140-) English Literature

140-) English Literature

Leigh Hunt 

James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 1784 – 28 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet.

Hunt co-founded The Examiner, a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre of the Hampstead-based group that included William Hazlitt and Charles Lamb, known as the "Hunt circle". Hunt also introduced John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Robert Browning and Alfred Tennyson to the public.

Hunt's presence at Shelley's funeral on the beach near Viareggio was immortalised in the painting by Louis Édouard Fournier. Hunt inspired aspects of the Harold Skimpole character in Charles Dickens' novel Bleak House.

Early life

James Henry Leigh Hunt was born 19 October 1784, at Southgate, London, where his parents had settled after leaving the United States. His father, Isaac, a lawyer from Philadelphia, and his mother, Mary Shewell, a merchant's daughter and a devout Quaker, had been forced to come to Britain because of their Loyalist sympathies during the American War of Independence.

Once in England, Isaac Hunt became a popular preacher but was unsuccessful in obtaining a permanent living. He was then employed by James Brydges, 3rd Duke of Chandos, as tutor to his nephew, James Henry Leigh for whom Isaac named his son.

Education

Leigh Hunt was educated at Christ's Hospital in London from 1791 to 1799, a period that Hunt described in his autobiography. Thomas Barnes was a school friend. One of the boarding houses at Christ's Hospital is named after Hunt.

As a boy, Hunt was an admirer of Thomas Gray and William Collins, writing many verses in imitation of them. A speech impediment, later cured, prevented Hunt from going to university. "For some time after I left school," he says, "I did nothing but visit my school-fellows, haunt the book-stalls and write verses."

Hunt's first poems were published in 1801 under the title of Juvenilia, introducing him into British literary and theatrical society. He began to write for the newspapers and published in 1807 a volume of theatre criticism, and a series of Classic Tales with critical essays on the authors.

Hunt's early essays were published by Edward Quin, editor and owner of The Traveller.

Family

In 1809, Leigh Hunt married Marianne Kent, whose parents were Thomas and Ann. Over the next 20 years, the couple had ten children: Thornton Leigh (1810–73), John Horatio Leigh (1812–46), Mary Florimel Leigh (1813–49), Swinburne Percy Leigh (1816–27), Percy Bysshe Shelley Leigh (1817–99), Henry Sylvan Leigh (1819–76), Vincent Leigh (1823–52), Julia Trelawney Leigh (1826–72), Jacyntha Leigh (1828–1914), and Arabella Leigh (1829–30).

Marianne Hunt, in poor health for most of her life, died on 26 January 1857, at the age of 69. Leigh Hunt made little mention of his family in his autobiography. Marianne's sister, Elizabeth Kent (Hunt's sister-in-law), became his amanuensis.

Newspapers

The Examiner

In 1808, Hunt left the War Office, where he had been working as a clerk, to become editor of The Examiner, a newspaper founded by his brother, John Hunt. His brother Robert Hunt contributed to its columns.

Robert Hunt's criticism earned the enmity of William Blake, who described the office of The Examiner as containing a "nest of villains". Blake's response also included Leigh Hunt, who had published several vitriolic reviews in 1808 and 1809 and had added Blake's name to a list of so-called "quacks".

The Examiner soon acquired a reputation for unusual political independence; it would attack any worthy target "from a principle of taste," as John Keats expressed it. In 1813 (or 1812), The Examiner attacked Prince Regent George, describing his physique as "corpulent"; the British government tried the three Hunt brothers and sentenced them to two years in prison. Leigh Hunt served his term at the Surrey County Gaol.

Leigh Hunt's visitors at Surrey County Gaol included Lord Byron, Thomas Moore, Lord Henry Brougham, and Charles Lamb. The stoicism with which Leigh Hunt bore his imprisonment attracted general attention and sympathy. His imprisonment allowed him many luxuries and access to friends and family, and Lamb described his decorations of the cell as something not found outside a fairy tale. When Jeremy Bentham called on him, he found Hunt playing battledore.

From 1814 to 1817, Leigh Hunt and Hazlitt wrote a series of essays in The Examiner that they titled "The Round Table". These essays were published in two volumes in 1817 in The Round Table. Twelve of the 52 essays were written by Hunt, the rest by Hazlitt.

The Reflector

From 1810 to 1812, Leigh Hunt edited a quarterly magazine, The Reflector, for his brother John. He wrote "The Feast of the Poets" for publication. His work was a satire that offended many contemporary poets, particularly William Gifford.

The Indicator

From 1819 to 1821, Hunt edited The Indicator, a weekly literary periodical that was published by Joseph Appleyard. Hunt probably wrote much of the content, which included reviews, essays, stories and poems.

The Companion

From January to July 1828, Hunt edited The Companion, a weekly literary periodical that was published by Hunt and Clarke. The journal dealt with books, theatrical productions and miscellaneous topics.

Poetry

In 1816, Hunt published the poem Story of Rimini. The work was based on the tragic episode of Francesca da Rimini, as told in Dante's Inferno.

Hunt's preference was decidedly for Geoffrey Chaucer's verse style, as adapted to Modern English by John Dryden. That was in contrast to the epigrammatic couplet of Alexander Pope. The Story of Rimini is an optimistic narrative that runs contrary to the tragic nature of its subject. Hunt's flippancy and familiarity, often degenerating into the ludicrous, subsequently made him a target for ridicule and parody.

In 1818, Hunt published a collection of poems entitled Foliage, followed in 1819 by Hero and Leander, and Bacchus and Ariadne. In the same year, he reprinted The Story of Rimini and The Descent of Liberty with the title of Poetical Works. Hunt also started the Indicator.

Both Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley belonged to a literary group that gathered around Hunt at Hampstead. The Hunt Circle also included Hazlitt, Lamb, Bryan Procter, Benjamin Haydon, Charles Cowden Clarke, C. W. Dilke, Walter Coulson and John Hamilton Reynolds. The group was known pejoratively as the Cockney School.

Some of Hunt's most popular poems are "Jenny kiss'd Me", "Abou Ben Adhem" (1834) and "A Night-Rain in Summer".

Friendship with Keats and Shelley

Hunt maintained close friendships with both Keats and Shelley. Financial help from Shelley saved Hunt from ruin. In return, Hunt provided Shelley with support during his family problems and defended him in The Examiner. Hunt introduced Keats to Shelley and wrote a very generous appreciation of him in The Indicator. Keats seemingly, however, later felt that Hunt's example as a poet had been in some respects detrimental to him.

After Shelley's departure for Italy in 1818, Hunt experienced more financial difficulties. In addition, both his health and that of his wife Marianne failed. As a result, Hunt was forced to discontinue The Indicator (1819–1821) and stated that he had "almost died over the last numbers".

Trip to Italy

Shelley suggested that Hunt could join him and Byron in Italy to establish a quarterly magazine. The advantage was that they would be able to publish liberal opinions without repression from the British government. Byron's motive for this proposal was allegedly to acquire more influence over The Examiner with Hunt out of England. However, Byron soon discovered that Hunt was no longer interested in The Examiner.

Leigh Hunt left England for Italy in November 1821, but storm, sickness, and misadventure delayed his arrival until 1 July 1822. Thomas Love Peacock compared their voyage to that of the character Ulysses in Homer's Odyssey.

One week after Hunt arrived in Italy, Shelley died. Hunt was now virtually dependent upon Byron, who was not interested in supporting him and his family. Byron's friends also scorned Hunt. The Liberal lived through four quarterly numbers, containing contributions no less memorable than Byron's "Vision of Judgment" and Shelley's translations from Faust.

In 1823, Byron left Italy for Greece, abandoning the quarterly. Hunt, remaining in Genoa, enjoyed the Italian climate and culture and stayed in Italy until 1825. Meanwhile, he created Ultra-Crepidarius: a Satire on William Gifford (1823), and his translation (1825) of Francesco Redi's Bacco in Toscana.

Return to England

In 1825, a lawsuit with one of his brothers made Hunt return to England. In 1828, Hunt published Lord Byron and some of his Contemporaries. The work was designed to counter what Hunt perceived as an inaccurate public image of Byron. The public was shocked that Hunt, who had been obliged to Byron for so much, would "bite the hand that fed him". Hunt especially writhed under the withering satire of Moore.

During his later years, Hunt continued to suffer from poverty and sickness. He worked unremittingly, but one effort failed after another. Two journalistic ventures, the Tatler (1830–1832), a daily devoted to literary and dramatic criticism, and London Journal (1834–1835) failed even though the latter contained some of his best writing. Hunt's editorship (1837–1838) of the Monthly Repository was also unsuccessful.

In 1832, Hunt published by subscription a collected edition of his poems. The subscribers included many of his opponents. Also in 1832, Hunt printed for private circulation Christianism, the work afterward published (1853) as The Religion of the Heart. A copy sent to Thomas Carlyle secured his friendship, and Hunt went to live next door to him in Cheyne Row in 1833.

Hunt's romance, Sir Ralph Esher, about Charles II was successful. Captain Sword and Captain Pen, published in 1835, a spirited contrast between the victories of peace and the victories of war, deserves to be ranked among his best poems.

In 1840, Hunt's play Legend of Florence had a successful engagement at Covent Garden, which helped him financially. Lover's Amazements, a comedy, was acted several years afterwards and was printed in Journal (1850–1851); other plays remained in manuscript.

Also in 1840, Hunt wrote introductory notices to the work of Richard Brinsley Sheridan and to Edward Moxon's edition of the works of William Wycherley, William Congreve, John Vanbrugh and George Farquhar, a work that furnished the occasion of Macaulay's essay on the Dramatists of the Restoration. A narrative poem, The Palfrey, was published in 1842.

During the 1830s, Hunt also wrote for the Edinburgh Review  

139- ) English Literature

139-) English Literature 

Leigh Hunt – Summary

 Leigh Hunt , (born October 19, 1784, Southgate, Middlesex, England—died August 28, 1859, Putney, London), English essayist, critic, journalist, and poet, who was an editor of influential journals in an age when the periodical was at the height of its power. He was also a friend and supporter of the poets Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats. Hunt’s poems, of which “Abou Ben Adhem” and his rondeau “Jenny Kissed Me” (both first published in 1838) are probably the best known, reflect his knowledge of French and Italian versification . His defense of Keats’s work in the Examiner (June 1817) as “poetry for its own sake” was an important anticipation of the views of the Aesthetic movement .

Hunt, at his best, in some essays and his Autobiography (1850; in part a rewriting of Lord Byron and Some of His Contemporaries, 1828), has a distinctive charm. He excels in perceptive judgments of his contemporaries, from Keats to Alfred, Lord Tennyson. As a Radical journalist, though not much interested in the details of politics, he attacked oppression with indignation.

The poems in Juvenilia (1801), his first volume, show his love for Italian literature. He looked to Italy for a “freer spirit of versification” and translated a great deal of Italian poetry, and in The Story of Rimini (1816), published in the year of his meeting with Keats, he reintroduced a freedom of movement in English couplet verse lost in the 18th century. From him Keats derived his delight in colour and imaginative sensual experience and a first acquaintance with Italian poetry. Much of Hunt’s best verse was published in Foliage (1818) and Hero and Leander, and Bacchus and Ariadne (1819).

In 1808 Leigh Hunt and his brother John had launched the weekly Examiner, which advocated abolition of the slave trade, Catholic emancipation, and reform of Parliament and the criminal law. For their attacks on the unpopular prince regent, the brothers were imprisoned in 1813. Leigh Hunt, who continued to write The Examiner in prison, was regarded as a martyr in the cause of liberty. After his release (1815) he moved to Hampstead, home of Keats, whom he introduced in 1817 to Shelley, a friend since 1811. The Examiner supported the new Romantic poets against attacks by Blackwood’s Magazine on what it called “the Cockney school of poetry,” supposedly led by Hunt.

In Hunt’s writings for the quarterly Reflector (1810–11), politics was combined with criticism of the theatre and of the fine arts, of which he had considerable knowledge. Imagination and Fancy (1844), his most sustained critical work, draws interesting parallels between painting and poetry. It was in the weekly Indicator (1819–21) and The Companion (1828), however, that Hunt published some of his best essays. He continued to write for periodicals until his death. 

138-) English Literature

138-) English Literature 

 Joseph Warton 

  

Works 

 Ode X: Ode to a Lady on the Spring

Lo! Spring, array'd in primrose-colour'd robe,

Fresh beauties sheds on each enliven'd scene,

With show'rs and sunshine cheers the smiling globe,

And mantles hill and vale in glowing green.

All nature feels her vital heat around,

The pregnant glebe now bursts with foodful grain,

With kindly warmth she opes the frozen ground,

And with new life informs the teeming plain.

She calls the fish from out their ouzy beds,

And animates the deep with genial love,

She bids the herds bound sportive o'er the meads,

And with glad songs awakes the joyous grove,

No more the glaring tiger roams for prey,

All-powerful love subdues his savage soul,

To find his spotted mate he darts away,

While gentler thoughts the thirst of blood controul.

But ah! while all is warmth and soft desire,

While all around Spring's cheerful spirit own,

You feel not, Amoret, her quickening fire,

To Spring's kind influence you a foe alone!

Analysis (ai): Spring brings life and renewal to nature, from the blooming earth to the lively animals. However, Amoret alone remains unaffected, untouched by the season's invigorating effects. The poem contrasts the vibrancy of nature with Amoret's indifference, highlighting the disconnect between the natural world and the speaker's emotional state. The poem reflects the Romantic era's fascination with nature and its transformative power, a theme commonly explored in literary works of the time.

Ode to Music

Queen of every moving measure,

Sweetest source of purest pleasure,

Music; why thy powers employ

Only for the sons of joy?

Only for the smiling guests

At natal or at nuptial feasts?

Rather thy lenient numbers pour

On those whom secret griefs devour;

Bid be still the throbbing hearts

Of those, whom death, or absence parts,

And, with some softly whisper'd air,

Smooth the brow of dumb despair.

Analysis (ai): This poem explores the power of music to transcend joy and provide solace in times of grief and loss. It urges musicians to use their art not only to entertain the fortunate, but also to bring comfort to the afflicted.

The poem's language is simple and direct, conveying its message clearly and effectively. The structure is simple and repetitive, consisting of four stanzas of six lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABCBDB, contributing to the poem's smooth, flowing rhythm.

Compared to the author's other works, this poem is characterized by its focus on music's emotional and therapeutic qualities rather than its technical aspects. It also differs from the author's other works in its lack of mythological references and classical allusions.

While this poem is a product of its time, its themes and message remain relevant today. It highlights the universal power of music to heal, comfort, and provide solace in difficult times.

Verses on a Butterfly

Fair Child of Sun and Summer! we behold

With eager eyes thy wings bedropp'd with gold;

The purple spots that o'er thy mantle spread,

The sapphire's lively blue, the ruby's red,

Ten thousand various blended tints surprise,

Beyond the rainbow's hues or peacock's eyes:

Not Judah's king in eastern pomp array'd,

Whose charms allur'd from far the Sheban maid,

High on his glitt'ring throne, like you could shine

(Nature's completest miniature divine):

For thee the rose her balmy buds renews,

And silver lillies fill their cups with dews;

Flora for thee the laughing fields perfumes,

For thee Pomona sheds her choicest blooms,

Soft Zephyr wafts thee on his gentlest gales

O'er Hackwood's sunny hill and verdant vales;

For thee, gay queen of insects! do we rove

From walk to walk, from beauteous grove to grove;

And let the critics know, whose pedant pride

And awkward jests our sprightly sport deride:

That all who honours, fame, or wealth pursue,

Change but the name of things—they hunt for you.

Analysis (ai): This ode to a butterfly emphasizes nature's artistry through vivid descriptions of its beauty. Warton's tone is celebratory throughout, as he marvels at the butterfly's radiant wings, comparing them to precious jewels and royal attire. He uses nature's bounty to illustrate the butterfly's importance, as flowers bloom for it and the wind carries it over lush landscapes. The poem's conclusion addresses those who mock the poet's admiration for nature, declaring that the pursuit of fame and wealth is merely a desire for the beauty that only nature possesses.

Compared to Warton's other works, this poem lacks the melancholy and philosophical themes common in his elegies. It also differs from the politically charged verse popular during the mid-18th century, instead focusing on the natural world. The poem's joyful tone and celebration of beauty reflect the emergence of sensibility in literature, a literary movement that emphasized emotion and sensory experience.

The Enthusiast, or the Lover of Nature

Ye green-rob'd Dryads, oft' at dusky Eve

By wondering Shepherds seen, to Forests brown,

To unfrequented Meads, and pathless Wilds,

Lead me from Gardens deckt with Art's vain Pomps.

Can gilt Alcoves, can Marble-mimic Gods, 

Parterres embroider'd, Obelisks, and Urns

Of high Relief; can the long, spreading Lake,

Or Vista lessening to the Sight; can Stow

With all her Attic Fanes, such Raptures raise,

As the Thrush-haunted Copse, where lightly leaps 

The fearful Fawn the rustling Leaves along,

And the brisk Squirrel sports from Bough to Bough,

While from an hollow Oak the busy Bees

Hum drowsy Lullabies? The Bards of old,

Fair Nature's Friends, sought such Retreats, to charm 

Sweet Echo with their Songs; oft' too they met,

In Summer Evenings, near sequester'd Bow'rs,

Or Mountain-Nymph, or Muse, and eager learnt

The moral Strains she taught to mend Mankind.

As to a secret Grot Ægeria stole 

With Patriot Numa, and in silent Night

Whisper'd him sacred Laws, he list'ning sat

Rapt with her virtuous Voice, old Tyber leant

Attentive on his Urn, and husht his Waves.

Rich in her weeping Country's Spoils Versailles 

May boast a thousand Fountains, that can cast

The tortur'd Waters to the distant Heav'ns;

Yet let me choose some Pine-topt Precipice

Abrupt and shaggy, whence a foamy Stream,

Like Anio, tumbling roars; or some bleak Heath,   

Where straggling stand the mournful Juniper,

Or Yew-tree scath'd; while in clear Prospect round,

From the Grove's Bosom Spires emerge, and Smoak

In bluish Wreaths ascends, ripe Harvests wave,

Herds low, and Straw-rooft Cotts appear, and Streams 

Beneath the Sun-beams twinkle — The shrill Lark,

That wakes the Wood-man to his early Task,

Or love-sick Philomel, whose luscious Lays

Sooth lone Night-wanderers, the moaning Dove

Pitied by listening Milkmaid, far excell   

The deep-mouth'd Viol, the Soul-lulling Lute,

And Battle-breathing Trumpet. Artful Sounds!

That please not like the Choristers of Air,

When first they hail th'Approach of laughing May.

Creative Titian, can thy vivid Strokes, 

Or thine, O graceful Raphael, dare to vie

With the rich Tints that paint the breathing Mead?

The thousand-colour'd Tulip, Violet's Bell

Snow-clad and meek, the Vermil-tinctur'd Rose,

And golden Crocus? — Yet with these the Maid, 

Phillis or Phoebe, at a Feast or Wake,

Her jetty Locks enamels; fairer she,

In Innocence and home-spun Vestments drest,

Than if coerulean Sapphires at her Ears

Shone pendant, or a precious Diamond-Cross

Heav'd gently on her panting Bosom white.

Yon' Shepherd idly stretcht on the rude Rock,

Listening to dashing Waves, and Sea-Mews Clang

High-hovering o'er his Head, who views beneath

The Dolphin dancing o'er the level Brine,

Feels more true Bliss than the proud Ammiral,

Amid his Vessels bright with burnish'd Gold

And silken Streamers, tho' his lordly Nod

Ten thousand War-worn Mariners revere.

And great Æneas gaz'd with more Delight

On the rough Mountain shagg'd with horrid Shades,

(Where Cloud-compelling Jove, as Fancy dream'd,

Descending shook his direful Ægis black)

Than if he enter'd the high Capitol

On golden Columns rear'd, a conquer'd World

Contributing to deck its stately Head:

More pleas'd he slept in poor Evander's Cott

On shaggy Skins, lull'd by sweet Nightingales,

Than if a Nero, in an Age refin'd,

Beneath a gorgeous Canopy had plac'd

His royal Guest, and bade his Minstrels sound

Soft slumb'rous Lydian Airs to sooth his Rest.

Happy the first of Men, ere yet confin'd

To smoaky Cities; who in sheltering Groves,

Warm Caves, and deep-sunk Vallies liv'd and lov'd,

By Cares unwounded; what the Sun and Showers,

And genial Earth untillag'd could produce,

They gather'd grateful, or the Acorn brown,

Or blushing Berry; by the liquid Lapse

Of murm'ring Waters call'd to slake their Thirst, 

Or with fair Nymphs their Sun-brown Limbs to bathe;

With Nymphs who fondly clasp'd their fav'rite Youths,

Unaw'd by Shame, beneath the Beechen Shade,

Nor Wiles, nor artificial Coyness knew.

Then Doors and Walls were not; the melting Maid 

Nor Frowns of Parents fear'd, nor Husband's Threats;

Nor had curs'd Gold their tender Hearts allur'd;

Then Beauty was not venal. Injur'd Love,

O whither, God of Raptures, art thou fled?

While Avarice waves his golden Wand around,

Abhorr'd Magician, and his costly Cup

Prepares with baneful Drugs, t'enchant the Souls

Of each low-thoughted Fair to wed for Gain.

What tho' unknown to those primæval Sires,

The well-arch'd Dome, peopled with breathing Forms

By fair Italia's skilful Hand, unknown

The shapely Column, and the crumbling Busts

Of awful Ancestors in long Descent?

Yet why should Man mistaken deem it nobler

To dwell in Palaces, and high-rooft Halls, 

Than in God's Forests, Architect supreme!

Say, is the Persian Carpet, than the Field's

Or Meadow's Mantle gay, more richly wov'n';

Or softer to the Votaries of Ease,

Than bladed Grass, perfum'd with dew-dropt Flow'rs?

O Taste corrupt! that Luxury and Pomp

In specious Names of polish'd Manners veil'd,

Should proudly banish Nature's simple Charms.

Tho' the fierce North oft smote with Iron Whip

Their shiv'ring Limbs, tho' oft the bristly Boar 

Or hungry Lion 'woke them with their Howls,

And scar'd them from their Moss-grown Caves to rove,

Houseless and cold in dark, tempestuous Nights;

Yet were not Myriads in embattled Fields

Swept off at once, nor had the raving Seas 

O'erwhelm'd the foundering Bark, and helpless Crew;

In vain the glassy Ocean smil'd to tempt

The jolly Sailor, unsuspecting Harm,

For Commerce was unknown. Then Want and Pine

Sunk to the Grave their fainting Limbs; but Us

Excess and endless Riot doom to die.

They cropt unweetingly, the poisonous Herb

But wiser we spontaneously provide

Rare powerful Roots, to quench Life's chearful Lamp.

What are the Lays of artful Addison, 

Coldly correct, to Shakespear's Warblings wild?

Whom on the winding Avon's willow'd Banks

Fair Fancy found, and bore the smiling Babe

To a close Cavern: (still the Shepherds shew

The sacred Place, whence with religious Awe

They hear, returning from the Field at Eve,

Strange Whisperings of sweet Music thro' the Air)

Here, as with Honey gather'd from the Rock,

She fed the little Prattler, and with Songs

Oft' sooth'd his wondering Ears, with deep Delight 

On her soft Lap he sat, and caught the Sounds.

Oft' near some crowded City would I walk,

Listening the far-off Noises, rattling Carrs,

Loud Shouts of Joy, sad Shrieks of Sorrow, Knells

Full slowly tolling, Instruments of Trade,

Striking mine Ears with one deep-swelling Hum.

Or wandering near the Sea, attend the Sounds

Of hollow Winds, and ever-beating Waves.

Ev'n when wild Tempests swallow up the Plains,

And Boreas' Blasts, big Hail, and Rains combine

To shake the Groves and Mountains, would I sit,

Pensively musing on th'outragious Crimes

That wake Heav'n's Vengeance: at such solemn Hours,

Dæmons and Goblins thro' the dark Air shriek,

While Hecat with her black-brow'd Sisters nine,

Rides o'er the Earth, and scatters Woes and Deaths.

Then too, they say, in drear Ægyptian Wilds

The Lion and the Tiger prowl for Prey

With Roarings loud! the list'ning Traveller

Starts Fear-struck, while the hollow-echoing Vaults

Of Pyramids encrease the deathful Sounds.

But let me never fail in cloudless Nights,

When silent Cynthia in her silver Car

Thro' the blue Concave slides, when shine the Hills,

Twinkle the Streams, and Woods look tipt with Gold,

To seek some level Mead, and there invoke

Old Midnight's Sister Contemplation sage,

(Queen of the rugged Brow, and stern-fixt Eye)

To lift my Soul above this little Earth,

This Folly-fetter'd World; to purge my Ears,

That I may hear the rolling Planets Song,

And tuneful-turning Spheres: If this debarr'd,

The little Fayes that dance in neighbouring Dales,

Sipping the Night-dew, while they laugh and love,

Shall charm me with a‰rial Notes. — As thus 

I wander musing, lo, what awful Forms

Yonder appear! sharp-ey'd Philosophy

Clad in dun Robes, an Eagle on his Wrist,

First meets my Eye; next, Virgin Solitude

Serene, who blushes at each Gazer's Sight;

Then Wisdom's hoary Head, with Crutch in Hand,

Trembling, and bent with Age; last Virtue's self

Smiling, in White array'd, who with her leads

Fair Innocence, that prattles by her Side,

A naked Boy! — Harrass'd with Fear I stop,

I gaze, when Virtue thus — "Whoe'er thou art,

"Mortal, by whom I deign to be beheld,

"In these my Midnight-Walks; depart, and say

"That henceforth I and my immortal Train

"Forsake Britannia's Isle; who fondly stoops 

"To Vice, her favourite Paramour." — She spoke,

And as she turn'd, her round and rosy Neck,

Her flowing Train, and long, ambrosial Hair,

Breathing rich Odours, I enamour'd view.

O who will bear me then to Western Climes, 

(Since Virtue leaves our wretched Land) to Shades

Yet unpolluted with Iberian Swords;

With simple Indian Swains, that I may hunt

The Boar and Tiger thro' Savannah's wild?

There fed on Dates and Herbs, would I despise

The far-fetch'd Cates of Luxury, and Hoards

Of narrow-hearted Avarice; nor heed

The distant Din of the tumultuous World.

So when rude Whirlwinds rouze the roaring Main,

Beneath fair Thetis sits, in coral Caves,

Serenely gay, nor sinking Sailors Cries

Disturb her sportive Nymphs, who round her form

The light fantastic Dance, or for her Hair

Weave rosy Crowns, or with according Lutes

Grace the soft Warbles of her honied Voice.

Analysis (ai): The Enthusiast, or the Lover of Nature by Joseph Warton is a celebration of nature's beauty and tranquility, contrasting it with the artificiality of man-made creations. The poem opens with the speaker expressing his preference for nature's "unfrequented Meads" over "Gardens deckt with Art's vain Pomps." He goes on to describe the idyllic scenes that he finds in nature, such as the "Thrush-haunted Copse" and the "Pine-topt Precipice."

The poem also includes several references to classical mythology, such as the story of Numa and Ægeria and the story of Æneas and Evander. These references help to reinforce the poem's message that nature is superior to man-made creations.

The poem is written in blank verse, which gives it a more natural and conversational tone than it would have if it were written in a more formal style. The language is simple and straightforward, with few embellishments. This adds to the poem's sense of authenticity and sincerity.

 The Enthusiast, or the Lover of Nature is a poem that is simple yet powerful. It is a celebration of nature's beauty and a reminder that true happiness can be found in the simple things in life.

 

137- ) English Literature

137- ) English Literature 

Joseph Warton

Joseph Warton (baptized April 22, 1722, Dunsfold, Surrey, Eng.—died Feb. 23, 1800, Wickham, Hampshire) was an English clergyman, academic and literary critic and classical scholar who anticipated some of the critical tenets of Romanticism. His brother Thomas was poet laureate from 1785 to 1790..

He was born in Dunsfold, Surrey, England, but his family soon moved to Hampshire, where his father, the Reverend Thomas Warton, became vicar of Basingstoke. There, a few years later, Joseph's sister Jane, also a writer, and his younger brother, the more famous Thomas Warton, were born. Their father later became an Oxford professor. Educated at Winchester and Oxford, he took holy orders in 1744 and served several cures. He spent an unsuccessful tenure as headmaster at Winchester, resigning in 1793. In London he met Samuel Johnson and became part of Johnson's literary group. His poems show a preference for the primitive over the civilized life. The Enthusiast (1744) and his subsequent volume of odes (1746) are early examples of romantic nature poetry. His chief work was his Essay on the Genius and Writings of Pope (2 vol., 1756 and 1782). Though an admirer of Pope, he criticized the classical tendencies of 18th-century poetry and longed for a revival of imagination and passion. He edited a nine-volume edition of Pope in 1797.

Joseph was educated at Winchester College and at Oriel College, Oxford, and followed his father into the church, becoming curate of Winslade in 1748. In 1754, he was instituted as rector at The Church of All Saints, Tunworth.[1] In his early days Joseph wrote poetry, of which the most notable piece is The Enthusiast (1744), an early precursor of Romanticism. In 1755, he returned to his old school to teach, and from 1766 to 1793 was its headmaster, presiding over a period of bad discipline and idleness, provoking three mutinies by the boys. His career as a critic was always more illustrious, and he produced editions of classical poets such as Virgil as well as English poets including John Dryden. Like his brother, he was a friend of Samuel Johnson, and formed part of the literary coterie centered on the publisher Robert Dodsley.

Warton was impatient with some aspects of Neoclassical poetry, as is shown by his poem The Enthusiast; or the Lover of Nature (1744) . His Odes on Various Subjects (1746) was an attempt to emphasize the role of imagination in verse. This was followed in 1756 by the first part of the Essay on the Writings and Genius of Pope. Its most striking feature is its insistence on the sublime and pathetic as the highest kinds of poetry and on the importance of originality and freedom from rules. Ethical, didactic, or satiric poetry, such as that of Pope, was considered to be of a second and inferior order.

Works

The Enthusiast, or The Lover of Nature . A Poem . (1744)

Odes on Various Subjects (1746)

Essay on the Genius and Writings of Pope (volume 1: 1756; volume 2: 1782)

The Dying Indian.

Fashion: A Satire.

Ode Against Despair.

Ode occasion'd by Reading Mr. West'S Translation of Pindar.

OdeTo a Gentlman Upon His Trqavels Through Italy.

Ode To a Lady Who Hates The Country.

Ode to Fancy.

Ode To Health. Written on  a recovery  from the smallpox.

Ode To Liberty.

Ode To Solitude

Ode To Superstition

Ode To The Nightingale  .

The Revenge of America .

Stanzas written on taking the Air after a long Illness .

Verses Written at Mountauban in France, 1750.