19th century medievalist poetic comparison - Essay Example

Order 124133 May 4, 2006 19th Century Medievalist Poetic Comparison In the nineteenth century, a romanticizing of the Middle Ages became a popular part of England's culture known as Medievalism. Medievalism is a term used to describe that which holds characteristics of the Middle Ages. Knights performing acts of chivalry, damsels in distress, magical beings, and internal struggles between loyalty and passion are prominent identifying aspects of medieval literature. Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott and Morris's The Defense of Guinevere are both great examples of nineteenth century medievalism. A better understanding of medievalism is gained by comparing and contrasting these two authors and their poetic works. The examination will begin with the authors themselves. By learning about the authors one can gain insight to the influences that manifest in an author's writings. While both authors shared a common interest in medieval times, they had very different life experiences. Tennyson's style reflects his idealizations of Arthurian times. Morris's interests in both medievalism and religion are reflected in his style as well. Alfred Tennyson lived from 1809 to 1892. Tennyson was born on August 5, 1809 in Somersby, Lincolnshire. He was born the son of George Clayton, a clergyman and rector, and was one of twelve children. With such a large family, Tennyson led a very modest lifestyle as a youth. Tennyson had a lifelong interest in King Arthur, considering him as an idealistic symbol of both manhood and of leadership. Tennyson began writing at the age of eight, and in 1827 published his first book, Poems by Two Brothers, with his brother Charles (Lord Alfred Tennyson, n. pag.). William Morris lived from 1834 to 1896. Morris was born in Walthamstow, England, which was near London. His father was a financier, and Morris had a lifestyle that was considerably more extravagant than that of Tennyson's youth. Morris had a great variety of careers throughout his life including designer, artisan, poet and social reformer, architect, and painter. Morris was dedicated to fight the mass production brought about by the Victorian Age, because as an artisan, he felt it took away from the art of handcrafting. Morris pursued the study of Holy Orders at Exeter because he was very enthusiastic about religious subjects. Morris had a lifelong interest in medievalism, which manifested in much of his creative works.. In 1858, Morris independently published his first poem The Defense of Guinevere, which reflects his love for medievalism. The Defense of Guinevere was set in the days of King Arthur's court. Guinevere and Lancelot's affair had been exposed and, because of her marriage to Arthur, Guinevere had the opportunity to defend her actions to the knights, namely Sir Gauwaine. In this poem, Morris gave Guinevere duplicity, both as a victim and as a feminist. Guinevere is characterized as the damsel in distress, a victim forced into a marriage without love. Guinevere uses all of her persuasions as a woman of beauty to stall until her chivalrous knight Launce lot is able to swoop in and rescue her. As in many medievalist literary works, Guinevere is portrayed as a strong woman. At the same time, she is subjected to objectification because of her gender. The aspect of courtly love, or the love practiced by nobility surrounding the Legend of Camelot, was a common component in medievalist literature. The strong female role of Guinevere is depicted through the entire poem being from her perspective. This poem manifests courtly love by the telling of the story of Lancelot's and Guinevere's love affair, and the lack of love between Guinevere and King Arthur. The role of the Lady in Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott focused on a different aspect of medievalism. Tennyson uses magical symbolism to express the loneliness felt by the Lady and her struggle to choose to either be obedient and live without desires fulfilled, or to choose to disobey and suffer the curse of death. The mirror used by the Lady is a central symbol in this poem, representing her solitary imprisonment on the island. Throughout the poem, the lady sees many images of couples, but Lancelot is portrayed in the reflection by himself. This can also represent the controversy that faced many writers and artist, that one can either choose to write about the world or one can be a part of that world. The Lady of Shalott is set on a small island that overlooks Camelot. In this poem, the Lady of Shalott is a magical being isolated from the rest of the world, set with the task of weaving whatever she saw of the world through her mirror. Tennyson uses symbolism to emphasize The Lady Shalott's feeling of suppressed desires when being forbidden to look directly on the lands of Camelot. In this poem, medievalism comes in the form of an internal conflict as the Lady struggles with the desire to gaze directly onto Camelot even though magic forbid it. The Lady gives in to temptation when she sees the lone form of Lancelot, and upon looking directly on the lands of Camelot, is cursed to die. Both poems, The Defense of Guinevere and The Lady Shalott are centered in Arthurian times, which was the romanticized Middle Ages that had become part of England's culture in the nineteenth century. Both poems have similarities in their characterization of the women as damsels in distress, being helpless against their desires for the chivalrous knight Lancelot. In Tennyson's poem, The Lady of Shalott described this feeling when she stated, "I am half sick of shadows" (stanza II. para 4), after watching through her mirror a newly wed couple under the full moon. This is also seen in Morris's The Defense of Guinevere when Guinevere stated, Scarce ever meant at all, must I now prove stone-cold for ever" (7,8). Although there are shared similarities, both poems have a unique way of approaching medievalism. The Lady Shalott is a magical being and is denied her desires by the forces of magic. Guinevere is a mortal maiden that is denied her desires because of her arranged marriage with King Arthur. The amount of awareness differs between the two characters as well, regarding their oppression from external sources. While Guinevere is conscious of both the reasons and the consequences surrounding her desires, the Lady Shalott is only aware that there will be some consequence in the form of a curse. The Lady's awareness is gained when, "She has heard a whisper say, a curse is on her if she stay to look down to Camelot. She knows not what the curse may be, and so she weaveth steadily" (n. pag.). The characteristics portrayed by the two characters are a contrast that is apparent on multiple levels. The use of color is an strong indicative method for determining the personality and emotions that encompasses a character. In The Lady of Shalott, Tennyson used the color white to indicate the lady's purity and innocence. When the poem describes the lady, "Weaves by night and day A magic web with colours gay" (n. pag). Because she weaves what is reflected in the mirror, it suggests the fascination of the world which she is forbidden to look upon. In The Defense of Guinevere, Morris uses a variety of bright colors to describe the wide array of emotions that Guinevere experienced. In the lines, "See my breast rise, like waves of purple sea, as here I stand", the color purple is multifaceted. An article from described the attributes of purple as encompassing royalty, wealth, wisdom, spirituality, exotic, and artificial" (Color Psychology-Purple, n. pag.). Guinevere is of royal station and wealth, and is known for her exotic beauty. At the end of the poem one can see that she possessed the wisdom of knowing she would be rescued, and her speech takes on a somewhat artificial quality, being used as a delay until her time of rescue. Color and shading were used for more than just characterizing the women's personalities. The color white, which was used in The Lady of Shalott was also used to depict her demise. In the lines, " Lying, robed in snowy white that loosely flew to left and right-the leaves upon her falling light-" (n. pag), white is used to describe the coldness of her impending death. The use of shadowing is used when demonstrating the state of imprisonment the lady felt at being separated from the world. After she looks directly to Lancelot and is inflicted with the curse, she finds a boat to get to the long desired Camelot and Lancelot. Her frozen corpse comes to shore near a lighted palace. The usage of lights would indicate that she arrived to her desires, but too late. The Defense of Guinevere Another contrast in the two poems is the feminism exhibited by each of the female characters. The Lady Shalott is a mostly passive creature, accepting the limitations placed on her by the magic forces, and maintains an essence of purity throughout the poem. Guinevere portrayed a less than pure woman that knew how to use her status as a beautiful woman to gain the time that is needed for Lancelot to save her. She captures Sir Gauwaine's attention, first with suggestive details regarding her affair, then by drawing attention to her physical attributes. A good example of this is when she stated, "And wonder how the light is falling so within my moving tresses: will you dare, when you have looked a little on my brow, to say this thing is vile" (n. pag.). The differences in the pure and passive Lady, and the seductive Guinevere give an overall accurate perspective of the different roles women had during Medieval times. Women were often either seen as the helpless, passive damsels like the mythical Lady. Other popular depictions are of the objectification of women by a male dominated society. The Lady Shalott represents the most accepted and respectable as a submissive and obedient woman. Guinevere is feminist in nature, using her beauty to gain an advantage with the male presence of authority. After examining both poetic works, a better understanding of medievalism in nineteenth century literature is gained. As with all works that are considered medievalist, both poems are set during the days of King Arthur and Camelot. Both poems contain aspects of courtly love. In The Lady of Shalott, the lady falls in love with Lancelot when seeing his image and dies from the grief of a love unfulfilled. In The Defense of Guinevere, Guinevere also seeks the love of Lancelot, which would have cost her her life if Lancelot had not rescued her. Works Cited Enjoying The Lady of Shallot by Alfred Tennyson (1999).The Pathology Guy. Retrieved on May 4, 2006 from Tennyson, Alfred (1842).The Lady of Shallot. Retrieved on May 4, 2006 from Morris, William (1858) The Defense of Guinevere. The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester. Retrieved on May 4, 2006 from. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/defguin.htm Lord Alfred Tennyson (n.d.). The Literature Network. Retrieved on May 5, 2006 from Color Psychology-Purple (n.d.). About.Com. Retrieved on May 5, 2006 from Read More