The Classical Biblical Epic in England

206 Pages·011.019 MB·English

by  Farrell, Thomas, Jr

THE CLASSICAL BIBLICAL EPIC IH ENGLAND
by
Thomas Farroil, Jr.
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy In th© Department of English
In th© Graduate College of th© State
University of Iowa
flefrmmyy I960
ProQuest Number: 10902156
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ACKN OWIiKDOMSMT
This dissertation, commenced at the
suggestion and under the direction of Professor
E. N. S. Thompson, was completed under the
supervision of Professor John McGalliard, and
with the assistance of Professor Baldwin Maxwell
and Professor Rhodes Dunlap.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Pag©
INTRODUCTION................................ 1
I ANGLO-SAXON BIBLICAL EPICS ................ 4
II FROM OVID TO THE BIBLE , . , . ..............18
III CONTINENT'AL BACKGROUND , ...................30
Choice of Subject . .................p. 31
Verisimilitude and the Marvelous . . . . 36
Epic Characters . ........... 44
Unity of Action . .................... 49
Adornments ............. .54
Versification ..................... 55
Style............................... 57
Diction ......... 58
Names ............... 59
Details of Composition . . . . . . . . . 61
Beginning ................... 62
Order ................. 63
Variety ........... 67
Invocations . ..................... 70
Minor devices...................... 71
^ Conclusion 72
Iv
TABUS OF COlfTENTS (Continued)
Chapter Fag©
IV ENGLISH CRITICS..............................74
V DUBABTAS* JUDITH . .........................84
VI DELQNEY*S CANAANS CALAMITIE.................104
VII DUBARTAS* SEFMAIHBS........................ 114
VIII COWLEY* S DAVXDBIS...........................135
CONCLUSION.................................. 151
FOOTNOTES * ............ 162
APPENDIX...................................190
BIBLIOGRAPHY............................... 191
1
IJTCRQD&CTXOH
In studies of th© seventeenth century it is
generally assumed that many of th© epics produced in that
period were th© result of poets turning from profane to
sacred subjects and simply presenting them in a form inher­
ited from Homer and Vergil. That th© classical Biblical epic
was a special form evolved through several centuries of
critical discussion is not always recognized. Nevertheless,
it is a separate species for which was forged a set of
requirements distinct, though not altogether different, from
those formulated for profane epics*
No literary form which has been developed in a
particular ethos is easily adapted to the material of another
culture, but one so distinctive as the classical epic,
evolved out of a special attitude, could be accomodated to
Biblical subjects, in so many ways opposed to the whole
spirit of the classics, only after considerable readjustment.
Tracing the development of critical rules and examining those
poems published in England before 1660 will provide at least
an historical account of the theory and practice of the
classical Biblical epic before Milton.
English interest in this type of poem developed
in th© seventeenth century for various reasons. Those purely
2
literary ones which are th© subject of this essay are four:
th© fundamental English predilection for sacred narratives;
th© poets* desires for grander scope than th© little epics
allowed; th© reaction against the Ovidl&n epic; and th©
coincident development on th© Continent of adequate critical
theory. The first may b© made manifest by a review of th©
Anglo-Saxon Biblical ©pics; the second by an examination
of the sixteenth century little epics; and th© third by an
account of the objections mad© to th© Ovidian narratives.
Th© last requires more complex presentation. Th© earliest
European critical works were attempts only to define and to
prescribe rules for the classical epic. Then began a suc­
cessful attempt to justify a classical Christian epic. Only
after the first two objectives had been accomplished were
the rules formulated for a classical Biblical epic.
The results of applying these laws creatively may
be seen in the poems of DuBartas, Deloney, and Cowley. Each
was published in England, those of DuBartas and Cowley being
accorded considerable acclaim, end each contributed, by its .
merits and its defects, to the growing acceptance of the new
genre. Each, therefore, will be examined, to discover th©
poet*s method and to evaluate it critically, '
It is intended that In this essay may be found the
history of th© development of bothTthe theory and th©
'T
3
practice of the classical Biblical epic to the time when
Milton was composing Paradise host to present to a public
quite prepared to receive it*
4
Chapter I
ANGLO-SAXON BIBLICAL EPICS
Anglo-Saxon poets formed Biblical material Into
epic© like thoa© of th© seventh century called the Cae&monian
poems. Examination of some of them will make manifest the
early and continuing interest of th® English in Biblical
©pics and will relate th© earlier to the later productions.
Th© seventh century Gaedmonlan poems are the
earliest native examples* Of th© form of Genesis tfAf>, only
th© beginning and a concluding fragment, a total of nearly
23G0 lines, are extant, Th© introduction contains Anglo*
Saxon epic elements! God Is an over-lord; angels are
thanes^; Heaven is organized as were the political units in
seventh century England; disregard of the fealty owed to
the "god cyning” is Satan's sin; hia followers have chosen
him as their lord. Then "A" ends®, to be resumed^ with a
collection of brief tales about Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham,
and Lot. This fragment has th© unity only of a chronological
narrative of events already well known; there is no organiza­
tion pointint to a general climax, although each incident Is
developed to on© of Its own. Like other Anglo-saxon writers,
the poet of "A" particularizes excitingly about a bad sea-
4 B
voyage , about battles , and about conferences among the
0
chief men .
5
Genesis nBM is formed. Th© poet, conceiving the
fall of man as th® climax of a series of ©vents, set th©
stag© well. Like Adam in Paradis© Lost, Man is placed in
th© center of a conflict between Satan and God. He exists
before the Angels sin, and enjoys Paradise without concern
about the injunction against eating fruit of "that one tree0.
This is an artistic choice. !,A” has it that God created man
to replace th© rebel© evicted from Heaven. MBff recites th©
rebellion and describes Hell in affecting detail. The
temptation is well motivated. As vengeful Satan writhes in
chains, a fiend volunteers to avenge their defeat by luring
man to disobedience. The characters of Satan, Adam, and Eve
are individualized, and the incidents complicate and develop
the plot to th© climax of Adam's fall. Th© temptation, and
fall are recorded without theology or moralizing, although
the author wonder® that God allowed man to be imposed upon
7
with lies told by a fallen angel .
The style of WBW is interesting. The revolt is
realistically depicted: Satan is the upstart chieftain who
refuses proper allegiance to his over-lord. Physical details
in th© description of Satan chained in Hell and of the suffer­
ing of heat and cold stimulate ©mpathic reaction®. Sympathy
for Adam and Eve is aroused: they are seduced transgressors,
not intentional sinners. Bv© eats because she believes God
has directed h©r to do it. She convinces Adam that he has