The Victorian Era saw a huge growth in literacy and literature. This is due largely to everyone receiving mandated education, though it was a miniscule amount, and also because the printing press made printed works more accessible (Reid Notes #5). One author who was published during this time and became very popular was Lord Alfred Tennyson. For the first twenty or so years of Tennyson’s career he was not very successful and was very poor. After some time, his wealth and fame began to increase (Reid Notes #6). A popular poem of Tennyson’s that is still well-known today is “The Lady of Shalott.” The poem is about a young woman who is locked away and will be cursed if she even looks out a window. She decides that death by the curse is better …show more content…
This is displayed in the poem when Tennyson states “But in her web she still delights” (Tennyson line 64). The Lady of Shalott has been weaving a web during her time of imprisonment and she has found happiness in doing that and does not care to look or go outside. In the song, The Band Perry states “The sharp knife of a short life, Well I've had just enough time” (The Band Perry). The singer is stating that though her life has been short, it has been enough time to experience life. Also, both characters wish to end up in some type of “kingdom.” As the Lady of Shalott is in the boat “She floated down to Camelot” (Tennyson line 140). Her intention once getting into the boat was to end up in the kingdom that is Camelot, perhaps to see Sir Lancelot once again. In the song, the lyrics state “And I'll be wearing white when I come into your kingdom” (The Band Perry). From other context in the poem readers can infer that the kingdom that is mentioned is referencing heaven, and the character could possibly be wearing white to symbolize her innocence due to being
This year we have studied three different time periods. Each time period has qualities and authors that is prominent to each time period. The different time periods also questioned what did the author write? And how was the writing important? The time periods differ from the early 1600’s to mid 1800s and the 1700s.
The romantic period and its literature is solely based off of reform and change. At the time, slavery was very prodominit in the Americas, but the people profiting from their virtues in England were oblivious to the conditions the slaves had to endure. On the other hand, women were fighting their oppressions at home. This was not a case of poor living conditions, like the slaves, but trying to break away from social standards and stereotypes placed upon them. At the time, the main way to get out information and spread a cause was through literature, because it reached the higher, literate classes in society. Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano both exposed social problems during the romantic
The Victorian England witnessed many developments ranging from the social to the literary fields. Literature being the very reflection of society since ages continued in the nineteenth century England also as the vehicle of expression. While the scientific advancement was the trend, there were many writers who sought a subjective involvement with life owing to the growth of uncertainty and doubts and took refuge from the religious domains. Poets like Matthew Arnold saw religion as the perfect hope for sustenance and apart from him, there were many other writers who made their say whether in the form of poetry or prose and contributed to the world literary domain. An effective woman voice of the period was Christian Georgina Rossetti.
During her reign, Queen Elizabeth I worked to spread education and literature throughout England. In Elizabethan England, Laura Marvel describes the advances in literature and how they affected the lives of english citizens. Before her rule, literature was uncommon because texts were usually written in Latin and were only affordable to members
Literature has always been a window into life during a particular time frame. Fiction and nonfiction alike will give its readers a glimpse of the lives of those of varying social statuses, along with the culture and politics of the time. This remains true regardless of the period in which a work was written. From the Romantic era to the 20th Century, literature has been skilled at providing understanding of others and their lives. For example, from the Romantic period works like the two William Wordsworth poems I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud and The World is Too Much with Us, along with A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns. The Victorian era has its own share of works that reflect the time when it was written, including Lewis Carroll’s The Walrus
Alfred, Lord Tennyson was a favorite poet of generations. Made Poet Laureate of Great Britain by Queen Victoria, he dominated the literary scene during his time. He also came--for better and for worse--to represent that generation 's taste, both during his life and after it. Tennyson 's rich __Victorian language__ can seem daunting to modern readers. In reading ‘’Maud’’, it 's a good idea to just embrace the exaggerated concepts. Experimental in style, laden with intense symbolism, and full of __social criticism__, ‘’Maud’’ was not a popular poem at first, despite its author 's status. Tennyson himself was proud of the work, and retaliated against criticism by reading it aloud whenever he could. Reportedly, this won over many critics due to the beauty of the poem 's language.
The writer show how the lady was being locked in a tower to be protected from temptation. “ Flowing down to Camelot./ Four gray walls, and four gray towers/ Overlook a space of flowers,/ And the silent isle imbowers/ The Lady of Shalott./ Underneath the bearded barley,/ The reaper, reaping late and early,/ Hears her ever chanting cheerly,/Like an angel, singing clearly(15-21).” The locking away of the lady represents the protection of her purity and innocence by her family or society. This let readers understand how Tennyson see woman being treated in society during that era.
The span of time from the Victorian age of Literature to the Modernism of the 20th century wrought many changes in poetry style and literary thinking. While both eras contained elements of self-scrutiny, the various forms and reasoning behind such thinking were vastly different. The Victorian age, with it's new industrialization of society, brought to poetry and literature the fictional character, seeing the world from another's eyes. It was also a time in which "Victorian authors and intellectuals found a way to reassert religious ideas" (Longman, p. 1790). Society was questioning the ideals of religion, yet people wanted to
Tennyson portrays the isolation of women through the reoccurring theme of Romanticism, this is shown through the poet’s constant associations with nature being the centre of the poem. The poet focuses more on the surroundings of the main character as she lives “By the island in the river…And the silent isle embowers The Lady of Shalott.” Tennyson presents the speaker to hide the details of the actual lady, her imprisonment and the curse which leads us to believe she is a mystery as the nature around her seems overpowering and consuming her. Tennyson portrays the lady in the poem to be an embodiment of a typical woman of the contemporary culture as he describes ‘A charmed web’ which the woman is ‘weaving, either night or day’. The ‘web’ can be a symbol of slavery but also a symbol of creativity and possibility. When the woman tries to turn away from the web she refuses to be a slave and ultimately
The Lady of Shallot can be interpreted as a symbol of artists and their commitment to their work, in this poem represented by weaving, but also paralleling Tennyson and his poetry. She sacrificed herself to her passion and ironically Sir Lancelot made her into nothing more than a piece of art, he said, “She has a lovely face; / God in his mercy lend her grace” (line 169) she can no longer weave “A magic web with colors gay,” (line 38) rather, just be objectified into a dead-pale beauty not able to offer anymore creativity.
Every country has its story and literature reflects the most important events that happened during a determinate period, and also, how people, politics, religion and the society in general developed during those periods. As I see it, literature, just as all forms of art, is a giant chronological picture that shows all the shades of a society in all its aspects. In this case, English literature, from 1660 to 1830 specifically, shows a great transformation from the beginning of the Restoration to the end of the Romanticism.
Veering from the egocentric poems of the Romantic era, Victorian poets began to write poetry not only to express the feelings of an “I,” but also to inspire change in the collective “we.” Being from a historical period with a dramatic class divide, Victorian poets wrote with the intention of crafting beautiful lasting poetry as well as articulating a need for cultural reform in their now. One of the most renowned Victorian poets, Elizabeth Barrett Browning possessed the expert skill of integrating not only imagery and precise rhyme scheme into her poetry, but afflicting her readers with a sense of pity so paramount they had no choice but to make a change.
The Victorian Period was characterized for its evolution on the British Literature. This Period that starts from the years 1830 to 1900 was characterized by fast changes and developments, in this situation, from the knowledge, technology and science. The name “Victorian” comes from the royal woman, Queen Victoria. The single European conflict fought during Victoria 's reign, in fact, the Crimean War of 1854 to 1856 contrasted evidently with the 18th century, following this, during the British were involved at least in five wars. Victoria’s reign lasted over 63 years, longer than any other British monarch. The progress of scientific thought led them to important changes in science during the 19th century with greater specialization in the evolution of surgery and hospital construction. This happens when Britain was the most powerful nation in the world. The Victorian Period was also marked by a general intensity about life. However politics were important to the Victorians and they believed in perfection. This period saw the birth and spread of political movements, as an example, socialism, liberalism and organized feminism. I’m going to introduce some novels written during the Victorian Period.
This shows how influential her writing has become throughout the years. Austen’s writing opened the door for other writers to explore romantic literature. “J.K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, grew up reading Austen, who she described as ‘the pinnacle to which all other authors aspire’” (Redman). She inspires others, not only to write romance, but science fiction like Rowling has done. Her influence on the literature work is is astonishing considering she lived in the 1700’s. Many writers of that time are forgotten by most, but she has lived on way past her death. Austen is taught in high school and college English classes. She has been a huge inspiration for female writers as well. “Jane Austen is now thought of as one of the greatest English authors and considered by many as the first great woman novelist” (Jane Austen [b.1775-d. 1817]). Being considered as one of the first female novelist is a great accomplishment and a huge honor, it is a great shame the “creator” of romance did not get the recognition until after her death. She could have helped develop most extraordinary writers in her
From Enheduanna to Jane Austen to Charlotte Bronte to J.K. Rowling. Woman have proved over and over again that the role of author and/or writer can suit females just as much as any man. Mansfield encouraged women to write and used herself as an example with her own writing to try to attract more female authors. Often, women are pictures as just people who birth babies, cook, clean, shopped and stayed around as house wives. Sometimes, they did not have a wide span of education. Even in the early 1900’s women didn’t often go to college, it wasn’t until the 1980’s that women began to attend college in equal numbers to men. Poet laureate Robert Southey said “Literature cannot be the business of a women’s life.” One of the key assumptions that Mansfield and other women modernists faced was the habit of presenting narrative fiction through male eyes and according to male values. Mansfield herself strived for everyone (not limited to just women) to do whatever they wanted. She encouraged people to break rules and branch out.