Samuel Butler (1613 - 80)

   Samuel Butler was a great poet and satirist. He was baptized 14 February 1613. Baptized in England. And died at 25 September 1680, in London, England. He was the son of farmer and churchwarden. His date of Birth is unknown, but there is documentary evidence for the date of his baptism of 14 February. Samuel Butler was brought up in the household of sir William russell of strensham and became his clerk. He was educated at the King's school, Worcester, under Henry Bright, whose teaching is recorded favourable by thomas fuller. A contemporary writer, in his worthies of England.

   After the restoration, he became secretary, or steward, to Richard Vaughan, 2nd earl of carbery lord president of wales. Until January 1662, while he was paying craftmen working or repairing the castel there. In late 1662 the first part of Hudibras, which he began writing when lodging at Holborn, London, in 1658 and continued to work on while in Ludlow, was published, and the other two in 1664 and 1678 respectively.

During the latter part of his life butler lived in a house in now partially demolished rose street, to the west of convent Garden. And later on died of consumption on 25 September 1680. But he will always remain as his most famous works named Hudiras.

  

Hudiras :-

   

The Hudibras is very long, satiric poem, created in complex eight-syllable couplets. The poem starts off as a mock romance before becoming a critique of time. The story start with, the Knight hudibras and Ralph go Through a series of adventure, they trying to stop bear baiting, courtship, all are which meant to be allegorical. The poem is full of grotesque characters and polemics and is a devastating satire of Puritanism. The poem is most beautiful work of that time. But still,Despite the popularity of Hudibras, Butler was not offered a place at Court. "Satyrical Witts disoblige whom they converse with; and consequently make to themselves many Enemies and few Friends; and this was his manner and case."

The first part of Hudibras was apparently on sale by the end of 1662, but the first edition, published anonymously, is dated 1663. Its immediate success resulted in a spurious second part appearing within the year; the authentic second part, licensed in 1663, was published in 1664. The two parts, plus “The Heroical Epistle of Hudibras to Sidrophel,” were reprinted together in 1674. In 1677 Charles II, who delighted in the poem, issued an injunction to protect Butler’s rights against piratical printers and awarded him an annual pension. In 1678 a third (and last) part was published.

The hero of Hudibras is a Presbyterian knight who goes “a-coloneling” with his squire, Ralpho, an Independent. They constantly squabble over religious questions and, in a series of grotesque adventures, are shown to be ignorant, wrongheaded, cowardly, and dishonest. Butler had derived his outline from Cervantes’s Don Quixote, and his burlesque method from Paul Scarron. However, his brilliant handling of the octosyllabic metre, his witty, clattering rhymes, his delight in strange words and esoteric learning, and his enormous zest and vigour create effects that are entirely original. Its pictures of low life are perhaps the most notable things of their kind in English poetry between John Skelton and George Crabbe, with both of whom Butler has a certain affinity.

    The two parts, plus “The Heroical Epistle of Hudibras to Sidrophel,” were reprinted together in 1674. In 1678 a third (and last) part was published. The work is directed against the fanaticism, pretentiousness, pedantry, and hypocrisy Butler saw in militant Puritanism.

The eponymous hero of Hudibras is a Presbyterian knight who goes “a-coloneling” with his squire, Ralpho, an Independent. They constantly squabble over religious questions and, in a series of grotesque adventures, are shown to be ignorant, wrongheaded, cowardly, and dishonest. Butler derived his outline from Miguel de Cervantes and his burlesque method from Paul Scarron. However, his brilliant handling of the octosyllabic metre, his witty, clattering rhymes, his delight in strange words and esoteric learning, and his enormous zest and vigour create effects that are entirely original.

Hudibras is directed against religious sectarianism. The poem was very popular in its time, and several of its phrases have passed into the dictionary. It was sufficiently popular to spawn imitators. Hudibras takes some of its characterization from Don Quixote but, unlike that work, it has many more references to personalities and events of the day.Butler was also influenced by satirists such as John Skelton and Paul Scarron's Virgile travesti; a satire on classical literature, particularly Virgil.

Hudibras was reprinted many times in the centuries following Butler's death. Two of the more noteworthy editions are those edited by Zachery Grey (1744) and Treadway Russell Nash (1793). The standard edition of the work was edited by John Wilders (1967).

Most of his other writings never saw print until they were collected and published by Robert Thyer in 1759. Butler wrote many short biographies, epigrams and verses the earliest surviving from 1644. Of his verses, the best known is "The Elephant on the Moon", about a mouse trapped in a telescope, a satire on Sir Paul Neale of the Royal Society. Butler's taste for the mock heroic is shown by another early poem Cynarctomachy, or Battle between Bear and Dogs, which is both a homage to and a parody of a Greek poem ascribed to Homer, Batrachomyomachia. He wrote the poem Upon Philip Nye's Thanksgiving Beard about the Puritan Philip Nye and later also mentioned him in Hudibras.

His supposed lack of money later in life is strange as he had numerous unpublished works which could have offered him income including a set of Theophrastan character sketches which were not printed until 1759. Many other works are dubiously attributed to him.

     Thus to conclud we can able to concider that samuel Butler was one of the most prominent figure of the restoration period.And one of the best satirical poet. His longer poem hudibras became so famous instantly and still people used to read it.

:- 1002 Words

Poem :- Lockdown by Simon Robert Armitage.

   As we all suffering from pandemic crisis called covid - 19 or corna. We all know which kind of problems we are facing, like compulsory vaccination, hectic masks, quarantine period, sanitization, and we all locked our selves into the home, no meetings, no celebrations, nothing... But we are not first who face this all.but also decades ago this kind of crisis existing. And millions of people suffering from this. The name of the decease is plague. 

   Plague is a decease that effects human and other mammals. It is caused by the bacterium, yersinia pestis. Humans usually get plague after being bitten by a rodent flea that is carring the plague bacterium or by handling an animal infected with plague. It was believed that the plague was start in china in 1334, spreading along trade routes and reaching Europe via Sicilian ports in the late 1340s. The plague killed an estimated 25 million people, almost a third of the continent's population. The black death lingered on for centuries, particularly in cities. 

    But where in all other nations, the situation of plague continued of being more and more worse. On the other side in India, there is a beautiful time, people where cheering, nature were blossoming, and the happy weather located. This thing created  a great contrast in history.

    So a great English poet Simon Robert Armitage, wrote beautiful poem on this concept. And portrayed both the situation by using a dream sequences. The first dream sequence is about plague condition. And in contrast of it, the other dream sequence is about  kalidasa's "meghaduta".

    Meghaduta is a story of "yaksha", who is cursed by God and now pinning for his beloved on a lonely mountain peak. When at the beginning of a monsoon, a cloud perches on the peak. He asks it to deliver a message to his love in Himalayan city of Alaka. And then the journey of cloud described the geography of India. Kalidasa in his Meghadut, talk about a beautiful places of india. This thing is also beautifully covered in the poem of Simon Robert Armitage.

   Simon Armitage is a well known English poet, playwright and novelist. Who was appointed as a poet laureate on 10 may 2019. He is also professor of poetry at the University of Leeds and succeeded Geoffrey Hill as Oxford professor of poetry when he was elected to the four year part time appointment from 2015 to 2019. In 21 March 2020, he wrote an amazing poem, titled as a "lockdown". So let me share my first impression of understanding of poem. 

  

 The poem starts with ,

  "And I couldn't escape the walking dream of infected fleas."

   The poem decided into the two dream sequences. The First is about condition of London, during pandemic plague time. In a small village Eyam. At the 17th century. The first sequence is a heallucinating dream sequence of 1665 -66 plague. He start with infected fleas,which carries the bacteria of plague. And call it as a infected fleas. And also talk about the situation of small village named Eyam.  It is very close to London. 

   Armitage wrote that no one allowed to cross the boundary stones, boundary stones means a mile stones. No one able to go to another city. Then he further wrote that there where a cock - eyed dice, with six dark holes. And that dice use for purging plagued coins with the help of vinegar wine. Now a day we have sanitizer, but at that time they don't have so they use vinegar wine to wash infected coins. And because of this situation, poet remember the sorry story of Emmott syddall, and Rowland Torre. So this is also very interesting reference he took here. Then he further wrote that stars crossed lovers, now lives within the  quarantine line. And they were not meeting eachother since long time. So they were suffering from separation. And pinning eachother. But can't meet because of plague. 

    Then the second dream sequence he wrote, he wrote that,

  "But sleep again,

  And dreamt this time"

    This time also he seen a dream about seperation, the seperation. The seperation of the "Yaksha".  He is The protagonist of the Kalidasa's "meghaduta". Armitage wrote that, Exiled Yaksha, sending message to his dear beloved. Message with passing cloud, we all know that cloud is non living thing and it is very much artificial, if someone send message by cloud. But Kalidasa's metaphor is something which made Sanskrit literature Richest. Further Simon Armitage, talk about the story of Meghaduta. Which is about the geography of India. The cloud move further and followed early map of camel trail and cattle tracks. And he compared the shape of stream with Necklaces, and also talk about various places and art and nature of india. Like, Fan - tailed peacock, painted elephants, embroidered bedspreads of medows and hedges, bamboo forests, snow - hatted peaks (Himalayan peaks), waterfalls, creeks, the hieroglyphs of wide - winged cranes, and glistening lotus flowers after rain, and also mentioned a rain, which hypnotically see - through rare. And here Armitage end his poem by describing beautifully the "meghaduta". 

  This poem "Lockdown", is normally about two different situations, of history or a time. But both the dream sequence covered a sorrow story of separation and suffering. Either it is a Victorian journey or Indian journey. Separation are there, but situation it different, in one side there is a suffering by plague. Where in other side, there is a beautiful Indian nature. And weather we see so the poem is very important and interesting I found. And I enjoyed to read poem and to analyse it.

  Here i am sharing a video of poem Lockdown, in poet's own voice.

:- 940 words.