Literature in early modern Scotland
Literature in early modern Scotland is
The accession of James VI to the English throne in 1603 meant a loss of the court as a centre of patronage and he increasingly favoured the language of southern England. A number of Scottish poets accompanied the king to London, where they began to
After the Union in 1707, the use of Scots was discouraged by many in authority and education. Allan Ramsay led a "vernacular revival" that laid the foundations of a reawakening of interest in older Scottish literature. He also led the trend for pastoral poetry and his pastoral opera The Gentle Shepherd was one of the most influential works of the era. Ramsay was part of a community of poets working in Scots and English. Tobias Smollett was a poet, essayist, satirist and playwright, but is best known for his picaresque novels, for which he is often seen as Scotland's first novelist. The early eighteenth century was also a period of innovation in Gaelic vernacular poetry that mixed traditional forms with influences from the Lowlands. Drama was pursued by Scottish playwrights in London. In Scotland drama was supplied by visiting English players and actors, but there were clashes with the Kirk. Ramsay was instrumental in establishing a small theatre in Edinburgh, but it closed soon after the passing of the 1737 Licensing Act. A new theatre was opened at Cannongate in 1747 and operated without a licence into the 1760s.
Sixteenth century
Background
By the early modern era
The establishment of a printing press under royal patent in 1507 would begin to make it easier to disseminate Scottish literature and was probably aimed at bolstering Scottish national identity.[6] The first Scottish press was established in Southgait in Edinburgh by the merchant Walter Chepman (c. 1473–c. 1528) and the bookseller Andrew Myllar (fl. 1505–08). Although the first press was relatively short lived, beside law codes and religious works, the press also produced editions of the work of Scottish makars before its demise, probably about 1510. The next recorded press was that of Thomas Davidson (f. 1532–42), the first in a long line of "king's printers", who also produced editions of works of the makars.[7]
Makars
As a patron of poets and authors
From the 1550s, in the reign of
Unlike many of his predecessors, James VI actively despised Gaelic culture.
Dramatists
Lyndsay produced an interlude at Linlithgow Palace for the king and queen thought to be a version of his play The Thrie Estaitis in 1540, which satirised the corruption of church and state, and which is the only complete play to survive from before the Reformation.[10] Buchanan was major influence on Continental theatre with plays such as Jepheths and Baptistes, which influenced Pierre Corneille and Jean Racine and through them the neo-classical tradition in French drama, but his impact in Scotland was limited by his choice of Latin as a medium.[17] The anonymous The Maner of the Cyring of ane Play (before 1568)[18] and Philotus (published in London in 1603), are isolated examples of surviving plays. The latter is a vernacular Scots comedy of errors, probably designed for court performance for Mary, Queen of Scots or James VI.[19]
James VI and his wife Anne of Denmark personally dressed in costume and took part in masques, performances at weddings that typically involved music, dance, and disguise.[20] The system of professional companies of players and theatres that developed in England in this period was absent in Scotland, but James VI signalled his interest in drama by arranging for a company of English players to erect a playhouse and perform in 1599.[21]
Seventeenth century
Poetry
Having extolled the virtues of Scots "poesie", after his accession to the English throne, James VI increasingly favoured the language of southern England. In 1611 the Kirk adopted the English
As the tradition of classical Gaelic poetry declined, a new tradition of vernacular Gaelic poetry began to emerge. While Classical poetry used a language largely fixed in the twelfth century, the vernacular continued to develop. In contrast to the Classical tradition, which used syllabic metre, vernacular poets tended to use stressed metre. However, they shared with the Classic poets a set of complex metaphors and role, as the verse was still often panegyric. A number of these vernacular poets were women,[27] such as Mary MacLeod of Harris (c. 1615–1707).[2]
The tradition of neo-Latin poetry reached its fruition with the publication of the anthology of the Deliciae Poetarum Scotorum (1637), published in Amsterdam by
This was the period when the
Theatre
The loss of a royal court also meant there was no force to counter the Kirk's dislike of theatre, which struggled to survive in Scotland.
Early eighteenth century
Vernacular revival
After the
Verse and prose
Ramsay was part of a community of poets working in Scots and English. These included
The early eighteenth century was also a period of innovation in Gaelic vernacular poetry. Major figures included
Drama
Drama was pursued by Scottish playwrights in London such as
In Scotland a troop of English players came to Edinburgh in 1715 where they performed Macbeth and a series of Restoration comedies, but they soon left, perhaps because of objections from local kirk presbyteries. By 1725 English actor Anthony Aston, a friend of Ramsay, was performing in Edinburgh, but seems to have fallen foul of the Scottish Master of the Revels, who licensed plays, companies and playhouses, and soon left. In 1727 the Kirk attacked theatres as immoral in the Admonition and Exhortation. The Edinburgh Company of Players were able to perform in Dundee, Montrose, Aberdeen and regular performances at the Taylor's Hall in Edinburgh under the protection of a Royal Patent.[34] Ramsay was instrumental in establishing them in a small theatre in Carruber's Close in Edinburgh,[45] but the passing of the 1737 Licensing Act made their activities illegal and the theatre soon closed.[40] A new theatre was opened at Cannongate in 1747 and operated without a licence into the 1760s.[45]
References
Notes
- ^ ISBN 0-7486-0276-3, pp. 60–1.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-211696-7, pp. 255–7.
- ISBN 0-7486-1596-2, p. 9ff.
- ^ Corbett, McClure and Stuart-Smith, "A Brief History of Scots", p. 10ff.
- ^ Corbett, McClure and Stuart-Smith, "A Brief History of Scots", p. 11.
- ISBN 1-84384-096-0, pp. 26–9.
- ISBN 0-19-211696-7, pp. 491–3.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-211696-7, pp. 129–30.
- ^ Wormald, Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625, pp. 60–7.
- ^ ISBN 0-7486-1615-2, pp. 256–7.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-211696-7, pp. 120–3.
- ^ "Bridging the Continental divide: neo-Latin and its cultural role in Jacobean Scotland, as seen in the Delitiae Poetarum Scotorum (1637)", University of Glasgow, retrieved 23 July 2013.
- ^ Wormald, Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625, p. 40.
- ISBN 0-08-037728-9, pp. 126–7.
- ISBN 0-7073-0367-2, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Jack, "Poetry under King James VI", p. 137.
- ^ ISBN 0-7486-4107-6, pp. 1–3.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-211696-7, pp. 127–8.
- ^ ISBN 0-7486-4107-6, p. 15.
- ^ Michael Pearce, 'Maskerye Claythis for James VI and Anna of Denmark', Medieval English Theatre 43 (D. S. Brewer, 2022), pp. 108-123.
- ISBN 0-7486-4107-6, p. 21.
- ^ Wormald, Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625, pp. 192–3.
- ^ ISBN 0-521-89361-5, pp. 253–3.
- ISBN 0-08-037728-9, pp. 141–52.
- ISBN 0-7190-6636-0, pp. 38–9.
- ^ Jack, "Poetry under King James VI", pp. 137–8.
- ISBN 1-139-46714-X, p. 105.
- ISBN 1-84792-114-0, p. 70.
- ISBN 0-86241-477-6, pp. 9–10.
- ISBN 0-19-538623-X, pp. 216–9.
- ^ Crawford, Scotland's Books, pp. 224, 248 and 257.
- ISBN 0-85115-930-3, p. 17.
- ISBN 0-911198-30-X, p. 5.
- ^ ISBN 0-7486-4107-6, pp. 28–30.
- ISBN 0-85976-427-3, p. vii.
- ^ Corbett, McClure and Stuart-Smith, "A Brief History of Scots", p. 14.
- ISBN 0-521-26478-2, p. 39.
- ISBN 0-06-055888-1, p. 311.
- ISBN 0-585-04155-5, p. 100.
- ^ ISBN 0-7486-2481-3, p. 288.
- ISBN 1-84767-466-6, pp. ix–xviii.
- ISBN 0-8203-1971-6, p. 1.
- ^ Crawford, Scotland's Books, p. 313.
- ISBN 0-7486-4107-6, pp. 30–1.
- ^ ISBN 0-521-65068-2, pp. 170–1.
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