Treatment of Love in the Following Romantic Poem and Extract from a Romantic Poem - Book Report/Review Example

1. Compare and Contrast the Treatment of Love in the Following Romantic Poem and Extract from a Romantic Poem: Charlotte Dacres's 'Il Trionfo del Amor' and Byron's 'Don Juan' Any piece of poetry must arouse a personal response in the reader, and with a universal topic like 'love', there is no doubt that both these pieces succeed in eliciting that response. There must exist within the work, enough universal truth to bring about recognition and thus appeal to many. This essay seeks to explore how the poems portray the theme of love, what is similar in them and what is different, while analyzing how each poet creates the desired effect. From a personal viewpoint, Byron's extract is more engaging, perhaps because it amuses, seems to speak directly to the reader, depicts characters and situations which can be easily related to, along with some of the more problematic aspects of youth, parenting, marriage and so on. This extract, because of its personal appeal, will be discussed first. As a long narrative poem, the poet has much scope for setting the scene, telling the story and introducing meaningful characters and their personalities or condition, and to work towards a climax in whatever way he chooses. It is almost as if Byron is the conductor of a comic opera, employing all nature as his stage setting, and all the foibles of humanity in his players. Sometimes he is in charge, directing the action, at others he appears to be standing in the wings, slyly murmuring wicked asides to the audience/reader. All the time, he allows us glimpses of his own sardonic wit, using bathos to delicious and 'naughty' effect in this ottava rima verse form. The repeated rhymes in the first six lines are supposed to prepare the reader for the epigrammatic closure in the last couplet, but consider the comic effect his final lines have in many of the verses: "If you think 'twas philosophy that this did, I can't help thinking puberty assisted." (V. 931, L.743-744) This follows on from a description of Juan looking at the stars, the sky, of man and what might be termed as all manner of 'heroic' and high-flown matters. Then 'bump', Byron brings him down from the sublime to the commonplace. The poor boy is lovesick, the poet makes us aware at once, but is 2. laughing at him, sometimes gently, sometimes cynically, as he depicts the 'adolescent crush' scenario, or just the pain of first love. Like any young man, disturbed by hormones, "Dissatisfied, nor knowing what he wanted;" (V. 96, L. 762), Juan veers from the higher plane of romantic dreaming, to the earthy lust he cannot control. Byron invites the reader to sympathize, while making us laugh at the youth's predicament, possibly eliciting personal memories in the process. He pokes fun, not entirely innocently or kindly, at his fellow poets, using them effectively in mosaic rhyme thus: "Unless, like Wordsworth, the prove unintelligible." (V. 90, L 720) and "And turned, without perceiving his condition, Like Coleridge, into a metaphysician." (V. 91, L. 727-728) Steadily, he builds a picture of a youth swooning with love for the beautiful wife of an older man, while ensuring the physical, lustful aspects of this love are made evident. He then takes pains to describe the season, the date, using repetition in V. 103 and 104, even the time of day set the scene. Such details seem to play with the reader, building tension, reflecting that which is undoubtedly building in young Juan, and demonstrating the poet to be in charge of all that is taking place. The alliteration, (V. 104, L. 829) 'held', 'houri' (nymph of Islamic paradise, no lady) 'heathenish', 'heaven', serves to call to mind another 'h' word, 'heat' and possibly apply it to the protagonists, as well as the weather. The picture he paints of Julia is saccharine-sweet, causing the reader to wonder just how innocent and honorable she is, and who will be seduced, who the seducer The digression into 'fifty' which occurs in V. 108 seems to damn fair Julia further in the reader's mind - suggesting her 'love' for her older husband is based on his wealth, "A good deal may be bought for fifty Louis." (L. 864) Byron expresses his cynicism as he goes on to describe in languid detail, the hand movements, touching, accidental contact and sexual frisson which builds and builds between Julia and Juan. Then bathos again in V. 115, its final couplet: 3. "And the,----God knows, what next - I can't go on; I'm almost sorry that I e'er begun." With this little melodramatic utterance, the reader knows he is anything but sorry, he is being witty at the expense of the would-be lovers, completely tongue-in-cheek. Following this with a jibe at Plato, whose so-called expressions of Platonic friendship have led to this situation, he takes the reader to the climax, sensual, sexual and literal: "And whispering, 'I will ne'er consent' -- consented.' (V. 117, L. 936) Thus is Juan's love consummated, and Byron's cynicism exposed, insofar as he wishes to portray love in this context. Yet such is the universal understanding and recognition of the situation depicted, the 21st century reader may well enjoy rather than be shocked. In Charlotte Dacre's 'Il Trionfo del Amor' (The Triumph of Love), the verse form is the perfectly rounded and complete sonnet, wherein with 14 lines, she conveys huge depth of feeling. With an openness, a sexual honesty, not the norm for a woman of her time, she tells of being possessed by love. Using enjambment, she maintains a stream of consciousness which involves the reader in the intensity of her emotion. The metaphors, imagery and almost prayerful use of language combine to create an aura of mysterious enchantment. The love presented here in in the mind, the soul, the spirit. The poet suggests a supernatural bewitchment has taken place, the language used throughout impresses this, but such is the love for the beloved, that this is of no importance. Consider the images evoked: "How has thou o'er me gain'd such vast controul, How charm'd my stubborn spirit is most rare. Sure thou hast mingled philtres in my bowl! Or what thine high enchanted aarts declare Fearless of blame - for truth I will not care," (L. 3-7) The metaphorical use of 'enchanted arts' signifies how powerless the person is in the grip of this 4. love, and there is double meaning to be extracted from the words "for truth I will not care." The reader may deduce that either the poet does not care how she came to be so in love, or, she has no wish to know how. She moves from the psychological to the physical, for despite her metaphorical 'love-sick mind' (L. 9), it is the 'lustrous eyes' (L. 11) which claim her. Returning to the mysterious and supernatural phenomena, the poet brings the reader from being submerged in thoughts to the action of physical, consummated love. "Thus known thou spells, thou bland seducer, see - Come practice them again, and oh! again; Spell-bound I am - and spell-bound wish to be." (L.12 - 14) By repetition and even the punctuation, she has conjured an image of sensual reality, begun in the mind and ended in the body. This poem is a serious declaration of love, which seeks to involve the reader in the feelings such emotion engenders, portraying one almost deprived of logical reason, but nevertheless, happy to forgo this for the sake of passion. It seems to support the feminine view that in order for woman to love fully, in the physical sense, mind and heart must be engaged. The most evident contrasts between the two pieces lie in the poetic form, language and devices each poet uses. The long narrative, as opposed to the sonnet, the serious, as opposed to the humorous, the supernatural in juxtaposition to the reality of life, the male from the female viewpoint. Dacre's poem explicitly informs the reader of one person's experience of love and passion; it is an enchantment, all encompassing, the individual is in thrall, and is happy to be so. While there is evidence of physical attraction and sensuality, the ways of the world do not impinge, nor do humor or cynicism in any form. The mental connection between lover and beloved is vividly expressed in the continuous use of metaphor and imagery, consider how the words 'perfumed poison to my brain' (L. 11) impact - this poem is about two people, nothing else matters. In fact, there is no awareness or allusion to anything outside the experience the poet seeks to share, it exists in its own small world and as such, reflects the manner in which lovers throughout the ages 5. behave, they are exclusive and anything outside their 'togetherness' is of little consequence. Nevertheless, the outcomes in both will prove to be similar, though how they reach them is vastly different. Byron approaches love in this instance, almost as a problem for both Juan and Julia, while at the same time, indicating a sense of inevitability. Juan is burning with lust, and, it must be admitted, adolescent love. Julia is a sensual woman whose high ideals are cynically dismembered, her character colored by the poet's own beliefs, as he repeatedly allows us glimpses into her thought processes. He is depicting love in a worldly-wise, almost derogatory fashion, and despite all the mental activity he portrays, surrounding both Julia and Juan, especially Juan, his interpretation is essentially about physical satisfaction, or a more earthy and non-cerebral approach. That he continuously refers to how he thinks, and engages the reader to consider what they think, serves to soften the harsh, somewhat cynical view of love he depicts. He uses nature in all its aspects, perhaps to provoke the thought that this behavior and result is only 'natural'. In this respect, his language is more natural too, simpler and less arcane than that employed by Dacre. To compare both poems, there are many similarities. They both use imagery, enjambment, metaphor, rhythmic cadence, all of which enhance the flow of the pieces. Though Byron is taking longer, making more references to others, both suggest extraneous influences, Byron more than Dacre. In Dacre. it is magic and something 'other' taking control, rendering the person happily helpless. With Byron, he evokes the season, the surroundings, the moon and even the mother, as significant influences. Both poets use the eyes as a connective device between lovers, and most importantly, they both present the concept of physical consummation as the climax of the action. Both infer the loss of control which love engenders. The build-up in Don Juan, by the nature of the narrative poem, is long but entertaining and informative and could be said to employ every variety of rhyme, to good effect. The form allows for digression, while linking always to a cohesive whole, never losing the theme, the thread. The sonnet too, builds a picture, but with more immediacy, for in the first lines, the reader is launched into the state of mind of the lover; 6. "So full my thoughts are of thee, that I swear All else is hateful to my troubl'd soul." (L. 1 - 2) but as stated earlier, this picture emerges and is created on the spiritual and psychological plane, which then drive it on to its conclusion. And there is little doubt that both conclusions are the same, whichever forms have been used to reach them. Both Juan and Dacre's lover are enthralled and both need to express this physically. In conclusion, it might be assumed that one poet is telling the reader that love is all-consuming, it takes us over, mind, body and soul, and we are happy to be thus possessed. It is a magical, life-changing experience, and all the more valuable for being so. On the other hand, if Byron's view is to be more completely accepted, while agreeing that Dacre's ideas also hold true, in reality, it may reasonably be described as a human rite-of-passage, and should be treated as such, it happens all the time, there is no need to get too excited about it. In other words, let nature take its course. The two inferences are that some may embrace love with heart, soul, body and mind, while others will perceive it as a pleasure to be enjoyed without taking it all too seriously. Both views are valid to some extent, and in the human condition, both contain universal truths, despite the passage of time which has elapsed since these two poems were written. The topic of love never seems to become exhausted, as every song, poem, novel, before and after the Romantics, continue to explore its meaning and components, seeking to solve the mystery. In examining these two very different but equally important poems, at least some insight may be gained about the intrinsic elements which constitute passionate love. They help the reader to understand that such love cannot be divorced from the physical, which some may consider as mere lust. Physical and psychological are intertwined in the final consummation of passionate love, or what individuals may perceive such love to be. Byron and Dacre have, in their different ways, exposed the different facets of this enigmatic emotion, this love, whatever it may be. Read More