Exercises

1. The two following lyrics are respectively of the Restoration and the Caroline periods. Compare and contrast them in (a) subject, (b) style, and (c) meter. Summarize the effect of either of them, and say which you prefer and why you prefer it.

(1) Love in fantastic triumph sate,

Whilst bleeding hearts around him flowed,

For whom fresh pains he did create,

And strange tyrannic power he showed.

From thy bright eyes he took his fires,

Which round about in sport he hurled;

But ’twas from mine he took desires

Enough t’ undo the amorous world.

From me he took his sighs and tears,

From thee his pride and cruelty;

From me his languishment and fears,

And every killing dart from thee:

Thus thou, and I, the god have armed

And set him up a deity;

But my poor heart alone is harmed,

While thine the victor is, and free.

Aphra Behn (1640–89)

(2) Fair Daffodils, we weep to see

You haste away so soon:

As yet the early-rising Sun

Has not attain’d his noon.
Stay, stay,

Until the hasting day

Has run
But to the even-song;

And, having pray’d together, we

Will go with you along.

We have short time to stay, as you,

We have as short a Spring;

As quick a growth to meet decay

As you, or any thing.
We die,

As your hours do, and dry

Away

Like to the Summer’s rain;

Or as the pearls of morning’s dew

Ne’er to be found again.

To Daffodils, Herrick (1591–1674)

2. Write a brief criticism of the following passage of Dryden’s prose. Comment upon (a) the vocabulary, (b) the type of sentence, (c) any colloquialisms or slips of grammar, and (d) its value as literary criticism.

He must have been a man of a most wonderful comprehensive nature, because, as it has been truly observed of him, he has taken into the compass of his Canterbury Tales the various manners and humours (as we now call them) of the whole English nation, in his age. Not a single character has escaped him. All his pilgrims are severally distinguished from each other; and not only in their inclinations, but in their very physiognomies and persons. Baptista Porta could not have described their natures better, than by the marks which the poet gives them. The matter and manner of their tales, and of their telling, are so suited to their different educations, humours, and callings, that each of them would be improper in any other mouth. Even the grave and serious characters are distinguished by their several sorts of gravity: their discourses are such as belong to their age, their calling, and their breeding; such as are becoming of them, and of them only. Some of his persons are vicious, and some virtuous; some are unlearned, or (as Chaucer calls them) lewd, and some are learned. Even the ribaldry of the low characters is different; the Reeve, the Miller, and the Cook, are several men, and distinguished from each other as much as the mincing Lady Prioress, and the broad-speaking, gap-toothed Wife of Bath. But enough of this; there is such a variety of game springing up before me, that I am distracted in my choice, and know not which to follow. ’Tis sufficient to say, according to the proverb, that “Here is God’s plenty.” We have our forefathers and great-granddames all before us, as they were in Chaucer’s days; their general characters are still remaining in mankind, and even in England, though they are called by other names than those of monks and friars, and canons, and lady abbesses, and nuns; for mankind is ever the same, and nothing lost out of Nature, though everything is altered.

Preface to the “Fables”

3. The extracts given below illustrate the development of the stopped couplet. Point out briefly the change that comes over the meter, paying attention to (a) the regularity of the accent, (b) the pause, and (c) the cæsura.

(1) The sable mantle of the silent night

Shut from the world the ever-joysome light.

Care fled away, and softest slumbers please

To leave the court for lowly cottages.

Wild beasts forsook their dens on woody hills,

And sleightful otters left the purling rills;

Rooks to their nests in high woods now were flung,

And with their spread wings shield their naked young.

When thieves from thickets to the cross-ways stir,

And terror frights the lonely passenger;

When naught was heard but now and then the howl

Of some vile cur, or whooping of the owl.

William Browne, 1620

(2) Oh, virtue’s pattern, glory of our times,

Sent of past days to expiate the crimes;

Great King, but better far than thou art great,

Whom state not honours but who honours state;

By wonder born, by wonder first installed,

By wonder after to new kingdoms called;

Young, kept by wonder from home-bred alarms,

Old, saved by wonder from pale traitor’s harms,

To be for this thy reign, which wonders brings,

A king of wonder, wonder unto kings.

If Pict, Dane, Norman, thy smooth yoke had seen,

Pict, Dane, and Norman, had thy subjects been;

If Brutus knew the bliss thy rule doth give,

E’en Brutus joy would under thee to live.

For thou thy people dost so dearly love,

That they a father more than prince thee prove.

Drummond, 1630

(3) The seas are quiet when the winds give o’er;

So, calm are we when passions are no more!

For then we know how vain it was to boast

Of fleeting things, so certain to be lost.

Clouds of affection from our younger eyes

Conceal that emptiness which age descries.

The soul’s dark cottage, battered and decayed,

Lets in new light through chinks that time has made;

Stronger by weakness, wiser, men become

As they draw near to their eternal home.

Leaving the old, both worlds at once they view,

That stand upon the threshold of the new.

Waller, 1687

(4) See barbarous nations at thy gates attend,

Walk in thy light, and in thy temple bend;

See thy bright altars thronged with prostrate kings,

And heaped with products of Sabæan springs!

For thee Idume’s spicy forests blow,

And seeds of golden Ophir’s mountains glow.

See heaven its sparkling portals wide display,

And break upon thee in a flood of day.

Pope, 1730

4. In the following extract from Bunyan explain carefully the literal meaning that lies behind the allegory. Remark upon (a) its clearness, (b) its appropriateness and beauty. Add a note on Bunyan’s style, especially with regard to its connection with the Bible.

But we will come again to this valley of humiliation. It is the best and most fruitful piece of ground in all these parts. It is fat ground, and, as you see, consisteth much in meadows; and if a man was to come here in summer-time, as we do now, if he knew not anything before thereof, and if he also delighted himself in the sight of his eyes, he might see that which would be delightful to him. Behold how green this valley is! also how beautiful with lilies! I have known many labouring men that have got good estates in this valley of humiliation. “For God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble”; for indeed it is a very fruitful soil, and doth bring forth handfuls. Some also have wished that the next way to their father’s house were here, that they might be troubled no more with either hills or mountains to go over; but the way is the way, and there’s an end.

5. The following extracts illustrate respectively Restoration comedy and tragedy:

(1) (This is part of a scene between Aimwell, a gentleman who is staying at an inn, and Gibbet, a highwayman, who is trying to insinuate himself into his company by calling himself a military officer.)

Enter Gibbet

Gibbet. Sir, I’m yours.

Aimwell. ’Tis more than I deserve, sir, for I don’t know you.

Gibbet. I don’t wonder at that, sir, for you never saw me before—[aside]—I hope.

Aimwell. And pray, sir, how came I by the honour of seeing you now?

Gibbet. Sir, I scorn to intrude upon any gentleman, but my landlord—

Aimwell. O sir, I ask your pardon, you’re the captain he told me of?

Gibbet. At your service, sir.

Aimwell. What regiment, may I be so bold?

Gibbet. A marching regiment, an old corps.

Aimwell [aside]. Very old, if your coat be regimental. [Aloud] You have served abroad, sir?

Gibbet. Yes, sir, in the plantations,’twas my lot to be sent into the worst service; I would have quitted it indeed, but a man of honour, you know—Besides, ’twas for the good of my country that I should be abroad: anything for the good of one’s country—I’m a Roman for that.

Aimwell. You found the West Indies very hot, sir?

Gibbet. Ay, sir, too hot for me.

Aimwell. Pray, sir, han’t I seen your face at Will’s coffee-house?

Gibbet. Yes, sir, and at White’s too.

Aimwell. And where is your company now, captain?

Gibbet. They an’t come yet.

Aimwell. Why, d’ye expect them here?

Gibbet. They’ll be here to-night, sir.

Aimwell. Which way do they march?

Gibbet. Across country.

Farquhar, The Beaux’ Stratagem

Remark upon the style of the dialogue, and how it suits the situation.

(2) (This extract occurs near the end of “Venice Preserved,” Otway’s famous tragedy. Pierre, a conspirator against the Venetian Senate, is about to be tortured publicly on the wheel. His friend Jaffier, who has wronged Pierre, has come to witness the execution.)

Officer. The day grows late, sir.

Pierre.I’ll make haste. O Jaffier!

Though thou’st betrayed me, do me some way justice.

Jaffier. No more of that: thy wishes shall be satisfied....

[Going away, Pierre holds him.

Pierre. No—this—no more![He whispers Jaffier.

Jaffier.Ha! is’t then so?

Pierre.Most certainly.

Jaffier. I’ll do’t.

Pierre.Remember.

Officer.Sir.

Pierre.Come, now I’m ready.

[He and Jaffier ascend the scaffold.

Captain, you should be a gentleman of honour.

Keep off the rabble, that I may have room

To entertain my fate and die with decency.

Come!

[Takes off his gown. Executioner prepares to bind him.

Priest.Son!

Pierre.Hence, tempter!

Officer.Stand off, priest.

Pierre. I thank you, sir.

You’ll think on’t.[To Jaffier.

Jaffier. ’Twon’t grow stale before to-morrow.

Pierre. Now, Jaffier! Now I am going. Now—

[Executioner having bound him.

Jaffier. Have at thee, thou honest heart!

Then, here! [Stabs him.

And this is well too![Stabs himself.

Priest.Damnable deed!

Pierre. Now thou hast indeed been faithful.

This was done nobly—we’ve deceived the Senate.

Jaffier. Bravely.

Pierre. Ha! Ha! Ha!—Oh! Oh!—[Dies.

Jaffier.Now, you curs’d rulers,

Thus of the blood ye’ve shed I make libation,

And sprinkle it mingling; may it rest upon you,

And all your race: be henceforth peace a stranger

Within your walls; let plagues and famine waste

Your generations—O poor Belvidera!...

I’m sick—I’m quiet—[Dies.

Remark upon the power of this scene, the skill shown in the variation of the speeches, the use of colloquialisms, and the climax. Does it strike you as being overdone? Add a note on the meter.

6. The following is Dryden’s character-sketch of the Duke of Buckingham, who receives the name of Zimri. (Dryden, in his Essay on Satire, says: “How easy it is to call rogue and villain, and that wittily! but how hard to make a man appear a fool, a blockhead, or a knave without using any of these opprobrious names! There is a vast difference between the slovenly butchering of a man and the fineness of stroke that separates the head from the body, and leaves it standing in its place.... The character of Zimri, in my Absalom and Achitophel, is, in my opinion, worth the whole poem. It is not bloody, but it is ridiculous enough.”)

Some of their chiefs were princes of the land;

In the first rank of these did Zimri stand,

A man so various that he seemed to be

Not one, but all mankind’s epitome:

Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong,

Was everything by starts, and nothing long;

But in the course of one revolving moon

Was chymist, fiddler, statesman, and buffoon;

Then all for women, painting, rhyming, drinking,

Besides ten thousand freaks that died in thinking.

Blest madman who could every hour employ

With something new to wish or to enjoy!

Railing and praising were his usual themes,

And both, to show his judgment, in extremes:

So over violent or over civil

That every man with him was God or Devil.

In squandering wealth was his peculiar art;

Nothing went unrewarded but desert.

Beggared by fools whom still he found too late,

He had his jest, and they had his estate.

He laughed himself from Court; then sought relief

By forming parties, but could ne’er be chief:

For spite of him, the weight of business fell

On Absalom and wise Achitophel;

Thus wicked but in will, of means bereft,

He left not faction, but of that was left.

From this passage quote the lines which hint that Buckingham is respectively “a fool, a blockhead, or a knave” without actually calling him so. Quote other lines that seem to be particularly effective. Remark upon the style of the couplet: the meter, the position of the pause, and the kind of rhyme. Finally, write a paragraph summarizing the effect the passage produces on the reader.

7. The passage given below is an extract from Dryden’s earliest printed poem (1658). Compare it with the passage given in the last exercise.

Each little pimple had a tear in it,

To wail the fault its rising did commit,

Who, rebel-like, with their own lord at strife,

Thus made an insurrection ’gainst his life.

Or were these gems sent to adorn his skin,

The cabinet of a richer soul within?

No comet need foretell his change drew on,

Whose corpse might seem a constellation.

Upon the Death of the Lord Hastings

8. Waller was smooth; but Dryden taught to join

The varying verse, the full resounding line,

The long majestic march, the energy divine.

Pope

From the passages already quoted give extracts to show the truth of the above statement.

9. Use the following quotation to sketch the development of English prose from the death of Shakespeare to the death of Dryden:

When we find Chapman, the Elizabethan translator of Homer, expressing himself in his preface thus: “Though truth in her very nakedness sits in so deep a pit, that from Gades to Aurora and Ganges few eyes can sound her, I hope yet those few here will so discover and confirm, that, the date being out of her darkness in this morning of our poet, he shall now gird his temples with the sun,”—we pronounce that such a prose is intolerable. When we find Milton writing: “And long it was not after, when I was confirmed in this opinion, that he, who would not be frustrate of his hope to write well hereafter in laudable things, ought himself to be a true poem,”—we pronounce that such a prose has its own grandeur, but that it is obsolete and inconvenient. But when we find Dryden telling us: “What Virgil wrote in the vigour of his age, in plenty and at ease, I have undertaken to translate in my declining years; struggling with wants, oppressed with sickness, curbed in my genius, liable to be misconstrued in all I write,” then we exclaim that here at last we have the true English prose, prose such as we would all gladly use if we only knew how. Yet Dryden was Milton’s contemporary.

Matthew Arnold

10. “A good deal of the unconquerable individuality of the earlier part of the century survives in it, and prevents monotony. After Addison everybody tries to write like Addison; after Johnson almost everybody tries to write like Johnson. But after Dryden everybody dare not yet try to write like Dryden.” (Saintsbury.) Show how far this statement applies to the prose style of the age.

11. “The characteristic feature of The Pilgrim’s Progress is that it is the only work of its kind which possesses a strong human interest.” (Macaulay.) Show how Bunyan, in plot, characters, and style, arouses this “strong human interest” in his allegory. From this point of view compare him with Spenser, who, Macaulay says, does not arouse this interest.

12. The period of Dryden is often called “the Age of Satire.” Account for the prominence of satire in this period, and point out some of the effects it had on current and the succeeding writing.

13. What are the main features of Restoration drama?

14. “No man exercised so much influence on the age. The reason is obvious. On no man did the age exercise so much influence.” (Macaulay.) How far is this statement true of Dryden?