Greek, however, does not visibly affect the poetic8 literature of England much, before the date of Spenser, about 1580. The violent times of Henry VIII and Mary Tudor were not favourable9 to severe study and exquisite10 appreciation11 of the Greek genius, a most desirable corrective of the prolixity12 of mediaevalism, and of the English passion for horrors in stage plays. To most people knowledge of the contents of the Greek classics came through translations, and these translations, as in the case of the historian Thucydides, were done from French versions, while Plato was read through Italian commentators14, much influenced by Plato's disciples15 in early Christian times, the Neoplatonists, dreamers of beautiful dreams concerning things that cannot be uttered.
Study produced also a very wide acquaintance with Greek mythology16—Shakespeare's humblest characters have heard of many a Grecian fable—yet the spirit, the exquisite balance, and the[Pg 173] refinement17 of the Greek genius, hardly affected18 our authors. We may detect it in More's (1478-1535) "Utopia," where the adventurers carry with them to "Nowhere" a "pretty fardel," or parcel, of the cheap neat Greek books printed by Aldus. The fancied State of Utopia, with its comfortable communism and perfect freedom in religion, is derived19 from the "Republic" of Plato, and in religion is more liberal than, in his later work, "The Laws," he would have permitted it to be. But the "Utopia," written in Latin, was meant for the learned.
Though the "Utopia" was published in 1516, and became famous in Europe, it did not reach unlearned English readers till an English translation, by Ralph Robynson, appeared in 1551. They now had More's eloquent20 advocacy of communism before them as regulated in his imaginary state, with a Six Hours' Day, universal training of men and women for war, and habit of assassinating21 the leaders of hostile nations. There is tolerance22 of all religions which accept a deity23 and the immortality24 of the soul: atheists are disqualified for public offices.
In his English works on religious and social controversy26, which are little read, More is not only a Catholic and a Conservative, but in discussion is given to abusive and violent language which would have horrified27 the courteous28 Plato, the urbane29 Aristotle, and that model of a devout30 and ardent31 student, and perfect gentleman, Pico della Mirandola, whose Life More gave in English. On both sides the controversialists of the Reformation delighted in violent personal abuse, in some Greek orators32 they found examples of that art. The first effect of Greek in England, by producing a new Biblical criticism and an attack on the foundations of the mediaeval Church, was to "bring not peace but a sword," the wars of religion.
Elyot.
No man did more for the intelligence of Greek than Sir Thomas Elyot (1499 1546)1 author of "The Governour," a long treatise33, on the education of a gentleman, and on the nature of forms of government. Elyot bubbles over with Greek, and translates such passages of Homer as he quotes into English verse,[Pg 174] the alternate lines rhyming. He is of the Greek opinion that a gentleman should be taught, if he has a taste for art, to draw, paint, and execute works in sculpture, not as a base professional artist, but as an amateur.[1] Elyot would have a boy, at 7 years old, begin with Greek, learning it through Latin, which he picks up, with French, in conversation. Grammars of Greek are now almost innumerable. Grammar, he says with much truth, "if it be made too long and exquisite to the learner, in a manner mortifieth his courage. And by that time he cometh to the most sweet and pleasant reading of old authors, the spark of fervent34 desire of learning is soon quenched35 with the burden of grammar." Elyot would start his pupil as early as possible with what will interest a child, ?sop's Fables36 in Greek, and then pass to Lucian, who is amusing as well as elegant. "But I fear me to be too long from noble Homer, from whom as from a fountain proceeded all eloquence37 and learning." Throughout, Elyot wishes first to interest the pupil; but where, he asks, is he to find qualified25 schoolmasters? They were as cruel as in the days of St. Augustine, and while Elyot's system of education, in sports as well as in books, is free and joyous38, like that of Gargantua in Rabelais, little boys were suffering the horrors described by Agrippa d'Aubigné in his Memoirs39. Elyot translated works of Isocrates, Plutarch, and others, wrote a medical work "The Castle of Health," was clerk of the Privy40 Council, and went on various diplomatic missions. Elyot was not a professional instructor41 of youth: he was, it seems, educated privately42, and of neither university; what pleases us in him is his unstaled zest43 for learning, his fresh enthusiasm.
The best English of the age and the most durable44 is that of Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) as we read it in the Liturgy45 of the Church of England, while much of the merit of King James's Authorized46 Version of the Bible rests on the foundation of Miles Coverdale's translation (1488-1568). How easy it is to translate the Bible into English which is not a marvel47 of diction and rhythm, we are too frequently reminded by the Revised Version.
[Pg 175]
Ascham.
Roger Ascham (1515-1568) was a Yorkshire man of the middle classes, who lived by his learning, and did not find that it paid him as well as he wished. Going early to St. John's College, Cambridge, he was a pupil of the famous Sir John Cheke, who introduced the English way of pronouncing Greek. It is certainly wrong—no people pronounce the vowels48 as we do; but if Cheke resisted the pronunciation of the modern Greeks, perhaps he is not much to be blamed. Ascham obtained a Fellowship and a Readership in Greek, the Fellowship he lost when he married: he did not long retain his tutorship to the Princess Elizabeth; as secretary to an ambassador in Germany he continued to teach Greek to his chief; and in his letters, Latin or English, we find him often in straits for money and begging for assistance. Camden, writing under James I, says that he lost money at dicing49, and in his attack on gambling50, in his "Toxophilus," a dialogue on Archery (1545), Ascham shows a rather unholy knowledge of all the tricks on the dice-board. Probably he had paid for his education. He contemplated51 a work on the noble sport of cock fighting, on which, of course, there was betting, and perhaps Ascham was not in all respects so severe a Puritan as in his unworthy attacks on that noblest of romances, "The Morte d'Arthur". Sir Lancelot is a better gentleman than many who were to be met at a cock fight. Ascham had little sympathy with the Italian influences that were so potent54 in Elizabethan literature. Italy was certainly profligate55 and luxurious56,
An Englishman that is Italianate
Doth quickly prove a devil incarnate57,
was an English translation of an Italian proverb. Ascham, like his contemporaries, was nothing if not patriotic58. The bow of yew60 and the grey goose shaft61 had won many a victory over Scots and French, as in "Toxophilus," Ascham reminds these peoples; therefore he desired that archery should be universally practised. But the harquebus, a musket62 lighter63 than the heavy hand gun of[Pg 176] the fifteenth century, was already, in disciplined hands, more than a match for the bow.
"Toxophilus," to our age, appears pedantic64. We have endless classical examples, and learn that the Trojans drew the bow-string only to the breast, not the ear (which is true), while they used iron arrow-heads as against the bronze arrow-heads of the Greeks, a fact not so certain. When he does come to practice, Ascham's teaching in archery is reckoned sound and good. His ideas are summed up in the prayer that the English
Through Christ, King Henry, the Book, and the Bow
May all manner of enemies quite overthrow65.
In writing English, Ascham was all for plain English. Foreign words Anglicized make such a mixture "as if you put malmsey and sack, red wine and white, ale and beer, all in one pot". Yet he advocates in his "School Master," published after his death, a yet more unhallowed blend, the use of Greek measures in English verse. "Our English tongue in avoiding barbarous rhyming may as well receive right quantity of syllables66 as either Greek or Latin." (He means "quantity" as opposed to accent, as if one said carpenter.) As an example he quotes Mr. Watson's rendering67 of the third line of the "Odyssey68" into two English hexameters
All travellers do gladly report great praise of Ulysses,
For that he knew many men's manners and saw many cities.
Obviously if we are to say "men's manners," making "man" in "manners" long, we must not make "vellers" in "travellers" short, as Mr. Watson does. We are reduced to
Gladly report great praise of Ulysses do the travellers.
This absurd manner of imitating Greek measures in English was upheld, twenty years later, by Gabriel Harvey, who, for a moment, nearly corrupted69 the practice of Spenser, the most naturally musical of poets. Ascham's own prose style is unaffected, not corrupted by eccentricities70, but not harmonious71. A new perfection, a false perfection, was to be sought later, through the antitheses72, alliterations, and pedantic wit of Lyly's "Euphues!"
[Pg 177]
Lyly's Euphues.
The prose of Ascham was clear and was plain, disdaining74 decoration and far-fetched gorgeous phrases. But for the gorgeous and the exotic, the taste of the Elizabethan Age was pronounced, as we see in the strange over-gaudy costumes of the period, the various ruffs, the jewelled velvets and silks, worn by men and women. A like dressing76 for thoughts was demanded, and the supply was provided by John Lyly, whose plays are to be mentioned later. Lyly was born a Kentish man (1554?); Magdalen, in Oxford, was his college; his plays, acted by the boys of the Chapel77 Royal and St. Paul's, are of 1584-1594. But he made his mark earlier, as a prose writer, in his "Euphues, the Anatomy78 of Wit" (1579), and the sequel, "Euphues and his England" (1580). The style became a fashion, a fashion which affected even those who, like Sidney, were in would-be revolt against it. Lyly, like all writers of the periods just before and after him, was copious79 in classical allusions82. He was not the first to hunt in all directions, especially in fictitious84 natural history, for similes85, and needless decorations; but he hunted further and more assiduously: emphatically his style is that of the unresting Bird of Paradise. Every sentence is a thing bristling86 with points and antitheses and alliterations. The first part of the book was a kind of novel; two friends, at Naples, woo the same woman, quarrel, write long letters, and the question of education, in the wide sense in which the Renaissance87 understood education, is always prominent. There is endless conversation and discussion of life, love, and learning, always in the same style of fantastic decoration and allusion81: all continued when Euphues arrives in England, all conveying general information not verified by experiment. "I have read that the bull, being tied to a fig52 tree, loseth his strength; that a whole herd88 of deer stand at the gaze if they smell a sweet apple"; facts on which the cattle-breeder or the hunter would not, if well advised, rely. This was the kind of science against which Bacon uprose. But Lyly appealed, in his Dedication89, and with success, "To the Ladies and Gentlewomen of England," who found in the book a kind of love-story, much philosophizing on that dear theme; and a pleasurable[Pg 178] example of a new way of being witty90 and romantic. Lyly was the chief cause of the difficulty in telling a plain tale plainly which besets91 the minor92 writers of the age of Elizabeth.
Before approaching the chief prose writers of Elizabeth's time, we must turn aside to her greatest poet, and his friend, to Spenser and Sir Philip Sidney, and to the Drama.
Sidney.
Spenser did not more surely attain93 immortality by his verse than Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586) by his life, writings, and character. He was one of those who, as Plato says, are born good, exemplars of natural charm and excellence94. He is the ideal gentleman of the type which Spenser professed95 to educate by the examples of his virtuous96 knights97, brave, pious80, courteous, and just. The son of Sir Henry Sidney and nephew of Elizabeth's Leicester, Philip Sidney was born into the Court, but was not of it; his heart was set on other things than pleasure, splendour, flattery, and promotion99. Educated at Shrewsbury School, he went to Christ Church at 14, being already the friend of the noble Fulke Greville, who, however, went from Shrewsbury to Cambridge. In 1572 he was attached to the English embassy in France, and, on the night of the Bartholomew massacre100 was sheltered in the house of his future father-in-law, Walsingham. Till 1575 he travelled, chiefly in Germany, and made the acquaintance of his constant correspondent and adviser101, Languet, whom he celebrates as a shepherd of the Ister, and as his own religious Mentor102. In Venice his portrait was painted by Veronese; at Vienna he perfected himself in horsemanship under Pugliano, whose enthusiasm he describes so amusingly in his "Defence of Poesie". For a man so earnest as Sidney was, he had a fine sense of humour.
Returning to England in 1575, he, like Gascoigne, was with Elizabeth at the famous pastimes at Kenilworth, now best known through Scott's novel, "Kenilworth". Afterwards, at the house of the Earl of Essex, he met the Earl's daughter, Penelope, later Lady Rich, the Stella of his sonnets103. Essex desired their marriage, but fate decided105 otherwise. In 1577 Sidney went, a young diplomatist,[Pg 179] to the Emperor and the German Princes, and later, was obliged to attend the Court, while his mind was set on adventures beyond the Atlantic; on failing in that, he trifled with the idea of introducing Greek metres into English poetry. In 1579, he quarrelled with the Earl of Oxford in the tennis court. A duel106 was not permitted, but as Sidney also gave Elizabeth his opinion about her distasteful flirtation107 with the odious108 Duc d'Anjou, the worst of the bad Valois Princes, he retired109 to Wilton, the house of his sister, Lady Pembroke, and there wrote the pastoral romance, "Arcadia".
He was recalled to Court, sat in Parliament for Kent, and in 1583 parried a daughter of Walsingham. He was forbidden to join Drake's American expedition of 1585, in fact he was always thwarted110 in his desire for action and for such deeds of chivalry111 as the conditions of his age permitted—they leaned somewhat to piracy112 and filibustering113. At length, as Governor of Flushing, while Leicester commanded the forces engaged against Spain in the Low Countries, he fell in a cavalry114 charge against a superior force at Zutphen. His leg was broken by a musket bullet from the Spanish trenches115: it was now that he handed the cup of water that was at his lips to the soldier whose need was greater than his. He lingered for some weeks, and died on 17 October, 1586.
The beautiful character of Sidney cannot be more strongly attested116 than by the agony of grief exhibited, at his death, by the handsome and wicked Master of Gray. He was about to be sent on the Scottish embassy to plead for the life of Mary Stuart, while his desire was to be fighting under Sidney's banner. He expresses, in a touching117 letter, the sudden revulsion of his nature from his wonted treacheries; and, contrary to the falsehood of tradition, he did not betray, but, to his own loss, did his best to save the Queen whose cause he had previously118 deserted119.
As a poet, Sidney, whose works were all published after his death, is best remembered for the sonnets of Astrophel to Stella, Lady Rich. There is a controversy as to whether these are mere120 exercises in gallant121 but "platonic122" love-verse, or whether they reveal a true passion, as Charles Lamb maintained. The sonnet104[Pg 180] in which he says that he has found his fortune too late, and has lost what he had unwittingly won,
O punisht eyes
That I had been more foolish or more wise,
seems to set forth123 a truly tragic124 situation. Perhaps only poets can be the critics in such a case as this of Sidney.
The sonnets vary much in poetic value; some are written in Alexandrines, a metre not consonant125 with the traditions of the English Muse126.
Sidney's "Defence of Poesie."
Readers who fail to find brilliant merit in English literary poetry between Chaucer and Spenser may not be ill-pleased to note that Sir Philip Sidney was strong on their side. Acquainted as he was with the poetry of Greece, Rome, Italy, and France, he could see nothing to admire in the efforts and experiments of such writers as Occleve, Lydgate, Hawes, Googe, Churchyard, and Turbervile. His "Defence of Poesie" (or, according to the title of the first edition (1595), his "Apologie for Poesie") was elicited128 by the unauthorized dedication to himself of Stephen Gosson's "School of Abuse". Gosson was a young Oxford man who had tried his hand as a playwright129, and been disgusted, he says, by the disorders130 of the playhouses, where his comedy and morality may have been hooted131. He therefore tried to make himself notorious, or he expressed his penitence132, by assailing133 poets who deal in the silly conceits134 of Lyly's "Euphues".
"The scarab flies over many a sweet flower and lights in a cow-shard... it is the manner of swine to forsake135 the fair fields and wallow in the mire127: and the whole practice of poets, either with fables to show their abuses, or with plain terms to unfold their mischief136, discover their shame, discredit137 themselves, and disperse138 their poison through the world". Gosson chooses Virgil as one of his terrible examples, and whether he is a genuine or a hypocritical puritan, or a mere fribble in search of notoriety, he made a mistake when he thought to find a patron or a butt139 in Sidney, who does not advertise Gosson's name in the "Defence of Poesie".
[Pg 181]
After a general defence of poetry furnished with precedents141 drawn142 from every quarter, even from the respect paid to their minstrels by the Irish, Sidney defines the final end of poetry as being "to lead and draw us to as high a perfection as our degenerate143 souls, made worse by their clay lodgings144, can be capable of...." If poetry does not always attain this end, "it is not the fault of the art, but that by few men that art can be accomplished145". He quotes Aristotle's "Poetics" to the effect that poetry is more philosophical146 and more serious than philosophy. Nothing in history is so noble but that "the poet may, if he list, make it his own, beautifying it both for further teaching, and more delighting, as it please him, having all, from Dante's heaven to his hell, under the authority of his pen". Here Sidney seems to differ from Scott, who regarded some examples of human fortunes, for example in the case of Mary Stuart, as beyond the range of the poetic art. But Sidney, foreseeing the objection, adds, "I speak of the art, not of the artificer". Sidney then discusses the various Kinds of poetry. As to the Comedy, "naughty play-makers and stage-keepers have made it justly odious,"—so far he sides with the Puritans of his time. In speaking of the lyric147, he says: "I must confess mine own barbarousness; I never heard the old song of Percy and Douglas" ("Chevy Chase"), "that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet148". Indeed the true spirit of poetry did dwell, disregarded by wits and courtiers, in the popular poetry and the ballads149. But poetry, he knows not why, finds, in our time, a hard welcome in England: "I think the very earth laments151 it, and therefore decks our soil with fewer laurels152 than it was accustomed, for heretofore poets have in England also flourished". If poets are not esteemed154 it is because they do not deserve esteem153, for we are "taking upon us to be poets in despite of Pallas," invita Minerva. Our would-be poets are destitute155 of genius—which was very true. "Chaucer undoubtedly156 did excellently in his 'Troilus and Cressida': of whom truly I know not whether to marvel more either that he, in that misty157 time, could see so clearly, or that we, in this clear age, go so stumblingly after him."
What ailed158 Sidney's age was lack of terseness159 and clearness.[Pg 182] Most poets did not know what they would be at; they were confused by the tumult160 of religion, the loss of old ideals, the language in transition, the tyranny of the misunderstood classics, the constant effort to imitate Greece, Rome, France, and Italy. They could not yet see life and literature steadily161, and see them whole. Sidney found little that "had poetical162 sinews," except in Chaucer; parts of "The Mirror for Magistrates," the Earl of Surrey's lyrics163, and Spenser's "'Shepherd's Calendar' hath much poetry in his 'Eclogues,' indeed worthy53 the reading, if. I be not deceived. That same framing of his style to an old rustic164 language I cannot allow..."
Sidney then banters165 the absurdities166 of the lawless stage, of the alliterative writers, of the seekers after unnatural167 history, like Lyly in his "Euphues," and of the love poets. "If I were a mistress never would they persuade me that they were in love, so coldly they apply fiery168 speeches," "swelling169 phrases" learned from books.
It was poetry, not the English poets of his age, that Sidney defended, and he might well marvel at our modern zeal170 which devotes time and scholarship to a chaos171 of tentative experiments by men who wished to be poets without possessing the poetic genius.
Sidney's best poems and his "Defence of Poesie" retain their freshness; but that book of his which was most popular suffers from the changes of time and taste. At most periods prose fiction is more welcome to human nature than poetry or criticism. Sidney's book "The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia," is a novel, written by the author at Wilton, when, as we saw, he was neither in favour at Court nor permitted to risk himself in adventures on sea or land. The book was to Sidney what "The Faery Queen" was to Spenser, a wilderness172 of delights of his own creation, a retreat into a world of fantasy. He wrote it in sheets read, or sent as soon as finished, to his sister, the Countess of Pembroke; the book was meant for her, not for the world. Not long after his death, an unauthorized copy was published (1590), and unauthorized edition followed, and the general delight in the romance is attested by its constant reissues.
[Pg 183]
The author did not construct any regular plot, he allowed his fancy to wander among the shipwrecks173 and piratical adventures of the late Greek romances; and in an Arcadia which never existed, and a Laconia most unhistorical. But the high and chivalrous174 ideals of the author, in his rural prose idylls, as in his battles and combats; the truth and constancy of his lovers; the beauty of his descriptions, made this mixture of the Spanish heroic romances that infatuated Don Quixote with the Arcadian pastorals, the delight of four generations. Milton blamed the captive Charles I for copying the beautiful and appropriate prayer of the captive Pamela, long after Shakespeare had interwoven with the story of King Lear, Sidney's tale of the blind King of Paphlagonia.
In its new mode "The Arcadia" was to four generations what Malory's "Morte Arthur" had been in its day. As late as 1660, we find Sir George Mackenzie imitating the "Arcadia" in his heroic and historic romance, "Aretina," where Argyll and Montrose play their parts. Indeed the "Arcadia" was a fruitful parent of the interminable heroic French romances which Major Bellenden laughs at in "Old Mortality," and from which Scott did not disdain73 to borrow a description in "Ivanhoe". It is indeed curious to compare Sidney's description of an Amazon (Book I, Chap, XII.) with an actual representation of a genuine Amazon by a Hittite artist, discovered on the stone work of a gate at Boghaz Keui. That lady-warrior wears a corslet of scale armour175, while Sidney's has a doublet of sky-coloured satin, covered with plates of gold. Her feet are shod in crimson176 velvet75 buskins, while the massive legs of the real Amazon are naked. The contrast of fact and fancy are violent, of course, throughout the romance. The style is less conceited177 than that of "Euphues," and is always noble, but the long sentences and overabundance of parentheses178 are not in accordance with modern taste. The profusion179 of love-passages and of martial180 adventures, "with notable images of virtues182, vices183, or what else," and the poetic if uncurbed fancies, were what the world demanded from a novel, and what Sidney gave in the Arcadia, with many lyrics, and imitations of the am?bean verse of the shepherds of Theocritus.
[Pg 184]
Spenser.
After two centuries of verse that was tuneless or tentative, the second great English poet came, Edmund Spenser (1552?-1599). We know from his "Prothalamion" that Spenser was born in London—
my most kyndly Nurse,
That to me gave this Lifes first native sourse,
Though from another place I take my name,
An house of auncient fame—
that is, the House of the Spencers of Althorp who are in the ancestry184 of the Duke of Marlborough's Churchills.
Spenser was certainly their kinsman185, in what degree is unknown, but his own family must have been poor. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, was aided by the munificent186 Robert Nowell, and obtained a Sizarship (corresponding to the old Oxford servitorship), at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge (1569). Here he made two friends, Gabriel Harvey, a true friend, if a rather pedantic don (the Hobbinol of his "Shepherd's Calendar"), and E. Kirke, the E. K. who furnished the notes explanatory of old English words in that poem. Spenser also gained the good graces of Grindal, then Bishop187 of London, later Primate188, a puritan, who fell into Elizabeth's disgrace, and is applauded as Algrind by Spenser in the "Shepherd's Calendar".
Spenser's youth was passed in an England disturbed by the claims of the captive Mary Stuart to the Crown; by the rebellion of her adherents189 in the North; by the papal excommunication of Elizabeth, and by the pretensions190 of the extreme puritan exiles who, driven abroad by the Marian persecution191, had imbibed192 at Geneva the doctrines193 of Calvin. In their attacks on the English Bishops194 they out-wearied even the successors of Calvin in Geneva, who regarded them as men not to be satisfied by any concessions195; "a sect196 of perilous197 consequence who would have no king but a presbytery," said Elizabeth. Here were all the elements which caused Elizabeth's cruel persecution of Catholics, the long struggle of the puritans under Elizabeth and James I, the wars under Charles I, and the strife198 with Spain and Catholic Ireland. In the words of James VI, it was "a world-wolter," and Spenser,[Pg 185] as a poor young man, eager to make his fortune, had to swim as best he might in the cross-currents of this troublesome world. He never enjoyed the peaceful leisure of a Tennyson or a Wordsworth; he had to play an active part in strenuous199 and most unhappy affairs.
His nature, too, was divided. With all his love of pleasure and of beauty he leaned, though not virulently200, towards the puritan party, and, as a good patriot59, loathed201 and detested202 Rome.
It is probable that, when a freshman203 at the age of 17, he contributed to a Miscellany, Van der Noodt's "Theatre of Worldlings" (1569), translations in blank verse of certain sonnets of the French poet Joachim du Bellay, and of Petrarch. These, re-cast into the form of sonnets, recur204 in a volume of Spenser's, of 1591.
After taking his Master's degree (1576) Spenser visited Lancashire, and if his words as Colin Clout205 in the "Shepherd's Calendar" be autobiographical, lost his heart to a lady whom he calls Rosalind, "the widow's daughter of the glen". According to Gabriel Harvey she "christened him her Signior Pegaso," though neither his poetry nor his wooing won her from her cruelty. Many years later he still writes of her with chivalrous affection, so, like Scott, he had his heart broken and cleverly pieced again.
By 1579 Spenser was in London, a literary retainer or protégé of Elizabeth's favourite, the Earl of Leicester; while he also enjoyed the friendship of Leicester's nephew, Sir Philip Sidney, the Flower of Chivalry, himself a poet, and the best beloved man of his time. Now (1579) Spenser published, and dedicated206 to Sidney, his "Shepherd's Calendar," a set of twelve eclogues or pastoral poems, one for each month. The pastoral had wandered far from the rural beauty of Theocritus, and, in the hands of Mantuan and Clement207 Marot, had become a vehicle for allegory, and even of Protestant argumentation. Spenser does not stray far into party and puritanic politics, but they are not unknown to his shepherds. In January, as Colin Clout, he bewails the coldness of Rosalind,
She laughs the songs that Colin Clout doth make,
which is carrying cruelty very far. February is occupied with a[Pg 186] rustic dispute between youth and age: the metre is one of the measures of the "Lay of the Last Minstrel":—
Who will not suffer the stormy time,
Where will he live tyll the lustry prime?
(Shepherd's Calendar, Feb., 11. 15, 16.)
They burn'd the chapel for very rage
And cursed Lord Cranstoun's Goblin-page.
(Lay of the Last Minstrel, C. II., Stanza208, 33).
March, with the dialogue of Willie and Thomalin about the strange bird, Love, is adapted from the Greek of Bion in a most pleasant manner, and April contains a melodious209 song of fair Eliza, a Maiden210 Queen; which probably procured211 Spenser's presentation to Elizabeth. The great variety of melodious verse of which Spenser was already a perfect master is, for us, perhaps the chief merit of his pastorals. Through life Spenser keeps up the shepherd's mask, and Raleigh, in his verse, is "The Shepherd of Ocean". The rival Protestant and Catholic clergy212 also appear as shepherds, good or bad, while in another eclogue the perfect poet, Cuddie, complains, like Theocritus, of public indifference213, and is advised to sing of redoubted knights: and, indeed, Spenser had already conceived the idea of his knightly214 romantic poem "The Faery Queen," and was ambitious to excel his model, Ariosto. In this Harvey discouraged him; "Hobgoblin" must not "run away with the garland from Apollo".
Fortunately Spenser followed his own genius, and, though he dallied215 with the fashion for wedding Greek measures to English words, as in the English hexameters of Watson and Harvey, he dropped many projects at which he had glanced, and was constant to his "Faery Queen".
The manuscript of that great poem must have been the companion of Spenser in many strange wanderings,
In savage216 soil far from Parnassus Mount,
as he says. He was attached, as we have seen, in 1578, to the household of Leicester, and may have gone on a mission of his to France. To be patronized by Leicester was to risk incurring217 the enmity of Burleigh. The long rivalry218 between Elizabeth's brilliant and wavering favourite—who once so nearly brought her into a plight219 almost as bad as that of Mary Stuart—and her[Pg 187] sagacious counsellor, Sir William Cecil (Lord Burleigh)—who now and again saved his Queen "as by fire"—might have furnished Spenser with a high theme for a poetic allegory. But chance had made him Leicester's man, not Burleigh's man, so that he never won the fortune for which he sought. Who, indeed, would seek fortune in Ireland? Spenser did, accompanying Lord Grey of Wilton to an isle220 more than commonly distressful221.
To the natural hatred222 between the Irish and their English invaders223 was now added the fury of religious rancour. Rebellion after rebellion was punished by horrible reprisals224. Lord Grey is notorious for his massacre of six hundred disarmed225 Italian and Spanish filibusters226 at Smerwick (November, 1580), and the poet of the "Faery Queen" was present at this abominable227 deed. It was neither without precedent140 nor imitation. Seventy years later David Leslie, urged on by a preacher, massacred the remnant of Montrose's Irish contingent228 at Dunaverty. Spenser himself in his most Interesting "View of the Present State of Ireland" says concerning the foreign prisoners, "there was no other way but to make that short way with them which was made". He defends Grey's ruthless policy; he had made Ireland "ready for reformation" when he was recalled, on the charge of being "a bloody229 man" who had left the country in ashes (1582). Grey was pursued by the clamour of a horrified people, that is, he was Spenser's Sir Arthegal, molested230 by the Blatant231 Beast, the public. The idea of the public is a Blatant Beast is borrowed from Plato.
It was in the service of Grey, and in a land laid waste, that Spenser, acting232 as Grey's secretary during the horrors of the war in Munster, wrote part of the "Faery Queen". He held public posts, was Clerk of Decrees, and Clerk of the Council of Munster, he received 3000 acres of land, and a ruinous castle of the Desmond family, Kilcolman, between Mallow and Limerick (1586).
Unhappy was his fortune, but, in absence from London, he had the advantage of being beyond the influences of the critical literary society of the capital with its reviews in form of pamphlets, its satires233, jealousies235, and quarrels. There is a record of a conversation of 1584 (published in 1606) in which Spenser described to his friends the aim and scope of the "Faery Queen". Each virtue181[Pg 188] was to be incarnate in a knight98, whose adventures should teach it by example. In a letter to Raleigh, whom he met in Ireland, Spenser says that Prince Arthur (as in the first Canto236) is to be a perfect exemplar of "the twelve private virtues". The Faery Queen herself is, first, Glory in general and next Gloriana, the royal and "most virtuous and beautiful" Queen Elizabeth, who also appears as Belph?be. He is to begin in the middle, before telling how knights, ladies, dwarfs237, and a palmer bearing an infant with bloody hands came seeking adventures to a festival of the Faery Queen. "Many other adventures are intermeddled."
The "Faery Queen" is not, and does not aim at being an epic238. It is without beginning, middle, or end, for the last six books were not written, or the manuscript perished when Spenser was driven from Kilcolman.
The original scheme is that of the "Morte d'Arthur," moralized, and intermingled with allegory. The poem is an allegorical romance adapted to the state of England, Ireland, and the Continent under Elizabeth, and to the war of the Reformation against the dragon of Rome and the Scarlet240 Woman of the Seven Hills, the seeming fair and inwardly filthy241 Duessa, who is occasionally meant for Mary Stuart. Such unity242 as the poem possesses is given by the conflict of Good, as Spenser understood it, against Evil, private and public, the vices, and the Church of Rome. The Red Cross Knight wears the armour which St. Paul describes, and in which Bunyan equipped Christian and Greatheart.
There are people, says Spenser, who prefer to have Virtue "sermoned at large, as they use". But while Spenser insists on being taken as a moral preacher in his way, his true ideal is Beauty, and it is the gleam of Beauty that he follows as he wanders with knights and ladies through enchanted243 forests, and "awtres dire83". Like the knights in the "Morte d'Arthur" he "rides at adventure"; in every page a new adventure opens, and leads to others endlessly, through conflicts with Saracens,—Sansfoy, Sansloy, Sansjoy,—with the wily Magician, Archimage, and his glamour244; with Despair, in a wonderful passage; with dragons and dragonettes, with Acrasia and all the charms of her abode245 of wanton bliss246, which is depicted247 with great enthusiasm (Book II, Canto XII).[Pg 189] This canto is remote indeed from the puritan taste, despite its moral ending
Let Gryll be Gryll, and have his hoggish248 mind,
But let us hence depart, whilst weather serves and wind.
The whole is derived, in the last resort, from the palace of Circe in the Tenth book of the "Odyssey," and it is curious to compare the severe and classic charm of the Greek with the boundless249 luxury of the Italian Renaissance in Spenser.
The "Faery Queen," indeed, despite the moral intention, which is perfectly250 sincere, is the very Lotusland of poetry. It is a garden of endless varieties of delight, endless but not prolix13, for there is a perpetual change of scene and of characters and nothing is constant but the long and ever-varying music of the verse, Spenser's own measure, in which each stanza is a poem, while the strong stream of melody carries the half-dreaming reader down the enchanted river, and forth into the fairy seas.
The Spenserian measure with the Alexandrine that ends the stanza may not be the best vehicle for narrative251. But Spenser's stream does flow from the mountains of Lotusland, and the air of Lotusland occasionally lulls252 the vigilance of the poet as well as of the the reader. The stanza (Book VI, Canto X) which opens
One day, as they all three together went
To the greene wood to gather strawberries,
There chaunst to them'a dangerous accident:
A Tigre forth out of the wood did rise,
narrates253 an accident as unexpected as dangerous! We cannot but be reminded of the "Swiss Family Robinson," and when Spenser makes Sir Calidore kill the tiger and cut off its head with a shepherd's crook254, he is plainly overcome by "drowsihead".[2]
It is true that Spenser soon lost hold of his main allegory, and allegorized the moving events and some of the personages of his time. The gods, in Euripides, make a false Helen of clouds and sunbeams and for her the Trojans and Ach?ans war and die. So, in Spenser's poem, the witch makes a false Florimel of snow,[Pg 190] informed by "a wicked spright" with burning eyes for the destruction of mankind, and the false Florimel is another form of the white witch, Mary Stuart. The affairs of Ireland, France, "Belge," and Spain appear in knightly or magical disguise in the procession of dissolving views; a pageant255 of the rivers of Ireland and England anticipates Drayton's "Polyolbion": the romance becomes, like "Piers256 Plowman," a farrago of all that is in the poet's mind.
Of Spenser, Ben Jonson might have said, as of Shakespeare, Sufflaminandus erat, "he needed to have the drag put on". Like Pindar in youth, "he sowed from the sack, not from the hand". His archaic257 words and unsuccessful imitations of archaic words annoyed the critics of his time more than they vex258 us. If he "writ6 no language," "writ the language of no time," as Ben Jonson said, the "Iliad" and "Odyssey," too, are in the language of no time, represent no one dialect that ever was actually spoken. But Spenser was writing about no actual time: his own age is confused with the fairy age of chivalry, and the ages of the "Morte d'Arthur," and of Greek mythology. With Spenser we are "out of space, out of time," and of his adoration259 of Chaucer, his ancient words keep us in mind. That great and noble effort towards perfection, the spirit of chivalry, was his ideal; and in Sir Philip he saw the last of the gentle and perfect knights. To the flattery of Elizabeth we must submit: she needed it all if to her subjects she was to, stand for England and their love of England.
Spenser's blemishes260 are of his age; no pure and perfect work of immaculate art could arise in a poetry which was only emerging from a kind of chaos, too much learning being the successor of too much ignorance, and a divine genius being left at large with no control from sane261 and temperate262 criticism.
Somewhat eclipsed by the new star of Elizabeth's fresh favourite, Essex, Raleigh visited his Irish lands in 1589, met Spenser, read the "Faery Queen" in manuscript, and brought "Colin Clout Home again". The poem of that name (1591) while full of sugared compliments to Elizabeth, is also touched with satire234 of her new courtiers. Sidney was dead, Leicester was dead, Burleigh "hated poetry and painting". The first part of the "Faery Queen"[Pg 191] (1590) had made Spenser famous, but had won him no prize of Court favour save a small pension.
His "Mother Hubberd's Tale of the Ape and the Fox" may have been written earlier and now was published; in this the satire is much more keen; the poet finds even "the Comic Stage defaced and vulgarized, in his 'Tears of the Muses,' where "our pleasant Willy that is dead of late," cannot conceivably be Shakespeare—the silence of John Lyly may be intended.
When Spenser returned to Ireland a collection of his miscellaneous poems was published, containing, among other things, "Mother Hubberd's Tale," "The Tears of the Muses," "The Ruines of Rome" (sonnets from the French of Joachim du Bellay).
The "Ruines of Time," dedicated to "Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother," Lady Pembroke, begins with a vision of the genius of the ruined Roman city, Verulam, and in a far-off way reminds us of the Anglo-Saxon poem on the Ruined City. There is a lament150 for the fall of ancient empires, and the sorrows of the House of Dudley.
Spenser's mood was that of melancholy263 and disappointment, presently cheered by his marriage with Elizabeth Boyle. From his love came his sonnets, and his matchless "Epithalamion," his "love-learned song". If the "Faery Queen," and all else that Spenser did were lost, the "Epithalamion" and the "Prothalamion" would win for him the crown of the chief of English poets before Shakespeare. The marriage occurred in June, 1594: then troubles with the Irish whom he had supplanted264, or some other cause, sent him to England, with the last three books of his romance. The affair of Duessa's treatment caused James VI to remonstrate265 through Bower266, the English ambassador to Holyrood, and though the poet was not punished, his designs may not have been advanced. He now published his Hymns267 to Love and Beauty, Earthly and Heavenly, the latter under the influence of Plato, and his "Prothalamion" for the Ladies Elizabeth and Katherine Somerset. These splendid poems were his swan-song; Ireland called him, and in October, 1598, the natives whom he had despoiled268 drove him from Kilcolman, which they burned.[Pg 192] Spenser died, a ruined man, in Westminster (16 January, 1599), Essex paid for his funeral, he lies in Westminster Abbey.
As Heph?stus, when he fashioned the arms of Achilles, melted bronze and gold and silver in his furnace, so Spenser combined the wealth of Greece and Italy, France, Rome, and England in the great crucible269 of his genius. In the "Epithalamium," for example, we find a translation of four lines from a sonnet of Ronsard, mingling270 with notes from Theocritus and the Song of Songs, with all the beautiful things of all the creeds271. It would, perhaps, be unfair to call the style of Spenser, as it appears in the "Faery Queen," "Corinthian". Yet the metal in which he works is like that "Corinthian bronze" formed, at the conflagration272 of the city, from the molten gold and silver and copper273 of the sacred vessels274 and images of the gods. The spoils of all old poetry are mingled239 with his own. He has been called "the poets' poet"; his successors have taken from him his very tones. As has been said well, when Spenser writes—
Scarcely had Ph?bus in the glowing East
Yet harness?d his fiery-footed team,
that is Shakespeare, the Shakespeare of "Romeo and Juliet".
And taking usury275 of time forepast
Fit for such ladies and such lovely knights,
that is Shakespeare again, the Shakespeare of the Sonnets.
Many an Angel's voice
Singing before the eternal Majesty276
For their triune triplicities on high:
that is the younger voice of Milton.
And ever and anon the rosy277 red
Flasht thro' her face,
one might fancy the unmistakable note and accent of Tennyson.[3]
English poetry fell with the neglect of Spenser, who was buried and forgotten from the middle of the seventeenth century till Thomson revived his measures in the middle of the eighteenth, and English poetry came fully278 to her own again when the magic book of Spenser was opened by Keats.
[1] A well-known diplomatist of Queen Elizabeth, Harry279 Killigrew, is said to have been "a Holbein in oils".
[2] On this and on the more than mediaeval size of "The Faery Queen," see Mr. Mackail's "Springs of Helicon," pp. 132-28.
[3] Mackail, "Springs of Helicon," pp. 90, 91.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
juncture
|
|
| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
Oxford
|
|
| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
doctrine
|
|
| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
testament
|
|
| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
writ
|
|
| n.命令状，书面命令 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
idol
|
|
| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
poetic
|
|
| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
favourable
|
|
| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
exquisite
|
|
| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
appreciation
|
|
| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
prolixity
|
|
| n.冗长，罗嗦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
prolix
|
|
| adj.罗嗦的；冗长的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
commentators
|
|
| n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
disciples
|
|
| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
mythology
|
|
| n.神话，神话学，神话集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
refinement
|
|
| n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
affected
|
|
| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
derived
|
|
| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
eloquent
|
|
| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
assassinating
|
|
| v.暗杀( assassinate的现在分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
tolerance
|
|
| n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
deity
|
|
| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
immortality
|
|
| n.不死，不朽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
qualified
|
|
| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
controversy
|
|
| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
horrified
|
|
| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
courteous
|
|
| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
urbane
|
|
| adj.温文尔雅的，懂礼的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
devout
|
|
| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
ardent
|
|
| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
orators
|
|
| n.演说者，演讲家( orator的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
treatise
|
|
| n.专著；(专题)论文 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
fervent
|
|
| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
quenched
|
|
| 解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
fables
|
|
| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
eloquence
|
|
| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
joyous
|
|
| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
memoirs
|
|
| n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
privy
|
|
| adj.私用的；隐密的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
instructor
|
|
| n.指导者，教员，教练 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
privately
|
|
| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
zest
|
|
| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
durable
|
|
| adj.持久的，耐久的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
liturgy
|
|
| n.礼拜仪式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
authorized
|
|
| a.委任的，许可的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
marvel
|
|
| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
vowels
|
|
| n.元音，元音字母( vowel的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
dicing
|
|
| n.掷骰子，（皮革上的）菱形装饰v.将…切成小方块，切成丁（ dice的现在分词 ） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
gambling
|
|
| n.赌博；投机 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
contemplated
|
|
| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
fig
|
|
| n.无花果(树) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
potent
|
|
| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
profligate
|
|
| adj.行为不检的；n.放荡的人，浪子，肆意挥霍者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
luxurious
|
|
| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
incarnate
|
|
| adj.化身的，人体化的，肉色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
patriotic
|
|
| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
patriot
|
|
| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
yew
|
|
| n.紫杉属树木 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
shaft
|
|
| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
musket
|
|
| n.滑膛枪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
lighter
|
|
| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
pedantic
|
|
| adj.卖弄学问的；迂腐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
overthrow
|
|
| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
syllables
|
|
| n.音节( syllable的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
rendering
|
|
| n.表现，描写 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
odyssey
|
|
| n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
corrupted
|
|
| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
eccentricities
|
|
| n.古怪行为( eccentricity的名词复数 )；反常；怪癖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
harmonious
|
|
| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
antitheses
|
|
| n.对照，对立的，对比法；对立( antithesis的名词复数 )；对立面；对照；对偶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
disdain
|
|
| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
disdaining
|
|
| 鄙视( disdain的现在分词 )； 不屑于做，不愿意做 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
75
velvet
|
|
| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
dressing
|
|
| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
chapel
|
|
| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
anatomy
|
|
| n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
copious
|
|
| adj.丰富的，大量的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
pious
|
|
| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
allusion
|
|
| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
allusions
|
|
| 暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
dire
|
|
| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
fictitious
|
|
| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
similes
|
|
| （使用like或as等词语的）明喻( simile的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
bristling
|
|
| a.竖立的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
renaissance
|
|
| n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
herd
|
|
| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
dedication
|
|
| n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
witty
|
|
| adj.机智的，风趣的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
besets
|
|
| v.困扰( beset的第三人称单数 )；不断围攻；镶；嵌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
92
minor
|
|
| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
attain
|
|
| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
excellence
|
|
| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
professed
|
|
| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
virtuous
|
|
| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
knights
|
|
| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
knight
|
|
| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
promotion
|
|
| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
massacre
|
|
| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
adviser
|
|
| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
mentor
|
|
| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
sonnets
|
|
| n.十四行诗( sonnet的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
sonnet
|
|
| n.十四行诗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
duel
|
|
| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
flirtation
|
|
| n.调情，调戏，挑逗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
odious
|
|
| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
retired
|
|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
thwarted
|
|
| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
chivalry
|
|
| n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
piracy
|
|
| n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
filibustering
|
|
| v.阻碍或延宕国会或其他立法机构通过提案( filibuster的现在分词 )；掠夺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
114
cavalry
|
|
| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
trenches
|
|
| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
attested
|
|
| adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
previously
|
|
| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
deserted
|
|
| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
gallant
|
|
| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
platonic
|
|
| adj.精神的；柏拉图（哲学）的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
tragic
|
|
| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
consonant
|
|
| n.辅音；adj.[音]符合的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
muse
|
|
| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
mire
|
|
| n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
elicited
|
|
| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
playwright
|
|
| n.剧作家，编写剧本的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
disorders
|
|
| n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
hooted
|
|
| （使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
penitence
|
|
| n.忏悔，赎罪；悔过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
assailing
|
|
| v.攻击( assail的现在分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
conceits
|
|
| 高傲( conceit的名词复数 )； 自以为； 巧妙的词语； 别出心裁的比喻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
forsake
|
|
| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
mischief
|
|
| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
discredit
|
|
| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
disperse
|
|
| vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
butt
|
|
| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
precedent
|
|
| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
precedents
|
|
| 引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
degenerate
|
|
| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
lodgings
|
|
| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
philosophical
|
|
| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
lyric
|
|
| n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
trumpet
|
|
| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
ballads
|
|
| 民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
lament
|
|
| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
laments
|
|
| n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
laurels
|
|
| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
esteem
|
|
| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
esteemed
|
|
| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
destitute
|
|
| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
undoubtedly
|
|
| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
misty
|
|
| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
ailed
|
|
| v.生病( ail的过去式和过去分词 )；感到不舒服；处境困难；境况不佳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
terseness
|
|
| 简洁，精练 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
tumult
|
|
| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
steadily
|
|
| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
poetical
|
|
| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
lyrics
|
|
| n.歌词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
rustic
|
|
| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
banters
|
|
| n.玩笑，逗乐( banter的名词复数 )v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的第三人称单数 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
166
absurdities
|
|
| n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
unnatural
|
|
| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
fiery
|
|
| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
swelling
|
|
| n.肿胀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
zeal
|
|
| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
chaos
|
|
| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
wilderness
|
|
| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
shipwrecks
|
|
| 海难，船只失事( shipwreck的名词复数 )； 沉船 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
chivalrous
|
|
| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
armour
|
|
| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
crimson
|
|
| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
conceited
|
|
| adj.自负的，骄傲自满的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
parentheses
|
|
| n.圆括号，插入语，插曲（ parenthesis的名词复数 ） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
profusion
|
|
| n.挥霍；丰富 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
martial
|
|
| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
virtues
|
|
| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
vices
|
|
| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
ancestry
|
|
| n.祖先，家世 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
kinsman
|
|
| n.男亲属 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
munificent
|
|
| adj.慷慨的，大方的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
187
bishop
|
|
| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
primate
|
|
| n.灵长类（目）动物，首席主教；adj.首要的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
adherents
|
|
| n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
190
pretensions
|
|
| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
191
persecution
|
|
| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
192
imbibed
|
|
| v.吸收( imbibe的过去式和过去分词 )；喝；吸取；吸气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
193
doctrines
|
|
| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
194
bishops
|
|
| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
195
concessions
|
|
| n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
196
sect
|
|
| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
197
perilous
|
|
| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
198
strife
|
|
| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
199
strenuous
|
|
| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
200
virulently
|
|
| 恶毒地，狠毒地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
201
loathed
|
|
| v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
202
detested
|
|
| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
203
freshman
|
|
| n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
204
recur
|
|
| vi.复发，重现，再发生 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
205
clout
|
|
| n.用手猛击；权力，影响力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
206
dedicated
|
|
| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
207
clement
|
|
| adj.仁慈的；温和的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
208
stanza
|
|
| n.（诗）节，段 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
209
melodious
|
|
| adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
210
maiden
|
|
| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
211
procured
|
|
| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
212
clergy
|
|
| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
213
indifference
|
|
| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
214
knightly
|
|
| adj. 骑士般的 adv. 骑士般地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
215
dallied
|
|
| v.随随便便地对待( dally的过去式和过去分词 )；不很认真地考虑；浪费时间；调情 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
216
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
217
incurring
|
|
| 遭受，招致，引起( incur的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
218
rivalry
|
|
| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
219
plight
|
|
| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
220
isle
|
|
| n.小岛，岛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
221
distressful
|
|
| adj.苦难重重的，不幸的，使苦恼的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
222
hatred
|
|
| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
223
invaders
|
|
| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
224
reprisals
|
|
| n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
225
disarmed
|
|
| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
226
filibusters
|
|
| n.掠夺兵( filibuster的名词复数 )；暴兵；（用冗长的发言）阻挠议事的议员；会议妨碍行为v.阻碍或延宕国会或其他立法机构通过提案( filibuster的第三人称单数 )；掠夺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
227
abominable
|
|
| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
228
contingent
|
|
| adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
229
bloody
|
|
| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
230
molested
|
|
| v.骚扰( molest的过去式和过去分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
231
blatant
|
|
| adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
232
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
233
satires
|
|
| 讽刺，讥讽( satire的名词复数 )； 讽刺作品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
234
satire
|
|
| n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
235
jealousies
|
|
| n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
236
canto
|
|
| n.长篇诗的章 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
237
dwarfs
|
|
| n.侏儒，矮子（dwarf的复数形式）vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的第三人称单数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
238
epic
|
|
| n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
239
mingled
|
|
| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
240
scarlet
|
|
| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
241
filthy
|
|
| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
242
unity
|
|
| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
243
enchanted
|
|
| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
244
glamour
|
|
| n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
245
abode
|
|
| n.住处，住所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
246
bliss
|
|
| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
247
depicted
|
|
| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
248
hoggish
|
|
| adj.贪婪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
249
boundless
|
|
| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
250
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
251
narrative
|
|
| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
252
lulls
|
|
| n.间歇期（lull的复数形式）vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的第三人称单数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
253
narrates
|
|
| v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
254
crook
|
|
| v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
255
pageant
|
|
| n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
256
piers
|
|
| n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 )；（常设有娱乐场所的）突堤；柱子；墙墩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
257
archaic
|
|
| adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
258
vex
|
|
| vt.使烦恼，使苦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
259
adoration
|
|
| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
260
blemishes
|
|
| n.（身体的）瘢点( blemish的名词复数 )；伤疤；瑕疵；污点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
261
sane
|
|
| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
262
temperate
|
|
| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
263
melancholy
|
|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
264
supplanted
|
|
| 把…排挤掉，取代( supplant的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
265
remonstrate
|
|
| v.抗议，规劝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
266
bower
|
|
| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
267
hymns
|
|
| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
268
despoiled
|
|
| v.掠夺，抢劫( despoil的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
269
crucible
|
|
| n.坩锅，严酷的考验 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
270
mingling
|
|
| adj.混合的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
271
creeds
|
|
| （尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
272
conflagration
|
|
| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
273
copper
|
|
| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
274
vessels
|
|
| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
275
usury
|
|
| n.高利贷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
276
majesty
|
|
| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
277
rosy
|
|
| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
278
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
279
harry
|
|
| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |