Poetry as the Dominant Form of Literary Genre - Essay Example

1. Introduction When one takes a look at the literary scene of ages past (although not too distant), one can discern that the landscape was dominated by a genre – the poetry. We recall Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Othello as a story written in eloquent poetry. Suffice it to say, when you were a poet then, you would likely garner more audience than somebody reading out to you a very long story with no intonations or rhyme. Nowadays, however, poetry is said to have been relegated to the backstage with the novel taking the limelight. One can frequently see, especially in an academic and learned community, people glued to their paperbacks of the most recent sequel to a bestseller. Poems today can mostly be heard in poetry readings; so few are its enthusiasts in bookstores. Given that novels have displaced poetry as the dominant form of literary genre, does this imply that novels more successfully reflect the spirit of the age? This is basically the question that this paper aims to answer. We begin by defining what a novel and a poem is (i.e. their form and structure) followed by a discussion on the Victorian Era which is agreed to be the period where the novel has displaced poetry. In this section, we will be delineating how this change was brought about. We then proceed to a discussion of one the more popular Victorian novel which is the Great Expectations and the major poems of Christina Rossetti. Then by contextually analyzing the works a decision on whether the novel reflects more successfully the spirit of the age will be arrived at. 2. The Novel and Poetry Defined Prudence dictates that the two genres first be defined as to refine the reader’s concept of the discussion. To this end, we provide this section. 2.1 Definition of the Novel Borrowing Percy Lubbock’s definition, Dr. Agatha Taormina sets out the definition of the novel as “an imaginary work in prose of a considerable length, which presents as real certain characters living in a given environment and describes their attitudes, fate, and adventures”. It is a fiction in prose with over 50,000 words. (NVCC Onlie, 2007) In the following table, we see the different prose fictions and their difference with each other. Point of Emphasis Short Form Long Form abstract theme fable allegory Plot anecdote romance Character short story novel Note the placement of the novel. It focuses on the human character and seeks its interpretation. The reader of a novel is ideally both entertained and aided in a deeper perception of lifes problems Examples of contemporary novels include Shogun by James Clavell, Angels and Demons by Dan Brown and even the Harry Potter series. 2.2. Definition of Poetry Poetry is considered to be a form of art wherein language is creatively used for its aesthetic qualities. It uses particular forms and conventions to expand the literal meaning of the words and to invoke emotional or sensual responses. That is most words are chosen to denote an idea figuratively. This use of words often leads to ambiguity, symbolism, irony and other style which makes open to multiple interpretations. Although our general idea of a poem is that it is a rhyming and regularly metered composition, there are those forms such as Beowulf which makes use of rhythm and euphony. Poetry also uses devices such as assonance, alliteration and rhythm to achieve musical or incantatory effects. The structure is stanza-paragraph where each stanza may or may not have a defined meter length. Under poetry exists different genres such as the Narratives and Epics (Iliad, Nibelungenleid and Mahabharata), Dramatic (Hamlet and Faust) and the Lyrical ( the 14 line Sonnets). The topics of poems range from mundane subjects to tales of love, war or a combination of both and many more topics. It can take various forms such a serious tragic one to satirical and comical statements. Prominent examples include the works of Shakespeare, Goethe’s Faust and Idyll’s of the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. 3. The Victorian Era 3.1 Introduction The Victorian Era of Great Britain is usually taken to coincide with Queen Victoria’s rule over the British Empire dating from 1837 to 1901 although a number of scholars have argued that the period actually started with the passage of the Reform Act 1832 which ended the Regency Era of the United Kingdom. Geopolitically, this was the period of conquest where the British Empire was able to stamp its name over one third of the total surface landmass of the Earth involving five continents. Why do we have to deal with the Victorian Era when discussing the issue at hand? The reason behind this is that it is generally attributed to this age where the Novel is said to have dominated the literary scene. How then would this help us in answering the question we posed at the introduction? By looking at the themes played out in the novel and poetry and the social conditions within this period, we will be able to determine which one reflected more successfully the spirit of the age. 3.2 Social Conditions Dubbed as the “Golden Age of the British Civilization”, the period saw the growth of the United Kingdom from an essentially agrarian state to a highly industrialized and railway connected world power. The changes in Britain’s cultural, political, economic, industrial and scientific landscape were comparable to none of its previous eras. Theories and discoveries such as the evolution theory of Charles Darwin paved the way for a more informed inquiry into the assumptions regarding man and the world, science and history and ultimately, religion and philosophy. The mid-Victorian period also saw the first glints of women enfranchisement (although the ruler was a woman, much of British ladies were deemed fit only as housekeepers). Women gained rights such as Married Womens Property Act, the right to divorce, and the right to fight for custody of their children upon separation. As the country grew increasingly connected by an expansive network of railway lines, small, previously isolated communities were exposed and entire economies shifted as cities became more and more accessible. There are basically four major issues which characterized this period: they were evolution, industrialism, feminism and Great Britains identity as an imperial power (NAEL, 2006). Industrialization was the primary force which drove writers to take more of a realistic tone on their writings. 3.3 The Literary Culture With regards to literary culture, the Victorian age was characterized by a well informed population due to a generalized mass literacy and education modernization program and the availability of reading material due to mass production printing. This was the period where quality journalism abounded and is reflected in the wide circulation of highly regarded magazines such as the Edinburgh Review, the Westminster Review and the Athenaeum. Over 115 periodicals started circulation in London only. Each monthly issue of a literary periodical contains scientific or general critical essays, poetry and serialized fiction reaching about 100, 000 individuals. The degree to which literary works was available enabled people to keep themselves abreast with “contemporary” fiction, poetry and essay allowing us to assume that the populace was endowed with very strongly informed - and ample - currents of opinion and shared learning or entertainment. This recommends the Victorian age as one of the most paradoxically learned modern ages. From the foregoing discussion, it can be noted that this age was marked by great social, political, educational and economic developments as compared to other previous period. Focus was given to the pursuit to truth and philosophy such that most of the works were conversational instead of entertaining. Poetry, in essence, has lost its appeal due to its figurative nature. 4. The Victorian Novel: Mirroring the Social Milieu 4.1 Introduction The novel gradually became the dominant form in literature during the Victorian Age. Romanticism gave way to realism as new trends and mostly problems in individual and social relationships emerged. Jane Austen, with her Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Emma (1816), began the transformation from an ideal story to a more incisive and realistic look at human relations. Realism would assume its full strength in influencing themes for literary works thru the Victorian novelists Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray and George Eliot. Charles Dickens, considered as the foremost of the Victorian novelists, offered an indictment against the social and economic complications and conditions of the period. Oliver Twist (1837-39), David Copperfield (1849-1850), Hard Times (1854), Great Expectations (1861) and Our Mutual Friend (1865) were social commentaries strewn with humor. In Hard Times, for example, Charles Dickens depicted the deplorable existence in industrial towns of central and northern England by creating the fictional city of Coketown (NAEL 8, 2.1573–74). Our Mutual Friend satirized notions of mercantilism, the hypocritical praise of excessive pragmatism and the supposedly envious virtues of the middle class thru the description of the Veneerings. Our Mutual Friend” (Book the First, Chapter II). Thackeray, considered as the premier satirists of this age, portrayed a panoramic portrayal of British life thru his works vanity Fair and Henry Esmond. One can find Thackeray to assume a mocking and cynical tone to his works and is more apt to portray the conditions prevailing in his country especially in its shortcomings. However, Thackeray dealt with characters and themes that appealed only to the middle and upper class segment of society making him second only to Dickens. George Eliot, learned, well-read and experiencing religious doubt early on, was both a critic of her contemporary society thru her works Adam Bede, Scenes of a Clerical Life. She is known for her attempt to address moral questions and discussion regarding one pressing issue of her time which is feminism. This was the theme for Mill on the Floss and Middlemarch. There are other important figures in the mainstream of the Victorian novel: Thomas Hardy for his pessimistic sense of human subjection to fate and circumstance; George Meredith for her sophisticated, detached, and ironical view of human nature and Emily Bronte for her penetrating study of passionate character. To illustrate the degree to which these novels were mirroring society, we will be discussing Great Expectations of Charles Dickens in the following section. 4.2 Dickens’s Great Expectations In the Great Expectations, we see Pip and his “great expectations” regarding love and fortune written by Dickens in a semi-autobiographical manner which is characteristic of him. We see in the story, Pip growing in the rural setting, immigrating to the City of London and falling desperately in love with Estella who was raised by the spinster Havisham to “wreak havoc upon the hearts of men”. The story essentially informs the reader how Pip and his expectations fall one by one. First, Estella takes as her husband the character Drummler followed by the revelation that it was a convict who was his benefactor and not Ms. Havisham herself. This was devastating for Pip as he thought that Ms. Havisham was the one giving him the money as a sign of her favor to be Estella’s husband. Resigning himself from these failures, he resolved to marry his childhood friend Biddy but finds out that she is to be married to Joe- another childhood acquaintance. However, the story ended with Pip finding himself a decent job and in meeting Estella who was hinted as becoming Pip’s wife. There are several symbolisms of “contemporary” social situations from this work of Dickens. This includes the immigration of people from the rural regions to the urbanized communities, the ills of society such as deceit, injustice and deplorable quality of city life and the increasing role of women in determining their affairs or the lack of it. These are discussed in the following: A. Immigration of the people from the rural regions to the urbanized setting and the ensuing behavioral transformation. Pip was, in the first place, a boy from a rural setting, who was transplanted to the city life thru the combined mechanisms of Ms. Havisham and Pip’s benefactor. We mentioned in the previous sections that the establishment of railway networks and rapid industrialization spurred the mass immigration of people from the country side to the city which is represented by what happened to Pip. We see the behavioral transformation occurring in Pip as he learns etiquette, neglects and even forgets his former life in the rural setting. This was characteristic of people who, after indulging in the very different environment of the city, get lost in its intricacies and remembers rural life only on certain occasions. B. Ills of Society - Deceit, Injustice and Deplorable City Life Through the workings of Ms. Havisham, Pip fell helplessly in love with Estella. As Miss Havisham remarked, “Love her, love her, love her! If she favours you, love her. If she wounds you, love her. If she tears your heart to pieces --; and as it gets older and stronger, it will tear deeper --; love her, love her, love her!". However, the urgings of Ms. Havisham was actually a farce designed to make Pip expect for nothing. This was her way of avenging the insult inflicted upon her by the deceit of the man who abandoned her on the day of their marriage. Estella deceived Pip by alluring him with her charms. With regards to injustice, we see Magwitch as having been unfairly treated in his sentencing as compare to his co-accused Compeyson (who was the one who abandoned Havisham). This happened not only once but twice when they were both captured after trying to escape. Magwitch was described by Shaw as the “radical social victim” which reflected the situation in this period where many people were victims of society’s neglect and deceit (Shaw, 1990). The deplorable city life was captured in Pips remark about the untidiness of London and Magwitch experience as a person who was driven to a life of criminality due to the neglect of society itself. These conditions actually represent Victorian age Britain where decadence in the quality of life came hand-in-hand with rapid developments. The rapid industrialization brought many people to the cities but they were paid with very low wages (sometimes not even enough to support a family). Most of the people were also unskilled and unqualified for the emerging industries. The result– a society full of beggars and slum. Many mercantilists resorted to unjust business practices such as layoffs and deceiving people out of their salaries. Although it is said that the Justice system then was incorruptible, upper and middle class individuals who could afford attorneys had the edge over those who have very little property. C. The increasing role of women in determining their affairs or the lack of it. One of the movements in the Victorian era was feminism. Two of the major characters of the novel was Ms. Havisham and Estella . We see Havisham as a woman trying to fight back against the insults and oppression of the opposite sex. She was manipulative and deceitful. Havisham represented the increasing awareness of women of their capabilities as compared to the opposite sex. Estella, however, represents the still subservient woman – a tool used by others. Nonetheless, we see a transformation in her as she decides who her groom to be is. All in all, the great expectation was a story based on developments in society as a whole. It used characters and events that people then could actually see, experience or relate to. The setting was London and the depictions resembles closely its setting. It was a story that is possible to happen and it can transpire within the environs of the immediate community. 5. The Victorian Poetry 5.1 Introduction In poetry, the Victorian age entertained itself with a rather ample poetry of ideas that the age had inherited from its immediate precursors, the Romantics; in fact one label attached to the Victorian poets was that of “the post-romantics”. Well known in this arena are Christina Rossetti (Goblin Market), Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Idylls of the Kings) and Elizabeth Browning (Sonnets from the Portuguese). 5.2 Christina Rossetti Works as a Reflection of Society The question that is relevant in this section is whether Rossetti’s works mirrored the spirit of the age. For sure, there are poems written by Victorian poets that discuss the conditions of the times such as The Cry of the Children by Elizabeth Browning which portrayed the suffering of children in mines and factories. However, we chose to analyze Rossetti because her works are the subject of deep retrospection of a number of scholars and has gained its position as an acclaimed Victorian composition. The two volumes of Rossetti’s work were titled as Goblin Market and the Prince’s Progress. The Goblin Market tells the tale of two sisters, Laura and Lizzie, who encounter a Goblin market selling its damned produce to the weak willed. Laura is seduced to eat their forbidden fruit, and she wastes away as a result of its poison. Lizzie saves her sister by confronting the Goblin men, who attempt to force her to eat their wares. Surviving their assault, Lizzie brings her fruit stained clothes back to her sister. Laura consumes the forbidden juices for a second time and is cured. The Prince’s Progress is a long narrative poem concerning false expectations of love. The poem tells the story of a deserving Princess bride who is betrayed by an inadequately devoted lover. Other poems of Rossetti’s working include Light Love, An Apple-Gathering and Grown and Flown. The women depicted in these poems are all betrayed by false ideals and false lovers. Rossetti’s works actually reflect one of the major movements in the Victorian Era and that is feminism. The mentioned works are attempts to demonstrate the ways in which women are perceived as objects or mere ciphers by the patriarchal ideologies of romantic love that pretend to idolize women and desire union with them. In short, they were attempts to place the focus our attention to the feelings of women in general. This was an attempt to overcome the domination of male poets who uses women in their composition as mere objects of desire without truly considering the feelings of the woman. Feminism is all about the empowerment of women. In the Goblin Market, for example, we see how Rossetti made known the sensuous desire of women: [She] sucked their fruit globes fair or red: Sweeter than honey from the rock. Stronger than man-rejoicing wine, Clearer than water flowed that juice; She never tasted such before, How should it cloy with length of use? She sucked and sucked and sucked the more Fruits which that unknown orchard bore; She sucked until her lips were sore; Then flung the emptied rinds away But gathered up one kernel-stone, And knew not was it night or day As she turned home alone. (128-140) Notice that the word sucked is repeated often times while descriptives such as “sweeter than the honey from the rock” and “stronger than man rejoicing wine” denotes to sensuous experiences. A passage from the Prince’s Progress also connotes some degree of sensuality: The grass grew rare, A blight lurked in the darkening air, The very moss grew hueless and spare, The last daisy stood all astunt; Behind his back the soil lay bare, But barer in front. (117-118) Thus, we can see from Rossetti’s works as mirroring the feminist movement of the age leading us to the notion that poems too reflected the spirit of the age. Conclusion After much deliberation, we now realized that the poem and the novel both reflect the spirit of the age. The problem however, as in the case of Rossetti, poems often uses symbolisms which the reading public may not easily appreciate. Poems, as we said earlier, may take on different interpretations while the novel is direct and conclusive. We therefore conclude that the novel and the poem do reflect the spirit of the age but it is the novel which is more successful. References: Norton Anthology of English Literature. Victorian Issues. Retrieved from NAEL Online Jan. 25, 2007 Shaw, David (1990). Victorians and Mystery. Cornell University Press: Cornell University Read More