Jesse Sharpe Phd Thesis
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by St Andrews Research Repository ‘AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH’: THE PROBLEM OF THE INCARNATION IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY DEVOTIONAL POETRY Jesse David Sharpe A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St. Andrews 2012 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3185 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License 'AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH': THE PROBLEM OF THE INCARNATION IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY DEVOTIONAL POETRY Jesse David Sharpe A thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of St Andrews School of English 22 May 2012 i ABSTRACT In using the doctrine of the Incarnation as a lens to approach the devotional poetry of seventeenth-century Britain, ‘“And the Word was made flesh”: The Problem of the Incarnation in Seventeenth-Century Devotional Poetry’ finds this central doctrine of Christianity to be a destabilising force in the religious controversies of the day. The fact that Roman Catholics, the Church of England, and Puritans all hold to the same belief in the Incarnation means that there is a central point of orthodoxy which allows poets from differing sects of Christianity to write devotional verse that is equally relevant for all churches. This creates a situation in which the more the writer focuses on the incarnate Jesus, the less ecclesiastically distinct their writings become and the more aware the reader is of how difficult it is to categorise poets by the sects of the day. The introduction historicises the doctrine of the Incarnation in Early Modern Europe through presenting statements of belief for the doctrine from reformers such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Huldryk Zwingli in addition to the Roman Catholic decrees of the Council of Trent and the Church of England’s ‘39 Articles’. Additionally, there is a further focus on the Church of England provided through considering the writings of Richard Hooker and Lancelot Andrewes amongst others. In the ensuing chapters, the devotional poetry of John Donne, Aemilia Lanyer, George Herbert, Robert Herrick, and Richard Crashaw is discussed in regards to its use of the Incarnation and incarnational imagery in orthodox though diverse manners. Their use of words to appropriate the Word, and their embrace of the flesh as they approach the divine shows the elastic and problematic nature of a religion founded upon God becoming human and the mystery that the Church allows it to remain. ii Thesis Declarations I, Jesse David Sharpe, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 78,000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September, 2008 and as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in September, 2009; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2008 and 2012. Date signature of candidate I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date signature of supervisor In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. I have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this thesis: access to printed copy and electronic publication of thesis through the University of St Andrews. Date signature of candidate signature of supervisor iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to many people for the completion of this dissertation, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank some in particular. As I began to piece together the ideas that became this dissertation, I was greatly aided by the advice and help of Mardy Philippian, Timothy Carlisle, Brian Larsen, and Alan Rose, and most especially the staff of the Simpson University library – Larry Haight, Eric Wheeler, Suzanne Wheeler, and Curt Rice. The wonderful postgraduate community in 66 North Street has been an invaluable source of inspiration and support during the research and writing of this dissertation. For the laughter, coffee, and alcohol shared with Katherine Cooper, Dominic McNeil, Rob Woodridge, Jo Whitely, Rachel Holmes, John Dennison, Karin Koehler, Scott Brooks, and Phoebe Allen I am eternally grateful. Lindsay and the staff of Northpoint have provided a wonderful sanctuary during this project. The staff of the Special Collections of the University of St Andrews have been generous in their friendship and aide. Sandra McDevitt and the secretaries of the School of English have shown eternal patience and kindness to me and I cannot overstate my gratitude to them. To my mom and dad and my mother-in-law and father-in-law I love you all and I cannot state strongly enough what your support has meant to me. The friendship of Ravenel Richardson, Kristine Johanson, and Bronnie Johnston has been a continuous source of sanity and joy, thank you. To Professor Neil Rhodes I would like to state my appreciation for his kind and understanding supervision of my dissertation. You have been invaluable to me as I have written this, and I cannot thank you enough. To my sons Morley and Dashiell I have to say thank you for helping me keep everything in perspective. I love you both, and it has been a joy to watch you grow and mature while I have been working on this. But most of all I must thank my wife, Casey. You have read every word of this dissertation countless times, and your edits and advice have been of the greatest benefit to me. I know that where this dissertation succeeds it is yours, and all failures are my own. I love you. iv CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. i Thesis Declarations ........................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................... iii A Note on the Text............................................................................................................................. v I. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 II. John Donne’s Incarnating Words ................................................................................................. 36 III. Incarnation as Social Protest in Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum ........................................................ 96 IV. George Herbert Discussing the Word ....................................................................................... 127 V. Robert Herrick’s Church of Earthly Delights ............................................................................. 173 VI. ‘Looke Downe to Heaven’: Experiencing the Incarnation in Richard Crashaw’s Poetry ............ 205 Postscript ....................................................................................................................................... 244 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 246 v A NOTE ON THE TEXT In line with contemporary scholarly practice, I have modernised spelling in the following cases: i/j, v/u, and the long s. Also thorns and yoghs have been transcribed as Roman characters. I have also silently expanded contractions. Introduction 1 I INTRODUCTION 1 In the beginning was the 1 In the beginning was the 1 In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was Word, & the Word was with Worde, and the Worde was with God, and God was the God, and the Word was God. with God, and that Worde was WORD. 2 This was in the 2 The same was in the God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 Al beginning with God. 3 All beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him: and things were made by him, and things were made by it, & without him was made without him was not any thing without it was made nothing nothing. That which was made that was made. 4 In him that was made.4 In it was life, made, 4 in him was life, and was life, and the life was the and the life was