Lord Alfred Tennyson like John Keats has a tendency to focus on tragedy or despair. Some of this comes from the depression he entered into after the death of his friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, but Tennyson's poetry had a dreary flair even before Hallam's death. In Mariana, Tennyson portrays a lonely woman who is lamenting her loss of her lover.
Her tears fell with the dews at even;
Her tears fell ere the dews were dried;
She could not look on the sweet heaven.
Either at morn or eventide.
After the flitting of the bats,
When thickest dark did trance the sky,
She drew her casement-curtain by,
And glanced athwart the glooming flats.
She only said, "'The night is dreary,
He cometh not,'" she said;
She said, "'I am aweary, aweary,
I would that I were dead!'" (line 13-24)
She lives in despair and alone. She cannot experience emotion other than her grief and longing for her husband to return. To her it does not matter if it is morning or evening, she constantly experiences her dejection. In the night, she cannot sleep or when she wakes she only comments that "the night is dreary, he cometh not" (line 21-22). No hope or happiness exists in her world. She only exists alone on the grange waiting for her lover to return. Living a live of shadows which slows drives her insane from her grief. She laments the shadow of the popular hits her bed because it reminds her of her estranged husband (line 55-56). Her lover does not return to her to keep her company while she sleeps or even while she wakes. She is living an isolated life separated from any form of happiness. She is cursed to live day to day without change or hope of her lover returning to her. She is destined to live in her dejection. However, the women has no intentions of leaving or overcoming her despair. In the final stanza, she declares "'I am very dreary, He will not come'" she said; She wept, 'I am aweary, aweary, Oh God, that I were dead!'" (line 81-84). Her tone has changed from the night or her life being dreary to herself being dreary. She has accepted her desolation, and her unhappy destiny to live alone and cursed on her farm. Whatever little hope she may have possessed has now disappeared. Her husband is actually gone. She pleads with God for her death because her life now is worse than death.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
A visit to Newgate
Charles Dickens A Visit to Newgate, I found to be an interesting text. Dickens, once had his entire family thrown into debtors prison because of his father's inability to manage funds. Only Dickens was spared from debtors prison because he was old enough to work off the debt. Therefore, his visit to Newgate must have been a very personal experience for him.
I noticed while reading that Dickens treated the prisoners he encountered as people not prisoners. He looks upon them with compassion. They are not bad people or criminals to Dickens. The prisoners are people who have had bad things happen to them. The women Dickens sees he comments on their looks and how they seem to have lost all hope of redemption, and yet the girl "still listens doggedly to her mother's entreaties, whatever they were" (Sketches by Boz). The girl maybe be in prison, living a life without a promise of anything better coming along, but she still listens to her mother and asks about people she cares about. After all to her prison is not a whole lot different from the life she was living before. The people in prison have been born into a life so similar that no one can "excite a passing thought" (Sketches by Boz). Life to them is nothing but one of despair, and no one can awaken their "contempt for feeling" (Sketches by Boz). Instead they sit and watch the days pass, but they possess no feeling. These prisoners are only shells of the former shells. Some will go to their deaths and others may eventually leave Newgate, but to them existence inside or outside of Newgate is the same.
For them death is better, death will release them from their miserable life. This reminded me of Nancy in Oliver Twist. Until Oliver arrived, Nancy much like the girl in Newgate was living without feeling. She cared for Bill and Fagin, but she didn't possess real emotion. Oliver gave that back to her when he awoken her female sensibility. After, Nancy begins to see the world differently however, she cannot live in it, and still has to die. Once she dies, Nancy is finally able to achieve peace because she is no longer being treated like she does not matter. She was redeemed by helping Oliver even though she had to die to be redeemed. Nancy still finds a better existence than the one she was in.
I noticed while reading that Dickens treated the prisoners he encountered as people not prisoners. He looks upon them with compassion. They are not bad people or criminals to Dickens. The prisoners are people who have had bad things happen to them. The women Dickens sees he comments on their looks and how they seem to have lost all hope of redemption, and yet the girl "still listens doggedly to her mother's entreaties, whatever they were" (Sketches by Boz). The girl maybe be in prison, living a life without a promise of anything better coming along, but she still listens to her mother and asks about people she cares about. After all to her prison is not a whole lot different from the life she was living before. The people in prison have been born into a life so similar that no one can "excite a passing thought" (Sketches by Boz). Life to them is nothing but one of despair, and no one can awaken their "contempt for feeling" (Sketches by Boz). Instead they sit and watch the days pass, but they possess no feeling. These prisoners are only shells of the former shells. Some will go to their deaths and others may eventually leave Newgate, but to them existence inside or outside of Newgate is the same.
For them death is better, death will release them from their miserable life. This reminded me of Nancy in Oliver Twist. Until Oliver arrived, Nancy much like the girl in Newgate was living without feeling. She cared for Bill and Fagin, but she didn't possess real emotion. Oliver gave that back to her when he awoken her female sensibility. After, Nancy begins to see the world differently however, she cannot live in it, and still has to die. Once she dies, Nancy is finally able to achieve peace because she is no longer being treated like she does not matter. She was redeemed by helping Oliver even though she had to die to be redeemed. Nancy still finds a better existence than the one she was in.
Carlyle: Past and Present
Thomas Carlyle, a satirical writer, used his writings to try and awaken an industrial Britain to its short comings. In Past and Present, Carlyle demonstrates Britain's failures through the story of Midas. The king who wished for the power to have everything he touched to turn to gold, but quickly found that his new power prevented him from eating. Carlyle recognizes that through industrialism England "is full of wealth, of multifarious produce, supply for human want in every kind: yet England is dying of inanition (477). Carlyle sees the damage that greed is doing to the country.
"'Touch is not, ye workers, ye master-workers, ye master-idlers; none of you can touch it, no man of you shall be the better for it; this is enchanted fruit!' On poor workers such fiat falls first, in its rudest shape; but on the rich master-workers it too falls; neither can the rich master-idlers, nor the richest or highest man escape, but all are like to be brough low with it, and made "poor" enough, in the money sense or a far fataler one" (477).
Carlyle is trying to warn England against the path it has started down. England is becoming a slave to money and those who do not have money are becoming slaves to men or death. The poor are becoming poorer and being placed in workhouses. There they have become imprisoned because they cannot work in the workhouses instead they sit to themselves living upon little benevolence. They are basically waiting to die. (478). No one cares about them. They are living just to die, and the people who could spare money to assist them are too busy making more money. The upper class only cares about themselves, and look upon the poor with disdain. England has created for itself a society where people would rather turn away from the problems of others instead of assisting others. England has forgotten that once everyone were equals. Carlyle is trying to make them realize their mistakes before it is too late.
"'Touch is not, ye workers, ye master-workers, ye master-idlers; none of you can touch it, no man of you shall be the better for it; this is enchanted fruit!' On poor workers such fiat falls first, in its rudest shape; but on the rich master-workers it too falls; neither can the rich master-idlers, nor the richest or highest man escape, but all are like to be brough low with it, and made "poor" enough, in the money sense or a far fataler one" (477).
Carlyle is trying to warn England against the path it has started down. England is becoming a slave to money and those who do not have money are becoming slaves to men or death. The poor are becoming poorer and being placed in workhouses. There they have become imprisoned because they cannot work in the workhouses instead they sit to themselves living upon little benevolence. They are basically waiting to die. (478). No one cares about them. They are living just to die, and the people who could spare money to assist them are too busy making more money. The upper class only cares about themselves, and look upon the poor with disdain. England has created for itself a society where people would rather turn away from the problems of others instead of assisting others. England has forgotten that once everyone were equals. Carlyle is trying to make them realize their mistakes before it is too late.
Keats: Bright Star
John Keats poetry possesses two traits, the idea of death and the splendor of beauty. His poem Bright Star discusses both aspects of death and beauty. The speaker begins by looking up at the stars stating,
"Bright Star, would I were steadfast as thou art-
Not in lone splendor hung aloft the night,
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient sleepless Eremite" (line 1- 4).
The speaker is wishing that he could be like the star, ever watchful and ever present. For the star is immortal, the star will always be there, but the speaker is destined to die. The speaker is lamenting his mortality in this world because his eminent death with separate him from his love. While the star can forever look upon "my fair love's ripening breast, to feel for ever its soft swell and fall, " the speaker must face death and separation (line 10-11). He cannot look forever upon his love. Yet she is not a star or immortal either, she too will die one day. The speaker recognizes his beloved like him will too face death. Therefore, he cherishes his moments with her.
"still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever- or else swoon to death-" (line 13-14)
The speaker treasures the moments he shares with his beloved, and while he is with her, he is living a full life. Together they life as if they are immortal. Together they cannot be harmed, but once they are separated they would rather "swoon to death" (line 14). The speaker knows that without his love his desire for immortality also dies because he only wants to live to be with her. Without her, he loses his desire to live.
"Bright Star, would I were steadfast as thou art-
Not in lone splendor hung aloft the night,
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient sleepless Eremite" (line 1- 4).
The speaker is wishing that he could be like the star, ever watchful and ever present. For the star is immortal, the star will always be there, but the speaker is destined to die. The speaker is lamenting his mortality in this world because his eminent death with separate him from his love. While the star can forever look upon "my fair love's ripening breast, to feel for ever its soft swell and fall, " the speaker must face death and separation (line 10-11). He cannot look forever upon his love. Yet she is not a star or immortal either, she too will die one day. The speaker recognizes his beloved like him will too face death. Therefore, he cherishes his moments with her.
"still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever- or else swoon to death-" (line 13-14)
The speaker treasures the moments he shares with his beloved, and while he is with her, he is living a full life. Together they life as if they are immortal. Together they cannot be harmed, but once they are separated they would rather "swoon to death" (line 14). The speaker knows that without his love his desire for immortality also dies because he only wants to live to be with her. Without her, he loses his desire to live.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Byron = Don Juan
To say that Lord Byron had a troubled existence maybe an understatement. None the less his life and lifestyle gave him plenty of material to write about. In fact, Byron's own life can easily be seen within Don Juan.
The poem opens with Don Juan living in Seville with his parents Don Jose and Donna Inez. An unhappy marriage, Don Jose and Donna Inez "wished not each other divorced, but dead" (line 203). Their marriage mirrored Byron's parents own marriage. His father spent his mothers fortune then fled leaving her with Byron and a resentment that Mrs. Gordon used against Byron.
After Don Jose's death, Don Juan inherits the family estate because "Juan was the sole heir" (line 289). Again Don Juan mirrors Byron's life. Lord Byron only inherited his title because he was the only male heir available for his recently deceased uncle. Without his childless uncle, Lord Byron would have probably ended up penniless or having to work for a living thanks to his wasteful father.
Byron even takes some liberties with the origins of Don Juan by changing Juan from the seducer to the seduced which according Byron had happened to him. At sixteen, Don Juan is pursued by the married Donna Julia (line 435-440). Byron claims that his older nurse pursued him and brought about his sexual awakening much like Julia awakened Juan. Byron continues to use his life as the model for Don Juan.
It appears that Byron sees himself as a Don Juan of sorts. Byron instills himself into Juan, and molds Don Juan into Byron. Perhaps his ideal version of himself. Since the idea of seduced not seducer is not the reputation of Byron's. Perhaps he was trying to turn around his public image, blaming his seducer habits on his own weakness to be seduced. Whatever the reason maybe, it is clear that Byron has projected himself onto Don Juan.
The poem opens with Don Juan living in Seville with his parents Don Jose and Donna Inez. An unhappy marriage, Don Jose and Donna Inez "wished not each other divorced, but dead" (line 203). Their marriage mirrored Byron's parents own marriage. His father spent his mothers fortune then fled leaving her with Byron and a resentment that Mrs. Gordon used against Byron.
After Don Jose's death, Don Juan inherits the family estate because "Juan was the sole heir" (line 289). Again Don Juan mirrors Byron's life. Lord Byron only inherited his title because he was the only male heir available for his recently deceased uncle. Without his childless uncle, Lord Byron would have probably ended up penniless or having to work for a living thanks to his wasteful father.
Byron even takes some liberties with the origins of Don Juan by changing Juan from the seducer to the seduced which according Byron had happened to him. At sixteen, Don Juan is pursued by the married Donna Julia (line 435-440). Byron claims that his older nurse pursued him and brought about his sexual awakening much like Julia awakened Juan. Byron continues to use his life as the model for Don Juan.
It appears that Byron sees himself as a Don Juan of sorts. Byron instills himself into Juan, and molds Don Juan into Byron. Perhaps his ideal version of himself. Since the idea of seduced not seducer is not the reputation of Byron's. Perhaps he was trying to turn around his public image, blaming his seducer habits on his own weakness to be seduced. Whatever the reason maybe, it is clear that Byron has projected himself onto Don Juan.
Coleridge: Work Without Hope
Samuel Coleridge lived in the imagination, and like Wordsworth reveled in nature. Coleridge personified nature and brought to it his own philosophy and his feelings about the wickedness of the city. In Work Without Hope, Coleridge through nature showcases his disdain for living life without a purpose.
The first stanza focuses on nature and how all of nature has work to do: "The bees are stirring- birds are on the wing" (line 2). They are awakening after Winter and preparing for the work of Spring. They are going to their purpose of making honey, building nests, or singing (line 6). While the speaker has nothing to do, he is the "sole unbusy thing" (line 5). He lacks purpose. Even though he knows where to find "where amaranths blow," he is not satisfied (line 7). For he "blooms not," he lacks the renewal and hope that exists in nature. He can live without the hope and still work, but because he lives a purposeless existence his hope "cannot live" (line 14). Hope must have a purpose or something to look forward to in order to survive. If there is nothing to hope for, no spring, then there is not hope. Nothing will ever change so why should one hope.
I took this as a message to the modern world. Coleridge was trying to awaken his peers to their mundane existence. They are living in the city. They are living without purpose, performing their daily duties, but not enjoying themselves. The world lacks purpose, and they have lost their hope without even realizing it. They are living a half life. In the end, the birds, bees, and snails are happier than humanity because they have the hope of spring and humanity hopes for nothing.
The first stanza focuses on nature and how all of nature has work to do: "The bees are stirring- birds are on the wing" (line 2). They are awakening after Winter and preparing for the work of Spring. They are going to their purpose of making honey, building nests, or singing (line 6). While the speaker has nothing to do, he is the "sole unbusy thing" (line 5). He lacks purpose. Even though he knows where to find "where amaranths blow," he is not satisfied (line 7). For he "blooms not," he lacks the renewal and hope that exists in nature. He can live without the hope and still work, but because he lives a purposeless existence his hope "cannot live" (line 14). Hope must have a purpose or something to look forward to in order to survive. If there is nothing to hope for, no spring, then there is not hope. Nothing will ever change so why should one hope.
I took this as a message to the modern world. Coleridge was trying to awaken his peers to their mundane existence. They are living in the city. They are living without purpose, performing their daily duties, but not enjoying themselves. The world lacks purpose, and they have lost their hope without even realizing it. They are living a half life. In the end, the birds, bees, and snails are happier than humanity because they have the hope of spring and humanity hopes for nothing.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Wordsworth: We Are Seven
William Wordsworth was one of the great romantic poets of the time. He was also close friends with Samuel Coleridge. The two friends traveled together and influenced each others writings. In fact, Coleridge wrote the first stanza of We Are Seven.
In Wordsworth We Are Seven, the speaker encounters a young girl who Wordsworth says was based upon a girl he met in "the area of Goodrich castle" in 1973 (200). The speaker infatuated with her "rustic, woodland air" begins a conversation (line 9). Wordsworth makes an effort to emphasize the natural state of the heroine. She lives in and embodies nature. The young girl is different from other children her age. She lives like the romantic and apart from modern humanity. The child makes up her own world. This can be seen further when the speaker asks about the young girls siblings.
"Then did the little Maid reply,
"Seven boys and girls are we;
Two of us in the church-yard lie,
Beneath the church-yard tree."
"You run about, my little maid,
Your limbs they are alive;
If two are in the church-yard laid,
Then ye are only five." (line 29-36)
The young girl refuses to say that there are only 5 children total in the family. She insists that there are seven. She grew up with her deceased brother and sister, to her they still live in her memory. Therefore, she refuses to say there are only five because to her saying that five instead of seven is the same as forgetting her deceased siblings. She states that the two are in Heaven, but they still have lived. Her defiance of the speakers insistence of five instead of seven is her way of acknowledging their memory. Whether they are alive or dead is not important to the young girl. She cares about their souls and her memories of her siblings. The idea of being alive to be considered important or a person does not occur to her. The child lives in nature, not in the world. Therefore, she disregards the conventions of the world that the speaker is trying to impress upon her.
In Wordsworth We Are Seven, the speaker encounters a young girl who Wordsworth says was based upon a girl he met in "the area of Goodrich castle" in 1973 (200). The speaker infatuated with her "rustic, woodland air" begins a conversation (line 9). Wordsworth makes an effort to emphasize the natural state of the heroine. She lives in and embodies nature. The young girl is different from other children her age. She lives like the romantic and apart from modern humanity. The child makes up her own world. This can be seen further when the speaker asks about the young girls siblings.
"Then did the little Maid reply,
"Seven boys and girls are we;
Two of us in the church-yard lie,
Beneath the church-yard tree."
"You run about, my little maid,
Your limbs they are alive;
If two are in the church-yard laid,
Then ye are only five." (line 29-36)
The young girl refuses to say that there are only 5 children total in the family. She insists that there are seven. She grew up with her deceased brother and sister, to her they still live in her memory. Therefore, she refuses to say there are only five because to her saying that five instead of seven is the same as forgetting her deceased siblings. She states that the two are in Heaven, but they still have lived. Her defiance of the speakers insistence of five instead of seven is her way of acknowledging their memory. Whether they are alive or dead is not important to the young girl. She cares about their souls and her memories of her siblings. The idea of being alive to be considered important or a person does not occur to her. The child lives in nature, not in the world. Therefore, she disregards the conventions of the world that the speaker is trying to impress upon her.
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