(2) Be wise to-day: 'tis madness to defer; Year after year it steals till all are fled, YOUNG, Night Thoughts 5. What is the object of Swift in the following satirical passage? How does he achieve it? How are the style, figures of speech, and meter suited to his purpose? Compare this extract with that from Hudibras given on pp. 208-9. Which is the wittier and more deadly? How is the superiority gained? Hobbes clearly proves that every creature On you shall rail and criticise, And strive to tear you limb from limb; While others do as much for him. The vermin only tease and pinch Their foes superior by an inch. So, naturalists observe, a flea Hath smaller fleas that on him prey; And these have smaller still to bite 'em, Thus every poet in his kind Is bit by him that comes behind: Can tease, and gall, and give the spleen. Rhapsody on Poetry 6. We give an example of Swift's prose satire, a passage in which he describes the progress of a political lie. What is the figure of speech underlying the passage, and how does it assist his purpose? Compare this passage with the poetical one given in the last exercise: do the two passages correspond in style, figurativeness, and force? Which strikes you as being the more effective? No wonder if an infant so miraculous in its birth should be destined for great adventures: and accordingly we see it hath been the guardian spirit of a prevailing party for almost twenty years. It can conquer kingdoms without fighting, and sometimes with the loss of a battle. It gives and resumes employments; can sink a mountain to a mole-hill, and raise a mole-hill to a mountain; hath presided for many years at committees of elections; can wash a blackmoor white; make a saint of an atheist, and a patriot of a profligate; can furnish foreign ministers with intelligence, and raise or let fall the credit of the nation. This goddess flies with a huge looking-glass in her hands, to dazzle the crowd, and make them see, according as she turns it, their ruin in their interest, and their interest in their ruin. In this glass you will behold your best friends, clad in coats powdered with fleurs de lis, and triple crowns; their girdles hung round with chains, and beads, and wooden shoes; and your worst enemies adorned with the ensigns of liberty, property, indulgence, moderation, and a cornucopia in their hands. Her large wings, like those of a flying-fish, are of no use but while they are moist; she therefore dips them in mud, and soaring aloft scatters it in the eyes of the multitude, flying with great swiftness; but at every turn is forced to stoop in dirty ways for new supplies. The Examiner 7. "The bulk of your natives appear to me to be the most pernicious race of odious little vermin that Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the face of the earth. The King of Brobdingnag says this to Gulliver. How far does this represent Swift's attitude in Gulliver's Travels, and how far does he succeed in conveying this impression? 8. "I fared like a distressed prince who calls in a powerful neighbour to his aid: I was undone by my auxiliary; when I had once called him in, I could not subsist without dependence on him." This is Steele's own estimate of Addison's contribution to The Tatler and The Spectator. As far as you can, estimate the share of each writer in the production of the two periodicals, and apportion their relative importance. 9. How much of their personal peculiarities and weaknesses appears in the writings of Swift, Pope, and Steele? How far does the nature of their literary work drive them to this self-revelation? 10. Account for the decline of the drama during the first half of the eighteenth century. 11. From an examination of the table given on p. 273 answer the following questions: What branches of poetry are most weakly represented during the age of Pope? Why is that so? What branch of prose-writing is the strongest? Why is that so? 12. Why is the period of Pope called "the Age of Prose"? Does this description of the time need modification? 13. Give reasons for the rise of periodical literature during this period. 14. The humor of Addison "is that of a gentleman, in which the quickest sense of the ridiculous is constantly tempered by good nature and good breeding. . . . He preserves a look of demure serenity. . . . The mirth of Swift is the mirth of Mephistopheles. Swift moves laughter, but never joins in it." (Macaulay.) Compare the humor of Swift with that of Addison. Which of the two does Pope more closely resemble in humor? 15. "Fancy, provided she knows her place, is tolerated; but Imagination is kept at a distance." (Saintsbury.) Show how far this statement applies to the poetry of this time. CHAPTER IX THE AGE OF TRANSITION TIME-CHART OF THE CHIEF AUTHORS The thick line shows the period of active literary work. THE TRANSITION IN POETRY The following table is meant to convey a rough idea of the drift of poetry toward Romanticism. In the table the lateral position of the title of a work gives an approximate estimate of its approach to the Romantic ideal. Such an estimate, especially in the case of the transitional poems, cannot be determined absolutely, and need not be taken as final. The table, nevertheless, reveals not only the steady drift, but also the manner in which the different stages of development overlap. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (1740-1800) The period covered by the present chapter is that of the middle and later stages of the eighteenth century. During this time several relevant historical movements call for notice. 1. Decline of the Party Feud. The contest between the Whigs and the Tories still continues, but it is hardly of the previous bitterness. The chief reason for this change is found in the weakness of the Tory party, which by rash management and precipitate action made itself so unpopular that for nearly thirty years-those in the middle of the century the Whigs had hardly any opposition. With |