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Richard Crashaw was born in London in 1613. He belonged to a Puritan family. He was strongly linked with Metaphysical poetry. Crashaw was hugely influenced by George Herbert and he was a close friend of Abraham Cowley.
Crashaw attended Charterhouse School in 1631 and in 1633, he joined Cambridge University for the course of B. A. During this time, he read George Herbert’s poetry collection titled The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations which was published in the same year. This book inspired Crashaw to devote himself to writing religious verses. His course of B. A required him to write epigrams and verses in Greek and Latin based on Epistle and Gospel reading. Later on, he collected all these epigrams written by him and published them by the title Epigrammatum Sacrotum Liber (translated in English as A Book of Sacred Epigrams) in 1634.
It is a collection of Epigraphs and verses that Richard Crashaw wrote during his first year of college at Cambridge. His poems were highly praised for their metaphysical aspect. One of the famous lines of his Epigrams is ‘The Modest Water saw its God and Blushed.’ In this line, Crashaw is explaining the miracle of how the water turned into wine, it is Crashaw’s observation on the Biblical miracle of turning water into wine.
He graduated from Pembroke Hall in 1634. During the same time, he came in influence of William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury and this resulted in increasing interest of Crashaw in Catholicism. In 1636, Crawshaw was appointed as a fellow of Peterhouse college of Cambridge University and in 1638, he became a curate of Church of St. Mary the Less, Cambridge. While he belonged to a Puritan family with a strong Protestant culture, he was gradually inclined towards Catholicism under Laudianism and Counter-Reformation. He was appointed as a Minister of the Anglican Church but he continued his inclination towards Catholic rituals and stories of saints, specifically female Roman Catholic saints. His sermons were very popular because he often used poetry that was appreciated. However, Puritans were aware of his inclination towards Catholicism and Popish idolatry. He often stressed more on the virtues of the Virgin Mary in his sermon and was accused of Mariolatry. Mariolatry means excessive devotion to Virgin Mary. With the increasing influence of Puritans, he was forced to resign from his fellowship at Peterhouse. He and five more colleagues refused to accept and sign the Solemn League and Covenant.
Crashaw continued writing religious verses under the influence of Herbert’s The Temple. Crawshaw was highly influenced by St Teresa of Avila's life and deeds, a Spanish noblewoman who later became a Catholic nun and mystique. He wrote three poems in praise of St. Teresa and translated her writings into English. The three poems were titled "A Hymn to Sainte Teresa," "An Apologie for the fore-going Hymne," and "The Flaming Heart." He published all his poems and some translations of St Teresa’s works by the title ‘Collection of Poems Dedicated to St. Teresa.’
He continued writing verses influenced by George Herbert and collected many of these poems written by him and published them by the title Steps to The Temple. He also collected poems written by one of his anonymous friends and published them by the title Delights of Muses in the same volume in 1646.
During the civil war, Richard Crashaw fled to Paris where he was leading a poor life when he met Abraham Cowley who helped him and arranged for a job as an associate of Cardinal in Rome, Italy. Despite his affection and inclination towards Catholicism, he couldn’t agree with the licentious behavior of Italian clergy and objected to it. In 1649, the Cardinal transferred him to Basilica Della Santa Casa at Loreto Marche. In August 1649, Crawshaw suffered the strange flu and died.
The major theme of his writings was religion. He was more inclined in praising female saints including the Virgin Mary, St. Teresa of Avila, and Mary Magdalene as the embodiment of virtue, purity, and salvation. His work can be widely divided into four categories namely a) Poems on Christ’s life and his miracles, b) Poems on Catholic Church and its ceremonies, c) Poems on saints and martyrs of the Church, and d) Poems on several sacred themes including translations of Psalms, letters to the Countess of Denbigh, and his poems influenced by George Herbert’s The Temple.
In his collection Steps to The Temple, Crashaw reflected on the problems of conversion and on the efficacy of prayer. For his own nature and the nature of his poetry, his friends and colleagues often addressed him as Saint Crashaw. Abraham Cowley wrote an elegy after his death in his praise ‘On the Death of Mr. Crashaw’ in 1656 in which he also mentioned him as a saint. Later on, writers such as S.T. Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Elizabeth Barret Browning, R. W. Emerson, Amy Lowell, and others praised his work. He was often referred to as the ‘other Herbert,’ or ‘the second Herbert of our late times.’ Many English poets such as Alexander Pope, John Milton, and others who were under the influence of puritans criticized Crashaw. Alexander Pope termed him as ‘a worst sort of Cowley.’ However, other scholars criticized Pope heavily borrowed the style of writing in his own poems.
One of his poems is An Epitaph Upon Husband and Wife
To these whom death again did wed
This grave 's the second marriage-bed.
For though the hand of Fate could force
'Twixt soul and body a divorce,
It could not sever man and wife,
Because they both lived but one life.
Peace, good reader, do not weep;
Peace, the lovers are asleep.
They, sweet turtles, folded lie
In the last knot that love could tie.
Let them sleep, let them sleep on,
Till the stormy night be gone,
And the eternal morrow dawn;
Then the curtains will be drawn,
And they wake into a light
Whose day shall never die in night.
This is it for today. We will continue our discussion on English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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