VICTORIANS AND THE PAST

Victorians and the Past

Victorians and the Past

"To save our souls and heal State", words of George Gordon portrays how English Literature is in danger. John Stuart Mill's critical term paper "What is Poetry?"as well as "The Study of verse" by Matthew Arnold both depict in protecting against of poetry. Robert Browning's "Caliban upon Setebos" and Lord Alfred Tennyson's "In Memoriam A.H.H.", both face devout crises and "heal". All four of these authors apparently depict in their work and support Gordon's statement. (Stedman 1996)

The major early Victorian poets, too, took role of secular prophets, often expressing the longing for free play of imaginative life. For Alfred, Lord TENNYSON, longing found ambivalent expression in his early lyrics; his major work, In Memoriam (1850), translated personal grief into an affirmation of religious faith. Matthew ARNOLD, particularly in his poem Empedocles on Etna (1852), revealed how spirit of his own age weakened emotional vitality. Although concerned with presenting his personal form of religious faith, Robert BROWNING used his dramatic monologues primarily to show uniqueness of individual personality.

John Stuart Mill states in his critical term paper "What is Poetry", that verse is not pattern and is involved in strong feelings, while " one does in work by assuring or convincing; other, by moving. The one acts by presenting the proposition to understanding; other, by offering interesting objects of contemplation to sensibilities" (1140). (Vann 1994)

He also states, " distinction between verse and what is not poetry, if clarified or not, is sensed to be basic: and, where every person feels the difference, the difference there should be" (1139). He depicts difference of poetry from fiction, paintings and music. Although they all convey strong feelings, they have "no natural connection" (1140). The major distinction between verse and fiction is truth. "The truth of verse is to paint human soul truly: truth of fiction is to give the factual likeness of life" (1141). To realise poetry and prose, it needs one to possess specific amounts of knowledge. (Dawson 1999)

On contrary, in Matthew Arnold's "The Study of Poetry", he depicts difference between science and poetry. He states that research will be incomplete without poetry. He accepts as true that science comprises of human experiences and truth while verse has to do with morals or religion. He states:

"Our conviction has materialized itself in fact, in presumed fact; it has adhered its strong feeling to minutia, and now detail is falling short it. But for poetry idea is everything; rest is the world of illusion, of divine illusion. Poetry attaches its emotion to idea; idea is fact. The strongest part of our belief today is its unconscious verse" (1535). (Vann 1994)

Like Mill, he uses emotions as characteristic of poetry. However, Arnold focused on difference between science and poetry rather than fiction and poetry. However, both of these writers believe that poetry in fact allows one to interpret life, perhaps even heal(Stedman 1996).

In Robert Browning's "Caliban upon Setebos", he apparently depicts religion.

"Well then, 'supposeth He is good I' major, / ...