Short Notes on English Poems and Poets
Elizabethan period:
Queen Elizabeth I of England ruled England from 1558 to 1603. This period is called as Elizabethan period after her name. This is known as the golden age of prosperity in power, commerce, art and nationalism of the English. It was the greatest age of English drama. Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson were the great dramatists of this period. The age is also famous for its poetry. Edmund Spenser, the poet of the poets, wrote in this period. Francis Bacon, the pioneer of the English essay, was another famous writer of this age. This age was deeply influenced by the Renaissance that broadened human outlook, created interest in enlightenment, made people humanistic and liberal. Consequently, the literature of this period is characterized by a tendency to break away from the Greek and Roman literary tradition. For this reason, this period is also considered as the birth time of English romanticism. Elizabethan period is marked by the profundity of thought, idealism in philosophical choice, lucidity in language and excellence in poetry.
The Renaissance:
The French word 'renaissance' has originated from the Latin word renasci' which means to be born again'. In English the Renaissance' means the rebirth or revival of the ancient Greek and Roman learning, arts and culture. The rebirth was caused by a historical event. In 1453, with the fall of the then Constantinople, the scholars living there fled to different countries of Europe, especially to Italy. They took with them the ancient Greek and Italian literature which gradually became the centre of interest of the people. The ancient learning was rediscovered. This rediscovery or rebirth is called the Renaissance. It kindled a kind of wild fire of knowledge that kept on burning for several centuries. In England it led the writers to classical learning that liberated them from religious control. It broadened the literary, philosophical and intellectual horizons. It generated among them the spirit of adventure, inquiry. empiricism and doubt in old ideas. The Humanistic movement that started with it enhanced sensitiveness to the formal beauty and the cultivation of the aesthetic sense. This sense of beauty influenced architecture, sculptor, painting, music, dancing, mime, drama, costume, and the like. In literature also it took numerous forms. Spenser, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Bacon and many other later writers had been writing in this literary atmosphere. Their literary works is the fullest flowering of the Renaissance spirit. The Renaissance was, thus, the result of various series of events that followed and accompanied one another from the fourteenth to the beginning of the sixteenth century.
Romantic Age:
Towards the end of the eighteenth century the neo-classical mode of writing was worn out and a new trend in literature became imminent. The new trend became visible in the mid-eighties. When the French Revolution took place in 1789, the ground of the new kind of creative writing had already been prepared in the United Kingdom. William Blake published two volumes of this new kind of poetry. In 1798, William Wordsworth and S. T. Coleridge published a collection of poems entitled as Lyrical Ballads and with it began the new age known as the Romantic age. The other famous poets of this age were, P.B. Shelley, John Keats and Lord Byron. Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott were the novelists of the period. Writers of this period preferred common people and common language to sophisticated urban people and their grand language. A strong desire for improving the conditions of man was a driving force of the literature of this age. The other features of the age were high imagination, liberalism, love of nature. Hellenism, and the use of supernatural powers.
Victorian Period:
In English literature, the period from 1832 to 1901 is known as the Victorian period. It is named after Queen Victoria who reigned the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901. The age marked by the Reformation Bill. Charles Darwin's evolution theory, Karl Marx's concept of socialism, the Industrial Revolution, philosophical positivism, the inception of feminism and the middle class respectability. Disbelief, hypocrisy, affluence, prudery and complacency characterized the age. However, it was a period of prolific literary production. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, E. B. Browning and Matthew Arnold are the famous poets of this age. Charles Dickens, W. M. Thackeray, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, George Eliot and Thomas Hardy are the great novelists and Carlyle, Arnold, Huxley, J. S. Mill and Ruskin are the well-known essayists of this period. Attitudes of compromise, moral carnestness, purity both religious and secular, didacticism, and social equity dominated the Victorian literature.
Modern age:
Modern period starts with the beginning of the First World War in 1914 and ends in 1939 when the Second World War began. The First World War caused massive destruction not only to the socio political structure of Europe, but also to the Western culture, belief, tradition and values. After the War, the capacity of Christianity and traditional values was questioned as they utterly failed to uphold peace. Consequently, a break with traditional modes of life took place. In literature new tendencies replaced the old, established rules. A visible change in the selection of subject, form and style became evident. Literary experiments and movements marked the age. Symbolism, imagism, existentialism, expressionism, surrealism, stream of consciousness theory and psycho-analysis, are some of the new trends that characterized the literature of this period. Ezra Pound. T. S. Eliot, W. B. Yeats, Dylan Thomas, W. H. Auden are the poets of this age. James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf are some of the famous novelists of this period. G. B. Shaw, Samuel Beckett and Bertold Brecht are the leading dramatists of the modern age.
Dramatic Monologue:
The dramatic monologue is a lyrical poem in the form of speech spoken by a single man. It is dramatic because it begins abruptly and in the development of its thought it takes several sudden turns which impart a dramatic dimension to the poem. In a dramatic monologue the single speaker reveals his thoughts in presence of a single silent listener or some silent listeners. The speaker is not necessarily the poet himself though the speaker often gives out the poet's beliefs and philosophy. The speaker's revelation, in fact, leads the readers to probe deep into the psyche of the speaker. For this reason, a dramatic monologue is said to be psycho-amalytical or soul-dissecting. Therefore, a dramatic monologue is a kind of poem which comprises of a lyrical strain, an abrupt beginning, a single speaker, a silent listener or listeners, psychological analysis, clues to suggest the presence of the silent listeners and what they say or do. Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" is a fine example of the dramatic monologue. Here the Duke is the sole speaker and the envoy is the passive listener. From the Duke's revelation his own character and the character of the Duchess are revealed. Tennyson's "Ulysses" and "Tithonus" are also famous dramatic monologues.
Sonnet:
A sonnet is a short lyric poem of fourteen iambic pentameter lines linked by an intricate rhyme scheme. It is a lyric because it can be tuned to a lyre, a musical instrument. Each of its fourteen lines consists of five feet (also known as metres) for which it is called pentameter. Again, each of the feet consists of an unaccented syllable and an accented syllable (or sound unit) for which it is called iambic. It is of three types: Petrarchan or Italian, Spenserian and Shakespearean. The first eight lines of a Petrarchan sonnet are called octave and the last six lines are called sestet. A Petrarchan sonnet rhymes as abba abba cd cd cd or abba abba cde cde. Wordsworth's "The World is too Much with Us" is a Petrarchan sonnet. A Spenserian sonnet rhymes as abab bcbc cdcd ee. A Shakespearean sonnet rhymes as abab cdcd efef gg. Shakespeare's "Shall I compare thee to a suumer's day" is a good example of a Shakespearean sonnet.
Elegy:
The elegy is a lyric poem that mourns the death of someone who was near and dear to the writer. It is longer than other lyrical poems. Usually it begins with a description of nature to set a gloomy mood and then passes on to the cause of mourning. In this part of the poem the poet opens his heart and pours his grief into the poem. Traditionally, he takes the role of a shepherd and imagines his dead friend as another shepherd who used to play on the flute. Towards the end of the poem, the poet feels that his dead friend is alive around him, he is not dead. In this way he consoles himself. Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" is a famous elegy in which the poet mourns for all the dead villagers, instead of a single dead person. The other famous elegies in English are Milton's "Lycidas", Shelley's "Adonais", Tennyson's "In Memorian" and Arnold's "Thyrsis"
Ode:
The ode is a kind of lyrical poem in which the poet addresses someone to express his inner grief. It ends with hope and consolation. There are three types of odes: the Pindaric ode or regular ode or public ode, the Horatian ode or the private ode and the irregular ode. The Pindaric ode has three parts: a strophe, an antistrophe and an epode. Gray's "The Progress of Poesy" is an example of this kind of odes. A Horatian ode has regular stanzas. It deals with personal grief of the poet. Keats" "To Autumn" is an example. In this poem there are eleven lines in each of the three stanzas. Though the poem appears to be objective, there runs pathos in Keats' acceptance of the painful law of birth and death. The odes which are not written in regular stanzas are called irregular odes. This kind of ode may deal with public issues or private issues. Wordsworth's "Ode: Intimation of Immortality" is an irregular ode.
Lyric:
The word "lyric' is closely associated with the word "lyre", a kind of musical instrument. In ancient Greece some poems were sung in accompany with the lyre. Such a poem came to be known as a lyric.
So, the main characteristic of the lyric is its musical stains inbuilt in its texture. Its music or lyricism is achieved by the use of alliteration, assonance, rhythm, rhyme, metres and lucid diction. It is subjective in nature and capable of sustaining powerful emotion. Traditionally, the subjects of the lyric are love, sense of loss or nostalgia, heroism, death, emotional crises, and the like. It is subdivided in several genres. Among them the main are: the sonnet, ode, elegy and dramatic monologue. Shakespeare's sonnets, Keats' odes, Thomas Gray's "Elegy" and the dramatic monologues of Tennyson and Browning are examples of the English lyric.
Poetic Diction:
Generally, poetic diction means selection of words in a poem or in a prose piece. It, in fact, denotes the type of language a particular writer chooses for a particular piece of writing. Therefore, poetic diction includes words, phrases, figures of speech and syntax. Since different writers have different purposes of writing, their selections of words differ from one another. For this reason, there are several types of poetic diction. It may be formal or informal, literal or figurative, simple or grand, lucid or sonorous, and the like. However, William Wordsworth used 'poetic diction' to mean the 'gaudy language of the Neo-classical writers. To him, the language which was artificial, figurative, elevated and beyond the reach of common people is 'poetic diction".
Hampden:
In "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard", Thomas Gray refers to John Hampden (1594-1643). Hampden was the M.P. for Buckinghamshire during the reign of Charles-I who was the king of England from 1625 to 1649. Charles-I was a hot-headed king. He imposed new taxes on ship money without the approval of Parliament. Hamden protested against that new and organised the people not to pay the tax on ship money. He was the cousin of Oliver Cromwell who fought against Charles-I and finally defeated the King. King's people stabbed Hampden to death on Charlgrove Field. Hampden, thus, became a symbol of fearless protesters. Gray refers to Hampden in his elegy to suggest that the unknown and humble village people were as fearless as Hampden though their area of protest was not as large and significant as that of Hampden. By this reference Gray implies that the country suffered positive losses at the death of these rural people. This reference also glorifies the poor villagers and creates a sense of pathos.
Milton:
Gray refers to John Milton, the famous English poet of the 17th century in his famous poem, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard". Milton was involved in the political development of his time. He was a puritan. Throughout his life he pursued truth for which he had to suffer a lot. He did not receive any royal favour. For all these reasons, he did not come to lime light during his life. Gray here compares the unknown villagers with Milton to suggest his hidden fame. By this reference Gray implies that the rural people were as mute, grave and dignified as Milton. At their death the country suffered positive losses. This reference glorifies the poor villagers and creates a sense of pathos.
Cromwell:
In "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard", there is a reference to Oliver Cromwell who ruled England from 1649 to 1658. He was in army under the command of King Charles-1. Later on, he supported the puritan leaders who protested against the misrule of Charles-1. He fought against the army of the King and defeated them. Under his leadership, the king was imprisoned, tried and beheaded in 1649. After the death of the King, Cromwell became the ruler of England. He was known to be brave. Gray here compares the villagers with him to indicate that there might have been a few persons among the dead villagers who were as brave as Cromwell but they did not get chance to show their bravery. For their death the country suffered positive losses. This reference to Cromwell glorifies the poor villagers and creates a sense of pathos.
Achilles:
In Tennyson's famous dramatic monologue, "Ulysses", there is an allusion to Achilles. Achilles' mother was Thetis, a sea-goddess and his father was Peleus, a mortal. Achilles accompanied Ulysses and other Greek heroes to the Trojan War to rescue Helen and restore the prestige of the Greek. He was the greatest Greek hero of the Trojan War. He was a fierce fighter, a cruel killer and a devoted friend. He mercilessly killed Hector, the chief commander of the Trojan soldiers in the War of Troy. But Paris killed him by shooting an arrow at his heel which had been the only vulnerable point of his body. His wrath is the subject of Homer's The Iliad. In "Ulysses". Tennyson tells his mariners that in their new adventure they may die. In that case, they will reach the Happy Isle which is a heavenly place where the virtuous people are allowed to live after death. Achilles lives there. Ulysses thinks that they have lived virtuous life on earth, and so, they deserve hat place.
Windy Troy:
Tennyson alludes to windy Troy' in "Ulysses". Here Ulysses remembers his past experiences of the Trojan War. He was one of the great Greek warriors who fought for ten years against the Trojans to recover Helen and their national honour. He had to fight against the gods and goddesses for another ten years. When he returned home after twenty years he became old. But now he does not like the peace and comfort of family life. He plans to go out in search of adventure. He wants to explore the yet unexplored area of human knowledge. Ulysses refers to the 'windy Troy' as a proof of his prowess. He tells his mariners that the man who could fight and win the War of Troy has the ability to go beyond the horizon in search of newer knowledge.
Telemachus:
In "Ulysses" there is an allusion to Telemachus. He is the son of Ulysses, the King of Ithaca in mythical Greece. Ulysses points at him and proudly describes his attitude to life. Telemachus appears to be older than his father in spirit. He is happy with the family life. He is mild and complacent. He is fit for ruling the savage people. He is prudent and blameless. He is tender hearted. He loves to worship gods and goddesses. But he is not adventurous. He does not have the unbeatable will power that his father has. Though young, he seems to lack youthful desires. He does not have any thirst for exploration. Nor does he have the thirst for knowing more. Ulysses decides to leave the country in charge of Telemachus and go for adventures.
Ulysses:
Ulysses is the only speaker of Tennyson's famous dramatic monologue "Ulysses". He was the king of Ithaca, a kingdom in mythical Greece. He was a great hero of the ancient Greeks. He fought in the Trojan War and won the battle after ten years. His return journey also took ten years because he had to fight against some gods and goddesses who were not happy with him. In these twenty years he acquired much knowledge. He became old. But when he returned home, the peace of homely life could not satisfy him. He was soon bored with it. Now he wants to leave Ithaca, his homeland, in search of new adventures and experiences. His indomitable spirit drives him to cross the limit of the horizon, to enter that realm of knowledge, which is still untrodden by human beings. Ulysses, though old, has the mental strength to continue his journey in search of knowledge. His earnest desire for acquiring newer knowledge reflects the Victorian spirit of exploration. Thus, Tennyson uses Ulysses as a spokesman of the Victorian spirit.
Ozymandias
"Ozymandias" is a sonnet composed by P. B. Shelley, a poet of the Romantic period. The sonnet has been named after the main character in the poem. The poem portrays the futility of an Egyptian King called Rameses II who had several by-names. Vasimare was one of them. Ozymandias is the Greek name for Rameses II, derived from Vasimare. The name Ozymandias has attained a symbolic dimension in this poem. During his lifetime Ozymandias enjoyed unlimited power. He boasted of himself as the king of kings. He built a colossal statue of himself in a vast desert and on the pedestal of it got inscribed
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
But with the passage of time, the statue was shattered to pieces, and the boast of Ozymandias was turned into nothingness. The frowned forehead and the wrinkled lips, half buried in the sand, still indicate the pride of Ozymandias. However, time has proved that all these are now meaningless, nothing more than a crumbled wreck. Shelley has sketched Ozymandias as a symbol of futile power that fails the test of time.
The Last Duchess:
The Last Duchess is a character in Browning's famous dramatic monologue, "My Last Duchess". She was the wife of the Duke of Ferrara in the decadent period of the Italian Renaissance. The Duke. had her killed. There is a lively portrait of the Duchess in his art gallery. It was drawn by Fra Pandolf. From the description of the Duke we come to know that she was an easy going lady. In a visibly annoyance he says that she was careless about his dignity. She had the habit of smiling. It is true that she offered him a smile whenever she saw her husband. But it was painful to the Duke to see that she offered the same smile to everyone who came in front of her. The Duke was not happy with this kind of generosity of the Duchess. He expected that she would treat him differently and maintain a distance from the ordinary people. But the Duchess did not pay heed to his desire. So, he got her killed. Ironically we understand that the Duchess had a true human heart, open to all. She was delicate, sociable, charming and generous.
Neptune:
There is a reference to Neptune, the Roman god of the sea. The Greeks called him Poseidon. The Duke in Robert Browning's famous dramatic monologue, "My Last Duchess", makes a throw away remark in the last three lines about a sculpture of the sea god Neptune taming a sea-horse, Claus of Innsbruk's bronze sculpture of the sea god. Neptune taming a sea-horse is in fact an ironic gesture. The sea-horse is a delicate, feminine creature. Neptune is, on other hand, big, muscular and bearded. Neptune's 'taming of the sea horse suggests a display of power and sadism similar to what the Duke practised in taming the dead Duchess. He has conquered her wayward nature and reduced her to an 'object', from a living woman to a work of art. The irony leads the readers to guess that his new wife will have a good chance of suffering the same fate.
Feminism
Feminism is a relatively modern term that denotes the belief that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men. Though feminist awareness emerged in the nineteenth century, it took the shape of a movement in the twentieth century. Virginia Woolf was one of the spokeswomen who upheld the cause of women. Adrienne Rich is another female writer who has taken interest in feminism. Her poem, "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" is based on feminist views. In this poem, Jennifer is an aged lady. She has been married to a person who has presented her a ring, the "wedding bond". Her husband's ring has imposed certain restrictions on her freedom. She has to lead her life under his domination. This domination has repressed her dreams and desires. She works with needles and has painted fearless prancing tigers, which are no longer afraid of male domination. Her present repression finds expression in artwork indicating future freedom. Adrienne Rich, thus, suggests social, political, economical and cultural and equality, which are the main issues of feminism.
Romanticism:
Romanticism is a literary doctrine usually held to be the opposite of classicism. In English literature its presence is noticed first in the Elizabethan age (1558-1603), and later on, between 1785 and 1832, when it revived as a literary movement. The major characteristic features noticed in both these periods are a reaction to the set rules of the classical literature. These writers valued contents rather than forms and enjoyed boundless liberty to experiment with forms. However, the romantic poets added new force to these. It started with William Blake and eventually got wider dimensions in the 1790s. In fact, the French Revolution in 1789 prompted the "Revival of Romanticism". Though the revival of romanticism began with Blake, it got momentum with the publication of "Lyrical Ballads" by Wordsworth in 1798. The romantic poets brought literature from the aristocratic society down to the common people, using common language. Thus, common people became the subject and simple language became the medium. Instead of realities, high imagination became the mode of writing. Naturally, subjective perception replaced the classical objectivity. Similarly, instead of artificial control over emotion, spontaneous overflow of primitive passions came into practice. Nature became a source of mystic pleasure, and thus, supernatural forces frequently appeared in poetry. Poets preferred symbolic expressions to literal ones. Love of the remote past became a strong motif. A strong desire for bringing change in the society was also noticed. The sense of beauty was common to all of these poets. These features of romanticism characterize the poetry of this period. But all of them are not to be found in all the poets. In Blake's poetry symbolism, simplicity of language, universal brotherhood and desire for a better society are dominant. Love of nature, common man as subject and high imagination, are major romantic traits in Wordsworth. In Coleridge use of supernatural power, in Keats Hellenism, in Shelley and Byron revolutionary zeal remarkable romantic features. Thus, are romanticism denotes a mode of literature that includes spontaneity, simplicity, subjectivity, individuality, supernaturalism, revolutionary desires, universal brotherhoed, Hellenism and aestheticism.
Metaphysical poetry:
In the beginning of the seventeenth century, a new school of poetry started surfacing in reaction to the Elizabethan poetic convention. That new school of poetry is known as "metaphysical poetry". Metaphysics, as the term denotes, is a science of abstract concepts. "Meta" means beyond and "physics" means science of concrete things. So, metaphysics means a subject that deals with things which do not have concrete shapes. In other words. metaphysics deals with philosophical ideas. In dealing with abstract ideas or concepts metaphysics uses logic as it is done in philosophy.
Metaphysical poetry mainly deals with the concept of love, faith, soul, death and God, which do not have concrete existence. Secondly, metaphysical poetry uses arguments and logic instead of only emotion or passion. Even in using passion metaphysical poets use logic or arguments. Thirdly, this kind of poetry is highly conceited and witty. Wit is an intelligent expression of rare acumen; and a conceit is a comparison between two farfetched, dissimilar things. Metaphysical poets use wit and conceits very frequently in their poems, with the effect of surprise and stun. Finally, metaphysical poets use conversational tone and they are often careless of metre and rhyme. The major poets of this school of poetry are: Donne, Andrew Marvel, George Herbert, Henry Vaughan, and Richard Crashaw.
"The seven sleepers' den":
This phrase occurs in the fourth line of the poem, "The Good Morrow". This is an allusion to the seven noble brothers of Ephesus. They were Christian young men whom the Emperor Decius sought for persecution in 251 A.D. The seven brothers hid themselves in a cave in order to escape Decius' persecution. The entrance of the cave was blocked up. The seven men slept there for about two hundred years. Then they come out still young in the reign of the younger Theodosius. Donne has used here the long sleep of the seven brothers as a conceit. He has compared the subconscious love of the lovers to the sleep of the seven brothers. The comparison is, no doubt, far fetched and extraordinary. It adequately suggests the state of love that was dormant in them before they have become conscious of it.
Edmund Spenser (as an Elizabethan poet):
Edmund Spenser (1552-1599) was the product of the Elizabethan Age which was deeply influenced by the Renaissance spirit. His poetry is the fullest flowering of the Renaissance in England. Consequently, his poetry reflects the spirit of his age. It is full of Greek and Roman mythology but his poetry is neither pagan nor anti Christianity. He placed a moral pattern at the top of all other things in his poetry, which gave it almost a religious overtone. It is because he remained preoccupied with the social and religious mission of poetry.
He was a poet moralist. His famous work Fairie Queene is a great moral allegory. Even his highly sensuous descriptions are accompanied by sombre, moral passages. Moreover, Spenser became famous for his superb lyrical power. The melody, grace and case of his poetry are unparalleled. Spenser innovated a stanza form known as the 'Spenserian stanza' and a sonnet form known as 'Spenserian sonnet'. His major poetical works are: The Shepherd's Calender. The Faerie Queene, Amoretti, Epithalamion, Four Hymns, and Prothalamion. In his time he was called the principal poet', 'divine Master Spenser' and 'the prince of poets'. He is still ranked with the great English poets. Edmund Spenser is indeed "a poet of the poets" because many later poets learned the poetic art from his poetry.
Edmund Spenser (as a sonneteer):
Edmund Spenser (1552-1599) was one of the beginners of the English sonnet. Wyatt and Surrey were the first English poets who ventured with the sonnet form in England. They were followed by Sidney and Spenser. Spenser composed eighty-nine sonnets under the title "Amoretti". These sonnets were addressed to Elizabeth Boyle with whom he fell in love and whom he eventually married. His sonnets are different from those of Sidney and Shakespeare. His sonnets do not have the unhappiness of Sidney for being in love with the wife of another man, or the distress of Shakespeare whose mistress deceived him with his friend. Spenser's sonnets are unique in purity. They tell a story of love without sin, the different phases of love, the lover's sighs and finally the lovers marriage. They present in Elizabethan tradition the beauty of the mistress with a great sensual detail and colour, and do not hide the ardour of his desires. These sonnets show Spenser's "maidenliness". Spenser did not borrow the sonnet form blindly. No doubt he wrote them in fourteen iambic pentameter lines but he innovated a new rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme of a Spenserian sonnet is abab bebe cded ee. His diction is more lucid than the diction of his contemporaries. The soft feelings and the soft sounding words are uniquely matched in his sonnets. Thus, Spenser's contribution to English sonnet is very significant.
William Shakespeare (as an Elizabethan poet):
Born at Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an Elizabethan poet and the greatest dramatist of all ages. He composed 154 sonnets and wrote 37 plays which are still unparalleled. His best quality that made him a classic is objectivity. His objectivity has made him popular in all countries in all times but it has also made him so obscure that some people now doubt whether his plays were really written by a person known as Shakespeare. Another quality that contributed to his fame is his capability to combine imagination and reality in the same writing. He did not follow the set rules of literature to give free rein to his imagination but he never forgot realities. His insight into human character is amazing. His four great tragedies are: Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello and King Lear. He innovated a kind of sonnet form called Shakespearean sonnet. All of his 154 sonnets are written in this form. Each of his sonnets consists of three quatrains and a couplet. The rhyme scheme of this type of sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg. Though an Elizabethan. Shakespeare is universal, a true classic. People liked his plays and poems in the past; they like him at present and they will continue to like him in future.
John Donne (as a metaphysical poet):
John Donne (1572-1631) wrote poetry in the Jacobean age and Caroline age. He is best known as a metaphysical poet. In reaction to the Elizabethan tradition Donne started writing a new kind of poetry which eventually came to be known as metaphysical poetry". The other poets of this School of Poetry are: Andrew Marvel, George Herbert, Henry Vaughan, and Richard Crashaw. Donne preferred subjects that dealt with things, which did not have concrete shapes. His main subjects were love, faith, soul, death and God, which did not have physical existence. He opened poems dramatically and used arguments, conceits and wit very frequently in them, with the effect of surprise and stun. Finally, he used conversational tone and he was often careless of metre and rhyme. In our age we know him because of his songs and divine poems. His "The Good Morrow" is an exquisite piece of metaphysical poetry. The poem opens dramatically in the tradition of metaphysical poetry:
"I wonder by my troth, what thou, and I
Fifteen Poems
Did, till we lov'd?"
Its sudden conversational opening arrests the attention of the readers.
The theme of love has been developed argumentatively from surprise to confidence and then to immortality. Further, Donne uses
several conceits to develop the thought. The conceits are:
a) The comparison between the unaware lovers and the breast fed babies;
b) The comparison between the unconscious lovers and the
"seven sleepers" who slept for two hundred years:
c) The comparison between the lovers' micro-world with the real world; and
d) The comparison between the two hemispheres and the two lovers.
So, dramatic beginning, abstract theme, use of arguments, conceits and colloquialism are the main features of Donne's metaphysical poetry.
Thomas Gray (as an elegy writer)
Thomas Gray (1716- 1771), an eighteenth century poet, is mainly known for his famous elegy "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." It is believed that if he had not written this "Elegy", a very few people would have known his name. As an elegy writer he bears the stamps of both neo-classical and romantic traditions. The poem is written in quatrains of iambic pentameter lines. But his diction is near to the pompous and artificial diction of Pope and Dryden. His language is only occasionally simple and lucid. Like the Romantics, however, his main interest was in nature and common people. The characters of his "Elegy are common people living in the lap of nature. Gray had much interest in old pocts like Milton, Spenser and Shakespeare. In this "Elegy", he alludes to Milton, Cromwell and Hampden and suggests the immense possibilities of the poor villagers which were never materialised because of proper scopes. In the traditional framework of the elegy he turns out, just like Shelley and Byron, as a bitter critic of the rich and powerful:
"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power.
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:
The paths of glory lead but to the grave."
The poem is full of pathos and the tone changes as the thought develops. Though a melancholic mood runs throughout the poem, it is not always the same. It changes frequently from subjectivity to objectivity, from specific to general, from liking to disliking and from self-pity to self-glory. So he is a poet of dual tendencies. He is simultaneously a neo-classical and a romantic poet. All these qualities characterise him as an unparalleled elegy writer.
William Wordsworth (as a romantic poet)
William Wordsworth (1770-1850) is well known as the main exponent of the "Revival of Romanticism". The French Revolution in 1789 left deep impression on him in favour of the common people. This finally resulted in a new kind of poetry. Wordsworth and Coleridge decided together to bring a radical change in the selection of subject, language and form of poetry. Wordsworth composed 19 poems and Coleridge composed 4 poems according to their new concept of poetry. These poems were published in a volume called Lyrical Ballads in 1798. This volume marks the beginning of romantic poetry. Wordsworth's romanticism rests chiefly on his belief in the relationship between man and nature. In his poetry there is a detailed account of the complex interaction between man and nature rather than a simple observation of nature. "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" exemplifies the communion between man and nature and the healing power of nature. It also reflects his concept of the romantic imagination and his belief in "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings ... recollected in tranquillity" which he professed as theory of poetry. His belief in the presence of a divine power in nature is another aspect of his romanticism. It is known as "pantheism". However, in his romantic theory man is at the centre of nature. His famous poem, "Michael" reflects his interest in the true feelings of common people. Therefore, as a romantic poet, Wordsworth's contribution to English poetry is unquestionable.
John Keats (as a romantic poet):
John Keats (1795-1821) was the youngest among the romantic poets. Though he had not been recognised as a major English poet for many centuries, in the modern age he was recognised as a great English poet. Keats was devoted to pure art for the sake of art. The poetic world of Keats is, therefore, free from Wordsworth's pantheism, Coleridge's supernaturalism, Shelley's and Byron's revolutionary zeal. His poetry was influenced, if it was influenced by anything, by Hellenism or the ancient Greek and Roman literary tradition. However, the Greek control over form and content was absent in Keats. He enjoyed romantic freedom in his choice of the simplification of verse form and using high soaring imagination. Another aspect of his poetry is sensuousness. This means that he used such a language the sensuous perception became inevitable. Further, "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever", wrote Keats. The "thing of beauty" may be sensual or aesthetic or religious or spiritual. Here lies the glory of Keats romanticism. Again, there is a trend of avoiding hard realities in Keats' poetry. That does not mean that Keats himself was an escapist. The fact is it was a common inclination of the Romantic age to look for idealism in. imagination. Therefore, the escaping tendency in Keats' poems is, in reality, a romantic trend. Finally, Keats claimed that he had the "negative capability" by which he meant that he was as objective as Homer or Shakespeare. Keats romanticism, therefore, includes Hellenism, sensuousness, a sense of beauty, high soaring imagination, and objectivity.
Percy Bysshe Shelley (as a romantic poet):
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was one of the romantic poets who rebelled against all conventional values. Shelley led an unconventional life, and his radical belief had deep impact on his creative art. His major works reflect his profound revolutionary zeal. He professed a violent revolt in favour of absolute liberty in the choice of religion and sex. His Prometheus Unbound (1818-20) is a glorious venture for intellectual and spiritual liberty. It is a genuine effort to free mankind from the clutches of kings, priests, and from the tyranny of old customs, superstitions and idealism. His famous poem, Ode to the West Wind (1820) is also revolutionary in spirit. Ode to Liberty (1820) and The Masque of Anarchy (1819) similarly reflect his strong desire to bring changes in the society for absolute liberty of mankind. His famous sonnet, "Ozymandias" is a severe criticism of power and pride of the autocratic rulers. Though Shelley does not say anything directly in this poem against the king, his disgust for power mongers has obviously been suggested in it. However, the poem deals with a universal truth about the futility of human vanity that causes pity in the readers. He is equally known for his lyricism. "To a Skylark" is a fine example of his perfection in lyricism. In this poem his high soaring imagination is well matched with his flowing lyrical quality. So, Shelley's strong desire to change the society, his high imagination and lyricism are the main constituents of his romanticism. Alfred Tennyson as a Victorian poet:
Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892), one of the greatest lyricists in English, was a representative poet of the Victorian period. He was the Poet Laureate of his time. The Victorian period is well-known for its enrichment of knowledge, expansion of empire and growth of economy. The age had a throbbing spirit. Tennyson's poetry is an illustrative record of this prevailing spirit, of the temperament, and to some extent, of the national character of his time. The Victorian period is known for its moderation in politics, refined culture, doubt in faith, advancement in scientific discovery and interest in ancient legends and myths. All these find their expression in Tennyson's poetry. For example, in "Ulysses" Tennyson's mythical hero suggests the Victorian philosophy of action and adventure. His famous elegy "In Memoriam" reflects the agonizing doubt in religion. The other remarkable aspect of Tennyson's poetry is his craftsmanship. His poetry reflects the highest degree of artistic perfection. He paid the greatest attention to the music of words. As a result some of the most musical lines in English poetry are to be found in his poetry. Tennyson is also called one of the later romantics because he was in favour of the social changes though he advocated compromise. He lacked profundity of thought but he did what the Victorians desired their poets to do. They did not expect from him intellectual excellence; they wanted their poets to provide them with calmness and repose and Tennyson fulfilled their desire.
Robert Browning as a dramatic monologue writer:
Robert Browning (1812- 1889), one of the Victorian major poets, was essentially dramatic though not in form. His main form was poetry written on divine inspiration, the Italian Renaissance and love. In our time he is mainly known for his dramatic monologues. The dramatic monologue is a form of poetry in which a single speaker abruptly starts to speak in presence of a silent listener and gradually he reveals his soul. Browning's dramatic monologues are well-known as 'soul-studies'. He lets a character speak out his likings and dislikings and in the process he analyses the psychology of the speaker. For example, in "My Last Duchess" the Duke begins with a dramatic suddenness: "That's my last Duchess painted on the wall" and then goes on talking about the portrait of his dead wife in presence of an emissary who has come there for the second marriage. of the Duke. While talking about the last Duchess the Duke reveals his soul. We understand that he is a possessive husband, a cruel person, a proud aristocrat, a greedy bridegroom but a connoisseur of artworks. He also reveals that the Duchess was an innocent, easy going lady. These analyses of Duke's temperament are the essence of Browning's dramatic monologue. Each of his dramatic monologues is a soul-study or a psycho-analysis. These poems are written in conversational style and they are often become obscure for the use of little known allusions, telegraphic style and grammatical lapses. However, as a dramatic monologue writer he perfected the form better than any other poet.
William Butler Yeats:
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), an Irish poet, was one of the major poets of the modern period. Yeats was the founder member of the Dublin Hermetic Society and studied spiritualism, magic. theosophy and Buddhism with his friends. He became also a member of Madame Blavatsky's Theosophical Society and the Order of the Golden Dawn. In 1891. he founded the Rhymer's Club in London and worked with Lionel Johnson, Ernest Dowson, Pound, Arthur Symons and others. Naturally, he contributed significantly to English poetry. He was the pioneer of several modern literary movements. He initiated the "Imagists" movement. He also introduced "symbolism" to English poetry. The dominant aspect of his poetry is symbolism. He believed that a symbol should be more than "a representation which does not aim at being a reproduction". The gyre, the rose and the tower are some of his famous symbols. In "The Wild Swans at Coole" he uses the 'swans' as a symbol of the soul of man, especially soul's ability to remain happy. Love, Irish myth and nationalism are the main themes of his poems. In many of his poems his lost love Maud Gonne appears and reappears directly or indirectly. In his patriotic poems he glorifies the national heroes but at the same time he expresses his disgust at their violent ways of fighting for liberty. In his later poems he deals with theology, philosophy and mysticism.
Robert Frost:
Robert Frost (1874-1963) is the most well-known American poet. He drew his images from the New England countryside and his language from New England speech. He won the Pulitzer Prize four times for his poetry. Frost developed "sound posturing,” a form of writing based on the rhythms of everyday speech. His poems appear simple at first glance, but reveal themselves to be subtle and enigmatic upon further scrutiny. Although Frost concentrates on ordinary subject matter, he evokes a wide range of emotions, and his poems often shift dramatically from humorous tones to tragic ones. Frost has united traditional verse form like the sonnet, rhylning couplets, blank verse - with unmistakably American and local vocabulary and speech rhythms. He has worked individual poems into a larger unity by presenting in them a recurrent speaker, a wise country person approaching life in a spirit of compassionate realism. He deals with the psychological dualities of life often suggesting a moral choice. He does not say anything directly; rather he suggests what he wants to say. In each of his poems there is a central image that strikes the key note of the poem. He is famous for his under-statement, restraint, subtlety and exactness. For all these reasons Frost is called a modern poet.
