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

Abstract

This article discusses the merits of the poems of the 18th century Frisianwriter Durk Lenige. It is assumed implicitly, from the evidence ofanthologies of Frisian poetry, and explicitly, from casual references in theliterature, that Lenige is a minor poet, at best. No arguments are given insupport of that preconception. Close reading of his poems reveals thatseveral of them exhibit an intelligent composition, combining knowledge ofscience and religion in order to either present an ethical position or toexpress a personal emotion. In addition, the poems often have a veryrhetorical, very condensed form, employing elaborate compounds and acompressed syntax, that is characteristic of international baroque poetry.The neglect of his poetry can possibly be attributed to lack of appreciationof the 18th century world view, and to the impopularity of the use of classicmythology with present-day critics and researchers studying the Frisianliterature.