D A N T E A N D T H E E N G LI SH PO ET S FR OM CH A UCER TO TEN N YSON BY O SCAR KUHNS : Professor 0 Romance La nguages in We sieya n Univen fly A act/t ar of e German and S wiss S ettlgke nt: of Pe nn sylvania “ A great poe m is a fo untain forever overflowing with the wate rs o fwisdo m and de li ht ; and afte r o ne pe rson fli n hi and one age have e x hauste d its divine e ue ce , w ch t eir eculiar re lations e na le t e m to s are anot e r h p b h h , h and et ano t er succe eds and new re lations are ever h . o h o rese en and an ~ de ve pe d, t e so urce of an unf un ” De e nse o Poe t conceived deli t . S HE LLEY A r . gh , f f y NEW YORK HEN RY H OLT AND CO M PANY 1 90 4 Co ri t 1 py gh , 904 BY HENRY H OLT A N D COMPAN Y ’ Published A rz l p , 1 904 ROBERT DRUM MON D R I , P NT E R, N E W YORK P EFACE R . FOR many years I have found a pleasant dive rsion from the ro und o fro utine dutie s in gathering togethe r the material which o rms the sub ct o ft is o o I t is wit f je h b k . h the tho ught that it may inte rest o thers that i i n u is d rt o ft is m t ri t s o w p bl he . Pa h a e al appeared so me years since in M o dern Lan ' N t Fo r the me a re i io r guage o es. g b bl g aphy o f the subje ct (mo stly in the fo rm of rtic s not s co rr s o nd nc and o t r a le , e , e p e e , he m r o r rio dic it r tur see ephe e al pe al l e a e), ’ Ko ch s Catalo g ue o fthe Dante Colle ctio n ’ in Co rn niv rsit and tz s La Litte ell U e y, Be r tur m r a e Co pa é e . p I desire to express my thanks to the autho rities of the H arvard University Libr r o se ib r it in the o nin of a y, Wh l e al y l a g V vi PREFA CE. books extends the u sefulness ofthat insti tution far beyond the limits o f its o wn c d mic constitu nc a a e e y. M I DD OW CONN A il 1 0 L . r ET N , , p , 9 4 . N ENTS CO T . CH A PTER I I R DUC I O . 0 o o o o o o o 0 o 0 0 o 0 . NT O T N I I . MI L I F R OM C A UC R T o . I I . H E TON I V MI LTO . N E I E N TUR Y TH E G C . V . HTEENTH TH E DA R VI VA L I N N I VI . NTE E THE NETEENTH VI I TH E Po E Ts O F E A R LY NI . THE NETEENTH VI I I BYR . ON I X . MA W A R LD A N D R S S I X . TTHE NO O ETT . BR W I A D T Y S XI . G N O N N ENN ON . vii DA TE A D THE ENGLISH POETS N N . C ” HAPTER I . I N T R O D UC T I O N . N G LI S H it r tur as m uc as if not E l e a e , h , mor t n an ot r has n s d e ha , y he , bee hape by n an v ri d in I n its r ma y d a e fluences. ea ly ~ formative period it added to its Teu tonic basis those wide - reaching streams of m diav it r tur - ic did ctic and e e al l e a e , ep , a , c iv rous — w ic ound c i r ssion h al , h h f h ef exp e through the medium ofOld F rench ; in the movement of the Renaissance it was permeated with the newly revived classic s irit w ic innin in t r du p h h , beg g I aly , g a ally spread over all western Europe ; While in m odern times the cosm opolitan spirit has opened up to it the literary treas Of rs he ure s of every other land. cou e t 2 DANTE AND THE ENGLISH POE TS . main channels through which these vari ous streams of influence have produced t ir ff ct are the r t writ rs —in s it he e e g ea e , p e ofthe fact that often those ofsecond and third rank have exerted an influence dis ro ortion t to t ir m rit p p a e he e . I t would be of extreme value for the proper understanding of English litera tur if the in u nc u on it of the e , fl e e p all great foreign writers could be investiga ted and summ riz d s ci ists — not a e by pe al , merely from a philological or scientific oint i w b ut wit s m t tic p Of V e , h a y pa he feelin g for the aesthetic and psychological processes invo lved in the making of lit erat e uc an un rt in wou nat ur . S h de ak g ld urall r u t wit r t difficu ti s y be f a gh h g ea l e , and would need the co operation ofmany minds ; and yet if some such plan were c rri d out in the c s of om r r i a e a e H e , Ve g l , rv nt s sso tr rc rio sto o i Ce a e , Ta , Pe a h , A , M l ere o t and ot rs the stud nt of , G e he , he , e comparative literature would have to I NTRODUCTI ON. 3 hand the material which now lies scat tered ov r wi d e a de fiel . “ The present discussion ofthe influence ofDante on English poetry is a contribu i n r i n t o towa d th s e d. - I n stud in t is u stion we must oo y g h q e , l k ’ for evidence of Dante s influence on the English po ets in the following forms : direct mention ; imitation of the outer form of his works ; literal translation or paraphrasing of certain passages ; repeti tion ofthought or sentiment ; adaptation or use o fm t or or ur and st e aph fig e ; la ly, the effect on life and character of his mor t c in al ea h g . I n regard to the first ofthese phases of ’ nt s in u nc no r im in r r m r s Da e fl e e , p el a y e a k n d to m d I n the ot rs how ee be a e . all he , v r we must const nt on our u rd e e , be a ly g a against undue emphasis of mere resem nc s us in r rd to the out r bla e . Th ega e orm ofthe ivin om d we now t t f D e C e y, k ha Dante in adopting a visionary j ourney AND THE I 4 DANTE ENGL SH POETS. through the supernatural world only fol lowed a custom almo st universal in and or his tim in the t c in of r i bef e e , ea h g el g ious trut I t is id to sa ound hi h . le y he f s ’ prototype in the sixth book of Vergil s ZEneid in the S omnium S el ioms of , p ic ro in the o ofSt r nd n in C e , V yage . B a a , ’ ’ the S on e dE n er ou d Houdan g f Of Ra l , or in the isions of St u und V . Pa l , T al , 1 and rico t s off r c rt in Albe . All he e e e a striking resemblances to the Divine Com ’ ed but as i nor D Ancona s s : Fo s y, S g ay sero anche maggiori e piu strette le cor ris ond nz non dir mo che iu che da p e e , e , p tr da u st nd ision of al a , q e a legge a (V Albe rico ) abbia tolto Dante forme ed m n i l utt le not t ele e t a suo poema . T e a e visioni sono anelli di una gran catena ’ che ris t m i antichlssum : ors ale a e p e , f 1 ’ Fo r Dante s pre dece ssors in the field o f vision ’ literature see D Anco na I Precursori di ante , D ; Oz anam De s S ource s o ti u es de la ivine , p é q D m in l o fhis (E e s om lete n die vo .