Thomas Hobbes' Answer to Davenant's Preface to Gondibert

Thomas Hobbes' Answer to Davenant's Preface to Gondibert

In his "Answer to Davenant's Preface to Gondibert," Thomas Hobbes takes a stab at literary theory. He is prompted to write the reply because Davenant mentions Hobbes in the preface to the epic poem, Gondibert. Hobbes notes up front that he is hindered in two ways because he is 1) incompetent in poetry and 2) flattered by the praise Davenant has lauded him. These hindrances don't prevent Hobbes from detailing a general theory of poetry. He delineates the different types of poetry, discusses the poet and mode of composition, and addresses issues of form, content, and style. His ideas are based largely on his philosophy of rational thought and empirical evidence.

Hobbes begins by dividing poetry into three types that correspond with the three types of philosophy and the three "regions of mankind." Philosopy can be divided into "celestial, aerial, and terrestrial." Mankind divides itself into "court, city, and country." Poets write about these three different regions of mankind in "three sorts of poesy, heroic, scommatic, and pastoral." Each of these types of poetry can be conveyed in either a narrative or dramatic form. Hobbes writes:

the heroic poem narrative...is called an epic poem. The heroic poem dramatic is tragedy. The scommatic narrative is satire, dramatic is comedy. The pastoral narrative is called simply pastoral...; the same dramatic, pastoral comedy.

In this way he describes the "six sorts of poesy;" there can be no more or less than that. On the subject of what is a poem, Hobbes reiterates the Aristotelian concept that verse alone does not make poetry. Hobbes sums up the difference between historical or philosophical verse and poetic verse like so:

But the subject of a poem is the manners of men, not natural causes; manners presented, not dictated; and manners feigned, as the name of poesy imports, not found in men.

He goes on to allow that "fictions writ in prose" may be given entrance into the world of poetry because prose delights both in fiction and in style, but, were prose and poetry to contend toe-to-toe, it would be as if prose were "on foot against the strength and wings of Pegasus."

Hobbes addresses briefly the conventions of verse and rhyme in poetry. He iterates that ancient poets created verse to go along with musical accompaniment, which was necessary because of their religious beliefs.