The Decline and Fall of Arcadia: A Study in Eighteenth Century Thought

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m of arcadia;

A STUDY HI EIGHTEENTH CENTUSY THOUGHT

by BARBARA J. RICHARDS

ProQuest Number: 10614754

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SUBMITTED XH PARTIAL FOLFim ENT OF THE HEQDIREMENTS OF

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COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MAES' FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS 1950

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE .

, . * . *

A

CHAPTER

PACE

ONE m THE NATURE OF PASTORAL,*

* *

1

•

X

On th e Nature o f Eighteenth Century P a sto ra l

6

A General Study

TWO

. . . .

THE CLIMATE OF OPINION

.. , * •. . *

, * ».*

. . . . . . . . . . .

The A esthetic Bakeground

*. . ,

The S o cial Background . .

••, .

The,P hilosophical Background

# >* ^ . .

*

• .

. . . . . . .

.

John Gay

**

* *

25

. .

32

*

35

. * . . . . . . . . . . . .

James Thomson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FOUR

THE DECLINE OF ARCADIA . . . . . . . . .

FIVE

THE NSW CLIMATE OF OPINION

SIX

IS

25

Stephen D u c k ....................

Hie A esthetic Bake ground

14

20

THREE ARCADIA ATTACKED . .

A llan Ramsay

10

35 * *

. . . . . . . . .

k$

. .

4S

The S o c ia l Background . . . . . . . .

•* *

53

The P h ilo so p h ical Background

.* •

57

THE FALL OF THE NE0~CLAS3IC PASTORAL . . . .

61

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . .

40

» . . .

. . . . . . . . .

.

69

PRSFAGX

The eig h teen th century is not* today* a fashionable one. .It i s commonly regarded as a v a lle y o f c u ltu ra l depression between th e .glorious h i l l s of th e seventeenth century on th e one s id e and th e e x c itin g h eig h ts o f n in e te e n th century romanticism m th e other* But i t mas a tim e o f sin g u la r a c t iv i t y .and o f sin g u la r change* Humantiy, as P a te r sa y s,* i s lo ath t o abandon i t s decayed ideas and i t s moribund, gods •

Hie eighteenth century was courageous and

en erg etic enough to do both.

Something new was bom , which we c a l l

democracy in government and romanticism i n th e a r t s . c o rn er o f l i f e untouched by th e Z e it-G e is t,

There was no

I t i s to th e eighteenth

c en tu ry , more than to any o th e r, t h a t we owe our modern world, fo r b e tte r o r fo r worse. The connection of th ese g rea t changes w ith th e declin e o f th e n e o -c la ssic p a s to ra l may se e s rem ote, but in f a c t i t i s not*

The

d e clin e o f th e p a s to ra l was but one aspect o f th e g rea t new s p i r i t th a t was s t i r r i n g abroad.

And so th e h is to ry o f i t s d e clin e i s n o t

m erely a l i t e r a r y e x ercise and i t has more than l i i e f a r y sig n ifican ce* although th a t in i t s e l f i s s u f f ic ie n t apologia*

Pro® a study o f

l i t e r a t u r e , we can la y a fin g e r on th e pulse of l l f e j we can tra c e a new psychology more e x ac tly and w ith g re a te r chronological accuracy ,TO.rj.-"ij.-iKri: „

.„:.u llti. ,i.ir .j run.i

.1.

Marius, th e Epicurean. Chapter I*

11

th a n from th e tex t-b o o k s.

To say t h a t th e r i s e of Stephen Back

e a rly in th e century may help us to understand th e success of Hapoleon a t th e o th e r end of I t , may sound grandiloquent# but I b e liev e i t to be true* N evertheless# I have attem pted'alw ays to keep w ithin th e lim its of my s u b l e t* w ith varying degrees o f success*

t have

n o t concerned m yself w ith p a r a lle l developments in th e f ie ld s o f p o l it i c s and th e o th e r a rts # except where th ey seem to be in-* e x tric a b ly intertw ined*

Bren then# 1 have not attem pted to

d istin g u ish # usually# between cause and e ffe c t*

I have likew ise

avoided# as f a r as p o ssib le, th e tem pting term “romantic ismn, sin c e th e growth o f realism In p a s to ra l p o etry Is by no means synonymous with# o r even p a r a lle l to# th e growth o f romanticism# although th e re i s a stro n g connection* Time is th e c h ie f fa c to r which has prevented ay presenting l i t t l e more than a simple h is to ry o f th e f a l l o f th e p a s to ra l. There a re im portant conclusions to be drawn from th e fa c ts and 1 am aware th a t I have not always drawn them, o r a t l e a s t made them s u f f ic ie n tly c le a r to th e reader*

For instance# th e chrono­

logy o f th e decline# beginning to g a th er impetus in th e • f i f t i e s o f th e century and reaching f u l l speed in th e 1seventies# has f u r th e r causes than those which 1 have a ttr ib u te d to i t , and obviously a sig n ific a n c e stro n g er than X can a t presen t grasp* I am aware too# th a t my attem pts to summarise th e change in th e clim ate o f opinion during th e cen tu ry a re p i t i f u l l y inadequate.

1 can only defend them by saying th a t th ey a re p o rter* s work and seem to do what they have to do reasonably adequately in t h i s paper* !4y thanks are due to Dr. F o erster fo r h is help and con-* s tr u c tiv e c ritic is m during th e labour pangs o f t h i s study*

A p ril 25th# 1950.

CHAFm CHI ON THE NATDSB OF PAST0BA1 General Study l i k e most o f th e words which th e c r i t i c s have se ise d upon, th e word “p a sto ra l" has been used t o often# and so vaguely, t h a t i t has become a pale ab strac tio n * brave word once*

But i t was a

D e fin itio n i s an im possible ta s k , sin c e I

am f a r from being an A risto tle * pass w ithout some comment*

However, X cannot l e t th e word

To draw general conclusions from

sp e c ific cases i s a dangerous procedure, but X th in k i t i s th e only one fe a s ib le h e re .

X would remind th e rfeader th a t t h i s i s

m erely an ad hoc study and th a t th e value of i t o u tsid e t h i s paper i s n e g lig ib le . We can fa th e r th e p a s to r a l, as we can almost everything 1 which makes l i f e sweet and noble to U v e , upon th e Greeks* The suggestion^ th a t i t developed from prim itiv e w orship, from th e lament for th e death o f th e year daemon, th e mourning o f the 1

I can do no b e tte r than to quote Miss M ith Hamilton in her book The Greek Waart “This l i t t l e remant preserved by the haphazard o f chance shows th e high-w ater mark reached by th e reg ion of thought and beauty th e Greeks entered# No scu lp tu res comparable to th e ir s j no build in g s ever more b e a u tifu l) no w ritin g s su p e rio r. P rose, always l a t e of development, th ey had tim e only to touch upon, but they l e f t m asterpieces. H istory has y e t to fin d a g re a te r exponent than Thucydides) o u tsid e of th e B ible th e re i s no p o e tic a l prose th a t can touch P la to . In p o etry they a re a l l but supreme j no epic i s to be mentioned with Hume; no odes to be s e t beside Pindar; o f th e fo u r m asters of th e tra g ic stage th re e a re Greek*" 2Langhorne and % ger suggest an a b o rig in a l source. Marlon K. Bragg mentions th e th e o ry , but i s inconclusive*

2

w ith erin g p le n ty o f summer,, i s a tt r a c t iv e but unsupported*

At

any rate* th e form seems t o have c r y s ta llis e d e a rly and in T heocritus i t s p rin g s , lik e B alias out o f Jove1© head, f u l l bom and mature* A study o f th e c h a r a c te r is tic s o f th e bu co lic as Theo­ c r i t u s w rote i t may be considered a b asic study o f p a s to ra l form.

Although V irg il was th e a c c re d ite d model f o r l a t e r

w r i t e r s ^ he added v ery l i t t l e t h a t was new; he polish ed r a th e r th an c u t.

T heocritus c a lle d h is works i d y l l s , th a t i s , " l i t t l e

p ic tu re s * * There a re t h i r t y in a l l , but sc h o la rs f o r th e p ast few hundred years have been divided as to whether th e y a re a l l pure p a s to ra l.'

And indeed, i t seems a moot point whether th e re

i s such a th in g a s " p a s to ra l fo ra1** But perhaps t h a t i s because A r is to tle was a p p aren tly not in te r e s te d in p a s to ra l^ and so we speak w ith le s s a u th o r ity .

The i d y ll s o f T heocritus lea n towards

drama, w ith a stro n g ly r ic n o te , and h is amaeban v erse i s adapted by most o f h is l a t e r fo llo w ers. But i t i s th e atmosphere t h a t i s th e a l l im portant th in g . I t i s d oubtful whether th e S ic ilia n landscapes were r e a l i s t i c m-mnliTiir irrn nrn

Almost c e r ta in ly t h i s was due to common ignorance o f Greek during th e K iddle Ages. T heocritus was not read u n t i l th e R enaissance. By t h a t tim e , t a s t e had la rg e ly been fix e d . ^D iscussing th e v a rio u s forms o f p o e try a t th e beginning o f The P o e tic s . A r is to tle m entions e p ic , tra g e d y , comedy, th e dithyramb and th e music w ritte n fo r th e aulos and th e l y r e . I t seems l i k e l y t h a t he included th e p a s to ra l in th e l a t t e r c la s s and t h a t he d id not d iscu ss i t in d e ta il because he considered i t n o t p rim a rily as p o e try , but as m usic.

even when th e y were being' written.*.

C e rta in ly th e y were not § tr u e to th e country l i f e which V irg il knew* l a t e r s t i l l * th e y

were p o s itiv e ly ir o n ic a l-

But p a s to ra l s t i l l demanded i t s happy

sw ains and lo v e sic k herdsmen-

I t was in te re ste d * n o t in holding

th e m irror up t o Mature, b u t in holding i t up to T heocritus I t follow s th e n , t h a t th e p a s to ra l i s ex n a tu ra a v ery h ig h ly s ty lis e d and a r t i f i c i a l l i t e r a r y genreI t i s s ty liz e d not o n ly in atm osphere, b u t in themes* The m o tifs o f th e i d y l l s o f T heocritus re c u r again and ag ain in p a s to ra l poetry-

The e le g ia c n o te o f I d y l l I (th e lament f o r

D&phnis), th e love la y ( in I d y ll I I I , th e complaint to Am aryllis and in th e b e a u tif u l I d y ll V II), th e sin g in g c o n te st ( in Id y lls V III and IX ), th e love p h i l t r e theme o f I d y l l I I , a re a l l p a rt o f th e p a s to ra l tra d itio n *

There i s only one p a s to ra l convention

which i s not found in T heocritus t c a lle d th e p a th e tic f a lla c y .

t h a t device which Ruskin has

This was begun by Bion and Moschus

and brought t o f r u i t i o n by V ir g il. I t would seem u n lik e ly t h a t such a s ty lis e d and a r t i f i c i a l l i t e r a r y g e n re , p r a c tic a lly divorced from r e a l i t y and academic in th e extrem e, would be d e stin e d fo r long l if e *

l e t of such

s tre n g th i t proved th a t only th e homeopathic treatm en t o f th e e ig h teen th cen tu ry had power t o k i l l i t , as we s h a ll see* even afterw ard th e re were a few very d istu rb in g ghosts l ik e .»r „ r n ,.ir

V ir g il’s own Georgies in c o n tr a d is tin c tio n t o th e logues a re s u f f ic ie n t p ro o f.

And

k £

m d fh g w la * v ery fo rm lessn ess.

The t r u t h t» t h a t I t survived by i t s I t was a mould in to which th e m olten thought

o f each c en tu ry could e a s ily be poured,

V irg il* fo r instance*

used i t to f l a t t e r Augustus (Eclogue V)* to f o r e t e l l th e b i r th o f a m ysterious c h ild (IV)* to thank g ra c e fu lly h ie frie n d s f c r re s to rin g h is farm and to complain about th e e v ic tio n s o f peas­ a n ts from t h e i r farms t o a c q u ire land f o r th e re tu rn in g s o ld ie rs (Eclogues I and IX ),

During th e Middle Ages* i t was discovered

t h a t th e p a s to r a l was adm irably s u ite d t o alleg o ry * and t h a t i t gave u n p e ra lle lle d o p p o rtu n itie s f o r p o l it i c a l* s o c ia l and r e lig io u s a llu s io n .

In th e words o f P e tra rc h , *®c hujusce s e r -

monis ( i . e . a lle g o ry ) genere* p o e tic s esmls In te x t a est® .

In

accordance w ith t h i s p rin c ip le * P e trarc h w rote h is tw elve eclogues* co n fe ssin g h im self th a t th e y could be understood only w ith a key. I t was discovered to o t h a t th e p a s to ra l could accommodate th e mediaeval v is io n .

So we have th e Q lm >la o f Boccaccio In which

a p a s to r a l heaven i s drawn* sometimes w ith d is a s tro u s r e s u l t s . Mediaeval “escapism” * which re c u rs again and again both in l i t e r a ­ tu r e and th e p la s tic a rts * found expression in th e Ansadiam* s e ttin g which Saanasar© re s to re d fro® V irg il and in which be g a m e rs up every tre a su re d experience o f h is l i f e and im agination. The p a s to ra ls o f th e F lelade in France* w ith th e p o ssib le ex­ c e p tio n o f th o se o f Marot* a re mere im ita tio n s .

They f a i l because

A fter th e e ig h tee n th c en tu ry , th e form al p a s to ra l survived o n ly as e le g ia c v e rs e .

Jf

no attem pt was made to adapt th e convention to th e s p i r i t o f th e age, and u n less p o etry has. contemporary s ig n ific a n c e , *i t i s dead a t heart*

As we s h a l l s e e , t h i s was t o be th e u ltim ate

dow nfall o f t h e p a s to r a l in England* however, was very much a liv e .

E nglish Renaissance p a s to r a l,

Although Spenser openly acknow­

ledged th a t i t was h is aim t o provide JEhglish p o etry w ith one o f th e p o e tic kinds "wherin i t faultcth** a f t e r th e b e s t c o n tin e n ta l models and c r itic is m , he was never m erely im ita tiv e *

In th e

Shopheardes Calendar* he uses h is own status* form} he la rg e ly d is c a rd s c la s s ic a l namesj h is co u n try scenes may be u n r e a l is ti c , b u t th e y a re more .English th a n S ic ilia n *

Spenser*s fo llo w ers to o ,

managed to in je c t th e p a s to ra l w ith some vigour and s tre n g th , but th e c a re fu l re a d e r can a lre a d y see th e warning signs*

Even

more c le a r ly can he see them in M ilton1* Xycldas* Iycidas i s undoubtedly a g re a t poem, b u t i t i s encrusted in ic e .

Johnson

was n o t i t s f i r s t c r i t i c , but he has sa id th e f in a l word upon it •

i t i s f a u lty in i t s v ery p e rfe c tio n ,

th e re i s a p r a c tic a lly

unbroken l in e o f development between ly cid as and eighteenth c en tu ry p a sto ra l*

The P u ritan s were not th e ty p e o f people to

enjoy masquerading a s shepherds and shepherdesses.

P a sto ra l was

7Lives o f th e E nglish Poets* Milton* nI t i s not t o be considered as th e e ffu sio n o f r e a l p assio n ; f o r passion runs not a f t e r remote a llu s io n s and obscure o p in io n s. P assion plucks no b e rr ie s from th e m y rtle and iv y , nor c a l ls upon A rethuse and H in d u s , nor t e l l s o f rough s a ty rs and fauns w ith cloven h e e l. Where th e re i s le is u r e f o r f i c t i o n , th e re i s l i t t l e grief.**

6

p ut In to cold sto ra g e , and when i t ’ emerged in th e e ig h teen th century,' i t was even more ic y than before* I t i s necessary t o n o te one fu rth e r q u a lity o f p a s to r a l. I t i s not w ritte n by shepherds, but about them.

Hence i t i s n o t,

and never can b e, an a c c u ra te p ic tu re of co untry l i f e , and where a stro n g r u r a l f e e lin g e x is ts , p a s to ra l dies*

I t follow s then

t h a t i t w i l l b e s t th r iv e in an urban c iv i l i s a t i o n , i n a le is u re d and somewhat c u ltu re d atmosphere* in a c iv i l lz a t i o n to o , t h a t does n o t tak e i t s e l f too s e rio u s ly and i s o p tim istic r a th e r th an p e ssi­ m is tic •

Because p a s to r a l, even th e b e s t, i s never more than a

game, a lb e it a charming and p lea sa n t game* When a l l has been s a id , i t i s never more than a Cockney's Sunday a fte rn o o n .

And

Sunday aftern o o n s cannot s e t a p a tte rn fo r th e r e s t o f th e week. On The Uature o f Eighteenth-C entury P a sto ra l Eight cent h-c en tury p a s to ra l found i t s immediate in s p ir a tio n i n France, in th e th e o ris in g s o f Eapin and of F o n te n elle, e sp e c i*

a l l yw o f th e l a t t e r .

His Discours u r 1*Eclogue was w idely t+tmrnmmiimmmm* «shwp» w read

both in French and in th e Intglish tr a n s la tio n by Motteux (1695, re p rin te d 1719) •

F o n ten elle recommends im ita tio n o f m odels, but

th e main point o f h is argument may be summarised in th e follow ing sentences

nL’illu s io n e t m meme temps L’agrement des b e rg e rie s

c o n s is ts done a n 'o f f r i r aux yeux que l a t r a n q u i l l i t e ' de l a v ie p a s to ra le dont on dissinrale l a baesessej on an la d sse v o ir l a s im p lic ite , mais on cache l a B&sere *”

7

3h Ifogland, the f i r s t c r i t i c to d e fin e th e p a sto ra l 8 w ith in r i g id lim its was W illiam Walsh# He, lik e w ise , in s is te d upon extreme a r t i f i c i a l i t y , as th e foundation o f su c c e ssfu l p asto ral*

But i t was Pope, th e contemporary l i t e r a r y g ia n t,

who did most tow ards div o rcin g r e a l i t y from th e p a s to r a l.

The

D iscourse on P a s to ra l Poetry (1109) urged e n tir e removal from r e a l l i f e , th e g lo rify in g o f th e Golden Age and th e P o rtra y a l o f what Pope c a lle d H h e b e s t sid e ” of country lif e * how he expresses h is guiding p r in c ip le :

This i s

^We must th e re fo re use

some i l l u s i o n to render a P a s to ra l d e lig h tf u l! and t h i s c o n sists in exposing th e b e s t sid e only o f a shepherd *s l i f e and in con­ c e a lin g i t s m iseries**

Popefs own p a s to r a ls , a d v ertised as they

were by th e q u a rre l w ith Ambrose P h illip s and given th e stamp of a u th o rity by th e w rite r »s subsequent fame and l a t e r s t i l l by th e approval o f Johnson, were a tremendous fo rce in p o p u larisin g th e form and in preserving i t in th e face o f numerous and b i t t e r g ib es; Very s h o rtly a f t e r th e appearance o f Pope*s work, th e same r u le s were again repeated by Thomas T ic k e ll in a s e r ie s of a r t i c l e s in The Guardian* In Ho* 22 (A p ril 6t h , 1713), follow ing F o ntenelle c lo s e ly , he demanded th a t th e p a s to ra l poet should imagine **a r u r a l scene o f p e rfe c t ease and t r a n q u i l l i t y where innocence, s im p lic ity and jo y abound*$ tak in g pains to wh ide what i s wretched*, he should allow h is swain to s u ffe r only very t r i f l i n g d i s t r e s s e s , rum nirntiri uuu.-ii!

r nil Jim ^ r n m n m - r r m m w ith mud on -his boots and a f l a i l in h is hand j, had come in to c o n ta ct w ith A rcadia.

One might have

expected t h a t th e Arcadians would have fle d a t th e s ig h t o f him.

What a c tu a lly happened was th a t they persuaded him to la y

down h is f l a i l , wipe th e mud o ff h is boots,and become one of them.

Before being presented a t Court, Buck wrote The T hresher’s

labour i a fte rw ard s he wrote Penelope to U lysses.

But The

th re s h e r*8 labour was a g re a t advance and, what was perhaps eq u ally im portant, i t was a g re a t su ccess. Mrs. Claytons

D r. Clarke w rote to

"We have seme people of t a s t e fo r such perform­

ances who th in k th a t none but a th re sh e r could w rite The T hresher’s labour and th a t th e author of The Shunaiaite must be th e b e st poet o f th e a g e .1,4 C ertain ly Buck made i t q u ite c le a r th a t h is poem was not o f th e conventional p a s to ra l tr a d itio n ! Can we, l i k e Shepherds, t e l l a merry T alej The voice i s l o s t , drown’d by th e louder F l a i l . But may we th in k - a la s , what pleasing th in g H ere, to th e Hind, can th e d u ll Fancy bring? Our eye beholds no pleasin g o b ject h e re , No c h e e rfu l Sound d iv e r ts our lis te n in g Ear. The Shepherd w ell may tune h is voice to sin g , In sp ired with a l l th e b e au tie s o f th e Spring. No fo u n tain s murmur h ere, no Lambkins p la y , No lin n e ts warble and no f ie ld s look gay; fTis a l l a gloomy, melancholy Scene F it only to provoke th e Muse’s Spleen.

Thomson, Memoirs X. 187. As quoted by Hose Mary Davis, i• £ ZSSBE 2SL S everal Occasions. JO.

There Is no attem pt h e re .to hide th e seamy hide o f l i f e . The pom gives us a b i r d ’s eye view o f a ty p ic a l year o f Buck’s l i f e a s an a g ric u ltu r a l lab o u re r.

He begins h is account

a t th e end of the h arvest season when th e m aster c a lls h is lab o u re rs to g eth er and assigns them t h e i r p o sts fo r th e threshings Now i n th e A ir our k n o tty weapons f l y , And now w ith equal fo rce descend from highs In b rin y stream s our Sweat descends apace, Droops from our lo c k s , or tr ic k le s down our Face* No in te rm issio n in our Work we know* The noisy T hreshal must fo r ever go*® But when th e work i s completed, th e Master i s f a r from s a tis fie d ? Why, look ye, rogues, d ’ye th in k th a t t h i s w ill do? Tour neighbours th re sh again as much as you.7 When th e tim e comes t o e a t, th e la b o u re rs, f a r gone w ith fa tig u e , cannot r e l i s h food; Down our parch’d Throats we scarce th e Bread can g e t, And q u ite o ’e r spent w ith T o il, but f a in tly e a t .8 Evening fin d s them alm ost too fatig u ed to fin d t h e i r way homes Homewards we move, but spent so much tirith t o l l . We slow ly walk, and r e s t a t every s t i l e . Our good expecting Wives, who th in k we s ta y , Go to th e door, soon eye us in th e way. Then from th e Pot th e Bumplin’s catched in h a s te , And homely by i t s sid e th e Bacon plac’d.9 The Arcadian swain has no p lace dn th e poem* R ather, th e hard­ sh ip s of country l i f e a re s tre s s e d : Think what a p a in fu l l i f e we d a ily lead ; Each m arring e a rly r i s e , go l a t e to bed. Nor, when asleep a re we secure from Pain;

32

We then perform our labours o ’e r again: Our mimic Fancy ever r e s tle s s seems And what we a c t awake, she a c ts in dreams. Hard F a te- our labours er*n in sle ep don ’t c h ea ts * Scarce Hercules e ’e r f e l t such f o ils as th e s e . Crabbe, some f i f t y years l a t e r , re a lis e d th e d i f f ic u lt y of U tilis in g a c tu a l experience in a g ric u ltu r a l occupations fo r the purposes o f p o e try , and in t h i s connection, bore Duck in mind| Save honest Duck, what son of v e rse could share th e p o e t’s ra p tu re and th e p e asan t’s car®? Or th e g re a t labours o f th e f ie ld degrade With th e new p e r i l o f a poorer tr a d e .H (A curious and complete re v e rsa l o f a ttitu d e from th e e a rly c e n tu ry .) Although Duck l a t e r p ro s titu te d hio Muse by sinking in to th e conventional n e o -c lassic tr a d itio n , he had done v a lia n t s e rv ic e .

He had given th e eighteenth century i t s f i r s t b reath

o f realism ; he had d efied th e convention a t l e a s t once,

la te r,

o th er c u rre n ts were to complete h is work, but a t t h i s e a rly date he i s th e g re a te s t s in g le fo rc e in th e c re a tio n o f a new genre. As we have seen, attem pts were made to h eal th e wound i n th e neoc la s s ic ed ifice.; but even from w ith in th e re was sabotage. John Gay During th e very heyday o f n eo -classicism , one man, John Gay, wrote a very venturesome poem:

The Shepherd’s Week.

In i t ,

he parodies almost a l l of th e conventions of th e p a s to ra l as he knew i t .

lo 'lb ld .

u Crabbe.

16.

The U lla g e .

lin e s 27 to 30.

33

The f i r s t pom# fo r Monday, parodies th e formal singing match*

Two "swains*1, Lobbin Clout and Cuddy# sing eulogies of

t h e i r re sp e c tiv e m is tre ss e s , B louselind and Buxoma fo r th e p r is e of a tobacco pouch.

The le v e l of th e v erse may be Judged

from th e follow ing example picked a t randoms lee k to th e Welsh, to Dutchmen B utter fs dear# Of I r is h swains p o tato i s th e cheers Oats fo r t h e i r f e a s t th e S c o ttish shepherds g rin d , Sweet tu rn ip s a re th e food o f B louzelind. While she loves tu rn ip s , b u tte r 1*11 d e sp ise , Nor le e k s, nor oatmeal# nor p o ta to , p rize*12 The Judge of th e match, one C loddipole, in tru e c la s s ic fashion# awards a p riz e to each: Forbear# contending lo u ts , give o*er your s t r a i n s , -in oaken s t a f f each m erits fo r h is p a i n s . * 3 The Tuesday poem parodies th e love com plaint.

Weeping#

th e heroine Marion r e c a lls th e romance o f her love f o r Colin Clouts S tra ig h t on th e f i r e th e sooty pot I placed, To warn th y b ro th I burnt my hands fo r haste* When hungry thou sto o d 1s t s ta r in g , lik e an o a f, I s lic e d th e luncheon from th e b a rle y loaf* With crumbled bread I thickened w ell th y mess * Ah, love me more, o r love th y p o ttage l e s &J& l i k e so many o f her Grecian predecessors, our heroine tu rn s to th e o c c u lt--to gypsy lo r e : They sa id th a t many c ro sse s X must prove, Some in my w orldly g a in , but most in love. Next mom I missed th re e hens and our old cock# 12 The Shepherd!s Meek. Monday, lin e s 83 to 80 P l b l d . Lines 109 t o 110. •^*Ibld. Tuesday. Lines 67 to 72.

34

And o f f th e hedge two pinners and a smock* I bore th e s e lesso n s w ith a C h ristia n mind ^ And no mishaps could f e e l w hile thou were k in d . * And so we ta k e leave o f our unfortunate damsels Thus When With Then

Marian w ailed, her eyes w ith te a r s b rim fu l, Goody Dobbins b o u g h t her cow t o b u ll. apron blue t o dry her pyee she sought, ^ saw th e cow w ell served and took a g r o a t.15

The love complaint o f Wednesdays poem, of S parabella lam enting Bumkinet, whom she has l o s t to th e .f a i r e r C lum sitis (whom she r e v ile s ) i s even more poignant, sin ce th e maiden contem plates su ic id e by various methods.

However, w hile she i s

making up her mind on th e most sp e cta cu lar way to d ie (There plac*d a l o f t , 1*11 rave and r a i l by f i t s Though a l l th e p a ris h say I*ve l o s t my W its)1 ' su n set comesj The prudent maiden deems i t now too l a t e . And t i l l tomorrow comes d e fe rs her f a t e .1® T hursday's poem s a t i r i s e s th e love p h iltr e theme.

The

h eroine Hobnelia p ra c tic e s various country s u p e rs titio n s w ith hemp seed , s n a ils , h a ae ln u ts, peascods, la d y fU e s,a n d p ip p in s, and ev en tu ally wins her lo v e r back. The poem fo r Friday i s a parody o f th e p a s to ra l elegy o r d irg e .

Two swains lament th e dead B louselindi

Ho more her care s h a ll f i l l th e hollow tr a y . To f a t th e g u sslin g hogs w ith floods of whey.

^ I b l d . Lines 77 to 82. I b id . Lines 103 to 106. ^ I b i d . Wednesday. Lines 109 t o HO. ^ I b l d . Lines 119 t o 120.

Lament, y e sw ine, in grunting spend your g r ie f.. For you, l ik e me, have l o s t your so le r e l i e f .*9 Af t e r a harrowing account o f B louselind1© d e a th , our heroes go to her m other’s farm t o d rin k c id e rs Excessive sorrow i s exceeding d ry . F in a lly , however, th ey espy Susan coming towards than: They se ise d th e la s s in apron clean a rray ed , And to th e a le house fo re fd th e w illin g maid; In a le and k is s e s th ey fo rg e t t h e i r c a re s , And Susan B louzelindais lo s s re p a ir s , X r e f e r th e read er to th e Proeme e n tir e , sin ce t o quote any sin g le passage a p a rt from th e context would he t o d estro y th e d e lic io u s a i r o f iro n y . th a t was ever penned*

I t i s th e b o ld est p iec e o f r a i l l e r y

And i t was w ritte n in 1714.

X have been

unable to fin d any c r i t i c a l n o tic e s o f h is poem, but X m curious to know what e f f e c ts i t produced in Arcadia* A llan Ramsay I t cannot, however, have caused too g re a t a s t i r , because we fin d comparative peace and q u ie t u n t i l 1724 when Allan Ramsay, who, in The S e n ile Shepherd had been a v e r ita b le Arcadian, published Evergreen.

The p refa ce i s one of th e stro n g e st and

most sane o f th e e a rly demands fo r p o e try , James Thomson Xa 1726 was published a poem c a lle d W inter by James Thomson.

I t was not by any means a l i t e r a r y bombshell*

^ Ib ld . Ib id .

F rid ay ; Lines 65 to 68, Line * 52. Lines l 6 l to 164.

The

f i r s t review , i s The London Jo u rn a l, June 4 th ,l? 2 6 , p ra is e s th e a lte rn a tio n o f d e sc rip tio n and r e f le c tio n in th e poem and h a ils th e appearance o f a new and noble d id a c tic genius.

Thomson1®

Preface to th e second and immediately succeeding e d itio n s i s not a m anifesto of re v o lt; i t censures t r i v i a l , w orldly v e rse and e m i t s n a tu re p o etry as p h ilo so p h ic a l, a c r a l and r e lig io u s , w ith re fe re n c e t o th e Book o f Job, th e G eorgies, and H ilto n . And indeed th e pom i t s e l f gives i t s n eoclasaic read ers a fa m ilia r p le a su re .

There i s th e g ra c e fu l d e d ic a tio n , th e D e istic in ­

v o c atio n , th e i n te lle c tu a l in te r e s t in o th e r lands in th e in cu rsio n in to th e Polar re g io n s, th e moral r e f le c tio n on a fu tu re s t a t e , th e w ell knows “p o e tic diction** (th e " fe a th e ry p eople", "plumy ra c e " , " b le a tin g k in d ").

The nature d e sc rip tio n

i s more r e a l i s t i c , more drawn from genuine observation than is u su a l a t t h is tim e, but fo r us th e main importance o f th e poem l i e s in one passages

th e d e sc rip tio n o f th e death o f th e swain

in a snow storm and th e subsequent re fle c tio n s *

C o llin s , l a t e r ,

d id not scorn to p a r a l le l Thomson’s powerful verse in t h is p assage.22

I t runss

M v a in f o r him th e o ffic io u s wife prepares The f i r e f a i r b ia s in g , and th e vestment warm, In v ain h is l i t t l e c h ild re n , peeping o u t, 22

C o llin s . An Ode on th e Popular S u p e rstitio n s o f th e Highlands of S cotland. V III * * r h e Passage ru n s: For him, on v a in , h is anxious w ife s h a ll w a it, Or wander fo rth to meet him on h is way: For him, in v a in , a t t o - f a l l o f th e day, His babes s h a l l lin g e r a t t h funclosing g a te . Ah, n e ’e r s h a ll he re tu r n .

In to th e mingling s t o w demand t h e i r s ir e With te a r s of a r t l e s s innocence. Alas, Hor w ife n o r c h ild re n more s h a ll he behold. Nor frie n d s nor sacred home* On every nerve The deadly w in ter s e is e s : sh u ts up senses And, o ’e r h is inmost v i t a l s creeping c o ld , Lays him along th e snows a s tiffe n e d corse S tretch ed out and bleaching in th e northern b l a s t. How comes th e most rev o lu tio n a ry passage o f a ll s Ah, l i t t l e th in k th e gay, lic e n tio u s proud, Whom p le a su re , power and a fflu e n ce surround: They who t h e i r th o u g h tle ss hours in giddy m irth And wanton, o ften c ru e l r i o t w aste; Ah, l i t t l e th in k th e y , w hile th ey dance along, How many f e e l t h i s very moment death And a l l th e sad v a rie ty o f pain,. How many sin k in th e devouring flo o d . Or more devouring flame* How many bleed By shameful v arian ce betw ixt man and man* How many pine in want and dungeon glooms, Shut from th e common a i r and common use Of t h e ir own lim bs. How many drin k th e cup Of b a le fu l g r i e f , o r s a t th e b i t t e r bread Of m isery. Sore pierced by w intry winds, How many sh rin k in to th e sordid hut Of c h eerless p o v e rty * ^ Oddly enough, t h i s seems to have ex cited l i t t l e a tte n tio n , b ut by th e tim e th e o th e r th r e e poems comprising The Seasons had been published, by 1730, th e public had begun to r e a liz e t h a t here was something new*

Even i f , in Spring th e y found swains

chasing rainbows, in th e fash io n to which th ey had become ac­ customed, th ey a ls o found lin e s decrying th e Golden Age convention: But now th o se white unblemished minutes whence The fa b lin g poets took t h e i r Golden Age Are found no more.2^ 25 ■ ■■...... .... The Seasons. W in ter5(about q u a rte r way through) 2^ Ib id . Spring*

In Summer. In* th e viewe o f th e season on th e t o r r i d cones a re co n ventional, th e y found, to o , new and r e a l i s t i c p ic tu re s o f anim al l i f e - n o t •merely' sheep and goat®-, but rooks, magpies, r e p t i l e s , in s e c ts , th e household dog sleep in g in th e sun,and th e p o u ltry gath erin g in th e shade. th e same kind in h is own a r t .

Bewick was doing something o f I f Autumn ends w ith an Id ea liz ed

p ic tu re of country l i f e and c o n tain s th e c la s s ic a l s to ry o f la v in ia and Paleaon, i t a lso has such passages as th e d e sc rip tio n o f th e flood: b efo re whose rushing t i d e , H erds, flo ck s and h a rv e sts, c o tta g e s'a n d sw ains, R oll mingled down: a l l th a t th e winds had spread In one w ild moment ru in ed ; the big hopes And weH earned tre a s u re s o f th e p a in fu l y e a r. Fled to some eminence, th e husbandman, H elp less, beholds th e m iserable wreck D riving along; h is drowning ox a t once Descending, w ith h is labours s c a tte re d round He se e s; and in s ta n t o ’e r h is sh iv erin g thought Domes Winter unprovided, and a t r a i n of Of clamant c h ild re n d ear. Te m asters th en , Be m indful o f th e rough laborious hand That sinks you s o f t in elegance and ease; Be m indful of th o se limbs in ru s s e t c la d , Whose t o i l to yours i s warmth and g ra c e fu l p rid e ; And oh, be m indful of th a t sparing board Which covers yours w ith luxury p ro fu se, Hakes your g la s s sp ark le and your sense r e jo ic e . Nor c ru e lly demand what th e deep ra in s And a ll-in v o lv in g winds have swept away.2' Thomson was s t i l l an A rcadian, but by v ir tu e of th e e lev ated ground on which he sto o d , he caught glim pses o f th e o u tsid e w orld.

He was not an explorer in new lands and unknown clim es;

^ X b id .

Autumn.

he never l e f t th e country in which he had been brought upi But he saw so much more than h is fellow s of th e regions which were t o be discovered.

iM W M

F0U1

$ m Brnrnm m m m m

ftm six te e n th center^ is mm Of pem&xms and currents ~ a «rad Iwrrtog* century,3- m i t w ill not eurpriae

Hi 1*o find that ip w p u t which in tfc$ m M m ewtwry-

I

to srfcrengitm the pastoral te d iilo a , lator s&Miatsd *$p$m % i t i I mean

? i t msiM be irreler&at for sins to

trace th is feeliBg in

its aspects *•- and there are isenjf of

them* In the field of pastoral,, i t had a tw ofold effect* It adr the peasant os eBdowod with Oil the :tdrtn# and happiness of the Arcadian m sin $ this acted m a kind of apologia for the pastoral#

m m those cante^tnoos of Use artificial*-

Its? of the formal pastoral came teller its softening ..infloeace, and th is landed to t o a tteitioii to the real piff^tn^s of the peasant#. W m wmmm awd

both o f who© were to attack

the fopaai pasters* aoet m tteri3f, write in an MeaMsea strain ah o a t th e pcssiiiion man, ilaiasos?1 1'i n ib o

and

in Qotham# tM s strain is also $cmm8& fotmd amongst poets whose ifiery tlKarangh teowledge of coentr3r lif e eaniiot be sjpeshiosded# Hiohael Woodhall In Ms- poemffha Banality of K&nldnd^ placee the peasant Just Sheire the fd i» # hat maintains that he in happ^i nrt.ti .,.!■ ', »■ i ^ .i» .i» « « » ^ « I»«|»«I«»»)IW»»I»1I||>III». »(I< W»I|. ,»WIM«,i« . Umlmrm«W l» XWWII «—»: CTI;M lli«M|l»l,l>tf«fl| lllM*~

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