A Full Enquiry Into The Nature Of The Pastoral (1717) Part 3

Sophy told the Swain he would meet him there agen in the Evening, and read him some more of the Minutes he had put down for his Direction, and withdrew; and the Shepherd drove his Lambs to the Covert of the Shades.

Accordingly, as the day began to decline, the Critick again appear'd; and opening his Book, pursued the Argument he had made some Progress in.

_The End of the first Part_.

PART II.

CHAP. I.

_Of the Pastoral CHARACTERS or MANNERS, in general_.

I should but tire the Reader, if I endeavour'd to prove that Pastoral does require the Manners, or Characters to be preserved. If our Method of ordering Pastoral be admitted, the Necessity thereof will be easily perceived. But If any one prefer's the ordinary Method, I must tell him, that 'tis not proper to draw Characters in a Piece of an hundred Lines.

It is to be observ'd, that tho' a Fable and Moral are essential to every Poem; yet a Poem may subsist without the Manners. In Epick Poetry the Machinery, the sublime Descriptions, &c. are such strong and Poetical Ornaments, that a very fine Piece of the Heroick kind, might be form'd without the Ornament of Characters. But Pastoral is in it self, (if I may so speak) less Poetical; and therefore more want's the additional Ornaments of Art. 'Tis naturally low and mean, and therefore should be as much rais'd as possible. Whereas Epick-Poetry is of a Nature so warm and heated, that it's own proper Strength and Violence is able to support it. If this could want a Proof, I might say in short, That we can bear with Epick-Poetry, even without any kind of Verse, and _Cambray_ has succeeded in such; but every one will judge that should a Pastoral appear in Prose, nay even without the Feminine Ornament of Jangle, 'twould not be born with; which show's that Epick Poetry can support it self with fewer foreign a.s.sistances than Pastoral.

Another Observation I shall make, relating to the Manners or Characters in general, is this; and 'tis equally applicable to Epick Poetry, Tragedy, and Pastoral: There are three different ways of drawing Characters; which in Tragedy form the Poem, as 'twere, of three different Kinds or Natures.

The first, and finest is, where the Natural Temper of the Hero's Mind is drawn in the former Part of the Poem, but after the Peripatie alter's.

As Timon of Athens is drawn at first all free and well-natur'd to a Fault; but after his change of Fortune, is described as a quite different Man; morose, and in hatred with himself and all the World. And so in other Tragedies.

The second Sort is, where the Temper of Mind is the same in the former and latter Part of the Play; but all along forced from it's Natural Bent. Every where inclin'd and leaning to a different Temper; yet is no where wholly carry'd off, or alter'd, as in _Venice-Preserv'd_; _Jaffeir's_ Temper is generous, faithful, and tender, but thro' Want and Enticement being drawn into a Conspiracy, this Temper is half effac'd in him: But the Strugglings which the Poet has so fine an Opportunity of describing, between his present Actions and his natural Temper, are carry'd thro' the whole Piece; and he condemn's himself the same for ungenerously betraying his Friend at the End, as for entring into the Conspiracy against his Country, at the beginning of the Play.

The last kind of Character is, where the Natural Temper of the Mind is neither drawn in the latter Part of the Poem; nor retain'd thro' the whole, but clouded and broken; but instead thereof some casual and accidental Humour, which from some Misfortune, or the like, has quite changed the Natural Temper before the Person appear's on the Stage, or in the Poem. As in the Distress'd-Mother, the Character that give's name to the Tragedy, is all along in Tears and Grief for _Hector_; and what her Temper was before his Death, does not appear, that is, what her Natural Temper was.

I need not detain you to apply what I have here observ'd to Pastoral in particular; 'tis enough to affirm, that the Method which appears most beautiful in Tragedy, will be equally finest in Pastoral Poetry.

CHAP. II.

_What Condition of Life our Shepherds should be supposed in. And whether the_ Golden-Age, _or the present state of the Country should be drawn_.

There are three different Methods, (as we hinted in the first Chap. of the first Book) of describing the Country. For it may be drawn, as 'tis suppos'd to have been in the Golden-Age; or, as 'tis now, but only the pleasant and delightful Images extracted, and touch'd upon; or, lastly, we may draw the Country in it's true and genuine Colours, the Deformities as well as the Beauties having admittance into our Poem.

This last sort run's upon the Labours and fatigues of the Rusticks; and gives us direct Clowns and Country-Folk. We alway see 'em sweating with a Sicle in their Hands; beating their Cows from the Corn; or else at Scolding. Yet doubtless a kind of Pastorals of this Nature might be made extreamly delightful, if the Writer would dare to write himself, and not be lead so much by _Theocritus_ and _Virgil_.

But a Method preferable to this, I think, is a Description of the Golden-Age; and there is very little difference between this, and that which we hold the best. It draw's the Swains, all Innocent and tender.

Show's us Shepherds, who are so, not for their Poverty, but their Pleasure; or the Custom of those unrefin'd Ages, when the Sons and Daughters of Kings were of that Employ, as we read in the Scripture of the Ladies of greatest Quality, drawing Water for their Flocks, and the like. I am therefore nothing averse to this kind of Pastoral. It draw's such a Life as we could easily wish our selves in; and such, and only such, can bear a pleasurable Description.

But all the Opportunities that the supposition of the Golden-Age gives the Reader of the Beautiful in his Descriptions, and being Entertaining in his Characters; In short, all the delightful Scenes, Arborets and Shades, as well as all the gentleness and simplicity of that Age, may be drawn into the other, namely the middle state, which we prefer; if the Characters be proper.

Besides, I should not be fond of describing the Golden-Age, because we are not so much interested and concern'd in what was only some thousand Years ago, and ne're will be again. If the Poet possesses us with agreeable Sentiments of our own Country (by describing it, but omitting all that is not delightful in it) we are doubly pleas'd with the Consideration that it may be in our own Power to enjoy the sweet Amus.e.m.e.nt: and we are apt to fancy while we are reading, that were we among those Swains, we could solace our selves in their easy Retirements, and on their tender Banks in the same manner that they do.

And since Poetry, the more naturally it deceives, the more fully it pleases; I should be very desirous, methinks, of giving my Pieces as great an Appearance of Probability, as possible. And in our way, the Poet may, to add yet more to the Probability, mention several Places in the Country, which actually are to be found there; and will have several Opportunities of giving his Stories an Air of Truth.

SECT. 2.

_The Method of_ Theocritus, _and all his followers, shown to be inferiour, from the Nature of the Human Mind_.

But further, to shew that we should not describe the Country in it's Fatigues, it's Roughness, or it's Meanest, take these Few Considerations. For, as no Writer whom I have read (but that excellent Frenchman _FONTENEL_,) has raised his Shepherds and Shepherdesses above the vulgar and common sort of Neat-herds and Ploughers, I am oblig'd to dwell a little the longer on this Head.

It may be observ'd, I think, that there are but two States of Life which are particularly pleasant to the Mind of Man; the busy, great, or pompous; and the retir'd, soft, or easy. More are delighted with the former than with the latter kind, which affoard's a calm Pleasure, that does not strike so sensibly, but proceeds much from the Imagination.

Perhaps this may be the reason why Epick and Tragick Poetry are more universally pleasing than Pastoral; for they describe the Actions of such Persons, as most Men are dazled and enamour'd with; and would willingly quit their own Stations in Life for.

But tho' this State of Life may perhaps be more generally engaging than the soft and retir'd; 'tis certain the soft is the next eligible, and consequently will shine the most next in Poetry. As no one would much desire to be one of Theocritus's Shepherds, so 'tis plain, no one can be much delighted with being concern'd, as 'twere, with such; of having their Actions take up our Minds, and their Manner of Life set before us.

As a love of Grandeur, Show and Pageantry is implanted naturally in our Minds, so we cannot be pleas'd with any thing that is mean, low and beggarly; and as we dislike what is mean and beggarly, How can we love to have our Minds conversant about, direct Ploughmen, _&c_? We love the Country for it's soft Retirements, it's Silence, and it's Shades, and can we love a Description of it that sets none of these before us? If I read a Pastoral, I would have it give me such a Prospect of the Country, and stop me upon those Objects, where I should myself stay, were I there; but would not that be (at least generally) upon the most beautiful Images. If the Toils of the Country-Folk took my Observance, 'twould only be for Variety, because those Images which a Poet can so plentifully raise out of his own Brain, can hardly be met with in Reality. But methinks were I determin'd to describe the Labours and Hardships of the Country, and not to collect the Beauties; I would e'en observe the Manner of the Fellows and Wenches in the Country, and put down every thing that I observ'd them act; as Mr. Gay has very well done; and than we shall have at least this Pleasure, of seeing how exactly the Copy and the Original agree; which is the same that we receive from such a Picture as show's us the face of a Man we know.

Again, 'tis natural to the Mind of Man to delight in the Happiness of it's Fellow-Creatures; and no Pleasure can be imbibed from the Prospect of another's Misery; unless it is so calculated as to excite Pity. The Pleasure, that comes the nearest such of any, is a Comick one, which delight's to see the human Form distorted and debased, and turn'd into that of a Beast.

And as for Pity, the most delightful Pa.s.sion of all, it can't be excited by this Means. For those Swains are inured to Labour, and acquainted with Fatigue; but we pity those who fall from Greatness to a State of Hardships.

CHAP. III.

_What Personages are most proper for Pastoral. And what Pa.s.sions we may allot our Shepherds; and what degree of Knowledge_.

Since Simplicity and Tenderness are universally allow'd to const.i.tute the very Soul and Essence of Pastoral, there la nothing scarce in the Proceedings of Pastoral-Writers more surprizing to me, than that no one has allotted any Part of Characters in their Pieces to the _SOFT-s.e.x_: But have, to a Writer, introduc'd only Men, and even the roughest of that s.e.x.

I can no otherways account for that their Conduct, but that _Theocritus_ happen'd not to make any true Female Characters, nor to introduce any such of the Fair-s.e.x, as would shine in Pastoral, and they pretend to nothing farther than the Copying after him.

This is the more strange, since even Epick-Poetry and Tragedy, whose Nature is Violence and Warmth, cannot well subsist without the tender Characters. 'Tis they that sprinkle so sweet a Variety thro' those Pieces, and relax the Minds of the Readers, with the Beautiful and Soft, after it is sated with the Sublime.

Now if even the warmest Kinds of Poetry delight in Female Personages, How much more Pastoral, which is all Tenderness and Simplicity? Whose design is to sooth and spread a Calm over the Mind, as the higher Poems are to elevate and strike It.

But 'tis not enough that we introduce some Characters drawn from the _SOFT-s.e.x_: our Male Characters must be also of the same Nature, far from rough or unmanner'd. Every Character must also be of such a Kind as will be entertaining to the Mind. For there are some more, some less delightful, among those Female _Characters_, which at first sight seem equally proper to Pastoral. Of this kind is a Prudish _Character_, or excessively reserv'd. For, besides that frankness and Openness of Heart, is what we imagine natural to Shepherds, a Poet can never raise Delight from such a Character. Her fault is too hateful to excite Pity in her Punishment; and too small to raise Joy in beholding bar Unfortunate.

Besides that such a Joy were not proper for Pastoral. Of the same Nature is a Finical, or Squeamish Character, and many others, at first sight agreeable to Pastoral.

SECT. 2

_What Pa.s.sions we may allot our Shepherds_.

Although I am for raising the Characters in Pastoral somewhat above the degree of Boors and Clowns; yet no one is more for retaining the Pastoral Simplicity. Our Characters of young and tender Innocents, give, I think, a better Opportunity of introducing the true Pastoral Simplicity, than those very mean and low Personages, which rather lead us to an unmanner'd Clownishness, than an agreeable Simplicity.