Dream of Gerontius

The Dream of Gerontius by Bl John Henry Newman, 94 pages

Bl John Henry Newman wrote the long narrative poem The Dream of Gerontius in 1865.  Combining influences from the Roman liturgy to Cicero's Somnium Scipionis, the story follows Gerontius (an "old man") from his deathbed into the afterlife, where he is greeted by his guardian angel and conducted through the celestial spheres to be presented before the throne of God.  Newman, living in a time when churchmen were expected to be literary men, still unites in a unique way psychological perspicuity, theological wisdom, aesthetic judgement, and a command of the English language.  It is not difficult to agree with Dr Alexander Whyte, "It is a poem that every man should have by heart who has it before him to die."

The Dream of Gerontius was magnificently set to music by Edward Elgar in 1900.  The 1916 edition includes darkly dramatic full page illustrations by Stella Langdale and an extended introduction by Gordon Tidy.