Victorian poetry

Victorian poetry was largely overshadow by quality of Victorian fiction. Poetry of this period demonstrated metrical perfection but often at expense of philosophy - it was more like decorative rhyming prose, like fiction in rhyme. It was mainly superficial, without courage to explore themes under surface. 

ALFRED TENNYSON celebrated the achievements of his age and believed in progress. He was a good interpreter of the newly forming Victorian middle-class way of thinking and morality, also a propagator of the British Empire. As young age, he was already A poet laureate - an official poet of the nation and he even got aristocratic title for that.

The Idylls of the King is his most ambitious investigation of Arthurian theme and captures society emerged from wilderness and changed into a perfect civilization where knightly ideals are taken by contemporary middle class values but Victorian morality is above all.

The Lady of Shallot is a poetic reworking of Arthurian myth about escape from isolation. The Lady of Shalott lives in an island castle but little is known about her by the locals. She suffers from a mysterious curse and must continually weave images on her loom without ever looking directly out at the world. Instead, she looks into a mirror which reflects the busy road and the people of Camelot which pass by her island. The reflected images are described as "shadows of the world", a metaphor that makes clear that they are a poor substitute for seeing directly (I am half-sick of shadows.) She sees Sir Lancelot in her mirror and as a result, the lady looks out of her window toward Camelot, bringing about the curse. She leaves her tower, finds a boat and floats to Camelot but dies before arriving. Among the knights and ladies who see her is Lancelot, who thinks she is lovely.

ROBERT BROWNING achieved moderate commercial success, his wife Elizabeth was better known. She was born to upper class family so Robert was rejected by her family, they eloped and married secretly and lived in Italy. In his poetry he expresses Victorian optimism and was interested in deep psychological features of his characters. He coined the poetic devise dramatic monologue where the speaker addresses an imaginary reader so his poems are structured a bit like dramas.

 The Ring and the Book is a series of dramatic monologues where a conclusion comes as a shock and seems to contradict what one has read before, using each poem to concentrate on particular aspects of human experience.

ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING’s poetry continues in the previous romantic atmosphere and places her among important European women writers touching the topic of the emancipation of women. Her parents did not approve of the marriage because they thought Browning was a gold digger but it was not true.

Aurora Leigh is an epic poem on process of education of mind and emotions whose heroine starts from comfortable to Italy where Aurora establishes her reputation as an artist. It remains an outspoken feminist statement of historical and literary value. How Do I Love Thee is a sonnet dedicated to her husband for his love and care since she was ill most of time, included in the collection Sonnets from the Portuguese. She loves him deeply, endlessly (after death) and with passion. It is a sonnet, typically with emotions of love, although we can also feel sadness (my old griefs).

The Soul's Expression is a poem of  15 lines so it is a sonnet with broken convention, another love sonnet dedicated to her husband. The lines themselves somehow struggle to perform what she wants to say. She cannot express herself in reality so she does so through the poem. She had enormous obstacles with her body  so the poem contents a lot of expressions of senses. She is so full of feelings but her weak body does not allow her to express them – but her soul cries.

MATTHEW ARNOLD is sometimes called the third great Victorian poet together with Tennyson and Browning. He was a leading figure of the whole Victorian period and lived thought almost the whole Queen´s reign. He admired Ancient Greece and considered it as a peak of human effort and the age after that to the Victorian period was a gradual downfall. He hated aristocracy, called them barbarian (they were still mainly illiterate) but he did not like middle class either for their bad taste and working class was only a mass for him.

He liked individuality and as a poet spoke of many concerns of Victorians. He was not fond of Christian religion and married secretly so he had to escape to Italy since nobody approved of their marriage and spend his life there. In his critic essays Culture and Anarchy he presents ideal culture after a Greek example.

In his poem Dover Beach he reflects on colonialism. Dover Beach is for Britain a significant place where they meet with continental Europe. It results in clashes but also cultural exchange. In the first stanza the beach is peaceful and tranquil. It seems as if the speaker is talking to someone, possibly readers. In the second stanza the sea is no longer calm, there are noises and the sea is struggling with the land. Something is opposing tranquillity and the mood changes entirely. The dominating feeling is sadness. There is a reference to the Peloponnesian War. Sophocles also heard noises from the sea and they meant the destruction of advanced Greek civilization. Lament that protective religion is gone with the age of Darwin. A lot of people no longer believe in God so he does not protect them anymore. It shows dilemma whether to believe in protective God or to be free but without divine protection. The speaker seems to be replying to someone that he does not dream about beauty anymore, rather faces reality that Britain is deserted island full of suffering. Once again Dover Beach is a point of encounter with immigrants from former colonies who flood the country, taking low-paid jobs but are hated by the British.

THOMAS HARDY was not only a novelist but also a poet. A Christmas Ghost Story depicts spirits of fallen soldiers during Christmas peaceful atmosphere. The tone is sarcastic, religion is not about the man who sacrificed himself anymore, many more died for the cause but we celebrate only Jesus, not others. A Broken Appointment is obviously about a woman who did not come for a date. At least she could appear and say she does not want him.

GERARD HOPKINS wrote experimental poetry and introduced sprung rhythm which was revolutionary because he broke up stereotypes of poetry. The best illustration of this new device can be found in The Wreck of the Deutschland.

EDWARD LEAR was a poetic equivalent to Lewis Carroll since he wrote poetry for children. The Book of Nonsense is poetry for fun with playful use of language and perfected limerick (lines that repeat). There is no real message to convey, just sheer fun.

PRE-RAPHAELITE BROTHERHOOD /prireflájt/ was a coherent group of artists with alternative lifestyles and common theoretical program. They were against practicality of art and believed art should exist only for its esthetical beauty. They thought practical usage of art destroyed it. They went back to early renaissance and Raphael Santi who thought something went wrong with art. They created art only for art's sake, for art to exist just for beauty of itself. They also idealized medieval culture.

CHRISTINA ROSSETTI was writing about failure of relationship between men and. She is best known for her long poem Goblin Market. Her brother DANTE ROSSETTI was a poet and a painter. Together they started the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood of artists who met around 1848 and were referred to as romantics among Victorians. The House of Love is a cycle of sonnets connecting Dante’s idealization of love with exploration of the soul and body relationship.

ALGERNON SWINBURNE was a poet who believed in practical purpose of art, even though he was a part of this grout. He was a young radical and believed that art could play a central role for better transformation of society. Collection Poems and Ballads, poem Dead Love is about a cold heart that resulted from refused love, very pessimistic.