A Writer's Perception of Human Nature and Its Echo in Civic Life - Term Paper Example

A Writer’s Perception of Man’s Inherent Nature and its Repercussions on Civic Life (Thomas More, William Shakespeare & John Milton) May sound strange, but it is a fact that every man carries within one’s heart and mind, a unique philosophy, that often has a direct impact on the way one perceives the basic human nature and society. This stands truer in case of the writers, for what is a writer, but an individual endowed with a peculiar and interesting way of perceiving and interpreting the human and social phenomenon and institutions. In that sense, a writer or a poet stands to be a philosopher, a historiographer and a visionary at one and the same time. A writer’s perception pertaining to the inherent nature of man is mostly a sum total of a variety of factors. It is not only influenced by the times and the place in which a writer lives and works, but is also colored by one’s creativity and imagination, the two essential attributes that go into making a writer or a poet. The writings of Thomas More, Shakespeare and Milton are especially poignant in that context as they furnish differing views regarding the inherent nature of man and its impact on the civic life, as perceived by these writers. ‘Utopia’ written by Thomas More at some time near the end of 1515, though on the surface seems to be a fictional account of a fantastic and ideal communism, is in reality a serious and earnest work that comes heavily on the paramount social and political vices of his times, thereby furnishing a unique view pertaining to the nature of man and society. ‘Coriolanus’ written by Shakespeare around 1605 delves on the conflict inherent within the consciousness of man and its ramifications on the individual and civic life. The conflict depicted in the play is both external and internal and these two conflicts are central in the play. Similarly the works of Milton have discernable humanist and Puritanical influences that portray and envision the inherent nature of man and civic life in the Classical and Christian context. In ‘Utopia’ Thomas More presents the predicament of man marred by a perpetual conflict existing between the ideal and the practical. Thomas validates and recognizes the fallibility of human nature, a theme that owes its origins to the doctrine of original sin and in a playful way proceeds to satirize the incompatibility existing between morality and practicality.1 As is the mark of an astute writer, More’s understanding of the inherent nature of man is immaculately realistic in the sense that it allows for the coexistence of the good and the bad at the same time. Thus More recognizes that to be human is to have unavoidable weaknesses. Hence the very exercise of framing a blueprint for a commonwealth based on the foundations of pragmatism rather accentuates the writer’s doubts pertaining to the perfection of human nature. More’s perception of the inherent nature of man was certainly influenced by his variegated political and administrative experience. In 1521, More served in the position of under treasurer to Henry VIII, when he was closely engaged with the mercantile disputes existing between England and France and the consolidation of the English interests in Europe. In 1525, More served as a Speaker of the House of Commons, a tenure that was marked by a solid affiliation to the Crown. Besides this, More also served as a Chancellor to the Duke of Lancaster and the Lord Chancellor of England. While working as a loyal functionary of the crown, More initially became acquainted with the human weaknesses and frailties that defined the political and the diplomatic environment of his times. His conviction pertaining to the corrupt side of humanity was further accentuated by his immaculate humanist background. His firm grounding in the Greek literature endowed him with the hitherto inaccessible ancient knowledge that delved over the inherent nature of man in all its shades while his affiliation to the Christian dogmas awakened him to the possibilities for a flawless integrity that often lies dormant in the realm of human consciousness. Thus, More’s views regarding the inherent nature of man could be taken to be an earthly mix of the marble and the mud. It goes without saying that More’s views regarding the inherent nature of man definitely influenced his understanding of the civic life. ‘Utopia’ owes allegiance to one of the most exploited genres of political writing that is a discourse on the constitution of an ideal commonwealth, a trend first started by Plato.2 The Utopian commonwealth portrayed by More though being perfect in many ways has many questionable and to some extent deplorable social and civic aspects and surprisingly, the society depicted in this work happens to be pagan. It seems that More though being a devout Catholic was realistically aware of the limitations of the Christian theology in an essentially political society. In other words, More was really comfortable with an idea of a civic society that was enlightened and corrupt at the same time.3 As per More, an ideal civic life is one that is exclusively dedicated to the construction of a well provided commonwealth that above all offers a good life to its citizens. All the other ideological and moral considerations ought to be kept subordinate to this essentially pragmatic and secular objective. The conversation between More and Hythloday in ‘Utopia’ smacks of a strange and weird mix of the views of the rhetoricians of the yore who staunchly agreed to the compromise of the cherished ideal on the altar of political and social expediency and the ethos of humanist politics and civic standards that place the ideal and the pragmatic on one and the same plane.4 The primary insight into the Shakespearean perspective on the inherent nature of man is furnished by the heroes of the Shakespearean tragedies. The characters in the Shakespearean tragedies come to a fall not owing to some divine curse or a morbid exercise of godly justice, but surprisingly end up being a victim of some flaw inherent in their nature.5 Still ‘chance’ and ‘accident’ do play an important role in the Shakespearean tragedies. The heroes of the tragedies written by Shakespeare mostly happen to be men of exceptional valor and substance, who eventually succumb to some tragic flaw ensuing from the recesses of their own consciousness. Thus, in the Shakespearean tragedies, the character is the destiny.6 Going by these factors, it will be safe to conclude that Shakespeare does not consider the essential nature of man to be a passive and pliable toy subject to the whims and fancies of the divine powers. On the contrary, the determinism and sovereignty of the human nature is the very essence of a Shakespearean tragedy. May seem ironic, Shakespearean tragedy also attributes a more then average relevance and importance to the human flaws, which if not restrained and checked by personal astuteness and wisdom, could unexceptionally wreck havoc. Thus Shakespeare considers the inherent nature of man akin to a strong fortress that is tragically at the mercy of the undetected chinks in its ramparts. In that context, ‘Coriolanus’ provides a full length study of the character of an individual, a man who possesses extraordinary personal valor, who also suffers from an extraordinary pride and in all crucial moments of life reveals extraordinary stupidity.7 The story eventually flows into civic and political ramifications as the play deals with the political events of major importance in the history of Rome. Thus, ‘Coriolanus’ revolves around a delineation of the central character, in relation with those mighty events. The personal and the civic go side by side. He brings the private passion and the personal conviction of this man into relationship with the civic life and the result is a political issue of great import to which the hero of the play, Coriolanus fails to adjust due to his innate character. This inability to adjust to the needs of this new civic situation, namely the need to come to terms with the common man, is the cause not only of his tragic end but also the cause of degeneration in his character that becomes apparent in the second half of the play. Hence, in ‘Coriolanus’, the conflict between the frailty and the strengths of human nature, and there personal and civic implications, unfold side by side. One special aspect of the Shakespearean perspective of the man’s inherent nature and civic life is that it retains a stark inequality between the elites and the commoners. In the Shakespearean tragedies, if the elites enjoy the political power owing to their exceptional abilities, the commoners are marked by a wild sense of fickleness and cohesion that erupts in the form of a raw mob justice in the face of any blunder committed by the top echelons of the political and civic power. The life and the views of Milton were considerably influenced by the age in which he lived; similarly his prose and poetry bear unmistakable traces of the spirit of the age in which he lived. It is a question as to whether it was fortunate that Milton should have been thrown upon an age of clashing principles and sharp controversies.8 Perhaps like everything else in the world, it has got its advantages and disadvantages for the poet. One thing is certain that Milton lived in particularly stirring times, and that his intelligence and his imagination were considerably influenced by conflicting principles in politics, in religion and in social life. The two great influences that worked upon the poetic career of Milton were the spirit of Renaissance and the spirit of Reformation. Thus Milton’s perception concerning the essential nature of man presents an impressive yet doomed combination of what is best in the classical and the Christian culture. Man’s obedience and subservience to the divine and the political authority was the explicit theme of his political pamphlets like ‘The Ready and Easy way to establish a Free Commonwealth’. However at a more subconscious level, many of his works including ‘The Paradise Lost’ tacitly condone and even celebrate the human spirit of rebellion and independence. Hence the civic society proposed by Milton seems to be utterly ambiguous in the sense that one the one side it justifies the validity of the divine laws in the personal and civic life while on the other side it preached a stark rebellion against the very institutions like the Church and the Crown that palpably manifested such principles. Thus, Milton’s of concept of the civic life enshrines the inherent evolutionary spirit that enables a pulsating society to adjust to the changes wrought by time. A Writer’s perception of the man’s inherent nature and his understanding of the civic life were always and will always be intimately linked. It is very natural because the man is the quintessential unit of the civic life. Bibliography Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. Suffolk: Macmillan, 1992. McCutcheon, Elizabeth. “Recent Bibliographical Guides to Thomas More”. Utopian Studies 11 (2000): 193-198. Milton, John. “Paradise Lost”. Ed. F.T.Prince. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1992. Olin, John C. Interpreting Thomas More’s Utopia. New York: Fordham University Press, 1989. Riley, Dick and McAllister, Pam. Bedside, Bathtub and Armchair Companion to Shakespeare. London: Continuum Inter. Pub. Group Ltd., 2001. Read More