The religious lyric, on the other hand, as we can see in the case of Crashaw and Vaughan, is frequently passionately inspired; but the passions are vaguely expressed; and we have commented upon the incongruity that frequently disfigures the style. In the case of Milton his lyrics are superbly phrased, but they too lack spontaneity. His sonnets, among the noblest of their class, have much more depth of feeling.
(b) The Epic. The true epic treats of a sublime subject in the grand manner. In some respects Beowulf is an epic, but strictly speaking the epic does not appear till this age. Cowley’s Davideis (1637) and Davenant’s Gondibert (1651) aspire to be great epics; but though they subscribe to the rules governing the outward form of the species they lack the inner spirit and they are failures. Milton’s Paradise Lost (1658) has the heat and inspiration, but the Puritan bias in his nature led him to the rather unsuitable subject of the fall of man. It is unsuitable because it is weak in heroic action. Much more appropriate would have been the story of King Arthur, which for a long time he thought of using. Otherwise Milton’s treatment of the subject is strictly orthodox. Nominally at least he adheres to the epical unity of action; he draws his characters with a wide sweep; and the style is a triumph of English epical style. His Paradise Regained (1671) is worked out on the same lines, but it is shorter and weaker than the earlier epic.
(c) The Ode. In Spenser’s Epithalamion and Prothalamion we have seen the irregular ode attain to a high degree of perfection. In this age we observe the appearance of the Pindaric ode, which was to be so popular in the succeeding generations. Though it appears to be irregular, the Pindaric ode is really bound by stringent rules; its language is ornately artificial; and its diction mannered and unreal. Therefore it is suited to the needs of a transitional period that desires artificiality with a show of freedom. Cowley’s Pindarique Odes (1656) are the first of their class in English.
(d) Descriptive and Narrative Poetry. In this wide class we may include Milton’s L’Allegro and Il Penseroso, Herrick’s pastoral poems, and Crashaw’s religious-descriptive pieces. To these may be added the Cooper Hill (1641) of Sir John Denham (1615–69), a descriptive poem much praised in its day, and the romantic poem Pharonnida (1659) by William Chamberlayne (1619–89). In all these poems we may observe the growing tendency to avoid contact with actual wild nature, and to seek rather the conventional and bookish landscapes familiar in the more artificial classical authors. Already the new classicism is declaring itself.
2. Drama. Earlier in this chapter we have noticed the decline and temporary collapse of the drama (1642). The plays of Massinger sustain the expiring spirit of the great Elizabethans; those of Ford follow the tragical school of Webster and Tourneur. Other playwrights are James Shirley (1596–1666), who wrote some pleasing comedies of London life, such as The Lady of Pleasure (1637), and the feebler writers Suckling and Davenant.
3. Prose. While the period is almost devoid of narrative prose of the lighter sort, it is quite rich in prose of other kinds.
(a) The Sermon. This period has been called “the Golden Age of the English pulpit.” No doubt the violent religious strife of the time has much to do with the great flow of sermon writing, which is marked with eloquence, learning, and strong argument. In addition to Jeremy Taylor and Fuller, already mentioned, we may notice Robert South (1634–1716), who writes rather more briefly and simply than the rest, Isaac Barrow (1630–77), learned and copious, and Richard Baxter (1615–91), a Nonconformist, whose Saints’ Everlasting Rest (1649) has survived all his preachings.
(b) Philosophical Works. On the moral side there are the works of Sir Thomas Browne; on the political those of Hobbes; and on the religious side the books of John Hales (1584–1656). Works of this type show a growing knowledge and advancing scholarship, joined sometimes to quaint conceits and artless credulity.
(c) Historical Works. In this class Clarendon’s and Fuller’s works stand pre-eminent. The development of the history will be noticed in a future chapter (see p. [340]).
(d) Miscellaneous Prose. In this large and varied group may be included the pamphlets of Milton, Hobbes, Fuller, and many more; the attractive books of Isaac Walton (1593–1683), whose Compleat Angler (1653) is the classic of its kind; the interesting Resolves, short miscellaneous essays, of Owen Felltham (1602–68); and the Letters (1645), an early type of essay-journalism, of James Howell (1594–1666).