Elizabeth Barrett Browning was raised in a wealthy British family, which had accumulated much of their wealth from their slave-holdings in Jamaica. Elizabeth had private tutors in classical philosophy and in Latin. She published her first volume at the age of thirteen, and by the time she was thirty-five, she had grown to be one of the most popular poets in Britain, though she was then bedridden due to her ailments. Her father had forbidden her and all of her siblings from getting married. At home the family was run under strict aristocratic rule; however, she went against the wishes of her father and got eloped to Robert Browning in Italy.
Elizabeth wrote the Sonnets of the Portuguese to tell the story of the early years of her and Robert’s relationship. One of Elizabeth Browning’s more famous poems is Aurora Leigh. It is written in a long narrative and satirizes Victorian traditions and ideals. At one point, it pokes fun at the irony of the way women behave. It states that women’s work worthless and has no point. It also says that women try to become things that they are not in order to please men, when in actuality they cannot be pleased because they always desire something else. In any case, it is clear to see why she is a renowned writer
Friday, June 29, 2007
Robert Browning 1812-1889
Robert Browning came from a modest background that did not afford him a lot of luxuries. His father worked with the Bank of England. Robert lived primarily with his family until the age of 30. He attended the University of London for one year, but he was primarily self-educated. His father had a large library that held over 10,000 volumes. Browning read from this library and in particular he read the work of Elizabeth Barret. He wrote her fan letters in which he expressed his lover for her. She was six years his elder, but she arranged a meeting anyway. She was an heiress and cautious of Browning, but they eventually were eloped. He was in her shadow for a long time, and this bothered him.
Browning was known for his dramatic monologues. One such monologue was his My Last Duchess. In this he presents the Duke of Ferrara as the speaker who was giving a tour of his estate to a guest. The talkative Duke tells his guest more than he had originally intended to do. He lets him into the intimate story of a painting of his last duchess. He tells of her life and how she was so easily pleased. The monologue lets the reader feel like they are there with the Duke getting a first person insight into the life of the Duke. Browning was great at creating this intimate setting between the reader and the person giving the monologue.
Browning was known for his dramatic monologues. One such monologue was his My Last Duchess. In this he presents the Duke of Ferrara as the speaker who was giving a tour of his estate to a guest. The talkative Duke tells his guest more than he had originally intended to do. He lets him into the intimate story of a painting of his last duchess. He tells of her life and how she was so easily pleased. The monologue lets the reader feel like they are there with the Duke getting a first person insight into the life of the Duke. Browning was great at creating this intimate setting between the reader and the person giving the monologue.
Thomas Hardy 1840-1928
Thomas Hardy is a unique individual because he had long prosperous careers in two different fields. Hardy died at the age of 88, having completed two 30year careers, one as a novelist who wrote 14 novels, and one as a poet with over 1000 poems. Thomas was interested in the cosmic meaning of things. Early on, he trained to be an architect. He renovated churches but was not strong in faith. He would have liked to have been but his perception of the world and his life experiences would not allow him to maintain such a faith.
Hardy was generally pessimistic in his works; he believed that there is an irreconcilable disparity between what ought to be and what is. He wrote that humans have feeling but no powers, while the universe has power but no feelings; humans are imperfect while the universe is perfect, though inhuman can caring little about humans. This struck me as a very deep and profound way of viewing things but also as a pessimistic way. His novels were very dark and readers did not seem to like this. He then turned to poetry. Hardy almost never used the same structure in his poems twice. He liked to experiment. He thought it was important not to write poetry too well as not to distract the reader from a sense of reality. I feel the same way, so if this blog isn’t going too well than it is only because I agree with Hardy and do not want to distract my readers
Hardy was generally pessimistic in his works; he believed that there is an irreconcilable disparity between what ought to be and what is. He wrote that humans have feeling but no powers, while the universe has power but no feelings; humans are imperfect while the universe is perfect, though inhuman can caring little about humans. This struck me as a very deep and profound way of viewing things but also as a pessimistic way. His novels were very dark and readers did not seem to like this. He then turned to poetry. Hardy almost never used the same structure in his poems twice. He liked to experiment. He thought it was important not to write poetry too well as not to distract the reader from a sense of reality. I feel the same way, so if this blog isn’t going too well than it is only because I agree with Hardy and do not want to distract my readers
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins is positioned in a unique place in time. He is generally seen as a transitional writer, moving from the Victorian Era to the Modern Era. “Gerard Manley Hopkins is the most modern of Victorian poets, and the most Victorian of modern poets” (773). He lived his entire life during the reign of Queen Victoria. Early in his life, Hopkins trained as a graphic artist. He had strong religious views and seeked the cosmic meaning of things. Hopkins intended to be a painter but changed his focus once he got to college and converted to Roman Catholicism in 1866. He trained to be a Jesuit Priest. This did not go over well with his family because they had been Protestants for generations. During his training he burned all his previous poems, deciding that they were too worldly and out of step with his new focus. As a priest, he taught classes at the university in Dublin and helped out within the community. Unfortunately he contracted typhoid doing his social work, and this led to his death at the age of 44.
Hopkins began to write his poems again following a disaster in December, 1875. The Wreck of the Deutschland commemorated the death of three fleeing nuns from Germany trying to escape persecution. It could not even be published during his lifetime because it was too far from what was expected. Hopkins viewed poetry as a spiritual and religious exercise, and the more difficult the exercise was the greater the experience was. Hopkins did not receive his just credit during his lifetime, but he has been revered as a great writer since.
Hopkins began to write his poems again following a disaster in December, 1875. The Wreck of the Deutschland commemorated the death of three fleeing nuns from Germany trying to escape persecution. It could not even be published during his lifetime because it was too far from what was expected. Hopkins viewed poetry as a spiritual and religious exercise, and the more difficult the exercise was the greater the experience was. Hopkins did not receive his just credit during his lifetime, but he has been revered as a great writer since.
World War I
The outbreak of the first World War led to the rejection of Victorian ideals, ideals that involved politics, day-to-day activities, life, and poetry. This helped to usher in the Modern Era. The best way to look at the profound affect that WWI had on the world is to compare that world before and after the war.
Previous to World War I a soldier would voluntarily give his life for his country. The values of English country living and domestic life were viewed as positive. This was the way of thinking as expressed by Rupert Brooke, a soldier on his way to battle who died on the transport ship. The attitude after the war was much different. Writers no longer attempted to try to glorify the war as was done in past wars. Writers like Wilfred Owen wrote in his Anthem for Doomed Youth the horrors of war. Wilfred described it as a sense of waste and usefulness. Siegfried Sassoon is another post WWI writer who was outraged with the war and how it was managed at home. In his work, Glory of Women, he attempts to remove all glory from the war.
These new attitudes and ways of writing about the war were in stark contrast with writings from the past. I remember Lord Tennyson’s The Charge of the Light Brigade and how it still managed to glorify the bravery of the soldiers despite the fact that it may not have agreed with the action. There is no glory in the post WWI depictions. This is just one demonstration of how the war affected the writers and attitudes of the time.
Previous to World War I a soldier would voluntarily give his life for his country. The values of English country living and domestic life were viewed as positive. This was the way of thinking as expressed by Rupert Brooke, a soldier on his way to battle who died on the transport ship. The attitude after the war was much different. Writers no longer attempted to try to glorify the war as was done in past wars. Writers like Wilfred Owen wrote in his Anthem for Doomed Youth the horrors of war. Wilfred described it as a sense of waste and usefulness. Siegfried Sassoon is another post WWI writer who was outraged with the war and how it was managed at home. In his work, Glory of Women, he attempts to remove all glory from the war.
These new attitudes and ways of writing about the war were in stark contrast with writings from the past. I remember Lord Tennyson’s The Charge of the Light Brigade and how it still managed to glorify the bravery of the soldiers despite the fact that it may not have agreed with the action. There is no glory in the post WWI depictions. This is just one demonstration of how the war affected the writers and attitudes of the time.
Bernard Shaw 1806-1873
George Bernard Shaw was one of the most celebrated and controversial writers of his time. His initials, G.B.S., were recognized as shorthand code for his work. Shaw served as a transitional figure, moving from the Victorian Era to the Modern Era. Shaw was born into a very poor background, but this did not deter him. He made himself into one of the most important voices in English literature. In 1925 Bernard Shaw won the Nobel Prize for literature, but he refused to accept the award money. Shaw was fully aware of the power of words and the power of class. He knew that one’s use of words could help in advancing or hindering one’s career. He believed that one’s voice identified oneself and had the ability to help or harm them.
In his play, Pygmalion, he describes the transformation of Liza Doolittle from a beggar flower girl into a lady. She is recognized, treated, and identified as being a princess; however, there was a flaw in the transformation. Liza now sounds and acts like a lady but she does not have the income of a lady thus defeating the purpose which is to marry a gentleman. Shaw believed that the point of literature was not to be beautiful but to teach a lesson. Because of this Shaw did not want to have Henry and Liza end up together and married. This would not be a happy ending for Shaw. He wanted to make Liza Henry’s equal. She was able to overcome and stand alone, a bold statement for that time. I liked the ending because it was not what I expected and it did have a good moral lesson to it.
In his play, Pygmalion, he describes the transformation of Liza Doolittle from a beggar flower girl into a lady. She is recognized, treated, and identified as being a princess; however, there was a flaw in the transformation. Liza now sounds and acts like a lady but she does not have the income of a lady thus defeating the purpose which is to marry a gentleman. Shaw believed that the point of literature was not to be beautiful but to teach a lesson. Because of this Shaw did not want to have Henry and Liza end up together and married. This would not be a happy ending for Shaw. He wanted to make Liza Henry’s equal. She was able to overcome and stand alone, a bold statement for that time. I liked the ending because it was not what I expected and it did have a good moral lesson to it.
John Stuart Mill 1806-1873
I found it very refreshing to read the section of the text of John Stuart Mill after having previously read about the roles of Victorian ladies and gentlemen. Mill seemed to be ahead of his time and offered up for those who wish to see reform in the current class constraints of the Victorian Period. There is no doubt that the views of Mill were outrageously radical during his time. “Mill advocated sexual equality, the right to divorce, universal suffrage, free speech, and proportional representation” (513). It is no surprise that Mill had these radical ideas because his grandfather was the founder of Utilitarianism. “Mill went on to become the era’s leading philosopher and political theorist, an outspoken member of parliament, and Britain’s most prestigious proponent of women’s rights” (514). I really enjoyed reading Mill because of his political involvement. Mill was home-schooled and learned much from his father at an early age. Mill was wise beyond his years and as a result he had a nervous breakdown at age 20. He found comfort in reading poetry, particularly that of Wordsworth.
John Stuart Mill furthered his father and grandfather’s pursuit of a Utilitarian government, that is one that is the best form for the most people. I took political theory last semester and I wish that we would have covered Mill because he seems to me to be a very enlightened individual. The closest political theorist I can relate him to is John Locke. They both seem to argue for the good of the common man, though they lived in two different time periods. I like how Mill questions the society in which he lives in and how he champions the rights of individual freedoms despite the fact that some his writings were quite unpopular at the time. I also enjoy how Mill acknowledges arguments from his opposition and then goes on to refute these arguments in a genius manner. As I read the works of Mill, I couldn’t help but think of a famous quote from Patrick Henry saying, “give me liberty or give me death”. I think that this is a quote that Mill would agree with.
John Stuart Mill furthered his father and grandfather’s pursuit of a Utilitarian government, that is one that is the best form for the most people. I took political theory last semester and I wish that we would have covered Mill because he seems to me to be a very enlightened individual. The closest political theorist I can relate him to is John Locke. They both seem to argue for the good of the common man, though they lived in two different time periods. I like how Mill questions the society in which he lives in and how he champions the rights of individual freedoms despite the fact that some his writings were quite unpopular at the time. I also enjoy how Mill acknowledges arguments from his opposition and then goes on to refute these arguments in a genius manner. As I read the works of Mill, I couldn’t help but think of a famous quote from Patrick Henry saying, “give me liberty or give me death”. I think that this is a quote that Mill would agree with.
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