exposed as hopelessly insubstantial; in the case of
beauty, for instance, we are provided the classical
example of Helen of Troy, reputed to be the most beau-
tiful woman in the world but now obscured by the
“dust” of the grave.
Each stanza concludes with a REFRAIN drawn directly
out of the Elizabethan Book of Common Prayer: “I am
sick, I must dye: / Lord, have mercy on us” is a response
to the litany of saints and was a phrase often posted on
the doors of plague-infected homes. Such direct, topi-
cal reference to the disease ravaging London, a descen-
dent of the BLACK DEATH, localizes the poem’s broad
concluding statement about the necessity of preparing
spiritually for the afterlife: “Haste therefore eche degree,
/ To welcome destiny: / Heaven is our heritage” (ll.
1609–11). Universal concerns are accommodated to
the particular individuals for whom the song was fi rst
performed—namely, those being sheltered from plague
in Whitgift’s country home. In this way, the somber
religious overtones of the “Litany” encourage a sense of
spiritual community—a community of sufferers and
worshippers, regardless of “degree,” or station in life—
that differs from the secular versions of community in
the play, which result from participation in holiday
pastimes and life-affi rming celebrations.
Over the course of the last century, “A Litany in
Time of Plague” has fostered considerable critical
debate focusing on the meaning of the line “Bright-
nesse falls from the ayre” (l. 1590). While some critics
took the line to be purposely ambiguous, others con-
tended that “ayre” was meant to be “hayre,” and that
the line was thus a straightforward commentary on the
passing nature of beauty. It has also been suggested
that this line refers to the lightning and comets that
were thought to foreshadow the plague deaths of late
summer. More recent commentary accommodates
Nashe’s demonstrated anti-Puritan feeling by reading
the poem’s concern with representing the natural, uni-
versal human condition of suffering as a refutation of
the Puritan idea that plague resulted from unnatural
social abuses.
FURTHER READING
Hilliard, Stephen S. The Singularity of Thomas Nashe. Lin-
coln: University of Nebraska Press, 1986.
Nashe, Thomas. Summer’s Last Will and Testament: The
Works of Thomas Nashe, edited by Ronald B. McKerrow,
Vol. 3. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1958.
Trimpi, Wesley. “The Practice of Historical Interpretation
and Nashe’s ‘Brightnesse falls from the ayre.’ ” JEPG 66
(1967): 501–518.
Jamie JohnstonLOCK, ANNE VAUGHAN See TUDOR WOMEN
POETS.LOCUS AMOENUS One of the most ancient of
all nature descriptions, the locus amoenus (Latin for
“beautiful place”) contains all that is necessary (shade,
running water, and greenness) for humans to enjoy a
summer’s afternoon. It is an entirely separate landscape
from the sylva (wild wood) and the hortus inclusus
(enclosed garden).
The locus amoenus is the traditional setting of the PAS-
TORAL and of love—lost, found, or sought. VIRGIL
embedded it in the western psyche through his Eclogues.
It remained the preeminent literary landscape, until the
rise of the sublime (nature as distinct from beauty) in
the 18th century. Because the use of the locus amoenus
become so commonplace, only the briefest shorthand
description in the lyric became necessary.
See also ARCADIA, EKPHRASIS.
FURTHER READING
Curtius, Ernst. European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages.
Translated by W. R. Trask. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton
University Press, 1953.
Helen Conrad-O’BriainLOLLARDISM (LOLLARDY, WYCLIFFISM)
(ca. 1382–1430) The Lollards were a heretical sect
whose ideas were based on the principles of Oxford
theologian John Wycliffe (ca. 1330–1384) Lollardism is
the only heresy to have fl ourished in medieval England.
It is often said to be the only native heresy, though that
viewpoint has been challenged recently.
Frustrated in his career, Wycliffe began advocating
radical church reform, including an insistence on the
Bible as the source of grace and ultimate authority, as
well as a renunciation of priestly tithes and ecclesiasti-248 LOCK, ANNE VAUGHAN