Christian and Pagan Elements in the Works of Tristan L'hermite
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Christian and Pa?an Elements in the Works of Tristan L'Heririte By Lucy Brcyles Golsan PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE COUNCIL OF ! DISSERTATION" HHE*T3NTVE?SITY OF FLORIDA TV. PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOB THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA ?.°72 UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 3 1262 08552 5045 A CKNOWLED GK ENTS debt I would like first of all to acknowledge my to Tristan- His beautiful lines would brighten the dullest page. Ky appreciation of him has been greatly enriched by the guidance of my advisor, Professor Claude Abraham. His enthusiasm and his fine scholarship have inspired me to join him in the ranks of Tristan's admirers. I am grateful to Professor Raymond Gay-Crosier for his meticulous reading of the manuscript and his many helpful suggestions. I thank my family for their patience and their support which went far beyond the call of duty. 11 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IV ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION AND PAGAN IDEAS . 6 I. THE CONFLICT OF CHRISTIAN 67 II. THE AESTHETIC IDEAS 103 III. THE POETRY 1?4 IV. THE PLAYS okll V. PROSE AND "AMBICUS" 287 CONCLUSION 2Q6 EIBLIOGRAPHY to the Abstract of Dissertation Presented of the University «*%*£**$** Graduat/councll the Degree 01 Fulfillment of the Requirements for Doctor of Philosophy CHRISTIAN AND PAGAN ELEMENTS L'HERMITE IN THE WORKS OF TRISTAN By Lucy Broyles Golsan June, 1972 Chairman: Claude K. Abraham Major Department: French determine where and The purpose of this study is to appear in the work of how Christian and Pagan elements mixture has on Tristan L'Hermite, and what effect this theater, and prose. the form and content of his poetry, style and in Tristan is considered Baroque in his this in mind, an the multiplicity of his themes. With contradictory themes, attempt Is made to explain his two as typical of Christian and Pagan, and their development however, is with this kind of artist. Our main concern, In attempt- Tristan's surprising philosophical ambiguity. presented a background ing to explain it, we have first were influential at of Christian and Pagan ideas which seventeenth century, the time Tristan wrote. In the early in France after the the Church was regaining its strength eliminating disastrous religious wars. It was bent on whose artists had the Pagan influence of the Renaissance iv so admired the culture of Antiquity. In establishing a Christian society, the Church set up organizations to educate priests and laymen, and encouraged an outpouring of Apologies for orthodox Christianity. These Apologies composed a body of literature which existed side by side with secular philosophical writings in which men like Eescartes tried to reconcile modern Christianity with Classical Stoicism, or writings which questioned the idea of an immortal soul. A delight in Nature and phy- sical beauty was still expressed by many poets despite Church opposition. In this climate Tristan wrote his poetry, his plays, one novel, a collection of letters, and two prayer books. final In studying his work by genre , we have found no resolution of his ideas on the Christian -Pagan dicho- tomy. Form and content both show a continuous mixture of the two, and the final synthesis necessary for a Classical writer is missing. We find him Baroque in his art and in his outlook on life. As a love poet, he is largely a Naturist in his delight in physical beauty; writing circumstantial poetry, he uses the ideas and the heroes of Antiquity. We find him admirirg Stoicism, but psychologically more attune to Epicurean philosophy in all of his works. Throughout, Christian and non-Christian elements eo '--exist , sometimes happily, sometimes not. His two religious works still contain suggestions of a secular outlook on the part of their author. Our conclusion must be that Tristan never decided and to suppress either of his two contradictory themes, that he remains Baroque in this open endedness. He explored all of the major arguments in the Christian- Pagan idealogical struggle going on in the early seven- teenth century. The fact that this exploration continued throughout his lifetime makes him a valuable source of ideas as well as of poetic beauty. vi INTRODUCTION The term Baroque has been only partly successful In describing a current of poetry which existed during Tristan's time. Marcel Raymond has established that this poetry flourished in France during the hundred years between 1550 and 1650, and Jean Housset has attempted to describe it by the mythological figure Circe, goddess of metamorphosis, and the peacock whose tail spreads Itself in a dazzling display of sumptuous colors. The personi- fication of these qualities of change and ostentation is helpful, but a final definition of Baroque eludes us. In architecture the term suggests the ornate churches of Rome and Bernini's fountains of palm trees, a half submerged Neptune, and great stone fish spouting streams of water. Mythological figures, movement and exaggeration, are indeed part of this art. The churches are covered with decoration—with gold leaf and with light and dark marble. There are hundreds of angels with widespread wings suspended above us in endless motion. And there is that final flourish of the "trompe l'ceil," the painting high in the cupola which changes as we move to see it from another angle. Christianity, so unadorned and simple in its origins, had been dressed in an elaborate mantle by the architects of Rome. As Raymond claims, the Baroque often values decoration over theme. The Idea that decor was 1 2 illustrated by important lndependant of what it decorated is The puri- what happened to Christian art during this period. brilliant colors, ty of Michelangelo's David was replaced by eye with elaborate sculpture, and paintings that deceive the their cleverness. music. This same love of decoration is part of Baroque themes of Trills and grace notes decorate the intertwining we find Bach*s music. But it is not the decoration that one best illustrated here, but the treatment of more than cerebral theme simultaneously. If we think of Bach as a composer, interested in an intellectual exploration of more than one theme, we have an idea of the richness of a Ba- roque undertaking. It is not all decoration. If we re- member that decorative notes embellish the multiple themes as they interlace and separate, then even more possibili- ties arise for artistic invention. Applying this concept to literature, the possibility of style and content following this pattern becomes apparent. In the substance of a work, the content may include more than one idea. At the same time, style may be freed to be- come decoration in a broader sense. It may even become an lndependant undertaking, limiting itself only to basic prin- ciples of harmony and to avoiding unpleasant discord. A description of the musical Baroque may apply to the literary art of Tristan, and it may help us to understand the elusive qualities of © term which has change and movement as part of its definition! and which allows ornamentation to go unchecked in its definition of the function of style. 3 Poetry flourished during this period of the late Renaissance and early Classicism. It was encouraged by royalty and by the aristocracy. For this reason we have chosen to study Tristan as representative of what is usually defined as Baroque. One cannot read his poetry even super- ficially without realizing that he was preoccupied with two ideas at once. A Pagan loyalty to Nature as the source of beauty and pleasure appealed to him, and along with this the endless capabilities of man to enjoy his world. But often, even in the same poem or play, be developed a second theme, a Christian rejection of Nature, a distrust of Renais- sance optimism, and a conviction that man is weak and lost without God. In presenting bis two themes, Tristan used a style that is full of both Pagan and Christian Images which have a life of their own and will not be subjugated to his themes. In tracing the Christian and Pagan elements on these two dis- tinct levels, we may discover a final harmony of content and form which was imposed on the musician by the nature of his art. Freedom of invention in literature, however, is not so easily contained within the poet's materials. There are no bars to dictate rhythm and no keys to restrict range. The temptation to avoid a final resolution is much greater in poetry, and we may find that Tristan never allows us the comforting assurance that we know where he stands. To achieve a unity of content or form and a final blending of the two, he wculd have had to choose between his two themes for they are contradictory and cannot sxist together in any k other, his harmony. When he chose to develop one or the about his images reflected this choice and we are confused did purpose. Perhaps the poet who may be called Baroque felt free not feel the need to do even this. He may have inde- to contradict himself, to develop style and content pendantly, and even to cultivate diversity and contradiction within each one. The final harmonious chord may not have been necessary to achieve a poetic beauty which satisfied of the artist of this period. In any case, the themes Christian and Pagan in both style and content do predomi- nate in the wort of Tristan. In studying their relation- ship to each other, we may find that characteristics of the Baroque do exist, and that it may be meaningful to identify him with this label. he Little work lias been done on Tristan, much less than deserves, and practically none of it on the problem of Christian and Pagan themes.