DIVERSITY IN HARMONY: THE POLITICAL COUNSEL OF BEN JONSON'S UNDER-WOOD By LIBBY ELLEN STOTT Bachelor of Arts in Arts and Sciences Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma 1980 Master of Arts Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma 1984 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May, 1991 \C1'1 ,, t) ~ co~.a COPYRIGHT by Libby Ellen Stott May 1991 DIVERSITY IN HARMONY: THE POLITICAL COUNSEL OF BEN JONSON'S UNDER-WOOD Thesis Approved: ThRt;Adviser ~/!/~ - Dean of the Graduate College i.i 1402227 PREFACE In this study of Jonson's political counsel, I am indebted to many persons, persons both inside and outside of the English Department. Though no longer at OSU, Dr. Paul Klemp introduced me to Jonson and was many things during my pre-dissertation years: first advisor, research editor, willing ear, literate Lovewit, eternal help. I benefitted greatly from his Jonson class and from the comments of my classmate, [Dr.] Steve Robbins. Dr. Edward Jones, who became my advisor upon Dr. Klemp's departure, has been an indispensable aid. Besides helping me choose my topic, he counseled me throughout the composition of the dissertation. Though he might have fed many of my drafts to Vulcan, he continued to read, edit, and guide. Persevering with a gentle manner and a Senecan patience, Dr. Jones worked hard and remained ever hopeful. -~~ The head of my committee, Dr. Jeffrey Walker, has been a valuable source of continuity and administrative skill. This dynamic man has been a personal as well as a professional inspiration: benevolent yet tough, he exemplifies wisdom and youth. Ligonem ligonem vocat, forsaking levity ad calendas graecas. In this hardy hearted man as in Jonson's Digby, several public virtues have found a private residence. iii Dr. Edward Lawry, a committee member from the Philosophy Department, I thank for his zest, objectivity, and humor. I appreciate also the efforts of two other committee members, both from the English Department. Dr. David s. Berkeley has long been a source of clarity, correctness, and great knowledge; Dr. Michael O'Neill, though given short notice, generously agreed to read my dissertation, and he provided many helpful comments. A former committee member, Dr. Richard Batteiger, gave me moral suppport and helped me explore an Under-wood poem in his rhetoric class; the inimitable Professor John Milstead inspired my pursuit of English. I am grateful also for what Dr. Linda Leavell has given'me: training, encouragement, amicitia. And Shirley Bechtel, Deborah Bransford, and several other Morrill mainstays provided invaluable aid throughout my work on the degree. Nor could I have made it without my colleagues in the Cant and Bagel Hermeneutic Circle and in the Toro Sessions. Dr. Sandra Pearce, the soul of vivacity, beautifully combined the roles of Virgil and Beatrice, and A. B. D[avid] Major, criticus improbus, continually delighted and instructed. Mallory McNease assisted this project in a number of ways. Contributing in their own manner to this dissertation are Christoph~r, Richard, Grantham, and John, professors who, though outside the English Department, nonetheless sit in shadow of Apollo's tree. Adept at grave counsel and at ±v the arts of gladness, these men are devotees both of Bacon and of Bacchus. I thank them for the merry meetings over the years and for their embodiment of the pure fire and wine of friendship. To family members I owe more than I can express. Merril, Mildred, Drew, and Sherry Stott, and Morgan, Amanda, and Laura ("Ace") Bell have sacrificed much and encouraged continuously. My spouse, Cline Young, has excelled in various roles, including those of coach, patron, commentator, confidant, and jester. This patient man knows what it means to guard "holiest friendship, naked to the touch." He has given the most useful yet indescribable gift of all: a multitude of timely exertions. Thanks also to Tami Eick for her typing services. And thanks to Mr. Herrick for his timely prayer. (In this essay I give the Julian dates, though I treat the new year as beginning January 1 rather than March 25. Though I quote from the Herford and Simpson edition, I have modernized the use of i/j and u/v.) v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. POETS AND PRINCES. 8 III. COURT HARMONY. so IV. LEGAL HARMONY .. 88 v. RELIGIOUS HARMONY. 134 VI. INTERNATIONAL HARMONY. 176 VII. CONCLUSION . 228 WORKS CITED . 235 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION New yeares, expect new gifts: Sister, your Harpe, Lute, Lyre, Theorbo, all are call'd to day. Your change of Notes, the flat, the meane, the sharpe, To shew the rites, and t<o>'usher forth the way Of the New Yeare . ("A New-yeares-Gift" 1-5) 1 Written around 1635, the above lines to the king occur in Ben Jonson's Under-wood, published in 1640 (three years after the author's death). In their blending of different voices to create a rich harmony, these lines epitomize much of the political counsel Jonson gives in his last collection of poetry as he tries to maximize his long-held role of royal poet. As the author writes throughout this volume of poetry, he is living in a culture that values order yet witnesses great upheavals and conflicts. He himself prizes order, as his carefully constructed poems show; yet this man, known for his strong opinions and sharp tongue, also values energy and individualism. Under-wood in fact embodies both order and diversity, as does the political counsel it offers. 1 2 Jonson's political advice sounds often in this miscellany, which addresses also friendship and love; for the sake of focus, depth, and ecqnomy, however, I have chosen to discuss in detail two or three Under-wood poems in each chapter. Interested in historical setting and particularly in works written after Jonson became laureate, I have selected pieces written after 1616, ones for which we have at least some approximate date. I have further chosen pieces which express the laureate's political counsel at its most complete, clear, and specific. Throughout my essay, however, I briefly mention in the text other relevant poems, including in the endnotes references to yet other supporting works. Yet a full understanding of Under-wood's political counsel requires a review of its author's advice in earlier poetry, particularly his Works (published in 1616, when he becomes the royal poet). In this early volume the importance of harmony concerning monarch and poet, courtiers, English law, religion, and foreign relations emerges. By looking first at Jonson's positions toward these matters before his laureateship, one can better understand how Under-wood maintains the poet's interest in order yet shows even more strongly his belief that England can survive differences of opinion. 2 The relationship most fundamental to the poet­ counselor's position, that between poets and their monarchs, is first addressed in Poetaster (1601) and later examined in 3 the Under-wood poem "The Dedication of the Kings new Cellar," and then in the Tribe of Ben epistle (which puts "The Dedication" into context). Jonson's political counsel concerning the court appears in the early masque Love Restored (1612), which reveals in an abstract manner the importance of completeness and cooperation, qualities treated more specifically and concretely in the Under-wood poems "Epithalamion" and "An Epigram To my Muse." Looking at a force of order that goes beyond the royal court--civil law--is Jonson's inaugural poem written for King James ("A Panegyre" [1604]). This poem bears upon the diversity of lawyers praised in Under-wood and the legal context analyzed in more detail in "Lord BACONS Birth-day" and "To our great and good K. CHARLES On his Anniversary Day." Because the England of Jonson's time monitors religious practice, a large part of life, the poet's political advice encompasses ecclesiastical as well as civil structures. The early work Hymenaei (1606) reveals rulers' positions as God's disciples, yet it also implies their accountability to God. Under-wood continues and broadens this argument, using daring techniques at a time when subjects and monarchs have become more divided over religion. "An Epigram to the Queene, then lying in" and the poem on James's christening employ the paradoxes that give Christianity its energy and diversity as the poet tries to reconcile Anglican subjects to their Catholic queen and their high church king. Finally, the poet's counsel concerning his country's 4 relations with other nations appears in The Speeches at Prince Henry's Barriers (1610), a peacetime work that, among other things, reviews England's past; it shows the various international situations a country experiences, sometimes using historically distant examples to argue that self­ sufficiency and a strong army are prerequisites for a noble peace. During the years that Under-wood spans, England has quickly gone through periods of peace, war, and then peace again. In "An Execration," "A speach according to Horace," and "To the right Honourable, the Lord Treasurer of England," their author refers more specifically to contemporary events and sometimes opposes popular opinion to advise England about tough fighting and dignified peace. Admittedly, Under-wood's counsel in some ways observes certain limits that Jonson's earlier work does not. Trying to counteract open defiance of the king's authority, the poet excludes descriptions of political tyranny which earlier works include. Moreover, when he senses a direct confrontation between king and people, the laureate supports the king, the one individual fundamental to civil order. Under-wood also leans heavily upon compliment and avoids blatantly lecturing the ruler when certain issues have become more sensitive.