"To promote the interest of souls": The pastoral persona in the prose of Jeremy Taylor

Lila Mae Ruth Kurth, Purdue University

Abstract

This study of the works of Jeremy Taylor illustrates how his pastoral style is influenced by his vocation. While admired and explicated by both religious and literary figures in the nineteenth century, Taylor has been virtually ignored by contemporary literary critics, perhaps because his works do not lend themselves to critical analysis which emphasizes the emergent self-awareness and literary self-consciousness shared by other seventeenth-century prose writers, Instead of being personal and confessional, Taylor's writings reflect the professional persona of the pastor. This persona is manifested stylistically in his use of narrative allusions, his diverse imagery, and the variety of his syntax. In the tradition of Christian humanism, Taylor's works are replete with allusions to narratives from both pagan and Christian sources. Taylor vividly recounts tales of classical, historical, and biblical events to illustrate his points about living the Christian life. That these antiquated stories are from history and literature rather than his personal experience is appropriate for the pastor who needs to maintain a professional distance. Taylors imagery also serves his pastoral purposes. His nature imagery is the application of a natural theology, a tradition practiced by the church fathers and still adhered to in his own ecclesiastical circles. The miniaturization and homeliness of his images reflect a pastoral strategy to provide models that are familiar and easily imitable. His metaphysical imagery allows him to present his guidelines for Christian living in a lively and less conventional way. Taylor's syntax reveals his knowledge of various prose styles of his period. His style is also reflective of the Augustinian notions of controversia or caritas, rhetorical notions that Taylor demonstrated in his syntactical maneuvering and rhetorical structuring of his periods. This study of Taylor concludes with an analysis of The Great Exemplar, focusing on how it differs from other meditative works of the seventeenth century and how his pastoral strategies allow Taylor to appeal to a variety of audiences, particularly to women and to his fellow clergy.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Lein, Purdue University.

Subject Area

British and Irish literature

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