Trafodwn John Ceiriog Hughes (1832-1887) yn y bennod hon. Ceiriog o bosib oedd y bardd Cymraeg mwyaf poblogaidd yn ystod ail hanner y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg.

Wrth graffu ar y modd yr aeth ati i greu a chyflwyno delweddau ‘derbynol’ o Gymru a’r Cymry, nodwn fod ei waith yn enghraifft dda o’r effaith andwyol a gafodd ‘y Llyfrau Gleision’ ar y traddodiad llenyddol Cymraeg. Dyfynnwn Hywel Teifi Edwards a ddywedodd mai ‘gwas ei gymdeithas’ oedd Ceiriog, ac yntau’n ‘bodloni anghenion ei oes’ yn hytrach na’u herio. Ond rydym ni hefyd yn pwysleisio dawn bardd a lwyddodd i gyfansoddi penillion a fyddai’n ennill statws oesol caneuon gweriniol.

Mae’r bennod hon hefyd yn gyfle i ystyried cydberthynas barddoniaeth a cherddoriaeh yng Nghymru yn ystod Oes Fictoria. Ac mae’n dda gorffen trwy ddarllen englyn gan Ceiriog sy’n cyflwyno golwg tra gwahanol ar ei waith!

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‘The Present Taste of the People’: Ceiriog

In this episode we discuss John Ceiriog Hughes (1832-1887). Ceiriog was possibly the most popular Welsh poet of the second half of the nineteenth century.

While examining the way in which he strove to create and present ‘acceptable’ images of Wales and the Welsh, we note that his work is a good example of the stultifying effect which the ‘Blue Books’ had on the Welsh literary tradition. We quote Hywel Teifi Edwards who said that Ceiriog was ‘the servant of his society’, as he sought to ‘satisfy the needs of his age’ rather than challenge them. But we also stress the talent of a poet who managed to compose verses which would achieve the ageless status of folk songs.

This episode also gives us an opportunity to consider the relationshiop between poetry and music in Wales in the Victorian Age. And it’s nice to be able to finish by reading an englyn by Ceiriog which presents a very different look at his work!

Cyflwynwyd gan: Yr Athro Jerry Hunter a'r Athro Richard Wyn Jones

Cynhyrchwyd gan: Richard Martin ar gyfer Mimosa Cymru

Cerddoriaeth: 'Might Have Done' gan The Molenes

Darllen Pellach/Further Reading:

- Hywel Teifi Edwards, Ceiriog (1987)