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VERS DE SOCIETE

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Originally appearing in Volume V27, Page 1041 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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VERS DE SOCIETE , a See also:

TERM

term for social or See also:

FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar See also:

POETRY

poetry, which was originally borrowed from the See also:

French, and has now come to See also:

RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

rank as an See also:

ENGLISH

English expression (see Fennell, The See also:

Stamford See also:

DICTIONARY

Dictionary of Anglicised Words). The use of the phrase as an English one is first met with at the opening of the 19th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century. It is to be observed that it has come to See also:

bear a meaning which is not wholly See also:

EQUIVALENT

equivalent to that of the French See also:

ORIGINAL

original. It was said of the See also:

BLIND, MATHILDE (1841—1896)

blind philosopher, M. C. J. Pougens (1755-1833), that his petits vers de societe procured See also:

GREAT

great success for him in the salons of See also:

Paris, and several of the rhymesters of the See also:

early 18th century were prominent for their adroitness in composing petits vers sur See also:

des sujets legers. The See also:

prince of such graceful triflers was the See also:

ABBE (Serbo-Croatian Rai))

Abbe de See also:

CHAULIEU, GUILLAUME AMFRYE DE (1639-1720)

Chaulieu (1639-1720), of whom it was said that he made verses solely for the amusement of his See also:

friends, and without the smallest intention of seeing them in See also:

print. The best of his effusions have preserved a certain freshness because of the neatness with which they are turned, but it can scarcely be said that they have any pre-tension to be called poetry. They were inspired by incidents in the private See also:

LIFE

life of the See also:

day, and were largely addressed to a few friends of exalted rank, who were hardly less witty than the author himself, such as the duc de See also:

NEVERS

Nevers, the See also:

MARQUIS

marquis de Lassay, the duchesse de See also:

BOUILLON

Bouillon and the marquis de la Fare. In the collections of Chaulieu's See also:

WORKS

works, which were very often reprinted, See also:

side by side with his own pieces will be found petits vers de societe indited by these great friends of his, and often quite as well turned as his own. To write such verses, indeed, was almost an accomplishment of See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good breeding.

An enormous collection of them was brought together by Titon du Tillet (1676–1762), in his Parnasse See also:

FRANCOIS (1558-1614)

Francois, where those who are curious on the subject may observe to satiety how ingenious and artificial and trifling the vers de societe of the French 18th century could be. The See also:

FASHION (adapted from Fr. facon, agon, Lat. factio, making, facere, to do or make)

fashion for them followed upon the decline of an See also:

INTEREST

interest in rondeaux, ballades and villanelles, and Chaulieu himself had not a little to do with throwing those ingenuities out of fashion, his attack on See also:

BENSERADE, ISAAC DE (1613—1691)

Benserade, who went so far as to turn the whole of See also:

OVID [PUBLIUS OvID1us NASO] (43 B.C.–A.D. 17)

Ovid's Metamorphoses into rondeaux, being, according to his editor of 1732, " the first See also:

WORK

work which displayed the delicacy of the Abbe de Chaulieu's See also:

TASTE (from Lat. taxare, to touch sharply; tangere, to touch)

taste, and his See also:

TALENT (Lat. talentum, adaptation of Gr. TaXavrov, balance, ! Recollections of a First Visit to the Alps (1841); Vacation Rambles weight, from root raX-, to lift, as in rXi vac, to bear, 1-aXas, and Thoughts, comprising recollections of three Continental

talent for poetry." Of the writers of vers de societe in See also:

France, J. B. See also:

Rousseau had the most poetical See also:

FACULTY (through the French, from the Lat. facultas, ability to do anything, from facilis, easy, facere, to do; another form of the word in Lat. facilitas, facility, ease, keeps the original meaning)

faculty; he was, in fact, a poet, and he wrote a " See also:

BILLET

Billet a Chaulieu " which is a See also:

gem of delicate and playful See also:

CHARM (through the Fr. from the Lat. carmen, a song)

charm. But, as a See also:

RULE

rule, the efforts of the French versifiers See also:

DENS, PETER (1690-1775)

dens See also:

les petits genres were not of considerable poetic value. If in See also:

England the expression vers de societe carries with it more See also:

LITERARY

literary dignity, this is mainly due to the See also:

GENIUS (from Lat. genere, gignere)

genius of one See also:

man. See also:

Prior's Poems on Several Occasions, collected in 1709, presents us with some of the earliest entirely characteristic specimens of vers de societe, and with some of the best. Here the poet consciously, and openly, resigns the pretension of high effort and an See also:

APPEAL

appeal to See also:

PARNASSUS (mod. Likkoura or Likeri)

Parnassus. He is paying a visit at See also:

BURGHLEY, WILLIAM CECIL, BARON (1521-1598)

Burghley See also:

House, where the conversation turns on the merits and adventures of Mr See also:

Fleetwood Shepherd; Prior then and there throws off, in extremely graceful See also:

VERSE (from Lat. versus, literally a line or furrow drawn by turning the plough, from vertere, and afterwards signifying an arrangement of syllables into feet)

verse, a piece appropriate to the occasion. He addresses it, and he See also:

DATES

dates it (May 14, 1689) ; and this is a typical example of vers de societe. It will be seen that Prior, who learned much from his See also:

RESIDENCE (Latin residere, to remain behind, to dwell, reside)

residence in the See also:

heart of the French See also:

WORLD

world of fashion between 1711 and 1715, treats very much the same subjects as Chaulieu and La Fare were treating, but he does so with more force of See also:

style and dignity of See also:

IMAGINATION

imagination. As the 18th century progressed, the example of Prior was often followed by English poets, without, however, any See also:

general recapture of his forcible See also:

grace.

The vers de societe tended to be merged in the See also:

EPISTLE

epistle and in the See also:

EPIGRAM

epigram. See also:

Swift, however, when he was neither coarse nor frigid, sometimes achieved a genuine success, as in the admirable verses on his own See also:

DEATH

death. The odes of See also:

Ambrose See also:

Philips (1671–1749) addressed by name to various private persons, and, most happily, to See also:

CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children, were not understood in his own See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age, but possess some of the most fortunate characteristics of pure vers de societe. In his " Welcome from See also:

GREECE

Greece," a study in otlava rima, See also:

Gay produced a masterpiece in this delicate class, but most of his easy writings belong to a different See also:

CATEGORY (Gr. Karrlyopia, " accusation ")

category. Nothing of See also:

PECULIAR

peculiar importance detains us until we reach See also:

Cowper, whose poems for particular occasions, such as those on " Mrs See also:

Throckmorton's See also:

BULLFINCH (Pyrrhula vulgaris)

Bullfinch " and " The Distressed Travellers," are See also:

MODELS

models of the poetic use of actual circumstances treated with an agreeable levity, or an artful naivete. In a later age, See also:

Byron, who excelled in so many departments of poetry, was an occasional writer of brilliant vers de societe, such as the epistle " Huzza, See also:

HODGSON, BRIAN HOUGHTON (1800-1894)

Hodgson," but to find a See also:

DIRECT

direct successor to Prior it is necessary to pass See also:

Henry See also:

LUTTRELL, HENRY (c. 1765–1851)

Luttrell (1765–1851) and W. R. See also:

Spencer (1769–1834), and to come down to W. M. See also:

PRAED, WINTHROP MACKWORTH (1802–1839)

Praed (q.v.). A certain See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character was given to English vers de societe by See also:

Hood and See also:

BARHAM, RICHARD HARRIS (1788-1845)

Barham, but the former was too muchaddicted to a See also:

PLAY

play upon words, the latter was too boisterous, to be considered as direct continuers of the tradition of Prior. That tradition, however, was revived by See also:

Frederick Locker, afterwards Locker-Lampson (1821–1895), whose See also:

LONDON

London Lyrics, first printed in 1857 and constantly modified until 1893, is in some respects the typical See also:

MODERN

modern example of pure vers de societe.

Locker was a See also:

SIMPLE

simple, clear and easy writer; he successfully avoided the least See also:

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance of that effort which is fatal to this See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of verse. His " Rotten See also:

ROW, JOHN (c. 1525—1580)

Row," with its reminiscences of the early sixties, " But where is now the courtly See also:

TROOP (an adaptation of Fr. troupe, O. Fr. trope; cf. Ital. troppa, troppa; Med. Lat. truppus; the origin is doubtful; suggestions have been made that it represents a German conception of Latin turba, crowd, or is an adaptation of Norw. tarp, flock)

troop That once rode laughing by? I See also:

MISS

miss the curls of Cantelupe, The laugh of See also:

LADY (0. Eng. hlaefdige, Mid. Eng. ldfdi, lavedi; the first part of the word is hldf, loaf, bread, as in the corresponding hldford, lord; the second part is usually taken to be from the root dig-, to knead, seen also in " dough "; the sense development fr

Lady Di," touches of real See also:

PORTRAITURE

portraiture—is a perfect example of vers de societe. Since the days of Locker, those who have attempted to strike the lighter See also:

LYRE (Gr. Xupa)

lyre in English have been very numerous. Almost immeasurably See also:

SUPERIOR

superior to the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest has been Mr See also:

Austin See also:

Dobson, who is, however, something more than a writer of vers de societe. Collections of vers de societe of much excellence have been published by J. K. See also:

Stephen (1859-92), See also:

Andrew See also:

Lang (b. 1844), A. D. Godley (b. 1856), See also:

Owen See also:

SEAMAN, OWEN (1861– )

Seaman (b.

1861) and A. R. See also:

ROPES, JOHN CODMAN (1836–1899)

Ropes (" See also:

Adrian See also:

Ross ") (b. 1859). (E.

End of Article: VERS DE SOCIETE

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