BUTLER, Samuel (Senior). - English satirical poet, b. in 1612 at Strensham (Worcester), d. in 1680 at Covent Garden (London) of consumption.
He was secretary to various Presbyterian magistrates, from whom he derived many suggestions for shaping the character of the hypocriteHudibras, the protagonist of the mock-heroic poem of the same name, in octosyllabic couplets (in 3 parts: 1663, anonymous; 1664; 1678). It is the tale of the ridiculous adventures of Sir Hudibras, a pedantic and scholastic Presbyterian judge, and of his squire Ralpho, an Independent; adventures that tend to show the absurdity and hypocrisy of Puritanism. The work recalls Don Quixote, but its animating spirit is rather Rabelaisian. The satire is not always kept within its limits, and the frequent puns and fanciful phrases, unaccompanied by high poetry and narrative skill, achieve comic rather than literary effects. Notable of B. are his witty Characters. A monument to his memory was erected in WestminsterAbbey in 1721.
Bibliography2 worksWorks: The collected Works of S. B., 3 vols., Cambridge 1905-28. - Studies: Veldkamp, S. B., The Author of Hudibras, Hilversum 1923; E. A. R
BIBL.: Works: The collected Works of S. B., 3 vols., Cambridge 1905-28. - Studies: Veldkamp, S. B., The Author of Hudibras, Hilversum 1923; E. A. Richards, Hudibras in the Burlesque Tradition, New York 1937.
Ornella Giannotti. “Butler, samuel (senior).” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. III, col. 250. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1949. https://azioneromana.com/article/butler-samuel-senior.
MLA
Ornella Giannotti. “Butler, samuel (senior).” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. III, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1949, col. 250. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/butler-samuel-senior.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec3_butler_samuel_senior,
author = {Ornella Giannotti},
title = {Butler, samuel (senior)},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {III},
pages = {250},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1949},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/butler-samuel-senior}
}
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