In the Shadow of the Pulpit: Literature and Nonconformist Wales (University of Wales Press - Writing Wales in English)

Since the earliest days of language, writers and preachers have been locked in a struggle for power and authority. In the Shadow of the Pulpit shows how that struggle has been at the heart of Welsh writing for more than two centuries, intimately shaping the English-language literature produced in Wales in that time. It traces the growing literary response to the power of Welsh Nonconformity from the eighteenth century onwards, and it also uncovers a whole new body of nineteenth-century fiction from Wales. Following A Personal Introduction Reflecting On The Significance Of Chapel Culture To Welsh Life, This Study Proceeds To Offer A Simple Explanation For The General, Secular Reader Of The Origins And Meaning Of Welsh Nonconformity. In The Main Body Of The Work, Attention Is First Drawn To The Gradual Emergence In Wales From The Later Eighteenth Century Onwards Of A Wealth Of English Creative Writing About This Dominant Nonconformist Culture, Culminating In The Appearance Of A Hitherto Unexplored Body Of Substantial Anglophone Work At The End Of The Nineteenth Century. Then, Turning To The Twentieth Century, The Study First Demonstrates The Various Textual Strategies A Powerful New Generation Of ‘anglo-welsh’ Writers Employed To Attack And Undermine This Hegemonic Religious Culture And Then Examines The Work Of Four Authors (glyn Jones, Dylan Thomas, Emyr Humphreys And Roland Mathias) In Detail To Demonstrate The Depth And Variety Of The Literary Response Over This Last Century To The World Of The Welsh Chapels. Particularly Valuable Features Of This Study Are A) Its Demonstration Of The Formative Influence Of Welsh Nonconformity On Welsh Writing In English; B) Its Examination Of A Whole Body Of Writing About Chapel Life That Has Hitherto Been Unexplored; C) Its Argument That Central To ‘anglo-welsh’ Literature For Much Of The Past Century Has Been The Struggle Between Preacher And Writer For The Soul Of Welsh Culture; And C) Its Suggestion That The Work Of Dylan Thomas Might Profitably Be Re-read In The Light Of His Remarkable Welsh Unitarian Ancestry. Ranging from the nineteenth-century to the present, this book explores several central aspects of the ways in which the English-language poetry and fiction of Wales has responded to what was, for a crucial period of a century or so, the dominant culture of Wales: the culture of Welsh Nonconformity. In the introduction, the author reflects on why no sustained attempt has hitherto been made to investigate one of the formative cultural influences on modern'Anglo-Welsh'literature, the Nonconformist inheritance. The importance of addressing this strange and significant cultural deficit is then explained, and a preliminary attempt made to capture something of the spirit of Welsh Nonconformity. The succeeding chapters address and seek to answer such questions as: What exactly did the Welsh chapels believe and do? Why have the English-language writers of Wales, from Caradoc Evans and Dylan Thomas to R.S. Thomas and the authors of today, been so fascinated by them? How accurate are the impressions we've been given of chapel life and chapel people in the English-language poetry and fiction of Wales? The answers offered may alter our views both of the Welsh Nonconformist past and of Welsh writing in English. One of the ideas advanced is that many of Wales'most important writers went to war with the preachers in their texts, and that their work is therefore the site of cultural struggle. Theirs was a war in words waged to determine who would have the last word on modern Welsh experience. Following a personal introduction reflecting on the significance of chapel culture to Welsh life, this study proceeds to offer a simple explanation for the general, secular reader of the origins and meaning of Welsh Nonconformity. In the main body of the work, attention is first drawn to the gradual emergence in Wales from the later eighteenth century onwards of creative writing in English about this dominant Nonconformist culture, culminating in the appearance of the hitherto unexplored body of substantial Anglophone work at the end of the nineteenth century. Then turning to the twentieth century, the study first demonstrates the various textual strategies a powerful new genration of `Anglo-Welsh' writers employed to attack and undermine this hegemonic religious culture and then examines the work of four authors - Glyn Jones, Dylan Thomas, Emyr Humphreys and Roland Mathias - in detail to demonstrate the depth and variety of the literary response over this last century to the Writer versus preacher: this book shows how this struggle has lain at the heart of Welsh writing and culture for the past two hundred years, intimately shaping the English language literature produced by Wales. Starting with a simple explanation of the history and character of Welsh Nonconformity, it traces the growing textual response to Nonconformity's hegemonic cultural power from the eighteenth century onwards, culminating in twentieth-century writers' attempts to undermine it by wresting words from the control of the pulpit. It also uncovers a whole new body of nineteenth-century fiction from Wales, and re-defines Dylan Thomas's debt to his Nonconformist ancestors. CONTENTS......Page 6 General Editor’s Preface......Page 7 Acknowledgements......Page 10 List of Illustrations......Page 12 Introduction......Page 14 A Bluffer’s Guide to Welsh Nonconformity......Page 31 The Long Nonconformist Century......Page 57 Bringing Nonconformity to Book......Page 90 War of Words: The Preacher and the Writer......Page 129 Spoiled Preachers......Page 166 Wales BC......Page 195 ‘Marlais’: Dylan Thomas and the ‘Tin Bethels’......Page 239 ‘Fucking and Forgiveness’: The Case of Glyn Jones......Page 269 ‘Solid in Goodly Counsel’: The Chapels Write Back......Page 307 Epilogue......Page 343 Notes......Page 351 Index......Page 370 It requires an exceptional effort of patient scholarship and historical empathy to convey how profoundly the thoughts, words, habits and deeds of those who lived only a generation or so ago were shaped by religious influences-often never more so than when they sought to rebel against them. In this new history of the Welsh dissenting culture and its impact on major Anglo-Welsh writers, M. Wynn Thomas eloquently and convincingly demonstrates how crucial its influence was. Lawrence Buell, Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literature, Harvard University Particularly valuable features of this study are its demonstration of the formative influence of Welsh Nonconformity on Welsh Writing in English; its examination of a whole body of writing about chapel life that has hitherto been unexplored; its argument that central to `Anglo-Welsh' literature for much of the past century has been the struggle between preacher and writer for the soul of Welsh culture; and its suggestion that the work of Dylan Thomas might profitably be re-read in the light of his remarkable Welsh Unitarian ancestry. --Book Jacket Annotation. Since the earliest days of language, writers and preachers have been locked in a struggle for power and authority. In the Shadow of the Pulpitshows how that struggle has been at the heart of Welsh writing for more than two centuries, intimately shaping the English-language literature produced in Wales in that time. It traces the growing literary response to the power of Welsh Nonconformity from the eighteenth century onwards, and it also uncovers a whole new body of nineteenth-century fiction from Wales From village to city, the chapels loom large everywhere in the Welsh landscape. But what do they tell us about our past? This book introduces us in simple terms to chapel culture, and shows us how heavily it has influenced the modern world of Wales. In particular, it demonstrates how, from the nineteenth century onwards, the obsession of Welsh writers with the chapels came to shape their novels, plays and poems; and how their attitude towards them changed from sympathy to hostility and outright rivalry Ranging from the nineteenth century to the present, this book explores several central aspects of the ways in which the English-language poetry and fiction of Wales has responded to what was, for a crucial period of a century or so, the dominant culture of Wales: the culture of Welsh nonconformity. This is a crucially important analysis that should blaze a trail for succeeding generations to discover paths not only through the wilderness of their world but also their own selves. As I did as I read. Matters became clear which had been little more than a mist of intuition