"Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music" (1697) is an

ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

. It was written to celebrate Saint Cecilia's Day.

Jeremiah Clarke Jeremiah Clarke (c. 1674 – 1 December 1707) was an English baroque composer and organist, best known for his ''Trumpet Voluntary,'' a popular piece often played at wedding ceremonies or commencement ceremonies. Biography The exact date of Cla ...

set the original ode to music, but the score is now lost.

Background

In 1683 the Musical Society of London was formed for the purpose of commissioning and performing annually an ode in honour of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. Dryden had previously written another ode, " A Song for St. Cecilia's Day", for the 1687 festival. "Alexander's Feast" was written for the 1697 festival.Endicott 2022

Analysis

The main body of the poem describes the feast given by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

at the Persian capital

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

, after his defeat of Darius in 331 BC. Alexander's bard

Timotheus Timotheus is a masculine male name. It is a latinized version of the Greek name (Timόtheos) mmeaning "one who honours God", from τιμή "honour" and θεός "god"., . The English version '' Timothy'' (and its variations) is a common name in ...

sings praises of him. Alexander's emotions are manipulated by the singer's poetry and music. Timotheus glorifies him as a god, puffing up Alexander's pride. He then sings of the pleasures of wine, encouraging Alexander to drink. Seeing Alexander becoming too boisterous, he sings of the sad death of Darius; the king becomes quiet. He then lauds the beauty of

Thaïs Thaïs or Thais ( el, Θαΐς; flourished 4th century BC) was a famous Greek ''hetaira'' who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns. Likely from Athens, she is most famous for instigating the burning of Persepolis. At the time, Thaï ...

, Alexander's lover, making the king's heart melt. Finally, he encourages feelings of anger and vengeance, causing Thaïs and Alexander to burn down the Persian palace in revenge for Persia's previous outrages against Greece. The poem then moves ahead in time to describe

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia ( la, Sancta Caecilia), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman virgin martyr and is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She b ...

, "inventress of the vocal frame", who is traditionally supposed to have created the first organ and to have instituted Christian sacred music. The poem concludes that while Timotheus "Raised a mortal to the skies, / She drew an angel down".

Music

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

composed a

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

work, also called '' Alexander's Feast'', set to a libretto by

Newburgh Hamilton Newburgh Hamilton (1691–1761) was an Irish author and librettist. He was born in County Tyrone, Ireland (now Northern Ireland) and entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1708, aged sixteen, but (as was common in those days) he left without obtai ...

, which was closely based on Dryden's ode.

References

Bibliography

* Endicott, N. J. (2022)
"Alexander's Feast"
''RPO: Representative Poetry Online''. University of Toronto Libraries. Accessed 10 March 2022. * Mambrol, Nasrullah (6 July 2020)
"Analysis of John Dryden’s Alexander’s Feast"
''Literariness: Literary Theory and Criticism''. Accessed 10 March 2022.

External links

* Alexander's Feast (ed. Francis T. Palgrave 1875) * Alexander's Feast (ed. Edward Arnold, 1904) * ''Alexander's Feast: or, The Power of Music: a Song in Honour of St. Cecilia, 1697'' (1904) {{John Dryden 1690s poems Poetry by John Dryden Cultural depictions of Alexander the Great Cultural depictions of Thaïs Historical poems