De zachte toon der herdersfluit

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Summary in English

The pastoral poetics of Jan Baptista Wellekens (1658-1726)

The present work is an investigation of Jan Baptista Wellekens' views concerning the nature and principal characteristics of pastoral poetry, not only as they appear explicitly stated in his poems and in his theoretical treatise ‘Verhandeling van het herderdicht’ (Essay on Pastoral Poetry) but also as they can be induced from his poetry itself.

In Chapter One, the ‘Verhandeling van het herderdicht’ (1715) is examined. In this essay the author seeks to determine the ‘antiquity’ and ‘value’ of pastoral poetry. In order to be able to place the work within the tradition of treatises on pastoral poetics as it had grown up in Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, certain Italian, French, and neo-Latin works which could have served as models for the Essay are investigated. It emerges quite clearly that, despite any impression one may receive to the contrary, Wellekens was not capable of directly studying classical or neo-Latin sources himself since he was insufficiently familiar with Latin or Greek. In fact, it appears that for the most part Wellekens did not actually tap specific theoretical studies on pastoral poetics (notable exceptions to this being the commentaries by Menagio and Fontanini on Tasso's Aminta and Fontenelle's ‘Discours sur la nature de l'églogue’) but rather gleaned his materials from all manner of general works (mostly on historical and theological themes), integrating them in a somewhat naive and ecletic fashion. This methodology typifies the whole treatise: it is not a genuinely learned dissertation on the pastoral poetic genre but a strongly derivative collection of various particulars concerning that genre amongst which we can only very occasionally find any traces of independent thought on Wellekens' part. He does show some originality, however, when, in opposition to the hedonistic approach of the pastoral life defended by Fontenelle, he propounds his own Christian-bourgeois view of the pastoral genre as a literary form in which Love, Virtue and Religion should be served in a natural and somewhat light-hearted manner.

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Similarly, he shows an independence of mind when, in the beginning of his essay, he writes ‘Een yder wort hier door zyn neigingen gedreven’ (‘Everyone is led by his own liking’): with this remark, he is suggesting that a poet may choose to write pastoral poetry for no other reason than that it simply suits his own individual inherent disposition and preference.

Chapter Two presents an examination of Wellekens' explicitly formulated ideas about the nature and purpose of literature in general as they are to be found scattered in various places throughout his poetical works. The principal focus of attention is the extensive poem ‘Op de uitmuntende kunstverzamelinge van den edelen heere Valerius Röver’ (1723), in which Wellekens extols the ‘excellent artistic collection’ (uitmuntende kunstverzamelinge) of a well-known Maecenas of the time, Valerius Röver, and in particular the second part of this work where Röver's library is eulogised. Fairly near the beginning of this section, which consists of an elementary literary history in rhyme, we find an excursus in which Wellekens raises a number of traditional issues in poetics (in the main, borrowed from Horace's Ars Poetica) and then proceeds to give his own views upon them. Here, too, Wellekens turns out not be an original thinker, although it is noteworthy that he does, albeith cautiously, advocate that in the problem of determining the direction the poetic vocation should take, natural inclination and not intellect should be given the more weight. In taking this stand he was rejecting the classicist current of thought predominant at the time, one of whose principal exponents was Andries Pels, spokesman of the literary society, Nil Volentibus Arduum. In addition, Wellekens tends to interpret all kinds of Horatian prescripts in ethical terms, so that as a result, the concept of ‘Virtue’ comes to occupy a central place in his poetics.

After this examination of Wellekens' poetry with respect to explicitly formulated views on literature in general, we turn in Chapter Three to consider his approach to the pastoral genre in particular, concentrating again on explicit statements to be found in his poetic works. Wellekens does not present us with a coherent and well-rounded theory. Rather, whenever he discusses the matter of pastoral literature - and that is quite often - it is almost always within the context of his own individual choice for the genre on the basis of his personal disposition for it. This is, of course, to be related to his belief in the primacy of natural

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inclination over intellectual learning in such matters, mentioned above. Wellekens saw pastoral poetry as a natural kind of poetry with (and here he clearly parts company with most of his predecessors) a particular value of its own. The traditional view had been that pastoral poetry was a light, leisurely poetic activity, to be pursued occasionally in between more serious poetic endeavours, or else was a suitable vehicle for practising beginners since it made few demands on the poet, particularly with respect to his learning. A poet should graduate thereafter to the more elevated genres, preferably modelling himself on Virgil. Against this, Wellekens defends the value of pastoral poetry, arguing that it deserves to be respected as a genre in its own right, i.e., that a poet should be able to display all his poetic talents within such a genre and to devote himself entirely to it. For this reason, he urges that the definition of what constitutes pastoral poetry should be wide: any subject should be able to be treated, providing that it is done so in a pastoral manner. There are poets, and Wellekens counts himself as one, whose disposition ideally fits them for expressing their inspiration in pastoral form. Wellekens' plea for the independent worth of the pastoral poem is remarkable since, given the low esteem in which the form was held, we may be sure that few poets would be eager to claim a natural disposition for writing it. He explains his own inclination in the first place as springing from his inherent love of nature and in the second, as a consequence of his peaceable character, which prevents him from being able to summon up much enthusiasm for the more ‘bloodthirsty’ genres, such as heroic poetry. Moreover, it is undoubtedly true that Wellekens' eleven-year stay in Italy at precisely the period during which pastoral literature was flourishing again contributed to his preference for this genre, as indeed did the fact of his lack of a classical education, which meant that he was not considered capable of practising the nobler, more learned genres.

In the fourth and final chapter, it is Wellekens' pastoral-poetic technique and practice which is our principal concern. The poet's explicit statements, as they emerge from the findings of the preceding chapters, are set against his practice as found in his pastoral poetry. Accordingly, the poetry is examined to determine to what extent the poet follows his own explicitly stated strictures on such matters as verse-length, rhyme or the admissibility of personages other than shepherds in the poems. By and large, Wellekens' views on these matters are not remarkable, although in the question of line-length and the use of rhyme-

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schemes, it is noticeable that he allows himself a good deal more freedom than was customary in his time. It is interesting that on this point, too, he defends his practice by appealing to the antiquity and naturalness of the genre.

Also in this chapter, certain topics never explicitly discussed by Wellekens but important for a proper understanding of that poetic practice are examined. One of these is the role played by time and space. The functions of three different aspects of time in the poetry are investigated, namely, those of the time of day, the varying seasons, and, of course, of that topos so important for the pastoral genre, the Golden Age. It transpires that, as a consequence of the occasional nature of his pastoral poetry, Wellekens not infrequently deviates from what was customary in this type of verse. This is particularly the case in his use of the Golden Age motif. For him, this period is not solely located in the dim and distant past but can also be discovered here and now in the happy and serene way of life which may be led in the countryside. It is in this mode that he describes the life-style of the many Amsterdam patricians whose praises he sings, as they take their ease on their magnificent country-estates. He also expresses his own ideal of a carefree life in the country where he can practise the art of poetry undisturbed. The influence of the occasional character of the poetry can be seen again in the functioning of space in Wellekens' verse. Scenes set in the Arcadian dream-world are almost always interspersed or alternated with descriptions of natural scenes and landscapes from the real world in which those being extolled could recognise their own existence, even if only in highly idealised form.

Wellekens' explicitly stated theory may not only be confronted with his practice in the matter of the formal characteristics of his poetry, but also in that of his ethical views and their expression. The differences which are discernible between his stated philosophical opinions and those which emerge from his poetry can again be traced back to the occasional character of his verse. Wellekens seems to rely heavily in this respect on the views of his learned friend and protector, Pieter Vlaming, as the latter expresses them in his edition of Spiegel's Hertspieghel (1723), and it is thus quite probable that Vlaming was the source of the idealistic, epicurean philosophy which is apparent in Wellekens' poetry. This philosophy, however, is not entirely reconcilable with the more down-to-earth bourgeois morality which Wellekens in his role as occasional poet was often obliged to uphold.

Finally, we consider the place of Wellekens as pastoral poet in the

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society in which he found himself. The task of such poets was to adorn with pastoral songs the leisurely and luxurious life of the Amsterdam patricians on their country estates. Wellekens cast himself in his poetry as the shepherd-poet Silvander, who belongs to both the Arcadian and the real world. A similar duality he experienced in his own life: as friend and favourite of the patricians, he was allowed to move more or less freely within their circles; but as poet under their patronage, his station was very clearly on the outside. Although Wellekens sometimes found the tensions generated by this relationship painful, nowhere in his work does he give vent to any criticism of this status quo: he seems to have accepted it as a social order pre-ordained by God. This is a view quite in accord with his choice for the genre of pastoral poetry, which, appearing as it does to place all participants on an equal social plane, does not aim to expose and attack extreme contrasts present in society but rather functions to soften and obscure them.

(Translation by: A.R.W. Baxter)