Cyflwyniad hwyliog i hanes llenyddiaeth Gymraeg, gyda, Jerry Hunter, hogyn o’r Midwest yn America yn dysgu Richard Wyn Jones, hogyn o ganolbarth Sir Fôn, am drysorau’i iaith ei hun.
Pennod 96 - Fflangell Elphin: Barddoniaeth a Beirniadaeth Lenyddol yn y 1890au
Cawn hwyl yn y bennod hon wrth edrych ar ysgrif gan ‘Elphin’ (Robert Arthur Griffith, 1860-1936) a gyhoeddwyd yn Y Geninen yn 1895.
Ystyriwn feirniadaeth afieithus Elphin wrth iddo fflangellu’r ‘Bardd Newydd’ a nodi bod ganddo bwyntiau difrifol iawn er gwaethaf ei ormodiaeth ddychanol. Cydymdeimlwn â dwy ochr y ddadl lenyddol hon ac awgrymwn ei bod yn fodd i bwyso a mesur cyflwr barddoniaeth Gymraeg ar ddiwedd y ganrif. Ac mae llawer o’r cwestiynau canolog yr un mor berthnasol wrth ystyried barddoniaeth Gymraeg heddiw (e.e., a yw’n bosibl bod ystyriaethau ffurfiol yn gorlywodraethu weithiau? Beth yw rôl dysg mewn cerdd? A.y.y.b.). Rydym ni’n diffinio’r ‘Bardd Newydd’ a ‘Rhamantiaeth’ wrth fynd heibio hefyd.
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Elphin’s Whip: Poetry and Literary Criticism in the 1890s
We have fun in this episode while looking at a piece by ‘Elphin’ (Robert Arthur Griffith, 1860-1936) which was published in Y Geninen in 1895.
We consider Elphin’s gleeful criticism as he scourges the ‘Bardd Newydd’ (‘New Poet’) and note that he has very serious points despite his satirical excess. We sympathize with both sides of this literary debate and we suggest that it’s a way of assessing the state of Welsh poetry at the end of the century. And many of the central questions are just as relevant to those who consider Welsh poetry today (for example, is it possible that formal considerations sometimes dominate? What is the role of learning in a poem? And etc.). We also define the ‘New Poet’ and ‘Romanticism’ in passing.
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:
- Ann Rhian Hughes (gol.), Beirniad Llym Gynddeiriog: Ysgrifau a Cherddi Elphin (Dalen Newydd, 2026).
- Cewch ddarllen Y Geninen ar wefan Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru: https://cylchgronau.llyfrgell.cymru/browse/2354296,
10 Sept 2026
Pennod 95 - ‘A Natur sy’n canu ei hanthem i mi’: Islwyn a’i ‘Storm’
Trafodwn William Thomas (1832-1878) yn y bennod hon, bardd sy’n cael ei gofio fel ‘Islwyn’.
Yn ôl Glyn Tegai Hughes, hwn oedd bardd Cymraeg gorau’r bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg. Ond er i Islwyn ennill enw fel bardd o bwys yn ystod ei oes trwy gystadlu’n aml mewn eisteddfodau ac ati, nid oes llawer sy’n arbennig am yr holl farddoniaeth eisteddfodol hon. Mae’r bardd hwn yn haeddu lle anrhydeddus yn hanes llenyddiaeth Gymraeg oherwydd un gerdd a gyfansoddodd, ‘Y Storm’. Ond mae’r gerdd honno’n hir iawn – dros 6,000 o linellau! Dim ond ar ôl i Islwyn farw y cyhoeddwyd y bryddest fawr, a chafodd ddylanwad mawr ar genhedlaeth arall o feirdd Cymraeg. Myfyriwn ynghylch rhai dyfyniadau dethol wrth i ni gnoi cil ar natur unigryw y gerdd uchelgeisiol hon.
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‘And it’s Nature who’s singing its anthem to me’: Islwyn and his ‘Storm’
We discuss William Thomas (1832-1878) in this episode, a poet remembered as ‘Islwyn’.
According to Glyn Tegai Hughes, he was the best Welsh-language poet of the nineteenth century. But although Islwyn won a name as a poet of significance during his lifetime by competing often in eisteddfodau and etc., there is not much of worth in all of this eisteddfodic poetry. This poet deserves an honoured place in the history of Welsh literature because of one poem he composed, ‘The Storm. But this poem is very long – over 6,000 lines! It was only after Islwyn died that the great pryddest was published, and it had a big influence on another generation of Welsh poets. We consider a few choice quotes as we mull over the unique nature of this ambitious poem.
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:
- ‘Y Storm’ Gyntaf gan Islwyn, gol. Meurig Walters (1980).
- Glyn Tegai Hughes, ‘Islwyn and Y Storm’, in Hywel Teifi Edwards (ed.), A guide to Welsh literature c. 1800-1900 (2000).
- Meredydd Evans, ‘Y Storm’ gyntaf (1988).
- Alun Llwelyn-Williams, Y Nos, Y Niwl a’r Ynys [:] Agweddau ar y Profiad Rhamantaidd yng Nghymru 1890-1914 (1960).
27 Aug 2026
Pennod 94 - Profedigaethau Enoc Huws: Daniel Owen (rhan 2)
Cawn hwyl yn y bennod hon wrth drafod campwaith dychanol Daniel Owen, Profedigaethau Enoc Huws.
Dechreuwn gyda brawddeg agoriadol y nofel – o bosibl y frawddeg enwocaf yn holl hanes ffuglen Gymraeg – ac ystyried arwyddocâd y feirniadaeth gymdeithasol y mae’n gerbyd iddi. Dyma’r nofelydd o’r Wyddgrug ar ei orau, ac yntau’n awdur a oedd yn ddigon dewr ac yn ddigon hyderus i edrych yn feirniadol ar ei gymdeithas ei hun. Mae hefyd yn dychanu diwylliant llenyddol Cymraeg cyfoes a’r traddodiad crefyddol yr oedd yn perthyn iddo. Rhyfeddwn wrth sylwi bod llawer o ddychan y nofel yn ymddangos yn hynod gyfoes, a Richard Wyn Jones yn gweld Susi Trefor fel influencer arwynebol ar y cyfryngau cymdeithasol heddiw!
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The Tribulations of Enoc Huws: Daniel Owen (part 2)
We have fun in this episode while discussing Daniel Owen’s satirical masterpiece, The Tribulations of Enoc Huws.
We begin with the novel’s opening sentence – possibily the most famous sentence in the entire history of Welsh fiction – and considering the social critique for which it is a vehicle. This is the novelist from Yr Wyddgrug (Mold) at his best, an author who was brave enough and confident enough to look critically at his own society. He also satirizes contemporary Welsh literary culture and the religious tradition to which he himself belonged. We are amazed as we note that much of the novel’s satire appears very contemporary, and Richard Wyn Jones sees Susi Trefor as a superficial influencer on today’s social media!
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:
- https://www.llyfrgell.cymru/darganfod-dysgu/arddangosfeydd-arlein/llyfrau/rhyddiaith-a-nofelau/profedigaethau-enoc-huws
- Rydym ni’n deall y bydd Melin Bapur yn ailgyhoeddi Profedigaethau Enoc Huws cyn bo hir.
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