and Thackeray? + </p> + <p> + 7. <i>Carlyle</i>. Why is Carlyle called a prophet, and why a censor? Read + the <i>Essay on Burns</i> and make an analysis, having in mind the style, + the idea of criticism, and the picture which this essay presents of the + Scotch poet. Is Carlyle chiefly interested in Burns or in his poetry? Does + he show any marked appreciation of Burns's power as a lyric poet? What is + Carlyle's idea of history as shown in <i>Heroes and Hero Worship</i>? What + experiences of his own life are reflected in <i>Sartor Resartus</i>? What + was Carlyle's message to his age? What is meant by a "Carlylese" style? + </p> + <p> + 8. <i>Macaulay</i>. In what respects is Macaulay typical of his age? + Compare his view of life with that of Carlyle. Read one of the essays, on + Milton or Addison, and make an analysis, having in mind the style, the + interest, and the accuracy of the essay. What useful purpose does + Macaulay's historical knowledge serve in writing his literary essays? What + is the general character of Macaulay's <i>History of England</i>? Rqad a + chapter from Macaulay's <i>History</i>, another from Carlyle's <i>French + Revolution</i>, and compare the two. How does each writer regard history + and historical writing? What differences do you note in their methods? + What are the best qualities of each work? Why are both unreliable? + </p> + <p> + 9. <i>Arnold</i>. What elements of Victorian life are reflected in + Arnold's poetry? How do you account for the coldness and sadness of his + verses? Read <i>Sohrab and Rustum</i> and write an account of it, having + in mind the story, Arnold's use of his material, the style, and the + classic elements in the poem. How does it compare in melody with the blank + verse of Milton or Tennyson? What marked contrasts do you find between the + poetry and the prose of Arnold? + </p> + <p> + 10. <i>Ruskin</i>. In what respects is Ruskin "the prophet of modern + society"? Read the first two lectures in <i>Sesame and Lilies</i> and then + give Ruskin's views of labor, wealth, books, education, woman's sphere, + and human society. How does he regard the commercialism of his age? What + elements of style do you find in these lectures? Give the chief + resemblances and differences between Carlyle and Ruskin. + </p> + <p> + 11. Read Mrs. Gaskell's <i>Cranford</i> and describe it, having in mind + the style, the interest, and the characters of the story. How does it + compare, as a picture of country life, with George Eliot's novels? + </p> + <p> + 12. Read Blackmore's <i>Lorna Doone</i> and describe it (as in the + question above). What are the romantic elements in the story? How does it + compare with Scott's romances in style, in plot, in interest, and in + truthfulness to life? + </p> + <table> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <big><a name="chap11zi" id="chap11zi">CHRONOLOGY</a></big> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="4"> + <i>Nineteenth Century</i> + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <th colspan="2"> + HISTORY + </th> + <th colspan="2"> + LITERATURE + </th> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1825. + </td> + <td> + Macaulay's Essay on Milton + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1826. + </td> + <td> + Mrs. Browning's early poems + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1830. + </td> + <td> + William IV + </td> + <td> + 1830. + </td> + <td> + Tennyson's Poems, Chiefly Lyrical + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1832. + </td> + <td> + Reform Bill + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1833. + </td> + <td> + Browning's Pauline + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1833-1834. + </td> + <td> + Carlyle's Sartor Resartus + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1836-1865. + </td> + <td> + Dickens's novels + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1837. + </td> + <td> + Victoria (<i>d</i>. 1901) + </td> + <td> + 1837. + </td> + <td> + Carlyle's French Revolution + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1843. + </td> + <td> + Macaulay's essays + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1844. + </td> + <td> + Morse's Telegraph + </td> + <td> + 1843-1860. + </td> + <td> + Ruskin's Modern Painters + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1846. + </td> + <td> + Repeal of Corn Laws + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1847-1859. + </td> + <td> + Thackeray's important novels + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1847-1857. + </td> + <td> + Charlotte Brontë's novels + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1848-1861. + </td> + <td> + Macaulay's History + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1853. + </td> + <td> + Kingsley's Hypatia + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Mrs. Gaskell's Cranford + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1854. + </td> + <td> + Crimean War + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1853-1855. + </td> + <td> + Matthew Arnold's poems + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1856. + </td> + <td> + Mrs. Browning's Aurora Leigh + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1857. + </td> + <td> + Indian Mutiny + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1858-1876. + </td> + <td> + George Eliot's novels + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1859-1888. + </td> + <td> + Tennyson's Idylls of the King + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1859. + </td> + <td> + Darwin's Origin of Species + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1864. + </td> + <td> + Newman's Apologia + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + Tennyson's Enoch Arden + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1865-1888. + </td> + <td> + Arnold's Essays in Criticism + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1867. + </td> + <td> + Dominion of Canada + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + established + </td> + <td> + 1868. + </td> + <td> + Browning's Ring and the Book + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1869. + </td> + <td> + Blackmore's Lorna Doone + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1870. + </td> + <td> + Government schools + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td> + established + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1879. + </td> + <td> + Meredith's The Egoist + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1880. + </td> + <td> + Gladstone prime minister + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1883. + </td> + <td> + Stevenson's Treasure Island + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1885. + </td> + <td> + Ruskin's Praeterita begun + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1887. + </td> + <td> + Queen's jubilee + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1889. + </td> + <td> + Browning's last work, Asolando + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td></td> + <td></td> + <td> + 1892. + </td> + <td> + Death of Tennyson + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1901. + </td> + <td> + Edward VII + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr /> + <h1> + <a name="chapbib" id="chapbib">GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY</a> + </h1> + <p> + Every chapter in this book includes two lists, one of selected readings, + the other of special works treating of the history and literature of the + period under consideration. The following lists include the books most + useful for general reference work and for supplementary reading. + </p> + <p> + A knowledge of history is of great advantage in the study of literature. + In each of the preceding chapters we have given a brief summary of + historical events and social conditions, but the student should do more + than simply read these summaries. He should review rapidly the whole + history of each period by means of a good textbook. Montgomery's <i>English + History</i> and Cheyney's <i>Short History of England</i> are recommended, + but any other reliable text-book will serve the purpose. + </p> + <p> + For literary texts and selections for reading a few general collections, + such as are given below, are useful; but the important works of each + author may now be obtained in excellent and inexpensive school editions. + At the beginning of the course the teacher, or the home student, should + write for the latest catalogue of such publications as the Standard + English Classics, Everyman's Library, etc., which offer a very wide range + of reading at small cost. Nearly every publishing house issues a series of + good English books for school use, and the list is constantly increasing. + </p> + <p> + <b><i>History</i></b> + </p> + <p> + <i>Text-books:</i> Montgomery's English History; Cheyney's Short History + of England (Ginn and Company). + </p> + <p> + <i>General Works:</i> Green's Short History of the English People, 1 vol., + or A History of the English People, 4 vols. (American Book Co.). + </p> + <p> + Traill's Social England, 6 vols. (Putnam). + </p> + <p> + Bright's History, of England, 5 vols., and Gardiner's Students' History of + England (Longmans). + </p> + <p> + Gibbins's Industrial History of England, and Mitchell's English Lands, + Letters, and Kings, 5 vols. (Scribner). + </p> + <p> + Oxford Manuals of English History, Handbooks of English History, and + Kendall's Source Book of English History (Macmillan). + </p> + <p> + Lingard's History of England until 1688 (revised, 10 vols., 1855) is the + standard Catholic history. + </p> + <p> + Other histories of England are by Knight, Froude, Macaulay, etc. Special + works on the history of each period are recommended in the preceding + chapters. + </p> + <p> + <b><i>History of Literature</i></b> + </p> + <p> + Jusserand's Literary History of the English People, 2 vols. (Putnam). + </p> + <p> + Ten Brink's Early English Literature, 3 vols. (Holt). + </p> + <p> + Courthope's History of English Poetry (Macmillan). + </p> + <p> + The Cambridge History of English Literature, many vols., incomplete + (Putnam). + </p> + <p> + Handbooks of English Literature, 9 vols. (Macmillan). + </p> + <p> + Garnett and Gosse's Illustrated History of English Literature, 4 vols. + (Macmillan). + </p> + <p> + Morley's English Writers, 11 vols. (Cassell), extends through Elizabethan + literature. It is rather complex and not up to date, but has many + quotations from authors studied. + </p> + <p> + Taine's English Literature (many editions), is brilliant and interesting, + but unreliable. + </p> + <p> + <b><i>Literary Criticism</i></b> + </p> + <p> + Lowell's Literary Essays. + </p> + <p> + Hazlitt's Lectures on the English Poets. + </p> + <p> + Mackail's The Springs of Helicon (a study of English poetry from Chaucer + to Milton). + </p> + <p> + Dowden's Studies in Literature, and Dowden's Transcripts and Studies. + </p> + <p> + Minto's Characteristics of English Poets. + </p> + <p> + Matthew Arnold's Essays in Criticism. + </p> + <p> + Stevenson's Familiar Studies in Men and Books. + </p> + <p> + Leslie Stephen's Hours in a Library. + </p> + <p> + Birrell's Obiter Dicta. + </p> + <p> + Hales's Folia Litteraria. + </p> + <p> + Pater's Appreciations. + </p> + <p> + NOTE. Special works on criticism, the drama, the novel, etc., will be + found in the Bibliographies on pp. 9, 181, etc. + </p> + <p> + <b><i>Texts and Helps</i></b> (inexpensive school editions). + </p> + <p> + Standard English Classics, and Athenaeum Press Series (Ginn and Company). + </p> + <p> + Everyman's Library (Dutton). + </p> + <p> + Pocket Classics, Golden Treasury Series, etc. (Macmillan). + </p> + <p> + Belles Lettres Series (Heath). + </p> + <p> + English Readings Series (Holt). + </p> + <p> + Riverside Literature Series (Houghton, Mifflin). + </p> + <p> + Canterbury Classics (Rand, McNally). + </p> + <p> + Academy Classics (Allyn & Bacon). + </p> + <p> + Cambridge Literature Series (Sanborn). + </p> + <p> + Silver Series (Silver, Burdett). + </p> + <p> + Student's Series (Sibley). + </p> + <p> + Lakeside Classics (Ainsworth). + </p> + <p> + Lake English Classics (Scott, Foresman). + </p> + <p> + Maynard's English Classics (Merrill). + </p> + <p> + Eclectic English Classics (American Book Co.). + </p> + <p> + Caxton Classics (Scribner). + </p> + <p> + The King's Classics (Luce). + </p> + <p> + The World's Classics (Clarendon Press). + </p> + <p> + Little Masterpieces Series (Doubleday, Page). + </p> + <p> + Arber's English Reprints (Macmillan). + </p> + <p> + New Mediaeval Library (Duffield). + </p> + <p> + Arthurian Romances Series (Nutt). + </p> + <p> + Morley's Universal Library (Routledge). + </p> + <p> + Cassell's National Library (Cassell). + </p> + <p> + Bohn Libraries (Macmillan). + </p> + <p> + Temple Dramatists (Macmillan). + </p> + <p> + Mermaid Series of English Dramatists (Scribner). + </p> + <p> + NOTE. We have included in the above list all the editions of which we have + any personal knowledge, but there are doubtless others that have escaped + attention. + </p> + <hr /> + <h1> + Biography + </h1> + <p> + Dictionary of National Biography, 63 vols. (Macmillan), is the standard. + </p> + <p> + English Men of Letters Series (Macmillan). + </p> + <p> + Great Writers Series (Scribner). + </p> + <p> + Beacon Biographies (Houghton, Mifflin). + </p> + <p> + Westminster Biographies (Small, Maynard). + </p> + <p> + Hinchman and Gummere's Lives of Great English Writers (Houghton, Mifflin) + is a good single volume, containing thirty-eight biographies. + </p> + <p> + NOTE. For the best biographies of individual writers, see the + Bibliographies at the ends of the preceding chapters. + </p> + <p> + <b><i>Selections</i></b> + </p> + <p> + Manly's English Poetry and Manly's English Prose (Ginn and Company) are + the best single-volume collections, covering the whole field of English + literature. + </p> + <p> + Pancoast's Standard English Poetry, and Pancoast's Standard English Prose + (Holt). + </p> + <p> + Oxford Book of English Verse, and Oxford Treasury of English Literature, 3 + vols. (Clarendon Press). + </p> + <p> + Page's British Poets of the Nineteenth Century (Sanborn). + </p> + <p> + Stedman's Victorian Anthology (Houghton, Mifflin). + </p> + <p> + Ward's English Poets, 4 vols.; Craik's English Prose Selections, 5 vols.; + Chambers's Encyclopedia of English Literature, etc. + </p> + <p> + <b><i>Miscellaneous</i></b> + </p> + <p> + The Classic Myths in English Literature (Ginn and Company). + </p> + <p> + Adams's Dictionary of English Literature. + </p> + <p> + Ryland's Chronological Outlines of English Literature. + </p> + <p> + Brewer's Reader's Handbook. + </p> + <p> + Botta's Handbook of Universal Literature. + </p> + <p> + Ploetz's Epitome of Universal History. + </p> + <p> + Hutton's Literary Landmarks of London. + </p> + <p> + Heydrick's How to Study Literature. + </p> + <p> + For works on the English language see Bibliography of the Norman period, + p. 65. + </p> + <hr /> + <h1> + <a name="chapindex" id="chapindex">INDEX</a> + </h1> + <p> + KEY TO PRONUNCIATION + </p> + <p> + [=a], as in fate; [)a], as in fat; ä, as in arm; [a:], as in all; + [a.], as in what; â, as in care + </p> + <p> + [=e], as in mete; [)e], as in met; ê, as in there + </p> + <p> + [=i], as in ice; [)i], as in it; ï, as in machine + </p> + <p> + [=o], as in old; [)o], as in not; [o:], as in move; [.o], as in son; ô, as + in horse; [=oo] as in food; [)oo], as in foot + </p> + <p> + [=u], as in use; [)u], as in up; û, as in fur; [:u], as in rule; [.u], as + in pull + </p> + <p> + [=y], as in fly; [)y], as in baby + </p> + <p> + c, as in call; ç, as in mice; ch, as in child; [-c]h, as in school + </p> + <p> + g, as in go; [.g], as in cage + </p> + <p> + s, as in saw; [s=], as in is + </p> + <p> + th, as in thin; th, as in then + </p> + <p> + x, as in vex; [x=], as in exact. + </p> + <p> + NOTE. Titles of books, poems, essays, etc., are in italics. + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + <i>Absalom and Achitophel</i> ([=a]-chit'o-fel)<br /> <i>Abt Vogler</i> (äpt + v[=o]g'ler)<br /> Actors, in early plays;<br /> Elizabethan<br /> + Addison;<br /> life;<br /> works;<br /> + hymns;<br /> influence;<br /> + style<br /> <i>Adonais</i> (ad-[=o]-n[=a]'is)<br /> + Aesc (esk)<br /> Aidan, St. ([=i]'dan)<br /> <i>Aids to Reflection</i><br /> + <i>Alastor</i> ([)a]-l[)a]s-tôr)<br /> <i>Alchemist, The</i><br /> <i>Alexander's + Feast</i><br /> Alfred, King;<br /> life and + times;<br /> works<br /> <i>All for Love</i><br /> + <i>Alysoun</i>, or Alisoun (äl'[)y]-sown or äl'[)y]-zoon), old + form of Alice<br /> <i>Amelia</i><br /> <i>American Taxation</i>, Burke's + speech on<br /> <i>An Epistle</i><br /> <i>Anatomy of Melancholy</i><br /> + <i>Ancren Riwle</i> (angk'ren rol)<br /> <i>Andrea del Sarto</i> (än-dr[=a]'yä + del sär't[=o])<br /> <i>Andreas</i><br /> Angeln<br /> Angles, the<br /> + Anglo-Norman Period;<br /> literature;<br /> + ballads;<br /> lyrics;<br /> + summary;<br /> selections + for reading;<br /> bibliography;<br /> questions + on;<br /> chronology<br /> <i>Anglo-Saxon + Chronicle</i><br /> Anglo-Saxon Period;<br /> early + poetry;<br /> springs of poetry;<br /> language;<br /> + Christian writers;<br /> source + books;<br /> summary;<br /> selections + for reading;<br /> bibliography;<br /> questions + on;<br /> chronology<br /> Anglo-Saxons;<br /> + the name;<br /> life;<br /> + language;<br /> literature,<br /> + <i>see</i> Anglo-Saxon Period.<br /> <i>Annus Mirabilis</i><br /> Anselm<br /> + <i>Apologia</i>, Newman's<br /> <i>Apologie for Poetrie</i><br /> <i>Arcadia</i><br /> + <i>Areopagitica</i> ([)a]r'=[=e]-[)o]p-[)a]-j[)i]t'[)i]-cä)<br /> + Arnold, Matthew;<br /> life;<br /> poetry;<br /> + prose works;<br /> characteristics<br /> + Art, definition of<br /> Arthurian romances<br /> Artistic period of drama<br /> + Artistic quality of literature<br /> Ascham, Roger<br /> Assonance<br /> <i>Astraea + Redux</i> ([)a]s-tr[=e]'ä r[=e]'duks)<br /> <i>Astrophel and Stella</i> + ([)a]s'tr[=o]-fel)<br /> <i>Atalanta in Calydon</i> ([)a]t-[)a]-l[)a]n'tä, + k[)a]l'[)i]-d[)o]n)<br /> Augustan Age, meaning. <i>See</i><br /> Eighteenth-century + literature<br /> <i>Aurora Leigh</i> ([a:]-r[=o]'rä l[=e])<br /> + Austen, Jane; life;<br /> novels; Scott's + criticism of<br /> Bacon, Francis; life; works;<br /> place + and influence<br /> Bacon, Roger<br /> Ballad, the<br /> <i>Ballads and + Sonnets</i><br /> <i>Barchester Towers</i><br /> <i>Bard, The</i><br /> <i>Bard + of the Dimbovitza</i> (dim-bo-vitz'ä),<br /> Roumanian + folk songs<br /> <i>Battle of Agincourt</i> (English, [)a]j'in-k[=o]rt)<br /> + <i>Battle of Brunanburh</i><br /> <i>Battle of the Books</i><br /> Baxter, + Richard<br /> Beaumont, Francis (b[=o]'mont)<br /> <i>Becket</i><br /> + Bede; his history; his account<br /> of Cædmon<br /> + <i>Bells and Pomegranates</i><br /> Benefit of clergy<br /> <i>Beowulf</i> + (b[=a]'[=o]-wulf), the poem;<br /> history; + poetical form;<br /> manuscript of<br /> Beowulf's + Mount<br /> Bibliographies, study of literature;<br /> Anglo-Saxon + Period; Norman;<br /> Chaucer; Revival of + Learning;<br /> Elizabethan; Puritan;<br /> Restoration; + Eighteenth<br /> century; Romanticism;<br /> + Victorian; general<br /> <i>Bickerstaff Almanac</i><br /> + <i>Biographia Literaria</i><br /> Blackmore, Richard<br /> Blake, William; + life; works<br /> Blank verse<br /> <i>Blessed Damozel</i><br /> <i>Blot in + the 'Scutcheon, A</i><br /> Boethius (b[=o]-[=e]'thi-us)<br /> Boileau + (bwa-l[=o]'), French critic<br /> <i>Boke of the Duchesse</i><br /> <i>Book + of Martyrs</i><br /> <i>Borough, The</i><br /> Boswell, James. <i>See also</i> + Johnson<br /> Boy actors<br /> Breton, Nicholas<br /> Brontë, Charlotte and + Emily<br /> Browne, Thomas; works<br /> Browning, Mrs. Elizabeth Barrett<br /> + Browning, Robert; life;<br /> works; obscurity + of; as<br /> a teacher; compared with<br /> Shakespeare; + with Tennyson;<br /> periods of work; soul<br /> + studies; place and message<br /> <i>Brut</i>, + Layamon's; quotation from<br /> Brutus, alleged founder of Britain<br /> + Bulwer Lytton<br /> Bunyan, John; life; works;<br /> his + style<br /> Burke, Edmund; life; works;<br /> analysis + of his orations<br /> Burney, Fanny (Madame D'Arblay)<br /> Burns, Robert; + life; poetry;<br /> Carlyle's essay on<br /> + Burton, Robert<br /> Butler, Samuel<br /> Byron; life; works;<br /> compared + with Scott<br /> Cædmon (k[)a]d'mon), life; works;<br /> his + <i>Paraphrase</i>; school of<br /> <i>Cain</i><br /> <i>Callista</i><br /> + Calvert, Raisley<br /> Camden, William<br /> <i>Campaign, The</i><br /> + Campion, Thomas<br /> <i>Canterbury Tales</i>; plan of;<br /> prologue; + Dryden's criticism<br /> of<br /> Canynge's coffer<br /> + Carew, Thomas<br /> Carlyle; life; works;<br /> style + and message<br /> Carols, in early plays<br /> <i>Casa Guidi Windows</i> + (kä'sä gw[=e]'d[=e])<br /> <i>Castell of Perseverance</i><br /> + <i>Castle of Indolence</i><br /> <i>Cata</i><br /> Cavalier poets<br /> + Caxton; specimen of printing<br /> Celtic legends<br /> <i>Chanson de + Gestes</i><br /> <i>Chanson de Roland</i><br /> Chapman, George; his <i>Homer</i>;<br /> + Keats's sonnet on<br /> Chatterton, Thomas<br /> + Chaucer, how to read; life;<br /> works; form of + his poetry;<br /> melody; compared with Spenser<br /> + Chaucer, Age of: history; writers;<br /> summary; + selections for reading;<br /> bibliography; + questions on; chronology<br /> Chester plays<br /> Cheyne Row<br /> <i>Childe + Harold</i><br /> <i>Child's Garden of Verses</i><br /> Chocilaicus + (k[=o]-kil-[=a]'[=i]-cus)<br /> <i>Christ, The</i>, of Cynewulf<br /> <i>Christabel</i><br /> + <i>Christian Year</i><br /> <i>Christmas Carol, A</i><br /> Christ's + Hospital, London<br /> <i>Chronicle, The Anglo-Saxon</i><br /> Chronicle + plays<br /> Chronicles, riming<br /> Chronology: Anglo-Saxon Period;<br /> + Norman-French; Age of Chaucer;<br /> Revival + of Learning; Elizabethan;<br /> Puritan; + Restoration; Eighteenth Century;<br /> Romanticism; + Victorian<br /> <i>Citizen of the World</i><br /> <i>Clarissa</i><br /> + Classic and classicism<br /> Classic influence on the drama<br /> <i>Cloister + and the Hearth</i><br /> Clough, Arthur Hugh<br /> <i>Cockaygne, Land of</i> + (k[=o]-k[=a]n')<br /> Coleridge; life; works; critiqal writings<br /> + Collier, Jeremy<br /> Collins, William<br /> Comedy, definition; first + English; of the court<br /> <i>Complete Angler, The</i><br /> <i>Comus, + Masque of</i><br /> <i>Conciliation with America</i>, Burke's speech<br /> + <i>Confessions of an English Opium-Eater</i><br /> <i>Consolations of + Philosophy</i><br /> <i>Cotter's Saturday Night</i><br /> Couplet, the<br /> + Court comedies<br /> Covenant of 1643<br /> Coventry plays<br /> Cowley, + Abraham<br /> Cowper, William; life; works<br /> Crabbe, George<br /> <i>Cranford</i><br /> + Crashaw, Richard<br /> Critic, meaning of<br /> Critical writing, Dryden; + Coleridge;<br /> in Age of Romanticism;<br /> + in Victorian Age<br /> Criticism, Arnold's + definition<br /> Cross, John Walter<br /> <i>Crown of Wild Olive</i><br /> + <i>Culture and Anarchy</i><br /> <i>Curse of Jfehama</i> (k[=e]-hä'mä)<br /> + <i>Cursor Mundi</i><br /> Cycles, of plays; of romances<br /> Cynewulf + (kin'[)e]-wulf), 36-38<br /> <i>Cynthia's Revels</i> (sin'thi-ä)<br /> + Daniel, Samuel<br /> <i>Daniel Deronda</i><br /> D'Arblay, Madame (Fanny + Burney)<br /> Darwin and <i>Darwinism</i><br /> Death, Raleigh's + apostrophe to<br /> <i>Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</i><br /> <i>Defense + of Poesie</i><br /> <i>Defensio pro Populo Anglicano</i><br /> Defoe; + life; works<br /> Dekker, Thomas<br /> <i>Delia</i><br /> Democracy and + Romanticism;<br /> in Victorian Age<br /> <i>Dear's + Lament</i><br /> De Quincey; life; works; style<br /> <i>De Sapientia + Veterum</i><br /> <i>Deserted Village, The</i><br /> <i>Dethe of Blanche + the Duchesse</i><br /> <i>Diary</i>, Evelyn's; Pepys's; selections from<br /> + Dickens;<br /> life;<br /> works;<br /> + general plan of novels;<br /> his + characters;<br /> his public;<br /> + limitations<br /> <i>Dictionary</i>, + Johnson's<br /> <i>Discoverie of Guiana</i> (g[=e]-ä'nä)<br /> + <i>Divina Commedia</i> (d[=e]-v[=e]'nä kom-m[=a]'d[=e]-ä)<br /> + <i>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i><br /> Domestic drama<br /> Donne, John<br /> + his poetry<br /> Dotheboys Hall (do-the-boys)<br /> + Drama, in Elizabethan Age<br /> origin,<br /> + periods of,<br /> miracle + and mystery plays,<br /> interludes,<br /> classical + influence on,<br /> unities,<br /> the + English,<br /> types of,<br /> decline + of.<br /> <i>See also</i> Elizabethan Age, + Shakespeare,<br /> Jonson, Marlowe, etc.<br /> + Dramatic unities<br /> Dramatists, methods of <i>See</i><br /> Shakespeare, + Marlowe, etc.<br /> <i>Drapier's Letters</i><br /> Drayton, Michael<br /> + <i>Dream of Gerontius, The</i> (j[)e]-r[)o]n'sh[)i]-us)<br /> Dryden<br /> + life,<br /> works,<br /> + influence,<br /> criticism + of <i>Canterbury Tales</i><br /> <i>Duchess of Malfi</i> (mäl'f[=e])<br /> + <i>Dunciad, The</i> (dun's[)i]-ad)<br /> Ealhild, queen ([=e]-äl'hild)<br /> + <i>Earthly Paradise</i><br /> <i>Eastward Ho</i>!<br /> Economic + conditions, in Age of Romanticism<br /> Edgeworth, Maria<br /> <i>Edward + II</i><br /> <i>Egoist, The</i><br /> Eighteenth-Century Literature:<br /> + history of the period,<br /> literary + characteristics,<br /> the Classic Age,<br /> + Augustan writers,<br /> romantic + revival,<br /> the first novelists,<br /> summary,<br /> + selections for reading,<br /> bibliography,<br /> + questions,<br /> chronology,<br /> + <i>Eikon Basilike</i> ([=i]'kon b[)a]-sil'[)i]-k[=e])<br /> Eikonoklastes + ([=i]-kon-[=o]-klas't[=e]z)<br /> <i>Elegy</i>, Gray's<br /> <i>Elene</i><br /> + Elizabethan Age<br /> history,<br /> non-dramatic + poets,<br /> first dramatists,<br /> Shakespeare's + predecessors,<br /> Shakespeare,<br /> Shakespeare's + contemporaries and successors,<br /> prose + writers,<br /> summary,<br /> selections,<br /> + bibliography,<br /> questions,<br /> + chronology<br /> <i>Endymion</i><br /> <i>English + Bards and Scotch Reviewers</i><br /> <i>English Humorists</i><br /> <i>English + Idyls</i><br /> Eormanric ([=e]-or'man-ric)<br /> <i>Epicaene</i> + ([)e]p'[=i]-sen), or <i>The Silent Woman</i><br /> <i>Epithalamium</i> + ([)e]p-[)i]-th[=a]-l[=a]'m[)i]-um)<br /> Erasmus<br /> <i>Essay concerning + Human Understanding</i><br /> <i>Essay of Dramatic Poesy</i><br /> <i>Essay + on Burns</i><br /> <i>Essay on Criticism</i><br /> <i>Essay on Man</i><br /> + <i>Essay on Milton</i><br /> <i>Essays</i>,<br /> Addison's,<br /> + Bacon's<br /> <i>Essays in Criticism</i><br /> <i>Essays + of Elia</i> ([=e]'l[)i]-ä)<br /> <i>Ethics of the Dust</i><br /> <i>Euphues</i> + and euphuism ([=u]'f[=u]-[=e]z)<br /> Evans, Mary Ann. <i>See</i> George + Eliot<br /> Evelyn, John<br /> <i>Everlasting No</i>, and <i>Yea, The</i><br /> + <i>Every Man in His Humour</i><br /> <i>Everyman</i><br /> <i>Excursion, + The</i><br /> <i>Exeter Book</i><br /> Faber, Frederick<br /> <i>Fables</i>, + Dryden's<br /> <i>Faery Queen</i><br /> <i>Fall of Princes</i><br /> <i>Faust</i> + (foust), <i>Faustus</i> (fas'tus)<br /> <i>Ferrex and Porrex</i><br /> + Fielding,<br /> novels,<br /> characteristics<br /> + <i>Fight at Finnsburgh</i><br /> <i>Fingal</i> (fing'gal)<br /> + First-folio Shakespeare<br /> Fletcher, Giles<br /> Fletcher, John<br /> + Ford, John<br /> Formalism<br /> <i>Four Georges, The</i><br /> Foxe, John<br /> + <i>Fragments of Ancient Poetry</i><br /> French influence in Restoration + literature<br /> French language in England<br /> French Revolution, + influence of<br /> <i>French Revolution</i>, Carlyle's<br /> Fuller, + Thomas<br /> <i>Gammer Gurton's Needle</i><br /> Gaskell, Mrs. Elizabeth<br /> + <i>Gawain and the Green Knight</i> (gä'-w[=a]n)<br /> Gawain cycle + of romances, 57<br /> <i>Gebir</i> (g[=a]-b[=e]r')<br /> Geoffrey of + Monmouth (jef'r[)i])<br /> George Eliot;<br /> life;<br /> + works;<br /> characteristics;<br /> + as a moralist<br /> Gest (<i>or</i> jest) books<br /> + <i>Geste of Robin Hood</i><br /> Gibbon,<br /> his + history<br /> <i>Gifts of God, The</i><br /> Girondists (j[)i]-ron'dists)<br /> + Gleemen, <i>or</i> minstrels<br /> Goldsmith;<br /> life;<br /> + works<br /> <i>Good Counsel</i><br /> <i>Gorboduc</i> + (gôr'b[=o]-duk)<br /> <i>Gorgeous Gallery</i><br /> Gower<br /> <i>Grace + Abounding</i><br /> Gray, Thomas;<br /> life;<br /> + works<br /> <i>Greatest English Poets</i><br /> + Greene, Robert<br /> Gregory, Pope<br /> Grendel; story of;<br /> mother + of<br /> Grubb Street<br /> <i>Gulliver's Travels</i><br /> <i>Gull's + Hornbook</i><br /> Hakluyt, Richard (h[)a]k'loot)<br /> Hallam,<br /> + his criticism of Bacon<br /> Hardy, Thomas<br /> + Hastings, battle of<br /> Hathaway, Anne<br /> Hazlitt, William<br /> + Hengist (h[)e]ng'gist)<br /> <i>Henry Esmond</i><br /> Herbert, George;<br /> + life;<br /> poetry of<br /> + <i>Hero and Leander</i><br /> <i>Heroes and Hero Worship</i><br /> Heroic + couplet<br /> <i>Heroic Stanzas</i><br /> Herrick, Robert<br /> <i>Hesperides + and Noble Numbers</i> (h[)e]s-p[)e]r'[)i]-d[=e]z)<br /> Heywood, John<br /> + Heywood, Thomas<br /> Hilda, abbess<br /> Hildgund (hild'gund)<br /> + Historical novel<br /> <i>History, of England</i>, Macaulay's;<br /> + <i>of Frederick the Great</i>, Carlyle's;<br /> + <i>of Henry VIII</i>, Bacon's;<br /> <i>of + the Reformation in Scotland</i>, Knox's;<br /> <i>of + the Wortd</i>, Raleigh's<br /> Hnæf (n[e=]f)<br /> Hobbes, Thomas<br /> + Holofernes (hol-[=o]-fer'n[=e]z) in <i>Judith</i><br /> <i>Holy and + Profane State</i><br /> <i>Holy Living</i><br /> <i>Holy War</i><br /> <i>Homer</i>, + Chapman's;<br /> Dryden's;<br /> Pope's;<br /> + Cowper's<br /> Hooker, Richard<br /> Hooker, + Thomas<br /> <i>Hours in a Library</i><br /> <i>Hours of Idleness</i><br /> + <i>House of Fame</i><br /> <i>House of Life</i><br /> Hrothgar + (r[)o]th'gar)<br /> <i>Hudibras</i> (h[=u]'d[)i]-bras)<br /> Humanism<br /> + <i>Humphrey Clinker</i><br /> Hunt, Leigh<br /> <i>Husband's Message</i><br /> + Huxley,<br /> Hygelac (h[=i]-j[=e]'lak)<br /> Hymn book, first English<br /> + <i>Hymn to Intellectual Beauty</i><br /> <i>Hymns</i>, Addison's;<br /> + Cowper's<br /> <i>Hypatia</i> (h[=i]-p[=a]'shia)<br /> + <i>Hyperion</i> (h[=i]-p[=e]'r[)i]-on)<br /> Idealism of Victorian Age<br /> + Ideals<br /> Idols, of Bacon<br /> <i>Idylls of the King</i><br /> <i>Il + Penseroso</i> (il pen-s[)e]-r[=o]'s[=o])<br /> <i>Iliad</i>, Pope's + translation;<br /> Chapman's;<br /> Dryden's<br /> + <i>Imaginary Conversations</i><br /> <i>Impeachment of Warren Hastings</i><br /> + <i>In Memoriam</i><br /> <i>Instauratio Magna</i> (in-sta-r[=a]'shi-o)<br /> + Interludes<br /> <i>Intimations of Immortality</i><br /> Jacobean poets<br /> + <i>Jane Eyre</i> (âr)<br /> Jeffrey, Francis<br /> Jest (<i>or</i> gest) + books<br /> <i>Jew of Malta</i><br /> <i>John Gilpin</i><br /> Johnson, + Samuel; life;<br /> works; his conversations;<br /> + Boswell's <i>Life of Johnson</i><br /> <i>Jonathan + Wild</i><br /> Jonson, Ben; life; works<br /> <i>Joseph Andrews</i><br /> + <i>Journal of the Plague Year</i><br /> <i>Journal to Stella</i><br /> <i>Judith</i><br /> + <i>Juliana</i><br /> Keats; life; works;<br /> place + in literature<br /> Kilmarnock Burns, the<br /> <i>Kings' Treasuries</i><br /> + Kingsley, Charles<br /> <i>Knight's Tale, The</i><br /> Knox, John<br /> <i>Kubla + Khan</i> (kob'lä kän)<br /> Kyd, Thomas<br /> <i>L'Allegro</i> + (läl-[=a]'gr[=o])<br /> <i>Lady of the Lake</i><br /> Lake poets, the<br /> + Lamb, Charles; life; works;<br /> style<br /> + Lamb, Mary<br /> <i>Lamia</i> (l[=a]'mi-ä)<br /> <i>Land of Cockaygne</i> + (k[)o]-kän')<br /> <i>Land of Dreams</i><br /> Landor, Walter Savage; + life;<br /> works<br /> Langland, William<br /> + Language, our first speech; dual<br /> character + of; Teutonic origin<br /> <i>Last Days of Pompeii</i> (pom-p[=a]'y[=e])<br /> + Law, Hooker's idea of<br /> <i>Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity,</i><br /> <i>Lay + Sermons</i><br /> Layamon<br /> <i>Lays of Ancient Rome</i><br /> <i>Lead, + Kindly Light</i><br /> <i>Lectures on Shakespeare</i><br /> <i>Legends of + Goode Wimmen</i><br /> <i>Leviathan</i><br /> Lewes, George Henry<br /> <i>Liberty + of Prophesying</i><br /> Life, compared to a sea voyage<br /> <i>Life of + Johnson</i><br /> <i>Life of Savage</i><br /> Lindsay, David<br /> Literary + Club, the<br /> Literary criticism. <i>See also</i><br /> Critical + writing.<br /> <i>Literary Reminiscences</i><br /> Literature, definition; + qualities;<br /> tests; object in studying; + importance;<br /> Goethe's definition;<br /> + spirit of modern<br /> <i>Literature and Dogma</i><br /> + <i>Lives</i>, Plutarch's; Walton's<br /> <i>Lives of the Poets</i><br /> + Locke, John<br /> Lockhart, John<br /> <i>Lorna Doone</i><br /> <i>Lost + Leader, The</i><br /> Lovelace, Richard<br /> <i>Lycidas</i> + (lis'[)i]-das)<br /> Lydgate, John<br /> Lyly, John (lil'[)i])<br /> <i>Lyra + Apostolica</i><br /> <i>Lyrical Ballads</i><br /> Lytton, Edward Bulwer<br /> + Macaulay; life; works;<br /> characteristics<br /> + Macpherson, James (mak-fer'son)<br /> Magazines, the modern<br /> <i>Maldon, + The Battle of</i><br /> Malory<br /> <i>Mandeville's Travels</i><br /> <i>Manfred</i><br /> + Marlowe; life; works;<br /> and Milton; and + Shakespeare<br /> <i>Marmion</i><br /> Marvell, Andrew<br /> Massinger, + Philip<br /> Matter of France, Rome, and Britain<br /> Melodrama<br /> <i>Memoirs + of a Cavalier</i><br /> Meredith, George<br /> <i>Merlin and the Gleam</i><br /> + Metaphysical poets<br /> Metrical romances<br /> Middleton, Thomas<br /> <i>Miles + Gloriosus</i> (m[=e]'les gl[=o]-r[)i]-[=o]'s[u:]s)<br /> <i>Mill on the + Floss</i><br /> Milton; life; early or Horton<br /> poems; + prose works;<br /> later poetry; and Shakespeare;<br /> + Wordsworth's sonnet on<br /> <i>Minstrelsy of the + Scottish Border</i><br /> Miracle plays<br /> <i>Mirror for Magistrates</i><br /> + <i>Mr. Badman, Life and Death of</i><br /> Modern literature, spirit of<br /> + <i>Modern Painters</i><br /> <i>Modest Proposal, A</i><br /> <i>Moral + Epistles</i><br /> Moral period of the drama<br /> Moral purpose in + Victorian literature<br /> Morality plays<br /> More, Hannah<br /> More, + Thomas<br /> Morris, William<br /> <i>Morte d'Arthur</i> (mort där'ther)<br /> + <i>Mother Hubbard's Tale</i><br /> <i>Mulèykeh</i> + (m[=u]-l[=a]'k[)a])<br /> <i>My Last Duchess</i><br /> <i>Mysteries of + Udolpho, The</i> ([=u]-dol'f[=o])<br /> Mystery plays<br /> <i>New + Atalantis</i><br /> <i>Newcomes, The</i><br /> Newman, Cardinal; life;<br /> + prose works; poems;<br /> style<br /> + Newspapers, the first<br /> <i>Nibelungenlied</i> + (n[=e]'b[)e]-lung-en-l[=e]d)<br /> <i>Noah, Play of</i><br /> Norman + Conquest<br /> Norman pageantry<br /> Norman period. <i>See</i> + Anglo-Norman<br /> Normans;<br /> union with + Saxons;<br /> literature of<br /> North, + Christopher (John Wilson)<br /> North, Thomas<br /> Northanger Abbey + (north'[=a]n-jer)<br /> <i>Northern Antiquities</i><br /> Northumbrian + literature; decline<br /> of; how saved<br /> + Novel, meaning and history;<br /> precursors of; + discovery of<br /> modern<br /> Novelists, the + first English.<br /> <i>See</i> Scott, Dickens, + etc.<br /> <i>Novum Organum</i> (or'g[)a]-num)<br /> <i>Ode on the Morning + of Christ's Nativity</i><br /> <i>Ode to Dejection</i><br /> <i>Ode to the + West Wind</i><br /> Odes, Pindaric<br /> <i>Odyssey</i>, Pope's; + Chapman's;<br /> Dryden's<br /> <i>Old Fortunatus</i> + (for-t[=u]-n[=a]'tus)<br /> <i>Oliver Cromwell</i>, Carlyle's<br /> <i>Oliver + Twist</i><br /> <i>Origin of Species</i><br /> <i>Orlando Furioso</i> + (or-lan'd[=o] foo-r[=e]-[=o]'s[=o])<br /> Orm, <i>or</i> Orme; his <i>Ormulum</i><br /> + Orosius ([=o]-r[=o]'si-us), his history<br /> Ossian (osh'ian) and + Ossianic poems<br /> <i>Owl and Nightingale, The</i><br /> Oxford movement<br /> + <i>P's, The Four</i><br /> <i>Palamon and Arcite</i> (pal'a-mon, är'-s[=i]te)<br /> + <i>Pamela</i> (pam'e-lä)<br /> Pantisocracy + (pan-t[=i]-sok'r[=a]-se), of Coleridge,<br /> Southey, + etc.<br /> <i>Paradise Lost</i><br /> <i>Paradise Regained</i><br /> <i>Paradyse + of Daynty Devises</i><br /> <i>Paraphrase</i>, of Cædmon<br /> <i>Parish + Register, The</i><br /> <i>Pauline</i><br /> <i>Pearl, The</i><br /> <i>Pelham</i><br /> + <i>Pendennis</i><br /> Pepys, Samuel (pep'is, peeps, pips)<br /> Percy, + Thomas<br /> <i>Peregrine Pickle</i> (per'e-grin)<br /> <i>Pericles and + Aspasia</i> (per'i-kl[=e]z, as-p[=a]'shi-ä)<br /> Philistines, the<br /> + <i>Phoenix</i> (f[=e]'nix)<br /> <i>Pickwick Papers</i><br /> <i>Piers + Plowman</i> (peers)<br /> <i>Pilgrim's Progress</i><br /> Pindaric odes + (pin-där'ic)<br /> <i>Pippa Passes</i><br /> <i>Plain Man's Pathway + to Heaven</i><br /> Plutarch's <i>Lives</i><br /> <i>Poems by Two Brothers</i><br /> + <i>Poetaster, The</i><br /> <i>Polyolbion</i> (pol-[)i]-ol'b[)i]-on)<br /> + Pope, Alexander; life;<br /> works<br /> Porter, + Jane<br /> <i>Practice of Piety</i><br /> <i>Praeterita</i> + (pr[=e]-ter'[)i]-tä)<br /> <i>Praise of Folly</i><br /> <i>Prelude, + The</i><br /> <i>Pre-Raphaelites</i> (rä'f[=a]-el-ites)<br /> <i>Pride + and Prejudice</i><br /> <i>Princess, The</i><br /> <i>Prometheus Unbound</i> + (pr[=o]-m[=e]'th[=u]s)<br /> Prose development in eighteenth century<br /> + Pseudo-classicism (s[=u]'d[=o])<br /> Purchas, Samuel; <i>Purchas His<br /> + Pilgrimes</i><br /> Puritan Age: history; + literary<br /> characteristics; poets;<br /> + prose writers; compared with<br /> Elizabethan; + summary;<br /> selections for reading; + bibliography,<br /> questions;<br /> chronology<br /> + Puritan movement<br /> Puritans, wrong ideas of<br /> Queen Mab, in <i>Romeo + and Juliet</i><br /> <i>Queen's Gardens</i><br /> <i>Rabbi Ben Ezra</i><br /> + Radcliffe, Mrs. Anne<br /> Raleigh, Walter<br /> <i>Ralph Royster Doyster</i><br /> + <i>Rambler</i> essays<br /> <i>Rape of the Lock</i><br /> Reade, Charles<br /> + Realism<br /> <i>Recluse, The</i><br /> <i>Reflections on the French + Revolution</i><br /> <i>Religio Laici</i><br /> <i>Religio Medici</i><br /> + Religious period of the drama<br /> <i>Reliques of Ancient English Poetry</i><br /> + <i>Reminiscences</i>, Carlyle's<br /> <i>Remorse</i><br /> Renaissance, + the (re-n[=a]'säns, r[=e]'n[=a]s-sans, etc.)<br /> Restoration + Period: history; literary<br /> characteristics; + writers;<br /> summary; selections for<br /> + reading; bibliography;<br /> questions; + chronology<br /> Revival of Learning Period: history;<br /> literature; + summary;<br /> selections for reading; + bibliography;<br /> questions; chronology<br /> <i>Revolt + of Islam</i><br /> Revolution, French; of<br /> 1688; + age of<br /> Richardson, Samuel; novels of<br /> <i>Rights of Man</i><br /> + <i>Rime of the Ancient Alariner</i><br /> Rime Royal<br /> <i>Ring and the + Book, The</i><br /> <i>Robin Hood</i><br /> <i>Robinson Crusoe</i><br /> <i>Roderick</i><br /> + <i>Roderick Random</i><br /> Romance; Greek Romances<br /> Romance + languages<br /> <i>Romance of the Rose</i><br /> Romantic comedy and + tragedy<br /> Romantic enthusiasm<br /> Romantic poetry<br /> Romanticism, + Age of; history;<br /> literary characteristics;<br /> + poets; prose writers; summary;<br /> selections + for reading;<br /> bibliography; questions;<br /> + chronology<br /> Romanticism, meaning<br /> <i>Romola</i><br /> + <i>Rosalynde</i><br /> Rossetti, Christina (ros-set't[=e])<br /> Rossetti, + Dante Gabriel<br /> <i>Rowley Papers</i><br /> Royal Society<br /> Runes<br /> + Ruskin; life; works;<br /> characteristics; + message<br /> Sackville, Thomas<br /> <i>St. Catherine, Play of</i><br /> + St. George's Guild<br /> <i>Saints' Everlasting Rest</i><br /> <i>Samson + Agonistes</i> (ag-o-nis't[=e]z)<br /> <i>Sartor Resartus</i> (sar'tor + re-sar'tus)<br /> Satire; of Swift; of Thackeray<br /> + Saxon. <i>See</i> Anglo-Saxon<br /> <i>School of Shooting</i><br /> + Science, in Victorian Age<br /> Scop, <i>or</i> poet (skop)<br /> Scott, + Walter; life; poetry;<br /> novels; criticism of + Jane<br /> Austen<br /> <i>Scottish Chiefs</i><br /> + Scyld (skild), story of<br /> Sea, names of, in Anglo-Saxon, 25<br /> <i>Seafarer, + The</i><br /> <i>Seasons, The</i><br /> Selections for reading:<br /> + Anglo-Saxon period;<br /> Norman;<br /> + Chaucer;<br /> Revival of + Learning;<br /> Elizabethan;<br /> Puritan;<br /> + Restoration;<br /> Eighteenth + Century;<br /> Romanticism;<br /> Victorian<br /> + <i>Sentimental Journey</i><br /> <i>Sesame and Lilies</i> (ses'a-m[=e])<br /> + Shakespeare;<br /> life;<br /> works;<br /> + four periods;<br /> sources + of plays;<br /> classification of plays;<br /> + doubtful plays;<br /> poems;<br /> + place and influence<br /> <i>She Stoops to + Conquer</i><br /> Shelley;<br /> life;<br /> works;<br /> + compared with Wordsworth<br /> <i>Shepherds' Book</i><br /> + <i>Shepherd's Calendar</i><br /> Shirley, James<br /> <i>Shoemaker's + Holiday, The</i><br /> <i>Short View of the English Stage</i><br /> + Sidney, Philip<br /> <i>Sigurd the Volsung</i><br /> <i>Silas Marner</i><br /> + <i>Silent Woman, The</i><br /> <i>Sir Charles Grandison</i><br /> Skelton, + John<br /> <i>Sketches by Boz</i><br /> Smollett, Tobias<br /> Social + development in eighteenth century<br /> <i>Sohrab and Rustum</i> + (soo'rhab, <i>or</i> s[=o]'hrab)<br /> <i>Songs of Innocence</i>, and <i>Songs + of Experience</i><br /> Sonnet, introduction of<br /> <i>Sonnets</i>,<br /> + of Shakespeare;<br /> of + Milton<br /> <i>Sonnets from the Portuguese</i><br /> Southey;<br /> works<br /> + <i>Spanish Gypsy</i><br /> <i>Spanish Tragedy</i><br /> <i>Specimens of + English Dramatic Poets</i><br /> <i>Spectator, The</i><br /> Spenser;<br /> + life;<br /> works;<br /> + characteristics;<br /> compared + with Chaucer<br /> Spenserian poets<br /> Spenserian stanza<br /> Stage, in + early plays;<br /> Elizabethan<br /> Steele, + Richard<br /> Stephen, Leslie<br /> Sterne, Lawrence<br /> Stevenson, + Robert Louis<br /> Style, a test of literature<br /> Suckling, John<br /> + Surrey, Henry Howard, Earl of<br /> <i>Swan, The</i><br /> Swift;<br /> + life;<br /> works;<br /> + satire;<br /> characteristics<br /> + Swinburne<br /> <i>Sylva</i><br /> Symonds, John Addington<br /> Tabard Inn<br /> + <i>Tale of a Tub</i><br /> <i>Tale of Two Cities</i><br /> <i>Tales from + Shakespeare</i><br /> <i>Tales in Verse</i><br /> <i>Tales of the Hall</i><br /> + <i>Tam o' Shanter</i><br /> <i>Tamburlaine</i> (tam'bur-lane)<br /> <i>Task, + The</i><br /> <i>Tatler, The</i><br /> Taylor, Jeremy<br /> <i>Temora</i> + (te-m[=o]'rä)<br /> <i>Tempest, The</i><br /> <i>Temple, The</i><br /> + Tennyson;<br /> life;<br /> works;<br /> + characteristics;<br /> message<br /> + <i>Tenure of Kings and Magistrates</i><br /> <i>Terra</i><br /> Tests of + literature<br /> Teufelsdroeckh (toy'felz-droek)<br /> Thackeray;<br /> + life;<br /> works;<br /> + characteristics;<br /> style;<br /> + and Dickens<br /> <i>Thaddeus of Warsaw</i><br /> + <i>Thalaba</i> (täl-ä'bä)<br /> Theater, the first<br /> + Thomson, James<br /> <i>Thyrsis</i> (ther'sis)<br /> <i>Timber</i><br /> <i>Tintern + Abbey</i><br /> <i>Tirocinium</i> (t[=i]-r[=o]-sin'[)i]-um), <i>or A + Review of Schools</i><br /> <i>Tom Jones</i><br /> Tories and Whigs<br /> + <i>Tottel's Miscellany</i><br /> Townley plays<br /> <i>Toxophilus</i> + (tok-sof'[)i]-lus)<br /> Tractarian movement<br /> <i>Tracts for the Times</i><br /> + Tragedy, definition,<br /> of blood<br /> + Transition poets<br /> <i>Traveler, The</i><br /> <i>Treasure Island</i><br /> + <i>Treatises on Government</i><br /> <i>Tristram Shandy</i><br /> <i>Troilus + and Cressida</i> (tr[=o]'[)i]-lus, kres'-[)i]-dä)<br /> Trollope, + Anthony<br /> Troyes, Treaty of<br /> <i>Truth</i>, or <i>Good Counsel</i><br /> + Tyndale, William (tin'dal)<br /> Udall, Nicholas ([=u]'dal)<br /> <i>Udolpho</i> + ([=u]-dol'f[=o])<br /> <i>Unfortunate Traveller, The</i><br /> + Universality, a test of literature<br /> University wits<br /> <i>Unto + This Last</i><br /> <i>Utopia</i><br /> <i>Vanity Fair</i><br /> <i>Vanity + of Human Wishes</i><br /> Vaughan, Henry<br /> <i>Vercelli Book</i><br /> + <i>Vicar of Wakefield</i><br /> Vice, the, in old plays<br /> Victorian + Age,<br /> history,<br /> literary + characteristics,<br /> poets,<br /> novelists,<br /> + essayists, etc.,<br /> spirit + of,<br /> summary,<br /> selections + for reading,<br /> bibliography,<br /> questions,<br /> + chronology<br /> <i>View of the State of Ireland</i><br /> + <i>Village, The</i><br /> <i>Vision of the Rood</i><br /> <i>Volpone</i> + (vol-p[=o]'ne)<br /> <i>Voyages</i>, Hakluyt's<br /> Wakefield plays<br /> + <i>Waldere</i> (väl-d[=a]'re, <i>or</i> väl'dare)<br /> Waller, + Edmund<br /> Walton, Izaak<br /> <i>Waverley</i><br /> <i>Wealth of Nations</i><br /> + <i>Weather, The</i>, play of<br /> Webster, John<br /> Wedmore, Treaty of<br /> + <i>Westward Ho</i><br /> Whigs and Tories<br /> Whitby (hwit'b[)i])<br /> + <i>Widsith</i> (vid'sith)<br /> Wiglaf (vig'läf)<br /> Wilson, John + (Christopher North),<br /> Wither, George<br /> Women, in literature<br /> + Wordsworth,<br /> life,<br /> poetry,<br /> + poems of nature,<br /> poems + of life,<br /> last works<br /> Wordsworth, + Dorothy<br /> <i>Worthies of England</i><br /> <i>Wuthering Heights</i> + (wuth'er-ing)<br /> Wyatt (w[=i]'at), Thomas<br /> Wyclif (wik'lif)<br /> + Wyrd (vird), or fate<br /> York plays<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <a href="#rfn1" name="fn1" id="fn1">1.</a> From <i>The Bard of the + Dimbovitza</i>, First Series, p. 73. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn2" name="fn2" id="fn2">2.</a> There is a mystery about this + old hero which stirs our imagination, but which is never explained. It + refers, probably, to some legend of the Anglo-Saxons which we have + supplied from other sources, aided by some vague suggestions and glimpses + of the past in the poem itself. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn3" name="fn3" id="fn3">3.</a> This is not the Beowulf who is + hero of the poem. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn4" name="fn4" id="fn4">4.</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. 26-50, a + free rendering to suggest the alliteration of the original. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn5" name="fn5" id="fn5">5.</a> Grendel, of the Eoten (giant) + race, the death shadow, the mark stalker, the shadow ganger, is also + variously called god's foe, fiend of hell, Cain's brood, etc. It need + hardly be explained that the latter terms are additions to the original + poem, made, probably, by monks who copied the manuscript. A belief in + Wyrd, the mighty power controlling the destinies of men, is the chief + religious motive of the epic. In line 1056 we find a curious blending of + pagan and Christian belief, where Wyrd is withstood by the "wise God." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn6" name="fn6" id="fn6">6.</a> Summary of ll. 710-727. We have + not indicated in our translation (or in quotations from Garnett, Morley, + Brooke, etc.) where parts of the text are omitted. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn7" name="fn7" id="fn7">7.</a> Grendel's mother belongs also + to the Eoten (giant) race. She is called <i>brimwylf</i> (sea wolf), <i>merewif</i> + (sea woman), <i>grundwyrgen</i> (bottom master), etc. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn8" name="fn8" id="fn8">8.</a> From Garnett's <i>Beowulf</i>, + ll. 1384-1394. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn9" name="fn9" id="fn9">9.</a> From Morley's version, ll. + 1357-1376. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn10" name="fn10" id="fn10">10.</a> <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. + 2417-2423, a free rendering. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn11" name="fn11" id="fn11">11.</a> Lines 2729-2740, a free + rendering. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn12" name="fn12" id="fn12">12.</a> Morley's version, ll. + 2799-2816. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn13" name="fn13" id="fn13">13.</a> Lines 3156-3182 (Morley's + version). + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn14" name="fn14" id="fn14">14.</a> Probably to the fourth + century, though some parts of the poem must have been added later. Thus + the poet says (II. 88-102) that he visited Eormanric, who died <i>cir</i>. + 375, and Queen Ealhhild whose father, Eadwin, died <i>cir</i>. 561. The + difficulty of fixing a date to the poem is apparent. It contains several + references to scenes and characters in <i>Beowulf</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn15" name="fn15" id="fn15">15.</a> Lines 135-143 (Morley's + version). + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn16" name="fn16" id="fn16">16.</a> A lyric is a short poem + reflecting some personal emotion, like love or grief. Two other + Anglo-Saxon poems, "The Wife's Complaint" and "The Husband's Message," + belong to this class. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn17" name="fn17" id="fn17">17.</a> First strophe of Brooke's + version, <i>History of Early English Literature</i> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn18" name="fn18" id="fn18">18.</a> <i>Seafarer</i>, Part I, + Iddings' version, in <i>Translations from Old English Poetry.</i> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn19" name="fn19" id="fn19">19.</a> It is an open question + whether this poem celebrates the fight at which Hnæf, the Danish + leader, fell, or a later fight led by Hengist, to avenge Hnæf's + death. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn20" name="fn20" id="fn20">20.</a> Brooke's translation, <i>History + of Early English Literature</i>, For another early battle-song see + Tennyson's "Battle of Brunanburh." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn21" name="fn21" id="fn21">21.</a> William Camden (1551-1623), + one of England's earliest and greatest antiquarians. His first work, <i>Britannia</i>, + a Latin history of England, has been called "the common sun whereat our + modern writers have all kindled their little torches." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn22" name="fn22" id="fn22">22.</a> From Iddings' version of <i>The + Seafarer</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn23" name="fn23" id="fn23">23.</a> From <i>Andreas</i>, ll. + 511 ff., a free translation. The whole poem thrills with the Old Saxon + love of the sea and of ships. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn24" name="fn24" id="fn24">24.</a> From <i>Beowulf</i>, ll. + 1063 ff., a free translation. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn25" name="fn25" id="fn25">25.</a> Translated from <i>The + Husband's Message</i>, written on a piece of bark. With wonderful poetic + insight the bark itself is represented as telling its story to the wife, + from the time when the birch tree grew beside the sea until the exiled man + found it and stripped the bark and carved on its surface a message to the + woman he loved. This first of all English love songs deserves to rank with + Valentine's description of Silvia: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Why, + man, she is mine own,<br /> And I as rich in having such a jewel<br /> As + twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl,<br /> The water nectar and the + rocks pure gold.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <i>Two Gentlemen of Verona</i>, II, 4. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn26" name="fn26" id="fn26">26.</a> From the <i>Anglo-Saxon + Chronicle</i>, record of the year 457. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn27" name="fn27" id="fn27">27.</a> According to Sweet the + original home of the Aryans is placed in central or northern Europe, + rather than in Asia, as was once assumed. See <i>The History of Language</i>, + p. 103. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn28" name="fn28" id="fn28">28.</a> "Cædmon's Hymn," + Cook's version, in <i>Translations from Old English Poetry</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn29" name="fn29" id="fn29">29.</a> <i>Ecclesiastical History</i>, + IV, xxiv. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn30" name="fn30" id="fn30">30.</a> Genesis, 112-131 (Morley). + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn31" name="fn31" id="fn31">31.</a> Exodus, 155 ff. (Brooke). + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn32" name="fn32" id="fn32">32.</a> Runes were primitive + letters of the old northern alphabet. In a few passages Cynewulf uses each + rune to represent not only a letter but a word beginning with that letter. + Thus the rune-equivalent of C stands for <i>cene</i> (keen, courageous), Y + for <i>yfel</i> (evil, in the sense of wretched), N for <i>nyd</i> (need), + W for <i>ivyn</i> (joy), U for <i>ur</i> (our), L for <i>lagu</i> (lake), + F for <i>feoh</i> (fee, wealth). Using the runes equivalent to these seven + letters, Cynewulf hides and at the same time reveals his name in certain + verses of <i>The Christ</i>, for instance: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Then the <i>Courage-hearted</i> quakes, when the King (Lord) he hears<br /> + Speak to those who once on earth but obeyed Him weakly,<br /> While as + yet their <i>Yearning fain</i> and their <i>Need</i><br /> most easily + Comfort might discover.... Gone is then the <i>Winsomeness</i><br /> Of + the earth's adornments! What to <i>Us</i> as men belonged<br /> Of the + joys of life was locked, long ago, in <i>Lake-flood</i>.<br /> All the <i>Fee</i> + on earth.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + See Brooke's <i>History of Early English Literature</i>, pp. 377-379, or + <i>The Christ of Cynewulf</i>, ed. by Cook, also by Gollancz. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn33" name="fn33" id="fn33">33.</a> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + My robe is noiseless while I tread the earth,<br /> Or tarry 'neath the + banks, or stir the shallows;<br /> But when these shining wings, this + depth of air,<br /> Bear me aloft above the bending shores<br /> Where men + abide, and far the welkin's strength<br /> Over the multitudes conveys + me, then<br /> With rushing whir and clear melodious sound<br /> My + raiment sings. And like a wandering spirit<br /> I float unweariedly o'er + flood and field.<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + (Brougham's version, in <i>Transl. from Old Eng. Poetry</i>.) + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn34" name="fn34" id="fn34">34.</a> The source of <i>Andreas</i> + is an early Greek legend of St. Andrew that found its way to England and + was probably known to Cynewulf in some brief Latin form, now lost. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn35" name="fn35" id="fn35">35.</a> Our two chief sources are + the famous Exeter Book, in Exeter Cathedral, a collection of Anglo-Saxon + poems presented by Bishop Leofric (<i>c</i>. 1050), and the Vercelli Book, + discovered in the monastery of Vercelli, Italy, in 1822. The only known + manuscript of <i>Beowulf</i> was discovered <i>c</i>. 1600, and is now in + the Cotton Library of the British Museum. All these are fragmentary + copies, and show the marks of fire and of hard usage. The Exeter Book + contains <i>the Christ, Guthlac, the Phoenix, Juliana, Widsith, The + Seafarer, Deor's Lament, The Wife's Complaint, The Lover's Message</i>, + ninety-five Riddles, and many short hymns and fragments,--an astonishing + variety for a single manuscript. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn36" name="fn36" id="fn36">36.</a> From Alfred's <i>Boethius</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn37" name="fn37" id="fn37">37.</a> It is not certain that the + translation of Bede is the work of Alfred. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn38" name="fn38" id="fn38">38.</a> See <i>Translations from + Old English Poetry</i>. Only a brief account of the fight is given in the + <i>Chronicle</i>. The song known as "The Battle of Maldon," or + "Byrhtnoth's Death," is recorded in another manuscript. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn39" name="fn39" id="fn39">39.</a> This is an admirable little + book, containing the cream of Anglo-Saxon poetry, in free translations, + with notes. Translations from <i>Old English Prose</i> is a companion + volume. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn40" name="fn40" id="fn40">40.</a> For full titles and + publishers of general reference books, and for a list of inexpensive texts + and helps, see General Bibliography at the end of this book. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn41" name="fn41" id="fn41">41.</a> The chief object of these + questions is not to serve as a review, or to prepare for examination, but + rather to set the student thinking for himself about what he has read. A + few questions of an advanced nature are inserted which call for special + study and research in interesting fields. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn42" name="fn42" id="fn42">42.</a> A Romance language is one + whose basis is Latin,--not the classic language of literature, but a + vulgar or popular Latin spoken in the military camps and provinces. Thus + Italian, Spanish, and French were originally different dialects of the + vulgar Latin, slightly modified by the mingling of the Roman soldiers with + the natives of the conquered provinces. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn43" name="fn43" id="fn43">43.</a> See p. 51. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn44" name="fn44" id="fn44">44.</a> It is interesting to note + that all the chroniclers of the period, whether of English or Norman + birth, unite in admiration of the great figures of English history, as it + was then understood. Brutus, Arthur, Hengist, Horsa, Edward the Confessor, + and William of Normandy are all alike set down as English heroes. In a + French poem of the thirteenth century, for instance, we read that "there + is no land in the world where so many good kings and saints have lived as + in the isle of the English ... such as the strong and brave Arthur, + Edmund, and Cnut." This national poem, celebrating the English Edward, was + written in French by a Norman monk of Westminster Abbey, and its first + heroes are a Celt, a Saxon, and a Dane. (See Jusserand, <i>Literary + History of the English People</i>, I, 112 ff.) + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn45" name="fn45" id="fn45">45.</a> <i>English Literature from + the Norman Conquest to Chaucer</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn46" name="fn46" id="fn46">46.</a> Anselm was an Italian by + birth, but wrote his famous work while holding the see of Canterbury. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn47" name="fn47" id="fn47">47.</a> During the Roman occupancy + of Britain occurred a curious mingling of Celtic and Roman traditions. The + Welsh began to associate their national hero Arthur with Roman ancestors; + hence the story of Brutus, great-grandson of Aeneas, the first king of + Britain, as related by Geoffrey and Layamon. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn48" name="fn48" id="fn48">48.</a> Probably a Latin copy of + Bede. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn49" name="fn49" id="fn49">49.</a> Wace's translation of + Geoffrey. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn50" name="fn50" id="fn50">50.</a> Only one word in about + three hundred and fifty is of French origin. A century later Robert + Mannyng uses one French word in eighty, while Chaucer has one in six or + seven. This includes repetitions, and is a fair estimate rather than an + exact computation. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn51" name="fn51" id="fn51">51.</a> The matter of Britain + refers strictly to the Arthurian, i.e. the Welsh romances; and so another + division, the matter of England, may be noted. This includes tales of + popular English heroes, like Bevis of Hampton, Guy of Warwick, Horn Child, + etc. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn52" name="fn52" id="fn52">52.</a> According to mediæval + literary custom these songs were rarely signed. Later, when many songs + were made over into a long poem, the author signed his name to the entire + work, without indicating what he had borrowed + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn53" name="fn53" id="fn53">53.</a> An English book in which + such romances were written was called a Gest or Jest Book. So also at the + beginning of <i>Cursor Mundi</i> (<i>c</i>. 1320) we read: + </p> + <blockquote> + <p> + Men yernen jestis for to here<br /> And romaunce rede in diverse manere,<br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + and then follows a summary of the great cycles of romance, which we are + considering. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn54" name="fn54" id="fn54">54.</a> Tennyson goes farther than + Malory in making Gawain false and irreverent. That seems to be a mistake; + for in all the earliest romances Gawain is, next to Arthur, the noblest of + knights, the most loved and honored of all the heroes of the Round Table. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn55" name="fn55" id="fn55">55.</a> There were various French + versions of the story; but it came originally from the Irish, where the + hero was called Cuchulinn. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn56" name="fn56" id="fn56">56.</a> It is often alleged that in + this romance we have a very poetical foundation for the Order of the + Garter, which was instituted by Edward III, in 1349; but the history of + the order makes this extremely doubtful. The reader will be chiefly + interested in comparing this romance with <i>Beowulf</i>, for instance, to + see what new ideals have taken root in England. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn57" name="fn57" id="fn57">57.</a> Originally Cockaygne + (variously spelled) was intended to ridicule the mythical country of + Avalon, somewhat as Cervantes' <i>Don Quixote</i> later ridicules the + romances of chivalry. In Luxury Land everything was good to eat; houses + were built of dainties and shingled with cakes; buttered larks fell + instead of rain; the streams ran with good wine; and roast geese passed + slowly down the streets, turning themselves as they went. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn58" name="fn58" id="fn58">58.</a> Child's <i>English and + Scottish Popular Ballads</i> is the most scholarly and complete collection + in our language. Gummere's <i>Old English Ballads</i> is a good short + work. Professor Kittredge's Introduction to the Cambridge edition of + Child's <i>Ballads</i> is the best summary of a very difficult subject. + For an extended discussion of the literary character of the ballad, see + Gummere's <i>The Popular Ballad</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn59" name="fn59" id="fn59">59.</a> little bird. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn60" name="fn60" id="fn60">60.</a> in her language. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn61" name="fn61" id="fn61">61.</a> I live + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn62" name="fn62" id="fn62">62.</a> fairest + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn63" name="fn63" id="fn63">63.</a> I am + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn64" name="fn64" id="fn64">64.</a> power, bondage. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn65" name="fn65" id="fn65">65.</a> a pleasant fate I have + attained. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn66" name="fn66" id="fn66">66.</a> I know + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn67" name="fn67" id="fn67">67.</a> gone + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn68" name="fn68" id="fn68">68.</a> lit, alighted + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn69" name="fn69" id="fn69">69.</a> For titles and publishers + of reference books see General Bibliography at the end of this book. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn70" name="fn70" id="fn70">70.</a> The reader may perhaps be + more interested in these final letters, which are sometimes sounded and + again silent, if he remembers that they represent the decaying inflections + of our old Anglo-Saxon speech. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn71" name="fn71" id="fn71">71.</a> <i>House of Fame</i>, II, + 652 ff. The passage is more or less autobiographical. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn72" name="fn72" id="fn72">72.</a> <i>Legend of Good Women</i>, + Prologue, ll. 29 ff. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn73" name="fn73" id="fn73">73.</a> wealth. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn74" name="fn74" id="fn74">74.</a> the crowd. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn75" name="fn75" id="fn75">75.</a> success. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn76" name="fn76" id="fn76">76.</a> blinds. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn77" name="fn77" id="fn77">77.</a> act. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn78" name="fn78" id="fn78">78.</a> trouble. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn79" name="fn79" id="fn79">79.</a> i.e. the goddess Fortune. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn80" name="fn80" id="fn80">80.</a> kick. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn81" name="fn81" id="fn81">81.</a> awl. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn82" name="fn82" id="fn82">82.</a> judge. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn83" name="fn83" id="fn83">83.</a> For the typography of + titles the author has adopted the plan of putting the titles of all books, + and of all important works generally regarded as single books, in italics. + Individual poems, essays, etc., are in Roman letters with quotation marks. + Thus we have the "Knight's Tale," or the story of "Palamon and Arcite," in + the <i>Canterbury Tales</i>. This system seems on the whole the best, + though it may result in some inconsistencies. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn84" name="fn84" id="fn84">84.</a> <i>Troilus and Criseyde</i>, + III. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn85" name="fn85" id="fn85">85.</a> See p. 107. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn86" name="fn86" id="fn86">86.</a> For a summary of Chaucer's + work and place in our literature, see the Comparison with Spenser, p. 111. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn87" name="fn87" id="fn87">87.</a> clad. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn88" name="fn88" id="fn88">88.</a> wonder. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn89" name="fn89" id="fn89">89.</a> brook. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn90" name="fn90" id="fn90">90.</a> sounded. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn91" name="fn91" id="fn91">91.</a> theirs + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn92" name="fn92" id="fn92">92.</a> rule + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn93" name="fn93" id="fn93">93.</a> righteousness + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn94" name="fn94" id="fn94">94.</a> called + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn95" name="fn95" id="fn95">95.</a> theirs + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn96" name="fn96" id="fn96">96.</a> yield + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn97" name="fn97" id="fn97">97.</a> say + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn98" name="fn98" id="fn98">98.</a> them + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn99" name="fn99" id="fn99">99.</a> hate + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn100" name="fn100" id="fn100">100.</a> persecute + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn101" name="fn101" id="fn101">101.</a> slander + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn102" name="fn102" id="fn102">102.</a> rains + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn103" name="fn103" id="fn103">103.</a> In its English form the + alleged Mandeville describes the lands and customs he has seen, and brings + in all the wonders he has heard about. Many things he has seen himself, he + tells us, and these are certainly true; but others he has heard in his + travels, and of these the reader must judge for himself. Then he + incidentally mentions a desert where he saw devils as thick as + grasshoppers. As for things that he has been told by devout travelers, + here are the dog-faced men, and birds that carry off elephants, and giants + twenty-eight feet tall, and dangerous women who have bright jewels in + their heads instead of eyes, "and if they behold any man in wrath, they + slay him with a look, as doth the basilisk." Here also are the folk of + Ethiopia, who have only one leg, but who hop about with extraordinary + rapidity. Their one foot is so big that, when they lie in the sun, they + raise it to shade their bodies; in rainy weather it is as good as an + umbrella. At the close of this interesting book of travel, which is a + guide for pilgrims, the author promises to all those who say a prayer for + him a share in whatever heavenly grace he may himself obtain for all his + holy pilgrimages. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn104" name="fn104" id="fn104">104.</a> For titles and + publishers of reference works see General Bibliography at the end of this + book. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn105" name="fn105" id="fn105">105.</a> <i>Constitutional + History of England</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn106" name="fn106" id="fn106">106.</a> Symonds, <i>Revival of + Learning</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn107" name="fn107" id="fn107">107.</a> Sismondi attributes + this to two causes: first, the lack of general culture; and second, the + absorption of the schools in the new study of antiquity. See <i>Literature + of the South of Europe</i>, II, 400 ff. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn108" name="fn108" id="fn108">108.</a> Erasmus, the greatest + scholar of the Renaissance, was not an Englishman, but seems to belong to + every nation. He was born at Rotterdam (<i>c</i>. 1466), but lived the + greater part of his life in France, Switzerland, England, and Italy. His + <i>Encomium Moriae</i> was sketched on a journey from Italy (1509) and + written while he was the guest of Sir Thomas More in London. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn109" name="fn109" id="fn109">109.</a> Unless, perchance, the + reader finds some points of resemblance in Plato's "Republic." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn110" name="fn110" id="fn110">110.</a> See Wordsworth's + sonnet, <i>On the Sonnet</i>. For a detailed study of this most perfect + verse form, see Tomlinson's <i>The Sonnet, Its Origin, Structure, and + Place in Poetry</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn111" name="fn111" id="fn111">111.</a> William Caxton (<i>c</i>. + 1422-1491) was the first English printer. He learned the art abroad, + probably at Cologne or Bruges, and about the year 1476 set up the first + wooden printing press in England. His influence in fixing a national + language to supersede the various dialects, and in preparing the way for + the literary renaissance of the Elizabethan age, is beyond calculation. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn112" name="fn112" id="fn112">112.</a> Malory has, in our own + day, been identified with an English country gentleman and soldier, who + was member of Parliament for Warwickshire in 1445. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn113" name="fn113" id="fn113">113.</a> For titles and + publishers of general works see General Bibliography at the end of this + book. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn114" name="fn114" id="fn114">114.</a> <i>Eastward Ho!</i> a + play given in Blackfriars Theater about 1603. The play was written by + Marston and two collaborators. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn115" name="fn115" id="fn115">115.</a> Lie so faint. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn116" name="fn116" id="fn116">116.</a> The <i>View</i> was not + published till 1633. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn117" name="fn117" id="fn117">117.</a> clad. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn118" name="fn118" id="fn118">118.</a> handsome. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn119" name="fn119" id="fn119">119.</a> jousts, tournaments. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn120" name="fn120" id="fn120">120.</a> countenance. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn121" name="fn121" id="fn121">121.</a> dreaded. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn122" name="fn122" id="fn122">122.</a> took off. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn123" name="fn123" id="fn123">123.</a> pity. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn124" name="fn124" id="fn124">124.</a> know. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn125" name="fn125" id="fn125">125.</a> In the nineteenth + century men learned again to appreciate Chaucer. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn126" name="fn126" id="fn126">126.</a> The most dramatic part + of the early ritual centered about Christ's death and resurrection, on + Good Fridays and Easter days. An exquisite account of this most impressive + service is preserved in St. Ethelwold's Latin manual of church services, + written about 965. The Latin and English versions are found in Chambers's + <i>Mediaeval Stage</i>, Vol. II. For a brief, interesting description, see + Gayley, <i>Plays of Our Forefathers</i>, pp. 14 ff. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn127" name="fn127" id="fn127">127.</a> How much we are + indebted to the Norman love of pageantry for the development of the drama + in England is an unanswered question. During the Middle Ages it was + customary, in welcoming a monarch or in celebrating a royal wedding, to + represent allegorical and mythological scenes, like the combat of St. + George and the dragon, for instance, on a stage constructed for the + purpose. These pageants were popular all over Europe and developed during + the Renaissance into the dramatic form known as the Masque. Though the + drama was of religious origin, we must not overlook these secular pageants + as an important factor in the development of dramatic art. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn128" name="fn128" id="fn128">128.</a> Miracles were acted on + the Continent earlier than this. The Normans undoubtedly brought religious + plays with them, but it is probable that they began in England before the + Conquest (1066). See Manly, <i>Specimens of the Pre-Shaksperean Drama</i>, + I, xix. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn129" name="fn129" id="fn129">129.</a> See Jusserand, <i>A + Literary History of the English People</i>, I, iii, vi. For our earliest + plays and their authors see Gayley, <i>Plays of Our Forefathers</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn130" name="fn130" id="fn130">130.</a> These three periods are + not historically accurate. The author uses them to emphasize three + different views of our earliest plays rather than to suggest that there + was any orderly or chronological development from Miracle to Morality and + thence to the Interludes. The latter is a prevalent opinion, but it seems + hardly warranted by the facts. Thus, though the Miracles precede the + Moralities by two centuries (the first known Morality, "The Play of the + Lord's Prayer," mentioned by Wyclif, was given probably about 1375), some + of the best known Moralities, like "Pride of Life," precede many of the + later York Miracles. And the term Interlude, which is often used as + symbolical of the transition from the moral to the artistic period of the + drama, was occasionally used in England (fourteenth century) as synonymous + with Miracle and again (sixteenth century) as synonymous with Comedy. That + the drama had these three stages seems reasonably certain; but it is + impossible to fix the limits of any one of them, and all three are + sometimes seen together in one of the later Miracles of the Wakefield + cycle. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn131" name="fn131" id="fn131">131.</a> In fact, Heywood + "cribbed" from Chaucer's <i>Tales</i> in another Interlude called "The + Pardoner and the Frere." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn132" name="fn132" id="fn132">132.</a> Schelling, <i>Elizabethan + Drama</i>, I, 86. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn133" name="fn133" id="fn133">133.</a> That these gallants + were an unmitigated nuisance, and had frequently to be silenced by the + common people who came to enjoy the play, seems certain. Dekker's <i>Gull's + Hornbook</i> (1609) has an interesting chapter on "How a Gallant should + behave Himself in a Playhouse." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn134" name="fn134" id="fn134">134.</a> The first actors were + classed with thieves and vagabonds; but they speedily raised their + profession to an art and won a reputation which extended far abroad. Thus + a contemporary, Fynes Moryson, writes in his <i>Itinerary:</i> "So I + remember that when some of our cast despised stage players came ... into + Germany and played at Franckford ... having nether a complete number of + actors, nor any good aparell, nor any ornament of the stage, yet the + Germans, not understanding a worde they sayde, both men and wemen, flocked + wonderfully to see their gesture and action." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn135" name="fn135" id="fn135">135.</a> Schelling, <i>Elizabethan + Drama</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn136" name="fn136" id="fn136">136.</a> Baker, in his <i>Development + of Shakespeare as a Dramatist</i>, pp. 57-62, takes a different view, and + shows how carefully many of the boy actors were trained. It would require, + however, a vigorous use of the imagination to be satisfied with a boy's + presentation of Portia, Juliet, Cordelia, Rosalind, or any other of + Shakespeare's wonderful women. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn137" name="fn137" id="fn137">137.</a> These choir masters had + royal permits to take boys of good voice, wherever found, and train them + as singers and actors. The boys were taken from their parents and were + often half starved and most brutally treated. The abuse of this unnatural + privilege led to the final withdrawal of all such permits. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn138" name="fn138" id="fn138">138.</a> So called from Euphues, + the hero of Lyly's two prose works, <i>Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit</i> + (1579), and <i>Euphues and his England</i> (1580). The style is affected + and over-elegant, abounds in odd conceits, and uses hopelessly involved + sentences. It is found in nearly all Elizabethan prose writers, and + partially accounts for their general tendency to artificiality. + Shakespeare satirizes euphuism in the character of Don Adriano of <i>Love's + Labour's Lost</i>, but is himself tiresomely euphuistic at times, + especially in his early or "Lylian" comedies. Lyly, by the way, did not + invent the style, but did more than any other to diffuse it. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn139" name="fn139" id="fn139">139.</a> See Schelling, I, 211. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn140" name="fn140" id="fn140">140.</a> See p. 114. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn141" name="fn141" id="fn141">141.</a> In 1587 the first + history of Johann Faust, a half-legendary German necromancer, appeared in + Frankfort. Where Marlowe found the story is unknown; but he used it, as + Goethe did two centuries later, for the basis of his great tragedy. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn142" name="fn142" id="fn142">142.</a> We must remember, + however, that our present version of <i>Faustus</i> is very much + mutilated, and does not preserve the play as Marlowe wrote it. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn143" name="fn143" id="fn143">143.</a> The two dramatists may + have worked together in such doubtful plays as <i>Richard III</i>, the + hero of which is like Timur in an English dress, and <i>Titus Andronicus</i>, + with its violence and horror. In many strong scenes in Shakespeare's works + Marlowe's influence is manifest. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn144" name="fn144" id="fn144">144.</a> <i>Gammer Gurton's + Needle</i> appeared <i>c</i>. 1562; <i>Love's Labour's Lost, c</i>. 1591. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn145" name="fn145" id="fn145">145.</a> <i>King John</i>, IV, + 2. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn146" name="fn146" id="fn146">146.</a> Queen Mab, in <i>Romeo + and Juliet</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn147" name="fn147" id="fn147">147.</a> By Archdeacon Davies, + in the seventeenth century. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn148" name="fn148" id="fn148">148.</a> In 1709, nearly a + century after the poet's death. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn149" name="fn149" id="fn149">149.</a> Robert Greene, one of + the popular playwrights of the time, who attacked Shakespeare in a + pamphlet called "A Groat's Worth of Wit Bought with a Million of + Repentance." The pamphlet, aside from its jealousy of Shakespeare, is a + sad picture of a man of genius dying of dissipation, and contains a + warning to other playwrights of the time, whose lives were apparently + almost as bad as that of Greene. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn150" name="fn150" id="fn150">150.</a> <i>Love's Labour's + Lost, Comedy of Errors, Two Gentlemen of Verona</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn151" name="fn151" id="fn151">151.</a> <i>Henry VI, Richard + III, Richard II, King John</i>. Prior to 1588 only three true Chronicle + plays are known to have been acted. The defeat of the Armada in that year + led to an outburst of national feeling which found one outlet in the + theaters, and in the next ten years over eighty Chronicle plays appeared. + Of these Shakespeare furnished nine or ten. It was the great popular + success of <i>Henry VI</i>, a revision of an old play, in 1592 that + probably led to Greene's jealous attack. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn152" name="fn152" id="fn152">152.</a> See Lee's <i>Life of + William Shakespeare</i>, pp. 188-196. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn153" name="fn153" id="fn153">153.</a> Like <i>Henry VIII</i>, + and possibly the lost <i>Cardenio</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn154" name="fn154" id="fn154">154.</a> A name given to the + privilege--claimed by the mediæval Church for its clergy--of being + exempt from trial by the regular law courts. After the Reformation the + custom survived for a long time, and special privileges were allowed to + ministers and their families. Jonson claimed the privilege as a minister's + son. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn155" name="fn155" id="fn155">155.</a> A similar story of + quackery is found in Chaucer, "The Canon's Yeoman's Tale." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn156" name="fn156" id="fn156">156.</a> In this and in <i>A + Fair Quarrel</i> Middleton collaborated with William Rowley, of whom + little is known except that he was an actor from <i>c</i>. 1607-1627. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn157" name="fn157" id="fn157">157.</a> The reader will find + wholesome criticism of these writers, and selections from their works, in + Charles Lamb's <i>Specimens of English Dramatic Poets</i>, an excellent + book, which helps us to a better knowledge and appreciation of the lesser + Elizabethan dramatists. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn158" name="fn158" id="fn158">158.</a> The first five books + were published 1594-1597, and are as Hooker wrote them. The last three + books, published after his death, are of doubtful authorship, but they are + thought to have been completed from Hooker's notes. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn159" name="fn159" id="fn159">159.</a> For titles and + publishers of reference works see General Bibliography at the end of this + book. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn160" name="fn160" id="fn160">160.</a> See, for instance, the + "Hymn to St. Theresa" and "The Flaming Heart." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn161" name="fn161" id="fn161">161.</a> So called from Pindar, + the greatest lyric poet of Greece. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn162" name="fn162" id="fn162">162.</a> See, for instance, + "Childhood," "The Retreat," "Corruption," "The Bird," "The Hidden Flower," + for Vaughan's mystic interpretation of childhood and nature. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn163" name="fn163" id="fn163">163.</a> There is some doubt as + to whether he was born at the Castle, or at Black Hall. Recent opinion + inclines to the latter view. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn164" name="fn164" id="fn164">164.</a> "On his being arrived + to the Age of Twenty-three." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn165" name="fn165" id="fn165">165.</a> "It is remarkable," + says Lamartine, "how often in the libraries of Italian princes and in the + correspondence of great Italian writers of this period you find mentioned + the name and fame of this young Englishman." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn166" name="fn166" id="fn166">166.</a> In Milton's work we see + plainly the progressive influence of the Puritan Age. Thus his Horton + poems are joyous, almost Elizabethan in character; his prose is stern, + militant, unyielding, like the Puritan in his struggle for liberty; his + later poetry, following the apparent failure of Puritanism in the + Restoration, has a note of sadness, yet proclaims the eternal principles + of liberty and justice for which he had lived. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn167" name="fn167" id="fn167">167.</a> Of these sixty were + taken from the Bible, thirty-three from English and five from Scotch + history. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn168" name="fn168" id="fn168">168.</a> The latter was by Lewis + Bayly, bishop of Bangor. It is interesting to note that this book, whose + very title is unfamiliar to us, was speedily translated into five + different languages. It had an enormous sale, and ran through fifty + editions soon after publication. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn169" name="fn169" id="fn169">169.</a> Abridged from <i>Grace + Abounding</i>, Part 3; <i>Works</i> (ed. 1873), p. 71. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn170" name="fn170" id="fn170">170.</a> For titles and + publishers of reference works, see General Bibliography at the end of this + book. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn171" name="fn171" id="fn171">171.</a> Guizot's <i>History of + the Revolution in England</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn172" name="fn172" id="fn172">172.</a> Jeremy Collier + (1650-1726), a clergyman and author, noted for his scholarly <i>Ecclesiastical + History of Great Britain</i> (1708-1714) and his <i>Short View of the + Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage</i> (1698). The latter was + largely instrumental in correcting the low tendency of the Restoration + drama. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn173" name="fn173" id="fn173">173.</a> The Royal Society, for + the investigation and discussion of scientific questions, was founded in + 1662, and soon included practically all of the literary and scientific men + of the age. It encouraged the work of Isaac Newton, who was one of its + members; and its influence for truth--at a time when men were still trying + to compound the philosopher's stone, calculating men's actions from the + stars, and hanging harmless old women for witches--can hardly be + overestimated. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn174" name="fn174" id="fn174">174.</a> If the reader would see + this in concrete form, let him read a paragraph of Milton's prose, or a + stanza of his poetry, and compare its exuberant, melodious diction with + Dryden's concise method of writing. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn175" name="fn175" id="fn175">175.</a> Edmund Waller + (1606-1687), the most noted poet of the Restoration period until his pupil + Dryden appeared. His works are now seldom read. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn176" name="fn176" id="fn176">176.</a> From <i>Divine Poems</i>, + "Old Age and Death." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn177" name="fn177" id="fn177">177.</a> Following the advice of + Boileau (1676-1711), a noted French critic, whom Voltaire called "the + lawgiver of Parnassus." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn178" name="fn178" id="fn178">178.</a> By a critic we mean + simply one who examines the literary works of various ages, separates the + good from the bad, and gives the reasons for his classification. It is + noticeable that critical writings increase in an age, like that of the + Restoration, when great creative works are wanting. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn179" name="fn179" id="fn179">179.</a> Two other principles of + this book should be noted: (1) that all power originates in the people; + and (2) that the object of all government is the common good. Here + evidently is a democratic doctrine, which abolishes the divine right of + kings; but Hobbes immediately destroys democracy by another + doctrine,--that the power given by the people to the ruler could not be + taken away. Hence the Royalists could use the book to justify the + despotism of the Stuarts on the ground that the people had chosen them. + This part of the book is in direct opposition to Milton's <i>Defense of + the English People</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn180" name="fn180" id="fn180">180.</a> Locke's <i>Treatises on + Government</i> should also be mentioned, for they are of profound interest + to American students of history and political science. It was from Locke + that the framers of the Declaration of Independence and of the + Constitution drew many of their ideas, and even some of their most + striking phrases. "All men are endowed with certain inalienable rights"; + "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"; "the origin and basis of + government is in the consent of the governed,"--these and many more + familiar and striking expressions are from Locke. It is interesting to + note that he was appointed to draft a constitution for the new province of + Carolina; but his work was rejected,--probably because it was too + democratic for the age in which he lived. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn181" name="fn181" id="fn181">181.</a> A few slight changes + and omissions from the original text, as given in Wheatley's edition of + Pepys (London, 1892, 9 vols.), are not indicated in these brief + quotations. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn182" name="fn182" id="fn182">182.</a> The first daily + newspaper, <i>The Daily Courant</i>, appeared in London in 1702. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn183" name="fn183" id="fn183">183.</a> See Lecky, <i>England + in the Eighteenth Century</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn184" name="fn184" id="fn184">184.</a> Addison's "Campaign" + (1704), written to celebrate the battle of Blenheim. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn185" name="fn185" id="fn185">185.</a> Great writers in every + age, men like Shakespeare and Milton, make their own style. They are + therefore not included in this summary. Among the minor writers also there + are exceptions to the rule; and fine feeling is often manifest in the + poetry of Donne, Herbert, Vaughan, and Herrick. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn186" name="fn186" id="fn186">186.</a> We have endeavored here + simply to show the meaning of terms in general use in our literature; but + it must be remembered that it is impossible to classify or to give a + descriptive name to the writers of any period or century. While "classic" + or "pseudo-classic" may apply to a part of eighteenth-century literature, + every age has both its romantic and its classic movements. In this period + the revolt against classicism is shown in the revival of romantic poetry + under Gray, Collins, Burns, and Thomson, and in the beginning of the + English novel under Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding. These poets and + novelists, who have little or no connection with classicism, belong + chronologically to the period we are studying. They are reserved for + special treatment in the sections following. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn187" name="fn187" id="fn187">187.</a> Pope's satires, for + instance, are strongly suggested in Boileau; his <i>Rape of the Lock</i> + is much like the mock-heroic <i>Le Lutrin;</i> and the "Essay on + Criticism," which made him famous, is an English edition and improvement + of <i>L'Art Poétique</i>. The last was, in turn, a combination of + the <i>Ars Poetica</i> of Horace and of many well-known rules of the + classicists. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn188" name="fn188" id="fn188">188.</a> These are the four + kinds of spirits inhabiting the four elements, according to the + Rosicrucians,--a fantastic sect of spiritualists of that age. In the + dedication of the poem Pope says he took the idea from a French book + called <i>Le Comte de Gabalis</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn189" name="fn189" id="fn189">189.</a> Compare this with + Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage," in <i>As You Like it</i>, II, 7. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn190" name="fn190" id="fn190">190.</a> It is only fair to + point out that Swift wrote this and two other pamphlets on religion at a + time when he knew that they would damage, if not destroy, his own + prospects of political advancement. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn191" name="fn191" id="fn191">191.</a> See Tennyson's "Merlin + and the Gleam." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn192" name="fn192" id="fn192">192.</a> Of the <i>Tatler</i> + essays Addison contributed forty-two; thirty-six others were written in + collaboration with Steele; while at least a hundred and eighty are the + work of Steele alone. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn193" name="fn193" id="fn193">193.</a> From "The Vanity of + Human Wishes" + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn194" name="fn194" id="fn194">194.</a> A very lovable side of + Johnson's nature is shown by his doing penance in the public market place + for his unfilial conduct as a boy. (See, in Hawthorne's <i>Our Old Home</i>, + the article on "Lichfield and Johnson.") His sterling manhood is recalled + in his famous letter to Lord Chesterfield, refusing the latter's patronage + for the <i>Dictionary</i>. The student should read this incident entire, + in Boswell's <i>Life of Johnson</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn195" name="fn195" id="fn195">195.</a> In Johnson's <i>Dictionary</i> + we find this definition: "Grub-street, the name of a street in London much + inhabited by writers of small histories, <i>dictionaries</i>, and + temporary poems; whence any mean production is called Grub-street." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn196" name="fn196" id="fn196">196.</a> From Macaulay's review + of Boswell's <i>Life of Johnson</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn197" name="fn197" id="fn197">197.</a> Many of the writers + show a mingling of the classic and the romantic tendencies. Thus Goldsmith + followed Johnson and opposed the romanticists; but his <i>Deserted Village</i> + is romantic in spirit, though its classic couplets are almost as + mechanical as Pope's. So Burke's orations are "elegantly classic" in + style, but are illumined by bursts of emotion and romantic feeling. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn198" name="fn198" id="fn198">198.</a> A much more interesting + work is Thomas Paine's <i>Rights of Man</i>, which was written in answer + to Burke's essay, and which had enormous influence in England and America. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn199" name="fn199" id="fn199">199.</a> In the same year, 1775, + in which Burke's magnificent "Conciliation" oration was delivered, Patrick + Henry made a remarkable little speech before a gathering of delegates in + Virginia. Both men were pleading the same cause of justice, and were + actuated by the same high ideals. A very interesting contrast, however, + may be drawn between the methods and the effects of Henry's speech and of + Burke's more brilliant oration. Burke makes us wonder at his learning, his + brilliancy, his eloquence; but he does not move us to action. Patrick + Henry calls us, and we spring to follow him. That suggests the essential + difference between the two orators. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn200" name="fn200" id="fn200">200.</a> The romantic revival is + marked by renewed interest in mediæval ideals and literature; and to + this interest is due the success of Walpole's romance, <i>The Castle of + Otranto</i>, and of Chatterton's forgeries known as the <i>Rowley Papers</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn201" name="fn201" id="fn201">201.</a> From <i>The Task</i>, + Book II. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn202" name="fn202" id="fn202">202.</a> See, for instance, + Phelps, <i>Beginnings of the Romantic Movement</i>, for a list of + Spenserian imitators from 1700 to 1775. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn203" name="fn203" id="fn203">203.</a> Such is Goldsmith's + version of a somewhat suspicious adventure, whose details are unknown. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn204" name="fn204" id="fn204">204.</a> Goldsmith's idea, which + was borrowed from Walpole, reappears in the pseudo <i>Letters from a + Chinese Official</i>, which recently attracted considerable attention. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn205" name="fn205" id="fn205">205.</a> Fitz-Greene Halleck's + poem "To a Rose from near Alloway Kirk" (1822) is a good appreciation of + Burns and his poetry. It might be well to read this poem before the sad + story of Burns's life. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn206" name="fn206" id="fn206">206.</a> Introduction, <i>Songs + of Innocence</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn207" name="fn207" id="fn207">207.</a> Swinburne's <i>William + Blake</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn208" name="fn208" id="fn208">208.</a> There are several + omissions from the text in this fragment from <i>Fingal</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn209" name="fn209" id="fn209">209.</a> Several fragments of + Gaelic poetry, attributed to Ossian or Oisin, are now known to have + existed at that time in the Highlands. Macpherson used these as a basis + for his epic, but most of the details were furnished by his own + imagination. The alleged text of "Ossian" was published in 1807, some + eleven years after Macpherson's death. It only added another mystery to + the forgery; for, while it embodied a few old and probably genuine + fragments, the bulk of it seems to be Macpherson's work translated back + into Gaelic. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn210" name="fn210" id="fn210">210.</a> For various other + collections of songs and ballads, antedating Percy's, see Phelps's <i>Beginnings + of the English Romantic Movement</i>, ch. vii. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn211" name="fn211" id="fn211">211.</a> The first books to + which the term "novel," in the modern sense, may be applied, appeared + almost simultaneously in England, France, and Germany. The rapid + development of the English novel had an immense influence in all European + nations. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn212" name="fn212" id="fn212">212.</a> The name "romance" was + given at first to any story in one of the Romance languages, like the + French metrical romances, which we have considered. Because these stories + were brought to England at a time when the childish mind of the Middle + Ages delighted in the most impossible stories, the name "romance" was + retained to cover any work of the unbridled imagination. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn213" name="fn213" id="fn213">213.</a> This division of works + of fiction into romances and novels is a somewhat arbitrary one, but it + seems, on the whole, the most natural and the most satisfactory. Many + writers use the generic term "novel" to include all prose fiction. They + divide novels into two classes, stories and romances; the story being a + form of the novel which relates certain incidents of life with as little + complexity as possible; and the romance being a form of novel which + describes life as led by strong emotions into complex and unusual + circumstances. Novels are otherwise divided into novels of personality, + like <i>Vicar of Wakefield</i> and <i>Silas Marner</i>; historical novels, + <i>Ivanhoe</i>; novels of romance, like <i>Lorna Doone</i> and novels of + purpose, like <i>Oliver Twist</i> and <i>Uncle Tom's Cabin</i>. All such + classifications are imperfect, and the best of them is open to objections. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn214" name="fn214" id="fn214">214.</a> One of these tales was + called <i>The Wonderful Things beyond Thule</i>. It is the story of a + youth, Dinias, who for love of a girl, Dercyllis, did heroic things and + undertook many adventures, including a journey to the frozen north, and + another to the moon. A second tale, <i>Ephesiaca</i>, is the story of a + man and a maid, each of whom scoffs at love. They meet and fall + desperately in love; but the course of true love does not run smooth, and + they separate, and suffer, and go through many perils, before they "live + happily ever after." This tale is the source of the mediæval story, + <i>Apollonius of Tyre</i>, which is used in Gower's <i>Confessio Amantis</i> + and in Shakespeare's <i>Pericles</i>. A third tale is the pastoral love + story, <i>Daphnis and Chloe</i>, which reappeared in many forms in + subsequent literature. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn215" name="fn215" id="fn215">215.</a> Minto's <i>Life of + Defoe</i>, p. 139. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn216" name="fn216" id="fn216">216.</a> These were not what the + booksellers expected. They wanted a "handy letter writer," something like + a book of etiquette; and it was published in 1741, a few months after <i>Pamela</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn217" name="fn217" id="fn217">217.</a> See p. 315. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn218" name="fn218" id="fn218">218.</a> For titles and + publishers of general reference works, and of inexpensive texts, see + General Bibliography at end of this book. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn219" name="fn219" id="fn219">219.</a> Mrs. Radcliffe's best + work is the <i>Mysteries of Udolpho</i>. This is the story of a tender + heroine shut up in a gloomy castle. Over her broods the terrible shadow of + an ancestor's crime. There are the usual "goose-flesh" accompaniments of + haunted rooms, secret doors, sliding panels, mysterious figures behind old + pictures, and a subterranean passage leading to a vault, dark and creepy + as a tomb. Here the heroine finds a chest with blood-stained papers. By + the light of a flickering candle she reads, with chills and shivering, the + record of long-buried crimes. At the psychologic moment the little candle + suddenly goes out. Then out of the darkness a cold, clammy hand--ugh! + Foolish as such stories seem to us now, they show, first, a wild reaction + from the skepticism of the preceding age; and second, a development of the + mediæval romance of adventure; only the adventure is here inward + rather than outward. It faces a ghost instead of a dragon; and for this + work a nun with her beads is better than a knight in armor. So heroines + abound, instead of heroes. The age was too educated for medieval monsters + and magic, but not educated enough to reject ghosts and other bogeys. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn220" name="fn220" id="fn220">220.</a> The <i>Lyrical Ballads</i> + were better appreciated in America than in England. The first edition was + printed here in 1802. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn221" name="fn221" id="fn221">221.</a> <i>The Prelude</i> was + not published till after Wordsworth's death, nearly half a century later. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn222" name="fn222" id="fn222">222.</a> <i>The Prelude</i>, + Book IV. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn223" name="fn223" id="fn223">223.</a> Dowden's <i>Selections + from Wordsworth</i> is the best of many such collections. See Selections + for Reading, and Bibliography, at the end of this chapter. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn224" name="fn224" id="fn224">224.</a> See "Christ's Hospital + Five and Thirty Years Ago," in <i>Essays of Elia</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn225" name="fn225" id="fn225">225.</a> See Scott's criticism + of his own work, in comparison with Jane Austen's, p. 439. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn226" name="fn226" id="fn226">226.</a> Scott's novels were not + the first to have an historical basis. For thirty years preceding the + appearance of <i>Waverley</i>, historical romances were popular; but it + was due to Scott's genius that the historical novel became a permanent + type of literature. See Cross, <i>The Development of the English Novel</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn227" name="fn227" id="fn227">227.</a> See Selections for + Reading, and Bibliography, at the end of this chapter. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn228" name="fn228" id="fn228">228.</a> Shelley undoubtedly + took his idea from a lost drama of Aeschylus, a sequel to <i>Prometheus + Bound</i>, in which the great friend of mankind was unchained from a + precipice, where he had been placed by the tyrant Zeus. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn229" name="fn229" id="fn229">229.</a> This idea is suppported + by Shelley's poem <i>Adonais</i>, and by Byron's parody against the + reviewers, beginning, "Who killed John Keats? I, says the Quarterly." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn230" name="fn230" id="fn230">230.</a> See "Christ's Hospital + Five and Thirty Years Ago," in <i>Essays of Elia</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn231" name="fn231" id="fn231">231.</a> See <i>Essays of Elia,</i> + "The Superannuated Man." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn232" name="fn232" id="fn232">232.</a> In the first essay, + "The South Sea House," Lamb assumed as a joke the name of a former clerk, + Elia. Other essays followed, and the name was retained when several + successful essays were published in book form, in 1823. In these essays + "Elia" is Lamb himself, and "Cousin Bridget" is his sister Mary. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn233" name="fn233" id="fn233">233.</a> See histories for the + Congress of Vienna (1814) and the Holy Alliance (1815). + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn234" name="fn234" id="fn234">234.</a> For full titles and + publishers of general reference books, see General Bibliography at end of + this book. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn235" name="fn235" id="fn235">235.</a> An excellent little + volume for the beginner is Van Dyke's "Poems by Tennyson," which shows the + entire range of the poet's work from his earliest to his latest years. + (See Selections for Reading, at the end of this chapter.) + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn236" name="fn236" id="fn236">236.</a> Tennyson made a + distinction in spelling between the <i>Idylls of the King</i>, and the <i>English + Idyls</i>, like "Dora." + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn237" name="fn237" id="fn237">237.</a> An excellent little + book for the beginner is Lovett's <i>Selections from Browning</i>. (See + Selections for Reading, at the end of this chapter.) + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn238" name="fn238" id="fn238">238.</a> This term, which means + simply Italian painters before Raphael, is generally applied to an + artistic movement in the middle of the nineteenth century. The term was + first used by a brotherhood of German artists who worked together in the + convent of San Isodoro, in Rome, with the idea of restoring art to its + mediæval purity and simplicity. The term now generally refers to a + company of seven young men,--Dante Gabriel Rossetti and his brother + William, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, James Collinson, + Frederick George Stevens, and Thomas Woolner,--who formed the + Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood in England in 1848. Their official literary + organ was called <i>The Germ</i>, in which much of the early work of + Morris and Rossetti appeared. They took for their models the early Italian + painters who, they declared, were "simple, sincere, and religious." Their + purpose was to encourage simplicity and naturalness in art and literature; + and one of their chief objects, in the face of doubt and materialism, was + to express the "wonder, reverence, and awe" which characterizes mediæval + art. In its return to the mysticism and symbolism of the mediæval + age, this Pre-Raphaelitism suggests the contemporary Oxford or Tractarian + movement in religion. (See footnote, p. 554). + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn239" name="fn239" id="fn239">239.</a> Arnold was one of the + best known poets of the age, but because he has exerted a deeper influence + on our literature as a critic, we have reserved him for special study + among the essayists. (See p. xxx) + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn240" name="fn240" id="fn240">240.</a> It should be pointed + out that the <i>English Humorists</i> is somewhat too highly colored to be + strictly accurate. In certain cases also, notably that of Steele, the + reader may well object to Thackeray's patronizing attitude toward his + subject. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn241" name="fn241" id="fn241">241.</a> See pp. 260-261. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn242" name="fn242" id="fn242">242.</a> Emily Brontë + (1818-1848) was only a little less gifted than her famous sister. Her best + known work is <i>Wuthering Heights</i> (1847), a strong but morbid novel + of love and suffering. Matthew Arnold said of her that, "for the portrayal + of passion, vehemence, and grief," Emily Brontë had no equal save Byron. + An exquisite picture of Emily is given in Charlotte Brontë's novel <i>Shirley</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn243" name="fn243" id="fn243">243.</a> <i>Essays</i>, + Riverside edition, I, 318. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn244" name="fn244" id="fn244">244.</a> The student should + remember that Carlyle's literary opinions, though very positive, are to be + received with caution. Sometimes, indeed, they are so one-sided and + prejudiced that they are more valuable as a revelation of Carlyle himself + than as a study of the author he is considering. + </p> + <p> + <a href="#rfn245" name="fn245" id="fn245">245.</a> The Oxford movement in + religion has many points of resemblance to the Pre-Raphaelite movement in + art. Both protested against the materialism of the age, and both went back + for their models to the Middle Ages. Originally the movement was intended + to bring new life to the Anglican church by a revival of the doctrine and + practices of an earlier period. Recognizing the power of the press, the + leaders chose literature for their instrument of reform, and by their <i>Tracts + for the Times</i> they became known as Tractarians. To oppose liberalism + and to restore the doctrine and authority of the early Church was the + center of their teaching. Their belief might be summed up in one great + article of the Creed, with all that it implies,--"I believe in one + Catholic and Apostolic Church." The movement began at Oxford with Keble's + famous sermon on "National Apostasy," in 1833; but Newman was the real + leader of the movement, which practically ended when he entered the + Catholic church in 1845. + </p> + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10609 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/10609-h/images/el001.png b/10609-h/images/el001.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5d340e0 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el001.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el002.png b/10609-h/images/el002.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..66d4ffd --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el002.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el004.png b/10609-h/images/el004.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..fa7ecbe --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el004.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el007.png b/10609-h/images/el007.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..88eae4e --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el007.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el009.png b/10609-h/images/el009.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..28b9487 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el009.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el010.png b/10609-h/images/el010.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..96de122 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el010.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el011.png b/10609-h/images/el011.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3146495 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el011.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el013.png b/10609-h/images/el013.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..10b1ac1 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el013.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el014.png b/10609-h/images/el014.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5700807 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el014.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el016.png b/10609-h/images/el016.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0991383 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el016.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el017.png b/10609-h/images/el017.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c92e155 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el017.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el018.png b/10609-h/images/el018.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0870487 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el018.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el019.png b/10609-h/images/el019.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6657f4e --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el019.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el020.png b/10609-h/images/el020.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..54b70d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el020.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el022.png b/10609-h/images/el022.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7bc21ea --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el022.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el024.jpg b/10609-h/images/el024.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0c55d7c --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el024.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el025.png b/10609-h/images/el025.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7df8713 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el025.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el026.png b/10609-h/images/el026.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..085bf13 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el026.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el027.png b/10609-h/images/el027.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0d9ee64 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el027.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el028.png b/10609-h/images/el028.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..434f920 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el028.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el029.png b/10609-h/images/el029.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7b68110 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el029.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el030.png b/10609-h/images/el030.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e26adb4 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el030.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el033.jpg b/10609-h/images/el033.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c5c0e4a --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el033.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el034.png b/10609-h/images/el034.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ebeee2a --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el034.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el035.png b/10609-h/images/el035.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1b6daf9 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el035.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el036.jpg b/10609-h/images/el036.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..35ffbef --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el036.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el040.jpg b/10609-h/images/el040.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f050ee4 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el040.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el041.png b/10609-h/images/el041.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..cad9f3d --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el041.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el042.png b/10609-h/images/el042.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9da5533 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el042.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el043.jpg b/10609-h/images/el043.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..99e1bba --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el043.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el044.jpg b/10609-h/images/el044.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..972d326 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el044.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el045.jpg b/10609-h/images/el045.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ed062b9 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el045.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el046.png b/10609-h/images/el046.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1f18fcd --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el046.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el047.jpg b/10609-h/images/el047.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d446c2a --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el047.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el048.png b/10609-h/images/el048.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1abe11d --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el048.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el049.png b/10609-h/images/el049.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..083f413 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el049.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el050.png b/10609-h/images/el050.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f49bdbc --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el050.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el051.png b/10609-h/images/el051.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..477d7e3 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el051.png diff --git a/10609-h/images/el053.jpg b/10609-h/images/el053.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ecfe1c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el053.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el055.jpg b/10609-h/images/el055.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..717acb5 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el055.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el057.jpg b/10609-h/images/el057.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3d646fb --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el057.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el059.jpg b/10609-h/images/el059.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..68a3637 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el059.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el060.jpg b/10609-h/images/el060.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9f4751f --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el060.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el062.jpg b/10609-h/images/el062.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..bccf3de --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el062.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/el063.jpg b/10609-h/images/el063.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..dbaa046 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/el063.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/enlarge.jpg b/10609-h/images/enlarge.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5a9bcf3 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/enlarge.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{0011}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{0011}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..60769ef --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{0011}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{0049}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{0049}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a2e69a0 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{0049}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{0061}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{0061}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6367a78 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{0061}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{0101}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{0101}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6774ea4 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{0101}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{0124}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{0124}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..43fd120 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{0124}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{0185}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{0185}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e498885 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{0185}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{0335}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{0335}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9e1a166 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{0335}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{0361}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{0361}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..74162eb --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{0361}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{0365}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{0365}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8e7d0e7 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{0365}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{0497}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{0497}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f34bc3c --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{0497}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{0569}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{0569}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2e6e8bf --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{0569}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{8063}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{8063}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5eb48d0 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{8063}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{8071}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{8071}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9bb746a --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{8071}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{8323}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{8323}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4ea690d --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{8323}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{8359}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{8359}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..66d20fc --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{8359}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{9194}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{9194}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2a6a97d --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{9194}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{9510}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{9510}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..4d775f7 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{9510}.jpg diff --git a/10609-h/images/{9546}.jpg b/10609-h/images/{9546}.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7427754 --- /dev/null +++ b/10609-h/images/{9546}.jpg |
