Salient features of Victorian poetry with reference to Tennyson & Browning.Assignment paper 6

Name:- Vidhya Pandya

Semester:- MA -2

Roll No:- 32

Paper No:- 6

Subject:-The Victorian Literature

Enrolment No:- 2069108420190031

Year:- 2018-20

E-mail id:- vidhupandya10497@gmail.com

Submitted to:-Department of English [MKBU]

Topic:- Salient features of Victorian poetry, with reference to Tennyson &Browning’s poem.

Words:- 969

◆Introduction:-

Victorian literature is the literature produced during the reign of Queen Victoria. This period was marked by the tremendous cultural upheaval. There were a drastic change & development in the form of literature, art  & music. Although the Victorian poetry was quite different from that of the preceding era, yet there were some similarities that existed between the 2 periods.

◆Victorian Poetry Definition:-

Poetry written during the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901 is defined as “Victorian Poetry”. The defining Characteristics of Victorian poetry are it’s focus on sensory elements, it’s recurring themes of the religion science conflict, and it’s interest in medieval fables & legends.

During the Victorian era , however, there was a lot of radical social change & as much, many poets of this time didn’t like the romanticized version of society. The Victorian poetry is, thus, divided into two main groups poetry:

● The High Victorian Poetry &

● The Pre-Raphaelite Poetry.

◆ Tennyson’s Poetical {Characteristics} features:-

A] His choice of Subject:-

Tennyson' s earliest instincts, as seen in the volumes of 1830,1833 & 1842, led him to the lyric & legendary narrative as his principal themes. Already however in the 1842 volume, there are signs of the ethical interest which was to be the mainspring of his later work.

One notable example is the poem “Mariana” , in which Tennyson writes..,

“ The doors upon their hinges creaked

     The blue fly sung in the pane; the mouse

               Behind the moldering  wainscot shrieked.”

These images of the creaking door, the blue fly singing in the window, & the mouse with the moldy wood panelling, all work together to create a very definite image of an active, yet lonely farmhouse.

B] His Craftsmanship:-

No one can deny the great care & skill shown in Tennyson’s work. His method ofproducing poetry was slowly to evolve the lines in his mind, commit them to paper, & to revise them till they were as near perfection as he could make them.

“ The moan of doves in immemorial elms,

  And murmuring of innumerable bees.”

-         The Princess

This is perhaps not the highest poetry, but only a kind of manual, or rather aural, dexterity; yet as Tennyson employs it is effective to a degree.

C] His Pictorial Quality:-

In this respect Tennyson follows the example of Keats. Nearly all  poem, even the simplest, abound in ornate description of natural & other scenes.

“ Till now the doubtful dusk reveal'd

    The knolls once more where, couched at ease,

    The white kine glimmered, &the trees

    Laid their dark arms about the field:”

Such passages as these reveal Tennyson at his best , but once again the doubt arises as to whether they represents the highest poetry.

D] Lyrical Quality:-

 Tennyson 's lyrical quality is somewhat uneven. The slightest of his pieces, are musical and attractive; but on the whole his nature was too self-conscious.

Once or twice, as in the wonderfulpoem “Break,break,break” and “Crossing the Bar”,he touches real greatness.

“Break, break, break,

         On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!

And I would that my tongue could utter.

         The thoughts that arise in me.

This lyric has a brevity , unity and simple earnestness of emotion that make it truly great.

◆Browning 's Poetical Features:-

A] His Choice of Subject:-

 Browning’s themes divide themselves broadly into three groups:

1.    Philosophical or religious,

2.    Love and

3.    Lighter themes as in The Pied Piper of Hamelin’s.

His love poems are perhaps, his greatest achievement. And also have a calm authenticity of tone. Always , his first concern was with the human soul. He was particularly interested in abnormal people , and was able to project himself into their minds and to lay bare their feelings and motives.

He shows a fondness, too for out of the way historical settings and for foreign scenes, which at his best as in “ The Bishop orders his Tomb at Saint Praxed'sand Karshish” are recreated with a vivid accuracy.

B] His style:-

 Browning’s style has been the subject of endless discussion , for it presents a fascinating problem. At his worst, his poems are a series of bewildering mental acrobatics, expressed in a wilfully harsh rhythm and vocabulary.

At his best, he can achieve a noble dignity, and a verbal music as good as anything produced by that master of melody.

“Let us begin and carry up this corpse,

 Singing together.

 Leave we the common crofts , the vulgar throws,

 Each in its tether.”

-         A Grammarian's Funeral.

C] His Description Power:-

In this respectBrowning differs widely from Tennyson, who slowly creates a lovely image by careful massing of detail. Browning cares less for beauty of description for its own sake.

In most of his work it is found only in flashes, where he  paints the background of his story in a few dashing strokes.

D] His Reputation:-

Recognition was slow in coming, but like Wordsworth , he lived to see his name established high among his fellows.

He wrote too fraly, and often too carelessly and perversely , and much of his work will pass into oblivion. No more is needed to place him among the truly great.

◆Conclusion:-

Victorian Poetry, thus marks an important era in the history of poetry, providing the link between the Romanticism and modernism of the 20^th century. Therefore it is sometimes difficult to identify to which epoch this or that Poet belongs , as it is not easy to categorize them all in these broad movements.

◆ Reference:-

1. History of English Literature by Edward Albert {5^th edition}

2. https://victorian-era.org/victorian-era-poetry-characteristics.html