Victorian Poetry PDF

Victorian Poetry Hayder Gebreen Victorian Poetry Victorian literature is the literature produced during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837 – 1901). England, during this time, was undergoing a tremendous cultural upheaval; the accepted forms of literature, Victorian art a...

Victorian Poetry Hayder Gebreen Victorian Poetry Victorian literature is the literature produced during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837 – 1901). England, during this time, was undergoing a tremendous cultural upheaval; the accepted forms of literature, Victorian art and music had underwent a radical change. Introduction: During the Victorian era, however, there was a lot of radical social change and as such, many poets of this time didn’t like the romanticized version of society. The Victorian poetry is, thus, divided into two main groups of poetry: The High Victorian Poetry and The Pre-Raphaelite Poetry. Victorian Poetry, thus, marks an important era in the history of poetry, providing the link between the Romantic Movement and the Modernist Movement (Pre-Raphaelitism) of the 20th Century. The Victorian era is additionally associated with an era of ideological conflict. It’s associated era within which the conflict between science and religion, rationality and mysticism, and technical progress and non-secular orthodoxy is found keen and clear. The writers of the age seem to have expressed their response to these diverse shades of conflict through their literary ideals and attitudes, thoughts and feelings. Victorian poetry, just like the different branches of Victorian Literature, is found to be dominated by the social thoughts of the age. The age saw a variety of powerful poets- 1. Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) 2. Robert Browning (1812-1889) 3. Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) 4. Matthew Arnold (1822-1888) 5. Arthur Hugh Clough (1819-1861) 6. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) 7. William Morris (1834-1896) 8. Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894) 9. Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909) 10. Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore (1823-1896) 1  Victorian Poetry Hayder Gebreen Although Victorian Poetry was quite different from that of the preceding era, yet there were some similarities that existed between the two periods. 1. Questioning the Established Rule of Church 2. Interest in myths and mysteries. 3. Skepticism and Doubtfulness. Schools of The Victorian Period 1837-1901: The High Victorian (Early) The Pre-Raphaelites Aestheticism and Decadence (late Victorian) The Victorian Period of English literature began with the accession of Queen Victoria to the throne in 1837, and lasted until her death in 1901. Because the Victorian Period of English literature spans over six decades, the year 1870 is often used to divide the era into "early Victorian" and "late Victorian." In general, Victorian literature deals with the issues and problems of the day. Some contemporary issues that the Victorians dealt with include the social, economic, religious, and intellectual issues and problems surrounding the Industrial Revolution, growing class tensions, the early feminist movement, pressures toward political and social reform, and the impact of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution on philosophy and religion. Some of the most recognized authors of the Victorian era include Alfred Lord Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, her husband Robert, Matthew Arnold, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy. Within the Victorian Period, two other literary movements, that of The Pre- Raphaelites (1848-1860) and the movement of Aestheticism and Decadence (1880-1900), gained prominence. A-The Pre-Raphaelites 1848-1860: In 1848, a group of English artists, including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, formed the "Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood." It was the aim of this group to return painting to a style of truthfulness, simplicity, and religious devotion that had reigned prior to Raphael and the high Italian Renaissance. Rossetti and his literary circle, which included his sister Christina, incorporated these ideals into their literature, and the result was that of the literary Pre- Raphaelites. 2  Victorian Poetry Hayder Gebreen B- Aestheticism and Decadence 1880-1901: The Aestheticism and Decadence movement of English literature grew out of the French movement of the same name. The authors of this movement encouraged experimentation and held the view that art is totally opposed "natural" norms of morality. This style of literature opposed the dominance of scientific thinking and defied the hosility of society to any art that was not useful or did not teach moral values. It was from the movement of Aestheticism and Decadence that the phrase art for art's sake emerged. A well-known author of the English Aestheticism and Decadence movement is Oscar Wilde. Characteristics of The Victorian Period 1-Realism: The Victorian Poetry was quite realistic in nature and quite less idealized as compared to the Romanic Poets who were idealists and believed in Art for the Art Sake. Nature, that was everything for the Romantics lost that idealized position in the Victorian era and became just a source of leisure and inspiration for the poets. 2-Focus on Masses: Romantic Poetry mainly focused on rural and rustic life. It is no way related to city life. On the other hand, Victorian poets used language as well as themes common to city life and thus wrote about the masses and for the masses. 3-Pessimism: As already discussed, Victorians were quite realistic and thus were more concerned about the reality rather than the ideal world. Due to the industrial revolution and advancement in science and technology, there was a drastic increase in the city population that gave rise to slums, poverty, unemployment, corruption diseases, deaths etc. Thus, Victorian Poetry which focused on the pains and sufferings of commoners had a note of pessimism. 4-Science and Technology: The advancement in science and inventions was welcomed by the Victorian poets. It made them believe that a man can find all solutions to his problems and sufferings. They made their readers believe that they should use science for their betterment. 5-Questioning to God: It was an important feature of Victorian poetry. The development of empirical science, rationalism and radicalism led the people to give up religious thoughts and be more sceptic. Moreover, corruption in the Church, defining the morality of Priests, etc also led the people to question the religious institutions. 6-Sense of Responsibility: The Romantics believed in “return in nature”. A number of the Romantics did not like the city life and instead of giving voice to the victims of industrialization, they left the city life. On the other hand, Victoria poets took the 3  Victorian Poetry Hayder Gebreen responsibility of social reform and gave voice to the commoners by living with them. 7-Morality: Though morality saw a steep decline in the Victorian Era, a number of poets tried to retain it by encouraging the people to be honest and noble. 8-Interest in Medieval Myths & Folklore: The Victorians showed great favour towards Medieval Literature. They loved mythical and chivalrous anecdotes of Medieval Knights, Courtly Love etc. This interest is on contrary to the of Romantics as the latter loved classical myths and legends. 9-Use of Sensory Devices & Imagery: The poets of the preceding era used imagery vividly. However, the Victorians also used sensory devices to describe the abstract scenes of chaos between Religion and Science. 10-Sentimentality: The Victorians wrote about artistic creations thus giving way to deeper imaginations. 11-Humour: A number of poets wrote humorous and whimsical verses. e.g. Bad Ballads. 12-Development of Dramatic Monologue: Though the Victorians used medieval settings, forms and themes, many other forms of poetry also held prominence during the Victorian Era. The dramatic monologue became one of the most popular gifts of Victorian Poetry to English Literature. Through works such as Alfred Tennyson’s “Ulysses’ (1842), ‘St Simeon Stylites’ (1842) and Mathew Arnold’s ‘Dover Beach’ and ‘Stanzas from the Grand Chartreuse’. Robert Browning popularized dramatic monologue in most of his works such as ‘My Last Duchess’, ‘Porphyria’s Lover’, ‘Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister’, ‘Men and Women’ and such others. These poems were published in Browning’s ‘Dramatic Lyrics’ in 1842. Apart from the famous dramatic monologue, the Victorian poets also explored Sonnets, Epics, Elegies and Ballads. In this way, the Victorian poetry is the direct outcome of the Prevailing socio- economic, political and literary activities of the time. 4