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Of the Byways of Literature
The Argument -- This colloquy shows that both profit and pleasure can be found in searching through the models of the past. Forms of literature and discourse no longer used and considered archaic may be renewed and revived; or at worst, read and enjoyed for their own sake. VIRGIL, ABELARD. A: Hey, Virgil. You almost ran right into me. Where you headed in such a hurry?V: I'm going on a tour of the Province of Literature. A: That'd take a while. V: Yeah, it would. The Province stretches as far as the eye and mind of man can see. Cultures both living and dead expanded its borders; and it still grows with each passing year and each man that adds to it. A: If it's that big, you're never coming back. V: The whole of it is too much for one man. But I'm only going to visit the byways of English Literature. A: The byways? Sounds like a perfect recipe for getting lost. V: It does. But I have a map. A: A map? V: Yeah. Just as the men of the Renaissance looked to the Greeks and the Romans, I'm looking to them as models. A: Why not just cut out the middle-man? V: Because the men of the Renaissance didn't just copy what they saw as the best of the Ancients. They adapted the ancient models to fit their own languages; then grew beyond them, creating styles of literature all their own. A: Sounds interesting. Mind if I come along? V: Not at all. Some company would be nice. ..... A: Wow. What's this great big ruin we're standing in?V: Abelard, I'm surprised you don't recognize it. It's a colloquy, also known as a dialogue. No less of a man than Desiderius Erasmus once lived here. A: It certainly looks like it was a magnificent house, but it's obviously been abandoned for some time. What's that over there? Looks like some sort of theater--but the stage is so small. V: It's a closet drama. Designed not to be performed, but read. A: Whoa, did you see that? A fox just ran into that ruined heap over there. V: Hmm, that appears to be the remains of a fable. There was a moral in there once, you know. A: So I've heard. V: See those beautiful towers over in the distance? A: I do. But I've never seen odd shapes like that. V: They're styles of poetry that have fallen out of favor. The one on the left there is alliterative poetry, the kind used to write Beowulf. A: No wonder it looks so ancient and imposing. Deeply moving in a way, too. V: It really can be. Beside it are rhyme royal, the villanelle, and terze rima. There are even more styles there than just those. You can look up their names if you're interested. A: Wow, there's more out here in the byways than I thought. But while it's all interesting to look at, what good is it? You've only shown me empty shells and tumbledown ruins. V: You might see them as empty, but let me ask you: If you needed a house, you could renovate other houses--even abandoned ones--right? A: Yes. V: And even if parts of them were in ruins, you might find a usable piece or a beautiful ornament if you went and examined them closely, yes? A: True. V: So perhaps these literary ruins can be renovated and put to new use, or serve as models; and you yourself said they were interesting to look at. So if nothing else, they can be a source of pleasure or amusement. ..... V: There's just a few more things to see before we head home.A: What are those three very solid-looking buildings over there? V: Ah. That one is an essay. And there beside it, a bit larger, is a treatise. A: All that for just one topic? V: Indeed. Sometimes they can be rather long-winded. A: And that last one? V: An apologia, I'm sorry to say. See how it wraps around, defending the writer's position? A: Imposing and a little bit forbidding, don't you think? Look, I can see home from here. What's that last edifice, right on the edge of the byways? It doesn't look abandoned. V: It isn't. That is the house of letters. The shape has changed over time, but the purpose remains the same--communicating with someone else. In the Renaissance, letters were often more like essays, written for and sent to a single person. Popular letters were copied and passed around, or collected into books for others to enjoy. A: And here we are, back where we started. Thank you for the tour. Want to go get a beer? V: A beer would be great. Even I'll admit the byways can be dry and dusty at times, even if they're well worth visiting.
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