Poetry · Chapter
XIII: Loring Pickering explained
A satirical epitaph for Loring Pickering, portraying him as a writer devoid of true inspiration, feeling, and sense, who valued mere words over ideas and died rather than be revived by divine influence.
What happens
A satirical epitaph for Loring Pickering, portraying him as a writer devoid of true inspiration, feeling, and sense, who valued mere words over ideas and died rather than be revived by divine influence.
Themes in this chapter
Art and Criticism
The epitaph criticizes Pickering's lack of true artistic inspiration and his reliance on empty words.
Deception and Self-Deception
Pickering is portrayed as self-deceived, proud of his words while being blind to his own lack of substance.
Characters to notice
- Loring Pickering
Subject of the epitaph, depicted as a writer lacking feeling, sense, and original ideas.
Key passages
“Here rests a writer, great but not immense, Born destitute of feeling and of sense.”
This writer is buried here; he was notable but not truly great, lacking both emotion and intelligence from birth.
Opens the epitaph with a damning assessment of Pickering's innate deficiencies.
“Ideas unto him were all unknown, Proud of the words which, only, were his own.”
He had no original ideas, yet he was proud of the words he wrote, which were merely his own arrangement.
Highlights the critique of Pickering's lack of originality and his vanity.
“A fever Heaven to quicken him applied, But rather than revive, the sluggard died.”
Heaven sent a fever to stir him into life, but instead of being revived, the lazy man died.
Concludes with a metaphor for divine inspiration being rejected, leading to his demise.