Epithalamion in poetry

An epithalamion is a lyrical poem that celebrates marriage. The term, which is Greek in origin, is a combination of the prefix epi- (“upon”) and the noun thalamos (“bridal chamber” or “nuptial chamber”). Its literal meaning of “at the bridal chamber” reflects the ancient Greek tradition of singing epithalamia outside a bride’s chamber on her wedding night. Some sources alternately specify that an epithalamion is traditionally presented at the end of a wedding reception, just before the newlyweds are about to retire to their bedroom as a couple for the first time.

Epithalamia do not have any structural requirements with respect to stanzas, rhyme schemes, or meter. Instead, they traditionally follow free-verse form. Their defining feature is a focus on the newly married couple, in particular the bride. Traditional epithalamia impart best wishes on the couple, expressing hope that the bride and groom enjoy a fertile union.

Background

Epithalamia are rooted in the nuptial traditions of ancient Greece. Prior to becoming a recognized poetic form, epithalamia were presented as songs. Accompanying conventions saw wedding guests sing epithalamia twice during the wedding festivities. An initial performance would take place just before the newlywed couple retired to the bedroom together for the first time, while a second performance would occur upon their emergence from their bedroom on the morning after their wedding.

Over time, epithalamia evolved into poetry and came to be associated with public observances of marriages between high-profile aristocrats or members of royal families. Multiple scholarly sources cite the ancient Greek poet Sappho (ca. 630 BCE–ca. 570 BCE) as the originator of the tradition’s adaptation into poetic form. Epithalamia coalesced as a literary genre in the Roman Empire, with figures including Catallus (ca. 84 BCE–ca. 54 BCE) and Claudian (ca. 370–404) penning epithalamia now recognized as foundational examples. Claudian composed an epithalamion marking the marriage of the Roman emperor Honorius (384–423) in 398 CE. This work gained particular fame in classical culture and had a profound influence on the genre’s later development in various European literary traditions.

Classical epithalamia share multiple thematic features. Examples from the Roman Empire tend to draw connections between the couple’s marriage and the myths and legends surrounding Rome’s founding and early development. For example, the epithalamia of Catallus frequently alludes to an episode in Roman mythology commonly known as the “rape of the Sabine women,” drawing comparisons to the legendary event and the newlywed bride’s impending deflowering by her husband. Ancient Roman epithalamia also draw connections between the bride’s surrendering of her virginity and her new socially prescribed role as a wife, characterizing marriage as a tenuous balance that depends not only on the groom’s sexual loyalty to his wife but also on the bride’s willingness to submit to her husband’s desire. Contemporary commentators note the heavily gendered elements of the assigned roles to each party in the marriage, a feature that has heavily shaped modern interpretations of epithalamia from the classical ages of ancient Greece and Rome.

Overview

From their origins in classical Greek and Roman culture, epithalamia subsequently entered the poetic traditions of multiple European cultures. Although they were present in the English literary lexicon—important poetics manuals of the sixteenth century include detailed instruction on the form—they remained a less-important feature of English poetry until the seventeenth century. English poet Edmund Spenser (ca. 1552–1599) was among those who produced ephthalamia during this era. Spenser’s “Epithalamion,” a poem dating to 1595, represents the seminal early English-language example of the genre. Scholars note that the work displays a sharp awareness of the classical history of the epithalamion, as it contains direct references to Carmen 61, a famous example of the form penned in antiquity by Catallus.

Some experts theorize that the genre was less common in English literature because of culturally specific perceptions that associated epithalamia with bawdy expressions of eroticism and sexuality. Others surmise that cultural resistance to epithalamia may have arisen from the social complexities created by the accession of female rulers to the height of British political power, which occurred with both Mary Tudor (1516–1558) and Mary Stuart (1542–1587). According to these scholarly viewpoints, the power dynamics and gender conventions associated with classical epithalamia gave poets pause during an era marked by monarchic rule under autocratic queens. In any case, thanks to Spencer’s prominence, the wedding song soared in popularity following the death of Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603) and James VI of Scotland’s (1566–1625) assumption of the English throne as King James I that year.

For a time, epithalamia occupied a place in popular culture prominent enough to earn parody treatment, with Sir John Suckling (1609–1642) penning a comic caricature of the form in his canonical 1641 work “A Ballad Upon a Wedding.” However, the genre went into decline by the latter stages of the seventeenth century, with the epithalamia of John Dryden (1631–1700) marking the transition point between the form’s popularity and its lapse back into obscurity.

Though the epithalamion became relatively rare in English literature after Dryden’s death, later poets resuscitated the genre to significant acclaim. Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) penned a notable example, titled “Epithalamium” in a nod to the form’s Latin name. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892), Britain’s Poet Laureate for most of the Victorian era (1837–1901), ended his renowned work “In Memoriam A.H.H.” with an epithalamion. In the twentieth century, modernist and postmodernist authors experimented with the genre, with the poets e.e. cummings (1894–1962) and Linda Gregerson (1950—) authoring well-known examples.

Bibliography

Anderson, H.S. “What Is an Epithalamium?” LanguageHumanities,12 Oct. 2023, www.languagehumanities.org/what-is-an-epithalamium.htm. Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.

Eastwood, Adrienne L. “In the Shadow of the Queen: The Early English Epithalamium and the Female Monarch.” Early Modern Literary Studies,vol. 16, no. 3, 2013, pp. 1–23. Available at extra.shu.ac.uk/emls/journal/index.php/emls/article/view/69. Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.

“Edmund Spencer.” Poetry Foundation,www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/edmund-spenser. Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.

“Epithalamion.” Poetry Foundation,poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/epithalamion. Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.

Gillespie, Stuart. “Dryden’s Second Poem on the Royal Wedding of 1683?” The Review of English Studies, vol. 41, no. 163, Aug. 1990, pp. 365–369. DOI: 10.1093/res/XLI.163.365. Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.

Gregerson, Linda. “Epithalamion.”The Poetry Society, poems.poetrysociety.org.uk/poems/epithalamion/. Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.

Guidetti, Fabio. “For Whom Hesperus Shines: An Astronomical Allusion in Roman Epithalamic Poetry.” The Journal of Roman Studies, vol. 112, Nov. 2022, pp. 39–56. DOI: 10.1017/S0075435821000903.Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.

Spenser, Edmund. “Epithalamion.” Poetry Foundation,www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45191/epithalamion-56d22497d00d4. Accessed 21 Nov. 2023.

Wilson, Evelyn Faye. A Study of the Epithalamium in the Middle Ages: An Introduction to the Epithalamium Beate Marie Virgins of John of Garland.University of California, Berkeley, 1930.