Last weekend we went to Silverdale to listen to the Gesualdo Six. As well as being fabulous they included thoughts in their programme about Gesualdo and his place in the Renaissance, Baroque, Mannerism continuum.
I am a big Richard Crashaw aficionado and the concert made me think of his role in this continuum and how reading his poetry in this context helps explain it. Crashaw is of a similar time to Gesualdo, the Italian musician and poet. At this time in England focus was on the Metaphysical nature of poetry, although this word wasn’t coined until the 20th century by T S Eliot, whilst in Europe poetry and music exhibited Mannerist and Baroque elements.
Richard Crashaw occupies a unique transitional position in English literature, bridging the stylised intellectual strain of Mannerism with the dramatic emotional ecstasy of the Continental Baroque. While typically anthologised alongside John Donne and George Herbert as a Metaphysical poet, Crashaw’s heavy stylistic alignment with Continental aesthetics—particularly Italian Marinism—makes the lens of Mannerism vital to understanding his verse.
Some examples in his work which mark him as Mannerist include:
• Far-Fetched Conceits: Uses extended, surprising metaphors and paradoxes that connect remote or unrelated ideas, often drawing on exotic themes or emerging science.
• Sensual & Ornate Style: Employs hyperbole, lavish and musical descriptions, antithesis, wordplay, and extravagant sense-impressions.
• Aim to Startle.
Mannerism in literature serves as a bridge between the balanced order of the High Renaissance and the grandiose spectacle of the Baroque. Literary Mannerism is characterised by:
• Hyper-elaboration: Elevating technique and artificial construction above "natural" expression.
• Bizarre Conceits: Using highly intellectual, unexpected, or jarring metaphors that strain logic.
• Emotional Dislocation: Breaking traditional artistic boundaries to startle or surprise the reader.
Mannerism intentionally warps human anatomy and proportions for emotional effect, a trait heavily reflected in Crashaw’s focus on the physical body. He frequently combines blood, milk, tears, and wounds into highly stylized systems. For instance, in "On the Wounds of our Crucified Lord," he tracks the transition of Christ’s bodily fluids with unsettling anatomical distortion.
"O these wakeful wounds of thine!
Are they Mouthes? or are they eyes?
... Lo! a mouth, whose full-bloom'd lips
At too dear a rate are roses."
Bernini's statue of The Ecstasy of St Theresa, created shortly after Crashaw's poem, is closest to the poet's exploration of the extraordinary physical expression of mystical experience.
So, as well as enjoying the Gesualdo Six, I was also able to develop some thoughts about one of my favourite poems and where he fits into the cultural canon.