English Congregational Hymns in the Eighteenth CenturyHistorians of the English congregational hymn, focusing on its literary or theological aspects, have usually found the genre out of step with the rationalist era that produced it. This book takes a more balanced approach to the work of four writers and concludes that only eighteenth-century Britain, with its understanding of public verse, common truth, and the utility of poetry, could have invented the English hymn as we know it. The early hymns sought to inspire, teach, stir, and entertain congregations. The essential purpose shifted slightly in line with each poet's setting and in accord with the poetic thought of his day. For Isaac Watts's Independents, powerful traditional imagery was appropriate. Charles Wesley's enthusiasm proceeded from and served the spirit of the revival. John Newton's prophetic vision particularly suited the impoverished community at Olney. William Cowper's masterful handling of formal conventions and his idiosyncratic personal hymns reflect his poetic, rather than clerical, vocation. Despite such temporal variations, the great poetry by each man displays themes of general Christian relevance, suggesting common experience, showing normative features of the genre, and bearing a complex and intriguing relationship to secular literature. |
From inside the book
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... soul, as the private expression of the individual, is wholly inappropriate for congregational use. Even if the experience of the poet is commonplace and his expression is of general usefulness to other Christians, the resulting poem is ...
... soul rather than on the hearing of the Lord: O heare my prayer, Lorde, and let, my crye come unto thee: In tyme of troble doo not hide, thy face away from me. When I pour out my Soul in Pray'r, Do thou, O Lord, attend: To thy Eternal ...
... Soul, And let thy Blood besprinkle me From ev'ry pierced Hole.21 The relationship between God and the singer is quite different here from the relationship posited in the Gerhardt hymn. The horrible apparition is at odds with its gentle ...
... soul, The most dear and loveliest Place: Pleura's Space! Soul and Body in thee pass!22 The affectionate, childlike pleasure in the wound is peculiarly repulsive. It might be suggested that this hymn betrays the translator's ...
... souls of his readers, an ethical responsibility he had failed to accept: Thus almost in vain have the Throne and the Pulpit cry'd Reformation, while the Stage and licentious Poems have waged open War with the pious Design of Church and ...
Contents
Self Sense the Revival | |
John Newton Olney Prophet | |
Exemplary Tradition the Loss of Control | |
Conclusion | |
Notes | |
Other editions - View all
English Congregational Hymns in the Eighteenth Century Madeleine Forell Marshall,Janet Todd Limited preview - 1982 |
English Congregational Hymns in the Eighteenth Century Madeleine Forrell Marshall,Janet M. Todd No preview available - 2014 |