'Differing Spirits': Jeremy Taylor on Prayer and Poetry

• Published in: Bunyan studies no. 16; p. 89
• Main Author: Gay, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Newcastle Upon Tyne Northumbria University, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Arts, Design and Social Sciences 01.01.2012
• Subjects: British & Irish literature; Bunyan, John (1628-1688); English literature; Poetry
• ISSN: 0954-0970

Much of the preface to the Directory rehearses criticisms of the Book of Common Prayer that were familiar from years of contention. [...]in reminding the people of their sinful natures, or in petitions for rulers, the minister should 'Call upon the Lord to this effect' in words perhaps inspired by the Holy Spirit.4 The proscription of the prayer book masks a range of Puritan views of prayer, ranging from a more positive view of scripted prayers to radical rejections of any product of human invention or tradition. The latter included Mary Springett, who tore the metrical psalms out of her Bible for 'being the inventions of vain poets'.10 In 1662, with the prayer book restored as the only legal option, Bunyan published / Will Pray With the Spirit, in which he presents himself as 'the defender of liberty of conscience and of inner commitment against the ranged authorities of the state which would impose uniformity of belief and practice, in particular, subscription to the Book of Common Prayer'.11 Bunyan is both the culmination of a long controversy over set forms of prayer and the initiation of a new 'literary culture of nonconformity', in N. H. Keeble's apt phrase.12 His radical attitude regards set prayer as a stifling of the spirit, and the prayer book as a kind of idol or graven image. Conversely, Taylor regards the abolition of set forms as a product of the politics of the moment and not as a recovery of ancient liturgical practice. [...]the act of abolition is not an occasion of the Spirit's guidance, but a manifestation of the 'differing spirits' of the members of a divided Parliament. [...]Bunyan's 'Apology' is consistent with Sidney's view of poetry as a supportive complement to sacred scripture: the 'Prophets used much by Metaphors I To set forth Truth', while 'holy Writ* is filled with 'Dark Figures, Allegories' .43 In particular, allegorical fiction is, as James Forrest and Arlette Zinck have demonstrated, a kind of sacred sport that exercises the reader and attunes them more to the process of sanctification and the confident working out of individual salvation.44 In terms of literary and cultural history, Bunyan's approach holds more sway both as an anticipation of Romantic doctrines of spontaneity in poetic composition, and in the cultural progress of what Lori Branch brilliantly identifies as 'rituals of spontaneity' in the social and cultural legacy of free prayer.45 Taylor is a priest but not a poet or allegorist: he is concerned with the social function of prayer and poetry mainly with a view to defending the church and common prayer, and to maintaining Anglican tradition and memory in a time of exile.