Crashaw, Catholicism, and Englishness: Defining Religious Identity

Summary

The current consensus on the early seventeenth-century English poet Richard Crashaw can best be summarized in the language of the Norton Anthology of English Literature, reading from the first volume of the seventh (and current) edition:

Crashaw differs greatly from Herbert and from every other English religious poet of the period in religious and aesthetic sensibility. He converted to Roman Catholicism and was deeply committed to its rituals and devotions. Also, he is the only major English poet in the tradition of the continental baroque, influenced by the poetics of the Catholic Counter-Reformation.

Central to this characterization are of course two points: one, that Crashaw is unique among writers of this period in his “religious and aesthetic sensibility,” and two, that his uniqueness is related to his conversion to Roman Catholicism, which, through his deep “commitment to its rituals and devotions,” served as the source of inspiration for his “religious and aesthetic sensibility.” In the words of the Norton Anthology, again, “Crashaw's favorite subjects are the baroque artist's favorites [and] Crashaw's attraction to Roman Catholicism was a natural expression of his temperament.”