Values of Importance to the Romantic Authors
Romanticism originated in the late 18th century and can be characterized by several values which exemplify the spirit of thought during this period. The emphasis in some works is the use of supernatural imagery as a positive tool to discuss the natural world and the concept of moral values. Another value is the glorification of the ordinary and the outcast in society using lower class or peasant characters .These values are important to the Romantic author as well as the idea of a subjective viewpoint to achieve greater personal intimacy in literature.
The emphasis of the use of supernatural imagery for moral purposes is shown in the writings of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Coleridge demonstrates this when he was assigned to write poems for Lyrical Ballads. Coleridge wrote about the supernatural and mystery or violation of natural laws. In “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” Coleridge uses supernatural imagery to discuss the natural world and its relationship to God. In this passage Coleridge describes the salvation of the ship’s crew: “'Twas not those souls that fled in pain, / Which to their corses came again, / But a troop of spirits blest” (439; lines 347-49).
Similarly William Blake uses supernatural imagery to heighten emotional response in his poem “The Tyger”. The creation of the fierce tiger is embellished with supernatural imagery to create in the mind of the reader a heightened response to the tiger itself compared to the gentle meekness of the lamb. In this passage we see the creation and the creator: “Did he smile his work to see? / Did he who made the Lamb make thee?” (93; line 19-20). In another manner, Robert Burns uses this supernatural imagery to describe horror to the reader in his work “Tam O’ Shanter: A Tale”. Burns uses the imagery of witches, warlocks and ghosts to tell a tale with a moral emphasis: “Or catch'd wi' warlocks in the mirk, / By Alloway's auld, haunted kirk ” (140; line 31-32). Emphasis on the individual's expression of emotion and imagination is exemplified here with use of horror images.
The Glorification of the Ordinary and the Outcast or the use of Lower-class, peasant characters is a common value to many of the writers of the romanticism. As a result of oppression and tyranny during the 18th century many authors championed the cause of the downtrodden in their works. Charles Lambs’ essay, “Christ’s Hospital Five and Thirty Years Ago”, describes his personal experiences at this traditional English boarding school. In this passage from the essay Lamb seems to be describing the sorrow and homesickness of all of the children there. He states: “I was a poor friendless boy. My parents, and those who should care for me, were far away” (497). Wordsworth, much like Lamb focused on the ordinary, this time using nature rather than loneliness as a backdrop for his description of the common person. In the poem, “The Solitary Reaper”, Wordsworth asks the reader to: “look upon Yon solitary Highland Lass” who is “Reaping and singing by herself” (314 line 2-3). Wordsworth describes her voice as “A voice so thrilling ne’er was heard” (314; line 13). William Blake’s poem, “The Divine Image” from Songs of Innocence the poet discusses all humans being in the image of God and no matter how common, all possess “Mercy, Pity, and Peace. And Love” (85 line 1). The glorification of the common is exemplified by Blake’s statement: “And all must love the human form, / In heathen, Turk or Jew.” (86 line 17-18). In his poem “The Chimney Sweeper” from Songs of Experience, we see Blake describing poor children who are forced to do labor in the cold winter snow. Blake has shown the reader a simple person who would have been lost to history otherwise. He describes: “A little black thing among the snow” (90 line 1). Blake even describes how their voices sound as they offer their sweeping services. In the companion poem from Songs of Experience, Blake makes the reader understand how cold, used and poor are the children found in “Holy Thursday.” These children are paraded for the benefit not of themselves but for their supposed benefactors. They are described as “Babes reduced to misery” (90 line 3). As in “The Chimney Sweeper”, Blake will not let the world forget that these souls have lived. Subjectivity is defined as the personal feelings and experiences of a person that cannot be measured or felt by anyone else they can only be described. The romantic poet valued this as a way to achieve a more personal experience and a more honest relationship with the reader. In this way the writer can let their values and feeling be known more intimately. John Keats, in his work “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer” describes his personal and excited feelings about reading Homer for the first time. He describes traveling the world and having seen everything but it paled in comparison to Chapman’s Homer. Keats describes the feeling as: “some watcher in the skies / When a new planet swims into his ken” (881 line 9-10). Very much like Keats first experience William Hazlitt also has a firsthand description in his essay “My First Acquaintance with Poets” a personal experience using the term “I” as a subjective viewpoint that reflects the poet’s experiences and beliefs. Hazlitt describes his feelings from his own recollection: “I could not have been more delighted if I had heard the music of the spheres” (543). Hazlitt is actually describing to the reader the experience of having heard Samuel Taylor Coleridge preaching a sermon. The subjective viewpoint as a value of the Romanticism is explained by the author as foregoing an omniscient viewpoint for one of greater personal narration. Dorothy Wordsworth uses this personal intimacy as tool in her prose and poetry. In “Thoughts on My Sick-Bed” the poet tells of her own personal recollection of illness: “No!--then I never felt a bliss, / That might with that compare, / Which, piercing to my couch of rest” (405; line 29-32). Percy Bysshe Shelley extols the value of the personal approach in his poem “To Wordsworth.” Shelley has lost faith in the new supposed philosophy of Wordsworth: “Deserting these, thou leavest me to grieve” (745; line 13). Shelley is mourning for the virtues and the beliefs that were abandoned by Wordsworth later in his career.
The value of natural beauty resulting in an outpouring of emotion is another value of the Romantic period. The mission of the writer is to personify nature with humanity, passion, and an expressive attitude. The mind is reminded of things that are buried in the spirit somewhere and nature is the tool that brings it forth. In his poem, “Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey,” William Wordsworth describes these images: “That on a wild secluded scene impress/ Thoughts of more deep seclusion.” (258; lines 6-7). The idea of meditation as an emotional release to remember the past, present and look forward to the future is employed in this poem by Wordsworth. Robert Burns in his poem “A Red Red Rose”, attempts to personify love with natural beauty. He compares natural objects to emotional response: “And the rocks melt wi' the sun, / I will love thee still.” (146 line 10-11). The poet attempts to use natural surroundings to elicit feelings of emotions. In his work “She Walks in Beauty”, Lord Byron describes his love by comparing her to the sky at night: “She walks in beauty, like the night, / Of cloudless clime and starry skies” (612 lines 1-2). The use of the sky requires an emotional response much like Wordsworth’s “picture of the mind”.
These values of supernatural imagery, to teach moral lessons, the glorification of the ordinary and the outcast, subjectivity for intimacy and natural beauty to elicit an emotional response are employed throughout the works of the romanticism.
No comments:
Post a Comment