Christian History Home > Issue 31 > Were Hymns Good Poetry?
Were Hymns Good Poetry?
They have endured. But does their lasting popularity prove their quality?
Dr. Jan Anderson is Professor of English at Clearwater (Fla.) Christian College. | posted 7/01/1991 12:00AM
Church sanctuaries still ring out with the two-hundred-year-old hymns of Watts, Wesley, Newton, and Cowper. But is lasting popularity alone an indicator of true literary quality? Literary historian W. J. Courthope observes that “the critical world is yet to be half-persuaded that a hymn can be poetry.”
Early hymns were written in an age that produced the rhymed couplets of Pope, the satires of Swift, and the novels of Defoe, Fielding, and Johnson. These works demonstrate form, elegance, urbanity, and wit. Can hymns measure up?
Plain and Direct
First, we must admit that not all the poetry of any age or any poet will attain excellence. The hymns of this age are uneven.
The best hymns, however, represent a kind of literary counterculture. Contemporary poetry tended to be ornate and contrived. It was intended for a sophisticated audience that demanded a polished style.
The hymns were characterized by a plain style and simple expression. Yet because they were vivid and direct, the best hymns not ... To view this item, you must be a member of ChristianHistory.net.
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