Durk Lenige: de Gysbert Japix fan 'e 18de ieu?

Abstract

This article discusses the merits of the poems of the 18th century Frisian
writer Durk Lenige. It is assumed implicitly, from the evidence of
anthologies of Frisian poetry, and explicitly, from casual references in the
literature, that Lenige is a minor poet, at best. No arguments are given in
support of that preconception. Close reading of his poems reveals that
several of them exhibit an intelligent composition, combining knowledge of
science and religion in order to either present an ethical position or to
express a personal emotion. In addition, the poems often have a very
rhetorical, very condensed form, employing elaborate compounds and a
compressed syntax, that is characteristic of international baroque poetry.
The neglect of his poetry can possibly be attributed to lack of appreciation
of the 18th century world view, and to the impopularity of the use of classic
mythology with present-day critics and researchers studying the Frisian
literature.