English Congregational Hymns in the Eighteenth CenturyHistorians of the English congregational hymn, focusing on its literary or theological aspects, have usually found the genre out of step with the rationalist era that produced it. This book takes a more balanced approach to the work of four writers and concludes that only eighteenth-century Britain, with its understanding of public verse, common truth, and the utility of poetry, could have invented the English hymn as we know it. The early hymns sought to inspire, teach, stir, and entertain congregations. The essential purpose shifted slightly in line with each poet's setting and in accord with the poetic thought of his day. For Isaac Watts's Independents, powerful traditional imagery was appropriate. Charles Wesley's enthusiasm proceeded from and served the spirit of the revival. John Newton's prophetic vision particularly suited the impoverished community at Olney. William Cowper's masterful handling of formal conventions and his idiosyncratic personal hymns reflect his poetic, rather than clerical, vocation. Despite such temporal variations, the great poetry by each man displays themes of general Christian relevance, suggesting common experience, showing normative features of the genre, and bearing a complex and intriguing relationship to secular literature. |
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... singing, it is needlessly restrictive to insist that they are only hymns when they are sung. Hymns were read in private as well To as sung in public and, like the psalms on which The Congregational Hymn: Requirements & Resources The ...
... sing only an expression of proper and devout religious feeling. The irregular, highly original, or otherwise extraordinary perception is unacceptable. In a given hymn, if a hymn writer is indeed expressing religious feeling, it must be ...
... singing. While Rattenbury sometimes made acute observations about the literary characteristics of hymns, his critical focus generally failed when he attempted to draw useful conclusions. Even Martha England, whose work on hymns shows ...
... singing, they demonstrate the relationship between metrical psalms and hymns and help us understand the controversy surrounding the revolutionary departure from English tradition. The tension reflected in both the language and content ...
... singing. The communal setting encouraged a theatrical element in hymnody, seen in the tableaux of Watts, in the dramatic scenes of charismatic conversion of Wesley, and in the stage presence of Newton's preacher-hero, a dramatic ...
Contents
Self Sense the Revival | |
John Newton Olney Prophet | |
Exemplary Tradition the Loss of Control | |
Conclusion | |
Notes | |
Other editions - View all
English Congregational Hymns in the Eighteenth Century Madeleine Forell Marshall,Janet Todd Limited preview - 1982 |
English Congregational Hymns in the Eighteenth Century Madeleine Forrell Marshall,Janet M. Todd No preview available - 2014 |