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"CADENUS" (JONATHAN SWIFT).
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Analyzes structure, action, viewpoint of poem discouraging the passion of a woman for the poet.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Analyzes structure, action, viewpoint of poem discouraging the passion of a woman for the poet.
Paper Introduction:
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was a noted poet and satirist of Irish ancestry. "Cadenus" was one of Dean Swift's many pseudonyms, and it is an anagram of the word "decanus," which is Latin for "dean." The poem "Cadenus and Vanessa" is one of Swift's best poetic works. It was written in 1713 and published in 1726. The poem provides an account of Swift's relationship with Esther Vanhomrigh, and it was intended to discourage her passion for him. The delay in publication was because Esther asked that the poem not be published until after her death (Jaffe 291).
"Cadenus and Vanessa" is Swift's longest poem. It is addressed to one of the two most important women in his life and is central to Swift's beliefs:
It uses his narrative powers to present a moral fable,
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It was writtenin 1713 and published in 1726. Hecontinues to see her in a fatherly way. Critical response to the poem has been interesting and has reflectedthe concerns of different ages. In any case, this older man knowsnothing of love. Boston: Twayne, 1967.Jaffe, Nora Crowe. In the first, Swift argues thatVanessa has every important charm. He knew not how to reconcile Such Language, with her usual Style (624-627).Cadenus and Vanessa interact in the latter part of the poem as they try tocope with the revelations that have been made--that she loves him, and thathe cannot love her. Feminist critics have recently focusedtheir attention on the way the poem describes and flatters the young woman,noting her many excellent features, but they seem to forget that the poemitself is in essence a case of a man brushing off a woman whose attentionshe does not want: Vanessa was more desirable than desired. The story of these two people serves as a topic for argument amongthe gods, and this is what began the poem in the first place as the Councilmeets and discusses Cupid and his actions. In essence, he is admitting his ignorance onthis subject and her knowledge of it without surrendering himself to her. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1967.Hunting, Robert. Works CitedEhrenpreis, Irvin. In the second, he argues that she hasnot yet attracted a man worthy of her: The central action of Swift's poem, therefore, deals with a beautiful girl who possesses too much intelligence and virtue to love or be loved by the empty-headed men or to be appreciated by the frivolous women she meets in conventional society (Ehrenpreis 648).She is thus worthy of the attentions of Cadenus, and if he were able tolove any women, it would be she. He balances his desire to put off apotential lover with not wanting to hurt her or destroy their friendship,and this same tensions is evident in the actions of his characters. Patrick's (Swift) to shift roles frommentor and family friend to lover. Venus wants to decide which is right and so endowsVanessa with all the necessary charms. The two interact and spar over the revelations, eachtrying to gain an advantage and control the outcome. The poem attempts to persuade her that she is too good for Swift, with the further implication that she should leave him alone (Jaffe 291). The structure of the poem presents an interlude enacted by two humancharacters, the two of the title, and this is preceded and followed by afable of Venus and the Court of Love. "Jonathan Swift." In 18th Century British Poets: First Series, John Sitter (ed.). The poem is intended to reconcile the lady toa previous type of relationship, and so there are two arguments in the poemthat are related in a paradoxical manner. "Cadenus" was one of Dean Swift's many pseudonyms, and it is ananagram of the word "decanus," which is Latin for "dean." The poem"Cadenus and Vanessa" is one of Swift's best poetic works. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was a noted poet and satirist of Irishancestry. on the one hand, he wanted herto stop. However, he does not fathom the reason for this change in herpersonality: At length he concludes that his instruction has grown offensive to her and that the time has come for them to break off. It is addressed toone of the two most important women in his life and is central to Swift'sbeliefs: It uses his narrative powers to present a moral fable, with the perfection of Vanessa being set off against the imperfections of contemporary women, and through the, the imperfections of society (Speck 64).When Swift wrote the poem, Cadenus (himself) was in his middle forties, andVanessa ("Esther") was in her early twenties. However, when Vanessa grows up, sheis befriended by neither men nor women, and therefore Venus has failed.Cupid wants a decision and sets the action in motion by shooting his arrow,but he then withdraws and leaves the field to the two humans, whoexperience the consequences of this love without any further interferenceby the gods. Detroit: Gale, 199 .Quintana, Ricardo. The girl is the target of the arrow, but Cadenus is not awareof what has occurred or of the change that has come over his pupil. Swift was torn in his desire to fend off the attentions of Esther,whom he regarded as a friend but no more. He does note that her mind wanders, and this disturbshim. When he speaks his mind, Vanessa has too great a scorn of feminine behavior to give way to tears; instead, she declares her loves in terms which Cadenus has unwittingly taught her (Quintana 222). Women attract and distract men from their true calling, followingthe rational life of the professor or student of life, but men are also toblame for allowing themselves to be so manipulated. Jonathan Swift. "Cadenus and Vanessa" is Swift's longest poem. The poem provides an account of Swift'srelationship with Esther Vanhomrigh, and it was intended to discourage herpassion for him. Swift was probably flattered by thisattention, as Samuel Johnson believed that he was, but in any case Swiftwas not very skillful in the way he handled the young lady (Hunting 68-69). The story actually begins long beforethis moment, for Venus had selected Vanessa when the latter was first bornand had given her all the virtues. New York: Arco, 197 .----------------------- 7 The reason for this was a disputetaking place between the nymphs and the shepherds, with the nymphs blamingthe shepherds for the failure of love, and with the shepherds in turnblaming the nymphs. Both Sexes, arm'd with guilt and Spite, Against Vanessa's Pow'r unite (436-439).He is unable to give her the love she needs, however: Cadenus, common forms apart, In every scene had kept his heart; Had sigh'd and languish'd, vow'd, and writ, For pastime, or to shew his wit; But time, and books, and state affairs Had spoil'd his fashionable airs; He no cou'd praise, esteem, approve, But understand not what was love (54 -547). The interlude gives a mythical tingeto the story of the older man and the younger woman, for in it Cupid wantsto avenge his mother and so decides that Vanessa shall fall in love withthe older man who is her teacher. Gloucester, Massachusetts: Peter Smith, 1965.Speck, W.A. The council for the Fair began, Accusing that false Creature, Man (1-4).A trial is being held to decide whether Cupid is still potent or has "losthis Art" (7). Swift: Volume II. He can appreciate her as the common manand woman cannot: For great Examples are but vain, Where Ignorance begets Disdain. Their relationship in thereal world was complicated when Vanessa stated that her happiness requiredthe newly appointed Dean of St. In the course of the poem, the poet uses women as a metaphorfor all that is wrong with human relationships (which is something thefeminist critics who praise the poem for its depiction of Vanessa seem tomiss). The opening fable makes it clear that the subject of this poem ismore than these two people and that the poet is commenting on humanbehavior an human foolishness: The Shepherds and the Nymphs were seen Pleading before the Cyprian Queen. on the other, he valued the friendship and would have been happyto go on with it as before. Swift. In the end, Swift returns tothe fable and shows that the argument offered by Cadenus has had itseffect, for Venus gives her verdict "against the men in the dispute forhaving so bad a taste in women and for slandering" (Speck 66): She needs must tell them to their Face, They were a stupid, senseless Race: And were she to begin agen, She'd study to reform the Men (87 -873).Swift thus makes use of a personal problem as the subject for a poem anduses the occasion to delve into the nature of human society and thewrongheadedness of human beings. The Mind and Art of Jonathan Swift. Swift is particularly convincing in the passages where Cadenus (andthus Swift) realizes that the girl is in love with him, and what Swift saysof Cadenus rings true of his own situation: Cadenus felt within him rise Shame, Disappointment, Guilt, Surprise. Swift therefore is able to developa correspondence between the vacillating fancies of this one woman and thegeneral instability of society (Speck 64). The delay in publication was because Esther asked thatthe poem not be published until after her death (Jaffe 291). Such relationshipsinvolve a reversal of the natural roles of men and women, the man thedecision maker, the woman the follower. In the end, Cadenuscapitulates without being vanquished--he tells Vanessa that she must becomethe teacher and he the pupil. The finest product of this situation was this poem.
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