Apocalyptic Vision in the Romantic Period Compared to the Twentieth Century - Essay Example

Apocalyptic vision in the Romantic period compared to the twentieth century Introduction Religion, personal backgrounds and life teaching are the major inspirations for any given poet. The critical point comes when an individual chooses to single out given theme to develop his work. The basis of a poet is to drive a massage and divert people attain and allow them to make personal interpretations on major points drawn from the entire work. The essay will compare two eras and there apocalyptic vision. The works of William Blake and William Yeats will lay the basis of the essay with the focus lying on the inspiration and the general presentation of their works. Imagery is what defines the theme and intention of a poet, judgment is based on how based the aspect in integrated in a poem. Romantic period and the twentieth centaury The romantic periods in poetry was influenced by beliefs and personal philosophies creating. The 20th century saw the shift of poem from the mythical aspect to more realistic and scientifically proven approach. Cantor (2004) describes the effect of the scientific element to the present day audience. He also indicates the complex nature in which the poem come to relate to a normal day scenario (Cantor, 76). The romantic era in poetry dealt more on the human aspect and issues influencing the day to day activities of a human being. The romantic era saw more life events that generated themes to poets. Many ignored the fact and dwelled in a continuous process of developing previous works by other poets. The trend saw many choose to write on a similar topic but creates a unique aspect that differentiated their work; this is attributed to increased number of criticism. The twentieth century saw most of the poets borrow sources and ideas from the romantic period. The era saw a decrease in number of poets taking the apocalypse approach their theme. Those choosing this approach adopt a different method as they tend to base on the existing fact and less on imagery and religious perspective. There exist similarities between the romantic period and the twentieth century in poetry. The choice of themes is the major similarities between the two periods. The aspect is created by where the twentieth century poets draw their inspiration. The efforts to perfect previous works from the romantic era give the two eras a similar composition of different structure and presentation. The human aspect is the dominant factor with the romantic era seeing the human composition being determined by supernatural aspect with an explanation of life after death. There exist an explanation of the major difference between the mind of the normal humans and those of supernatural beings. The twentieth century poets create a scenario where the humans are at liberty to choose from a variety of options available. The freedom the poets give the audience shows a different picture where the previous eras saw most of the poets taking a strict stand (Masterson & O’Shea, 1985). They developed around given philosophies where the audience where given less options in audiences. Modern science and change in human behavior has prompted many poets to adjust and develop works that will ensure they remain relevant though times. The nature of adjustment by poets has seen them integrate science and myths with Cantor (2004) indicating science fiction in major of 20th centaury poets but still creating the inevitable apocalyptic vision. Yeats verses Blake The two poets represent two different eras in poetry. Yeats represent the 20th century while Blake representing the romantic period in poetry. The major theme of their two poems is apocalypse and how they perceive making the comparison while dwell majorly on how the two deploys the imaginary element of poem. The two represent external elements that inspire poets to compose poems with respect to religion and personal philosophy with an aim of expressing their thoughts while at the same time satisfying the audience satisfaction. On comparing the Williams Yeats “second coming” and William Blake’s “a vision of the last judgment” there style in expressing their emotion differs. Yeats chooses to create a harsh scenario in his works. He picks one scenario; he uses the Spiritus mundi creature to differentiate his earlier hope of the second coming with the lost hope as the creature brings about a sense of despair. He chooses humanity as the victim of all the injustices and the shortcomings of the universal set up. He also finds them to be the direct beneficiaries of schemes plotted and organized by the same mankind. It is evident in his works that while he is creating an image of the end times, he neglects the religious aspect as he creates a personal philosophy on the matter. He although mentions Bethlehem in his works which indicates his appreciation of religion as the city is associated with both Christians and Jews. “Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born” (Yeats as quoted in Harmon, 1998 P.207). Fletcher (2008) describes these efforts as a way of creating emotional aspect to his personal philosophy and creating a higher acceptance level by including religion. He mentions Bethlehem to enable him cut across more than one religion. Yeats describes the end to be symbolized by a rough beast that will show mercy to no human. Blake in his poem chooses to use the Christian version to signify the end and express his philosophy. Different from Yeats, Blake borrows more from the Christian aspect and the bible as the reference point. He indicates the end to be characterized by the coming of Jesus while Yeats related it to a rough beast. The two differ in philosophy with Blake choosing to be conservative while Yeats borrows from different aspects. Blake chooses the human imagination to explain their final destination. He indicates how the vegetations have a different destination as their legacy continue through their seeds while the humans relay on supernatural forces to explain their ends. He expresses the external worlds to be the determinant factor towards the human cycle while yeast blames human themselves to these cycles. Blake also appreciates nature in his works with the mention of vine and lattice. He compares the ancient Greek believes and the Christian aspect to show a relationship of their beliefs on end times. Different from Yeats, he creates a realistic aspect of the future with Blake choosing a fiction approach in creating an image of the future. Focusing on the major theme of the two poets it is evident on what inspires them in their apocalyptic vision. They share a supernatural effect within them with both attributing to a single final element that will signal the ends. Blake related his philosophy to the Christian aspect with Jesus being the final element in the cycle he created through his works. Yeats related to a beast that for his part it is harsh and hostile. The two differ in other aspects as yeast depicts the end to be a hostile experience a period it is evident in his statement. “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.”(Harmon, 207) The rough aspect of Yeast poem is contrast to Blake’s where he uses imagery as a way of creating hope and give lifeline to those oppressed “Men are admitted into heaven not because they have curbed and governed.”(Blake, P.87). He uses this as a way of recording the Christian teaching on life after death. As Blake tries to single out life aspect and criticize the hypocritical nature of those considering themselves holy, Yeats dwells majorly on his own philosophy and is critical of the human activities. Discussion The two explains a similar poetic era which is evident in their style in poetry. The nature of inspiration is that of religion verses non believers with the two indicating the manner in which the poems where created and developed under a given poetic era. Religion being one aspect in Blake’s poem, he uses it to create his philosophy he in some way tries to recon what most of the audience understand about religion and concludes his works by providing bible evidence. Yeast has a more independent approach in providing his poetic work. He chooses this approach in order to ensure is philosophy triumph across board without choosing a specific target group. The independent nature of the poet gives him an advantageous approach in attract more audience. The concluding line of his poem indicates an acceptance level of religion. He indicates the hope lies on the coming event in Bethlehem. On the other hand Blake not only uses religion as his preferred audience but gives room to those willing to adjust to his philosophy by creating the human element in his concepts. The two poets are similar as they use different modes to ensure more audience acknowledges their works and creates an Poem is about inspiration and the target audience the themes should evolve around the single aspects a poet chooses. The external aspects only get welcomed to develop a critical analysis of any give work. The subject matter may vary but the classification of the poem will depend on the general analysis of the entire poem. On the apocalyptic vision, one thing is evident from the two poets’ personal understanding and life teachings are important in determining the concerns of the audience. Imagery s the major tool deployed perfectly by the poets as they provide a picture of the unpredictable future (Erdman, 1999). The tool is used by the poets to show the presents era and relate it to the future without mentioning any given time periods. The two poems show how poets from the same poetic period shows similarities and draw and there theme revolves in the same school of thoughts. Approaches at any given subject matter should be done according to the writers thought but should consider it relevancy in different given eras. The historical nature of a poet could determine his approach and influence his composition. The aspect should only be used as a guideline and inspiration but one should consider other aspect to prevent his works from being and individual poem. The different accepts of poetry have one thing in common, they usually satisfies the audiences giving room to criticism. When a poem lacks the aspect then it fails the test of being accepted beyond a given population. Comparing two eras of poetry indicated change in tact and themes. The inspirations of previous poems are drawn around the human culture and mythical beliefs with themes torching on both the human understanding of the two elements. The 20th century tries to harmonize the developing human with previous human perception. It provides a more open approach and distance its self from religious or and customary teaching. Yeats demonstrates this by creating a different apocalyptic vision different from what majority of the audience perceive it to be. Conclusion The two eras defined poetry in more than just age. The major aspects of the two eras range from the human element to the evolving human activities. The convincing power per each period is what inspires the changes that are witnessed by the two poems by Yeats and Blake. Imagery is a concept each poet must deploy and this is the only dominant factor in the two eras. Inspirations are only the base of writing a given piece of literature the most important aspect is the audience involvement. Differences in poetry are brought about by divide option and ideological difference. The general understanding of a concept reduces the chances of it being a poetic inspiration. The uniqueness of a given scenario provides a perfect opportunity for a poet to pick a major theme from the complex scenario. Similarities and differences in nature of presentation by poets give the audience a chance to critically analyze structure and make an independent report. History and the human cycle is what Yeats and Blake uses to demonstrate their apocalyptic vision. The supernatural aspect is deployed to create a sense of fear. The inspiration may be a future event but the poets use it to their advantage by creating a sense of agency to the audience. Works Cited Blake, William. The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake. California: University of California Press, 2008.print. Cantor, Paul . "The Scientist and the Poet," The New Atlantis, Number 4, winter 2004, pp. 75-85. Erdman, David. Blake’s Early Swedenborgianism: A Twentieth Century Legend. Comparative Literature. 1999, vol.5. Fletcher, Nancy Helen. Yeats, Eliot and Apocalyptic Poetry. Florida: University of south Florida, 2008.print. Harmon, William, ed. The Classic Hundred Poems. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998. Masterson, Donald & O’Shea Edward. 1985. “Code breaking and Myth Making: the Ellis-Yeats Edition of Blake’s Works”. Yeats’ Annual 1985 No. 3. 53-80. Read More