The Garden of Love by William Blake and Home-Thoughts from Abroad by Robert Browning - Essay Example

Blake and Browning The Garden of Love by William Blake and Home-Thoughts from Abroad by Robert Browning are two very different poems; yet, they contain certain similarities. William Blake belonged to the poetic era known as the Romantic period. While, Robert Browning wrote during the Victorian era. These two poetic eras held many different background events, both social and political which influenced the poetry of those times. By exploring these two poems and looking at the context in which they were written, it may be possible to discover and better understand their differences and similarities. The Romantic period stretched from 1789 until 1832. This was a style of poetry where freedom of thought and feeling was expressed. The romantics valued spiritual and natural experiences rather than scientific or logical experiences such as the metaphysics. Some major elements that appear in Romantic poetry are: The love of nature makes up a major part of a theme in the poetry where the wonder and beauty of nature is praised and worshipped in a Pantheist manner. The poetry expresses sympathy and concern for the state of mankind; often looking at man’s spiritual situation. The emphasis is placed on emotions of the individual rather than the workings of the mind. The Romantics were interested in the supernatural, myths and old legends and often reflected this in their poetry, also demonstrating a strong imagination which made for creative and heartfelt poetry. The poetry expressed the dislike for tyrannical control and encouraged freedom of the individual. More often than not the Romantics reflected on melancholic thoughts such as the feeling of loneliness and disillusion and the contemplation of death and the afterlife. [www.megaessays.com/essaysearch/elementspoetry.html] When looking at the historical events that influenced the Romantic poetry we note three major events: The French Revolution, the American Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. The first two involved the breaking of tyrannical rule and the freedom of the oppressed. As seen above this led to poetry discussing freedom of self and the importance of the individual. The industrial Revolution which began in Britain in the late 18th century brought about massive changes in everyday life. It affected everything from economic and social life to cultural practices. During this period manual labour ceased to be of such importance being replaced by machinery. Longer working hours were introduced, exploiting the workers, treating them as machinery themselves. Cities became overcrowded with all the people flocking from the countryside to find work and the cities also became dirty and sordid with all the pollution from the machinery. With these overcrowded cities came the accompanying disease and death. This sparked the Romantic poets to express their grief and pain of the populace in the poetry, focusing on what was still natural and free. [eds. Bram, Philips 1983:372-373v22] Blake’s poem, The Garden of Love was written in 1794. It is a lyrical poem consisting of 5 stanzas. The tone of the poem is a melancholy one, expressing longing for what once was. The poem has a strong pantheist element, revering nature and mourning the loss of what it symbolises in the poem, the freedom and purity of love. [Blackwood 1982:30] Stanza one, describes how the speaker is lying on the bank of a stream listening for the sound of love. Alas, love is “sleeping” [line 2]. This suggests that Blake believed love to be dormant during this time in his life and the world around. Instead of hearing the sound of love, all the speaker hears is “weeping weeping” [line 4] among the rushes lining the bank. The rushes are described as “dank” [line 3] as though they were dark from gloom and moist from all the weeping. The repetition of the word weeping lends more weight to the feeling of misery in the poem. Blake reveals that even nature grieves the inactivity of love in the world. Stanza two reveals that the speaker has gone to a different location to search for love “the heath and the wild” [line 5]. One would expect that in such a place love would be found free and pure. But, even the hardiest of plants “thistles and thorns” [line 6] had been “driven out” [line 8] from their natural habitat. Here Blake seems to refer to the ever growing expansion of man who in their drive to industrialise has taken over nature forcing it out and replacing it with cities and manmade objects. The thistles and thorns also tell the speaker that they were tricked into and forced to surround the “chaste” [line 8]. This implies that the pure at heart that practiced love were surrounded by sharp thorns and such like, turning love into something horrid and to be feared. Stanza three, once again shows the speaker going to another location; for, it is obvious that he has not found what he sought in the previous places. He tells of how he went to the garden of love and how he discovered something quite new to him. Where he had once played, probably as a child, “on the green” [line 12]. Our initial impression of a chapel in the garden of love is a favourable one; for, surely if there is one place where love abounds, it is in the church. However, at the same time we are aware of the progress of the English church; for, a new building is erected on the natural open space where the speaker once played carefree as a child. Stanza four immediately shatters our impression of a loving church; for, the speaker sees that “the gates of this chapel were shut” [line 13”. This seems to create a barrier between ordinary people and those within the chapel. Blake may be commenting on how the church at that time was only open to some; while, excluding others who were deemed unworthy. The following line reveals that on the door of the chapel is written “thou shalt not”. This is a direct reference to the Ten Commandments in the Bible. It demonstrates how the church of that time dictated to the populace what was wrong to do. This command on the chapel doors appears to be limiting love, constricting its freedom to what is deemed suitable by the church. Here, Blake not only shows the increasing influence of the church in English society, but it also reveals how society was becoming entrapped by the prohibitions set upon it by the church and those in authority, limiting its culture and freedom. This suggests a certain amount of uniformity in society at the time, revealing that if you did not conform to social convention you were shut out and frowned upon. The speaker realising that he had no place in this uniformly conventional society with its dictatorial ways turns away from the chapel to the garden of love where he remembers the “many sweet flowers” [line 16] that grew there. There is a note of desperation in the speaker’s words; as though this is the final place he will be able to find love in its pure and free form. The fifth and final stanza exposes the speaker’s bitter disappointment when he finds the garden of love is no more. Where once sweet and innocent flowers grew, now graves and tomb stones lie. This is a strong symbolism of the death of love in its pure and beautifully Free State. Now it is hard as stone as shown by the “tomb stones” [line 18] and dead and decaying as shown by the word “graves” [line 17]. The speaker then describes how he sees the “priests in black gowns” who were “making their rounds” [line 19] as though they were gardeners tending to these dead parodies of love. The “black gowns” of the priests, further enhance the morbid feeling of loss and sorrow. The final line in the poem the speaker says that these black gowned priests are “binding with briars my joys and desires” [line 20]. The priests instead of laying flowers down by the tombs are encircling them with briars, further entrapping the already dead and decaying love. The speaker laments in despair that his joys and desires that have resembled his free feelings of love have been curbed and harshly limited to what the church and society of England deem is fit for love. Through this simply constructed poem, Blake reveals how society and the church have encroached upon the freedom of people, even to the extent of limiting one of the strongest feelings, love. We are struck by Blake’s acute disillusionment in the church and society at that present. It is now dictated how love should be felt and carried out. Something that Blake viewed as free and beautiful in early times has now been suppressed through harsh measures; rendering it thus, dead and subjective to human authority such as the church. Blake’s poem also makes reference to the industrial revolution in which natural sites are being encroached upon, driving out the wild flora, bringing with it some of the worst traits of man, trickery “beguiled” [line 7], forcefulness “compelled” [line 8] and the tainting of what once was pure “chaste” [line 8]. The graves and tombstones spoken about in stanza five may also be a reference to the increased loss of human life through horrors such as war due to the various revolutions and disease and poverty due to the increasing harsh conditions in the cities brought about by the industrial revolution. The Garden of Love demonstrates the clamping down of free will and sensual feelings and experiences. The Victorian poetic era succeeded the Romantic era. This period mainly refers to the time period in which Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901. This era saw great social reforms, giving the populace more say in politics. England was recovering from the loss of her American colonies; thus, expansion into other terroritie, such as Africa, became the focus causing political, social and economic growth.Increasing scientific developments were taking place which often challenged traditional beliefs and religion. One such development was the Darwinist movement which greatly went against the religious views and teachings of the church. So although, the Victorian period was seen as a period of growth, it was also one of doubt and turmoil for the English people. Often the Victorian poets focused on their present time and showed concerns for the contemporary issues of the people of the era and their daily lives. Middle-class Victorians placed great emphasis on hard work, moral seriousness, and social respectability. These elements may be observed in the poetry of the time. Victorian poets championed imagination as well as reason, resulting in varied poetry. Some elements that featured in Victorian poetry are: The immediate problems and interests of everyday people are taken into account, giving Victorian poetry a very real feel of human sentiments and progress. Many poets of the era had a strong moral purpose, which they reflected in the poetry in order to instruct the English people on moral issues. Due, to the above mentioned scientific developments, many poets expressed their doubts and disillusionment in their poetry, often longing for idealism. In this regard the Victorians were not unlike the Romantics. Often the Victorian era is seen as a practical and materialistic one; however, the poets have tried to neutralise this view by expressing ideals such as truth, love, unity and justice. [eds. Bram, Philips 1983:137-138v26] Home-Thoughts from Abroad by Robert Browning was written while he was living, like so many of the English at that time, abroad in Italy. The poem, like Blake’s is a lyrical poem which also contains a tone of longing. Browning’s poem has a somewhat romantic feel to it; for, it reveres nature, bringing to it a pantheist feel not unlike Blake’s poem. Browning appears to be longing for England, imagining what it would be like to be back in England at that time. [eds. Bram, Philips 1983:406v4] Unlike Blake’s poem, Home-Thoughts from Abroad only has two stanzas; yet, it too consists of twenty lines. The first stanza is an octet, following the rhyme scheme, ababccdd. This stanza begins with the word “oh” which aids in expressing the great longing to be in England at that time. We are aware that the speaker longs for spring time “April” [line 2] in England in order to experience the rebirth of nature after winter. The “whoever” in line 4, suggests the encompassment of all England’s inhabitants. Thus, when the speaker reveals that the “whoever” is unaware of the newly reviving plants “are in tiny leaf” [line 6] and the return of the birds after winter “chaffinch sings on the orchard bough” [line 7], Browning is referring to the disregard of nature by the English people. This may suggest that the people are so busy with their work and political involvements, they turn a blind eye and death ear on what is still true and pure. This reflects Blake’s poem in a loose sense; for, Browning too acknowledges that nature is no longer important to people, instead increased industrial development and power struggles are. Stanza two can be seen to have an interesting form; for, it mirrors the rhyme scheme of stanza one, except Browning has added a rhyming couplet at the beginning of the stanza as well as at the end. The lines in this stanza are also longer, mainly taking the form of iambic pentameter. This stanza also differs from the first, because it now shifts from all of England solely to the remembrances and longings of the speaker. There is also a gradual shift in time for this stanza; for, now the speaker thinks of early summer “after April when May follows” [line 9]. The third line of the stanza sees the speaker thinking of his own garden in England where he remembers his “blossomed pare-tree” by the hedge with all the birds building nests in it. The speaker also imagines how his pare-tree drops petals and due on the clover in the field. These lines demonstrate a pure remembered joy at what early summer meant for the speaker. Line 14, once again causes a shift in the poem; for, the speaker is so deep in memory that it is as though he is really there experiencing it. This is shown through him introducing the “wise thrush”, which is done in the present tense. The speaker goes on to tell of how the thrush sings each of its songs “twice over” [line 14] in order to voice that it can perfectly reproduce its joyous song. Here, Browning seems to suggest that nature is perfect in every way and is able to produce this perfection countless times over; this suggests superiority over mankind. In line 17, the speaker assures us that even though “the fields look rough with hoary dew” this will all soon change, revealing once again how joyously beautiful nature is on mid summer’s day “noontide” [line 18]. Browning points out that nature will bring joy again in the near future, it can be depended on. However, when looking at man and the future of that time it was viewed by the poets as uncertain and caused much doubt. The final couplet of the poem shows two vastly contrasting lines. In line 19, the speaker portrays the idea that the bright yellow buttercups of summer are nature’s gift to the “little children”. The speaker may be referring to his own childhood here and how the buttercups were viewed by him. The final line jolts us back to the present to where the speaker is so far away from England and instead of all the beautiful trees, birds and flowers that have brought him joy, all he has is a “gaudy melon-flower”, which looks completely inadequate and even fake. The speaker demonstrates how those abroad either in the colonies of the British Empire or some other cultural country such as Italy, revere or idealise England. In conclusion we can see how Blake’s and Browning’s poems are both very different; yet, they both express the longing for times and things gone by. They both also convey a pantheist element. During this essay we were able to discover how the Romantic era and Victorian era with their different political, social and cultural events influenced the poetry of Blake and Browning. Reference list: Blackwood, A. ed. 1982. A to Z of famous people. London: Octopus Books Limited. Bram, L.L., Philips, R.S. 1983. Funk and Wagnallss new encyclopaedia, 22:372-373 Read More