Skip to main content

Is Victorian Poetry a Continuation of the Romantic Movement?


Introduction:

In spite of the great changes that occurred at the reign of Queen Victoria, Victorian poetry was, in a nutshell, a continuation of the Romantic Movement. But there were certain distinctive characteristics. 

Doubts and Disbelief in the Religious Authority of the Church:

The growth of materialism began to produce doubts and disbelief in the religious authority of the Church. Three great poets of this age—Tennyson, Browning, and Arnold did much to comfort and sooth these doubts. Tennyson, the representative pact of the age, was capable of celebrating the energy and resolution of his century in Ulysses, and. yet as The Lotos Eaters shows he could vividly interpret the pessimism and inertia which was a subconscious reaction to the conscious authoritarian spirit. Browning represented the optimistic philosophy of the ‘Victorians. However he was interested chiefly in the exploration of characters. His dramatic monologues deal with eccentrics like artists, ‘frauds, and scholars as they reveal their spiritual dilemma. Arnold was religious by nature but skeptical of dogma. Dismayed by theological disputes and worried by threatened anarchy, he tried to revive the Greek spirit, protested against the lack of real culture, and deplored the current materialism. His major poems also voice a pessimistic note.

Challenging Stern Moral Earnestness:

There were also some poets who played upon the doubts experienced by the people. They were Edward Fitzgerald, James Thomson, and Arthur Hugh Cough. Victorian industrialism and commercialism particularly provoked poets like Fitzgerald whose Omar Khayyam expressed sentiments that ran counter to the stern moral earnestness of the Victorian ethos.

Aesthetic Pleasure:

 The age also produced a new school of aesthetic poets called the Pre-Raphaelites who wrote poetry for the aesthetic pleasure of its word-pictures, not as a vehicle of prophesies or instruction. These included Rossetti, Morris, and Swinburne. Rossetti and his friends tried to redeem art from commercialism and vulgarity. The Pre-Raphaelite Movement against typical Victorian values amounts to a second-wave of Romanticism in the latter half of the Victorian Age.

Symbolism for Direct Statement:

In the last decade of Victoria’s reign there arose another movement to upset moral conventions and to extol sensual pleasures, introducing symbolism for direct statement. This trend is found in the poems of Oscar Wilde, Arthur Symons, and Ernest Dowson who are sometimes called the Decadents. They may, perhaps, also be called the first of the Moderns.

Conclusion:

Despite of the different schools, Victorian poetry proves to be a continuation of Romantic mood both in theme and ideology with a modern concept of word formations. But who can miss the Tennysonian lines from Idylls of the King, "The Passing of Arthur" where he says with great morose the hard changed times:

“The days darken round me, and the years, 
Among new men, strange faces, other minds.”


Ardhendu De

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Drop any query, suggestion or comment here.

Other Fat Writing

Popular posts from this blog

Dr. West’s New Method of Teaching English :Its Merits and Demerits

                 D r. Michael Philip West (1888–1973) conducted an extensive research and experiments on the problems of teaching English as a foreign language in India at the time of British rule . Read More Teaching English The new method is the outcome of his research. It stood as a reaction against the Direct Method. Going into more details, when Dr. West came to visit rural Bengal students (1913- 19) en route teaching job at Teachers’ Training College  at Dhaka, West's conclusions about English learning issues in Bengal, India were as follows: 👉Students spent about 10 hours a week on English study with extremely poor results. 👉Only a minority reached the Matriculation class due to health or financial reasons. Read More  Teaching English 👉Even in the Matriculation class, students lacked real reading ability, speaking fluency, and writing proficiency in English. 👉A 1919 Calcutta University...
6 comments
Read more

Dr. Samuel Johnson's "Preface to Shakespeare": Points to Remember

E ighteenth-century writer Samuel Johnson ((1709-1784) is one of the most significant figures in English literature. His fame is due in part to a widely read biography of him, written by his friend James Boswell and published in 1791. Although probably best known for compiling his celebrated dictionary, Johnson was an extremely prolific writer who worked in a variety of fields and forms. Chief Critical Approaches of Dr. Johnson are: Johnson tried teaching and later organized a school in Lichfield. His educational ventures were not successful, however, although one of his students, David Garrick, later famous as an actor, became a lifelong friend.
40 comments
Read more

Kinds of Poetry: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic

Introduction: Poetry is a form of literary expression that has captivated readers and listeners for centuries. It allows poets to convey their thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a condensed and artistic manner. While there are countless poetic forms and styles, poetry can be broadly categorized into three main kinds: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic. Each of these kinds has distinct characteristics, purposes, and examples that showcase the rich diversity within the world of poetry. Kinds of poetry :  There are three great kinds of poetic writing: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic. Narrative poetry: Narrative poetry tells a story with a plot, characters, and a setting. It  is one of the oldest and most straightforward forms of poetry. It tells a story, often in a chronological sequence, using poetic devices to create a vivid and engaging narrative. Some key points about narrative poetry include: Storytelling: Narrative poetry focuses on storytelling, using poetic language to c...
1 comment
Read more