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William Chamberlayne (1619-1689). Library of Literary Criticism. 1901-05

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William Chamberlayne (1619-1689). Library of Literary Criticism. 1901-05 Dictionary Biographies Literary Criticism Welcome Terms of Service ⧏ Previous Next ⧐ Contents Bibliographic Record Charles Wells Moulton, ed.  Library of Literary Criticism.  1901–05. William Chamberlayne (1619–1689) Physician and poet, was born in 1619. He practised as a physician at Shaftesbury in Dorsetshire. During the civil wars he was distinguished for his loyalty to Charles I.; and it appears from a passage at the close of the second book of “Pharonnida” that he was present at the second battle at Newbury. He died in January 1689, and was buried at Shaftesbury in the churchyard of the Holy Trinity, where a monument was erected to him by his son Valentine Chamberlayne. In 1658 he published “Love’s Victory a Tragi-Comedy,” 4to, dedicated to Sir William Portman, bart. There are some fine passages in the play, and plenty of loyal sentiment.—Bullen, A. H., 1887, Dictionary of National Biography, vol. X, p. 10.    

1 Pharonnida

  This Poem tho’ it hath nothing extraordinary to recommend it, yet appear’d abroad in Prose 1683, under the Title of a Novel called “Eromena, or The Noble Stranger.”—Langbaine, Gerard, 1691, An Account of the English Dramatick Poets, p. 57.    

2   A poet to whom I am indebted for many hours of delight…. A poet who has told an interesting story in uncouth rhymes, and mingles sublimity of thought and beauty of expression with the quaintest conceits and most awkward inversions.—Southey, Robert, 1796, Joan of Arc, note.    

3   His “Pharonnida,” an heroic poem, in five books, which Langbaine says has nothing to recommend it, is one of the most interesting stories that was ever told in verse, and contained so much amusing matter as to be made into a prose novel in the reign of Charles II. What Dr. Johnson said unjustly of Milton’s “Comus,” that it was like gold hid under a rock, may unfortunately be applied with too much propriety to “Pharonnida.” Never perhaps was so much beautiful design in poetry marred by infelicity of execution: his ruggedness of versification, abrupt transitions, and a style that is at once slovenly and quaint, perpetually interrupted in enjoying the splendid figures and spirited passions of this romantic tablet, and make us catch them only by glimpses.—Campbell, Thomas, 1819, Specimens of the British Poets.    

4   Chamberlain’s “Pharonnida” is a very noble work. The characters are drawn and supported with great truth and force; the action of the Poem is eventful and interesting, and the images bold, natural, and original.—Neele, Henry, 1827–29, Lectures on English Poetry, p. 56.    

5   The imagery is often very beautiful, and the emotions excited and described strong and passionate, but the style is slovenly and the whole piece wearisome. Among his excellences may be mentioned his keen perception of natural beauty. Indeed he has given several descriptions of the glories of the morning, in a manner not unworthy of Milton.—Angus, Joseph, 1865, The Handbook of English Literature, p. 178.    

6   The poem is in rhymed heroics; there are five books and four cantos to each book. As the fourth book commences with fresh pagination and in different type, it has been conjectured that the printing was interrupted by the author’s employment in the wars. In spite of its diffuseness and intricacy, the story is interesting; and much of the poetry is remarkable for happy imagery and rich expressions. Both in its faults and in its beauties “Pharonnida” bears considerable resemblance to “Endymion.”—Bullen, A. H., 1887, Dictionary of National Biography, vol. X, p. 10.    

7   Though hardly deserving the high praise of Campbell, who styles it “one of the most interesting stories that ever was told in verse,” the poem is seldom dull, and the metre is free from the monotony of the regular heroic couplet. Mr. Gosse has pointed out the close resemblance, in metrical form, between Chamberlayne’s poem and Keats’ “Endymion,” and is inclined to regard the debt that Keats owed to the author of “Pharonnida” as larger than has generally been recognized.—Masterman, J. Howard B., 1897, The Age of Milton, pp. 144, 145.    

8 General

  The play [“Love’s Victory”] bears a very strong resemblance, both in the tone of feeling and in the sentiments, to his more matured production—there is the same dignity of action and of thought in the higher scenes, mixed, however, with much more that is mean, and some that is utterly contemptible. There is frequently an admirable propriety in his thoughts, but he wanted judgement in the selection, and taste in the disposition of them. He is fond of illustrating the grand and the beautiful in nature and in feeling, by allusions to objects of art and of science, more especially in his own profession, which sometimes lead him into conceit and sometimes into meanness…. His poem is written in blank verse, tagged with a rhyme which the reader finds it impossible to rest upon, and difficult to pass over; and which is moreover in itself awkward and constrained…. He is no ordinary poet—he had the living elements of poetry within him, though he wanted a better judgement to manage them.—Robinson, G., 1820, Chamberlayne’s Love’s Victory, Retrospective Review, vol. 1, pp. 258, 259.    

9   With no court connection, no light or witty copies of verses to float him into popularity, relying solely on his two long and comparatively unattractive works—to appreciate which, through all the windings of romantic love, plots, escapes, and adventures, more time is required than the author’s busy age could afford—we need hardly wonder that Chamberlayne was an unsuccessful poet…. We cannot, however, suppose that the works of this poet can ever be popular; his beauties are marred by infelicity of execution; though not deficient in the genius of a poet, he had little of the skill of the artist.—Chambers, Robert, 1876, Cyclopædia of English Literature, ed. Carruthers.    

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