Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Child of the Dark
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Summaries of the Brontë Sisters´ novels
Please do not forget to post you summaries for the novels presented in class.
A one paragraph summary of the plot and some major themes/topics related to the movement(s) studied.
This assignment is due after the AV1.
Dr. Silva
A one paragraph summary of the plot and some major themes/topics related to the movement(s) studied.
This assignment is due after the AV1.
Dr. Silva
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Points for AV1 - part 3
Romanticism: The Romantic Prose
Introduction
As you could see, the titles from Activity 1 (distributed in class) were just a few of the works written during the Romantic age. Most of the works written at the time bore the same features of the age which were already discussed: the love of nature, a departure from reason, the focus on the individual, an element of the supernatural, among others. Some of the works written at this time are still references nowadays and their stories have been gathering fans one generation after another. This is so true that some of them were made into blockbusters in the 20th century. Among the writers from this time we can include:
⦁ Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, among others.)
⦁ Mary Shelley (Frankenstein, Valperga, The Last Man, among others).
⦁ Sir Walter Scott (Waverley, Rob Boy, Ivanhoe, among others)
⦁ Charles Lamb (A Tale of Rosamund Gray, The Adventures of Ulysses, among others).
In this lesson we will focus on the works of two of these prose writers: Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott.
Jane Austen (1775-1817)
Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 in Hampshire, England. Although she was not widely known in her own time, her works became popular after 1869. During the 20th century her works became even more popular and her novels are considered literary classics. Although her novels were written during the Romantic Age they already bear some of the characteristics of the movement that was to follow Romanticism, Realism, because of the way she describes the society she was immersed in.
Jane's parents were respected members of the community in which they lived, and they raised a close-knit family where the children grew up in an environment that encouraged learning and creative thinking. While still at an early age, Jane and her siblings were encouraged to read from their father's extensive library. Jane and one of her sisters, Cassandra, were sent to boarding schools but soon had to return home due to financial constraints.
Austen is famous principally for her refinement of the English novel. In her works, she portrayed society: manners, customs, and beliefs. Her most famous works include six well-known novels: Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma. She worked magic with the commonplace realities of life. She never got married, although she had many proposals. She died on July 18, 1817.
Jane Austen’s most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice was written before the she was 21 years of age. The original title of the novel was First Impressions because the plot of the novel was created by the appearances of the characters. The novel is also about effects of the character’s first impressions on their lives, which is nothing but their prejudice. Thus, the title Pride and Prejudice seemed to be more appropriate to the story she was about to tell.
The novel is a criticism on the social conventions of the 18th century in which it was commonsense that marriage was the only way through which one could ascend socially. Austen was not in favour of this belief and her works were a satire of what was going on at her time. Elizabeth Bennet, the main character of Pride and Prejudice is a woman who believes in marriage as long as there is love involved in the relationship. She refuses a marriage proposal because it was entirely based on the financial interest it would bring and only accepted Mr. Darcy’s proposal when she was sure their relationship was about love and not money. Elizabeth stands out as a unique individual in the society she was immersed. Considering the features of the Romantic age, she represents the power of emotions over reason (represented by the society in which Elizabeth was immersed).
Austen’s novels are written in gentle satire and the main object in her Pride and Prejudice is the mercenary and the ignorance of the people, a common criticism of the 18th century. The characters in this novel which best carry these qualities are Mrs. Bennet, a foolish woman who talks too much and is obsessed with getting her daughters married; Lydia Bennet, Elizabeth’s youngest sister who is devoted to a life of dancing, fashions, gossips and flirting; and Mr. Williams Collins, the silly and conceited man who is so stupefied by Lady Catherine in every aspect of his life that he has forgotten his own morals and duty. The tone of the novel is light, satirical, and vivid. Elizabeth Bennet’s ability to laugh off her misfortune and to continue being optimistic, considering her situation, contributes to the tone of the novel. The story is told through Elizabeth, but not in first person. Because of that, the mood of the novel lacks dramatic emotions. The atmosphere is intellectual and cold; there are a few setting descriptions, but nature is present throughout.
The main subject in the novel is stated in the first sentence of the novel:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
In this statement, Austen cleverly did three things:
⦁ she declared that the main subject of the novel will be courtship and marriage;
⦁ she established the humorous tone of the novel by taking a simple subject to elaborate and to speak intelligently of;
⦁ she prepared the reader for a chase in the novel of either a husband in search of a wife, or a woman in pursuit of a husband.
The first line also defines Jane’s book as a piece of literature that connects itself to the 18th century period. Pride and Prejudice is 18th century because of the emphasis on man in his social environment rather than in his individual conditions. The use of satire and wit, a common form of 18th century literature, also contributes to label the book as 18th century. However, because Jane Austen had allowed personal feelings of the characters to be expressed in her work, she can also be classified as Romantic. In the figure of Elizabeth, Jane Austen shows passion attempting to find a valid mode of existence in society. Passion and reasons also comes together in the novel so as to show that they are complementary in a marriage.
Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832)
Sir Walter Scott was a Scottish writer and poet and one of the greatest historical novelists of all times. He was born in Edinburgh, the son of a solicitor, Walter Scott, and Anne, the daughter of professor of medicine. Scott got married to Margaret Charpenter and they had five children. In 1820 Scott was made a baronet and few years later he was the founder of the Bannatyne Club, which published old Scottish documents. He died in 1832, six years after his wife’s death and as buried beside his ancestors in Dryburgh Abbey.
His novels include the following titles: Waverly (1814), Guy Mannering (1815), The Antiquary (1816), The Black Dwarf (1816), Old Mortality (1816), Rob Boy (1817), Ivanhoe (1819), among many others, but he also wrote poetry, short stories and plays. The main features of Scott’s works were:
⦁ the union of tradition and romance: a combination between the novel of manners and elements of romance – he used to combine the customs of Scottish life with the history of Scotland’s recent past. In some of his novels he chose France or England as the background to his stories and the 15th or 16th centuries as time references. These novels were much more related to romanticism because they were written at a time when there was the revival of the Middle Ages and the authors referred to the past as a source of inspiration for their works.
⦁ the union of imaginary heroes and historical events: this is the formula Scott followed in his historical novels, where his heroes are imaginary characters at a time there was a very influential historical name (for example, Ivanhoe is set in the time of Kind Richard the Lion, but the main character is Wilfred of Ivanhoe, a fictional Saxon nobleman).
⦁ The force of the past: Scott knew so much about Scottish history and legends that his works make the readers feel as if they were really in the past. His text makes the readers feel the glamour and the magic of places as he captures the spirit of the age without going deeply into the historical event itself. His best texts deal with humble, humorous and eccentric people.
Waverley is a novel written in 1814. Besides being often regarded as the first historical novel it was Scott's first venture into prose fiction. The novel became so popular that his later novels were advertised as having been written "by the author of Waverley".
Waverly tells the story of Edward Waverley, who was brought up in the family home by his uncle, Sir Everard Waverley. Everard maintains the family Tory and Jacobite sympathies, while Edward's Whig father works for the Hanoverian government in London. Edward Waverley is given a commission in the Hanoverian army and is posted to Dundee. He then promptly takes leave to visit Baron Bradwardine, a Jacobite friend of his uncle’s, and meets the Baron's lovely daughter Rose.
Wild Highlanders visit the Baron's castle and Waverley is intrigued by their visit. Thus, he goes to the mountain lair of Clan Mac-Ivor, who turned out to be active Jacobites preparing for the 1745 Rising. Waverley stays there longer than expected and is accused of desertion and treachery and then arrested. Highlanders rescue him from his escort and take him to the Jacobite stronghold. Waverley goes over to the Jacobites and takes part in the Battle of Prestonpans, where he saves the life of a colonel who happens to be a close friend of his uncle’s. Thus he escapes retribution and marries the Baron's daughter, Rose Bradwardine.
Introduction
As you could see, the titles from Activity 1 (distributed in class) were just a few of the works written during the Romantic age. Most of the works written at the time bore the same features of the age which were already discussed: the love of nature, a departure from reason, the focus on the individual, an element of the supernatural, among others. Some of the works written at this time are still references nowadays and their stories have been gathering fans one generation after another. This is so true that some of them were made into blockbusters in the 20th century. Among the writers from this time we can include:
⦁ Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, among others.)
⦁ Mary Shelley (Frankenstein, Valperga, The Last Man, among others).
⦁ Sir Walter Scott (Waverley, Rob Boy, Ivanhoe, among others)
⦁ Charles Lamb (A Tale of Rosamund Gray, The Adventures of Ulysses, among others).
In this lesson we will focus on the works of two of these prose writers: Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott.
Jane Austen (1775-1817)
Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 in Hampshire, England. Although she was not widely known in her own time, her works became popular after 1869. During the 20th century her works became even more popular and her novels are considered literary classics. Although her novels were written during the Romantic Age they already bear some of the characteristics of the movement that was to follow Romanticism, Realism, because of the way she describes the society she was immersed in.
Jane's parents were respected members of the community in which they lived, and they raised a close-knit family where the children grew up in an environment that encouraged learning and creative thinking. While still at an early age, Jane and her siblings were encouraged to read from their father's extensive library. Jane and one of her sisters, Cassandra, were sent to boarding schools but soon had to return home due to financial constraints.
Austen is famous principally for her refinement of the English novel. In her works, she portrayed society: manners, customs, and beliefs. Her most famous works include six well-known novels: Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma. She worked magic with the commonplace realities of life. She never got married, although she had many proposals. She died on July 18, 1817.
Jane Austen’s most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice was written before the she was 21 years of age. The original title of the novel was First Impressions because the plot of the novel was created by the appearances of the characters. The novel is also about effects of the character’s first impressions on their lives, which is nothing but their prejudice. Thus, the title Pride and Prejudice seemed to be more appropriate to the story she was about to tell.
The novel is a criticism on the social conventions of the 18th century in which it was commonsense that marriage was the only way through which one could ascend socially. Austen was not in favour of this belief and her works were a satire of what was going on at her time. Elizabeth Bennet, the main character of Pride and Prejudice is a woman who believes in marriage as long as there is love involved in the relationship. She refuses a marriage proposal because it was entirely based on the financial interest it would bring and only accepted Mr. Darcy’s proposal when she was sure their relationship was about love and not money. Elizabeth stands out as a unique individual in the society she was immersed. Considering the features of the Romantic age, she represents the power of emotions over reason (represented by the society in which Elizabeth was immersed).
Austen’s novels are written in gentle satire and the main object in her Pride and Prejudice is the mercenary and the ignorance of the people, a common criticism of the 18th century. The characters in this novel which best carry these qualities are Mrs. Bennet, a foolish woman who talks too much and is obsessed with getting her daughters married; Lydia Bennet, Elizabeth’s youngest sister who is devoted to a life of dancing, fashions, gossips and flirting; and Mr. Williams Collins, the silly and conceited man who is so stupefied by Lady Catherine in every aspect of his life that he has forgotten his own morals and duty. The tone of the novel is light, satirical, and vivid. Elizabeth Bennet’s ability to laugh off her misfortune and to continue being optimistic, considering her situation, contributes to the tone of the novel. The story is told through Elizabeth, but not in first person. Because of that, the mood of the novel lacks dramatic emotions. The atmosphere is intellectual and cold; there are a few setting descriptions, but nature is present throughout.
The main subject in the novel is stated in the first sentence of the novel:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
In this statement, Austen cleverly did three things:
⦁ she declared that the main subject of the novel will be courtship and marriage;
⦁ she established the humorous tone of the novel by taking a simple subject to elaborate and to speak intelligently of;
⦁ she prepared the reader for a chase in the novel of either a husband in search of a wife, or a woman in pursuit of a husband.
The first line also defines Jane’s book as a piece of literature that connects itself to the 18th century period. Pride and Prejudice is 18th century because of the emphasis on man in his social environment rather than in his individual conditions. The use of satire and wit, a common form of 18th century literature, also contributes to label the book as 18th century. However, because Jane Austen had allowed personal feelings of the characters to be expressed in her work, she can also be classified as Romantic. In the figure of Elizabeth, Jane Austen shows passion attempting to find a valid mode of existence in society. Passion and reasons also comes together in the novel so as to show that they are complementary in a marriage.
Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832)
Sir Walter Scott was a Scottish writer and poet and one of the greatest historical novelists of all times. He was born in Edinburgh, the son of a solicitor, Walter Scott, and Anne, the daughter of professor of medicine. Scott got married to Margaret Charpenter and they had five children. In 1820 Scott was made a baronet and few years later he was the founder of the Bannatyne Club, which published old Scottish documents. He died in 1832, six years after his wife’s death and as buried beside his ancestors in Dryburgh Abbey.
His novels include the following titles: Waverly (1814), Guy Mannering (1815), The Antiquary (1816), The Black Dwarf (1816), Old Mortality (1816), Rob Boy (1817), Ivanhoe (1819), among many others, but he also wrote poetry, short stories and plays. The main features of Scott’s works were:
⦁ the union of tradition and romance: a combination between the novel of manners and elements of romance – he used to combine the customs of Scottish life with the history of Scotland’s recent past. In some of his novels he chose France or England as the background to his stories and the 15th or 16th centuries as time references. These novels were much more related to romanticism because they were written at a time when there was the revival of the Middle Ages and the authors referred to the past as a source of inspiration for their works.
⦁ the union of imaginary heroes and historical events: this is the formula Scott followed in his historical novels, where his heroes are imaginary characters at a time there was a very influential historical name (for example, Ivanhoe is set in the time of Kind Richard the Lion, but the main character is Wilfred of Ivanhoe, a fictional Saxon nobleman).
⦁ The force of the past: Scott knew so much about Scottish history and legends that his works make the readers feel as if they were really in the past. His text makes the readers feel the glamour and the magic of places as he captures the spirit of the age without going deeply into the historical event itself. His best texts deal with humble, humorous and eccentric people.
Waverley is a novel written in 1814. Besides being often regarded as the first historical novel it was Scott's first venture into prose fiction. The novel became so popular that his later novels were advertised as having been written "by the author of Waverley".
Waverly tells the story of Edward Waverley, who was brought up in the family home by his uncle, Sir Everard Waverley. Everard maintains the family Tory and Jacobite sympathies, while Edward's Whig father works for the Hanoverian government in London. Edward Waverley is given a commission in the Hanoverian army and is posted to Dundee. He then promptly takes leave to visit Baron Bradwardine, a Jacobite friend of his uncle’s, and meets the Baron's lovely daughter Rose.
Wild Highlanders visit the Baron's castle and Waverley is intrigued by their visit. Thus, he goes to the mountain lair of Clan Mac-Ivor, who turned out to be active Jacobites preparing for the 1745 Rising. Waverley stays there longer than expected and is accused of desertion and treachery and then arrested. Highlanders rescue him from his escort and take him to the Jacobite stronghold. Waverley goes over to the Jacobites and takes part in the Battle of Prestonpans, where he saves the life of a colonel who happens to be a close friend of his uncle’s. Thus he escapes retribution and marries the Baron's daughter, Rose Bradwardine.
Points for AV1 - part 2
Romanticism: The Romantic Poetry
Introduction
Romantic poetry is divided into two generations of poets: the first and the second generation. This division into two generations corresponds both to the actual age difference between the two groups and to changes in the context where the poets wrote and in certain features of their works. The First generation is characterised by an emphasis on the self and its relationship with nature.
Romantic Poets: First Generation
The first generation is characterized by a shift in style and subject matter from the Neoclassical (who focused on reason, tradition and society). The focus of this first generation of poets was on the particular aspects of objects, people and events; incidents and situations from real life were used as the source of inspiration for the artists. Some other aspects included:
⦁ Nature was seen as a teacher and a place where the artists can look for isolation and inspiration. Poets glorified Nature and compared it to God. Being close to nature would cause intense emotion.
⦁ Feelings would be expressed by means of spontaneity and introspection. Being able to express one’s true feelings would lead the poet to a sublime state. Thus, reality and thought were subjective concepts.
⦁ Childhood was considered a time and a state of protected innocence but a time that could not be protected from the fallen world and its institutions.
⦁ Dreams were seen as a way to clarify reality.
As the poet wanted to be close to nature, life in the countryside was extremely valued for its simplicity and humble lifestyle. Two of the most famous poets from the first generation, William Woodsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge lived in the best place in England considering the countryside: Lake District, in northern England. For this reason they are known as the Lake Poets.
Three of the most renowned poets of this first generation were:
⦁ William Blake (1757 – 1827) - Songs of Experience (1794) and Songs of Innocence (1789) were is most famous publications.
⦁ William Woodsworth (1770 – 1850) - his most famous work, The Prelude (1850), is considered to be the crowning achievement of English romanticism.
⦁ Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 – 1834) - The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is his most famous work and was published in Lyrical Ballads (1798), a shared publication with Woodsworth. The poem is considered to be landmark of the Romantic Literature in England.
WILLIAM BLAKE
Blake was born in London in 1757, and this was the city where he spent most of his life. During his childhood, Blake spoke of having visions, such as seeing God put his head to the window and while walking through the countryside, he saw a tree filled with angels. These visions were considered lies by his parents, who noticed he was different from the other children and did not encourage him to go to school. At the age of 10 he started taking drawing lessons. When he was fifteen, Blake was apprenticed to an engraver, making plates from which pictures for books were printed. This experience would help him illustrate his own poetry later on.
In 1892 he got married to Catherine Boucher, an illiterate woman who Blake taught how to read and write. He died in 1827 and his last years were spent in great poverty. He was helped financially by a young artist, John Linnell, who also helped to create new interest in his work.
His works consisted of the following books:
All Religions Are One (1788)
America, a Prophecy (1793)
Europe, a Prophecy (1794)
For Children: The Gates of Paradise (1793)
For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (1820)
Poetical Sketches (1783)
Songs of Experience (1794)
Songs of Innocence (1789)
The Book of Ahania (1795)
The Book of Los (1795)
The First Book of Urizen (1794)
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790)
The Song of Los (1795)
There Is No Natural Religion (1788)
Visions of the Daughters of Albion (1793)
Major themes in Blake’s poetry:
⦁ Opposition: Blake’s work is set around the theme of opposition as a representative of the balance in this world, and a focus on one side over another leads to oppression and ignorance. He believed that examining ideas and objects in terms of opposites and allowing access to both sides of the scale, man would reach a true state of enlightenment rather than a repressed state where few benefit and most are held in bondage.
⦁ Oppression / Repression: Blake lived in a period of aggressive British colonialism, slavery, social casting, Revolutionary change in America and Europe, as well as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Being a member of the lower class, an uneducated artist (in the formal sense of the term, although Blake was clearly quite intelligent), and considered by many to be an inferior poet bordering madness, Blake experienced firsthand the struggles of oppression.
⦁ Innocence/ Experience: Blake constantly explored the moment of lost innocence. This repeated theme in Blake’s poetry is ideal for a combination of all the other themes so far discussed. The theme of the separation, transition, and difference between innocence and experience highlights the theory of opposition, cycling and repression.
⦁ Religion: Where Blake stood in terms of his beliefs in God is unclear. By inventing a mythology full of angels, demons, and Gods that mirror a lot of Milton’s writings, he seemed to be fascinated with religion as a literary allusion and infuriated with it as a means to suppress man’s natural desires.
⦁ Poetry/ Imagination: Blake felt poets needed to look for new ways to express their words and ideas and tried to step away from the Classic traditions of English poetry.
Romantic Poets: Second Generation
The poets of the Second generation suffered because of society because of society and its injustices, mostly because of the post-revolutionary disillusionment, violence and the threat of the Napoleonic Empire. For this reason they tried to escape from reality by travelling around the world. There was a refusal of the real world and a creation of a different world where they lived in, usually by means of drugs. They didn't want to just repeat what the romantics of the first generation were doing, but wanted to be different, and even better than them. Some of the themes addressed by the poets of the second generation included:
⦁ Interest in the history and folklore of the Middle Ages (magic and mystery)
⦁ Hellenism (Love for classical themes)
⦁ Exoticism (attraction for distant lands, usually more imaginary than real)
The three most important poets of this generation lived short but intense lives:
⦁ George Gordon Byron (1788-1824) was a melancholy and solitary man whose actions often defied social conventions. He was the prototype of the Romantic poet and was deeply involved with contemporary social issues. He left England and live on the continent and looked for adventure in Italy and Greece.
⦁ Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was the most revolutionary and non-conformist of the Romantic poets. His ideas were anarchic and he was considered dangerous by the conservative society of his time. He was an individualist and idealist who rejected the institutions of family, church, marriage, and the Christian faith.
⦁ John Keats (1795-1821) had a really brief life. The main theme of his poetry is the conflict between the real world of suffering, death and decay and the ideal world of beauty, imagination and eternal youth.
George Gordon Byron
George Gordon Byron, or simply Lord Byron is considered to be one of the most notorious English Poets who is still read nowadays. Born to an aristocrat family on 22 January 1788, Byron was famous for leading a life of aristocratic excesses, including huge debts, numerous love affairs, rumors of a scandalous incestuous liaison with his half-sister, and self-imposed exile. Byron's first poems were published when he was 19 and his travels began at the age of 21. He left England forever at the age of 28 and the next eight years of his life were memorable for their poetic activity, and within them almost all his main work was done. He died during the war of Greek Independence at Missolonghi, April 1824, aged 36.
His major works were:
⦁ The First Kiss of Love (1806)
⦁ Thoughts Suggested by a College Examination (1806)
⦁ To a Beautiful Quaker (1807)
⦁ The Cornelian (1807)
⦁ Lines Addressed to a Young Lady (1807)
⦁ Lachin y Garr (1807)
⦁ Epitaph to a Dog (1808)
⦁ Maid of Athens, ere we part (1810)
⦁ She Walks in Beauty (1814)
⦁ My Soul is Dark (1815)
⦁ Monody on the Death of the Right Hon. R. B. Sheridan (1816)
⦁ When We Two Parted (1817)
⦁ Ode on Venice (1819)
⦁ So, we'll go no more a roving (1830)
Major themes in Byron’s poetry:
⦁ Liberty: Several of Byron’s poems, mostly those which were based on his travels, raised the problem of oppression around Europe and defended the need for liberty. He believed that liberty was a right of all human beings and thought of the denial of this liberty as one of man’s greatest failings.
⦁ Nature: Byron saw Nature as a powerful complement to human emotion and civilization and as a companion to humanity. He believed that natural beauty was preferable to human evil and to the problems that were inflicted on civilization.
⦁ Love: Throughout his life, Byron looked for the perfect object of his affections, which ended up making him a fickle and unstable lover to many women (and men).
⦁ Classical culture: Byron was a friend of the classical world who seemed to grieve what seemed to him as the decay of its cultural achievements and traditions.
⦁ Realism: Although Byron was a Romantic poet, he saw most of his best work as descriptions of reality as it existed, not how as he imagined it to be. The subjects of many of his poems come from history and personal experience.
John Keats
John Keats was born in London in 1795 and his early life was marked by a series of personal tragedies: he lost both parents before his fourteenth birthday and one of his younger brothers died in infancy. After his parents’ death, his grandmother appointed two merchants as guardians. One of them, a tea merchant took the bulk of the responsibility and was responsible for his education. In 1816, Keats became an apothecary but never practiced it as he decided to dedicate his life to poetry. In 1817, he published his first book of poems, On Solitude, which was not a great success.
In 1819, he met and fell in love with Fanny Brawn, his neighbour in Hampstead. Sometime later he began to show the first signs of tuberculosis, and after overseeing the publication of his final book of poetry, Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St Agnes and Other Poems, he left England for Italy, arriving in Naples in late 1820 and then moving on to Rome, where he died in February 1821.
His major works were:
Poetry
Poems (1817)
Endymion: A Poetic Romance (1818)
Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems (1820)
Prose
Life, Letters, and Literary Remains of John Keats (1848)
Drama
King Stephen: A Dramatic Fragment (1819)
Otho The Great: A Dramatic Fragment (1819)
Major themes in Keat’s poetry:
⦁ The Inevitability of Death: Even before his diagnosis of terminal tuberculosis, Keats focused on death and its inevitability in his work. He believed that small, slow acts of death occurred every day, and he advertised these small mortal occurrences.
⦁ The Contemplation of Beauty: Keats believed that the contemplation of beauty was a way of delaying the inevitability of death. Even though we must die one day, we can choose to spend our time alive looking at beautiful objects and landscapes.
⦁ Departures and Reveries: In many of Keats’s poems, it can be observed that the speaker departs from the real world to explore a transcendent and mythical reality. At the end of the poem, the speaker returned to his ordinary life transformed in some way and armed with a new understanding.
⦁ The Five Senses and Art: Keats imagined that the five senses corresponded to and connected with various types of art. He believed that each of the five senses had to be involved in worthwhile experiences, which, in turn, would lead to the production of art.
⦁ Music and Musicians: Music and musicians appeared throughout Keats’s work as symbols of poetry and poets. As mortal beings who will eventually die, we can delay death through the timelessness of music, poetry, and other types of art.
⦁ Nature: Keats found in nature endless sources of poetic inspiration. Nature is not only used as a springboard from which to ponder, but also used in similes, symbols, and metaphors for the spiritual and emotional states Keats wanted to describe.
⦁ The Ancient World: Keats had an deep interest in antiquity and the ancient world. He believed that an ancient myth and antique objects had a permanence and solidity that contrasts with the temporary nature of life. Besides, Keats saw In ancient cultures the possibility of permanent artistic achievement: if an urn still spoke to someone several centuries after its creation, there was hope that a poem or artistic object from Keats’s time might continue to speak to readers or observers after the death of Keats or another writer or creator.
Introduction
Romantic poetry is divided into two generations of poets: the first and the second generation. This division into two generations corresponds both to the actual age difference between the two groups and to changes in the context where the poets wrote and in certain features of their works. The First generation is characterised by an emphasis on the self and its relationship with nature.
Romantic Poets: First Generation
The first generation is characterized by a shift in style and subject matter from the Neoclassical (who focused on reason, tradition and society). The focus of this first generation of poets was on the particular aspects of objects, people and events; incidents and situations from real life were used as the source of inspiration for the artists. Some other aspects included:
⦁ Nature was seen as a teacher and a place where the artists can look for isolation and inspiration. Poets glorified Nature and compared it to God. Being close to nature would cause intense emotion.
⦁ Feelings would be expressed by means of spontaneity and introspection. Being able to express one’s true feelings would lead the poet to a sublime state. Thus, reality and thought were subjective concepts.
⦁ Childhood was considered a time and a state of protected innocence but a time that could not be protected from the fallen world and its institutions.
⦁ Dreams were seen as a way to clarify reality.
As the poet wanted to be close to nature, life in the countryside was extremely valued for its simplicity and humble lifestyle. Two of the most famous poets from the first generation, William Woodsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge lived in the best place in England considering the countryside: Lake District, in northern England. For this reason they are known as the Lake Poets.
Three of the most renowned poets of this first generation were:
⦁ William Blake (1757 – 1827) - Songs of Experience (1794) and Songs of Innocence (1789) were is most famous publications.
⦁ William Woodsworth (1770 – 1850) - his most famous work, The Prelude (1850), is considered to be the crowning achievement of English romanticism.
⦁ Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 – 1834) - The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is his most famous work and was published in Lyrical Ballads (1798), a shared publication with Woodsworth. The poem is considered to be landmark of the Romantic Literature in England.
WILLIAM BLAKE
Blake was born in London in 1757, and this was the city where he spent most of his life. During his childhood, Blake spoke of having visions, such as seeing God put his head to the window and while walking through the countryside, he saw a tree filled with angels. These visions were considered lies by his parents, who noticed he was different from the other children and did not encourage him to go to school. At the age of 10 he started taking drawing lessons. When he was fifteen, Blake was apprenticed to an engraver, making plates from which pictures for books were printed. This experience would help him illustrate his own poetry later on.
In 1892 he got married to Catherine Boucher, an illiterate woman who Blake taught how to read and write. He died in 1827 and his last years were spent in great poverty. He was helped financially by a young artist, John Linnell, who also helped to create new interest in his work.
His works consisted of the following books:
All Religions Are One (1788)
America, a Prophecy (1793)
Europe, a Prophecy (1794)
For Children: The Gates of Paradise (1793)
For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (1820)
Poetical Sketches (1783)
Songs of Experience (1794)
Songs of Innocence (1789)
The Book of Ahania (1795)
The Book of Los (1795)
The First Book of Urizen (1794)
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790)
The Song of Los (1795)
There Is No Natural Religion (1788)
Visions of the Daughters of Albion (1793)
Major themes in Blake’s poetry:
⦁ Opposition: Blake’s work is set around the theme of opposition as a representative of the balance in this world, and a focus on one side over another leads to oppression and ignorance. He believed that examining ideas and objects in terms of opposites and allowing access to both sides of the scale, man would reach a true state of enlightenment rather than a repressed state where few benefit and most are held in bondage.
⦁ Oppression / Repression: Blake lived in a period of aggressive British colonialism, slavery, social casting, Revolutionary change in America and Europe, as well as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Being a member of the lower class, an uneducated artist (in the formal sense of the term, although Blake was clearly quite intelligent), and considered by many to be an inferior poet bordering madness, Blake experienced firsthand the struggles of oppression.
⦁ Innocence/ Experience: Blake constantly explored the moment of lost innocence. This repeated theme in Blake’s poetry is ideal for a combination of all the other themes so far discussed. The theme of the separation, transition, and difference between innocence and experience highlights the theory of opposition, cycling and repression.
⦁ Religion: Where Blake stood in terms of his beliefs in God is unclear. By inventing a mythology full of angels, demons, and Gods that mirror a lot of Milton’s writings, he seemed to be fascinated with religion as a literary allusion and infuriated with it as a means to suppress man’s natural desires.
⦁ Poetry/ Imagination: Blake felt poets needed to look for new ways to express their words and ideas and tried to step away from the Classic traditions of English poetry.
Romantic Poets: Second Generation
The poets of the Second generation suffered because of society because of society and its injustices, mostly because of the post-revolutionary disillusionment, violence and the threat of the Napoleonic Empire. For this reason they tried to escape from reality by travelling around the world. There was a refusal of the real world and a creation of a different world where they lived in, usually by means of drugs. They didn't want to just repeat what the romantics of the first generation were doing, but wanted to be different, and even better than them. Some of the themes addressed by the poets of the second generation included:
⦁ Interest in the history and folklore of the Middle Ages (magic and mystery)
⦁ Hellenism (Love for classical themes)
⦁ Exoticism (attraction for distant lands, usually more imaginary than real)
The three most important poets of this generation lived short but intense lives:
⦁ George Gordon Byron (1788-1824) was a melancholy and solitary man whose actions often defied social conventions. He was the prototype of the Romantic poet and was deeply involved with contemporary social issues. He left England and live on the continent and looked for adventure in Italy and Greece.
⦁ Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was the most revolutionary and non-conformist of the Romantic poets. His ideas were anarchic and he was considered dangerous by the conservative society of his time. He was an individualist and idealist who rejected the institutions of family, church, marriage, and the Christian faith.
⦁ John Keats (1795-1821) had a really brief life. The main theme of his poetry is the conflict between the real world of suffering, death and decay and the ideal world of beauty, imagination and eternal youth.
George Gordon Byron
George Gordon Byron, or simply Lord Byron is considered to be one of the most notorious English Poets who is still read nowadays. Born to an aristocrat family on 22 January 1788, Byron was famous for leading a life of aristocratic excesses, including huge debts, numerous love affairs, rumors of a scandalous incestuous liaison with his half-sister, and self-imposed exile. Byron's first poems were published when he was 19 and his travels began at the age of 21. He left England forever at the age of 28 and the next eight years of his life were memorable for their poetic activity, and within them almost all his main work was done. He died during the war of Greek Independence at Missolonghi, April 1824, aged 36.
His major works were:
⦁ The First Kiss of Love (1806)
⦁ Thoughts Suggested by a College Examination (1806)
⦁ To a Beautiful Quaker (1807)
⦁ The Cornelian (1807)
⦁ Lines Addressed to a Young Lady (1807)
⦁ Lachin y Garr (1807)
⦁ Epitaph to a Dog (1808)
⦁ Maid of Athens, ere we part (1810)
⦁ She Walks in Beauty (1814)
⦁ My Soul is Dark (1815)
⦁ Monody on the Death of the Right Hon. R. B. Sheridan (1816)
⦁ When We Two Parted (1817)
⦁ Ode on Venice (1819)
⦁ So, we'll go no more a roving (1830)
Major themes in Byron’s poetry:
⦁ Liberty: Several of Byron’s poems, mostly those which were based on his travels, raised the problem of oppression around Europe and defended the need for liberty. He believed that liberty was a right of all human beings and thought of the denial of this liberty as one of man’s greatest failings.
⦁ Nature: Byron saw Nature as a powerful complement to human emotion and civilization and as a companion to humanity. He believed that natural beauty was preferable to human evil and to the problems that were inflicted on civilization.
⦁ Love: Throughout his life, Byron looked for the perfect object of his affections, which ended up making him a fickle and unstable lover to many women (and men).
⦁ Classical culture: Byron was a friend of the classical world who seemed to grieve what seemed to him as the decay of its cultural achievements and traditions.
⦁ Realism: Although Byron was a Romantic poet, he saw most of his best work as descriptions of reality as it existed, not how as he imagined it to be. The subjects of many of his poems come from history and personal experience.
John Keats
John Keats was born in London in 1795 and his early life was marked by a series of personal tragedies: he lost both parents before his fourteenth birthday and one of his younger brothers died in infancy. After his parents’ death, his grandmother appointed two merchants as guardians. One of them, a tea merchant took the bulk of the responsibility and was responsible for his education. In 1816, Keats became an apothecary but never practiced it as he decided to dedicate his life to poetry. In 1817, he published his first book of poems, On Solitude, which was not a great success.
In 1819, he met and fell in love with Fanny Brawn, his neighbour in Hampstead. Sometime later he began to show the first signs of tuberculosis, and after overseeing the publication of his final book of poetry, Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St Agnes and Other Poems, he left England for Italy, arriving in Naples in late 1820 and then moving on to Rome, where he died in February 1821.
His major works were:
Poetry
Poems (1817)
Endymion: A Poetic Romance (1818)
Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems (1820)
Prose
Life, Letters, and Literary Remains of John Keats (1848)
Drama
King Stephen: A Dramatic Fragment (1819)
Otho The Great: A Dramatic Fragment (1819)
Major themes in Keat’s poetry:
⦁ The Inevitability of Death: Even before his diagnosis of terminal tuberculosis, Keats focused on death and its inevitability in his work. He believed that small, slow acts of death occurred every day, and he advertised these small mortal occurrences.
⦁ The Contemplation of Beauty: Keats believed that the contemplation of beauty was a way of delaying the inevitability of death. Even though we must die one day, we can choose to spend our time alive looking at beautiful objects and landscapes.
⦁ Departures and Reveries: In many of Keats’s poems, it can be observed that the speaker departs from the real world to explore a transcendent and mythical reality. At the end of the poem, the speaker returned to his ordinary life transformed in some way and armed with a new understanding.
⦁ The Five Senses and Art: Keats imagined that the five senses corresponded to and connected with various types of art. He believed that each of the five senses had to be involved in worthwhile experiences, which, in turn, would lead to the production of art.
⦁ Music and Musicians: Music and musicians appeared throughout Keats’s work as symbols of poetry and poets. As mortal beings who will eventually die, we can delay death through the timelessness of music, poetry, and other types of art.
⦁ Nature: Keats found in nature endless sources of poetic inspiration. Nature is not only used as a springboard from which to ponder, but also used in similes, symbols, and metaphors for the spiritual and emotional states Keats wanted to describe.
⦁ The Ancient World: Keats had an deep interest in antiquity and the ancient world. He believed that an ancient myth and antique objects had a permanence and solidity that contrasts with the temporary nature of life. Besides, Keats saw In ancient cultures the possibility of permanent artistic achievement: if an urn still spoke to someone several centuries after its creation, there was hope that a poem or artistic object from Keats’s time might continue to speak to readers or observers after the death of Keats or another writer or creator.
Points for AV1 - part1
Romanticism: Historical, Political, Cultural, and Philosophical Background
Introduction
The Romantic Period is the name given to the artistic, literary, and intellectual Century to the early years of the 18th Century. The Norton Anthology of English Literature places it between the years1785–1832, but there is a lot of controversy as to the time in which it actually took place.
Generally speaking, Romanticism was a reaction to the Age of Enlightenment which came beforehand. While Enlightenment thinkers valued logic, reason, and rationality, Romantics valued emotion, passion, and individuality. The following video shows an overview of the Romantic period:
Romanticism: Historical Background
The Romantic Age was a moment of revolution. Two major revolutions occurred and had a profound effect on that time: the first one was The Independence of the USA in 1776 and the second was The French Revolution. Although the first movement took place outside Europe it had a direct impact on the British and was enough to blow up their confidence as they realized that they were not unbeatable. This perception certainly changed people’s way of thinking at the time. The second, the French Revolution, occurred in a neighbor country and was a complete overthrown of the government. Again, the British realized that changes like that could happen anywhere and anytime.
Besides those two revolutions, another revolution was taking place in the European society: the Industrial Revolution. Romanticism was a period of fundamental changes in agriculture, textile and metal manufacture, transportation, economic policies and the social structure in England. These changes originated a shift from hand labor to machines. The Industrial Revolution also brought about technological, economic, and social changes, amongst which were the use of new basic materials for manufacture, mostly iron and steel, new transportation and communication systems and the application of scientific principles to industry among others. It was a very important moment that transformed all the European society and led to radical and often abrupt social changes. It created an effect both on urban and country lives. Let’s have a look at the poem London, by William Blake, which was written during the French Revolution and in which he describes the city life.
Political Background
As already pointed out, The French Revolution was a movement that inspired the Romanticism, and poets and other artists were caught by the democratic spirit this movement brought. However, as the movement became more and more violent, the British started to react against it, and when Napoleon was finally defeated in 1814, the British leaders were determined not to let it trouble them again. For this reason, the government reacted harshly against the urban working class demonstrations, and killed several unarmed people at Saint Peter's Fields.
Another important political aspect is related to the urbanization-led movements brought up by the Industrial revolution, amongst which can be included urban poverty and class dissatisfaction. Some of the British Romantic poets showed their dissatisfaction to the changing in the human relationships and landscapes, as Nature was seen as an element in extinction.
Cultural Background
Besides placing great value on the beauty of nature and the wilderness and often stressing a feeling of nostalgia for a bygone past, the Romantic Movement also glorified the medieval period and folk culture. These concepts were expressed in literature, art, music, theater, architecture and nationalism and politics.
Art in the Age of Enlightenment was an expression of the refined tastes of the aristocracy. To these people, life was beautiful and joyful. They wanted more than anything to enjoy themselves, to give pleasure to their friends, and to collect the luxurious objects which made them feel happy, rich, and important.
Music was expressed through an increased use of folk melodies. The artist was also important, and society expected composers and performers to exercise their creative powers especially as soloists. The major composers of the era include Wolfgang von Beethoven, Frederic Chopin, Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Giuseppe Verdi and Peter Tchaikovsky.
Due to the improvements brought about by the Industrial Revolution, instrument makers were able to revise key mechanisms and overall design of the different instruments and these changes allowed players to improve their technique and execute sounds that would not be performable in the past. This helped composers make music that expressed the bold freedom and emotion which was characteristic of the era. Besides that, the performances were made for everyone and not only for the elite.
Philosophical Background
During Romanticism, there was an ongoing reaction against the philosophy of the era of Enlightenment, which gave emphasis to science, empirical evidence and rational thought among others. The Romantics went against the idea that reason was one of the paths to truth and judged it inadequate to understand the great mysteries of life. They believed that these emotions could be uncovered with emotion, imagination and intuition. Besides that, they believed that Nature should be celebrated as a place for self-discovery and spiritual learning, and should be regarded as a place where the mysteries of life could be revealed to the minds of man. They emphasized a life filled with deep feeling, spirituality, and free expression, seeing these as virtues against the dehumanizing effects of industrialization. They also celebrated the value of human beings, which they believed to have infinite, godlike potential.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Monday, September 1, 2014
Movies for class - please watch
Pride and Prejudice
Ivanhoe
http://sharerepo.com/xs46z0nmeh00
Available at: http://ffilms.org/pride-prejudice-2005/
Ivanhoe
http://sharerepo.com/xs46z0nmeh00
Thematic Forum 1: Discussing Romanticism
Mandatory assignment 1
Pair work. Read the following poem by William
Blake and identify two elements of Romanticism. Comment on them and illustrate your comments with lines from the poem.
PS. Though tempting, please refrain from searching the web for analysis. Your work will be also graded in terms of originality. Talk to your professor about the deadline.
About the course
Introduction
This
second semester of English Literature will lead the learner through almost
three hundred years of history. Our course will start at the end of the 18th
Century and reach our present days and will be divided into four distinct
literary periods: the Romantic Period, the Realism, the Modern age and the
Post-modern age.
When
studying the Romanticism learners will be presented with a controversial moment
in literature in which the subjective ruled over the objective and in which
emotion ruled over reason. To illustrate this literary period which followed
the enlightenment, we will study the works of three of the most famous romantic
poets: Blake, Byron and Keats, and also the works of fiction by the writers Walter
Scott and Jane Austen.
Following
the Romanticism, learners will delve into the 19th century, and study the
literary movement which was a reaction to its precedent: Realism. Learners will
see that the realist authors chose to depict everyday experiences, instead of
focusing on a more romanticized view of life. To understand this period, we
will study the works of Charles Dickens and of the Brontë sisters, Charlotte
and Emily.
As
the Realist movement come to an end, we will find ourselves in the beginning of
the 20th century, the Modern age, a time of conflicts and
uncertainties. This will be the time of Word War I and II, which affected the
works of many writers of this century: Virginia Woof, Aldous Huxley, D.H.
Lawrence and James Joyce and George Orwell, just to name a few.
To
round off, we will finish our course at the Post-Modern period. This will be a
moment in which the authors looked back at the other literary features and
borrowed elements to compose their own identity.
Are
you ready to start our journey through all these literary periods? So, off we
go. Hope you enjoy the trip!
General aims
The aim of this
course is to take the learner through four different periods of British
Literature: the Romantic Period, Realism, the Modern age and the Post-modern age. By reading the works of the various artists who
represented their time through the literary eyes, the learner will be able to
understand how the history of Britain affected literature and the minds of the
men and women who were the spokespeople of their times.
Besides
using History as the background to understand each of the literary movements,
the learner will also have the opportunity of reading some of the works of the
most renowned artists of their time and evaluating their importance in building
up the inheritance of British Literature.
Lessons
Lessons 1 – 3 à Romanticism
Lesson 1: Cultural, Historical, Political and Philosophical Background
In this lesson the student
will be provided with a brief overview of the cultural, historical, political
and philosophical background of the Romantic age.
Lesson 2: Poetry
In this lesson the student
will be provided with a brief account of the poetry of the Romantic age and he
will study the works of Blake, Byron and Keats.
Lesson 3: Fiction
In this lesson the student
will be provided with a brief account of fiction in the Romantic age and he
will be presented with the works of Walter Scott and Jane Austen.
Lessons 4 – 5 à An Overview of the 19th
Century
Lesson 4: The Industrial Revolution: causes and consequences/ Progress
and Realism: philosophical basis
In this lesson the student
will be presented with the causes and consequences of the Industrial Revolution
and the Realistic movement.
Lesson 5: Fiction: Charlotte and Emily Brontë/ Charles Dickens
In this lesson the student
will deal study Realism in the works of Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë and
Charles Dickens.
Lessons 6 – 8 à The Modern Age
Lesson 6: Modernist disintegration (1): Virginia Woolf’s impressionism
and Aldous Huxley’s ironic
novel
In this first lesson on the
Modern Age, the student will learn about the impressionism in Virginia Woolfs
works and the irony in Aldous Huxley’s
novel.
Lesson 7: Modernist disintegration (2): D. H. Lawrence & James Joyce
In this second lesson on the
Modern Age, the student will learn about sexuality in the work of DH Lawrence
and the allegory in James Joyce’s work.
Lesson 8: Post-War literature: George Orwell
In this last lesson on the
Modern age, the student will study the post-war literature and George Orwell’s
political novel.
Lessons 9 – 10 à Post-Modern Literature
Lesson 9: Cultural Overview
In this lesson the student
will have an overview of the Post-Modern movement on British Literature.
Lesson 10: Modern trends of British Literature: Poetry, Theatre and
Fiction
In this last lesson the
student will study the modern trends of British Literature: Poetry, Theatre and
Fiction.
English Literature II
Bibliography:
ABRAMS, M. H. et al. The Norton anthology of English literature. V. 1 e 2 NEW
York: Norton, 1962
Bibliogry
(optional):
BURGESS, A. 2008.
A Literatura Inglesa. São Paulo, Ática.
THORNLEY,G. C et al.
1984. An Outline of English Literature. England
Dear students from Estacio, Letras, 2014-2 (and all literature lovers!)
Welcome to our English Literature II blog.
Here is our space for reaching classmates and professor, sharing materials, exchanging ideas, getting important links, and more.
Feel free to contribute with anything relevant to our course. Enjoy!
Dr. Marco Silva
Welcome to our English Literature II blog.
Here is our space for reaching classmates and professor, sharing materials, exchanging ideas, getting important links, and more.
Feel free to contribute with anything relevant to our course. Enjoy!
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