Saturday, October 12, 2019
The Voice of Victorian ââ¬ÅLonging like Despairââ¬Â Essay -- Literary Analy
Matthew Arnoldââ¬â¢s Poetry: The Voice of Victorian ââ¬Å"Longing like Despairâ⬠John Stuart Mill defined the Victorian Era as ââ¬Å"an age of transitionâ⬠, where ââ¬Å"Mankind will not be led by their old maxims, nor by their old guides.â⬠Other contemporary minds saw in this transition the main source of profound intellectual and moral confusion, ââ¬Å"that may validly be described as a crisis of personal identity.â⬠(R. A. Forsyth) The poet and Victorian literary and social critic Matthew Arnold distinctly expresses his ageââ¬â¢s deepest anxieties, rising from a world being utterly redefined by industrialisation. Much of his poetry is infused with intense personal and emotional discussions of love and loneliness, which spring the rising feeling of isolation and alienation. His writings respond to the disintegration of the traditional Christian social order and to the Victorian human condition. Arnoldââ¬â¢s voice is one of despair, although it is also one of longing; one that seeks comfort in intimate companionship. ââ¬Å"To Marguerit e: Continuedâ⬠(1852) and ââ¬Å"Isolation: To Margueriteâ⬠(1857) are primarily love poems where Arnold expresses his struggle with personal isolation and his hope in the potential remedying power of love. ââ¬Å"The Buried Lifeâ⬠(1852) is a reflection on the Victorian human condition, notably manââ¬â¢s identity crisis founded on social and self-alienation. Finally, ââ¬Å"Dover Beachâ⬠, often characterised as a historical poem, mourns the disintegration of the traditional Christian order, as the Church was a pillar of Englandââ¬â¢s society for all of modern history. Despite these distinctions, Arnoldââ¬â¢s verse responds to the Victorian human condition, as he weaves together his despair of the present industrialised world with a longing to overcome its darkness a... ...ety. Ed. J. B. Schneewind. London, 1965, pp. 30-31. Print. "Matthew Arnold : Dover Beach." Representative Poetry Online. Ed. Ian Lancashire. University of Toronto Librairies, 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2012. . "Matthew Arnold : Isolation: To Marguerite." Representative Poetry Online. Ed. Ian Lancashire. University of Toronto Librairies, 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2012. . "Matthew Arnold: The Buried Life." Representative Poetry On-line: Version 3.0. Ed. Ian Lancashire. University of Toronto Librairies, 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2012. . "Matthew Arnold : To Marguerite: Continued." Representative Poetry On-line: Version 3.0. Ed. Ian Lancashire. University of Toronto Librairies, 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2012. .
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