The Assembly of Gods - Critical Response

Critical Response

J. Schick seems to have aroused a renewed modern interest in the poem toward the end of the nineteenth century. In his introduction to Lydgate’s Temple of Glas (1891) he mentions The Assembly of Gods in his “Chronology of Lydgate’s Writings” (cix-cx) and in his discussion of sources that Lydgate drew on in his works (cxvii). He raises the question of whether Lydgate wrote the poem or not, talks briefly about the manuscript and printings and connects the poem with Prudentius’ Psychomachia. It is his work that encouraged Oscar Lovell Triggs to make his edition of the poem for the Early English Text Society.

Triggs’ 1896 edition of The Assembly of Gods provides the most thorough discussion of the poem. He addresses questions of manuscripts (vii-x), title (x-xi), authorship and date (xi-xiv), meter (xiv-xx), rhyme (xxi-xxix, xxx-xxxiv), alliteration (xxix-xxx), language (xxxv-xxxvii) and thematic elements and motifs (xxxvii-lxxvi). His notes (62-94) serve primarily to connect phrases and ideas from the poem with other literature of the time. His work also includes catalogues of characters (95-105), a glossary (106-114) and a collection of special phrases and proverbs found in the poem (115-16). His discussion of the poem focuses on the way that it fits into the history of English literature and its use of common motifs and techniques. Triggs’ belief that the poem was written by Lydgate directly influences many of his arguments, but his work on the formal elements of the poem is valuable and his discussion of the conventional motifs is interesting and insightful.

In 1897, Frederick Klaeber wrote a review of Triggs’ book which is generally positive with regard to Dr. Triggs and negative with regard to the merits of the poem. He briefly discusses some formal elements of the poem.

Albert Rudolph wrote a short work in 1909 that compares the style of The Assembly of Gods with that of works by Lydgate and argues that Lydgate was not the author of The Assembly of Gods.

In The Allegory of Love (1936) C. S. Lewis briefly describes The Assembly of Gods as “a psychomachia with trimmings” (260). He writes of the vivacity of the poem and of the “clumsy, honest poet; who was certainly not Lydgate if we judge by his metre” (262). The discussion of the poem is brief, focuses on the second episode and doesn’t address the main themes of the poem in any depth.

In The Seven Deadly Sins (1952) Morton Bloomfield mentions the poem and connects the description of the gods in the first section with alchemy, but still focuses his attention on the second section of the poem. He concludes his discussion of the poem, “Although the poetry is weak, the Assembly on Gods is historically a very important example of the psychomachia theme. The battle theme . . . is handled by the author with a deftness and attractiveness which even the limping poetry and long lists of sub sins cannot entirely mar” (228).

Spivack also briefly mentions the poem in connection with psychomachia literature and the morality plays of the late Middle Ages (1958). This connection is referenced in Potter’s important work on morality drama (1975), but neither author talks about the poem in any detail.

Curt F. Bühler wrote an article in 1967 for English Language Notes that connects the poem’s use of the goddess Othea with Christine de Pisan’s Epître d’Othéa. He notes some similarities in the way that the two works describe and explain the pagan deities they include.

In 1971 Pamela Gradon used The Assembly of Gods as an example in her discussion of the way that late medieval literature relied on shallow, static visual images and contrasts it directly with the depth and immediacy of the characters in the Psychomachia and the depth of meaning of the beasts in the opening of Dante’s Divine Comedy (62-63). She also compares the way that the poem uses visual representations to The Romance of the Rose and Dante’s Purgatorio (369-373).

Philippa Tristram (1976) briefly mentions the poem’s treatment of the question of predestination (144-145) and the relationship between Death and Nature (179).

Alain Renoir and C. David Benson (1980) included The Assembly of Gods in their list of Lydgate’s works. They include a plot summary and say that the poem “reflects most of the conventions of its genre as well as reflecting a typical Christian attitude toward the ancient gods” (1817).

In 1988, Jennifer O’Reilly included The Assembly of Gods in her discussion of the development of the medieval treatment of the virtues and vices. She reasserts the connection to the Psychomachia (59-61) and uses The Assembly of Gods as an example of the importance of penance and perseverance in late medieval works (304-305).

A. S. G. Edwards and C. M. Meale make brief mention of the transmission of the manuscript in their article on medieval book marketing (123-124).

In 1999, Jane Chance edited an edition of The Assembly of Gods with extensive notes and a thorough introduction. A review of the work by Roberta Davidson suggests that Chance's introduction focuses on what she sees as feminine elements in the poem and on the connection to Christine de Pisan’s Epître d’Othéa.