Charles Heavysege
Encyclopedia
Charles Heavysege was a Canadian poet
and dramatist. "He was one of the first serious poets to emerge in Canada
, and his play Saul was hailed on its appearance as the greatest verse drama in English
since the time of Shakespeare
."
, Yorkshire
, England
, Heavysege emigrated to Montreal
in 1853 where he worked as a wood carver. In 1860 he became a reporter for the Montreal Transcript, and later for the Montreal Daily Witness, where he eventually became city editor
.
As a poet, Heavysege was mainly influenced by "Milton
, Shakespeare, and the Bible
."
His first published work was The revolt of Tartarus
, a poem in six parts, published in two editions: one under his own name in London
in 1852, and a second, heavily edited and published anonymously in Montreal, in 1855.
He published Sonnet
s in 1855, Saul
: a drama in three parts in 1857, Count Filippo; or, the unequal marriage in 1860, The Owl (an imitation of Poe's "The Raven
") and The Huntsman in 1864, The Advocate (a prose work) and Jephthah’s daughter in 1865, and Jezebel
in 1867.
During his lifetime, Saul was Heavysege's best-known work. Nathaniel Hawthorne
passed on a copy to the North British Review, where it was given a laudatory (unsigned) review by Coventry Patmore
, who called it "indubitably the best poem ever written out of Great Britain." That was followed by further favorable reviews in the Atlantic Monthly, Galaxy, and New York Evening Post
. Saul was published in two further editions, in 1859 (also in Montreal) and 1869 (in Boston). (The Boston edition was reprinted in 1876 and again in 1967.) Other admirers of Saul were Canadian Prime Minister
Sir John A. Macdonald
and American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
.
Highly regarded in the 1860s and 1870s, Heavysege "was one of the first of the Anglo-Canadian
poets to achieve international recognition; he paved the way for later poets such as Charles Sangster
and Charles G.D. Roberts
."
W.D. Lighthall
, who included Heavysege's work in his 1889 anthology Songs of the Great Dominion
, wrote of him: "His work is in no sense distinctively Canadian. Canadians do not read him; but they claim him as perhaps their greatest, most original writer, if they could weigh him aright and appreciate him; and he will probably always command their awe, and refuse to be forgotten."
However, his reputation declined in later decades: "In the nationalist 1920's critics disparaged Heavysege's poetry on the grounds that he was not really a Canadian writer, although he continued to be read by poets like W.W.E. Ross
, Ralph Gustafson
, and A.J.M. Smith.... Today his crude but vigorous poetry is underrated by Canadian criticism."
In 1956, while dismissing Saul and Count Filippo as "Victorian
dinosaurs," Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye
acknowledged Heavysege as the "first poet who really came to grips with" what Frye considered to be "the central Canadian tragic theme" (that being "the indifference of nature to human values"): "His third poem, Jephthah's Daughter, seems to me to reflect more directly the influence of his Canadian environment
, as its main themes are loneliness, the indifference of nature, and the conception of God
as a force of nature."
Saul was produced as a radio drama by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
in 1974.
' The Salterton Trilogy
, is an associate professor of English
at the fictional Waverley University, and is urged by his department chair, Dr. Sengreen, to stake out a claim in the emerging field of "Amcan" (American
-Canadian literature
) by editing
a scholarly edition of Heavysege's collected works, in order to earn tenure
and make a name for himself (Leaven of Malice
, 1954).
Canadian poetry
- Beginnings:The earliest works of poetry, mainly written by visitors, described the new territories in optimistic terms, mainly targeted at a European audience...
and dramatist. "He was one of the first serious poets to emerge in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and his play Saul was hailed on its appearance as the greatest verse drama in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
since the time of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
."
Life and Writing
Born in HuddersfieldHuddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Heavysege emigrated to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
in 1853 where he worked as a wood carver. In 1860 he became a reporter for the Montreal Transcript, and later for the Montreal Daily Witness, where he eventually became city editor
City editor
A city editor is a title used by a particular section editor of a newspaper. They are responsible for the daily changes of a particular issue of a newspaper that will be released in the coming day...
.
As a poet, Heavysege was mainly influenced by "Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, Shakespeare, and the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
."
His first published work was The revolt of Tartarus
Tartarus
In classic mythology, below Uranus , Gaia , and Pontus is Tartarus, or Tartaros . It is a deep, gloomy place, a pit, or an abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resides beneath the underworld. In the Gorgias, Plato In classic mythology, below Uranus (sky), Gaia (earth), and Pontus...
, a poem in six parts, published in two editions: one under his own name in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1852, and a second, heavily edited and published anonymously in Montreal, in 1855.
He published Sonnet
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
s in 1855, Saul
Saul
-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
: a drama in three parts in 1857, Count Filippo; or, the unequal marriage in 1860, The Owl (an imitation of Poe's "The Raven
The Raven
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
") and The Huntsman in 1864, The Advocate (a prose work) and Jephthah’s daughter in 1865, and Jezebel
Jezebel
Jezebel may refer to:* Jezebel, wife of King Ahab*Jezebel, in the Book of Revelation 2:20 a prophetess in the church of Thyatira* Jezebel , starring Bette Davis and Henry Fonda* Jezebel , a blog aimed at women...
in 1867.
During his lifetime, Saul was Heavysege's best-known work. Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
passed on a copy to the North British Review, where it was given a laudatory (unsigned) review by Coventry Patmore
Coventry Patmore
Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore was an English poet and critic best known for The Angel in the House, his narrative poem about an ideal happy marriage.-Youth:...
, who called it "indubitably the best poem ever written out of Great Britain." That was followed by further favorable reviews in the Atlantic Monthly, Galaxy, and New York Evening Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
. Saul was published in two further editions, in 1859 (also in Montreal) and 1869 (in Boston). (The Boston edition was reprinted in 1876 and again in 1967.) Other admirers of Saul were Canadian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Sir John A. Macdonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
and American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
.
Highly regarded in the 1860s and 1870s, Heavysege "was one of the first of the Anglo-Canadian
English Canadian
An English Canadian is a Canadian of English ancestry; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadian. Canada is an officially bilingual state, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but...
poets to achieve international recognition; he paved the way for later poets such as Charles Sangster
Charles Sangster
Charles Sangster was a Canadian poet whose 1856 volume, The St. Lawrence and the Saguenay, "was received with unanimous acclaim as the best and most important book of poetry produced in Canada until that time." He was "the first poet who made appreciative use of Canadian subjects in his poetical...
and Charles G.D. Roberts
Charles G.D. Roberts
Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts, was a Canadian poet and prose writer who is known as the Father of Canadian Poetry. He was "almost the first Canadian author to obtain worldwide reputation and influence; he was also a tireless promoter and encourager of Canadian literature......
."
W.D. Lighthall
William Douw Lighthall
William Douw Lighthall , K.C., LL.D., F.R.S.C. , can be and has been described as a Canadian "lawyer, historian, novelist, poet, philosopher, anthologist, and editor."...
, who included Heavysege's work in his 1889 anthology Songs of the Great Dominion
Songs of the Great Dominion
Songs of the Great Dominion was a pioneering anthology of Canadian poetry published in 1889. The book's full title was Songs of the Great Dominion: Voices from the Forests and Waters, the Settlements and Cities of Canada. The collection was selected and edited by William Douw Lighthall of Montreal...
, wrote of him: "His work is in no sense distinctively Canadian. Canadians do not read him; but they claim him as perhaps their greatest, most original writer, if they could weigh him aright and appreciate him; and he will probably always command their awe, and refuse to be forgotten."
However, his reputation declined in later decades: "In the nationalist 1920's critics disparaged Heavysege's poetry on the grounds that he was not really a Canadian writer, although he continued to be read by poets like W.W.E. Ross
W.W.E. Ross
William Wrightson Eustace Ross was a Canadian geophysicist and poet. He was the first published poet in Canada to write Imagist poetry, and later the first to write surrealist verse, both of which have led some to call him "the first modern Canadian poet."-Life:Ross was born in Peterborough,...
, Ralph Gustafson
Ralph Gustafson
Ralph Barker Gustafson, CM was a Canadian poet and professor at Bishop's University.- Biography :He was born in Lime Ridge, near Dudswell, Quebec on August 16, 1909. His mother was British, his father Swedish. He was educated at Bishop's University, earning a B.A...
, and A.J.M. Smith.... Today his crude but vigorous poetry is underrated by Canadian criticism."
In 1956, while dismissing Saul and Count Filippo as "Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
dinosaurs," Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye
Northrop Frye
Herman Northrop Frye, was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century....
acknowledged Heavysege as the "first poet who really came to grips with" what Frye considered to be "the central Canadian tragic theme" (that being "the indifference of nature to human values"): "His third poem, Jephthah's Daughter, seems to me to reflect more directly the influence of his Canadian environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
, as its main themes are loneliness, the indifference of nature, and the conception of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
as a force of nature."
Saul was produced as a radio drama by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
in 1974.
In fiction
Solly Bridgetower, a character in Robertson DaviesRobertson Davies
William Robertson Davies, CC, OOnt, FRSC, FRSL was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best-known and most popular authors, and one of its most distinguished "men of letters", a term Davies is variously said to have gladly accepted for himself...
' The Salterton Trilogy
The Salterton Trilogy
The Salterton Trilogy consists of the first three novels by Canadian novelist Robertson Davies: Tempest-Tost , Leaven of Malice , and A Mixture of Frailties...
, is an associate professor of English
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
at the fictional Waverley University, and is urged by his department chair, Dr. Sengreen, to stake out a claim in the emerging field of "Amcan" (American
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
-Canadian literature
Canadian literature
Canadian literature is literature originating from Canada. Collectively it is often called CanLit. Some criticism of Canadian literature has focused on nationalistic and regional themes, although this is only a small portion of Canadian Literary criticism...
) by editing
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
a scholarly edition of Heavysege's collected works, in order to earn tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
and make a name for himself (Leaven of Malice
Leaven of Malice
Leaven of Malice, published in 1954, is the second novel in The Salterton Trilogy by Canadian novelist Robertson Davies. The other two novels are Tempest-Tost and A Mixture of Frailties...
, 1954).
Publications
Heaysege published nine works of poetry and prose in his lifetime:- The revolt of Tartarus. London, UK: Simpkin, Marshall & Co, 1850. Liverpool, UK: D. Marples, 1850. Montreal, 1855.
- Sonnets (Montreal: H. & G.M. Rose, 18551855 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Canada:* Charles Heavysege:**The revolt of Tartarus, a poem in six parts ** Sonnets Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or...
) - Saul: a drama Montreal: H. Rose, 18571857 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-United Kingdom:* Edward Bulwer-Lytton, writing under the pen name "Owen Meredith", The Wanderer...
; John Lovell, 1859. Boston: Fields, Osgood, 1869, 1876. - Count Filippo; or, the unequal marriage. Montreal: B. Dawson, 1860. Toronto, R.& A. Miller, 18601860 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Canada:* Charles Heavysege, Count Filippo* Charles Sangster, Hesperus and Other Poems and Lyrics-United Kingdom:...
. - The Owl (Montreal, 1864)
- The Dark Huntsman (a dream) Montreal, "Witness" Steam Print House, 18641864 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Works published:-Canada:* Charles Heavysege:** The Owl ** The Dark Huntsman -United Kingdom:...
. ISBN 0665359985 Ottawa: Golden Dog, 1973. ISBN 978-0919614048 - The Advocate. Toronto, 1865. Montreal: R. Worthington, 1865. A novel.
- Jepthtah's Daughter. London : S. Low, Son, and Marston, 1865., Montreal: H. Dawson, 18651865 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-United Kingdom:* Matthew Arnold, Essays in Criticism, First Series, including "The Function of Criticism at the Present Time"...
). Reprint, 1983. ISBN 0665359586 - "Jezebel", New Dominion Monthly (Montreal), 18671867 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Canada:* Charles Heavysege, "Jezebel," New Dominion Monthly - United Kingdom :...
. Jezebel. Ottawa: Golden Dog, 1972. - Saul and Selected Poems Toronto, Buffalo: U of Toronto P, 1977. ISBN 978-0802062628
External links
- Jepthtah's Daughter, by Charles Heavysege
- Saul, by Charles Heavysege
- Charles Heavysege's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia