Treść książki

Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
Ch.Dickens,A.Trollope,andtheSpiritoftheAmericanPlace
19
TheLatinpoetHoraceinhisfifthsatiredescribedhisjourneyfrom
RometoBrundisium(Brindisi)alongtheAppianWay.Publishedin36or
35BC,besidesdwellingonpracticaleventsoccurringduringthejourney,
thistravelogueacknowledgedestablishedmodesoftravelwriting,varying
betweenthevisualorpicturesquevariety,mostlysetondescription,or
thepolitico/historicalkind,relatingmilitaryfeatsleadingtoconquestand
exploitation(Jensen).InHorace’swake,otherclassicaltravelogues,suchas
Pausanias’sGreciaeDescriptio,(λλάδοςπεριήγησις,IIcenturyAD),would
spawnanumberoffollowerswithintheXVIIIcenturyneoclassicalmode:
JosephAddisons’sRemarksonSeveralPartsofItaly,&c.intheYears1701,1702,
1703(1705);DanielDefoe’sTourthroughtheWholeIslandofGreatBritain
(1724-1727);SamuelJohnson’sJourneytotheWesternIslandsofScotland
(1755);HenryFielding’sJournalofaVoyagetoLisbon(1755);TobiasSmollett’s
TravelsThroughFranceandItaly(1765).Thesetextssharetheauthor’s
commitmenttogivingarealisticaccountofthejourney,withplentyofuseful
details,travelitinerary,geographicalfeatures.
ThesuccessofthegenreintheXVIIIcenturyprovidesthefocustoCharles
L.Battenjr.
’sPleasurableInstruction:FormandConventioninEighteenth-
centuryTravelLiterature.Battenhighlightsthecomplexrelationship
betweennovelwritingandtravelwriting.Whenthenovelwasconsidered
alowandvulgargenreandlookeduponwithsuspicion,theclassicillustrious
ancestorsofthetravelbookwouldlenditgreaterdignityofliterarystatus.
flPleasurableinstruction,”almostliterallyHorace’sflprodesseetdelectare,”
wastherecipefollowedbytravelbookauthorswhofavouredauthenticity,in
oppositionagainsttheromancesandfantasticvoyagesofpastaccounts;they
recommendedorder,astheaccounthadtofollowthestagesofthejourney;
theyfocussedontheobjectsobservedratherthanontheobserver;and
followedintheirdescriptionahierarchyoftopics,suchascharacter,custom,
religion,government,police,commerce,artsandantiquities.Suchhierarchy
wasalsorecommendedbyBishopTucker’sInstructionsforTravellers(1757)
andLeopoldBerchtold’sEssaytoDirectandExtendtheInquiriesofPatriotic
Travelers(1789).Itcouldbeaddedthatthefldelectare”orpleasurablekind
ofaccountaimedatpleasingandentertainingthereader,elicitingamoral-
aestheticresponse,comescloserinkindtoaquest;whereastheflprodesse,”
orinstructivekindofnarration,appearsasthetravelbookkeyword,ofering
reliabledescriptionsandusefulinformation.
DuringthesecondhalfoftheXVIIIcentury,themoodchanges,as
ArchibaldAlison’stheoryofpsychologicalassociationssetsstrongerfocus
onthefeelings,involuntarymemoriesandemotionsofthetraveller,asin
LaurenceSterne’sASentimentalJourneythroughFranceandItaly(1768).