She was a bright child but she did not fit in at her school (Barth 636). In her high school years, she began to develop an interest in poetry, especially the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson…
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was an social and political activist for many things, but most of all children’s rights. During the Victorian Age, Britain became the first industrialized country on the world. Much of the work was in coal mines and factories, causing long hours and hard labor. During this time period child labor laws did not exist and majority of the time they were put to work, especially if the family had several mouths to feed. (Mattord) The 1842 Royal Commission reports is where Elizabeth got her inspiration for The Cry of the Children. In these reports described wages, working conditions, meals, accidents, and much more. In the North Lancashire report, under the meal section on page thirteen, it states, “Working up to the knees…
Immediately Browning titles the story with a hint that suggests the story will describe ownership of one of many Duchess'. It also suggests through the name 'Duchess' that it is coming from a royal background rather than simply saying 'woman' or 'wife'. The story is about a Duke who decides to remove his wife from his life out of paranoia and jealousy, by murdering her. Browning is the writer and the listener, the Duke is the speaker and the story is told in a dramatic monologe. Another device I noticed is that Browning uses enjambment, this gives the poem rhythm and flow.…
Even though sickness and mental illness took a deep toll on her life, the impact that Kenyon left during her short time here was inestimable. Unlike most poets, the ailments that Kenyon experienced did not tear her love of writing down, instead, it built up, knowing that her words could empower others, as well as herself. Poetry was a sense of comfort that she used throughout the dark times and even the good times, believing that it was the one constant that would never fade. While Kenyon felt at times alone and isolated from the rest of the world, admirers of her work knew that there was a place for them here and how all that is wrong in the world can be stopped with just a little bit of hope. Most people believe that the depression and the suffering held Jane Kenyon back from reaching her full potential, but instead, these events helped her become the strongest writer she could be, turning her own dark reality into a beautiful work of art for numerous…
Her writing styles were different than any other author’s. She is known for her wide range of characters and red herrings.She expresses her opinions in her works. She was greatly influenced by Arthur Conan Doyle.…
‘Half-flush that dies along her throat’. ‘In one long yellow string I wound three times her little throat and strangled her’. Wow, are they insane? Or are they simply just scared and insecure? For more than a century Robert Browning has been known for his dramatic monologues. Through the use of Dramatic monologue, Browning freely questions the concerns of the Victorian society through the use of enjambment creating a flow of unity and natural speech. Funnily enough, many of the issues he raises are just as relevant today in our times. First of all there is his brilliant study of insanity- two of his protagonists are insane killers of two beautiful women who they can’t control. Coincidence maybe? Also, other concerns such as - the domination of men, our moralities and the idea of self-delusion: the difference between how we see ourselves and how others see us.…
The Romantics looked to nature as a liberating force, a source of sensual pleasure, moral instruction, religious insight, and artistic inspiration. Eloquent exponents of these ideals, they extolled the mystical powers of nature and argued for more sympathetic styles of garden design in books, manuscripts, and drawings now regarded as core documents of the Romantic Movement. Their cult of inner beauty and their view of the outside world dominated European thought during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.…
Shakespeare and Browning both present the theme of desire through their central characters. Lady Macbeth (and Macbeth) is motivated by the desire for ambition and authority in ‘Macbeth’ whilst in the Browning monologues; the monologists are driven by the desire of power and control in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and revenge in ‘The laboratory’. All of which seem to have fatal conclusions as a result of each of their desires. As the texts were produced over 400years ago, audiences may have found the works of Shakespeare and Browning highly thought-provoking and entertaining whilst contemporary audiences finding the different aspects of desire relatable to modern situations. Lady Macbeth’s need for authority in her famous soliloquy ‘unsex me here’ reflects on the feelings of many women at that time longing for power. Likewise, audiences of the ‘the Laboratory’ are able to empathise with the protagonist’s desire for revenge upon their adulterous lover. In ‘Porphyria’s Lover’, Browning reveals an obsessive and controlling persona who can only satisfy his absolute love for his lover by strangling her, presenting his desire for control over others.…
Enlightenment and Romanticism are both periods of literature that not only are intriquing, but brought forth iconic pieces of work and ideas. I am a huge realist, but I am admittedly more of a Romantcism fan, which rejects reason. Still, I acknowldege the importance of the period and how it has set the foundation of American writing. Before reading work in the Romanticsm movement, I completely dreaded the idea of it. I had a preconcieved notion that it would consist of only love and romance. While there is nothing wrong with that, Romanticism is so much more. For example, I love the story "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving. It consists of key elements of Romanticism including individualism and the supernatural. Irving's story, like most…
(A) What were the three (3) most significant developments in music during the Romantic Period and why? Please mention 1 specific reason why each development is significant. (B) Which composer (choose only one) contributed the most to the development of music during the Romantic Period and why? Please support your response with at least three (3) specific examples/reasons.…
When Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “Talk not of wasted affection; affection never was wasted,” he expressed a romantic ideal ever-present in nineteenth century poetry: the ideal that naive romantic love should be valued above all else. This ideal has persisted to the present, , presenting itself in innumerable pop songs and romantic comedies; working itself so deeply into the psychology of Western culture that those unaffected may consider it a cult. In the nineteenth century, this romanticising of young love was often imbued with a languid, yearning quality; and this quality was often invoked by combining these ideals with another popular theme in Victorian poetry: the mystery and romance surrounding death. In nineteenth century romantic poetry. young love was such a serious, all-consuming quality that sometimes suicide was an acceptable, or nearly acceptable, way of dealing with the ensuing heartbreak. While A.E Housman’s poem 1896 poem “ When I was One-And-Twenty” does not glorify -or even discuss- suicide, it fits perfectly into this romantic tradition; weighing itself down with the seriousness of youthful heartbreak. In this poem, a twenty-two year old man remembers advice he was given by an old man when he was twenty-one regarding the perils of love, and mourns the ensuing heartbreak that came from not heeding this advice. Housman, who was in his late thirties when he composed this poem (neither elderly nor especially elderly), is celebrating the tragic beauty and rawness associated with losing one’s first love, imbuing the situation with an elegance and languor which admiring readers can happily relate to their own experiences. In doing so, however, he is opening himself up to the criticisms of objective and seasoned observers who – although they probably remember going through these experiences themselves – are experienced enough to know that heartbreak is neither the most distressing nor disabling part of human experience. Consequently, Housman’s work…
During the Industrial revolution, sometime in the 1840s through the 1850s, Romanticism took the backseat to a whole new movement in art called the Realist Movement. As we all know, the Romanticism movement was a movement of art that was vastly connected and designed to appeal to the emotions of the viewer. In the paintings of Romanticism nature was drawn with light airy colors to make the scene seem happier and the people were drawn with overly exaggerated faces to help allure emotions, all as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Realism, on the other hand, art portrayed the actuality and truth in everything to make the paintings and other artwork more relatable. In paintings and artwork reflecting Realism, it was acutely believable. The paintings were that of commonplace and reality. In the movement many artist stood to the forefront and become famous…
Although a time of great societal change, 1840’s England still held traditional values that are often associated with this period as being prudish, old fashioned and repressed. Elizabeth Barrett Browning pushed the boundaries of her time as it was previously unheard of that females would write about idealised love. With the increase of feminism Barrett Browning gained her popularity. The sonnets show her journey of accepting the love she has received. She states in sonnet thirteen “I cannot teach my hand to hold my spirits so far from myself—me-- that I should bring the proof…
Nowadays when people talked about “romantic” or “romance”, usually indicated that of the opposite of ration and reason. Rousseau pointed out that romance is to go back to nature, However, Heine in the other way thought that romance is to go back to the life style of middle age, while Hugo considered romance as the combination of tragedy and quaintness.…
There are five poets whom chose to write about, they are: Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, William Shakespeare, and lastly Emily Dickinson. These poets are all known and made famous by their writings. Of the five poets, Emily Dickinson was my favorite. They all wrote from the heart and from life’s situations/experiences. When reading the works of these poets, their readings should touch your lives in a way that you can reflect on your own life’s experiences and compare them to their writings. The literature/poetry of these writers are world known and taught in many schools today, the writings of these poets have been copied into school books about literature. The writings of these poets are interesting in many different ways. Some of the writings may reflect on marriage, death, love, etc. All of these things are a part of everyday life, something we all go through at one time or another.…
