Author: Candler, Ann (1740-1814)
Title: Poetical Attempts
Date: 1803
Descriptive Essay
In 1803, Ann Candler published a volume of poetry under the title Poetical Attempts and containing sixteen poems, seven long verse paragraph poems and nine balladic poems. As the title suggests, Candler did not devote her entire life to poetry, considering it merely as something she did for herself, on her own accord. Candler’s friends recognized that her works might provide a means to sustain her financially: hence, the small volume of poetry that we have today.
Within Candler’s works we see many recurring themes, the first centering around Candler’s life, itself. During her hard life she lost three children as infants. In response to this sorrow, Candler wrote two poems centered around these children. The first, “The Mother’s Feelings On The Loss Of Her Child,” focused on the first child who passed.
The chilling opening stanza reads:
“O, Gracious God! I ask’d a son; --
A son to me was giv’n:
Before six months their course had run
The gift return’d to heav’n” (1-4).
It was evident that Candler deeply cherished her children, as is clear also in “On The Birth Of Twin Sons in 1781,” which celebrated the birth of twins that Candler also shortly lost to death. In both poems, Candler emphasizes God, turning to him with joy, as well as for perspective.
This concept of seeing the bigger picture appears in another of Candler’s works in which she reflects on her life. In “Reflections On My Own Situation, Written in T-tt-ngst-ne House of Industry, February 1802,” Candler again began by releasing her frustrations on her current situation as a resident of the Tattingstone House of Industry (a public workhouse in the vicinity of Ipswich), but she rapidly turns to the blessings that God has given her, closing this balladic poem by directly addressing God. This act of written prayer, in the midst of a poem, appears also in poems such as “On Reading The Inscription On Gay’s Monument,” “Serious Reflections On The Times. Written During The Late War”, and “To A Benevolent Gentleman, On His Being hurt by a Fall from his Horse.”
In “On Perusing The History Of Jacob, After I had left T-tt-ngst-ne House of Industry”, Candler not only addresses God but spends much of the poem sharing the biblical story of Jacob. This long-verse-paragraph poem seemed a fitting close to the volume as although Candler took a quite religious approach in many of her other works, this poem is, by far, the most centered around religious content as a vehicle of poetic expression for Candler. Candler shows the audience a glimpse of her story by sharing Jacob’s experience. The lessons that Jacob had learned definitely resonated with Candler; however, she had lessons from her own immediate life experience that she shared through her poetry too.
In “To A Young Man, Professing Himself An Enemy to Love and Marriage,” “On Reading The Inscription On Gay’s Monument,” and “On Happiness,” Candler’s religious views shine through yet again. Candler was evidently an optimistic woman who, in the midst of tragedies, still believed in joy and love, especially when there is a God to lean on. The final stanzas from “On Reading The Inscription On Gay’s Monument” showcases Candler’s optimistic view:
“This life the good or ills portends
Of our eternal state;
On this the sentence too depends,
That must decide our fate.
Great God! to us extend thy care,
Each social bliss increase:
O! may we lived contented here,
And end our days in peace” (112-119).
Often throughout these poems, Candler addresses a general audience, but in some of her works, Candler addresses very specific ones. In “To the Rev. Dr. J___n. On his being appointed one of his Majesty’s Chaplains,” Candler used her poetry simply to congratulate her friend. Written in letter form, this poem showcased the engagingly casual nature of Candler’s writing, which recognized that
“The public voice will ne’er decide my fate,
Alike unworthy of their love and hate:
An author scarcely can their frown survive,
While I, unotic’d, am preserv’d alive.
Unenvied, here, my pen I may employ,
To speak thy praised J___n and my joy” (25-30).
This intentional addressing of a specific audience is seen also in “Addressed To The Inhabitants Of Yoxford, In 1787.” As Candler addressed her hometown with love, reminiscence, and good wishes, it was clear that she used her writing as a means of thoughtful, meaningful communication with a clearly envisioned audience. This was also apparent in “The Invitation Of Spring, Addressed to Miss F__n. May 20, 1788” and “To Miss F__n. April 30, 1789.” These poems, written in letter format, seemed to be a sort of follow-up to prior acquaintance as well. Candler loved the people who had a place in her life, and she went out of her way both to reach out to them and to support them.
Another important aspect of Candler’s poetry is her usage of personification. One of the most common things that Candler personified was death. In “On The Death Of A Young Lady,” as well as “On the Death of a Most Benevolent Gentleman,” Candler gave death the haunting attributes of a person. In fact, the opening stanza in “On the Death of a Most Benevolent Gentleman” addresses death directly:
“O, Death! how dread thy footsteps, track’d with woe!
What desolation follows where they go!
What scenes of terror o’er thy path display’d!
Thou phantom; see the havock thou hast made!” (1-4)
While although Candler’s poetry contained similar undertones of religion and hope, there were still some noticeable differences in the techniques. In “Julie’s Bridal Day, An Eclogue, Addressed to a Young Lady on her Marriage,” Candler even sampled a technique involving back-and-forth dialogue between two servants. Candler had the freedom to take her poetry where she wished and utilized it wisely and effectively. With 524 subscribers to her Poetical Attempts, Candler did get her writing out to a definable public readership, yet that did not seem to be the most important aspect to Candler. Candler seems to have written simply with the intention of bettering her life, personally and financially, as well as to better the lives of others. In fact, she seemed to enjoy not being the most “well-known” poet, because this meant that Candler could then choose to enjoy her gift in whatever ways she desired.
Prepared by Rachel Shaw, University of Nebraska, April 2018.
© Rachel Shaw, 2018.