The French Revolution was a period of social and political upheaval beginning with 1789 and lasted for ten years. This shaped the social expectations for different classes, and this encouraged there to be a lot of artistic expression, reflecting the hardships that the French Revolution brought with it. This essay will discuss the poet Wordsworth and the impact of the French Revolution on his poetry. The French revolution was a pivotal point within not only political French history but within literature and other forms of expressive art. The use of art within this period is very much a reflection on the traumas and confusion within the French Revolution. To an extent, it can be argued that there is no possible way that authors, especially writing around the Revolution, could have not been shaped by the age. This is due to the political upheaval that would have been affecting the nation, and artists and writers would have expressed this through their art. Arguably it is very difficult to separate ones authorial intent completely when writing about current events, as there is no way to know the outcome, so most contemporary texts and works are commenting on the events as they transpired, rather than looking back on it and reflecting.
Wordsworth, writing through the Romantic period reflected nature in his poems and perhaps the importance of how humans should be more immersed in nature. For Wordsworth, the French Revolution was actually seen to be a more positive thing, as portrayed throughout his poetry. During the French Revolution, Wordsworth’s personal life became quite hard, with two of his children dying, his brother dying at sea, and Dorothy, his sister, suffering a mental breakdown. In his poetry, and throughout the French Revolution, Wordsworth’s poetry is seen to become increasingly conservative and this shows this impact of the Revolution on his poetry, possibly suggesting that he is ‘moulded by the age’ (Butler p10). The concept of the Revolution arguably shaped a lot of writing throughout the period. The purpose of the Revolution was to create a new nation and address the financial problems that were there in the nation. Reflecting this, the authors that existed within the Revolution typically wrote about the
Despite being separated from his daughter, Caroline, due to the French Revolution, he still writes some poetry that encourages the positivity that came from the Revolution. Wordsworth and his daughter Caroline met for the first time after the Revolution, as described in, and their meeting is bittersweet, as Wordsworth somewhat resents the Revolution for bringing a barrier between him, his mistress Annette Vallon, and his daughter Caroline. ‘It is a beauteous Evening, calm and free’, reflects on the Revolution and how it separates him from his daughter. The sestet shows Wordsworth addressing his daughter, and this shows the pain that the Revolution caused him from splitting them up, ‘Dear Child! Dear Girl!’ (Wordsworth 238). This shows the impact that the Revolution must have had on families and the people of the Revolution; therefore highlighting how Wordsworth, along with other authors, was shaped by the age.
Nature within Wordsworth’s poetry, especially during and after the French Revolution is depicted as Wordsworth’s poems such as ‘Surprised by joy – impatient as the wind’ and ‘it is a beauteous evening, calm and free’, are seemingly about nature and the calmness of it all, but has undertones of the brutalness of the French Revolution and how it impacted the literature and societal values of the time. In The Prelude, nature is seen to be much more powerful than humans, and there seems to be a sense of powerlessness of the humans. By doing this, Wordsworth reflects the Revolution as more powerful force, that cannot be controlled, therefore making the people of the Revolution be seen as powerless. In The Prelude Wordsworth explicitly expresses his beliefs about abolishing the monarchy, which would have been quite a risky move, due to the lack of freedom of expression in the period. He expresses his ideas and creates a sense of a lack of hierarchy, and expresses his ideas through ‘simple’ words, therefore making it more accessible to everyone. To this extent, it shows that Wordsworth was not necessarily shaped by the age he was writing in, or perhaps he was aware that the ramifications would not be serious for him.
Nature within the sphere of the Revolution was discussed many times by different authors and poets. Nature, within the revolution became a symbol for change through the Revolution; Nature is stronger than us, just like the Revolution, but it is important to recognise the greatness in it. Within The Prelude, Nature and the Revolution are intertwined and nature inspires him, much like the Revolution. However, Wordsworth is arguably moulded by the age and writes about the reality of the revolution, and the harsh truths that were left in France, ‘He noticed the changed atmosphere in the country where twelve years earlier he had seen “banners, and happy faces, far and nigh”’. (Alan Woods). This acknowledgement of the deterioration of the morale in the French Revolution shows that Wordsworth does get involved in and comments topically on the events of the French Revolution. However, Wordsworth speaks of the Revolution as a mainly positive thing, especially in The Prelude Book One, and he speaks about the positive connotations of the outcome, ‘Starved in those narrow bounds: but not the Soul Of Liberty, which fifteen hundred years Survived’. (Wordsworth The Prelude p306). The way that Wordsworth is shaped by the revolution shows that while commenting on it, there were changes that This proves that for Wordsworth, it was hard to separate the ‘Spirit of the Age’ from the feelings associated behind it.
However while The Prelude discusses the Revolution and how
Wordsworth does however mention within The Prelude that he knows that The Prelude will not be his greatest work, essentially building up to The Recluse. The Prelude seems to almost take the shape of the revolution in the sense that it starts off quite energetic with what it is discussing, and the tone of the poem is quite positive; however Wordsworth does address how uninspired he becomes, and reflects on how he wants to leave a legacy, once again highlighting the fragility of life and death, especially around the Revolution.
To conclude, poets and authors such as Wordsworth are shaped by the age they are writing in, however some poets stray from this original