Post by Save Your Karma on Jul 27, 2007 14:55:36 GMT -5
Deana Kalcich
English
Professor Wilson
March 16, 2007
Romanticism
Lord Byron’s poetry often exemplifies the characteristics that have come to be associated with the Romantic poets; the emphasis of God, the divinity of nature, and the vision of the poet as a an extraordinarily enlightened individual who often serves as a guide who is able to steer the common people into a deeper understanding of life. His “January 22nd. Missologhi” does not venture far from these Romantic ideas. Exhibiting the emphasis on the divinity of nature by using natural elements to describe the cycle of life and the contemplation of the poet on life and death gives “January 22nd. Missologhi” the characteristics of a Romantic poem.
Nature was very important to Romantic writers. In the midst of the Industrial Revolution Romantic writers were desperate to find something outside of the pollution and the horrors of labor. They saw nature as an aspect of the world remaining from God’s original creation. Nature exists by itself, it is not manmade nor does nature require man to take care of it, this self-sustaining quality gives nature a divinity that can only come from a direct creation of God. Romantics also held the view that things in nature were keys to the spiritual world. This believe also gave nature its divine nature in the eyes of the Romantic writers thus nature was to be a large subject for contemplation. Nature was also important because the ideal was held that all human activity originated from nature.
Wordsworth described poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”. Despite this view Wordsworth also believed that poems came from deep contemplation of the subject in which the poem was written on. This deep contemplation of earthly and divine matters gives the poet an enlightened state of being. Different poets believe poetry is the result of different components, some believe poetry to be made of emotions, some of life, some of words, and the Romantic poets were no different. Romantics who believe that poetry is an imitation of life believe it is the poets job to contemplate and interpret life and pass on their wisdom in an artful way. This gives the poet the role of a teacher or interpreter for their readers.
Lord Byron’s “January 22nd. Missologhi ” incorporates the Romantic ideas of the divinity of nature and the elevation of the poet. “January 22nd. Missologhi” seems to express these ideas in the poem in two different sections. The first section of the poem emphasizes the divinity of nature, while the second section is made of the contemplations of the poem.
The view that all human activity stems from nature is evident in Lord Byron’s poem. Lord Byron uses the stages of nature to describe the life cycle. The second stanza of “January 22nd. Missologhi” describe life with the life cycle of trees or plants and the destruction of that life by fire. Line five describes the speaker’s closeness too death, using the example of yellowing leaves in the fall. The speaker in the next line refers to the prime of life. The time in life that life is full of love and vitality. Lord Byron uses the fruits and flowers of spring to describe this time of life. To represent the beauty, the vitality, and the creation associated with adulthood. Flowers, describe the beauty with their bright colors, while the fruit Lord Byron refers to is the means that plants reproduce and is representative of a time when the speaker had such capabilities. Line seven describes the corruption of the fruit by “the worm -- the canker” that induces decomposition and spoils the beauty of the fruit. Lord Byron’s “January 22nd. Missologhi” Through the dying, life, and rebirth of plants Lord Byron shows us the life, death, and continuation of the speaker.
The second section, beginning with line thirteen, the speaker starts to reflect upon his life. The deeds he has done, the way he has lived even reflecting on his ancestral roots. As he reflects he begins to give advice to the reader. The speaker says he cannot share the power of love but he can share himself honorably as a soldier. Though war can be horrible the speaker thinks that a soldier in battle was “not more free”(line 24), and that if a man regrets his youth then he has no reason to live. Finally the speaker ends in how a man must die. How he sought seek the ground for his grave and die. In this contemplation of death the speaker assumes that this is the correct way to go about death, but only his contemplation gives him authority. Even though the speaker is an old man, the description of his life cycle ends with decomposition and though he references the blaze that is his funeral pile, but he speaks of it in the present tense indicating that he is not yet dead, thus his contemplations about death are only what gives his assertions weight. Despite his lack of evidence the speaker’s words have the weight associated with the elevation of the poet. The speaker does not simply lay down and die, it is his reflection that establishes him as enlightened. The speaker thinks about his life and tries to find lessons, which though are not useful to him in his current condition, his then passes these lesson onto the reader in an attempt to make life better or offer advice on how to die.
Romantic poets often use nature in their poems because of nature’s divine disposition. “January 22nd. Missologhi” uses natural elements to show that human beings go through a life and death cycle the way the season’s change. The idea of the enlightened poet is exemplified in the poem’s second section where the speaker is contemplating his life and his death and giving the reader tip so to speak on how to live life and how to die. Both of these elements combine in a great example of Romantic poetry.
English
Professor Wilson
March 16, 2007
Romanticism
Lord Byron’s poetry often exemplifies the characteristics that have come to be associated with the Romantic poets; the emphasis of God, the divinity of nature, and the vision of the poet as a an extraordinarily enlightened individual who often serves as a guide who is able to steer the common people into a deeper understanding of life. His “January 22nd. Missologhi” does not venture far from these Romantic ideas. Exhibiting the emphasis on the divinity of nature by using natural elements to describe the cycle of life and the contemplation of the poet on life and death gives “January 22nd. Missologhi” the characteristics of a Romantic poem.
Nature was very important to Romantic writers. In the midst of the Industrial Revolution Romantic writers were desperate to find something outside of the pollution and the horrors of labor. They saw nature as an aspect of the world remaining from God’s original creation. Nature exists by itself, it is not manmade nor does nature require man to take care of it, this self-sustaining quality gives nature a divinity that can only come from a direct creation of God. Romantics also held the view that things in nature were keys to the spiritual world. This believe also gave nature its divine nature in the eyes of the Romantic writers thus nature was to be a large subject for contemplation. Nature was also important because the ideal was held that all human activity originated from nature.
Wordsworth described poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”. Despite this view Wordsworth also believed that poems came from deep contemplation of the subject in which the poem was written on. This deep contemplation of earthly and divine matters gives the poet an enlightened state of being. Different poets believe poetry is the result of different components, some believe poetry to be made of emotions, some of life, some of words, and the Romantic poets were no different. Romantics who believe that poetry is an imitation of life believe it is the poets job to contemplate and interpret life and pass on their wisdom in an artful way. This gives the poet the role of a teacher or interpreter for their readers.
Lord Byron’s “January 22nd. Missologhi ” incorporates the Romantic ideas of the divinity of nature and the elevation of the poet. “January 22nd. Missologhi” seems to express these ideas in the poem in two different sections. The first section of the poem emphasizes the divinity of nature, while the second section is made of the contemplations of the poem.
The view that all human activity stems from nature is evident in Lord Byron’s poem. Lord Byron uses the stages of nature to describe the life cycle. The second stanza of “January 22nd. Missologhi” describe life with the life cycle of trees or plants and the destruction of that life by fire. Line five describes the speaker’s closeness too death, using the example of yellowing leaves in the fall. The speaker in the next line refers to the prime of life. The time in life that life is full of love and vitality. Lord Byron uses the fruits and flowers of spring to describe this time of life. To represent the beauty, the vitality, and the creation associated with adulthood. Flowers, describe the beauty with their bright colors, while the fruit Lord Byron refers to is the means that plants reproduce and is representative of a time when the speaker had such capabilities. Line seven describes the corruption of the fruit by “the worm -- the canker” that induces decomposition and spoils the beauty of the fruit. Lord Byron’s “January 22nd. Missologhi” Through the dying, life, and rebirth of plants Lord Byron shows us the life, death, and continuation of the speaker.
The second section, beginning with line thirteen, the speaker starts to reflect upon his life. The deeds he has done, the way he has lived even reflecting on his ancestral roots. As he reflects he begins to give advice to the reader. The speaker says he cannot share the power of love but he can share himself honorably as a soldier. Though war can be horrible the speaker thinks that a soldier in battle was “not more free”(line 24), and that if a man regrets his youth then he has no reason to live. Finally the speaker ends in how a man must die. How he sought seek the ground for his grave and die. In this contemplation of death the speaker assumes that this is the correct way to go about death, but only his contemplation gives him authority. Even though the speaker is an old man, the description of his life cycle ends with decomposition and though he references the blaze that is his funeral pile, but he speaks of it in the present tense indicating that he is not yet dead, thus his contemplations about death are only what gives his assertions weight. Despite his lack of evidence the speaker’s words have the weight associated with the elevation of the poet. The speaker does not simply lay down and die, it is his reflection that establishes him as enlightened. The speaker thinks about his life and tries to find lessons, which though are not useful to him in his current condition, his then passes these lesson onto the reader in an attempt to make life better or offer advice on how to die.
Romantic poets often use nature in their poems because of nature’s divine disposition. “January 22nd. Missologhi” uses natural elements to show that human beings go through a life and death cycle the way the season’s change. The idea of the enlightened poet is exemplified in the poem’s second section where the speaker is contemplating his life and his death and giving the reader tip so to speak on how to live life and how to die. Both of these elements combine in a great example of Romantic poetry.