— The Corvey Poets Project at the University of Nebraska —

 

British Poetry of the later Eighteenth and Earlier Nineteenth Centuries


Bibliographical and Contextual Apparatus

 

 

Hawkins, Susannah

The Poetical Works of Susannah Hawkins.  Dumfries:   [John M'Diarmid and Co.], 1829. Pp. vi + 56.

 

Descriptive Essay


This "Scottish Poetess" states in the epigraph to The Poetical Works of Susannah Hawkins that her work is about singing the "praises of the great God" and "the beauties of nature, love, admiration, and curiosity." Her muse, she tells us, "whispered" in her "ear to keep by the Protestant faith" and "to look around" (iii). "Nature would tell" (iii) of the one God to serve and one faith to believe. Susannah Hawkins and her collection of poetical works do indeed sing the praises with recurring themes of God, moral lessons, and the wonders of nature. As I read and examined this volume, I kept a tally to outline the themes and subjects of these 33 poems and songs. Themes of morality, virtue, and religion were prominent in about a third of the works, invoking nature in nine. The subject of politics or the Royals were featured in five. Three prominently used the regional dialect to illustrate several subjects. Two of the six songs spoke of love. Susannah Hawkins was known to peddle her little books throughout the border region of Scotland and England. She wanted to share her observations and joys with everybody, thus her audience appears to have been broad.

The themes of morality and virtue are most prominent. The first poem in this volume sets a high moral tone with the aptly titled "The Beauty of Virtue." Nature is summoned right from the start and a beautiful scene is set, equating a virtuous life with the sun shining brightly. The Marchioness of Queensberry, to whom this volume is dedicated, is presented as the example of virtuous beauty:   "She to the poor is always kind, / To them she bears tender mind" (10).

In addition, Hawkins makes considerable use of the Bible and its influence is evident everywhere. "The False Swearer" is essentially an introductory lesson on the third commandment, and "The Loss of Man's Happiness" introduces Satan and his career ambitions. Additionally, we get lessons about humility in "Self-Conceit," about jealousy in "Guilt and Innocence," and about the wrath of God and His chastening rod in "The Uncertainty of Happiness":
           Ye who do fret when trouble comes,
           Do ye not understand,
           All must bear the chast'ning rod,
           By God's Almighty hand" (27).
Hawkins took her religion and muse's whisperings most seriously.

Several of the morality poems predominantly utilize the formulaic deviceS of allegory and personification. In addition to the aforementioned "Guilt and Innocence," "Truth and Falsehood" is the morality tale of a personified Envy, his spouse Cruelty, and their offspring Falsehood:
          In a deep vale these three met Truth,
          And wounded him full sore;
          Falsehood put on Truth's graceful cloak,
          Then she did walk before" (21).
Soon, these three nearly destroy an innocent man. Eventually Truth revives, takes back her cloak, and scares the three of them away.

Still another set of opposites is featured in "Passion and Reason." The moral narrator here encounters a ghost-like man who names himself Passion. Next, "A maid called Reason did appear" (33). The poet then observes two other men as they get into a heated argument. These men pay little attention to Reason and, of course, Passion pretends to be on both sides.

The longest of these poetic moral narratives is entitled "Virtue and Vice." Two youths are paired, respectively, with Virtue and Vice. Vice, along with her accomplice, a "wither'd hag…called Infamy," go on to rob the first youth of his "money, clothes, and bread" (49). Virtue, chosen by the other youth, also has a partner labeled Fame. The lesson told here is simple:  if you pursue Virtue, you will have a much easier life and it will be richer and more admirable. This is consistent with the other poems in that high morals are presented as being unquestionably a good thing. So, do not tell lies, listen to reason, and be virtuous.

Now, on the other hand, the narrative "Art and Nature" differs a bit from the other allegories in this volume. All the senses are touched in the opening stanzas; there is the shining sun, blooming roses, singing birds, and mild breezes. The poet overhears two young lovers; one is a nymph called Nature and the other a young lad named Art. Nature states,
          By his great power;
          You cannot imitate his hand,
          Behold that flower!" (31).
Their lengthy discussion results in the conclusion that since God created Man, man cannot match the perfection of Nature's (i.e. God's) work.

The subjects of the Royals, the aristocracy, and politics are featured in several poems. The poems "On the Death of Princess Charlotte" and "The Death of Our Late King" are dedicated to the memories of Princess Charlotte and George III, respectively, and not only celebrate their lives but additionally Hawkins's pride in being a Briton. This poetess, a member of the working class, appears to have had very llittle problem expressing her opinions. In "Lines on the Royal Family," a suggestion for the Royals states "May all the blood royal in virtue increase," in effect telling George IV, the successor to the throne, to shape up (Mandell). In the narrative of "The Death of Thomas Stoddart," the poet examines the local politics and criticizes the court for releasing the young female suspect who is obviously freed by a partial jury.

As per the standard of this era of poetry, much of the poetry in Hawkins's volume is written in King's English although some are written, most interestingly, in the local Scottish dialect. One example of the dialect poem features the Devil who appears again in "Address to Satan," blamed for many of the local ills. Murderers, robbers, liars, thieves and
          The hypocrites wi' blunt-like een,
          Were unco laith they should be seen" (36).
"Blunt-like een" are literally dull eyes, figuratively one who is slow to perceive or understand. "Unco laith" means uncouth loath, or possibly a strange reluctance (Lancashire, dictionary.com). Two additional works, "Address to Doggerels" and "The Miser's Glundie Wife," are a challenge for the modern reader to read; with a manual to interpret Scottish phrases at one's fingertips, however, they are enhanced immensely. Here is one example from the latter:
          She o'er the stock, in haste doth strunt,
          And syne she gars her cutty lunt,
          A singed collie when its burnt,
          Will bark an yowl;
          Like grumbles this auld reeker runt,
          She'll grane and growl.
With the aid of the Dictionary of Broad Scots, the stanza roughly translates to this:
          As she oversees the cooking of cabbage root, quickly with vigor she walks away,
          Since then she causes her short, broken match or lighting device to ignite.
          A charred black dog when it is burned,
          Will bark and cry;
          She, too, will complain about this old smoking stem of cabbage,
          And she will groan and speak in an angry or surly manner about it.
The use of the dialect in these three poems suggests that Hawkins is speaking to her peers, talking to them in their own local tongue. The tone and objectives of these three poems should reach those also engaged in crude verses, misers, and hypocrites. Perhaps they will then take note of her moral works.

Hawkins concludes her volume with a half a dozen songs. "Shepard's Song" is a melodic waltz and ode to nature; likewise, the one simply entitled "Song" (51) sings of nature's beauty. "The Banks of Milk" and "Cupid's Garden" are simple nature narratives. The former concerns and warns about potential danger in nature, the "prickling briers that wounded me" from the "lovely…hawthorn blossom" (51). The latter work warns of the "cunning Cupid's fatal dart" should you steal away the flowers in his care. The song section has a different feel; plus the names of the melodies to which they follow are listed for most.

Interestingly, the remaining two songs in this section are about love. In modern poetry, that of the twentieth century, the topic of love is perennially popular. One could conclude that a poet of the limited reputation (or notoriety) of Hawkins, had she been married or had children, might have written more poetry about a love interest or offspring. "Song" (the second song with the same simple title, 53-54) is about a love interest a "pretty maid" named "Jeannie." It pours on the sentiment of the encounter and their eventual marriage. "Fair Newbie," the last song in the volume laments the departure and separation of the poet's love interest. It is difficult to know if these two songs were written for someone, or perhaps a personal-but-public response to private relationships.

The structure of this volume of poetry is evenly distributed, utilizing three basic poetic forms: 1) the ballad stanza: quatrains rhyming abcb and alternating four-stress and three-stress lines, 2) an assortment mostly based on four-line, four-beat ballad stanzas, rhyming aabb or abab, and 3) the Burns stanza or meter: a six-line stanza with the rhyme scheme aaabab, with a's as tetrameter lines, and b's the dimeter lines (Lancashire). The influence of Robert Burns most likely had the greatest impact on Hawkins, sharing a common cultural heritage and helping her to find her voice (Mandell).

With the continued increase in literacy rates, more and more people were reading (and writing) poetry. Reading poetry leads to composing poetry. Therefore, if a poet reads and studies poetry, that reading and study should then reflect itself in the poet's work. By imitating other poets' styles (Burns et al.) and techniques - e.g. the use of euphemisms like "vegetable tribe" (13) for plants - Hawkins can only enhance her own stature and influence as a poet from this era. By way of her wandering around the countryside selling her books, the poetess tradition and self promotion also produced the byproduct of educating her audience, inducing them "in a high culture otherwise closed off to its readers" (Mandell).

The muse may have first inspired Ms. Hawkins as she "tended her master's cattle" and she was inspired and motivated to "sing the praises of the Great God" in poems and songs. One can not help, however, to recall John Gibson Lockhart's comments in 1818 concerning the Cockney school of poetry. Lockhart spoke of all "the manias of this mad age…the most incurable, as well as the most common seems to be no other than the Metromaine." This "passion for versifying" permeated Great Britain. "The just celebrity of Robert Burns and Miss Baillie has had the melancholy effect of turning the heads of we know not how many farm servants and unmarried ladies" (Mellor 159). Susannah Hawkins appears to be one of many poets, competent and determined, yet lost with scores of other versifiers of the early 19th century.


Works Cited

Dictionary.com. 2004. Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. 1 Dec. 2004. <http://dictionary.reference.com/>
Dictionary of Broad Scots. 1999-2005.
Family-Crests.com. 1 Dec. 2004. <http://www.family-crests.com/coat-of-arms-library/family-crest/dictionary-scots.html>
Lancashire, Ian. "Glossary of Poetic Terms." University of Toronto Libraries. 1999-2002. 1 Dec. 2004.           <http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display_rpo/poetterm.cfm>
Mandell, Laura. "Introduction: The Poetess Tradition." Romanticism on the Net, "The Transatlantic Poetess." Issues 29-30, February-May 2003. Université de Montréal. 1 Dec. 2004. <http://www.erudit.org/revue/ron/2003/v/n29/007712ar.html#no1>
Mandell, Laura. Hawkins, Susannah, 1781-1868. Critical Essay. Scottish Women Poets of the Romantic Period. Eds. Stephen C. Behrendt and Nancy J. Kushigian. Biography. 2001. 1 Dec. 2004. <http://www.alexanderstreet2.com/SWRPlive/bios/S7034-D001.html>
Mellor, Anne K., and Richard Matlak. British Literature 1780-1830. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc., 1996.


Additional Links to The Poetical Works of Susannah Hawkins.

Blackmask Online. 2002. 1 Dec. 2004. <http://www.blackmask.com/books90c/sushawkdex.htm?http://www.blackmask.com/books90c/sushawkcon.htm>
British Women Romantic Poets Project. The University Library. 29 October 2004. University of California-Davis. 1 Dec. 2004. <http://old.lib.ucdavis.edu/BWRP/Works/HawkSPoeti.htm#p37>
Scottish Women Poets of the Romantic Period. Kushigian, Nancy, and Behrendt, Stephen, eds. Alexander Street Press. 2001. The University of Chicago. 1 Dec. 2004. <http://www.blackmask.com/books90c/sushawkdex.htm?http://www.blackmask.com/books90c/sushawkcon.htm>


Prepared by Kim R. Theesen, University of Nebraska, December 2004.
     © Kim R. Theesen, 2004