Nightmare Abbey · Chapter
XI explained
At a dinner at Nightmare Abbey, Mr.
What happens
At a dinner at Nightmare Abbey, Mr. Cypress the poet announces his departure from England. The company engages in a philosophical debate on love, ideal beauty, and the value of travel, with Scythrop criticizing those who abandon their country. Mr. Cypress recites a poem on despair, and the evening ends with a catch sung by the party.
Themes in this chapter
Melancholy and Misanthropy
Mr. Glowry's repeated call 'Let us all be unhappy together' and Mr. Cypress's poem embody the chapter's pervasive gloom.
Romantic Idealism vs. Reality
The debate between Mr. Cypress and Mr. Hilary contrasts ideal beauty with the imperfections of real human love.
Satire of Literary and Philosophical Fashions
The characters' exaggerated postures—Cypress's despair, Flosky's obscurantism, Listless's ennui—mock contemporary intellectual trends.
Characters to notice
- Scythrop Glowry
Engages in debate with Mr. Cypress about patriotism and the futility of seeking the past.
- Mr. Glowry
Hosts the dinner and repeatedly calls for collective unhappiness.
- Mr. Cypress
The poet guest who announces his departure, recites a poem, and argues about love and despair.
- Mr. Flosky
Participates in the philosophical discussion, offering a definition of ideal beauty.
- Mr. Hilary
Advocates for cheerfulness and a catch, countering the melancholy of others.
- Honourable Mr. Listless
Comments on the fashion of travel and his own lack of energy.
Key passages
“The mind is restless, and must persist in seeking, though to find is to be disappointed.”
The mind is always searching, but finding something only leads to disappointment.
Mr. Cypress expresses a core Romantic pessimism about the futility of desire.
“I have quarrelled with my wife; and a man who has quarrelled with his wife is absolved from all duty to his country.”
Because I have argued with my wife, I am no longer obligated to serve my country.
Scythrop's satirical jab at Cypress's excuse for leaving England.
“The bowl goes trim: the moon doth shine: And our ballast is old wine.”
The bowl sails smoothly, the moon shines, and we are steadied by old wine.
The chorus of the catch sung by the party, celebrating drunken conviviality.