William Wordsworth 's The Prelude And Lord Byron 's Biting Epic

BibliographyAsbee, S. (2006) Approaching Poetry, Milton Keynes, The Open UniversityReid, N. (2006) Coleridge, Form and Symbol, Or the Ascertaining Vision, Aldershot, Ashgate PublishingWellek, R. (1963) The Concept of Romanticism in literary historyin Bygrave, S (2006) Romantic Writings London, The Open UniversityZuk, E. Coleridges Blank Verse [online], http://www.expansivepoetryonline.com/journal/cult072004.html (Accessed 28th April 2008)

Wordsworth is a poet of nature, a poet of morality. Scholar Eugene Stelzig explores this idea more throughout his article, "Wordsworth’s bleeding spots: Traumatic memories f the absent father in The Prelude." Stelzig states that at the same time as being the poet of morality, Wordsworth is also, "a poet of human continuity, of growth and development."(533) Stelzig's word choice relates to The Prelude as a whole, rather than each book in sections. The main reasoning for the autobiographical content within the psuedo-epic is to transcribe the history of what made William Wordsworth into the poet that he was and that he is viewed as. This allows the poem to act as a palimpsest. Revision after

Epic poems date back to the early years Before Christ, some even as far into the past as 2100 Before Christ. The original unknown author of Beowulf writes in the Old English language and illustrates medieval times in stunning detail. Burton Raffel credibly translates ancient works of literature into a legible dialect of today’s society, while obtaining many of the literary elements used in the original pieces of writing. Readers regard Beowulf as the “mother poem” of England. This recognition only increases the significance of Beowulf, the actual character, as an epic hero. The poem itself reflects on the Anglo-Saxon way of life, and establishes great differences from today’s society. Like most pieces of literature

HW MONDAY night, 3/19.  INTRODUCTION: Read + take 1-page of Test-Review Notes on lined paper (or type them) for pages 641-646; copy definitions/lists as found on pages: EPIC POEM, EPIC HERO, CONCEPTS/top/p.643.

The hero trope is used in many different genres in many different ways, but the genre in which this trope and the ‘hero’s quest’ appear in their traditional form is that of narrative heroic poetry. One such example being the eight century poem Beowulf. Which when tied and compared to a much more modern take on the traditional hero genre in the form of David Malouf’s “ransom” showcase the different ways in which the hero trope can be explored. Throughout both these texts, the author directs and challenges the reader's ideas of heroism. Within Beowulf especially where the traditional ideals of being a hero are challenged and reformed, to create depth and interesting new ideas thus come into play that co-exist with traditional hero tropes and the unique genre to become a new thing. Also within David Malouf’s ‘Ransom’ the genre is challenged by modernising a familiar traditional hero tale and inter-textualising it. Creating a whole new form of telling the heroes quest, without relying heavily on the original tale for details and instead brings forth more attention to characters that are in the background or barely mentioned in the original text.

English authors in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries made extensive use of classical mythology, in drama and narrative poems, as ornaments in lyric poetry, and by means of mythological allusion in prose and verse works.1

Early English literature proceeds from orally transmitted storytelling, relying on the construction of an epic past to develop a sense of patriotism within the country. As written culture becomes more prevalent, however, this genre’s timeless attribute diminishes due an increase in recorded history which gradually turns literature’s focus from mystical origins to a concrete present. Frame narrative, or stories within a story, exist prevalently within the epic genre, but persist throughout this transition, generally preserving structure, but mutating in function. Although early literature forms like the epic employ frame narratives to convey their grandiose style, the transition from historical epics to satirical poetry aligns with frame narrative’s transition as an element of style to one of theme.

Through the Hellenistic era, literature evolves into depicting courageous heroes into flawed characters. The narrative of an epic poem is about triumph and glory. Through themes and narrative, the main heroes who are placed in these tales are portrayed as godlike. In contrast, tragic heroes tend to spiral to their downfall due to a fatal flaw. Epic heroism portrays the essence of a glorious and honourable hero; through time heroism was transformed into a hero that evokes pathos.

(3) In addition to some other pieces of poetry, the Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge are known to have initiated the English Romantic Movement. Published originally in 1798, the initial plan for the book was for two sections, the first with two plays, but later it was rearranged with an anonymous print beginning with ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’.

The second generation was the group of poets better known for their rebellious and opinionated poems. This generation shifted from voicing their opinions of the civil rights, and the French Revolution to their feelings about the Industrial Revolution and the egotistic and prideful mindset of aristocrats, of whom most of the poets belonged. The author, often, would use the poems they wrote to portray themselves or a visionary part of themselves, either way the second generation wrote in a more arrogant and selfish tone. One of the greatest poets that portrayed these mannerisms was George Gordon, or better known as Lord Byron. The common theme of Byron’s poems was that of the typical romantic heroic actions, and filled with an adulterous attitude (”English Literature: The Romantic Period”).

When Lord Byron wrote his narrative poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, he sewed the seed for future heroes of literature. However, these were not to be the Cavalier heroes of old. Byron’s hero maintained certain characteristics to be admired of a hero, yet they also demonstrated characteristics that would ultimately come to define many great villains throughout literary history. These flaws in character helped pave the way for the hero who was not ideal in nature, rather one who illustrated weaknesses that made the character both unique and fascinating and in many respects, real. Known as the Byronic Hero, his

In “The Prelude”, the tone starts as calm and mellow as he discovers this new boat then takes it out to sea leaving his boat behind. Towards the ending of the poem, however, the tone changes to something that is sad and melancholy. After Wordsworth had seen some kind of unknown entity behind him, he hurried back to the willow tree then afterward returning home. For a few nights after he had came in counter with this entity he persistently kept having

The Prelude:     William Wordsworth’s The Prelude, written in blank verse is an autobiographical poem written from 1798 to 1799. Throughout the excerpt the speaker has changing responses to his experience and conveys his responses with varying diction, imagery, and tone style. There are three changes in the speaker's response to his surroundings, which portray his changing emotion throughout the piece. The transitions occur on lines 11, 24, and 34.

A Journal Analyzing the Byronic Hero, Those who Closely Resemble the Hero, Byron’s Writing Styles and Literary Criticism

The word “epic” ignites a multitude of reactions in the minds of literature lovers and passive readers alike. Some people may think of the slang version of this term while other may fondly remember the theater. However, when one is conscious of literary analysis and literature, they can always fall back to the genre of an epic poem. In literary terms, an epic poem is considered to be a lengthy, narrative poem that has a focus on the exploits of a hero and is full of immense amounts of style and figurative language. Normally, by following this hero throughout the poem, the readers are introduced to the alignment between the poem with a specific nation or national identity. Several characteristics of epic poetry lend to this concept, especially those found in both The Faerie Queene and Paradise Lost. Both epic poems focus on historical context and on the characteristics of a heroic journey, the scale of the setting, and divine intervention in order to establish a trend of English nationalistic and religious identity.