6th Assignment: Alfred Lord Tennyson: Crises of belief and faith central to the age

You've now encountered several literary forms invented or re-purposed by the Victorians, including the Dramatic Monologue, as seen in Robert Browning's narratives, spoken by invented Speaker to silent Listener, and the Novel, as seen in Dickens, Bronte's and Chekhov's stories, which take readers into the mind of various characters.

Melancholy and the restless drive to explore are the two remaining themes permeating Victorian literature.

The problems of belief and incredulity were intently examined by the Victorians. At the very moment the British Empire invited its inhabitants to think they were God's people, those same citizens faced serious challenges to belief in that God. Historical and scientific investigations undermined previously held literal translations of faith. Darwin's findings and Newton's discoveries distanced God from human activity. Despair and anxiety permeated previously held thoughts of an ordered universe.

The role tradition held for the Victorians produced in its writers a brooding melancholic tone, a state of turning inward, self-examination. Poets, in their role as spokespersons of their age, adapted traditional forms like the elegy to address current questions of belief and man's place in the universe. Traditional subjects like the Middle Ages, now shrouded in romanticism, were used as devices to allude to contemporary concerns. Tennyson's belief is the opposite of faith in empire and progress. It informs his poem, "In Memoriam, A.H.H." The speaker in his poem has a personal history, has undergone a change, suffered a loss.

In "The Lady of Shalott" Tennyson uses Arthurian legend to speak about the position of the creative artist in society. The setting suggests Tennyson's attitude about the past. The Lady as a prototype of the artist suggests the speaker's conflict with his own role as an observer of his age.

At the core of a rapidly enlarging empire still holding fast to old forms is a restless drive to explore, to experience more, to break away. The speaker in "Ulysses" expresses a desire "to seek a newer world." This poem suggests that Tennyson, like many Victorians, valued progress, was open to change.

Tennyson, writing ten years after Darwin's published work, Origin of the Species, considers the populist engagement with latest scientific discoveries a contributing source of alarm in the Victorian's faith in a Divine plan for the universe. He introduces up-to-date concerns, warning contemporaries what can happen to a powerful kingdom like Victoria's Britain. In an age of prosperity and progress, England's poets and novelists reminded their countrymen that empires crumble, individuals are fragile and vulnerable, and death awaits us.

5th Assignment: The Brownings in Love/Dramatic Monologue

Dear Students:

Please begin by reading aloud together the two poems by Robert Browning, "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover." The next day, read aloud "Life in a Love," also by Browning, and "Sonnet 43" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert's beloved wife.

I'd like you to read these poems aloud, first, because poetry is meant for the ear, and the more of it we read, the better we instinctively learn to write--for the best writing has a rhythm of it's own (we call it the writer's "voice"). Second, reading aloud is the best introduction to a new poet. Some find poetry rather daunting, so by combining the act of reading aloud with an intellectual study of a poem, a stronger connection begins to evolve--one's brain notes you've made yourself available.

After reading together, I'd like you to discuss what you think these poems mean. It doesn't matter if you're wrong--that's quite alright--especially reading Browning, who intended the sudden surprise when you "get" it. The only hint I'll give you is that Browning, master of the dramatic monologue, has an exceptional command of irony.

Ask yourselves who is speaking in each poem. Is it the author? A particular character? What is the nature of that speaker's character? How is this conveyed? Read the lines carefully. Discuss who the speaker is talking about, how the speaker feels about that person, whether his assumptions are correct. What are the speaker's motivations? Ask what the person being discussed might be like. Keep in mind the time in which these poems take place. Look for examples of the period and contrast them with our society today.

After you've completed the discussion, I'd like you to take out some sheets of paper and carefully go through each line of the poem, making notes. Answer the above questions on paper, but look in depth to discover further how Browning constructs these poems to convey what he has to say. Remember every word of a poem counts, nothing is said without consideration for its meaning and affect on the poem as a whole. Browning's poems are constructed for that "ahah" moment, when the reader really "gets" what the author was conveying.

When you've finished your notes, please show them to your sub. They should be extensive if you've gone over every sentence in the poem.

Finally, I'd like you to do some research down in the computer lab and/or at home. Look up some literary critics, and see what they have to say about these poems. Take notes. If you find certain ideas applicable to forming your paper, write these down with the citation for where they may be found (see Amicitia guidelines). Start to build your own ideas based on your personal notes and your research.

You will be writing two papers:

The first, 2 1/2 pages on "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover."
The second, 1 1/2 pages on either "Life in a Love," or "Sonnet 43."

These are not to be compare and contrast essays, but an analytical analysis of the ideas conveyed in the poems and the author's style. There are a wide range of ways to go about constructing your esay. The intent of this assignment is to acquaint you with these authors and their poetry, so feel free to speak about your own feelings, but always refer to the text when so doing, and bring to your essay some of the research you've done.

Return here Friday for some brief information about the Brownings. I'm doing this backwards (assignment first/lecture second) so that you can discover these poets for yourself.

Your two essays are due Wed, March 17th. Please include your notes made for this assignment. There will be one more short paper for this term.