"Beachy Head": The Romantic Fragment Poem As Mosaic
Author(s): John M. Anderson
Source: The Huntington Library Quarterly, Vol. 63, No. 4, Forging Connections: Women's
Poetry from the Renaissance to Romanticism (2000), pp. 547-574
Published by: University of California Press
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BeachyHead:
The RomanticFragmentPoemAs Mosaic
JOHNM. ANDERSON
wo-thirdsof the way throughher triumphallate poem BeachyHead,
CharlotteSmithintroducesa "stranger"-avisionarypoetwhoseinterlinesof thepoem.
polatedlyricswillmakeupabouthalfof theremaining
This figureclearlybelongsto that classof quasi-autobiographical
figuresthat
populateso much of Romanticand pre-Romantic
poetry;he recallsThomas
Bard
and
foreshadows
or
Alastor
Hemans's
Gray's
Shelley's
ProperziaRossi.
Smithspoet makeshis home"wherehardby / In rudedisorderfallen,andhid
with brushwood/ Layfragmentsgrayof towersand buttresses."
"Amongthe
muse"(lines507-10).
ruins,"Smithadds,"oftenwould[thisvisionarystranger]
is
Head
itself
like
a
The
majesticfragment, Shelley's Triumph
Beachy
of Lifeleft
enticinglyunfinished.Butthe introductionof thisstranger,
dwellingby choice
the
that
formof thispoemis not entirely
among ruins,suggests thefragmentary
anaccident-thatSmithwasattracted
to theideaof constructing
a ruin,of using
fragmentsexpressively.
Indeed,whenSmithrevisedherepic TheEmigrants
(1793)forrepublication,
sheselectedout of it onlya coupleof vignettesthatappeared,
not otherwisealthe
under
title
the
Miseries
War.'
The striking
tered,
Fragment
Descriptive
of
of
sheselectedareamongthemostmemorable
linesfromthispoem,and
fragments
the emotionalimpactof the poetryis perhapsgreaterin this moreabbreviated
form-though removedfromthe largercontextof the epic, the politicaland
socialimportanceof her vignettesbecomesmuted.2Understandably,
Stuart
Currandoesnot includethe Fragment
in his neweditionof Smith'spoetry,but
T
.
2.
SusanWolfsonexplainsthis republicationand the poetrythat Smithmadeout of fragmentsof The
in her essayin this volume.
Emigrants
FrancisJeffreywaswritingconsiderablylaterwhen, soundinglike a proto-Poe,he formulatedthis principle critically:"Thetruthis, we suspect,thatafterwe once knowwhat it contains,no long poem is ever
read,but in fragments;-and that the connectingpassages,which arealwaysskippedafterthe firstreading, areoften so tediousas to deterus fromthinkingof a second;-and in verymanycasesso awkwardly
broughtout, thatit is infinitelylesslaboriousto guessat the author'sprincipleof combination,thanto
followout his full explanationof it" (reviewof TheGiaour,EdinburghReview21 [uly i813]).
HUNTINGTON
LIBRARY QUARTERLY -
63.4
'e 547
548
548 -
ANDERSON
JOHN
M. ANDERSON
JOHN M.
theseparate
publicationdoessuggestthatSmithwasthinkingof thefragmentin
to it.
relationto epic,perhapsas a condensedalternative
Criticaldiscussionof BeachyHead,only now beginning,is itselfstill quite
JacquelineM. Labbehasdiscussedthe poemin termsof the culfragmentary.
tural,poetical,andpersonalauthoritySmithbringsto it.3JudithPascoedescribes
BeachyHeadas "animportantlandmarkof... a school of Britishwomen's
writing mergingpoetry and science."4Anne K. Mellor incisivelylocates
Smithspoemin relationship
to theotherepicthatfora centuryof receptionhistorylaidexclusiveclaimto the territoryBeachyHeadseeksto occupy."[Smith's]
extendedmeditationon the relationship
of natureto the humanmind,Beachy
Head(1807),"Mellorwrites,"canbe readas a challengeto the 'egotistical
sublime'of Wordsworth's
Preludein its insistenceon the stubbornothernessand
minuteparticularity
of the naturalworldandon the limitationsof humansubCurrancallsthe poemSmithsmasterpiece,
jectivity."5
arguingforits structural
He
who
Smiths
that
the
noted
relatives,
unity. quotes
sweepingsof her closet
wereconsignedto the flames,andhe concludesthatwe will neverknowmuch
aboutthepoem'scomposition.6
herallusionsto poetic
However,by considering
and,moreimportantstill,heruseof self-quotation-previously
contemporaries
addressed
themesanddevices-we cangaina bit of insightinto the techniques
andmaterials
of Beachy
Head'scomposition.As SusanWolfson's
workindicates,
withouta thoroughconsideration
of the literarycontextthatunderliesandinformsSmithspoetry,onlya superficial
of it is possible.To recogunderstanding
nize Smith'sself-quotation,
of hervaried
moreover,allowsa new appreciation
oeuvre
as
a
work-a
sustained
of
what
poetic
single
Shelleycalled
largerfragment
"thatgreatpoem,whichall poets,like the co-operatingthoughtsof one great
mind,havebuiltup sincethe beginningof theworld."
"BEACHYHEAD" AS A ROMANTIC FRAGMENTPOEM
In proposingto readBeachyHeadas a "RomanticFragmentPoem,"I am employingthe terminventedby MarjorieLevinsonin her insightfulbookof the
thattitle,andI wantto usea numberof the criticalstructures
Levinsonhasde3.
4.
"CharlotteSmith,BeachyHead"in A Companionto Romanticism,
ed. DuncanWu (Oxford,1998).
"FemaleBotanistsand the Poetryof CharlotteSmith,"in CarolShinerWilson andJoelHaefner,eds.,
Re-visioningRomanticism:British WomenWriters,1776-837 (Philadelphia, 1994), 193. See Donna Landry's
essayin this volume.
5.
Anne K. Mellor, introduction to Charlotte Turner Smith, in Anne K. Mellor and Richard Matlak, eds.,
British Literature,1780-1830(Fort Worth, Tex., 1996), 226.
6.
Introduction,ThePoemsof Charlotte
Smith,ed. StuartCurran(New York,1993),xxvii.This editionprovidesmy text for all of Smith'spoems,citedhenceforward
in the text by line number.
THE ROMANTICFRAGMENTPOEMAs MOSAIC
-
549
Writtenjust beforethe resurgenceof interestin
veloped as a framework.7
to BeachyHeador to
CharlotteSmith,Levinson's
book containsno references
Greater
this
undescribed
but
she
Smith,
places previously
genre(likeAbrams's
The
RomanticLyric)at the centerof traditionalconceptionsof Romanticism.8
Levinson
devises
for
concepts
describingpoemsby Wordsworth,Coleridge,
in Beachy
Head
Smithsaccomplishment
and
Keats
us
to
understand
Shelley,
help
aswell.
TheEmigrants
appearedtoo earlyfor Levinsonto callit Romantic,though
the historicalcriteriashe employsappearsomewhatmorearbitrarynow. "In
Balladspresenteda new kindof fragment,inaugu1798,"she explains,"Lyrical
ratingthe historicalphenomenonwe arecallingthe RFP[RomanticFragment
Poem]."This myth of originswas perhapsalreadysusceptibleof ironywhen
Levinsonwrotein 1986;certainly,the reasonsforinsistingon the emergenceof
a "newkindof fragment"
havemoreto do with the criticalprojectof establishButa
ing the pristinelegitimacyof theformthanwithanyprovabledifference.9
furtherpoint is moredependablefor our presentpurpose:"Lyrical
Balladsheraldandmanifestoof theEnglishRomanticmovement-predictswhatwasto
becomea conventionin the publicationof poeticcollections.Almosteveryvolume of poetryproducedby majorandminorRomanticpoetsincludesat least
one fragment,eitherso designated
by titleor indicatedby typographical
signsof
unfinishedness"
Poem,
(Romantic
22-23).Fragments,
directlyinspired
Fragment
andColeridgeor not, werescatteredallacrosstheliterarylandbyWordsworth
scapewhenSmithcomposedBeachyHead.
Turningourcriticalattentionto suchpoetsasSmithaftera lapseof twocenconsciousof the degreeto whichwe participate
in the
turies,we areparticularly
construction
of thepoems'meanings.One of thepremiseswithwhichLevinson
begins-perhapsmoreapplicableto Smith'sworkthanto thatof the canonical
is withheld... [readers]
... willdevelopa clopoets-is that"where[resolution]
suraleffectfromthe materials
andprinciplesat hand.At hand'means,in order
of exegetical
in thepoem,on thepage,in thevolume,in thecanon,and
recourse,
7.
8.
9.
Poem(ChapelHill, N.C., 1986);citedhenceforward
in the text.
MarjorieLevinson,TheRomanticFragment
It is useful,wherepossible,to devisewaysto applysuchcriticalconstructsto poetrysuchas Smith's-that
"TheFirstFire"in termsof Abrams's
is, workswithouta criticalheritage.Fora discussionof Barbauld's
inventedgenre,seeJohnM. Anderson,"'The FirstFire':BarbauldRewritesthe GreaterRomanticLyric,"
Studiesin EnglishLiterature
34 (1994),719-38.
Levinsonrecognizesthe ironiesof such constructs."Formaldesignationand textualconstructsare,we
know,highlyprivateand (theoretically)idiosyncraticaffairs.I can calltwo linesby Sapphoa RFPif
economical)readingthanthat
throughthat formalconceptI can producea moreelegant(explanatory,
which any otherconceptseemsto yield"(RomanticFragment
Poem,14).
550
550
''
JOHN
ANDERSON
JOHN M. ANDERSON
in the life or legend" (p. 25). Near the conclusion of the book (pp. 214-15),
Levinsoncommentson a relatedtheme,linkingit to an economicregisteras
well:"Aworkthat is neverconsumedcan neverbe exhausted.The RFPthus
it asa creativeparticipation
ratherthan
dignifiesreaderresponse(characterizing
passive,slavishreception)in the processof defendingagainstits own semiotic
of course,it alsoleavesits readersforeverpanting,
depletion.(Moreprosaically,
In herfinalchapter,Levinsonaddresses
forevereagerconsumers)."
motives,both
artisticand financial,that certainlydroveSmith-writing to supporta large
in writingprofitably
in the novelaswellas the
family-and Smith,experienced
sonnetforms(perhapsshe shouldbe creditedwith makingthe latterfashionable),had the marketsavvyto cultivatethe pantingconsumersLevinsondescribes.HereI wouldliketo suggest,furthermore,
thatin self-quotation
Smith
demonstrated
the "creative
to
the
of her
necessary
participation"
understanding
poems.10
Butwhichof Levinson's
foursubcategories
of theRomanticFragment
Poem
bestsuitsBeachyHead?It is worthconsideringthese-the truefragment,the
completedfragment,the deliberatefragment,and the dependentfragmentbecauseeachhasapplicable
features,andtogethertheyclarifySmithsenterprise.
The truefragmentincludesWordsworth's
"Christa"Nutting"and Coleridge's
statementthat"'Christabel'
is not only
bel";LevinsonquotesE. H. Coleridge's
a fragment,it is a sequenceof fragments
composedat differenttimesandin differentplaces."'Althoughthis is literallytrueof BeachyHeadas well, the early
readersof "Christabel"
weremostlyinterestedin the potentialcontentof the
and
the
reviewswereengagedin "substantial
narrative
promisedsequels,
guessworkconcerningthepoem'sstructurally
allusivebeginningandend,"expressing
littleinterestin 'Christabel's
internalfissures.'"
As a "truefragment,"
"relatively
poem"invitesus to interpretwhatis therebeforeus with reference
Coleridge's
to what might precedeand follow the truncatedtext"(RomanticFragment
Headinvitesus to do.The "comPoem,77, 83).Thisis not, I think,whatBeachy
pletedfragment"is "awork apparentlybegunin one mood and mode and
completedin another"(p. 97). This dualnaturedoes recallSmith'stwo-part
with its differenthistoricalsettings,but no suchtransitionaccounts
Emigrants,
forthemultivocal
structure
of Beachy
Head.The"deliberate
Levinson's
fragment,"
thirdsubcategory,
the issueof incoherence:
"Theworksimperfection,
addresses
announcedin thetitleor indicatedtypographically,
figuresasa formalnecessity,
an expressionof the worksgoverningthought.... Shelley's'Triumphof Life,'
o1. The compellingstoryof Smith'slife has by now beentold in briefby severalcritics,notablyCurranin the
introductionto his edition.The only full-lengthbiographyis still E M. Hilbish,Charlotte
Smith:Poetand
Novelist(Ph.D. diss.,Universityof Pennsylvania,
1941).
THE ROMANTICFRAGMENTPOEMAs MOSAIC
^ 55
confirmthe
the (in)conclusionof whichseemsto objectifyand imaginatively
works skepticalidealism,is probablythe best known work of this kind"(p. 129).
If Smith'sworkwereas philosophically
orientedas Shelley's,
thiswouldbe preHeadis farmorepragmatic
ButBeachy
andmaterialthanthis
ciselyappropriate.
thirdcategorywouldsuggest.Its fragmentednatureis morea reflectionof its
viewof realitythanan imaginative
confirmation
of it. It is Levinson's
finalsubthat
whichshe
category bestdescribesBeachyHead,"thedependentfragment,"
illustrates
withKeats's
"The
and
The
Fall
formal
determiHyperion
ofHyperion:
nacyof suchpoemsdependson the reader's
propensityto relatethefragmentto
or successors
relevantprecursors
in the author'scanon"(p. 173).Keatsis the latest of these poetswhile Smithis the earliest;Keatsis influencedby Shelley,
whileSmithinfluencedthem.ButlikeKeats'stwo
Coleridge,andWordsworth
fragmented
epics,BeachyHeadis a fragmentthatmustbe fittedinto its author's
otherpoetry,thatis, "dependent"
as a keystonewouldbe.
Headaswe must,withoutthemediatinghelpof instruments
ReadingBeachy
suchasreceptionhistory,manuscript
analysis,or evena verygoodbiographyof
the poet,wewill findthepoema verymodernworkof art,anellipticalandselfreferential
collage."Smithbuildsherfragmentof fragments,
fashioninga mosaic
of brokentiles.OftenthesetilesarefromSmithsreading-it is importantto recmodelsand sourcesinform
ognizethe extentto whichevenunacknowledged
thispoetry,theextentto whichthisextracanonical
workis rootedin literarytradition.LevinsonmighthavebeenwritingaboutSmithwhenshe saysthatwe
shouldsee the RomanticFragmentPoem"notas 'dynamicdisclosure'(organism, vision,or expressive
overflow)but as a motivatedassemblyincorporating
even
materialsandunits"(p. 204).
available, prefabricated
But not everyreaderhas beenso supportiveof Smithsallusivetechnique;
criticshavepointedout, forexample,thatSmithscontemporary
AnnaSeward
found this techniqueplagiaristic."Yousay Mrs. Smithssonnetsarepretty,"
Sewardwroteto a correspondent
earlyon: "sosayI; prettyis the properword:
tuneful
cantos
from
our
various
pretty
poets,withoutanythingoriginal.All the
linesthatarenot thelinesof othersareweakandunimpressive."'
this
Addressing
and
with
for
Adela
Pinch-one
of
the
argumentforthrightly
sympathy Smith,
bestandmostthoroughmodernreadersof Smith'ssonnets-nevertheless
grants
Seward'spoint, I think, a bit too fully."Smith'spropensityto quote,"Pinch
bothherrelationto eighteenth-century
writes,"canhelpus understand
poetry
11. Levinsonalludesto this registerof modernity:"Criticismhas not only adoptedirresolutionas a twentieththe Romanticsor their
centurydiscovery('theundoingof metaphysicalclosures'),it has characterized
projectin sucha way as to concealtheirpriorityin this matter"(p. 198).
12.
Anna Seward,LettersofAnnaSeward,6 vols. (London,1811),1:162-63.
552 -,
JOHN M. ANDERSON
and the statusof emotionin her poems.Smith'ssonnetsarelike echo chamdirectquotations,ideas,andtropesfromEnglishpobers,in whichreverberate
of woe arequotationsfromotherpoets."
etry.... Manyof Smith'sexpressions
Pinchwoulddenyus, moreover,the criticaltool thatmakesa strengthof this
apparentweakness."Asis oftenthe casein the mid- to lateeighteenth-century
poetryin whichthis kindof echolaliareigns,"she argues,"itusuallydoesnot
makesenseto tryto interpretSmithsechoesof othertextsthematically."'3
This
statementis valuablefor pointingto contemporary
who
poets
employedthe
samedevice,butclosereadingdemonstrates
thatSmithsquotationsdo not lack
thematicsignificance.
Smithscarefulplacementof herpoemin geological,botanical,andhistorical contextsarguesfor an equallyexhaustiverecognitionof its poeticcontext.
TowardthisendI wantto beginwitha briefconsideration
of WilliamCowper's
TheTaskas I find it echoedin BeachyHead.This examinationof one of her
"sources"
will makeit clearthatSmithwasmostadeptat "forgingconnections"
notwithothers'poetry,howevercongenial,butamongherownworks.Partlybein its contemporary
causeshe did not orientherpoetryoppositionally
context,
herself-referential
allusions,style,anddictiondo not approachthehermeticextremesof WilliamBlake's.
ButlikeBlake's
poetry,Smithsreturnsagainandagain
to the samephrases,images,andideas:self-interfering
andthusevolving,quoting itself,echoingold phrasesin contextsthatmakethemnew.
"SEEMINGOF RESEMBLINGSUBSTANCE":
"BEACHYHEAD" AND COWPER'S"THE TASK"
In dedicatingTheEmigrants
to Cowper,Smithcallshim "thesublimestof our
while
is "farfromaspiringto be conthat TheEmigrants
poets,"
acknowledging
sideredan imitationof [his]inimitablePoem,TheTask."
Thisis a characteristically slipperystatement,not quite as servileas it pretendsto be.14Perhaps
a similaritybeencouragedby this dedication,Cowperhimselfacknowledged
tweenSmithsandhis ownpatternsof thinkingandwriting.In a letterto Smith
datedlessthansix monthslater,Cowperwrote,"Iwasmuchstruckby an expressionin yourletterto Hayleywhereyou saythat'youwill endeavourto take
aninterestin greenleavesagain.'Thisseemsthesoundof myownvoicereflected
13. AdelaPinch,StrangeFitsofPassion:Epistemologies
ofEmotion,HumetoAusten(Stanford,Calif.,1996),6o.
14. In heressayin this volume,WolfsoninterrogatesSmith's"Dedication,"illustratingboth the ironiesof
such praiseand the hazardsof readingSmith'sallusionsnaively.
THE ROMANTIC FRAGMENT POEM As MOSAIC
553
to me froma distance,I haveso oftenhadthesamethoughtanddesire."5Early
reviewers
of Smithsworkdrewon Cowperas a pointof comparison,usefulin
both praisingandblamingSmith."Thevirtuousandpious,no lessthaningenious Cowper,"wrotethe CriticalReview,"iseverywhere
the advocateof the
Christianreligionandits sacredordinances:
andit is an indecencyill-becoming
Mrs.Smithto sneerat usagesmanifestlytendingto publicutilityand general
Andthe Universal
piety."16
MagazinesaidthatBeachyHeadshowed"thequaint
of Gray."17
moralizingof Cowper,andtheplaintivetenderness
WhileSmithsdedicationacknowledges
Cowperas an importantinfluence
on TheEmigrants,
it is interestingto see how muchhis influencecontinuesin
the
of
BeachyHead, poemin whichSmithturnedawayfromthe epicstrategies
the earlierwork.A passagefromthe firstbook of TheTaskstrikesnotes that
Smithwasto echothroughouthernewpoem:
Thenforests,or the savagerock,mayplease,
Thathidesthe sea-mewin his hollowclefts
Abovethe reachof man:his hoaryhead,
Conspicuousmanya league,the mariner
Boundhomeward,andin hopealreadythere,
Greetswiththreecheersexulting.
(The Task, 1.518-23)
Smithdoes not quotethis passage,but she seemsto havehad it in mind
whenshewrotethe beginninglinesof BeachyHead:
On thystupendoussummit,rocksublime!
Thato'erthe channelrear'd,halfwayat sea
The marinerat earlymorninghails,
I wouldrecline;...
*
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Advancesnow,withfeatherysilvertouched,
The ripplingtideof flood;glistenthe sands,
While,inmatesof the chalkycleftsthatscar
withshrillharshcry,
Thy sidesprecipitous,
Theirwhitewingsglancingin the levelbeam,
The terns,andgulls,andtarrocks,
seektheirfood,
1.
Cowper to Charlotte Smith, 26 October 1793, The Lettersand Prose Writingsof William Cowper,ed. James
King and Charles Ryskamp, 5 vols. (Oxford, 1980), 4:418.
16. CriticalReview 9 (1793): 300.
17. UniversalMagazine 7 (1807): 229.
554
554 '-
ANDERSON
JOHN
JOHN M. ANDERSON
And thy roughhollowsechoto thevoice
Of the graychoughs,andeverrestlessdaws,
Withclamor,not unlikethe chidinghounds,
Whilethe loneshepherd,andhis bayingdog,
Driveto thy turfycresthis belatingflock.
(Beachy Head, 1-4, 18-28)
There aremany generalsimilarities:the tone of the frequentlyendstoppedblank
verseis the same-lofty and sententious,shifting easilyamong the perspectives
of the scene, characterizedby similarinversions,similarsound patternsof alliteration and assonance,similarfleeting personifications.More importantly,the
repetitionsof specificimageryare strikinglyfrequentand exact. Cowper's"savage rock"is now a "stupendoussummit, rock sublime"(line i), and both are
markedby "clefts"(line 20); the sea-mewsthat inhabit Cowper'scliff become
"terns,and gulls, and tarrocks"in BeachyHead (line 23). Cowper's"mariner"
reappearsin Smiths poem (line 3), still "halfwayat sea"(line 2) and hailing the
rockwith the same sense of exultation.
A few lines on, Cowper introduces another character,Crazy Kate, whose
grief is shapedby her "fancy."
There often wandersone, whom betterdays
Saw betterclad, in cloak of satin trimm'd
With lace, and hat with splendidribbon bound,
A serving-maidwas she, and fell in love
With one who left her,went to sea and died.
Her fancy follow'dhim throughfoamingwaves
To distantshores,and she would sit and weep
At what a sailorsuffers;fancy too,
Delusive most when warmestwishes are,
Would oft anticipatehis glad return,
And dreamof transportsshe was not to know.
(The Task,1:534-44)
This figure (named a few lines later in summary:"Kateis crazed";a footnote
adds that "'Kate'was a realpersonage,well known to the poet")attractsspecial
sympathyfrom a poet who was himselfoccasionally"crazed."
Cowperusescrossgenderingand historicalfootnoting to mark the distinction between character
and poet-the same devicesSmithwill use, offering,for example,an apparently
among the ruins is "aman of
gratuitousfootnote to explainthat the "visionary"
the name of Darby."CrazyKateis a foremotherof many tragicfiguresin Smith's
work-notably the (male) lunatic in the Sonnet 70 in the ElegiacSonnets,"On
THE ROMANTICFRAGMENTPOEMAs MOSAIC
the sea,becauseit
beingcautionedagainstwalkingon an headlandoverlooking
wasfrequented
a
lunatic"
the
mother
in
The
and
distracted
(1:20off)
by
Emigrants
who
are
as
to
their
There
are
sufferpresented
-figures
poet-creator.
analogous
sailors
and
anxious
wives
as
well
as
loners
in
both
various
works.
ing
wandering
In Beachy
Headthewivesandsailorsarestilltragicthoughlessafflictedwithfancy
thanin Cowper(theyincludethe smugglingsailorsof lines176ff,the "industrious mate"of line212andthemotherof line234).Smithsfigures-not rendered,
as Cowper'sare, more tragicby the luxuryof the clothesthey cannotnow
afford-havein factgaineda greatdealof powerand,often,a poeticvoice.They
areno longersuchpitiableobjectsasin Cowper.'8
I needhardly
Cross-gendering,
the
add,doesnot havethesameeffectin bothdirections,becausein a patriarchy
divisionof poweralonggenderlinesis unequal.WhenCowperchoosesa female
callsthe "colopersona,the gesturelooksverymuchlikewhatAlanRichardson
nizationofthefeminine."'9
WhenSmithchoosesa malepersona,thepoliticaleffect can be muchcloserto one Mellordescribes(usingSmithas an example):
"SomeRomanticwomenwritersrejectedthe publicspherealtogetheras irredeemablybrutal,corrupt,andself-destructive.
Theyconstructedthe idealmale
as one who is finallyentirelyabsorbedinto the feminine,privatesphere,as did
CharlotteSmith in The Old ManorHouseor Mary Shelleyin Lodoreand
Falkner."20
Again,the politicallycannySmithwas no doubtsensitiveto this
distinction.
a differentaspectof BeachyHeadwhenhe turnshis beCowperanticipates
musedattentionto recentgeologicalexperiment
andspeculation:
Somedrillandbore
The solidearth,andfromthe stratathere
Extracta register,
by whichwe learn
ThatHe who madeit, andreveal'd
its date
To Moses,wasmistakenin its age.
(TheTask,3.150-54)
Seen as a securepreferenceof revealedtruthoverthe vagariesof experience,
observation,and deduction,this passageis ironicallyself-servingin a literary
antecedent.
WhenSmithconsidersthefossilrecord,sheis muchmoreapproving
bothof thescientificmethodof observation
andof thespiritof freespeculation.
18. It is importantto note the relationshipbetweenCowper'sCrazyKateandvarioussimilarfiguresin
Wordsworth.LikeSmith,Wordsworthshapedand alteredtheseinheritedcharactersto his own ends.
and the Colonizationof the Feminine,"in Anne K. Mellor,ed.,
19. Alan Richardson,"Romanticism
Romanticism
andFeminism(Bloomington,Ind., 1988),13-25.
20.
Anne K. Mellor, Romanticismand Gender(New York, 1993), 83-84.
555
556
556 s-
M. ANDERSON
JOHN
ANDERSON
JOHN M.
Wondering[I]remarkthe strangeandforeignforms
withthe palecalcareous
Of sea-shells;
soil
substance.
Mingled,andseemingof resembling
Tho'surelythe blueOcean(fromthe heights
Wherethe downswestwardtrend,but dimlyseen)
Hereneverroll'dits surge.
(BeachyHead, 373-78)
HereSmithpresentsherselfas the scientificobserver,
employingtechnicallanwith scrupulousdiction
soil")and statingher observations
guage("calcareous
of
she
to
an
But
unscientific
concusion,
substance").
leaps
("seeming resembling
bolstered
the
she
not endher
does
Nevertheless,
by unspecified
objection"surely."
if
there.
What
the
ocean
never
was
here?
speculation
DoesNaturethen
in
wanton
fantastic
Mimic,
mood,
shapes
Of bivalves,andinwreathed
volutes,thatcling
To the darksea-rockof thewat'ryworld?
This speculationon the metamorphic,
evenartistic,propensities
of naturehas
in
it
of
reliance
on
Revelation.
Smith
nothing
Cowper's
passive
presentsa living
world-and a mindopento its flux:
Or did thisrangeof chalkymountains,once
Forma vastbason,wherethe Oceanwaves
Swell'dfathomless?
Whattimethesefossilshells,
Buoy'don theirnativeelement,werethrown
Amongthe imbeddingcalx;whenthe hugehill
Itsgiantbulkheaved,andin strangeferment
Grewup a guardianbarrier,
'twixtthe sea
Andthe greenlevelof the sylvanweald.
(BeachyHead, 378-89)
Herewe canwatchSmithassertan unconsidered
conclusionandthenchangeit,
further
consideration.
such
asprideandprefers
upon
Cowperjudges
speculation
thehumilityof faithfulcertainty;
Smithplacesherscientificthinkingon thissame
ethicalaxisbutreverses
thepoles:forher,it showsa greaterhumilityto entertain
a numberof possibilities.
In theend,theironyof tonethatCowperaimsatgeolSmithis farmorelikelyto saveforbankers
andpoliticians.
ogistsandastronomers
as
sciIf, on the otherhand,we readCowper's
irony ultimatelycategorizing
entificinquiryunderwhatSamuelJohnsoncalledthe vanityof humanwishes,
Smithagrees.Butnot simply,andnot for Cowper'sreasons.Cowpercontinues
THE ROMANTICFRAGMENTPOEMAs MOSAIC
his ironicattackwith no fearthathis initialview,likeSmith's,mayrequireselfrevision:
Somemoreacute,andmoreindustrious
still,
Contrivecreation;travelnatureup
To the sharppeakof hersublimestheight,
And tellus whencethe stars;whysomearefix'd,
And planetary
some;whatgavethemfirst
from
whatfountainflow'dtheirlight.
Rotation,
Besidesechoingthe sublimeconclusionof Job,indeed,theselinesrecallthe bepoem.CowperdeniesmoreovertlythanJohnsonthefeasiginningof Johnson's
fromChinato Peru,"butlikeJohnsonhe is willing
bilityof surveying"mankind
to take this initial surveyas given.Then:
Greatcontestfollows,andmuchlearn'ddust
Involvesthe combatants,
eachclaimingtruth,
And truthdisclaimingboth:andthustheyspend
The littlewickof life'spoorshallowlamp
In playingtrickswithnature,givinglaws
To distantworlds,andtriflingin theirown.
(TheTask,3.155-66)
The phrase"muchlearn'ddust/ Involvesthe combatants"
is worthyof Popeor ofT. S. Eliot.And the argumenthereis basednot so muchon revealedauof the conflict.
thorityas on the brevityof lifeandthe irrelevance
Smithagreesthatthe conflictis vain,but for different,morecomplicated
reasons:
Ah!veryvainis Science['s]
proudestboast,
Andbut a littlelightits flameyet lends
To its mostardentvotaries;sincefromwhence
Thesefossilformsareseen,is but conjecture,
Foodforvaguetheories,or vaindispute,
Whileto his dailytaskthe peasantgoes,
Unheedingsuchinquiry;withno care
Butthatthe kindlychangeof sunandshower,
Fitforhis toil the earthhe cultivates.
Head,390-98)
(Beachy
Sciencedoesnotalterthepeasant's
assuperior.
ButSmith's
life,whichis presented
linesoffera strange,consolinglypastoralreductionof the peasant's
life thatis
` 557
558
558 s
ANDERSON
JOHN
JOHN M. ANDERSON
quiteironicin thispoem;sheacknowledges
againandagainin thiswork(asshe
thatthe peasant's
lifeis burdenedwith care,thatsunand
hadin TheEmigrants)
Herlapseinto pastoralseemsessential
showerareoftenanythingbut "kindly."
to the argumentshe is makingaboutthevanityof science-otherwiseit might
who
representthe blithe,conventionalassumptionsof those"ardentvotaries"
aremoreconcernedwith their"vaguetheories"thanwith the plightof their
workingneighbors.Morelike Blakethanlike Cowper,Smithundercutswith
ironytheveritiesshehasinherited.
SMITH'S
"MOONBRIGHT
LINE"
Smithscomplexallusiveness,
likeBlake's,
growsmoreintricatewithintheclosed
of
her
own
The
most
system
poetry.
frequentandmosttellingallusionsin Beachy
Headreferto herprevious
works.Theextentandsignificance
of thesemaybesugto
a
across
the
gested, beginwith,by following singleimage
rangeof herpoetry,
the suggestiveimageof whatshecallsin BeachyHead"themoonbrightline":
Andsometimescrossingon the moonbrightline,
Glimmersthe skiff,faintlydiscernedawhile,
Thenlostin shadow.
(BeachyHead, 115-17)
Thereis a stanzabreakin the middleof this line, and the stanzathatfollows
invokesthe allegorical
figureof Contemplation,
"Highon herthroneof rock"
if
but
is
an
abstract
stand-in
forthe poet,the moon(line118);
Contemplation
brightlinehasplayedthe rolefirst.It is an imagedrawnfromlifeof theworkof
thatwomanpoet,themoon,writingherlines,sensitiveandbrilliant,on thesurfaceof the deep.And this is not the firsttime thatthe imageoccursin Beachy
of the violentlightof the sunby a
Head;it hasearliermarkedthe displacement
"tenderer"
light:
Longlinesof tendererradiance,lingeringyield
To partialdarkness;
andon the opposingside
The earlymoondistinctlyrising,throws
Herpearlybrillianceon the tremblingtide.
Head,96-99)
(Beachy
rises."
Sunlightcomesto resemblemoonlightevenbeforethe moon "distinctly
This "trembling
tide"seemsa sufferingcreature
whoseanguishis bothrevealed
andsoothedby the empatheticmoon.
Thislanguagecontainsechoesof Milton's"IIPenseroso,"
but the moreimmediatecontextmaybe suchpoemsasAnneFinch's"Nocturnal
Reverie"
of 1713
THE ROMANTICFRAGMENTPOEMAs MOSAIC
C' 559
firstpublishedin 1773.
"ASummerEvening's
andA. L. Barbauld's
Meditation,"
In thesetwo poems,the masculine"tyrant"
of the day(thesun,or Man)is contrastedwiththe "moregratefulhours"(in Barbauld's
words)of night.The figure
of Milton'spoem-appears
of Contemplation-the"CherubContemplation"
in "ASummerEvening's
as in BeachyHead,
Meditation,"
andwithradiantfingerpoints
To yon blueconcaveswell'dby breathdivine,
Where,one by one, the livingeyesof heaven
Awake.
("A Summer Evening's Meditation," 23-26)21
The Finchpoemevencontainsa moon-brightline:
Whenin someRiver,overhungwith Green,
The wavingMoonandtremblingLeavesareseen.
Reverie,"
("Nocturnal
9-10)
The "trembling"
withthisimageis heretransferred
to the "Leaves"associated
whichhavethe samewaveringrelationto theleavesof Finch'sbookthatSmiths
linesof lightdo to herownlinesof poetry.Smithhadusedvirtuallythesamelanguage in TheEmigrants,where "thefair Moon, in summernight serene/
Irradiates
withlongtrembling
linesof light/ Theirundulating
surface"
(1.24-26).
Butin the earlierpoemit is the linesthemselves
thattremble.Smithhadbegun
to employquitesimilarimageryas earlyas herfirstpublishedwork,morethan
theNorthStarrather
twentyyearsbeforeBeachyHead.HerSonnet23 addresses
thanthemoonbecausethepoemspeaksin theproblematically
andincompletely
alienvoiceof Goethe'sYoungWerther."ThytremblinglightwithpleasurestillI
mark,/ Gleam in faint radianceon the foamingwaves!"(lines 11-12).2
Smiths"moonbright
line"imagerecursrepeatedly
in the sonnetsshewrote
her
much
of
career.
the
time
she
wrote
Sonnet
83,it is againonlyapBy
through
oncemoreviewedthroughtheeyesof a malecharacter,
proximate,
thoughit has
now
some
of
the
familiar
from
Head:
acquiredby
trappings
Beachy
21.
My text for Barbauld's
poem is ThePoemsofAnnaLetitiaBarbauld,ed. WilliamMcCarthyand Elizabeth
Kraft(Athens,Ga., 1994),81-84. McCarthyand Kraftcall Finch'spoem the "best-knownprecursorby a
woman"of Barbauld's
Women
poem. My text for Finch'spoem is RogerLonsdale,ed., Eighteenth-Century
Poets (Oxford, 1990), 22-23.
22.
Severalcriticshaverecentlyconsideredthe effectsof Smithsextensiveuse of malepersonae.AdelaPinch
analyzesthe "complicatednatureof herpositionin theseWerthersonnets"(Epistemologies
ofEmotion,
And DuncanWu includesa sonnetby AnnaSeward,"Adviceto Mrs.Smith.A Sonnet,"in
61-62).
RomanticWomenPoets:AnAnthology(Oxford,1997),4. SewardurgesSmithto give up the "foreigntaste"
for "darkdreamsof suicide."
M. ANDERSON
ANDERSON
JOHN
JOHNM.
560
560 1p
The uplandShepherd,as reclinedhe lies
On the softturfthatclothesthe mountainbrow,
Marksthe brightSea-lineminglingwiththe skies
(Sonnet 83, 1-3)
In "Lydia,"the poem with which Smith ends the final edition of the secondvolume of ElegiacSonnets,we find an abbreviatedform of the same image.
The Moon will riseanon, and trace
Her silverpathwayon the sea
("Lydia,"29-30)
This image is itselftwice repeated,and Smiths footnote to this poem in the final
edition redundantly,even obsessively,echoes the image once again, furnishing
what the variationin the poem properhad omitted, a number of the by now
mantricwords:"The brightlustreof the moon reflectedfrom the sea, is almost
as distinctlyvisiblefrom the Downs as the moon itself;forminga long line of radiance from the horizon to the shore."
This single image of the "moonbrightline,"while it connects Smith to poetic predecessorsand contemporaries,male and female, still more remarkably
unites her own work: her sonnets, her other lyrics, and both of her extended
poems in blankverse.BeachyHeadis in fact craftedof just such moments of selfechoing. For example,Smith describesherselfin BeachyHead as "Anearlyworshipperat Nature'sshrine"(line 346)-a complex phrasein any case becauseit
plays on the word "early,"which describesall at once the time of day this wortime of life, and perhapsthe speaker's
ship took place, the speaker/worshipper's
priority over other, later-arrivingworshippers at the same shrine. But this
patterningis complicatedstill more when we realizethat Smith is quoting not
only an earlierline of BeachyHead-where she speaksof wild flowers"Enshrined
and cradled"in thorny moss (line 338)-but an earlierpoem as well. In her
Sonnet 45 (c. 1789), Smith had written, "My earlyvows were paid to Nature's
shrine"(line 2). Comparedto this, Wordsworthis belatedwhen he declareshimself a "worshipperof Nature"in TinternAbbey.23Smiths sonnets were quite famous; she could expect her readersto recognizean allusionto them in her later
work. If we do, we experiencefor ourselvessomethingof the recollectionof the
poet'spast that is her subject-as it would be Wordsworths.
debt to Smithhas been investigated,and if spaceallowed,a greatdealof materialwould be
23. Wordsworth's
relevanthere.In an earlyattemptto treatthe subject,BishopC. Hunt Jr.soughtto explainwhy "agreat
and CharlotteSmith,"TheWordsworth
Circle1
poet was interestedin a veryminorone";"Wordsworth
(1970):85-103.Pinchis rathermoregenerousto Smithin her chapterson both poets in Epistemologies
of
Emotion.
THE ROMANTIC FRAGMENT POEM As MOSAIC
'- 561
senFora quitedifferentexample,we readthe linesamongthe "Unfinish'd
of
Smiths
left
behind
one
or
half
erased"
tences,
(line575)
by
poet-characters:
The Squirrelin his frolicmood,
Will fearlessboundamongthe boughs;
Yaffilslaughloudlythro'thewood,
Andmurmuring
ring-dovestelltheirvows;
Whilewe, assweetestwoodscentsrise,
Listento woodlandmelodies.
(BeachyHead, 607-12)
It changesour experienceof the lovelyphrase"sweetest
whenwe
woodscents"
learnthatSmithhademployedthissamedistinctivephrase,thoughin a much
moremelancholycontext,in a poemcalled"Linescomposedin passingthrough
a forestin Germany"
fromhernovelLetters
Thatpoemis
ofa SolitaryWanderer.
therepresentedas the workof the youngman of the title-and Smithwould
laterreprintthe samepoemamongher Conversations
Poetryas the
Introducing
workof stillanotheryoungman.Becausethe phraseoccursin BeachyHeadin a
the illusionthatSmithis not composingthese
poemby thevisionary"stranger,"
lines but quotingthe lines of a male poet is for the attentivereadermuch
At the sametime,of course,thisrepetitionof the samephrasein
strengthened.
threedifferentbooksidentifiesit asbelongingto Smithalone.
Butsuchpoemscontainonlya few connectionsto BeachyHead.To appreciatethefulleffectof Smithsself-quotation
we mustturnto herotherexperiment
withepic. TheEmigrants
is thepoemmostoftenechoed,by far,in BeachyHead,
andit is thepoemthatBeachy
In manyways,Smithseems
Headmostresembles.
to be attemptingin BeachyHeadto movebeyondTheEmigrants;
that
ironically,
how thoroughlythe earlierpoem remainspresentin
perceptiondemonstrates
the later.
"THESE PLAINTIVE SOUNDS REMEMBER":
LEARNING THE LESSONS OF "THE EMIGRANTS"
In comparing
thesetwopoems,I wantto be carefulto avoidtheself-fulfilling
trap
Levinsonoutlineswithreference
to herownexamplesof"dependent
fragments":
"Oncetheseseveralassumptions
are
[aboutKeats's
timing,motivation,progress]
'TheFall'astheculminationof
made,it is a relatively
simplematterto represent
Keats'sartandthought,andto expose'Hyperion'as a misguidedandlogically,
abortiveexperiment"
is
Poem,168).TheEmigrants
(Romantic
properly,
Fragment
moredirect,politicallyandautobiographically,
Smiths
ever
be
than
poetrywould
562
562 -,
JOHN M. ANDERSON
ANDERSON
JOHN
in the earlierpoemaremorevividly
again;the dramaticvignettesof character
drawnandperhapsmorememorable
thanin thelaterone. It is not necessary
to
embracea naivenotionof progressor development
to arguethatSmithlearned
fromtheexperience
of writingTheEmigrants.
Shecontinuallylooksbackto that
earlierlandmarkpoem,quotingit often,as if to keepherbearings.
The twopoemssharesomeof thesamepoliticalandhistoricalconcernsand
areroughlysimilarin length.Both addressnationalism,war,the relationship
betweenthe publicand the private,and betweennaturalhistoryand human
history-though Britain's
politicalsituationhad changeda greatdealbetween
and
arenotedin severalfeaturesof Smith'spolitics
1793 1805.Thesedifferences
asoutlinedby ChrisJones;the distancebetweenthe two poemssuggestsa reexaminationof the samepoliticalterritory:
"Likemostradicals[Smithwasled]to
re-examine
thevaluesof benevolence,
andegalitarianism
as they
individualism,
arecalledinto questionby historicalevents.Mostprominently,
she is forcedto
re-examine
heregalitarian
commitmentandto distinguishthe prejudices
of the
lowerclasses,aswellasthoseof thehigher,fromthe 'natural'
view."
enlightened
Thisexploration
of theprejudices
of thelowerclassesbecomesoneof thedevices
bywhich,aswe shallsee,BeachyHeadaddresses
politicalthemesby incorporatrealistic
elements
absent
from
the earlierpoem."Education,"
ing
Jonescontinues,"canbe seenas assuminggreaterimportancethroughoutherworkas these
obstacleto enlightenment,
andeducation
prejudices
presenta moreformidable
comesto includethedevelopment
of the reasonandthestudyof history,aswell
as the romancesand lessonsof experiencewhichusuallyconstitutethe sentimental education."24Scientificand historicaldetailsarisingout of this new em-
betweenthe poems.
phasison educationareamongthe signaldifferences
BothBeachyHeadand TheEmigrants
areplacedin thefamiliarseasidelocationwhereSmithsetsso muchof herverse,andin bothpoemsSmithhasmade
thissettinga theme,rendering
it complexlysymbolical,
aneffectwe havealready
noticedin the tropeof the "moonbright
line."Both poemsemploymultiple
voicesto tell theirstory,with a singlevoicein eachpoemrevealinga speakermuch less so in BeachyHead-who is openly
prominentin TheEmigrants,
Andmanyminordetailsin commonfurtherunderscore
thedeautobiographical.
to
which
Smith
had
her
first
in
mind
when
she
wrote
her
second.
gree
epic
Someof thesimilarities
areon thelevelof diction.In bothpoems,sherefers
to Normandyby its old name,Neustria.25
Thymyis anotherunusualusagethat
24.
Chris Jones, Radical Sensibility:Literatureand Ideas in the 17ios (London, 1993), 161.
25. These two usesof Neustriaareespeciallyremarkable
as thatwordis foundonly twenty-fivetimesin the
Chadwyck-Healey database English Poetry (600-19oo) version 98:1 (Proquest Information and Learning
Company)-sixteen of theseinstancesin RichardBlackmore's
KingArthur.
THE ROMANTICFRAGMENTPOEMAs MOSAIC
'- 563
appearsin both poems (Emigrants,1.47;BeachyHead, 677)-perhaps it is more
consistent with "beachy."In both, Smith makes a transitionby announcing a
turn from "thoughtslike these"(Emigrants,2.325; BeachyHead, 439). The unusual featuresof diction did not go unremarked.A largelyfavorablereviewof
TheEmigrantsin the EuropeanReviewselecteda word from line 5 for specialcensure:"some of the expressionsare very 'bazaritees,'-'Innumerous,'for 'innumerable,'may perhapsfind a precedent,but offendsagainstthe verygeniusof our
language."Yet Smith uses the offendingword againwhen she returnsto epic in
BeachyHead (and in variousother post-Emigrantpoems).26
Favoriteimagesrecur,slightlyvaried.The wordgarland(s),which providesa
centralimage in four of Smith'sfirst six sonnets (and which appearsrepeatedly
throughouther poetry),does not appearin TheEmigrants,but the imageis there
nevertheless.The firstverseparagraphof Book II concludeswith a thrushbusy
at his task
where the white buds
Of the firstthorn aremingled with the leaves
Of that which blossomson the brow of May.
(Emigrants, 2:32-35)
Both of thesepoems aredominated(BeachyHeadmore so) by the presidingbrow
of a cliff, and this garlandedbrow is thus especiallyappropriate.Garlandwas a
popularword in the poetic diction of the time.27The imageof a month crowned,
however, is considerably less frequent; besides Smith's usage, the only two
examplesI have been able to locate are both by women poets. The earlier,by
A. L. Barbauld,does not mention months specifically,and its garland is remarkablefor its absence:
In vain the springproclaimsthe new-bornyear;
No flowersbeneathher lingeringfootstepsspring,
No rosy garlandbinds her flowing hair,
And in her trainno feather'dwarblerssing.28
Ironically,the other poet who uses this image is Smith'sharshestcritic, Anna
Seward,and her usage is much closer to Smiths, both chronologicallyand in
detail:
26. The most frequentuserof innumerous
in the Chadwick-Healey
databaseis JamesThomson,a Smith
favorite.
RobertSoutheyandJohnClareeachusedit twenty-twotimesin their
27. Accordingto Chadwyck-Healey,
Robinson
and
Anna
Seward,seventeentimeseach;Coleridgeand Byron,seveneach.
poetry;Mary
28. "On the Backwardness
of the Spring1771,"lines 5-8; ThePoemsofAnnaLetitiaBarbauld,35.
564
564 "
JOHN
ANDERSON
JOHN M. ANDERSON
Blow,winter-wind,thesedesertrocksaround,
No blightfromtheemy cypressgarlandfears!
Away,ye months,withlightandrosescrown'd!9
It is thissomewhatrarerfeaturethatSmithrepeatstwicein BeachyHead.
The firstof theseevokesthe imagewith thewordbrowratherthangarland.
The imageis a bit morecomplexthan in TheEmigrants,
becausethe flower
containsthe sunandskythatthe garlandencircles;
theyare
metaphorically
anemones,
With rayslikegoldenstudson ivorylaid
Mostdelicate:but touchdwithpurpleclouds,
FitcrownforApril'sfairbut changefulbrow.
Head,366-67)
(Beachy
WhenSmithreturnsto theimageof themonthcrowned,shedoesexplicitlyrefer
to a garland:
RetiringMayto lovelyJune
Herlatestgarlandnow resigns.
Head,590-91)
(Beachy
The femalefiguresof the monthsaremorefullydrawnhere(becausetheselines
aremeantto be the workof a malepoet?),andso perhapsforthe firsttimewe
recallthatthesecanbe girls'names:theidentification
of girlswithspringmonths
worksbothways.Mayis "retiring"
at thisparticular
momentasshegiveswayto
but
a
she
is
more
month
all
at
times.
"retiring"
June,
In TheEmigrants
andBeachyHead,as elsewhere,Smithexploresthe Petrarchanoxymoronof unpastoral
The tropeis itselfhardlyunusual,but
shepherds.
in hertwo epicsSmithexpresses
it in surprisingly
similarways:
The solitaryShepherdshiv'ringtends
His dundiscolour'd
flock(Shepherd,
unlike
Him,whomin songthe Poet'sfancycrowns
Withgarlands,andhiscrookwithvi'letsbinds).
(Emigrants,2:299-302)
An alliterative
line introducesthe shepherd,who is then renamedparenthetiandthe introductionof "thePoet."Comparethe
cally,with the word"unlike"
sameimagein BeachyHead:
lines 1-3.
29. AnnaSeward,PoeticalWorks(London,1810),"Inscription,"
THE ROMANTIC FRAGMENT POEM As MOSAIC
565
Rude,andbutjustremov'dfromsavagelife
Is the roughdwelleramongsceneslikethese,
(Scenesallunlikethe poet'sfablingdreams
DescribingArcady).
(BeachyHead, 207-10)
it
This imageis a conventional
wayof drawingattentionto poeticconventions;
is inevitably
thesuperiority
of thepresentpoemovertheworks
reflexive,
asserting
of the conventional"poet"by suggestingthatthispoemdoesnot partakeof the
"fablingdreams"of literature-thatone mustlook to realityfor truth.Forall
thesereasons,it is especiallyironicthatSmithso clearlyhashereyenot onlyon
Petrarch
herebut alsoon herown previouspoem.The shepherdis lesssympain thelaterwork,nownearerto sociological
abstraction.
And
theticallyportrayed
Smithhasleftthegarlandout of thisrevisedcritique,thoughaswe haveseen,she
usesit elsewhere,
with onlysuchironyas contrarypassageslikethisprovide.
Thesetwo viewsof pastorallife mayserveto drawourattentionto an importantdifferencebetweenthe two poems.BeachyHead,with the exception
of a verybriefsojournin a hut with one of the shepherds,takesplaceentirely
outdoors. TheEmigrants,though it sharesthe same setting,presentsmany
moredwellings,representing
all socialclasses,and makesseveralmentalvoywith"itspaintedgalagesindoors-includingevena briefglimpseof Versailles,
leries,/ And rooms of regalsplendour"(1:222-23).
One passagepresentsa kind
of surveyof the neighborhoodhousesfromthe "Cotsequester'd"
to the "statelier dome"to "thebuildings,new and trim/ With windowscirclingtowards
therestlessSea"(1.75-88)andconcludesthatnoneof thesehouses"Canshutout
for an hourthe spectreCare"(1.90).Theselinesanticipate,by a kindof skepticalantithesis,the famouscataloguein FeliciaHemans's"TheStatelyHomes
of England,"a cataloguethat,asMellorargues,"endorses
as'natural'the maintenanceof a hierarchical
classsystem:the statelyhomeis identifiedwithits 'ancestraltrees,'the cottageis indistinguishable
fromthe orchardthroughwhich
it peeks.Freedomis hereequatedwiththepreservation
of one'sallottedposition
in God'sordainedsocialorder,fromstatelymanordownto humblestcottage."30
In BeachyHead,Smithwouldcharacteristically
abandonthisfrontalassaulton
socialinstitutions,positioningherpoementirelyoutsideof them.
Both TheEmigrants
andBeachyHeadendwith a fewlinesof religiousconsolationmorelikeresignation
thanfaith:
30. Mellor, Romanticismand Gender, 125-26.
566
566 s
M. ANDERSON
JOHN
ANDERSON
JOHNM.
Ah!yes,my friends
Peacewill at lastbe mine;forin the Grave
Is Peace-and passa fewshortyears,perchance
A fewshortmonths,andallthevariouspain
I nowendureshallbe forgottenthere,
Andno memorialshallremainof me,
Savein yourbosoms;whileevenyourregret
Shallloseits poignancy,asye reflect
woesthatgraveconceals!
Whatcomplicated
2:371-79)
(Emigrants,
The ironyof thesewordsis doubled,readingbackfromthe laterpoem.Already
in TheEmigrants,
thepoemitselfstandsasanundeniable
"memorial."
Butwhen,
in BeachyHead(andmorethana "fewshortmonths"later),Smithreturnsto
thesesamesentiments,thatearlier,
is clearlyin hermind.She
literary"memorial"
a
male
this
she
him
and
employs
persona time,
provides withanepitaphin stone:
Thosewho read
Chisel'dwithinthe rock,thesemournfullines,
Memorialsof his sufferings,
did not grieve,
Thatdyingin the causeof charity
His spirit,fromits earthlybondagefreed,
Hadto somebetterregionfledforever.
Head,726-31)
(Beachy
This passage,indeed,looksbackpast TheEmigrants
(andmoreexplicitlythan
thatpoemhaddone)to Grey'selegy,to literarymemorialsalreadydemonstratThatverb"read"
ing somedurability.
conveys-briefly-both presentandpast
tense;andif "thesemournfullines"canhardlyreferto thewholeof Beachy
Head,
thatis certainlythe momentaryeffect.The presentpoem,forthe durationof a
its ownplaceasa lastingmemorial.
thought,acknowledges
Someof the parallelsbetweenthesetwo poemsconfirmthatSmith,whose
formalvirtuosityis alwaysapparentin hermanyeffectivevariations
on the sonnet and the novel,broughtto theselongerpoemsa numberof genericpredispositions.Thesemighthaveoperatedasstronglyagainto shapeanyfurtherepic
verse,if Smithhadlivedto writeit. Otherparallels,as I havetriedto demonstrate,showSmithunsatisfiedwith TheEmigrants,
reinventingthe long poem
withwhatshehadlearned.Eitherway,TheEmigrants
is a specialcase.Bylookit
to
in
consider
allusions
to
Head
other
ingbeyond
Beachy
poemsamongSmith's
withthe lyric
works,we will discoverthatherfinalpoemis asmuchpermeated
aswith the epic.
THE ROMANTICFRAGMENTPOEMAs MOSAIC
0 567
SENTENCES, OR HALF ERASED":
SELF-QUOTATION IN "BEACHY HEAD"
"UNFINISHED
Certainly,it less surprisingto discoverparallelsbetween Smiths first extended
blankverseworkand hersecondthan to find echoesof lessfamiliarshorterworks
written acrossthe period of more than a decadeseparatingTheEmigrantsfrom
and "Writtenfor the Benefit
BeachyHead.In threepoems-"St. Monica,""April,"
of a DistressedPlayer,Detainedat Brighthelmstonefor Debt, November1792"Smithfindsand shapesthe language,imagery,themes,and structuresthatshe will
reviseand recombineto createthe mosaic of her masterpiece.
One might think the last of these poems would be an unlikelyplace to find
such portents.But this clearlyoccasionalpoem, loadedwith inside referencesto
the theaterSmithknewwell, neverthelessanticipatesboth the geographicalsweep
of BeachyHead and its political/historicalundercurrent.More remarkably,considering the differentoccasions of the two poems, Smith exploresan unusual
theme, not identicalbut parallelto one in BeachyHead-fishermen transporting
moonshine:
For though he plough the sea when otherssleep,
He draws,like Glendower,spiritsfrom the deep!
And while the storm howls round, amidsthis trouble,
Brightmoonshinestill illuminatesthe cobble!
("Distressed Player,"44-47)
It is a sign of the complexinterconnectednessof Smiths poetrythat this concluding image is an oblique variationon that of the moonbrightline. Like her
the speaker'scheerfullyironicapprovalof this
knowingallusionto Shakespeare,3'
criminal way of life is in keeping with the theatrical,devil-may-caretone of
"ADistressedPlayer."BeachyHeadis certainlymoreearnestin its approachto the
subject;however,the laterpoem focuseseven more tellinglyon the criminalactivity of workersassociated,like fishermen,with innocenceand with the Gospel.
BeachyHead presentssmugglingshepherds,men who have abandonednot only
their pastoralpuritybut also their nativeelement, abandoningsolid ground for
the uncertaintiesof the stormy sea. Both poems focus not on the sin or illegality but on the risk involved in such endeavors, and with admiration for the
courageof those willing to run such risks.
Quitting for this
Clandestinetraffichis more honest toil,
31. SusanWolfson,in her essayin this volume,exploresthe significanceof Smith'sallusionsto HenryVin
TheEmigrants.
568 -
JOHN
ANDERSON
M. ANDERSON
JOHNM.
The crookabandoning,
he braveshimself
The heaviestsnow-stormof December's
night.
Head,182-85)
(Beachy
The speaker's
implicitsympathyis clear.Smithevenplacesthisfallenshepherd
in a positionintriguingly
similarto herown;likethe poet andContemplation
a few linesearlier,he "watches
on the heights"(line 176).Likethem (andlike
the EmigrantMother[Emigrants
1.200-233]),his "eager
eye/ Watchesthebark"
in
to
of
these
other
But
contrast
(lines180-81).
any
vignettesof watchfulwaiting,whenthe shepherdlooksout at the scene,the scenelooksback.The "bark"
he seeksis waitingfor "hissignal... / To landits [smuggled]
merchandize."
This is an importantmomentin BeachyHeadand in Smithspracticeas a
poet:the sceneis suddenlyconsciousof theeye.Werealizeat thesamemoment
thatthisshepherdis alsoa smuggler.He is neitherthepassive,sufferingobserver
nor the pastoralfantasyof innocence.Thoughhe is abidingin his fieldsin
the "heaviestsnowstormof December'snight"(line 185),he is a parodyof a
Christmasshepherd.He is the giver,not the receiver,of tidingsfromon high.
thisis apoorman
Unlikethe criminalprelatesandpoliticiansof TheEmigrants,
comments,
engagedin crime."Wellit wereforhim,"the narrator
If no suchcommerceof destructionknown,
He werecontentwithwhatthe earthaffords
To humanlabour;evenwheresheseems
Reluctantmost.
Head,189-93)
(Beachy
Thisis tightlypackedlanguage.
Theshepherdis not "content
withwhattheearth
affords/ To humanlabour"only insofaras the earth-and its "honesttoil"of
keepingsheep-ends at the sea.Butsincemarinershaveappearedin the poem
beforethis,we cannotbelievethathonestlaborstopsat the shore.The alternativeto humanlabormaybe superhuman
(thisis a shepherdwho hastakenon
the roleof theangelor theChristmas
or
star) demonic-in whichcasetheshepherdsmugglerseemsa precursor
to Byron's
Manfred,standingguiltyon thesummit to summonhis partnersin crime.
Manfredhasalwaysbeenreadas a personaof the poet, and this shepherd
smugglerplaysa similarrolein BeachyHead.ButunlikeManfred,whosetragic
isolationresultsfromtheuniquehorrorof hisnamelesssin,thisshepherdsmuggleris not evenunusual.Smithinformsus in a footnote(afterline 176):"The
andlabourers
of thistractof country,a hardyandathleticraceof men,
shepherds
arealmostuniversally
trade,carriedon forthecoarsengagedin the contraband
est andmostdestructive
spirits."
THE ROMANTIC FRAGMENT POEM As MOSAIC
The elementof parodyseemsa remnantof"ADistressedPlayer,"
withits irreverentreference
to Glendower's
Smith
biblical
in
both
uses
a
spirits.
poems
tag
to introducethe image,employedto sentimentaleffectin both,of the suffering
she saysin "ADistressed
honestworkerin his hut. "Moreblestthe Peasant,"
where
Player,"
the rude,yet tranquilhut, his home,
Receivesits rusticinmate;thenarehis
Securerepose,anddeardomesticbliss!
("Distressed
52-57)
Player,"
The languageof BeachyHead,as well as the imagery,clearlyrecallsthe earlier
poem:
Morehappyis the hind,
Who, withhis ownhandsrearson someblackmoor,
Or turbary,
his independenthut
Cover'dwithheather,whencethe slowwhitesmoke
Of smouldering
peatarises.
Head,193-97)
(Beachy
The ironicallyeasyassumptionof "domestic
bliss"in "ADistressedPlayer"
is reof a happinessonlyrelplacedwitha farmoresubtleandsympathetic
portrayal
ative.Smithcontinuesto varytheChristmas
andthisallows
shepherdparadigm,
herto adddepthsof symbolandallusionto herobservation
of detail.Unlikehis
the honestshepherdhasonlythe consolationof
smugglingcounterpart,
A fewsheep,
His bestpossession,[that]withhis childrenshare
The ruggedshedwhenwintrytempestsblow.
Head,197-99)
(Beachy
Thereis nothinglikethiscomplexityof thoughtor compression
of languagein
the sentimentalpassagefrom"ADistressedPlayer."
Not thatSmithhadgivenupthesentimental
strain."SaintMonica"(c. 1805),
an atmospheric
meditationon a ruinedmonastery,is, despiteits proximityto
BeachyHeadin time,a lyricthatlooksforwardto Keats's"Eveof St. Agnes"in
its indulgenceof romanticfancy.Yettherearereverberations
of BeachyHeadin
"St.Monica"too. Someof the samehistoricalsweep,forone thing,is presented
therein miniature;
it is thusappropriate
thatin "St.Monica,"we encounterthe
who
in
lost
fruitless
in BeachyHead:
antiquary appears,
speculation,
-
569
570
570
-
JOHN M.
M. ANDERSON
ANDERSON
JOHN
who on timesremote,
somelone antiquary;
Sincewhichtwo thousandyearshaveroll'daway,
Lovesto contemplate.
Head,406-8)
(Beachy
Thisis the geologicaltheoristwe havealreadymet in ourdiscussionof Cowper.
He is perhapsmisguided(butno moreso thanSmithherself,whoseemsto want
to explainawaytheevidenceof dinosaurs
to Romanelephants),
but
by reference
hinds"who
he is presentedin positiveintellectualcontrastto the "wondering
on thoseenormousbones
Gaz'd;andin giantsdwellingon the hills
Believedandmarvell'd.
Head,417-19)
(Beachy
In the spookyruinsof "St.Monica,"this figureis represented
by his absence:
"Theantiquary
comesnot to explore"(line66). Insteadof scientificcontemplation, in fact,theplaceis hauntedby Superstition.
Superstition
personifiedhadenteredSmithspoetryas earlyas 1793.In the
to havebeenwrittenin AmerpoemthatwouldbecomeSonnet61 ("Supposed
it
with
the
American
The sonnetbeginsby directly
is
associated
Indians.
ica"),
an owl:
addressing
Ill-omen'd
bird!whosecriesportentousfloat
O'eryon savannah
with the mournfulwind;
While,as the Indianhearsyourpiercingnote,
Darkdreadof futureevilfillshis mind.
(Sonnet61, 1-4)
The Indianhere,like so manyof Smithscharacters,
is scientifically
naivebut
as
in
such
as
sound.
And
other
those
cases,
emotionallyquite
involvinglunatics
and smugglers,Smith'sspeakerrecognizesherselfin this alienfigure.The poet
callstheowl'scries"portentous"
beforesheshowstheIndianfindingthemso, and
thepatheticfallacyof the "mournful
wind"is asmuchan expressive
convention
as the ill-omenedbirds.
Laterin the sonnet,Superstitionis itselfpersonified,in a tropethatplays
alongthe boundarybetweenheartfeltmetaphorandearnestbelief:
O'ermy sicksoulthusrous'dfromtransientrest,
PaleSuperstition
shedsherinfluencedrear,
And to my shuddering
fancywouldsuggest
Thou com'stto speakof everywoe I fear.
- 571
THE ROMANTICFRAGMENTPOEMAs MOSAIC
Ah!Reasonlittleo'erthe soulprevails,
Whenfromidealill, the enfeebledspiritfails.
(Sonnet 61, 9-14)
This is quite a mild depiction of Superstition,one closelyassociatedwith fancy,
a symptom of soul-sickness.The Indiansseem both attractivelyexotic and reassuringlyfamiliarin holding this belief, which, though at odds with Reason, is
poetically forceful and no more harmful than other poetic conventions and
machinery.
But in the same year,Smith was at work on anotherpoem that presentsa
very differentapproachto the same abstraction."Saint-likePiety, / Misled by
Superstition,"she writesin TheEmigrants,"hasdestroy'd/ More thanAmbition"
(1.415-17). Here, Superstition is European-French
and Catholic (though by
implication possibly English and Protestanttoo)-and thus more threatening
and less excusable.It is a corruptingforce,beyond control, and does more harm
even than the deliberateworkingsof ambition.A similaranti-Catholicuse of the
personificationrecursin BeachyHead, but therethe harm is all directedinward,
at the foolish believer:
The enervatesons of Italymay yield;
And the Iberian,all his trophiestorn
And wrapp'din Superstition'smonkish weed,
May shelterhis abasement,and put on
Degradingfetters.
(BeachyHead, 146-50o)
But the staunch ProtestantEnglishmanis more enlightened.Superstitionis appropriatelyshrouded,by the time it gets to BeachyHead,with discardedmeanings and the remnantsof realpower.As Smith saysin "St.Monica":
Old tales and legendsare not quite forgot
Still Superstitionhoverso'erthe spot,
And tells how here, the wan and restlesssprite,
By some way-wilder'dpeasant,seen at night
Gibbersand shrieks,among the ruins drear.
("St. Monica," 57-61)
Smiths footnote cites Hamlet as an authorityfor the word Gibber-a citation
that underscoresa high literaryprecedentfor this gothic imagery.
A furthergothic figurearisingfrom such treatmentsof Superstitionappears
in both "St. Monica" and BeachyHead. He is a lordly chief who endows a
monastery;by returningto him Smith is able to illustrateand exploreboth the
572
572
%
JOHN
ANDERSON
JOHN M. ANDERSON
magicalappealof suchfeudalimageryandthehistoricalironiesof its usefulness
as a tool of Burkeanpropaganda.
"St.Monica"beginswith this"lordlychief,"
Who flourish'd
of manya fief, [andwho]
paramount
Leftherea stipendyearlypaid,thatthey,
The piousmonks,forhis reposemightsay
Massandorisonsto SaintMonica.
("St.Monica,"5-9)
A Romanticstrangeness
suffuseshim as he rulesovera fairy-taleland,dedicatreal
and
ends.Yethe is balancedon the
money
ing
powerto suchotherworldly
vergeof satire,evenhere,ashe triesto influenceheavenbyworldlymeans,tries
to makeeternalhis selfishsway.In BeachyHead,unsurprisingly,
he appearsin a
morespecifichistoricalcontext,andthe contradictions
of his gestureareintensified:he is Williamthe Conqueror.
Smithintroduceshim as a foreigninvader,
a
wish
that
the
Saxons
hadsucceededin repellinghim:"vainly
inspiring nostalgic
brave,"shewrites,
One not ingloriousstruggleEnglandmadeButfailing,sawthe Saxonheptarchy
Finishforever.
Head,135-37)
(Beachy
Fromthis perspective,
the Conqueror's
piousgestureseemsratherhollow,the
sacredgroundundermined
by historicalaswellas religiousskepticism:
Thentheholypile,
Yetseenuponthe fieldof conquest,rose,
Whereto appeaseheaven's
wrathforso muchblood,
The conquerorbadeunceasingprayersascend,
And requiemsforthe slayersandthe slain.
Head,138-42)
(Beachy
Whileit maybe consolingto thinkof theconqueror's
pietyatoningfortheviolenceof his conquest,Smithhasprepared
us to identifyourselves
withtheslain.
This is Superstition
as politicalcalculation,cynicallyprofitingfromthe magic
thathadsuchnaiveappealin the earlierpoem.
Ifwe turnfurtherback,to "April"
(c. 1797),anotherof thelyricswithwhich
Smithendedthe secondvolumeof herElegiacSonnets,the parallelsto Beachy
Headareyet moreinsistentand instructive."April"
beginswith a naturalist's
description:
THE ROMANTIC FRAGMENT POEM As MOSAIC
573
Greeno'erthe copses Spring'ssoft hues arespreading,
High wave the Reedsin the transparentfloods,
The Oak its searand sallowfoliageshedding,
Fromtheir moss'dcradlesstartits infant buds.
("April,"1-4)
The expression"searand sallow,"which occurs in BeachyHead as well, though
composed of commonplaceenough poetic language,is a clue that Smiths mind
is on this earlierpoem. Morestrikingis the unusualimage,evokedin both poems
though in differentwords, of "moss'dcradles."The oak leaves emerging from
"moss'dcradles"in "April"become the rose leaves"in thorny moss / Enshrined
and cradled"(line 338)we have alreadyseen in BeachyHead. In the earlierpoem
Smith footnoted this line, discussingthe frequencyof her theme in poetry genSonnet 310.Earlyin her career,inerally,by meansof a quotationfrom Petrarch's
deed, such referencesto Petrarchwere a constant resource.But the Petrarchan
referencesare much rarerlater on. Yet Smith quotes the same sonnet, 310,
without attribution,in a footnote to BeachyHead only twenty-fivelines earlier
(line 314).Such repetitionsof detail make it clearthat Smith is doing more than
revisitingthe themes of"April";she is in effect cementing the earlierpoem-its
own Petrarchanelementsintact-into the laterone.
It is thus remarkablethat the most evocativereverberations
in BeachyHeadthe passagesconcerningthe speaker'schildhood-are sounded in an unquoted
passageof the same short lyric, "April":
Yet,how I loved them once these scenesremind me,
When light of heart,in childhood'sthoughtlessmirth,
I reck'dnot that the cruel lot assign'dme
Should make me cursethe hour that gave me birth!
Then, from thy wild-wood banks,Aruna!roving
Thy thymy downs with sportivesteps I sought,
And Nature'scharms,with artlesstransportloving,
Sung like the birds,unheededand untaught.
("April,"25-32)
Smith returnsto these ideas throughouther poetry,notably in TheEmigrants.
Not all her childhood vignettes are so closely concerned with song, and thus
specificallywith the growthof a poet'smind, but all do convey anotheridea we
too readilylabelWordsworthian,the loss of a paradisepresentedas a child'sunconsciousjoy in union with nature.Here is that theme again,in the blankverse
of BeachyHead:
574
574 -"
M. ANDERSON
JOHN
ANDERSON
JOHN M.
To my lightspirit,carewasyet unknown
And evilunforseen:-Earlyit came,
And childhoodscarcelypassed,I wascondemned,
A guiltlessexile,silentlyto sigh,
WhileMemory,withfaithfulpencil,drew
The contrast.
Head,285-90)
(Beachy
AnyonefamiliarwithSmith'searlierversemayexperiencetheselinesasthe culis "artminatingexpressionof an obsessivetheme.The birds'song in "April"
less"and"untaught"-ithasthe qualitiesof spontaneityandsinceritythatthe
RomanticFragmentPoemsuggests.Butis it also"unheeded"?
The childis cershe
be
to
unable
to
understand
it, to heed its
tainlylistening it, though may
message.But herMemoryin the laterpoem (if we areto think,as the echoes
encourageus to do, thatthesetwo speakersarethe samepoet)hasheededand
is able to recallthe scene with a "faithfulpencil."But the pencil, like the
device;with eachreturn,the picture
Memorythatguidesit, is an interpretive
is different-thougheach,andstillmoreallconsidered
together,mayachievean
artisticpicture.
"faithful"
increasingly
Head
is
this
kindof faithfulrethinking,reforging,andassemblage
of
Beachy
fromtherangeof CharlotteSmithsreadingandfromherentirepoetic
materials
career.It is composedof fragmentsresembling,
perhaps,bitsof the elephantor
dinosaurbonesthatwe havealreadyrummaged
portthroughin thisnaturalist's
on thosebones,"and
manteauof a poem.Smiths"wondering
hinds"... "Gaz'd"
in giantsdwellingon thehills/ Believedandmarvell'd"
(lines417-19).Wondering
ourselvesat the fragmentsSmithhascunninglyburiedin BeachyHead,we may
wellcometo a similarconclusion.
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