(70B.C.–19B.C.)
Unlike most distinguished Roman writers, Vergil was country born, coming from the district of Andes, near Mantua—hence 'the Mantuan,' as he was known to the scholastics.
After studying at Cremona and Rome, he returned to his father's small estate and wrote pastoral poetry; but being obliged to flee when the lands of Italy were assigned by the Triumvirs to their adherents, he again visited Rome, where he speedily became a favorite of Augustus. The liberality of Augustus and his own thrift enabled him to live in comparative opulence. Most of his life he spent in retirement on his estate in Campania. Here his time was given wholly to his art, except in so far as he was taken up with scientific and antiquarian studies, which he thought essential to elevate his thought and strengthen his grasp of profound subjects.
His character is universally commended. He was gentle, innocent, modest, and of a singular sweetness of disposition. He is generally conceded to be the greatest Roman poet andthe most patriotic. Like other epic poets he was of a philosophic nature, and unlike the generality of Roman writers, he was reserved as to his personal feelings. He never married.
Before coming to Rome he had written his "Eclogues," the first of Latin pastorals, in imitation of Theocritus. His next poems, the "Georgics," were written to create fresh interest in agriculture, which had been the mainstay of republican Rome but was fast falling into decay. But his enduring fame rests upon the "Æneid," written at the request of Augustus, which treats of the founding of Rome by a colony from ancient Troy under the leadership of Æneas. In it Vergil sums up the glory of Rome and its culmination under Augustus. The "Æneid," the "Divine Comedy," and "Paradise Lost" enjoy the distinction of being the only great epics written in the full light of civilized society, and the inspiration of the latter works was largely drawn from Vergil.
He was a master of literary form, seen at its best in the "Georgics" and the "Æneid," though the latter is an unfinished work with which Vergil was so little satisfied that in his will he directed its destruction. This wish was rightly regarded as the fastidious, nervous whim of the poet and was therefore unheeded.
The "Messianic Eclogue" prophesies the birth of a child under whose rule the Golden Age with prosperity and happiness should be restored to the earth. It is not certain what child the poet had in mind, though the phrase, "a world by righteous father tamed," would indicate a flattering reference to Antony or Augustus, who then shared the control of the world. In the Middle Ages it was firmly believed by the scholars that Vergil had been divinely inspired with the knowledge of the coming of Christ, and his fame as a magician was partly based on this idea.
THE MAN
1. In what part of Italy was the childhood of Vergil spent?
2. Why do subsequent epic poets refer to him as 'the Mantuan' and 'father Vergil'?
3. Of what court may we call him the poet laureate?
4. Did Vergil realize that in the reign of Augustus the Roman world had reached its zenith? XII, 188, 189.
5. Where was most of his literary work done?
6. Give the salient points in Vergil's character.
7. What element in his character especially fitted him for the post of Rome's epic poet?
8. Did he enjoy "a long life's evening" to sing the praises of Pollio? XII, 190.
9. Compare the civilization of Vergil's time with that of the Homeric age. V, 143, 432.
STYLE AND WORKS
1. What rank is generally accorded Vergil among Roman poets?
2. Name his three principal productions.
3. The "Eclogues" or "Bucolics" were written in imitation of what Greek author?
4. What field of literature did the Romans cultivate, which is best treated in the "Georgics," and almost entirely neglected by the writers of the other nations of antiquity?
5. Give Montaigne's opinion of the "Georgics." IX, 209.
6. Why was Vergil regarded as an enchanter in the Middle Ages? VIII, 95. Give another reason.
7. What two good qualities of Vergil's character ennoble his verse?
FROM THE "ÆNEID"
1. Æneas, after fleeing from Troy, sacked by the Greeks, encountered various misfortunes, like Odysseus, and at last arrived at Carthage, recently founded by Dido, of Phœnicia. He narrates his adventures to her, and she, doomed by the gods, who desire to keep Æneas out of Italy, is consumed with love for him. Warned by friendly divinities to sail for Italy at once, Æneas has already begun preparations for departure.
2. The "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" were composed and listened to by men of action, familiar with battlefield, shipwreck, and the whole outdoor struggle for existence. The "Æneid" was written in a library by a gentle scholar for an audience whose culture was far advanced beyond that ofHomer's warriors. In the main this fact is not immediately apparent, for Vergil was a consummate artist and took pains to prevent his work from 'smelling of the lamp'; that is, from showing its bookish and studied origin. But his phrases are hackneyed by comparison with Homer's "rosy-fingered Dawn" and "Odysseus of many counsels."
3. Find contrasting passages from Vergil and Homer, VII, 79, illustrating the comparison in 2.
4. Is Dido true to life; is her rash self-destruction convincingly handled by the poet?
5. Æneas figures in this episode as the villain; what excuse could Vergil make for him which would be valid in the eyes of the Romans?
6. What series of wars that almost overwhelmed Rome was carried on by Carthage centuries later? VIII, 198 ff.
FOR REFERENCE
"The World's Leading Poets."—Boynton.
"Stories from Vergil."—Church.
"The Æneid of Vergil" ("Everyman's Library").—Taylor.
"The Story of the Æneid."—Brooks.
"The Country of Horace and Vergil."—Boissier.
"Roman Poets of the Augustan Age."—Sellar.
"Old Pictures of Life."—Swing.
"Great Writers."—Woodberry.
(1265–1321)
Dante Alighieri, who ranks with Homer and Shakespeare as one of the three greatest poets of all time, was a citizen of the Republic of Florence. Though we commonly think of him only as a poet, his youth was distinguished by gallant feats of arms, and he was later one of the principal officers of the republic. But it was impossible to hold office long under the turbulent city states of that age. Two factions, theWhites and the Blacks, contended for the supremacy at Florence, and in 1302 Dante, with many of his followers, was banished from the city.
The remaining nineteen years of Dante's life were spent in exile, the victorious party at Florence steadily refusing to remove the ban. He appears to have spent the years wandering from one seat of learning to another, and from one court to another, though but little is actually known relative to the matter. His last years were certainly spent at Ravenna, at the court of his friend, Guido da Polenta.
Upon his death the fickle republic attempted to secure the return of the remains of its first citizen, but the request was denied, and he still lies at Ravenna.
His great poem, the "Vita Nuova" (new life) would well have served to immortalize him, but it does not compare with his "Divine Comedy," an account of his journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven. It is one of the world's greatest epics. The machinery of the poem was largely derived from the medieval legends and passion plays. But whether this be so or not, we know that Dante was thoroughly competent to have originated everything which the work contains. He calls Vergil his master, but while Vergil may have been his equal in style, he was far inferior to Dante in constructive genius.
When about nine years of age Dante met and was filled with poetic love for Beatrice Portinari. She married another, and after her death a couple of years later, Dante married Gemma Donati, by whom he had several children. Gemma, it seems, was something of a shrew, and perhaps she cannot be blamed for not sympathizing with Dante's continued love for Beatrice. At any rate, she seems to have been a competent person, and when Dante was banished she successfully claimed a part of his property as dower and maintained the family in comfort.
We cannot of course know at this time whether Beatrice was a person worthy of the adoration so abundantly bestowed. However this may be, the undying devotion of Dante, whose nature neither time nor adversity could change, has sufficed to immortalize her name.
THE MAN
1. Of what stock was Dante descended? VIII, 263.
2. Of what state was he a citizen?
3. Under what circumstances did he leave Florence?
4. How did he spend the last nineteen years of his life?
5. What one element is most conspicuous in Dante's character? VIII, 368.
6. State the facts in regard to Beatrice.
7. Read Michelangelo's sonnet on Dante. IX, 93.
8. Where are his remains interred, and why?
STYLE AND WORKS
1. Compare Dante's view of life with that of Chaucer. VIII, 263.
2. Whence did he derive the precision which characterizes his narrative? VIII, 263.
3. Did Dante have a broad outlook on the life of his day? III, 253.
4. Compare Dante with Petrarch. VIII, 262.
5. What was Dante's opinion of the Arthurian legends? VIII, 262.
6. What was the effect of Dante's work on the language of Italy? VIII, 267.
7. Compare the different modes in which Milton and Dante handle the imagery of their epics. VIII, 361.
8. Why does Dante enter into such minute detail in describing the scenes he attempts to depict? VIII, 362.
9. Which succeeded best in introducing the agency of supernatural beings? VIII, 363.
10. In what sense is Dante's description of supernatural beings picturesque? VIII, 366.
11. In what two respects do Dante and Milton present an exact parallel? VIII, 368.
FROM THE "PARADISO"
1. The "Singer" is an appellation given to what Biblical character?
2. According to this poem, are all souls of equal rank in heaven?
3. What determines a person's rank there?
4. Find verses which describe Adam and St. Peter.
5. To whom does the following refer:
"That leader under whom on manna livedThe people ingrate, fickle, and stiff-necked." (See Exodus XXXII, 9.)
"That leader under whom on manna livedThe people ingrate, fickle, and stiff-necked." (See Exodus XXXII, 9.)
"That leader under whom on manna lived
The people ingrate, fickle, and stiff-necked." (See Exodus XXXII, 9.)
6. How was Dante's life connected with the life of Beatrice?
7. What do the "three circles" represent which Dante saw when he looked on Christ?
FOR REFERENCE
"The World's Leading Poets."—Boynton.
"Witnesses of the Light."—Gladden.
"Dante and the Divine Comedy."—Wright.
"The Moral System of Dante's Inferno."—Reade.
"Introduction to the Study of Dante."—Botta.
"Dante, his Times and his Work."—Butler.
"Aids to the Study of Dante."—Dinsmore.
(1608–1674)
John Milton, the son of a scrivener of some means, was born in London. He studied in succession at St. Paul's School, London, and Christ's College, Cambridge, and on account of his beauty, and the purity of his morals, was known as the "lady of Christ's Church." Upon graduation from Cambridge he went to live with his father (who had in the meantime removed to the village of Horton, Buckinghamshire), determined to devote his life to literature. At Horton he wrote his early poems, "L'Allegro," "Il Penseroso," "Lycidas," and "Comus." "Lycidas" is an elegy in memory of his intimate friend Henry King, drowned off the Welsh coast.
After six years at Horton, he spent fifteen months making the Continental tour, and would have stayed longer; but the civil war breaking out, he returned, considering it dishonorable to be enjoying himself abroad while his countrymen were striking a blow for freedom. He laid aside all thought of belles lettres and devoted his pen to the cause of Puritanism, writing many pamphlets in defense of regicide, freedom of the press, divorce, etc. In 1849 he was appointed Latin Secretary to the Council of State, and became the recognized literary champion of the Government in the fierce controversies of that age.
Upon the restoration of the monarchy Milton was for a time in hiding, but after 1660 was permitted to go unmolested. In his blind old age he again reverted to poetry, and wrote the immortal epics, "Paradise Lost," "Paradise Regained," and the tragedy, "Samson Agonistes."
THE MAN
1. What political opinions did Milton hold? VIII, 390.
2. Give your impression of his morals and personal appearance.
3. Account for the three main divisions of his works—lyric poems, prose, and epic poems, with their differing tone—by his condition in life at different times.
4. In what remarkable respect does Milton's character resemble that of the Satan of his epic? VIII, 367, 369.
5. With what religious and political party did he ally himself?
6. What office did he hold under the Commonwealth?
7. In what virtues was he preëminent?
8. State two circumstances illustrating the heroism of his nature.
STYLE AND WORKS
1. What was the extent of Milton's education? VIII, 354.
2. In what field does "Comus" stand among the foremost? VIII, 359.
3. Which did Milton consider his best poem? VIII, 360.
4. Compare "Paradise Lost" with the "Divine Comedy" as to the different modes pursued by Milton and Dante in exciting the imagination. VIII, 361.
5. Are Milton's grand visions the result of inspiration or of industry? I, 404.
6. Why is Milton so little read at the present time? VI, 279.
7. Were the civilization with which he was surrounded and the learning which he had acquired helps or hindrances to the composition of a great epic poem? VIII, 350.
8. Characterize the style of his prose writings. VIII, 394.
"LYCIDAS"
1. What qualities are attributed to laurel, myrtle, and ivy by the 'language of the flowers'?
2. Lycidas is the poetic appellation of what deceased friend of Milton?
3. Who were the "sisters of the sacred well"?
4. To what circumstance does the allusion to "the remorseless deep" closing o'er the head of Lycidas refer? And what is the propriety of referring to Druids and Mona in that connection?
5. Who is meant by "The pilot of the Galilean lake"? Note the symbols of his office which he carries, "two massy keys."
6. "Shepherd" and "sheep" are used in a metaphorical sense. Explain their real meaning. To whom do these terms refer in the Bible?
7. Why are the pansy, primrose, jessamine, violet, etc., used as emblems of mourning?
8. Tennyson's "In Memoriam," XII, 47; Shelley's "Adonais," XI, 95; and Gray's "Elegy," VI, 106, are all laments of the same nature. Compare the four in style, mood, etc.
FOR REFERENCE
"The World's Leading Poets."—Boynton.
"Story-Lives of Great Authors."—Rowbotham.
"Criticisms on Paradise Lost."—Addison.
"Literary Studies."—Bagehot.
"Great Books."—Farrar.
"Among my Books."—Lowell.
"Essay on Milton" (VIII, 347).—Macaulay.
"The Age of Milton" ("Handbooks of English Literature ").—Masterman.
Masson's annotated edition of Milton's poems is invaluable for the student's use.
(1564–1616)
Comparatively little is known of Shakespeare's life. His education was slight, with but "small Latin and less Greek," as his friend Ben Jonson puts it. There is little doubt that the financial depression of the times brought poverty upon his family, that he was charged with deer-stealing by a local landlord, Sir Thomas Lucy, and that he soon after went to London to seek his fortune, at the age of twenty-one, in 1585. There he seems to have held horses at the theater entrances, then to have served as "call-boy" for the players, and by 1592 had begun to patch and revise plays. By 1594 he was an actor, and made more money than by play-writing, although he is nowhere mentioned as more than passable on the stage. Original plays had already appeared from his pen, comedies and historical drama first, followed by the tragedies, and ending with "A Winter's Tale," and "The Tempest"; the order of appearance as usually accepted is given in X, 424. What with the success of his dramatic work, his acting, and the patronage of the Earl of Southampton, to whom he dedicated "Venus and Adonis" and "Lucrece," he was able to take shares in the Globe theater, invest in land and houses at Stratford, and at last retire, as he long had wished, to New Place, his Stratford residence, there to spend his last years as a prosperous landlord. He died in 1616 andwas buried in the chancel of Trinity Church, on the banks of the Avon. On the stone floor over his grave is the familiar inscription:
"Good friend, for Jesus sake forbeareTo digg the dust encloased heare;Blest be the man that spares thes stones,And curst be he that moves my bones."
"Good friend, for Jesus sake forbeareTo digg the dust encloased heare;Blest be the man that spares thes stones,And curst be he that moves my bones."
"Good friend, for Jesus sake forbeare
To digg the dust encloased heare;
Blest be the man that spares thes stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones."
What books did Shakespeare read? Few, as compared with the average author of his or any other age. Apart from the plays which he remade, he gleaned material and plot from Plutarch (North's translation), Holinshed, Geoffrey of Monmouth's history of British kings, now almost forgotten because of its mythical medley and inaccuracy, Boccaccio, Chaucer, and Montaigne. But the book of human life spread open before him is the source of his characters and the descriptive touches that lend vividness to his scenes. Falstaff, Lear, Rosalind, Antony, Macbeth, and Hamlet are all taken from his knowledge and observation of human nature in the living flesh.
THE MAN
1. What can be said as to Shakespeare's private life and anecdotes in reference thereto? VI, 132.
2. Did he take to the stage from choice? VI, 133.
3. What was his reputation among his fellow playwrights? VI, 134.
4. Of what faith was Shakespeare, and what was his attitude toward Puritanism? VI, 138.
5. What led him to turn from comedy to tragedy after his fortieth year? VI, 142.
6. Through what occupations did Shakespeare pass to reach the position of dramatist?
7. Was he able to turn his experience to practical account? Explain.
8. Was Shakespeare what would be called in these days a man of the world?
9. Why do you suppose he wrote plays if acting was more lucrative?
10. Show his application of business sense to his poetry.
STYLE AND WORKS
1. Did Shakespeare make any considerable use of the pun? I, 13.
2. To what do Shakespeare and his contemporaries owe their unique greatness in English literature? I, 180.
3. Are his dramas all of the first quality? III, 265.
4. Was it ever necessary for Shakespeare to 'court the muse' before writing? IV, 397.
5. Give a classification of his works. (See encyclopedia.)
6. Name his first poetic productions, and state when they were published. VI, 135.
7. What is known as to the order of publication of his dramas? VI, 135.
8. Which of Shakespeare's plays have endeared him most with his countrymen? VI, 137, 138.
9. What plays were written in the retirement of his latter years at Stratford? VI, 143.
10. Compare Marlowe's "Faustus," IX, 43, with "King Lear," XI, 3; and Jonson's "Every Man in his Humor" and "The Alchemist," VII, 346-354, with "Henry IV," X, 424. What are the divergences in style; in method of portraying character?
FROM "KING LEAR"
1. This act from "King Lear" is the most masterful passage in all Shakespeare's work. The characters are all of them tense with emotion, either grief-stricken or insane. Lear himself, at first vexed, then infuriated (XI, 7), broken with anguish (11), and apprehending madness (16), collapses and goes completely insane (19). Kent, his faithful retainer, whom he had previously sent into exile, watches him with a sorrow that is almost more than he can bear. The Fool, crack-brained and simple, is the blending of idiocy and shrewdness sometimes known as 'an innocent.' Edgar, Gloucester's good son, cast out by his shortsighted father, feigns madness for the sake of disguise. Each of these four characters represents a different psychological condition. Such a task as the dramatic manipulation of these personalities has never beenattempted before or since. Madness, though a common subject with Shakespeare's contemporaries, has not elsewhere been handled with success.
The use of prose indicates disorder of the mind; thus Lear speaks in blank verse until his intellect gives way (19), and thereafter only when showing the power of reasoning, as in the speech (35) on which Edgar makes the comment: "O, matter and impertinency mix'd!" The Fool uses prose or nonsense rhyme throughout; Edgar while playing the madman does the same, and assumes blank verse when he drops the disguise.
FROM "AS YOU LIKE IT"
1. How is the title of the play appropriately suggestive of its tenor?
2. Compare Rosalind of this play with Juliet of "Romeo and Juliet."
3. What is Rosalind's object in deceiving Orlando concerning her identity?
4. What part does Touchstone take in the play?
FROM "ROMEO AND JULIET"
1. Select several lines which indicate the outcome of this youthful passion.
2. Both "As You Like It" and "Romeo and Juliet" have the same theme—young lovers; compare the style of treatment of each.
3. In each case does the language used suit the scene in which the play is laid?
4. What difficulties does Romeo have to encounter to see Juliet?
FOR REFERENCE
"Shakespeare, a Critical Study of his Mind and Art."—Dowden.
"William Shakespeare."—Wendell.
"Introduction to Shakespeare."—Dowden.
"Studies in Shakespeare."—Collins.
"The Age of Shakespeare."—Seccombe and Allen.
"On Ten Plays of Shakespeare."—Brooke.
"Shakespeare" ("English Men of Letters").—Raleigh.
"Shakespeare."—Swinburne.
"Tales from Shakespeare."—Lamb.
(1749–1832)
The greatest literary genius that Germany has produced was born and spent his early years at Frankfort-on-the-Main, then capital of the German confederation. His later youth was spent in preparation for the bar at Leipsic and Strasburg.
By 1775 he had rendered himself famous by his drama "Götz von Berlichingen" and his novel, "The Sorrows of Werther." In that year he removed to Weimar, which soon because of him became the intellectual Mecca of Germany. He found a true friend in Karl August, Duke of Weimar, and throughout his long life occupied one after another of the chief offices of that little state. In the succeeding years appeared many dramas and other works, principal among the former being "Iphigenia," "Tasso," and "Egmont."
The year 1789 witnessed the beginning of his acquaintance with Schiller, then professor of history at Jena. Schiller had established a literary journal "Die Horen," to which Goethe contributed his "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship." And in the same year, 1796, Goethe and Schiller wrote between them some six hundred "Xenien," pithy sayings on the philosophic tendencies of the age. The next year Goethe published his "Hermann and Dorothea," a romance in verse and one of his best works. Schiller removed to Weimar in 1799, and Germany's two foremost poets worked together until the death of Schiller in 1805.
Until his death, twenty-seven years later, Goethe was unceasingly busy. Not satisfied with being preëminent in literature, he plunged into anatomy, vegetable physiology, and optics, in each of which, far from simply playing the amateur, he rendered permanent service to science.
Throughout his whole life he labored at that greatest of all German dramas, "Faust." Begun as early as 1774, it first appeared in 1790 and then only as a 'fragment.' Urged by Schiller, he took it up again, and in 1808 the First Part was issued; the Second Part, only after his death, in 1833. This Second Part is as deep in its thought and philosophy as any poetic work that has been written; it has been the subject of study and meditation by all the great thinkers since its publication.
THE MAN
1. Give Heine's description of Goethe's personal appearance. VI, 389.
2. What was Goethe's education?
3. Were Goethe's love affairs limited to his youth? IV, 372.
4. What part did Goethe take in scientific research? VI, 237.
5. What part did he take in political affairs?
6. Name three eminent writers who visited Goethe at Weimar. VI, 377; VIII, 174, 180.
7. How late in life did Goethe retain his physical vigor? IV, 403.
8. Did Goethe conceive of God as a personal being? I, 392.
9. What great composer was among his intimate friends? I, 418.
10. See Goethe's forecast of the construction of the Panama Canal by the United States. IV, 385.
STYLE AND WORKS
1. Give Goethe's own statement of his influence upon German poetry and institutions. I, 170.
2. For what reason is Faust not fully appreciated by the reading public? IV, 382.
3. What was Napoleon's opinion of Goethe's works? IV, 401.
4. During what portion of Goethe's life was "Faust" written?
5. Name three other dramas of note by Goethe.
6. The position assigned to "Hermann and Dorothea"?
7. Who was the continuator of Goethe's work? I, 168.
8. What was Heine's opinion of Goethe? I, 169.
9. Was he the author of any prose works?
10. From what you read of him in I, 168-171; IV, 371 ff.; VI, 388-390; VIII, 172 ff.; do you think he belonged to the Age of Classicism or of Romanticism, or both? What conclusion do you draw from his work, its subject-matter, and its style?
FROM "FAUST"
1. The selection from "Faust" includes practically the whole tragedy of Margaret's temptation, and forms a complete drama in itself. This is the central theme of the First Part of "Faust"; in the Second Part Faust saves himself from damnation by abandoning selfishness and solitude and becoming a worker for the good of humanity, at one with the world.
2. What is Faust's first purpose?
3. Mephistopheles is to be regarded either as an evil spirit or else as Faust's own baser side, endeavoring to defeat the ideals of his better self.
4. What does the character of Martha add to the drama?
5. Compare with Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus," IX, 43, ff.
6. Which is the more immediately powerful? Both are derived from a medieval tale and are related to the medieval morality plays, in which virtues and vices are represented struggling for the souls of men. Does Goethe or Marlowe come nearer to this simple form of drama in style? in spirit?
FOR REFERENCE
"Life of Goethe."—Bielschowsky.
"Goethe and Schiller."—Boyesen.
"The World's Leading Poets."—Boynton.
"Goethe and his Woman Friends."—Crawford.
"Critical and Miscellaneous Essays."—Carlyle.
"Conversations with Goethe."—Eckermann.
"Life of Goethe."—Lewes.