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. |
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... Wesley's hymns. John Newton and William Cowper demonstrate the adaptation of the hymn to the changing view of both poetry and the human situation that characterized the second half of the eighteenth century. Finally, hymn research ...
... Wesley's rallying hymn “Come, O my guilty Brethren, come” as evidence of Wesley's romantic inclinations: Come, O my guilty Brethren, come, Groaning beneath your load of sin! His bleeding heart shall make you room, His open side shall ...
... Wesley (1707–1788) we turn to the Methodist revival, which remained within the Anglican church throughout our period. As hymns were not sung in Anglican churches, Wesley's hymns were written for meetings and devotions rather than for ...
... Wesley's hymns are usefully approached as didactic-sentimental literature. Just as the exemplary Pamela taught her readers how they should cope with moral dilemmas, so the persona of Charles Wesley's hymns demonstrated correct ...
Madeleine Forrell Marshall, Janet M. Todd. Watts's visual power, Wesley's exemplary sensibility, and Newton's vitality come together in many of Cowper's sixty-seven hymns. His work enables us to examine more closely the place in hymns of ...
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 |