William Wordsworth Romantic

Info

- poetry should treat common subjects and use the language of ordinary people

- democratic in subject matter and style

- spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings

Works

- The Prelude - central literary document and most important poetic achievement of British romanticism

- "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" - common things in an uncommon light

- Lyrical Ballads and Other Poems

- "Expostulation and Reply"

- The Lucy Poems - probably fictional; Nature's step-child

- sonnets - contrasts the child's and the adult's experiences with Nature

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

William Blake Romantic

Info

- man, born free, is everywhere in chains, and he applied himself to the remedy

- eccentric mystic

- madman

- most thorough-going romantic

- Satanic counterfeit of Christian redemption

- human togetherness, as a goal, is central to the modern religious viewpoint

Works

- Songs of Innocence - "The Lamb"

- Songs of Experience - "The Tyger"; "The Clod and the Pebble"; "London"

- The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Terms

- rationalism

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

Journal Entry (Please grade)

Samuel Johnson

Info

- moral essayist second only to Addison

- monumental pronouncer of conservative common sense

- Dictionary of the English Language

- The Rambler

- Lives of the English Poets

- "Vice must always disgust."

Analysis - Rambler 4

Johnson begins by praising realism as the highest standard of achievement in art.  The main media he refers to is literature.  He values a genuine representation of life,  yet still discourages carelessness or irresponsibility in the portrayal of sin.  He observes that people most often imitate sin instead of learning from it.  This is in part due to the decisions of the audience, but the producers of the media encourage it.  This is especially true in today's entertainment industry, where violence and immorality are glorified.  No matter how noble or courageous its intentions, "vice...should always disgust."  Robin Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor, but his good intentions do not detract from his status as a thief.  Johnson does not give any specific examples, yet his general statements are sufficient and concise.

Application

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Phil 4:8, KJV).  This verse seems to be the underlying force behind Rambler 4.  The world--especially the media--will always try to force me and other people to look upon unnecessary, ungodly things, not for didactic purposes, but largely for profit-making.  Johnson warns against these practices.  I am not an author or a media producer, so I don't have many opportunities to heed his advice.  However, as an audience, I can analyze the movies I watch to stay alert and exercise discernment.  Which sin does the movie portray?  How does it view said sin?  As harmful?  Noble?  Dishonorable?  Necessary?  If its only purpose is to gain my attention, yet not teach me something, then it's a waste of my--and ultimately God's--time.

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

John Wesley Neoclassical

Charles Wesley

Info

- John - field preacher

- Charles - hymns

- tragic fact of how soon a great truth can be lost

- Whitefield broke w/them over Calvinism

- set out to evangelize English-speaking world

- hymns - major weapon of Wesleyan evangelism; instruments of persuasion within evangelical circles

- stress inclusiveness of gospel opportunity

Works

- John's journal - series of bulletins from the front by one of God's greatest warriors in the Church Militant

- Christian Library

- Hymns - "Jesus, Lover of my Soul"; "And Can It Be That I Should Gain"; "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing"

Terms

- (none)

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

Isaac Watts Neoclassical

Info

- Father of the Modern Hymn

- secret of hymns' strength was fusion of discreet artistry with vital spirituality

- most important part of congregational worship was least inspiring

- replace stiff psalmody not only with more vigorous and lyrical paraphrases but also with independent poems on Biblical themes

Works

- "Heavenly Joy on Earth"

- Hymns and Spiritual Songs - beginning of modern hymn

- Logic; Knowledge of the Heavens and Earth; Philosophical Essays; Improvement of the Mind

- Horae Lyricae

- Psalms of David

- Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language for the Use of Children

- "Heavenly Joy on Earth"; "The Christian Race"; Breathing After the Holy Spirit"; "Against Idleness and Mischief"; "The Day of Judgement"

Terms

- genre

- didacticism

- meter

- rhyme

- empiricism - the philosophical view that all knowledge originates in sensory experience

- common, short, and long meters

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

James Boswell Neoclassical

Info

- one of world's greatest biographers

- Scotsman

- feelings of relief

Works

- The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. - stands alone because of sheer mass of materials but also because of its artistry

- monument of scholarship as well as of literary artistry

- Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides

- journals - detective story of of modern scholarship; reveal complex, unstable personality of high principles but dissolute life

Terms

- (none)

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

Samuel Johnson Neoclassical

Info

- dignified eloquence gave reputation as moral essayist second only to Addison

- friend of Wesley

- monumental pronouncer of conservative common sense

Works

- Dictionary of the English Language - authority on word meaning for more than a century

- The Rambler - representations of evil have place in literature, but only when they serve to reinforce virtue in the manner of negative examples

- "Vice must always disgust."

- Lives of the English Poets - greatest literary achievement

- London - heroic couplet in imitation of Juvenal

- Life of Mr. Richard Savage - first attempt at biography

- The Vanity of Human Wishes - finest poem; one of best of period; 2nd of his Juvenalian satires in heroic couplet

- Rasselas - oriental novel on theme of Ecclesiastes; illustrates terror of expecting happiness from worldly accomplishments and depicts man as creature of perpetual discontent

- Journey to the Western Islands - confirmed unromantic view of primitive life

Terms

- heroic couplet

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.