The Literature of Plagues: An Upcoming Discussion
Since there is no sign of this plague letting up—I am referring to the plague of hysteria that has descended upon the world—we may as well make the most of it by considering what we can learn by reading great literary accounts of previous plagues. As a graduate student, I decided to sit in on a seminar on Vergil's Georgics led by Brooks Otis, a rather famous literary scholar who had retired from Stanford to Chapel Hill. His work on Vergil and Ovid was not at all my cup of tea: I have no patience with lit crit of even the highest type. Nonetheless, a wise man at any age sits at the feet of those who have earned a high reputation.
Since I was finished with courses and was starting my dissertation, I was not taking the course for credit, but Otis politely suggested that I participate fully--which I intended to--by doing all the assignments. He had a list of topics from which he wanted the students to pick themes for their own study in the course of the semester. Since there was no one else to do it, I joined my young fellow-student Laura Stone in choosing the influence of the Georgics on later literature.
When it came time to do a report or paper, I did one on the literature of plagues, which is how I came to read and reread a good deal of stuff. As I recall, Otis liked what I had to say just a bit more than my dreadful paper on Tennyson's "In Memoriam." I mistook some of his dislike for Tennyson as derived from the universal anti-Christianism of the professoriate, but Otis was some kind of Christian and serious enough to understand that Tennyson was simply a Victorian. He got even more uncomfortable when I tried to engage him in a discussion of Bay Area Beat poets, particularly their godfather Kenneth Patchen...
But that is another story. As long as we have to endure the tedium or the fear, let us at least take the opportunity to consult wiser men than ourselves.
I propose a regular reading schedule of the following:
1. The Plagues of Egypt depicted in Exodus
2. The Plague at Athens described by Thucydides (Book II, see https://www.livius.org/sources/content/thucydides-historian/the-plague/) and Sophocles (Oedipus Tyrannus).
3. Vergil’s Description of an Animal Plague, Georgics III and Lucretius’ poetic account of the Athenian Plague in De rerum natura VI.
4. The Black Plague of 1348 recounted by Boccaccio in The Decameron
4. Daniel Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year
5. The Plague at Milan in Manzoni’s I promessi sposi.
6. Jean Giono’s novel, Horseman on the Roof, which describes cholera in Provence during the 19th century, and/or the film based on it.
I’m happy to consider other accounts, and these works will be handled either in written pieces or in podcasts. I am happy to recommend translations as we go along.
Camus’ The Plague?
And
Poe’s TMOTRD?
I pulled out my copy of Manzoni this morning and will reread the Plague section as a top priority. I’m about due to read this wonderful novel again in any case. I have loved it since you recommended it about 20 years ago in some magazine or other. It must be the Great Italian Novel. I think it is my favorite among all 19th Century novels period, although I still have a lot of Trollope and a few Jane Austen’s to go through. I’ve heard that many Italians of a certain age considered it a great cross to bear, because they were all forced to read it in school. True story?Probably were at too young an age to appreciate it. I’m glad I didn’t find it until I was in my 40’s.
Martin Luther’s “Whether One May Flee from the Plague” (1527)? Written in the midst of a bubonic plague outbreak, this reply (published as an open letter) to a pastor’s question engages in the sort of casuistry I think the author of “The Morality of Everyday Life” would appreciate. But I understand if you consider this afield–it’s counsel, not literature.
Unfortunately I cannot participate in this reading regimen because, believe it or not, I’m pulling twelve hour shifts working elbow to elbow with some very upset coworkers. That’s no joke.
However, perhaps “Extraordinary Popular Delusions” & “The Madness of Crowds” would be apropos.
I know there were accounts of the bubonic plague in Alexandria and Constantinople, but I don’t remember who wrote them.
This is a fine idea, with interesting reads. I would like to second the motion on Poe’s Mask of the Red Death.
I know Jack London wrote a novel, “The Scarlet Plague.” I know nothing about it other than I believe it’s post-apocalyptic; don’t know if that is worth considering.
I had planned on the Poe but neglected to read it. It’s been decades since I read Camus and never much liked La Peste, but I’ll take a look. Before noon on Saturday (March 28) I’ll be posting a few observations on Exodus.