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Excerpt from Poetaster
What, then, was the secret of this anachronism, this poet with his acrid rages and his spiritual unrest? In the course of the present study I have come to regard Jonson as a being divided against himself, one who had rejected his own time and had in turn been rejected by the past. Intellectual bias and scholarly training had, as it were, delivered him a hostage to the ancient world, but was he in truth a classicist? The spirit of true classicism, zoned with the cestus of beauty, her palpitant bosom defended by the aegis of law, her brow exalted and profound. Had this spirit yielded up the heart of her mystery to him? He beheld her there, shining in the distance, sought to win her with the spell of English rime, and then - to fit her with sock and buskin, disguise her in a prologue's cloak. The muse he won was not she: the real goddess. Inspirer of all the Muses, mocked him with silvery laughter out of the lips of supposed barbarians all about him. For was there not in Marlowe, Spenser, Shake speare, a new avatar of the old classicism? Jonson believed himself the heir of the Augustan age: Forum, Capitol, Appian Way, did indeed give up their secrets to him; but there was a glint in the eve of Horace, a dream-shadow on the brow of Virgil that he could not catch. The Acropolis also he knew. With its bronze Athene Promachos; Areopa gites, heroes of Salamis, ivy-crowned dramatists, he had mingled with; but the serene wisdom in the face of Sopho cles, the calm of the Phidian Zeus, the gleam of wings along the moonlit Parthenon, these were not for him.
So the ancient world seems not to have made him its own: but had he never been wooed by the breath of that English dawn? Surely, as youth and as poet, he must have felt the throb of the incoming tide, must have thrilled to the young prophetic voices. But here was a scholar-mind against a poet-soul, a man brought by heredity and mental discipline into conflict with his spiritual environment. The intellect, devoted to the learning of the past, sternly bade the fluttering heart be still; but for him who had been impelled to write The Case is Altered at the outset of his career.
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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
What, then, was the secret of this anachronism, this poet with his acrid rages and his spiritual unrest? In the course of the present study I have come to regard Jonson as a being divided against himself, one who had rejected his own time and had in turn been rejected by the past. Intellectual bias and scholarly training had, as it were, delivered him a hostage to the ancient world, but was he in truth a classicist? The spirit of true classicism, zoned with the cestus of beauty, her palpitant bosom defended by the aegis of law, her brow exalted and profound. Had this spirit yielded up the heart of her mystery to him? He beheld her there, shining in the distance, sought to win her with the spell of English rime, and then - to fit her with sock and buskin, disguise her in a prologue's cloak. The muse he won was not she: the real goddess. Inspirer of all the Muses, mocked him with silvery laughter out of the lips of supposed barbarians all about him. For was there not in Marlowe, Spenser, Shake speare, a new avatar of the old classicism? Jonson believed himself the heir of the Augustan age: Forum, Capitol, Appian Way, did indeed give up their secrets to him; but there was a glint in the eve of Horace, a dream-shadow on the brow of Virgil that he could not catch. The Acropolis also he knew. With its bronze Athene Promachos; Areopa gites, heroes of Salamis, ivy-crowned dramatists, he had mingled with; but the serene wisdom in the face of Sopho cles, the calm of the Phidian Zeus, the gleam of wings along the moonlit Parthenon, these were not for him.
So the ancient world seems not to have made him its own: but had he never been wooed by the breath of that English dawn? Surely, as youth and as poet, he must have felt the throb of the incoming tide, must have thrilled to the young prophetic voices. But here was a scholar-mind against a poet-soul, a man brought by heredity and mental discipline into conflict with his spiritual environment. The intellect, devoted to the learning of the past, sternly bade the fluttering heart be still; but for him who had been impelled to write The Case is Altered at the outset of his career.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Ben Jonson contributed to Every Man Out of His Humour; Bartholomew Fair; The Staple of News; Volpone; and Sejanus, His Fall; all from Manchester University Press.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherForgotten Books
- Publication date2018
- ISBN 10 0282510877
- ISBN 13 9780282510879
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages392
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Poetaster (Classic Reprint)
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ISBN 13: 9780282510879
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Print on Demand. Excerpt from Poetaster. About the Publisher, Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. This text has been digitally restored from a historical edition. Some errors may persist, however we consider it worth publishing due to the work's historical value. The digital edition of all books may be viewed on our website before purchase. print-on-demand item. Seller Inventory # 9780282510879_0
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