Tennyson’s poetry has recurring refrains, both in Mariana (the four lines: 'She only said, "My life is dreary,/ He cometh not," she said; /She said, "I am aweary, aweary,/I would that I were dead!') and The Lady of Shalott (The Lady of Shalott, as well as a repetition of “Camelot”). The use of these creates a gradation in the poems and makes for a stronger culmination.
Reoccurrences can also be found in certain themes. An example of such a theme is death. It appears in all three poems. In Mariana as a wish, which if granted will be an escape from the gray, lonely life. In The Lady of Shalott it is a tragic result of an artist’s despair. And in The Lotus-eaters, it’s a form of escapism, or more so the only realistic alternative granting inner-peace.
The poem Mariana fills the reader with a sense of melancholy and dreariness. These feelings, quite obviously, emphasised though the reoccurring refrain and the despair of the character, culminating towards the end of the poem. But it is also accentuated in the descriptions of the surroundings. The outside world is in sync with the feelings of the character. The colour black is associated with fear and a lurking evil, while the gray brings about a feeling of a dull, dingy, lifeless reality. That said, there is no clear differentiation between what is real and what is imaginary. The whole atmosphere in the poem is as if generated from the mind of an insomniac and the reader is left confused and disturbed: much like Mariana herself.
In the poem The Lady of Shalott there is a clear distance between the character and the outside world. It seems The Lady of Shalott is cursed to remain isolated from the public. And that distance is emphasised with the repetition of the word “Camelot”, especially with its position in the stanza. It almost serves as a physical boarder between The Lady and the source of the reflection. We see also, however, the deadly force of the public and of reality. The fragility of the artist when he removes the boarder between himself and the outside world.
In The Lotus-eaters we see the well-known story from the the Odyssey from a different perspective. In the original, the enchanted sailors are rushed on board the ship in a quite anti-climactic fashion. In the poem, however, the enchantment takes a rather different turn. The theme of the song from the Odyssey is represented in the choric songs of the mariners. The songs capture many different ideas: the desire to stay forever in the bliss the lotus brings; escaping the sorrows of reality; the fleeting nature of things; the appeal of hedonism. Unlike The Odyssey in The Lotus-eaters there is no clear ending of the episode.
If there was one word to describe Tennyson’s poetry (these three poems in particular) it would certainly be “melancholy”. All three poems carry a sort of enchantment, which is caused by uncertainty, solitude and a need for escapism.
Oliver Twist is yet another example of Dickens’ ability to depict serious issues, not only with the use of tragic events and dramatic build-ups, but also though the means of satire and, of course, sympathy. The main themes of the book being poverty and crime, there is no doubt about it – this is a Victorian novel, but even more so it is a novel by Charles Dickens. It can be recognised, obviously, by the long, descriptive sentences, the build up through the use of metaphors, the brilliant dialogue and other means typical for his style of writing. However, the most important aspect of Dickens’ writing is the fact that he addresses social and political issues by making the reader feel interested in and sympathetic, empathetic even to the characters. And it is no different for Oliver Twist.
Having said that, the name of the novel doesn’t seem to do it justice, because throughout the book, Oliver Twist is not actually the main character. Charles Dickens is a journalist and that is evident in his novels. Oliver Twist started off as a social commentary. Dickens used satire to address the burning social issues of his time. So in a way, straight from the start – Oliver is not the focus of the story. It’s the workhouse we are focused on, the suffering orphans. Oliver is just another mean used to bring about Dickens’ point.
Oliver Twist is rarely the character we care the most about. With the appearance of Dick in chapter seven, the spotlight shifts from Oliver, onto another character. The poor, little orphan, which has a much more depressing, tragic fate. Dick’s response to Oliver saying he’ll be well and happy: 'After I am dead, but not before' carries a significant weight – the reader finds himself sympathising with Oliver’s friend. Dick is the epitome of all indigent children in the workhouse. The shift of focus from one character to another repeats through the course of the book. And the passiveness of Oliver as a character reinforces that notion.
Nancy grabs our attention from the moment she appears. She seems like the one genuine character. She doesn’t really fit into the underground criminal world we are introduced to. She is being abused by Sikes from the moment we are introduced to her. She is compassionate towards Oliver and he responds with the same attitude, which further predisposes the reader to sympathise with her. We want to find out what her fate will be. And in chapter 47, when Nancy is brutally beat to death – the central character of the story disappears. And the story shifts focus yet again – and not on Oliver Twist.
The novel Oliver Twist is Dickens’ critical assessment of the issues of the Victorian era. He uses satire and melodramatic type of build-ups to criticise the conditions in the workhouses, The Poor Law and the underground criminal world. The main character in the book as suggested by the title is the orphan Oliver Twist, but he rarely takes centre stage in the story or in the reader’s hearts.
There is no surprise that In Memoriam is regarded as Tennyson’s greatest literary work. It is honest, bitter, chaotic – everything that grief is.
Whether the conspiracy theories are correct and Tennyson lost his lover or not, it is clear that what Tennyson did lose is a soulmate. In Memoriam is his attempt to cope with that immense pain. In doing so, he often times turns to the themes of nature and religion. He gives voice to the consciousness of Victorian society. Whether because of his own beliefs, or based on populist ideas – we will never know. But everything that seems to be written for the public is not an essential element of the Tennyson’s work.
In Memoriam is closer to a journal than it is to anything else. It’s the scribbled words of a person desperate to find substance, meaning in something as random and incomprehensible as the death of a loved one. The poems vary greatly in content and connotation. Some poems are just a 'sad mechanic exercise' – their sole purpose to serve as a distraction, numbing the pain. Others are more philosophical. In his melancholy, Tennyson searches for the meaning of life and more particularly – the role of science, nature and religion in the human existence.
He often falls back on facts as a method to keep his writing going. We get the impression that he is very aware of the scientific discoveries of his time. He addresses extinctions, the discovery of Neptune, even ideas about natural selection (which have been around before Darwin’s popular theory). And although Tennyson connects these discoveries with human progress, he doesn’t fail to mention how the new perceptions contradict with the Biblical creation of the world and human’s place in it. He does, after much thought, come to a conclusion that one must keep their faith, because it is what gives purpose to ones life.
In In Memoriam there are recurring places and elements, but their descriptions change with the progression of the literary work. An example would be poems VII and CXIX. The same place is depicted here – but with a different tone of voice and with a very different outcome. In the seventh poem the focus is on the fruitless search for comfort and the despair surrounding the loss, while in the second case the focal point is on the surroundings; the scenery is calm and peaceful – and in sync with the poets emotional state. And the major difference is that the search is not fruitless, for the poem ends with the words: 'I take the pressure of thine hand'. Depicted are the acceptance of reality and the bliss, which the memories of the bright friendship bring.
Grief is the most complicated emotion to describe and in his failing to do so – in his random scribbles, existential questions and philosophical reflections – Tennyson depicts it brilliantly. Whatever the reason may be for this extremely personal set of poems to reach us today, we can be sure, that Arthur’s memory lives forever and that we can all find a piece of ourselves in In Memoriam.
Villette differs from all the other literary texts, which we’ve looked at during this course, because it feels more contemporary. It even resembles, to an extent, a modernist piece of work, because the focus, quite often, is inward (towards the self), rather than outwards at the world. Unlike Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, for example, the main point of the work is not to make a political announcement, but rather to try and answer questions about life and its meaning. The focus is often on the internal psychology of Lucy Snow and there are many questions about identity and self. Most importantly, the protagonist is a woman and it is a woman, who is working and making her own way. And that is a very interesting and refreshing perspective to follow.
In the novel Gothic elements interwind in a very engaging way with the Victorian Realism. The setting is very Gothic throughout the novel – the convent, the attic, the garden. These supernatural references usually serve as metaphors for something that is not plainly conveyed in the text. There are different ways in which we could read certain situations. It can be connected to sexual liberation (or more so, the act of acknowledging women’s sexual desire), mental health, etc. But in general the Gothic serves the purpose of being an opposition to realism, to reason. It is there to challenge Victorian ideas. And Lucy struggles, essentially, with accepting herself and accepting the fact that she does not think like the majority. She forces herself into rationality, because that is the convention, but at the same time she manages to take ownership of all the negativity (imposed on her) in her life. In the end, she definitely comes on top.
What Charlotte Bronte does brilliantly in this novel is building character. And it is not just Lucy that is a very believable, very through-provoking persona. All of the characters in the book have this interesting aspect to them of being very sympathetic and really interesting, but at the same time, not very likeable. I find that fascinating, because it’s a realistic way of building character and a very effective one, because we can’t expect to like everyone, but we can always try to understand their perspective, where they are coming from. Those characters, especially after the passive nature of Oliver in Dickens’ novel, are simply a joy to follow.
The ending of the novel is significant in the fact that it seems to be influenced by Charlotte Bronte’s own life. And though it may seem obscure at first glance, it is not really an open ending. Yes, the reader could choose for themselves how the story goes and they may decide on a plot suiting a romantic novel. However, Villette is not a romantic novel. The fact that there is a romantic sub-plot just makes it more engaging. But the novel is unconventional and Lucy as a character is unconventional, so having the end be predictable (conventional) and “happy” doesn’t seem to do it justice. It is clear that Charlotte Bronte didn’t want Lucy to be with Paul. And I don’t think that should be seen as an unhappy ending, in fact Lucy seems content with her position.
In Robert Browning’s poem Fra Lippo Lippi the main question is the meaning of art and the responsibility of the artist. There are three main points which we could think about when reading the poem. The first is that art should be realistic, aiming to depict the beauty of every day lif. The second being on the opposite end of the spectrum, suggesting that art has to serve a moral purpose. Finally, that the artist should only be responsible for himself and thus his art should signify only his own views and ideas.
Humans are prone to missing ‘things we have passed perhaps a hundred times’, so when a painter presents everyday objects through art, people are able to appreciate them and thus appreciating God’s beauty. Furthermore, as life is complex, wondrous and contradictory, representing it as it is, would only express these qualities, while trying to ‘transcend’ through art simplifies it into a moral purpose that does nothing but encourage people to ‘fast next Friday’.
The poem also discusses the responsibility of the artist, ultimately concluding that he should only be responsible for himself. Lippo paints what his masters demand, because it is essential for his survival, not because he shares their beliefs. Even as the eight-year-old boy promises the “fat father” to "quit this very miserable world", ironically, so he doesn’t feel the pains of starvation any longer and instead taste the world's riches through a life of monastic “idleness”, he is doing so for his own gain.
Of course, the poem has a purpose that goes beyond art. It ultimately contemplates subjectivity. Lippo’s masters require the impossible: the holy subjectivity. However, attempting to paint the ‘subjective’ is to guess God’s meaning, when God has only provided people with the objective. So, essentially, what Lippo is conveying is that he can never reproduce the world in a completely subjective or a completely objective light. It will always be a mixture of the two.
The poem undoubtedly culminates in the final image and the allegory is offered. When he plans his final painting at the end of the poem, he manages to find a way to satisfy everyone’s desires.
He is going to paint what the Church wants, but he will also include himself in the painting. By doing this he is emphasising the inevitable clash between the subjective and the objective.He gives his masters what they want, but will surreptitiously put his image in as well.
Fra Lippo Lippi captures some questions, still discussed today. And though art exists in a much broader spectrum nowadays, we are still trying to find the border between subjectivity and objectivity in art. We are still contemplating the responsibility of the artist and whether especially when doing something innovative (as Browning believed he was doing with his own work).