und du, die Seele jener lichten Wellen, o Sonne, darf zu dir mein Lied sich heben? It was natural that a poem which saw everywhere in Nature a loving creator would be received with enthusiasm by men whose minds had been deeply moved by the religious poetry of Milton and Klopstock. Thomson's Seasons were immediately translated into all languages, and it was no wonder that they had a particularly great influence on German poets, because of all peoples the Germans seem to have the strongest liking for a dreamy contemplation of Nature. The Seasons were imitated by the Brandenburg poet Ewald von Kleist, who wrote the fine descriptive poem, called Der Frühling. But only a world that had lost the sense of true poetry could admire the Seasons without restraint. At length, it was felt that in spite of the many touching scenes and beautiful descriptions, the poem, as a whole, wearied the reader with monotony. There was no dramatic life, no action, no plot in it to make a unity of all those rustic pictures of men and women. Even his contemporary1), Swift said that it was all description and nothing happened. Lessing, while still a young man, adored Thomson as the perfect master of descriptive poetry:,,Alle wissen, daß kein Weltalter in keinem Lande einen mehr malerischen Dichter aufzuweisen hat als ihn. Die ganze sichtbare Natur ist das Gemälde, in dem man alle heiteren, fröhlichen, ernsten und schrecklichen Szenen des veränderlichen Jahres eine aus der andern entstehen und in die andere zerfließen sieht." And what has the author of "Laocoon" to say about our poet? You were told that in Laocoon Lessing laid down the principle that, roughly speaking, the painter should represent the body and that the poet should represent the action in progress.,,Schon Horaz1) wußte es, daß, wenn der poetische Stümper nicht weiter könne, er immer anfange, einen Hain, Altar, durch anmutige Fluren sich schlängelnden Bach, rauschenden Strom, Regenbogen zu malen. Der männliche 1) "Unfortunately the convenient German usage of 'schon' in this sense cannot be imitated in English. You might say “even Swift", but that is ambiguous. I should say "even his contemporary, Swift,". Schon Horaz wußte Even so early a writer as Horace realized..." Pope sah auf die malerischen Versuche seiner poetischen Kindheit mit großer Geringschätzung zurück. Er verlangte, daß, wer den Namen eines Dichters nicht unwürdig führen wollte, der Schilderungssucht so früh wie möglich entsagen müsse, und erklärte ein bloß malendes Gedicht für ein Gastgebot auf lauter Brühen. Von dem Herrn v. Kleist kann ich versichern, daß er sich auf seinen Frühling das Wenigste einbildete. Hätte er länger gelebt, so würde er ihm eine ganz andere Gestalt gegeben haben. Er dachte darauf, einen Plan hineinzulegen, und sann auf Mittel, wie er die Menge von Bildern, die er aus dem unendlichen Raume der verjüngten Schöpfung, aufs Geratewohl, bald hier bald dort gerissen zu haben schien, in einer natürlichen Ordnung vor seinen Augen entstehen und aufeinander folgen lassen wollte; er würde aus einer mit Empfindungen nur sparsam durchwebten Reihe von Bildern, eine nur sparsam mit Bildern durchflochtene Folge von Empfindungen gemacht haben.“ Thus, Lessing compares Thomson's descriptions of nature with those of Homer and censures the inefficiency of Thomson and his imitators, who cannot vie with the painter in an art, in which the latter must needs surpass: outdo them. And, indeed, Thomson's poem of the Seasons was soon forgotten, but Haydn's Jahreszeiten, the great musical composition, for which the German composer borrowed the text and motifs from the English poet, will always live as a noble work of art for its many beautiful1) melodies2). 2. Stunde: What school of poetry prevailed in the 18th century? What did classical poetry chiefly deal with? — What poet was the first to break away from Pope? - What is the title of his great poem? In what respects does it differ from classical poetry? What does the poem describe? How does the poet look upon Nature? What do all the descriptions of rural life, rustic scenes of men and women reveal? the goodness of God. On whom had Thomson's poem the greatest influence? - What great critic pointed out the natural defects of mere descriptive poetry? — In whose great Chorwerk choral composition does Th.'s poem still live? As what do 1) "Nicht 'sweet': an effeminate expression in this context". 2) "Unfortunately Haydn composed to a German translation, his music does not fit Thomson's words; when the Seasons is sung in English, a re-translation back into English is used, which is execrable". students1) of English literature know Thomson? the author of the ode known as Rule, Britannia. Why had I asked you to read it? it was to become the English national hymn, and it will be the political hymn of England as long as she maintains her political power. - Why could this song, which was composed by Thomson on the occasion of a naval war with Spain, become the national hymn? What does it express? the Englishman's sanguine self-confidence and national pride. Of what does the poet sing? Britain's supremacy over the nations, her greatness in industry and commerce. As what does Britannia appear? she is the Mistress of the Sea, the Conqueror of foreign tyrants, the Queen of Commerce, the favourite of the Muses, the home of Freedom. One of the stanzas begins with the line "To thee belongs the rural reign". What does the poet mean? that England has not only a first-rate naval and commercial population, but also a most powerful and superabundant agricultural population which supplies the others with food. - What must be said of this praise? it is no longer true, England is no longer the foremost agricultural country or an agricultural country at all. There is not so much wheat grown at present as formerly, because wheat from the Colonies (Canada) is sold so cheaply in the English market. And now let me read "Rule Britannia" in a fine German rendering: Als Albion auf des Herrn Gebot ,,Herrsche, Britannia, zur See, sie sei dein, Summary. Thomson's Seasons, which appeared in 1730, inaugurated the era of nature-poetry. By its sincere feeling for nature this poem differed from the artificial poetry of the classicist school of Pope, which was then the fashion among the polite world. It was in the beautiful Miltonic blank verse and gave glowing: heart-felt, first-hand descriptions of rural life and scenes characteristic of each season. The Seasons had a 1) "Literary scholars' nur die Gelehrten (Nie Scholars of lit.) aber das heißt als wäre die Tatsache, daß T. Rule Br. schrieb, eine Feinheit, die der einfache Mensch nicht begreifen könnte!" very great influence on German poets. (Kleist's Frühling.) At length, Lessing, in his Laocoon, pointed out the natural defects of mere descriptive poetry which can never equal painting in effectiveness. Thomson's poem still lives in Haydn's Jahreszeiten, a great musical composition: kind of oratorio originally composed for London. Thomson was the author of the ode, "Rule Britannia", which was to become the English national hymn. You had got to sum up in a few words the passages which Prof. Förster has chosen from Thomson's Seasons for his "English Authors". What do they descrive? Sch: The one is about haymaking and sheep-shearing in summer, the other about a harvest storm in autumn. 1. The whole village is busily occupied with the hay-harvest, spreading the hay out in the sun or raking it together and loading the carts with it. The voices of sturdy youths and maids, betraying happy labour, love, and social delight1), are heard far and wide. On another day, they drive the sheep into the brook to wash their wool, which, when dried in the sun, is shorn by the shepherds, while the housewife waits with all her maids, the prettiest of these sitting on a throne as the pastoral queen and smiling sweetly at her shepherd-king. L: Notice, the poet is glad that the "gentle tribes" need not fear to be slaughtered, that they will be sent bounding to their hills again (in der Klasse korrigiert). 2. A terrific thunderstorm is described, which in one wild moment ruins the big hopes and well-earned treasures of the [aborious year, leaving the husbandman to look at the miserable wreck and to shiver at the thought that winter will come and find him without provisions for the crying children (in der Klasse korrigiert). 2. Edward Young. 1. Stunde: Edward Young was another of the writers whose poetry broke away from the poetical dogmas of Pope and his school. Young was about fifty when he entered the 1) "Betraying happy labour, love, and social delight: Ich habe mich lange bemüht, einen passenden Ausdruck zu finden. Nicht, daß ein Fehler darin wäre, nur klingt es etwas fremdartig. Eigentlich spricht man SO etwas besser deutsch als englisch aus. Sagen wir vielleicht: telling of happy toil, affection, and common joy." 66 church and became chaplain to King George II. You know from your book that he left the public service of his country1): gave up the legal career, as he had been disappointed in his hopes of preferment. His later years were saddened by repeated bereavements — if death deprives you of a relation or friend, you call this loss a bereavement - Young lost his wife, daughter, and a friend who was to be his daughter's husband. These bereavements inspired his masterpiece, a long philosophic poem, called Night Thoughts. Its full title is The Complaint, or Night Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality. This title shows you that it is a collection of elegies dealing with the vanity and frailty of our human being, the mystery of death, and the comforting strength of the Christian faith. The poem is in blank verse. It reflects the gloomy melancholy of the author who declares that this our world appears as a paradise only to fools, wise men cannot but see in it a great infirmary. Goethe's Werther has put it thus:,,Die Welt erscheint nur als ein ewig verschlingendes und ewig wiederkäuendes Ungeheuer." In reading Young's elegies one soon gets tired of the uniformly sombre sensations and reflexions which pass by like faint shadows. As in Thomson's Seasons, we are conscious of a lack of action in these Night Thoughts; there is no dramatic life in them. Young very much resembles Klopstock, with whom he had formed a close friendship. Überspannung spannt ab: Too much excitement (tension) makes blunt (less sensitive). These two poets are so full of emotion that one often feels no emotion at all while reading them, says Lessing ironically. We may apply to Young the words which Schiller in his Treatise on Naive and Sentimental Poetry has said about Klopstock: ,,Kein Dichter dürfte sich weniger zum Liebling und zum Begleiter durchs Leben schicken, als gerade unser Dichter, der uns immer nur aus dem Leben herausführt, immer nur den Geist unter die Waffen ruft, ohne den Sinn mit der ruhigen Gegenwart eines Objektes zu erquicken. Keusch, überirdisch, unkörperlich, heilig wie seine Religion, ist seine dichterische 1) Prof. Foerster says that "in 1708 he received a law fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford." "All Souls is the only College in Oxford (or Cambridge for that matter) which has no undergraduates. It consists of about 30 Fellows who do no teaching, but devote all their time to research and study; a fellowship at All Souls is the cordon bleu of academic distinction." |