British Romanticism
Introduction
British Romanticism as a literary movement dates back to the eighteenth-nineteenth
centuries, although the term "Romanticism" is such a "troublesome concept"
(Perry, 1998 p.5) that the researchers continue to provide contradictory findings
in regard to Romanticism. This complexity can be explained by the fact that
some scholars point at the possibility to create common concepts of this movement,
while others oppose this viewpoint, revealing numerous definitions and effects
of Romanticism. In general terms, Romanticism is defined as "a movement in
art and literature that emphasises inspiration, subjectivity, and the primacy
of the individual" (Pearsal, 1999 p.1242). In this regard, British Romanticism
is mainly characterised by the rejection of traditional social stereotypes
and by the portrayal of powerful emotions and free will, introducing new concepts
of reality based on imagination and nature. This movement emerged as a result
of social and political changes that had a great impact on various aspects
of British literature. Thus, British Romanticism implements the ideas of individualism
and sentimentalism of the past. The aim of this essay is to critically analyse
the thematic and stylistic features of William Blake's poem Visions of the
Daughters of Albion and Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem The Mask of Anarchy, investigating
in depth the Romantic elements of these poetic works. The earlier criticism
of British Romantic poetry points at the fact that the events and characters
depicted in Romantic poems are fabricated and preoccupied with an idealist
vision that does not reveal reality. However, the recent criticism based on
valid historical analyses goes beyond this limited viewpoint by revealing
that Romantic poetry reflects profound religious, political and social contexts.
According to Everest (1990), Romantic poems are "production of a particular
complex of personalities, social events and developments, at a certain place
and time" (p.87). Such critics as Wolfson (1997), Butler (1982), Erdman (1954)
and Watson (1985) suggest that this is especially true in regard to the poems
of William Blake and Percy Bysshe Shelley, in which the poets depict social
and political conflicts in nineteenth-century Britain.
Analysis of Blake's and Shelley's poems
William Blake was greatly inspired by the concepts of freedom and individuality
that began to spread in Britain after the French Revolution. According to
David Duff, (1998) "for the Romantic poet, the idea of revolution has a special
interest, and a special affinity. For Romanticism seeks to effect in poetry
what revolution aspires to achieve in politics: innovation, transformation,
defamiliarisation" (p.26). In his poem Visions of the Daughters of Albion
Blake reveals his negative attitude to any display of human subjugation and
stresses on the emotions of an oppressed individual.
In particular, Blake portrays a female character Oothoon who is sexually abused
by Bromion, but who continues to point at her inner chastity in her talks
with her lover Theotormon. Through Oothoon the poet rejects the principles
of traditional morality that deprives a woman of freedom and allows males
to take possession over her. Oothoon is treated as a slave by Bromion and
Theotormon, and Blake demonstrates that such treatment is natural for the
world, in which these people exist. Oothoon is psychologically destroyed by
such male attitude; she reveals her suffering and her longing for liberty
when she claims: "Enslav'd, the Daughters of Albion weep; a trembling lamentation
/ Upon their mountains; in their valleys, sighs toward America. / For the
soft soul of America" (Blake, 1988 1-3). The daughters of Albion console Oothoon,
but they can not help her, as the patriarchal world destroys any attempts
to eliminate inequality and subjugation. In this regard, Blake's Romanticism
is based on an ambiguous vision of reality. Although the poet stresses on
the importance of revolution that is able to provide all oppressive groups
of people with freedom, he rejects pure reason of a revolutionary. As Erdman
(1954) claims, in Visions of the Daughters of Albion Blake "was directing
the light of the French Revolution upon the most vulnerable flaw in the British
constitution" (p.211). For instance, Blake implements the images of the eagles
into his poem; these eagles symbolise a resistance to oppression and violence,
thus when Oothoon collides with these eagles, she receives purification and
new insight of the world around her. Such a shift from revolutionary ideas
to imagination demonstrates Blake as an unusual visionary who believes in
the power of imagination. On the other hand, Blake's eagles are destroyed,
as the poem progresses, revealing that the struggle against slavery and social
inequality fails to succeed in the world preoccupied with social restrictions
and strict religious dogmas. In this regard, the poet utilises traditional
symbolic images, such as the images of eagles, to create a new world and a
new vision, demonstrating his Romantic ideals.
Percy Bysshe Shelley is usually regarded as a successor of William Blake,
because the poet also applies to the ideas of freedom and imagination in his
poetry. In The Mask of Anarchy Shelley criticises some political British figures
through the visionary images of Hypocrisy, Murder and Fraud. As Shelley (1977)
puts it, "I met Murder on the way - / He had a mask like Castlereagh - / Very
smooth he looked, yet grim; / Seven bloodhounds followed him" (1-4). The Anarchy
as an embodiment of these three vices takes control over the country, claiming
that "I am God, And King, And Law" (Shelley, 1977 37). Written in the form
of a ballad with allegorical vision, The Mask of Anarchy depicts the destructive
ideology of the British Government during Peterloo Massacre in 1819. According
to Marilyn Butler (1982), "Poetry in a popular style might be dangerous if
it became an ideological weapon in the popular cause" (p.5).
This is just the case with The Mask of Anarchy; however, similar to William
Blake, Shelley goes beyond a simple portrayal of radical ideas of freedom
and equality. In this poem Shelley creates the utopian vision of a concord
between the group of oppressors and the group of oppressed. Susan Wolfson
(1997) considers that such a Romantic portrayal of social and political events
of the nineteenth century reflects Shelley's enormous illusion. As Wolfson
(1997) puts it, this illusion in The Mask of Anarchy results in "a tension
that both sustains the poem's idealism and exposes the ideological bind of
proffering poetry as the thing to be 'done' in political crisis" (p.198).
In this regard, the images that Shelley utilises implicitly point at the British
legal system that is concealed under the principles of justice. Despite the
fact that law is aimed at averting cruelty and terror, Shelley demonstrates
that in reality it inspires the wish for strike in people. In fact, Shelley's
poem is preoccupied with certain human attitudes and features, such as fanatics
and prigs, deceit and pretence. The poet draws a parallel between the tyranny
of the modern world and the tyranny of the medieval era. Thus, when he embodies
Eldon, Sidmouth and Castlereagh in the presented negative images, he reveals
that many people are still obsessed with superstition and cruelty of the Middle
ages.
However, the negative images of Hypocrisy, Murder and Fraud are further changed
for the images of Hope and Shape. In particular, the image of Hope uncovers
the forces that can eliminate anarchy and inequality in Britain, while the
image of Shape reveals Shelley's support for non-violent actions in the struggle
for freedom. The Mask of Anarchy proposes a new form of resistance that is
based on passivity and words rather than on real actions against suppression
and inequality: "Let a vast assembly be, / And. Declare with measured words
that ye / Are. free" (Shelley, 1977 295-298). For Shelley, the non-violent
struggle is the only appropriate way to eliminate any social tensions. Pointing
at the necessity of poor labourers to "rise like lions after slumber" (Shelley,
1977 151), the poet simultaneously restricts their actions. Shelley states
that freedom should not be transformed into a tool for struggle and violence,
as violent actions may only aggravate the situation. Although the thematic
features of Blake's Visions of the Daughters of Albion and Shelley's The Mask
of Anarchy are similar, the stylistic features of the poems differ. This dissimilarity
is explained by the fact that each Romantic poet experimented with literary
forms and tools of expression, trying to achieve integrity between a form
and a meaning. At the beginning of Visions of the Daughters of Albion William
Blake introduces a small poem The Argument that consists of only two stanzas,
revealing the laments of the speaker Oothoon and the principal idea of the
whole poem: "I loved Theotormon / And I was not ashamed; / I trembled in my
virgin fears / And I hid in Leutha's vale!... / But the terrible thunders
tore / My virgin mantle in twain" (Blake 1988 1-8).
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