Hymns for the Amusement of Children
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Hymns for the Amusement of Children (1771) was the final work completed by Christopher Smart. It was completed while Christopher was imprisoned for outstanding debt at the King's Bench Prison, and the work is his final exploration of religion. Although Christopher spent a large portion of his life in and out of debt, he was unable to survive his time in the prison and died soon after completing the Hymns.
Christopher's Hymns are one of the first works of hymns dedicated to children, and they are intended to teach Christian virtues. Unlike some of the other works produced by Christopher Smart after his release from a mental asylum, such as A Song to David or Hymns and Spiritual Songs, this work was a success and went into many immediate editions. Part of the reason behind the success of this work lays in the simplicity and accessibility of the text. However, Christopher died before he ever saw the proceeds of the work and never learned of the book's success.
The Dedication of the Hymns separate it from the rest of Smart's works; he was allowed to dedicate the work to the young Prince Federick Augustus, the son of King George III.
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[edit] Background
On April 20, 1770, Christopher was arrested for debt.[1] On January 11, 1771, Christopher was soon recommended to the King's Bench Prison.[2] Although he was in prison, Charles Burney purchased the "Rules" (allowing him some freedom), and Christopher's final weeks may have been peaceful although pathetic.[3] Soon after, Christopher died, May 20, 1771, from either liver failure or pneumonia, after completing his final work, Hymns, for the Amusement of Children.[2]
It is unknown how many poems Christopher wrote before prison or during his final days, but at least one, titled "Against Despair" was produced during this time.[4] A different version of the poem was published after his death in the Gentleman's Magazine[5] This version included a note claiming, "Extempore by the late C. Smart, in the King's-Bench," which verifies that he was writing the hymns throughout this time, or, at least, editing them to create a better version.[4] Although five editions of the Hymns were published in the 18th century, only one edition was published before Christopher Smart died.[6] It is possible that there was a sixth edition of the Hymns, but that has since "disappeared," and there is a possible pirated edition produced by Thomas Walker.[7] Although the work made it as far as Boston, Massachusetts, as shown by an advertisement for selling the work in 1795, no Boston editions have been found but such editions could exist in addition to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania edition.[8]
Christopher Smart's first children's hymn was "A Morning Hymn, for all the little good boys and girls" in the Lilliputian Magazine in 1751.[4] During this time, there were only two models for him to base his children's hymns off of, the works of Isaac Watts and of Charles Wesley.[9] Watts's work attempted to amuse children while Wesley's attempted to simplify morality for them.[9] It is possible that Christopher's Hymns were not modeled off of Watts's or Wesley's actual hymns or songs, but they are instead modeled after a note in Watts's work the Divine Songs which claims:
- "A Slight Specimen of Moral Songs, such as I wish some happy and condescending genius would undertake for the use of children, and perform much better... The sense and subjects might be borrow'd plentifully from the Proverbs of Solomon, from all the common appearances of nature, from all the occurrences in the civil life, both in city and country: (which would also afford matter for other Divine Songs.) Here the language and measures should be easy and flowing with chearfulness, and without the solemnities of religion, or the sacred names of God and holy things; that children might find delight and profit together."[10][11]
The work was dedicated "to his Royal Highness Prince Frederick, Bishop of Osnabrug, these hymns, composed for his amusement, are, with all due Submission and Respect, humbly inscribed to him, as the best of Bishops, by his Royal Highness's Most Obedient and Devoted Servant, Christopher Smart."[12] Although the prince, the second son of King George III, was only seven at the time, Smart was given special permission to dedicate the work to the boy through the intervention with the royal family by either Richard Dalton or the King's Chaplain, Rev. William Mason.[13]
[edit] Hymns for the Amusement of Children
Although he wrote his second set of hymns, Hymns for the Amusement of Children, for a younger audience, Christopher cares more about emphasizing the need for children to be moral instead of "innocent".[14] These works have been seem as possibly too complicated for "amusement" because they employee ambiguities and complicated theological concepts.[15] However, not all critics agree that the work is complex, and some view that the works would have fit the appropriate level for children in the 18th century, especially with the hymns's short lengths and a small illustration of the scene before each hymn.[9] This is not to say that the works are "simple", because many words are complex, but there is a "naivete" in the work.[16]
In essence, the Hymns for the Amusement of Children is intended to teach children the specific virtues that make up the subject matter of the work.[17] While trying to accomplish this goal, Christopher emphasizes the joy of creation and Christ's sacrifice that allowed for future salvation.[18] However, he didn't just try to spread joy, but structured his poems to treat valuable lessons about morality; his subjects begin with the three Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope, and Charity), then the four Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude) and then adds Mercy.[19] The next six hymns deal with Christian duties and are followed by ten hymns on the Gospels.[20] The final works introduce the miscellaneous Christian virtues that were necessary to complete Christopher's original self-proclaimed "plan to make good girls and boys."[21]
[edit] Hymns
There are thirty-nines hymns included in Hymns for the Amusement of Children:
- I. Faith II. Hope III. Charity IV. Prudence V. Justice
- VI. Mercy VII. Temperance VIII. Frotitude IX. Moderation X. Truth
- XI. Beauty XII. Honesty XIII. Elegance XIV. Loveliness XV. Taste
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Mounsey p. 271
- ^ a b Mounsey p. 272
- ^ Rizzo p. 515
- ^ a b c Poetical Works p. 309
- ^ Poetical Works p. 463
- ^ Poetical Works p. 314-315
- ^ Poetical Works p. 316
- ^ Poetical Works p. 317
- ^ a b c Poetical Works p. 310
- ^ Watts, Isaac. Divine Songs. ed. J.H.P. Pafford, 1971. p. 193
- ^ Poetical Works p. 312
- ^ Poetical Works p. 323
- ^ Dearnley p. 283
- ^ Curry p. 91
- ^ Booth p. 71
- ^ Davie p. 250
- ^ Curry p. 93
- ^ Prose Works p. 311
- ^ Poetical Works p. 313
- ^ Poetical Works p. 313-314
- ^ Poetical Works p. 314
[edit] References
- Booth, Mark W. "Syntax and Paradigm in Smart's Hymns for the Amusement of Children." In Christopher Smart and the Enlightenment, edited by Clement Hawes, 67-81. New York, NY: St. Martin's, 1999. 308 pp.
- Curry, Neil. Christopher Smart. Devon: Northcote House Publishers, 2005. 128 pp.
- Davie, Donald. "Christopher Smart: Some Neglected Poems", Eighteenth-Century Studies iii (1969-1970): 242-262
- Dearnley, Moira. The Poetry of Christopher Smart. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1969. 332 pp.
- Mounsey, Chris. Christopher Smart: Clown of God. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 2001. 342 pp.
- Rizzo, Betty. "Christopher Smart: A Letter and Lines from a Prisoner of the King's Bench." Review of English Studies: A Quarterly Journal of English Literature and the English Language 35, 140 (Nov. 1984): 510-16.
- Smart, Christopher. The Poetical Works of Christopher Smart, II: Religious Poetry 1763-1771. Ed. Marcus Walsh and Karina Williamson. Oxford: Clarendon, 1983. 472 pp.
