William Mason: a Study

WILLIAM MASON: A STUDY A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2011 Joan Elizabeth Addison School of Arts, Histories and Cultures Department of English and American Studies 2 CONTENTS Abstract 4 Declaration 5 Copyright Statement 6 Acknowledgements and Dedication 7 Preamble 8 Epigraph 9 Introduction 10 Chapter One, Part One: Mason and History 19 Mason in his own Time 19 Mason’s Declining Fortunes 22 Eighteenth-Century Poetry in the Nineteenth Century 23 Scholarly Revision and the Eighteenth Century 27 Mason Reviewed 30 Mason and Collaboration 32 Chapter One, Part Two: Mason, Musaeus and the Ode 33 Mason, Milton and Musaeus 33 Mason’s Pindaric Career 45 Pindar and his Reputation 47 Pindar’s British Imitators 49 Mason and the Regeneration of the Ode 53 Mason and the Defence of Poetry 59 Mason’s Pindarics: The Personal and Political 62 Mason and the Dramatic Pindaric 86 Chapter Two: Mason and the Georgic 92 Introduction 92 The English Garden 93 The Content of The English Garden 95 Mason, ‘Land’ and the Georgic 97 3 Chapter Two, continued Mason, Milton and Blank Verse 107 The Garden as State 115 Nature and Albion 122 Mason, Walpole and the American War 129 Mason and the Yorkshire Association 138 The Narrative of Book Four 140 Mason and Burgh 145 Mason and Slavery 148 Chapter Three: Mason and Satire 152 Introduction 152 From Dryden to Pope 152 The Beginning of Mason’s Satire 157 Mason, Gray and Satire 159 Mason and Churchill 164 Mason and Pope 168 Slaves and Free Men 173 Mason as Innovator 179 Chambers’ Dissertation and An Heroic Epistle 184 An Heroic Postscript 194 Ode to Mr Pinchbeck and An Epistle to Dr. Shebbeare 197 Ode to Sir Fletcher Norton , and King Stephen’s Watch 205 An Archaeological Epistle 210 The End of Mason’s Satire 213 Conclusion 217 Bibliography Primary Sources 227 Bibliography Secondary Sources 238 Bibliography Other Works Consulted 244 Number of words 79,987 4 ABSTRACT Of a thesis submitted by Joan Elizabeth Addison to the University of Manchester for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy and entitled ‘William Mason: A Study.’ 2011. This thesis is an examination of the work of William Mason, an eighteenth- century poet who, though highly regarded in his own time, is little known in ours. The thesis seeks to revalidate Mason as a poet worthy of attention in the twenty-first century. The Introduction contextualises Mason, both socially and culturally. Emphasis is given to the importance of Whig politics in his life and works, and to the influence upon him from an early age of the philosophy of John Locke. Attention is also drawn to Mason’s ability as an innovative adaptor of ancient genres, the importance to him of Milton’s verse, and the relevance of his ‘public’ poetry to modern Britain. The first part of Chapter One provides an overview of Mason’s poetic trajectory, from his popularity in the eighteenth century to his decline in the nineteenth. The general loss of interest in eighteenth-century poetry, and its revival in the twentieth, is considered. In the second part of the chapter, Mason’s youthful poetic claim to be the literary and moral descendant of Milton and Pope is examined in the context of his early monody, and its innovative purpose and style. Attention is drawn to the intertextuality that informs much of the poetry discussed in this thesis. The treatment of the Pindaric ode in the hands of earlier poets, and Mason’s far more authentic one, is subsequently discussed. Examples are given which illustrate Mason’s successful treatment of the genre, and of his concern with the preoccupations of the age. In Chapter Two Mason’s georgic, The English Garden , is examined. Consideration is given to Mason’s choice of Miltonic form, to the poet’s employment of his subject, gardening, as a representation of the state of the nation, and to the poet’s personal involvement in the verse in a variety of manifestations. His success in matching subject to form is demonstrated. Mason’s correspondence with Walpole concerning the American war, his collaboration with William Burgh, and his use of prose as well as poetry for political purposes, are discussed. Chapter Three provides a brief account of the attitudes to satire from the late seventeenth century to Pope’s death, and goes on to look at Mason’s own satire. His satires are discussed in the context of his political and literary relationships with Walpole, Gray, Pope and Churchill, and his concern with the issue of slavery is foregrounded. The individual satires are examined, and examples explored of Mason’s novel and varying employment of the genre in the service of his Whig viewpoint. The Conclusion draws together the points made in the body of the text, and claims a place for Mason amongst the eighteenth-century poets rediscovered by recent scholarship. 5 DECLARATION No portion of the work referred to in this thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning. 6 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT (i) The author of this thesis (including any appendices and/or schedules to this thesis) owns certain copyright or related rights in it (the ‘Copyright’) and she has given The University of Manchester certain rights to use such Copyright, including for administrative purposes. (ii) Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts and whether in hard or electronic copy, may be made only in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) and regulations issued under it or, where appropriate, in accordance with licensing agreements which the University has from time to time. This page must form part of any such copies made. (iii) The ownership of certain Copyright, patents, designs, trade marks and any other intellectual property (the ‘Intellectual Property’) and any reproductions of copyright works in the thesis, for example graphs and tables (‘Reproductions’), which may be described in this thesis, may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for use without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions. (iv) Further information on the conditions under which disclosure, publication and commercialisation of this thesis, the Copyright and any Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions described in it may take place is available in the University IP Policy (see http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=487), in any relevant Thesis restriction declarations deposited in the University Library, the University Library’s regulations (see http://www.manchester.ac.uk/library/aboutus/regulations) and in The University’s policy on Presentation of Theses. 7 Acknowledgements and Dedication I wish to thank the staff and students of the University, present and past, who have encouraged and supported me throughout the writing of this thesis. Thanks must also go to the library staff of the University, particularly those at the Rylands Library on Deansgate, for their consistently cheerful assistance. A special thanks must go to Dr. Bill Hutchings, who supervised this thesis until his retirement in October 2008. Bill has been an unfailing source of inspiration, help and understanding. Thanks must also go to Dr. Hal Gladfelder, who took over supervision of the thesis, for his perceptiveness, patience and encouragement. Finally, my thanks to my husband Michael, who has given me unwavering support and encouragement during the years of writing, as well as providing solutions to many computer-related problems. I wish to dedicate this thesis to all my family, and to the memory of my mother and my father. 8 Preamble Almost all the examples of Mason’s poetry, excluding his satires, have been taken from the 1811 edition of his works, which was published in four volumes. Occasional references, however, where extra textual information can be found, are to earlier editions. These are indicated in the footnotes, and can be accessed at http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/Eighteenth-Century Collections Online. Examples of several of Mason’s satires are taken from Mason’s Satirical Poems with Horace Walpole’s Notes , edited by Paget Toynbee (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1926.) Other satires, such as The Dean and The Squire , can also be accessed at Eighteenth-Century Collections Online. Following the initial citation in the text of Mason’s longer poems, for example The English Garden and An Heroic Epistle , reference in the footnotes is subsequently made to the initials of the title only. There is frequent reference in the text to the Correspondence of Horace Walpole (48 volumes), edited by W.S. Lewis and others. Almost all the references are to Volume 28, the first of two volumes containing the correspondence of Walpole and Mason. Where reference is made to other volumes, this is indicated in the footnotes. 9 ‘As a poet of at least historical importance, [Mason] still awaits resurrection.’ Jules Smith ( Dictionary of National Biography , 2004) 10 INTRODUCTION William Mason, who was born in 1725, occupied a central place in the literary and cultural life of the eighteenth century. He was a poet, a dramatist, and a garden designer, as well as a painter, musician and writer of sermons. While a student at St. John’s College, Cambridge, he met Thomas Gray, with whom he forged a lifelong friendship. Through the varied activities of his life, he came into contact with culturally prominent men such as Richard Hurd, William Warburton, David Garrick, Joshua Reynolds and Horace Walpole, all of whom took an interest in, admired, and even collaborated with him in his literary productions.

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