Halleck's New English Literature Part 34

Macaulay's _Essay on Milton_.

Lowell's _Milton_ (in _Among My Books_).

Addison's criticisms on Milton, beginning in number 267 of _The Spectator_, are suggestive.

SUGGESTED READINGS WITH QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

Prose.--The student will obtain a fair idea of the prose of this age by reading Milton's _Areopagitica_, Ca.s.sell's _National Library_ (15 cents), or _Temple Cla.s.sics_ (45 cents); Craik,[13] II., 471-475; the selections from Thomas Hobbes, Craik, II., 214-221; from Thomas Fuller, Craik, II., 377-387; from Sir Thomas Browne, Craik, II., 318-335; from Jeremy Taylor, Craik, II., 529-542; and from Izaak Walton, Craik, II., 343-349. Manly, II., has selections from all these writers; the _Oxford Treasury_ and _Century_, from all but Hobbes. The student who has the time will wish to read _The Complete Angler_ entire (Ca.s.sell's _National Library_, 15 cents; or _Temple Cla.s.sics_, 45 cents).

Compare (_a_) the sentences, (_b_) general style, and (_c_) worth of the subject matter of these authors; then, to note the development of English prose, in treatment of subject as well as in form, compare these works with those of (1) Wycliffe and Mandeville in the fourteenth century, (2) Malory in the fifteenth, and (3) Tyndale, Lyly, Sidney, Hooker, and Bacon (_e.g._ essay _Of Study_, 1597), in the sixteenth.

Bunyan's _Pilgrim's Progress_ should be read entire (_Everyman's Library_, 35 cents; Ca.s.sell's _National Library_, 15 cents; _Temple Cla.s.sics_, 45 cents). Selections may be found in Craik, III., 148-166; Manly, II., 139-143; _Oxford Treasury_, 83-85; _Century_, 225-235.

In what does the secret of Bunyan's popularity consist--in his style, or in his subject matter, or in both? What is specially noteworthy about his style? Point out some definite ways in which his style was affected by another great work. Suppose that Bunyan had held the social service ideals of the twentieth century, how might his idea of saving souls have been modified?

Lyrical Poetry.--Specimens of the best work of Herrick, Carew, Suckling, Lovelace, Herbert, Vaughan, and Crashaw may be found in Ward, II.; Bronson, II.; _Oxford Treasury_, III.; Manly, I.; and _Century_.

What is the typical subject matter of the Cavalier poets? What subject do Herbert, Vaughan, and Crashaw choose? Which lyric of each of these poets pleases you most? What difference do you note between these lyrics and those of the Elizabethan age? What Elizabethan lyrists had most influence on these poets? What are some of the special defects of the lyrists of this age?

John Milton.--_L'Allegro_, _Il Penseroso_, _Comus_, _Lycidas_ (American Book Company's _Eclectic English Cla.s.sics_, 20 cents), and _Paradise Lost_, Books I. and II. (same series), should be read. These poems, including his excellent _Sonnets_, may also be found in Ca.s.sell's _National Library_, _Everyman's Library_, and the _Temple Cla.s.sics_. Selections are given in Ward, II., 306-379; Bronson, II., 334-423; _Oxford Treasury_, III., 34-70: Manly, I., and _Century_, _pa.s.sim_.

Which is the greatest of his minor poets? Why? Is the keynote of _Comus_ in accord with Puritan ideals? Are there qualities in _Lycidas_ that justify calling it "the high-water mark" of English lyrical poetry? Which poem has most powerfully affected theological thought? Which do you think is oftenest read to-day? Why? What are the most striking characteristics of Milton's poetry? Contrast Milton's greatness, limitations, and ideals of life, with Shakespeare's.

FOOTNOTES TO CHAPTER V:

[Footnote 1: See Milton's Sonnet: _On the Late Ma.s.sacre in Piedmont_.]

[Footnote 2: Robert Herrick's _Prayer to Ben Jonson_.]

[Footnote 3: _Paradise Lost_, Book VII., lines 577-578.]

[Footnote 4: _Ibid_., Book II., lines 719-720.]

[Footnote 5: _Paradise Lost_, Book VII., lines 207-209.]

[Footnote 6: The Cambridge History of English Literature, Vol. VII., p.156.]

[Footnote 7: _Paradise Lost_, Book I., line 254.]

[Footnote 8: _Ibid_, line 262.]

[Footnote 9: _Ibid_, line 649.]

[Footnote 10: Sonnet: _On His Having Arrived at the Age of Twenty-three_.]

[Footnote 11: _Milton: A Sonnet._]

[Footnote 12: For full t.i.tles, see list on p. 50.]

[Footnote 13: For full t.i.tles, see p.6.]

CHAPTER VI: FROM THE RESTORATION, 1660, TO THE PUBLICATION OF PAMELA, 1740

History of the Period.--This chapter opens with the Restoration of Charles II. (1660-1685) in 1660 and ends before the appearance, in 1740, of a new literary creation, Richardson's _Pamela_, the novel of domestic life and character. This period is often called the age of Dryden and Pope, the two chief poets of the time. When Oliver Cromwell died, the restoration of the monarchy was inevitable. The protest against the Puritanic view of life had become strong. Reaction always results when excessive restraint in any direction is removed.

During his exile, Charles had lived much in France and had become accustomed to the dissolute habits of the French court. The court of Charles II. was the most corrupt ever known in England. The Puritan virtues were laughed to scorn by the ribald courtiers who attended Charles II. John Evelyn (1620-1706) and Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) left diaries, which give interesting pictures of the times. The one by Pepys is especially vivid.

In 1663 Samuel Butler (1612-1680) published a famous satire, ent.i.tled _Hudibras_. Its object was to ridicule everything that savored of Puritanism. This satire became extremely popular in court circles, and was the favorite reading of the king.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SAMUEL BUTLER.]

Charles II. excluded all but Episcopalians from holding office, either in towns or in Parliament. Only those who sanctioned the Episcopal prayer book were allowed to preach. In order to keep England's friendship and to be able to look to her for a.s.sistance in time of war, Louis XIV. of France paid Charles II. 100,000 a year to act as a French agent. In this capacity, Charles II. began against Holland.

From a position of commanding importance under Cromwell, England had become a third-rate power, a tail to a French kite.

James II. (1685-1688), who succeeded his brother, Charles II., undertook to suspend laws and to govern like a despot. He was driven out in the bloodless revolution of 1688 by his son-in-law, William (1689-1702), and his daughter Mary. William of Orange, who thus became king of England, was a prince of Holland. This revolution led to the _Bill of Rights_ (1689), the "third pillar of the British Const.i.tution," the two previous being _Magna Charta_ and the _Pet.i.tion of Right_. The foundations were now firmly laid for a strictly const.i.tutional monarchy in England. From this time the king has been less important, sometimes only a mere figure-head.

This revolution, coupled with the increasing rivalry of France in trade and colonial expansion, altered the foreign policy of England.

Holland was the head of the European coalition against France; and William III. was influential in having England join it. For the larger part of the eighteenth century there was intermittent war with France.

Under Anne (1702-1714) the Duke of Marlborough won many remarkable victories against France. The most worthy goal of French antagonism, expansion of trade, and displacement of the French in America and India, was not at this time clearly apparent.

Anne's successor was the Hanoverian Elector, George I. (1714-1727), a descendant of the daughter of James I., who had married a German prince. At the time of his accession, George I. was fifty-four years old and could speak no English. He seldom attended the meetings of his cabinet, since he could not understand the deliberations. This circ.u.mstance led to further decline of royal power, so that his successor, George II. (1727-1760), said: "Ministers are the king in this country."

The history of the rest of this period centers around the great prime minister, Robert Walpole, whose ministry lasted from 1715-1717 and from 1721-1742. His motto was, "Let sleeping dogs lie"; and he took good care to offend no one by proposing any reforms, either political or religious. "Every man has his price" was the succinct statement of his political philosophy; and he did not hesitate to secure by bribery the adoption of his measures in Parliament. He succeeded in three aims: (1) in making the house of Hanover so secure on the throne that it has not since been displaced, (2) in giving fresh impetus to trade and industry at home by reducing taxation, and (3) in strengthening the navy and encouraging colonial commerce.

Change in Foreign Influence.--Of all foreign influences from the beginning of the Renaissance to the Restoration, the literature of Italy had been the most important. French influence now gained the ascendancy.

There were several reasons for this change. (1) France under the great Louis XIV. was increasing her political importance. (2) She now had among her writers men who were by force of genius fitted to exert wide influence. Among such, we may instance Moliere (1622-1673), who stands next to Shakespeare in dramatic power. (3) Charles II. and many Cavaliers had pa.s.sed the time of their exile in France. They became familiar with French literature, and when they returned to England in 1660, their taste had already been influenced by French models.

Change in the Subject Matter of Literature.--The Elizabethan age impartially held the mirror up to every type of human emotion. The writers of the Restoration and of the first half of the eighteenth century, as a cla.s.s, avoided any subject that demanded a portrayal of deep and n.o.ble feeling. In this age, we catch no glimpse of a Lady Macbeth in the grasp of remorse or of a Lear bending over a dead Cordelia.

The popular subjects were those which appealed to cold intellect; and these were, for the most part, satirical, didactic, and argumentative.

The two greatest poets of the period, John Dryden and his successor, Alexander Pope, usually chose such subjects. John Locke (1632-1704), a great prose writer of this age, shows in the very t.i.tle of his most famous work, _Of the Conduct of the Understanding_, what he preferred to discuss. That book opens with the statement, "The last resort a man has recourse to in the conduct of himself is his understanding." This declaration, which is not strictly true, embodies a p.r.o.nounced tendency of the age, which could not understand that the world of feeling is no less real than that of the understanding.

One good result of the ascendancy of the intellect was seen in scientific investigation. The Royal Society was founded in 1662 to study natural phenomena and to penetrate into the hidden mysteries of philosophy and life.

The Advance of Prose.--In each preceding age, the masterpieces were poetry; but before the middle of the eighteenth century we find the prose far surpa.s.sing the poetry. Dryden, almost immediately after the Restoration, shows noteworthy advance in modern prose style. He avoids a Latinized inversion, such as the following, with which Milton begins the second sentence of his _Areopagitica_ (1644):--

"And me perhaps each of these dispositions, as the subject was whereon I entered, may have at other times variously affected ..."

Here, the object "me" is eighteen words in advance of its predicate.

The sentence might well have ended with the natural pause at "affected," but Milton adds fifty-one more words. We may easily understand by comparison why the term "modern" is applied to the prose of Dryden and of his successors Addison and Steele. To emphasize the precedence of these writers in the development of modern prose is no disparagement to Bunyan's style, which is almost as quaint and as excellent as that of the 1611 version of the _Bible_.

French influence was c.u.mulative in changing the c.u.mbersome style of Milton's prose to the polished, neatly-turned sentences of Addison.

Matthew Arnold says: "The glory of English literature is in poetry, and in poetry the strength of the eighteenth century does not lie.

Nevertheless the eighteenth century accomplished for us an immense literary progress, and its very shortcomings in poetry were an instrument to that progress, and served it. The example of Germany may show us what a nation loses from having no prose style... French prose is marked in the highest degree by the qualities of regularity, uniformity, precision, balance... The French made their poetry also conform to the law which was molding their prose... This may have been bad for French poetry, but it was good for French prose."