The Organization of Social and Cultural Life - Essay Example

The Cycles of Poetry In the nineteenth century, the organization of social and cultural life shifted severely as a result of increased social mobility with the introduction of the middle class, technical complexity with the advent of complicated machinery, and social diversity as the result of increased colonialism. These radical changes contributed significantly to the breakdown of the forms of belief that had been held by society throughout its earlier history. As a result of these changes, people were losing their previous connections with nature and the natural world. Artists and writers attempted to keep intelligence and creativity a mainstay of their efforts; however, as Northrop Frye notes, most literature can be characterized by fundamental rhythms of life. He identified these fundamental rhythms by explaining, “The first is a cyclical rhythm that springs from the cycle of nature. Humans are aware of the rhythms of the world – the passing of seasons, the coming of day and night – and their stories identify those rhythms with the human cycle of life, death, and rebirth.” For the writers of the second half of the nineteenth century, the loss of traditional structures and connection to nature was expressed through a focus on the latter portions of the natural cycle through the period of decline and death tinged with impressions of only being partially alive. These similarities can be traced by comparing such famous poems as “The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred Lord Tennyson written in 1832 and “The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot published almost 100 years later in 1922 as they each tend to follow a similar progression. Both poems begin with an image of loneliness, barrenness and unfulfilled living. Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem is essentially the story of a cursed woman who must sit and weave at a web at all times, using images she sees reflected in her mirror as inspiration for the designs she performs. Her loneliness is described by the remoteness of her location. “Four gray walls, and four gray towers / Overlook a space of flowers, / And the silent isle embowers / The Lady of Shalott” (15-18). This isolation is further emphasized by the description of the reaper, who is aware of her existence, but has no real conception or who, or what, she is. The barrenness of her life is illustrated in her continuous and meaningless weaving while her inability to fully live life is described in the harshness of the curse placed upon her. “She knows not what the curse may be; Therefore she weaveth steadily, / Therefore no other care hath she, / the Lady of Shalott. / She lives with little joy or fear. / Over the water, running near” (42-47). Even her source of information regarding the world outside her own walls is only brought to her second-hand, as it is seen through the window of her tower and reflected through the light of her mirror, ensuring she has no effect upon the world outside and rendering her totally barren in all things. This sense of loneliness, barrenness and emptiness is echoed in the first three sections of Eliot’s poem written after the First World War. The meaninglessness of life is first expressed through the words of ‘Marie’ as she provides a brief description of what her life feels like now as compared to those long years ago when her cousin took her sledding “In the mountains, there you feel free” (17). Now, she spends her time doing nothing useful or productive as she comments “I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter” (18). This is immediately followed by the desolate expanses of the desert. This is described rather than stated as a place “where the sun beats, / And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, / And the dry stone no sound of water” (22-24). This sense of emptiness is continued in the second section as the overwhelming abundance of one woman attempts to hide the emptiness of her childless life and the chattering insanities of the other women about their friend illustrates the emptiness of a full household. While the third section is full of sexual encounters between people, these are also meaningless, fruitless and do nothing to help the people feel more alive than they were. From this state of loneliness, barrenness and monotony, both poems focus on the observation of beauty and a desire to be a part of it as a means of driving the individual to attempt transcendence from their present state into something more fulfilling. In “The Lady of Shalott” for example, the Lady cannot prevent herself from wanting to see the perfection of Lancelot with her own eyes rather than the shadow of a reflection in her mirror. The vision that inspires her seems irresistible as “the sun came dazzling thro’ the leaves, / And flam’d upon the brazen greaves / Of bold Sir Lancelot” (75-77). As his description continues, Lancelot is portrayed as being a jewel of life itself, singing a joyful song and exuding the good life from every pore. Although Eliot’s imagery isn’t as beautiful or as pure as that seen in Tennyson, he still manages to evoke a sense of simple fulfillment through the basic pleasures of music and sight. “The pleasant whining of a mandoline / And a clatter and a chatter from within / Of Magnus Martyr hold / Inexplicable splendor of Ionian white and gold” (262-265). This gives the reader a sense of transcendence of the ugliness of life through simple pleasures and rare moments, but a desire for life and connection to this sort of thing on a more regular basis. Finally, though, both poems come to a close with the death of their characters as they pass over water to a new spiritual realm. The Lady of Shalott, having brought the curse upon her by looking out the window, is next seen setting herself adrift in a shallow boat and drifting down to the castle at Camelot. “She loos’d the chain, and down she lay; / The broad stream bore her far away, / The Lady of Shalott” (142-144). This journey across the water takes the woman through a transcendent death, “A longdrawn carol, mournful, holy, / She chanted loudly, chanted lowly, / Till her eyes were darken’d wholly” (154-156). With the arrival of her body at Camelot, the Lady has finally managed to make herself real in the real world, but remains untouchable by it as her soul has already gone. This sort of life after death in bringing her existence to the knowledge of the world is repeated in Eliot’s poem, again with a darker slant. “Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead, / Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swell / And the profit and loss. / A current under sea / Picked his bones in whispers” (312-316). Water, with the assistance of the creatures that live within it, is again the means of transporting the individual from the realm of the living to the next plane is found as the body of Phlebas slowly decomposes beneath the waves and forgets its connections to the reality of the living. Like the Lady of Shalott, there is life after death, yet again, there is a much darker shade to this life as it remains full of confusion and conflicting images. While each poem makes direct reference to the cycle of life, particularly that aspect of it moving from death to rebirth, the differences in social and political times have a profound effect on the final rendition. Tennyson’s poem remains firmly rooted in the idyllic past and is filled with the hopeful imagery of nature even as it gives its readers a sense of loss and sorrow through the storyline. Eliot’s poem, though, become much more fragmented, more concerned with the desolate nature of the life spent before death and more pessimistic regarding the life following death. Although they utilize the same fundamental cyclical rhythm as the foundations of their respective poems, there remains a great deal of room for unique expression and interpretation. Works Cited Eliot, Thomas Stearns. “The Waste Land.” (1922). July 23, 2008 Tennyson, Lord Alfred. “The Lady of Shalott.” (1832). July 23, 2008 Read More