Various Editions of Poems by John Nicholson Extant Scholarship - Essay Example

Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Analysis of various editions of poems by John Nicholson Extant scholarship John Nicholson has portrayed a great depth of extant scholarship especially in terms of content mastering. This is indicated in various thematic presentations poems are developed in a way that there is no definite environment of subject that dominates his poetry. This mastery is present in the degree of familiarity in the field of poetry in all the three editions of his poems. For instance, the styles of poetry which were used in the 1844 edition where rhyme and metaphors are widely applied are replicated in all subsequent editions. Familiarity with poetry styles, as well as, being conversant with the relevant topics which require in depth understanding of the scenario at hand enhances flow of poems. Familiarity is evident in the selection of topics for various poems and John Nicholson does not compose poems that have related topics, but rather includes a variety of topics to enhance readership (Hird and Nicholson). It is apparent that poet lovers have diverse tastes and it is therefore logical that John Nicholson employed different themes in his poems to ensure that all cadres of readers were catered for adequately (Hird, 10). John Nicholson has also contextualized his words through use of poems which reflect on his early life. For instance the poem ‘The poacher’ in the 1876 edition is a depiction of events that took place in his childhood. The town that is depicted in the poem refers to his old town where he grew up in hence bringing the old memories into written text for the reader to relive the same scenarios. Similarly, the poem ‘lyre of Ebor’ in the 1859 edition has similar settings and content as it refers to yet another town in the ancient times when wars, poverty and illiteracy were paramount everywhere (Cohen, 127). These two poems illustrate the degree of familiarity employed by the poet and themes for poems are events or scenarios that had been experienced in childhood. Consequently, the aspect of conceptualization becomes easier as the poet makes it easier for readers to relate abstract events with the real life experiences depicted in the poems. The analysis of contextualization is quite immense after getting a glimpse of the early life of John Nicholson which was not smooth, but rather oppressive for a boy whose sole interest was in expressing his feelings through poetry. Consequently, the early days which involved juggling education, sorting wool and writing poems laid a basis for the diverse topics from which the poems were drawn. John Nicholson also managed to sustain the same diversity in the 1859, as well as, the 1876 editions of his poems as the consistency was influenced by factors largely beyond his efforts (Nicholson, and Dearden, 8). Research shows that childhood experiences, as well as, dreams can be relived and set up chronologically to develop consistency in any literary work. This consistency is as seen in the three editions of John Nicholson’s poems as their similarity is confounding in each edition (Nicholson, and Dearden, 8). The three editions by John Nicholson demonstrate a high level of similarity in terms of cohesion between the topic of each poem and the content that is included in the poem. Consequently, the poet developed a great understating of each topic before outlining the poems as indicated in the 1844 edition. The poems were written in the late evening hours or early morning hours before embarking on the daily duties (James and Nicholson, 17). This shows that daily events played a great role in determining the theme of each poem. The same case applies to the settings in which the poems are placed for instance, if the working day was tough, then a sorrowful or oppressive theme was adopted for the poem. Similarly, if the day had been uneventful, John Nicholson adopted a relaxed mood and this was illustrated in the poem that was penned down the same day. From these events it is apparent that the duties and environment of John Nicholson highly influenced the poems present in the three editions. It is also apparent that hope and a brighter future were always at the back of the poets mind as most of his poetic works are full of optimistic words or ideas hence portraying a determination to forge ahead, despite the hardships witnessed in the line of duty. For instance, in the poem ‘Airedale’ as well as ‘Bingley’ where light and reunion is illustrated as signs of brighter events in future where weeping and mourning will be forgotten (Cohen, 28). Although not all poems have the same message of hope, majority in the three editions are heavily inclined towards this theme. Therefore, it would be appropriate to presume that John Nicholson was determined not to portray his ‘not so perfect life’ in his poems but rather he wanted to use the opportunity to instill hope to those living in similar conditions. The other aspect of extant scholarship that has been exclusively utilized in the three editions of John Nicholson’s poems includes relevant citations as well as quotations. Similarly, the list of works cited at the end of the three editions is adequately referenced at the end of each edition so that the reader is in apposition to make appropriate references whenever the need arises. Referencing is vital in any literary work as it enhances credibility of the text being referred to in addition to, enhanced relevance of quotations used inside the text. However, there are quite a number of missing pieces of information while some have been quoted in the wrong edition hence creating confusion among readers. For instance, the poem ‘the Lyre of Ebor’ has been mentioned severally in the 1844 edition yet the poem is included in the 1859 edition (Hird, 114). Therefore, it would have been more logical to use an example that was present in the 1844 edition other than preempting ideas or pieces of information that had not yet being published. Other similarly vital additional information that would have been included in all the three editions of John Nicholson include citations from the other editions as most of the poems have been included in all three editions (McGann, 5). Therefore, it would be accurate to acknowledge other works though they share the same titles. This would create room for the reader to appreciate other literary works by the poet, in addition to, eliciting interest on other editions. Consequently, incorporating such reference details in all three editions would be a sure way of developing distinguishing elements so as to depict the unique nature of each edition. Although there are parts of each edition that are related to subsequent editions, clarity is essential in determining which edition the text is derived from so as to link the poems. History of the texts transmission Majority of the poems written by John Nicholson were composed by the poet during his free time in the course of working at a wool sorting company. These were triggered by the daily events so that most of them reflect on the occurrences that were witnessed by John Nicholson at work, as well as, at home in the evenings. From the section outlining the life of John Nicholson, it is apparent that the poet lacked resources or writing materials which are relevant during composition of any literary work hence he had to work with locally available materials (Hird, 12). For instance, since candles were limited at home, he improvised his own candles by using the remnants of wool he had sorted during the day. These are the hardships that cumbered the poet but his dreams were not shattered by these humble beginnings. Consequently, the drafts or rough copies were made on low quality paper so as to save sufficient paper to write the final copy on before handing them over for his former teacher. John Nicholson’s elementary school teacher proved to be more than a teacher as he availed writing materials as well as acted as an editor for John Nicholson. This way, the poet only had to compose a poem then present it to his former teacher who would make appropriate recommendations as well as corrections. In addition to, insufficient writing materials for use, John Nicholson also suffered another setback in his poetry in terms of education. Despite the fact that, John Nicholson was in school for less than one year shows that not all aspects of grammar had been learnt by the time he moved out of class (James, 2). Similarly, John Nicholson had inadequate prior education hence he had to ensure that his mentor read and edited the poems before anyone one else saw them. However, during his short stint at the Grammar school, John Nicholson had proved to his teacher that he was a determined poet hence his teacher willingly offered assistance whenever it was sought. At the time when John Nicholson was composing his poems, poetry was shunned upon by people so that even his parents paid little or no attention to his undying love for poetry. This is evident in the fact that Nicholson’s father took him to school so as to gain basic education so that he may become a fully fledged businessman. Consequently, he never stayed in school for long as his father withdrew him from school and made him work as a wool comber in preparation for a life in the wool industries (Cohen, 5). Therefore, transmission of his poems through oral traditions would have been fruitless bearing in mind that no one was interested in his poetry even his own mother. Oral tradition is an efficient textual transmission as it caters for the needs of the literate, as well as, the illiterate as the poet has an option of using languages that are locally understood. This handicap left John Nicholson with no option but rather rely on manuscripts with the hope that one day a younger more enthusiastic poet would undertake the required measures to ensure that the manuscripts were published. The manuscripts by John Nicholson were subjected to subsequent editing by his former teacher and after satisfying the rules of poetry, they were stored by the poet awaiting publishing. However, due to the hardships in economic status of the poet, it became apparent that the poems would never be published during John Nicholson’s lifetime. Manuscripts are a very efficient way of storing literary work awaiting publishing as all corrections will have been made, as well as, the poets feelings fully exhibited in the work hence originality is maintained (McGann, 81). Although electronic technology had already been developed in the early 1800s, as well as, printing facilities, these services were a reserve for the already established writers who had already cut a niche for themselves in the field of literature. Therefore, poets such as John Nicholson had lesser chances of being given the privileged of having their works printed or being able to prepare their manuscripts by use of electronic technology. Hence the only option which was available was use of papyrus rolls or paper though the later was rarely available. This made it impossible for John Nicholson to employ another textual transmission method but rather rely on manuscripts which would be published later on by other poets (Hird, 3). Manuscript as a textual transmission method dates back to the ancient times when scholars would prepare substantial amounts of literary work and keep it safely awaiting a time when publishing would be accomplished (Cohen, 107). One advantage of manuscript as a form of textual transmission is that the author or writer was given ample time to complete any of the works they had embarked on during their lifetime. Consequently, the idea of publishing literature after its composer is no longer alive makes it easier for the authors at that time to acknowledge the work done by their predecessors. Consequently, manuscripts are among the most widely recognized mediums of textual transmission mainly because of the retention of the authors feeling, as well as, its increased durability. This is because the other modes are easily damaged by natural processes, as well as, human error hence this can result in loss of valuable information. Hence John Nicholson and his teacher could have settled on manuscripts as a way of enhancing preservation of the poems before they were published. Variants in the three editions of John Nicholson’s poems Despite the fact that, John Nicholson’s poems are presented in these three different editions at different times in history, the wording, as well as, the titles of the poem are very much similar. However, the author made sure that the page numbers, in addition to, he mode of presentation are not alike so as to create a sense of variance. For instance, these two poems ‘the poacher and I love thee, Mary’ are showcased in two editions of the books though the arrangement in addition to the words used is different. An example of, difference in wording is seen in ’the poacher’ where one edition has a series of words following this heading so that it exhibits a different poem from the other one which bears the title ‘the poacher’ only (Hird, 65). However, the words used in these two poems are very much similar hence creating two distinct poems though utilizing the same wording. Other variants that are exhibited by the three editions of John Nicholson’s poems include the number of poems in each edition. Some editions have more poems than others while one has very few poems in it. The 1844 edition for instance has 62 poems some of which are very long hence occupying more than four pages. On the other hand, the 1859 edition has only 30 poems although this edition has some of the longest poems ever composed by John Nicholson. The “Lyre of Ebor” is the longest poem in the three editions of John Nicholson’s poems as it runs for 52 pages. That is quite a long poem bearing in mind that majority of the poems in these three editions are barely a page long. This shows that the poet included variants in terms of poem length in his poems so as to meet the needs of readers who prefer either long or short poems (Nicholson, 40). The length of the poems is determined by the theme, as well as, event that triggered the need to compose the poem. In this case, poems based on world events are longer than the poems denoting loving emotions or experiences (Cohen, 29). Variants are also evident in the diverse topics and settings which the poet derives his poetic themes from as none is similar to the other. These variants are vital as they break the monotony that would otherwise have been present had all poems consisted of the same message. John Nicholson touches on a wide range of topics so that every component of our daily lives is portrayed in the poems so that every reader can relate with the events in any one of the poems. Variation in tone is also evident as the poet alters the poetic tone from a sad one to one full of hope for the future. Occasionally there is a loving tone as well as reflection of Bible verses which is inclined towards religion. Texts to be used in subsequent essays Poems and texts in the 1844 edition of Poems by John Nicholson contain a wealth of information that is not present in the other two editions. This makes it the best text to use in any subsequent essays as it presents the reader or student with a wide variety of items to critique than any other work by John Nicholson. One of the justifications given for selecting this edition for future essays is that it consists of the very best poems as composed by John Nicholson. This information is obtained from the note written by the edition’s editor Abraham Holroyd in the first page of the edition (James, 1). The editor outlines earlier sentiments by readers to have a single book made up of the best poems composed by John Nicholson. Abraham justifies the selection of poems in this edition as ‘those worth being preserved’ and the quality is not compromised as John Nicholson composed and edited these poems when he was alive. The poems in this 1844 edition John Nicholson’s collection is said to be without any alterations or editing as the editor claims that they were selected from the other works by the poet (McGann, 50). Consequently, this supports the originality as other editions have edited poems while others have been fully altered so that it would be difficult to gauge the original meaning. The other reason as to why the 1844 edition is chosen for subsequent essays is that it is in this version that a complete Airedale is available. Airedale is the most popular poem by John Nicholson that at times he is referred to as the ‘Airedale poet’ (James, 1). Familiarity with this poem makes it easier for the reader or student to relate with the themes surrounding the poems. Consequently, most of John Nicholson’s famous poems are all compiled in this edition hence making it the best choice for any poet wishing to read the best poems of all time. The other reason as to why the 1844 version was chosen for subsequent essays is that it does not contain poetic jargon but rather it is made up of poems written using simple language that even non-poets can easily understand (Cohen, 83). John Nicholson composed his poems in a style that does not involve long sentences or clauses that bring about complexity during interpretation. Poems that are easily understood by readers especially if the reader can relate to the themes often present direct interpretations. The other reason for choosing the 1844 edition for subsequent essays is that it contains illustrations at various intervals which make it easier for the reader to relate the poem with the event taking place in the illustration (James, 77). The combination of diagrammatic illustrations alongside the poems enhances originality in addition to ensuring that the reader does not fail to grasp the theme of the poem in question. References Cohen, Philip. Devils and Angels: Textual Editing and Literary Theory. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1991 Hird, G. and Nicholson, John. The poetical works of John Nicholson, the Airedale poet. The University of Michigan. 1876 James, John and Nicholson, John. Poems. Harvard University Press. 1844 McGann, Jerome J. A Critique of Modern Textual Scholarship. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992 Nicholson, John and Dearden, William. Poems by John Nicholson: the Airedale poet. University of California. 1859. Read More