Romanticism

The Romantic Story, the Raven Surprising enough, the famous story by Edgar Allan Poe, the Raven, is a Romantic poem. Poe was a poet during the Romantic period, making him a romantic writer/poet. Actually he was a dark romantic poet, which makes a little more sense. The Raven typifies Romanticism in many ways, especially when it comes to their connection with God. Also Poe reveals many emotions throughout this poem. Romantics loved and cherished the natural world. They would rather be in the woods than in the city, and they also escaped to nature to find a more emotional and intellectual awakening.

When it comes to God and spiritual beliefs, they place faith in inner experience and the power of imagination, everything including humans is a reflection of the divine soul, physical facts of the natural world are a doorway to the spiritual world, intuition allows people to behold God’s spirit revealed in nature or in their own souls. Dark Romantics explored the conflict between good and evil, the effects of guilt and sin, and the destructive underside of appearances. They also explored the madness in the human psyche as well as the humor of evil. The Raven mainly demonstrates connections to God.

The Romantics believe that their imagination is of great importance in your life and in the Raven the narrators imagination got the best of him and he put faith in his imagination in thinking that his dead wife came back to life. The narrator hears something very quietly tapping on his door. He finally decides to go and answer the door, “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,/Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;/But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,/And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore! /This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore! ‘/Merely this and nothing more” (Poe). In his imagination he saw Lenore, his wife who died and he believed it which shows the importance of the imagination. Romantics also believe that everything is a reflection of the divine soul and in the Raven the raven is a demon or a reflection of the devil. The narrator says “And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,” which shows that he believes the raven is a demon and that the raven will take his soul to hell when he dies (Poe). The main emotions that Poe stressed are morning, grief and sadness.

The narrator is morning the loss of his wife Lenore and he is depressed about it. The narrator was reading late at night to suppress the “sorrow for the lost Lenore” and he was sad and then he thought he saw her come back to life and come to the door (Poe). Poe also shows a few different emotions about how the narrator feels about the raven. He at first is cautious and even scared of the raven, especially since it could talk. He then became amused by the raven and develops a respect for the bird because he came in like he owned the place and started talking, well at least saying one word.

Then by the end of the poem Poe does not like the bird at all and describes him as an “ungainly fowl” (Poe). The Dark Romantic Poet does a wonderful job at typifying Romanticism and expressing many emotions through his poem, the Raven. He shows how much the Romantics valued the imagination by the narrator thinking his dead wife came back to life and also how everything is a reflection of the divine soul by the narrator thinking that the raven is a demon. Poe also mainly stresses how the narrator is morning the loss of his wife and how he is depressed. The Raven is a perfect example of a typical Romantic poem.

As reflected in his painting `Hay Wain`, Constable had naturalist concerns  as compared to the more romanticist elements of Turners work, as exemplified in his painting The Slave Ship. Constable made all the efforts towards rebellion against the cultures of the artists in the application of imagination for the purpose of representation of their art in favor of nature.

He stresses the need to forget having seen any picture in the process of making a sketch. His studies are based on the spot of action in contrast to following any formula. According to Cormack, “The world is wide”, no two days are similar, nor even two hours; neither were there ever two leaves of a tree alike since the creation of all the world; and the genuine productions of art, like those of nature, are all distinct from each other.” (Cormack, 2006).

 In comparison to the work of Turner, he had a less extensive range as well as aspirations. The most suitable definition of Constable is a ‘naturalist’ which through his correspondence, he has successfully as so. However, the stylistic variety of Constable is marred with instability with regard to the perception of the constituent of nature. Further the sites intimately known to him have been the focus of his paintings.

There is no strict uniqueness of the indisputable approach of Constable in as far as the concern of the local scenery is concerned. This is evidenced by the participation of the contemporary artist of the Norwich as well as the conformation to the work of Thomas Christopher, who is an artist of 1777-1843 (Fleming-Williams, 2006). The common practice is the application of oil to sketch from nature.

Turner has made his contribution to in the establishment of a landscape to represent a historical painting although he widely disputes the idea. The single mindedness of Constable is responsible for the portrayal of site of limited range in a unique way producing unprecedented oil sketching of a brilliance capacity (Fraser, 2006).

On the other hand, Turner has a subjective reflection that surpasses far beyond the romantic contemporaries that he possesses with the capacity to foreshadow an image in dissolution in a painting of the 20th century. According to Bailey, the best description of the work of Turner is “airy vision painted with tinted steam” (Bailey, 2007).

As has been visualized in the Slave Ship in an instance that a description is offered of the sharks following the slave ship in reaction to a storm. The sharks react to the scent crowds that steam due to rank diseases as well as death.

There is also an existence of a realistic event involving a slave ship captain dumping human cargo in the sea as result of a disease outbreak below decks. The work of Turner has a clear demonstration of romanticism elements through the employment of disjoint diagonals. The consequence is composition fragmentation (Kelder, 2000).

Turner, the terrific creator had the potential for the application of unique invention for the purpose of liberating color from line definition for the purpose of the expression of the natural forces for the purpose of its unity to the stirring response of the artists.

This leads to uniting emotions reality to the color reality. Used as an abstract media, the work of Turner was associated with unpredictable effects. This is seen in the nature of ultimate painting element evident in his innovations due to the emotive as well as aesthetic strength of his application of pure color (Leslie, 2005).

In this paper I’m going to describe in what way Jim Morrison projects the majority of the characteristics of the Byronic Hero. In the first hand, I need to make a clear and consistent statement concerning the most typical features of the conventional Byronic Hero. Thorsley, the influential researcher of the Romanticism, gives the following account of the Byronic Hero: “…the Byronic Hero is the one protagonist who in stature and in temperament best represents the [heroic] tradition in England. ” The image of the Byronic Hero is surprisingly controversial. He is usually disapproved and disregarded by the larger part of the society.

Thorsley notes that, “with the loss of his titanic passions, his pride, and his certainty of self-identity, he loses also his status as hero. ” Now let me list the typical features of a typical Childe Harold successor and analyze to what extent a specific feature applies to the charismatic personality of James Douglas Morrison. In order to do it, I’m going to analyze his biography and some characteristics of his personality and musical heritage. The Byronic Hero is an extraordinary and talented young man. The tremendous success of Jim Morrison leaves no doubt in his enormous talent and energy.

I dare say he was a genius for the ample reason that if we speak about the overall history of contemporary music, we should remember only two names, the Beatles and the Doors, and the Doors in the first place. Secondly, the Byronic Hero is rebellious and opposes almost all social laws and norms. He deliberately distances himself from the social institutions. This feature was characteristic of Jim Morrison from the early childhood and youth. He used to question authority and for that he was dismissed from the scout club. At night, he used to leave home secretly and go to crowded and disreputable bars.

His juvenile misbehaving soon evolved into a consistent social protest expressed trough music and show. Philosophies of Protest was his favorite course in Florida State University. He rejected social institution, and we find evidence for it in the fact that he had never been married. Instead, he “married” Patricia Kennealy in a Celtic pagan ceremony. The Byronic Hero is never impressed by rank and privilege though he may possess it. Jim Morrison might have become a representative of the “golden youth” with good education, good job and stable social position. But his choice was in favour of the flamboyant bohemian lifestyle.

Another feature worth mentioning is intelligence. The conventional Byronic Hero is well-red and possibly well-bread. Jim Morrison took a keen interest in self-education; he devoted time to reading Nietzsche, Jung, Ginsberg, Joyce and Balzac. He derived inspiration in the writing of French symbolists, especially Rimbaud. It’s very interesting to observe that Arthur Rimbaud himself was an exemplary Byronic Hero, with his dark passions and impressive talents. By the age of fifteen, Jim was a gifted poet and painter; some sources argue that Jim Morrison had an IQ of 149.

He has got good education and seen the world. This again proves that Jim Morrison projects the predominant majority of the features of the Byronic Hero. Another indicator of the Byronic Hero is the exile, usually imposed by the young men himself. Paris exile is an essential part of Jim Morrison’s biography. Jim escaped to Paris with Pamela Courson. He did so because he disliked being treated as a celebrity. He was unsatisfied with the absence of seriousness with which he was treated as an American poet. Paris seemed to provide an asylum. The Byronic Hero is continually depressed and melancholy.

It’s reported that in Paris Jim searched for a sense of life and a sense himself in the world as well as for inspiration to create impressive poetry. But even in the city of great poets Jim was constantly uninspired and severely depressed. The Byronic Hero is unusually handsome and inextricably attractive, often to both sexes. I dare label Jim Morrison as the most prominent male sex-symbol of the 20th century. The Childe Harold successor is isolated and self-reliant. Although Morrison was passionate with woman, he never sometimes rejected people at all.

While studying at the university, Jim lived in a house with five other students. Soon, due to his same heckling shenanigans, his roommates asked him to move out. This scenario repeated several time during Morrison’s life career. Thorsley finds a great definition of the Byronic Hero, and Jim Morrison perfectly fits it. The researcher writes that the Hero is “larger than life,” in his feelings, talent, ambition and pride. The Byronic Hero is self-destructive in the longer run. That’s the most substantial argument in proving Jim Morrison connection with the discussed image.

His addiction to alcohol and drugs that progressed during the course of his life was his titanic passion. Finally, he is believed to have died from drug overdose. He abused large quantity of heroin without knowing what exact drug it was. The consequences were easy to foresee. The ingestion of such a large quantity of a drug he had never used before caused a shock and the heart attack. Another version suggests that he did it deliberately, and the case was a typical example of a suicide. Anyway, Morrison, as a typical Byronic Hero, is a master of his own life and death.

Another quality of the Byronic Hero is the ability to stay forever young. Jim Morrison died at the age of 27. Those, whom Gods love, die young. The only counter-evidence I was able to discover, is the fact that the conventional Byronic Hero is distressed by a terrible thing he committed in the past; has a hidden curse or crime. This burden forces him into a voluntary exile. We can’t say that Morrison was constantly followed by the memories of his past. His only serious and continuous crime was connected to drug abuse, but that was typical of him during all the lifetime.

But I can minimize the importance of this evidence. When he escaped to Paris, he faced a tragic dilemma in his life. His two soul-mates, Pamela Courson and Patricia Kennealy, both demanded his love. Many say that his devotion to Patricia Kennealy was greater, but Pamela let him continue his experiments with alcohol and drugs. He may have always felt guilt and regret for leaving Patricia. I consider that this essay proves with essential argumentation and evidence that Jim Morrison projects almost all the features of the Byronic Hero.

James Douglas Morrison was charismatic and talented, attractive and handsome, melancholy and drug-addicted, self-destructive and often isolated. He experienced exile, guilt and depression. So I strongly deem that there are substantial grounds to state that Jim Morrison projects almost all the characteristic of the conventional Byronic Hero. Sources: Stephen Davis, Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend, Gotham Books, 2004. James Riordan, Jerry Prochinichy, Break on Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison, Perennial Currents, 1992. Peter L. Thorslev, Romantic Contraries: Freedom Versus Destiny, Yale Univ Pr. , 1984.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the transformation of the Byronic Hero from its creation in early Greek theatre through classical English literature and 19th-Century Russian literature to the modern times. The Byronic Hero is probably one of the most widespread literary types. Under the term ‘Byronic Hero’ literary critics conventionally mean a young man, well-bred and intelligent but rebellious and usually disapproved and disregarded by the larger part of the society. He is an exile and ultimately self-destructive:

‘For the Byronic overreacher, who longs to fulfil his divine aspirations, the human body is a form of imprisonment’ (Wu, 2005, p. 891). A typical Byronic Hero not always handsome, yet always inextricably attractive, often to both sexes: ‘Not exactly handsome, the Byronic hero is magnetically attractive, with a piercing gaze and an air of mystery. His face seems to signify that he is haunted by some terrible crime’ (Polidori, Le Fanu & Stoker, 2002, p. 6). Thorsley (1984, p. 189), an influential researcher of Romanticism, gives the following account of the Byronic Hero:

‘…the Byronic Hero is the one protagonist who in stature and in temperament best represents the [heroic] tradition in England. ’ The image of the Byronic Hero is surprisingly controversial. He is usually disapproved and disregarded by the larger part of the society. Thorsley (1984, p. 187) notes that, ‘with the loss of his titanic passions, his pride, and his certainty of self-identity, he loses also his status as hero. ’ It is more than self-evident that the classical Byronic Heroes is Byron’s Childe Harold. The Canto I from the Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage provides an excessive proof for all the abovementioned images of a Byronic Hero.

The following lines can be interpreted as the example of rebellious nature of the Byronic Hero: ‘Who ne in virtue’s ways did take delight/But spent his days in riot most uncouth…’ (Canto I, 2, lines 1-2) A Byronic hero is melancholic and ‘sick at heart’: ‘And now Childe Harold was sore sick at heart…’ (Canto I, 6, line 1) Finally, a Byronic hero is constantly wandering and forcing himself to voluntary exile: The Childe departed from his father’s hall…’ (Canto I, 7, line 1) So we see that the Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage outlines a conventional image of a Byronic hero.

Different variations of the Byronic Hero can be found in literature and popular culture, yet all of them are united by certain distinguishing features: ‘The Byronic hero strives to penetrate the barriers of nature and history, whether it be Manfred in the Hall of Arimanes, Cain with Lucifer in Hades, or Harold exploring the historical topography of Europe’ (Wu, 1999, p. 479). All the aforementioned examples are taken from Romantic literature. However, it is important to note that the Byronic Hero emerged much earlier than the epoch of Childe Harold.

Precursors of this typical hero of English Romanticism can be traced back to Greek theatre. The notion of hamartia is intrinsically linked to the early development of the Byronic Hero: ‘Another primary characteristic of the classical ideal of the tragic hero was the hamartia, or the tragic flaw. Generally, this flaw was hubris, or excessive pride in one’s position or abilities that led to a failure to exercise proper judgment in a situation. This lack of judgment led the hero along the wrong path and thus brought about his fall’ (Broussard, 2000, para. 4).

Classical Greek tragedies always feature a tragic hero who can be regarded as the earliest embodiment of the Byronic Hero. The Byronic Hero is present in literary Gothicism as one of the literary trends within the tradition of Romanticism. In the Romantic literature, two different types of heroes can be found, namely Satanic Hero and Byronic Hero. Byronic hero is associated predominantly with female features, and power isn’t his attribute – he is characterized by meekness and tenuity. To the contrary, the Satanic hero bears all the typical masculine features and is associated with impressive and aggressive power.

In fact, Satan is also believed to be an early version of the Byronic Hero. Despite some apparent differences, these two literary types have much in common: ‘Like Satan, the Byronic hero is an outsider and an overreacher, though the divine Law that he violates is not the First Commandment but the Seventh, a sin often involving not only adultery but incest’ (Polidori, Le Fanu & Stoker, 2002, p. 6). As for the classical period in literature, Heathcliff from ‘Wuthering Heights’ is another example of Byronic hero. He is only obsessed by his love for Cathy and hatre for everyone all the rest:

‘In the uncouth, passionate Heathcliff, Bronte creates a Byronic hero who lives outside conventional morality’ (Platt & Matthews, 2003, p. 509). Captain Ahab from ‘Moby Dick’ is sometimes also cited as a Byronic Hero, although there no broad consensus among critics: ‘Captain Ahab’s rebellious nature and attitude towards existing norms illustrates his Byronic qualities, as well as the overall dark nature of his humanity’ (Hospelhorn & Nicolson, 2003, ‘Moby Dick’). Byronic Hero found new incarnation in classic Russian literature.

Such notable writers as Alexander Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, Alexander Pushkin, and Mikhail Lermontov all contributed to the emergence of the phenomenon later referred to as ‘the Russified Byronic Hero’; it is also important to point out that this type of the Byronic Hero was significantly different from the classical interpretation (Malone, 2006). Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, an important representative of Russian Romanticism and Byronism, creates a hero in Sturm und Drang style, heavily influenced by other ramifications of European Romanticism (Bagby, 1995).

Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin is also perceived as another example of ‘the Russified Byronic Hero’; he prefers loneliness to happiness and forces himself into voluntary isolation, caught in the everlasting ennui. Another variation of this type of Byronic Hero can be found in Turgenev’s ‘A Hero of our Time’: ‘Bazarov, as an extreme example of the tragic Byronic hero, generates his own moral code within his society and proves to have a rebellious nature towards the stereotypical society boundaries in which he is held’ (Hospelhorn & Nicolson, 2003, ‘A Hero of our Time’).

At the same time, Pechorin from Lermontov’s ‘Fathers and Sons’ is believed to be the classical example of Russified Byronic Hero: ‘Perchorian displays byronic qualities as a wandering nomad, unable to establish lasting permanance with the society that created him. Lermontov was a noted scholar of Byron; incorporating his writings into much of his own literature and poetry’ (Hospelhorn & Nicolson, 2003, ‘Fathers and Sons’). Lermontov is credited for the creation of another vivid example of Byronic Hero in Russian literature, the Demon. In general, Lermontov contributed a lot to the evolution of Byronic hero in Russian poetry:

‘Lermontov’s early Byronic poems constituted one of the major phenomena of Russian romanticism, while his poems ‘The Demon’ and ‘Mtsyri’ demonstrate re-evaluation of Byronic ideas and the crisis of poetic individualism’ (Muraviev, 2005, para. 1). Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov from ‘Crime and Punishment’ is sometimes regarded to be Realistic hero; however, he bears numerous traits that are typical for Byronic Hero: ‘As in the case with the earlier Russian Byronic heroes, Rodion Raskolnikov’s isolation is not physical, but stems from his mental isolation from, and feeling of superiority over, the society in which he lives.

Since his status above his contemporaries cannot be reinforced by physically distancing himself from them, Raskolnikov cultivates a mental and spiritual isolation’ (Malone, 2006, para. 5). In the modern time, the recreation of the Byronic Hero is often attributed to Albert Camus in his novel ‘The Rebel’: ‘But it was Camus’s recreation, in modern terms, of the solitary Byronic hero, who resists fate and an alien world by defiant acts, which brought the cult so vividly to life and gave it actual meaning to youth on both sides of the Rhine’ (Johnson, 2001, p.

575). As for the contemporary incarnation of the Byronic Hero, the brightest example is found in popular culture rather than literature. Jim Morrison projects the majority of the characteristics of the Byronic Hero. The Byronic Hero is an extraordinary and talented young man. The tremendous success of Jim Morrison leaves no doubt in his enormous talent and energy. Secondly, the Byronic Hero is rebellious and opposes almost all social laws and norms. He deliberately distances himself from the social institutions.

This feature was characteristic of Jim Morrison from the early childhood: he used to question authority and for that he was dismissed from the scout club; at night, he used to leave home secretly and go to crowded and disreputable bars. His juvenile misbehaving soon evolved into a consistent social protest expressed trough music and show. ‘Philosophies of Protest’ was his favorite course in Florida State University. Morrison rejected social institution, and we find evidence for it in the fact that he had never been married. Instead, he ‘married’ Patricia Kennealy in a Celtic pagan ceremony.

The Byronic Hero is never impressed by rank and privilege though he may possess it. Jim Morrison might have become a representative of the ‘golden youth’ with good educational background, stable job, and respectable position in the society. But his choice was in favour of the flamboyant bohemian lifestyle. The conventional Byronic Hero is well-red and possibly well-bread. Jim Morrison took a keen interest in self-education; he devoted time to reading Nietzsche, Jung, Ginsberg, Joyce and Balzac. He derived inspiration in the writing of French symbolists, especially Rimbaud.

It’s very interesting to observe that Arthur Rimbaud himself was an exemplary Byronic Hero, with his dark passions and impressive talents. Another indicator of the Byronic Hero is the exile, usually imposed by the young men himself. Paris exile is an essential part of Jim Morrison’s biography. The Byronic Hero is continually depressed and melancholy. It is reported that in Paris Jim searched for a sense of life and a sense himself in the world as well as for inspiration to create impressive poetry. But even in the city of great poets Jim was constantly uninspired and severely depressed.

Making an overall conclusion, it is necessary to remind that the figure of the Byronic Hero is first found in classical Greek theatre in the form of the tragic hero. During the Middle Ages, the literary figure of Satan was developed as a prototype of the Byronic Hero. The classical example of this literary type is Byron’s Childe Harold. Numerous examples in classical literature prove that this type was appealing to the reader, especially in the era of Romanticism. Russified Byronic Hero is one of the most notable variations of this literary type. French symbolists and Albert Camus reinvented the Byronic Hero at the dawn of the 20th century.

The Byronic Hero remains attractive to the audience now and is widely used in popular culture. References Bagby, Lewis. Alexander Bestuzhev-Marlinsky and Russian Byronism. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995. Lord Byron. Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Teddington, UK: Echo Library, 2006. Johnson, Paul M. Modern Times Revised Edition: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, Revised ed. , 2001. Thorslev, Peter L. Romantic Contraries: Freedom Versus Destiny. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984. Platt, Dewitt, and Roy Matthews.

Western Humanities, Complete. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Polidori, John William, Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan, and Bram Stoker. Three Vampire Tales: Dracula, Carmilla, and The Vampyre. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Wu, Duncan. Companion to Romanticism. Malden: Blackwell Publishing Limited, 1999. Wu, Duncan. Romanticism: An Anthology. Malden: Blackwell Publishing Limited, Third ed, 2005. Broussard, Jonathan. ‘Diabolos Herodes: Victor Hugo’s Presentation of Satan as a Heroic Figure, Or The Devil With a Cause. ’ April 6, 2000. August 19, 2007. <http://students. mcneese. edu/jb6366/devil. html>

Hospelhorn, Sarah, and Andrew Nicolson. ‘Byronic Heroes in Russian Literature. ’ April 2003. August 19, 2007. <http://www. angelfire. com/ex/russian224/literarybyronic. htm> Malone, Caitlin. ‘Cloak and Axe: Dostoevsky’s Raskolnikov as a Byronic Hero. ’ The Birch, a Journal of Eastern European and Eurasian Culture. Fall 2006. August 19, 2007. <http://www. thebirchonline. org/cloakandaxe. htm> Muraviev, O. S. ‘Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov (1814 – 1841). ’ Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 2005. August 19, 2007. <www. pushkinskijdom. ru/Default. aspx? tabid=1249>

The American writers tried to figure out what ‘American’ could mean—they were out to find a unique personality, a separate identity to the American literature, and the way of life, that was distinctly American and not British. This struggle fired them and took them to the portals of creativity. Their vision was to outgrow the concepts of guilt, evil, salvation, providential aspects of Puritanism, and search about the fiery rhetoric of equality and freedom. In the glorious years of 1850-1855, emerged writers like Emerson. The materialistic approach unavoidable in the circumstances then prevailing cost America the mind and the spirit.

To blend 150 communities into a Nation was not an ordinary job. Writers like Emerson, moved away from the influences of stern dogmas and looked out for new spiritual roots. Materialistic theories for education were resisted. Truth is a matter of intuition and individual experience, and it transcends the borders of reason. Human beings need to follow the dynamic spirit, without destructive approach. Good literature must not go by the rules and it should appeal to the heart. To such writers Christ in the heart was more important than the cross on the neck!

The ideas of Cultural Revolution became popular, even though many did not understand its exact definition and implications. The ‘clash’ of writes of the time continued; they influenced each other, though each denied such influence to assert their right as romantic individualists. Poe (who died in 1849) wrote about Emerson in his works, Emerson bought his writings to a creative boil etc. The hero of American Romanticism was Emerson, the literary giant, who kindled the creative fires in his time. He touched all the sensitive parts of the American psyche. The sentiments of an individual on the same topic vary from time to time.

An authentic quality about thinkers and genuine writers is that they are willing to think; give room to accommodate; willing to accept, when necessary and reject outright, when required to do so. Emerson’s ‘Moral Sentiment’ and Poe’s ‘Poetic Sentiment’ often clash. Emerson viewed Poe as a man of dissipation. This is just short of telling that he is an evil-incarnation. He also considered Poe as a man of stern reasons, without heart. Poe was the genius of imaginative literature, but he lacked humanity, so essential for the standard of living and standard of life of the society.

The evil influences of Satan in the writings of Poe were seen by many contemporary writers, including Emerson. Soon other writers began to narrow down the margin of difference between the writings of Emerson and Poe. The gap between Poe’s “poetic sentiment” and Emerson’s “moral sentiment” was much narrower. Critics created such a controversy and erected artificial barriers without going into the merits of the case. The spirit of the age to which the poets and writers live counts a lot and it has profound influence on their writings. The ‘generation gap.

’ in the wide sense does the trick. Also, their ideas on relationship between art and morality, were actually of little consequence, once the influence of time-element is deleted from their views and writings. Viewed impartially, Emerson’s “Moral Sentiment’ and Poe’s “Poetic Sentiment” are the alternative beats of the same heart. Both wish to transcend the borders of reason, as they are aware that the bliss of truth is available for experiencing only when the last hurdle of the mind is crossed. Experience divinity through moral sentiment or poetic sentiment—it is one and the same!

It is reasonable to assume that once they reach the ‘beyond the mind’ state, the poetic sentiments and the moral sentiments merge, because in essence, they are one and the same. The mind level critics can not understand Emerson or Poe! Their position is like the Surgeon in the allegory! He once questioned a Realized Soul, “Revered Master, I am a surgeon of international reputation. In the course of my professional duties, I have cut each and every part of the human body. But I haven’t seen your God anywhere! ” “Is it so? ” asked the Realized Soul, “Then you must have at least come across human emotions like love, anger, greed, etc.

when you performed those operations! ”… The perplexed Surgeon said, “These are mind-level emotions. How can one see them? ” Now it was the turn of the Realized Soul to deliver the clincher. He said, “You are unable to see the emotions, which belong to the domain of mind. How can you see God, for experiencing whom, you need to transcend the borders of mind and enter the realm of divinity? ” In fact, both Poe and Emerson wrote from the level of progression of their minds, and the time-element played an important role, as they tried to give the verbatim report of their intuitive experiences.

Even the narrowest differences at the highest level become wide disagreements. It is not correct to conclude that Poe and Emerson always thought on identical lines. Apart from the above two sentiments, there are wide, irreconcilable differences between the two. Art takes the secondary position as far as Emerson is concerned. His main concern is Over-Soul. Art is just means to an end. For Poe, it is the end in itself. While asserting thus, he touches the portals of spiritual realm, but refuses to cross the last barrier of the mind.

Perhaps it is this search for eternal truth that kindles the curiosity of Poe to create romantic hero like Auguste Dupin Poe is the undisputed ancestor of a detective genre of stories. The search in a fiction and real search in individual lives invite comparison. The reason for crime-perpetration (evil) is the age-old investigative querry of humanity. His detective story “The Murder in the Rue Morgue” (1841) is the case in point. In this story Poe describes about the same pairs of opposites that govern and dominate human life, good and evil, which are important biblical subjects.

Even today Dupin is the most admired and popular detective character. The most important asset of Dupin is his capacity for observation and ability to draw correct conclusions. His analytical mind was his natural gift which he used intelligently to arrive at decisions. Poe created this unique character when the detective genre of literature did not exist. One can observe similarities between the traits of seeker of truth and the who wishes to get at the truth of complicated issues. The time-element and the historical background have the dominant influence on the writings of an author.

Viewed from this angle Emerson belonged to the volatile time of the American History, when the American society was going through convulsions. Such situations fire the mind of a creative author. Emerson has been hailed as the greatest prose writer of this century. There are solid grounds why Emerson’s essays are all-time greats. Such writing is possible for a brilliant mind, one who has the warm-heart and above all, one who has touched, and at times crossed the borders of reason-transcended the mind-barrier to enter the portals of divinity. He has definitely experienced the flashes of divinity within him!

The sum and substance of his essays is– life is to be lived in its trials and tribulations its duty and beauty with total respect and surrender for the Over-Soul that looks after the smallest and biggest actions and aspirations of an individual. Don’t seek concession, but make relentless efforts for Self-Realization, argues Emerson. The important themes depicted in Emerson’s ‘Circles’, are too profound for the ordinary mind to comprehend. Theme number one is, there are no fixed points and the second one, that the key to every man is his thoughts.

The import of the first point can be understood not by intellectuals but by the spiritually-oriented. The concept is equivalent to that of Maya (a Sanskrit word, roughly translated-illusion) of the Advaita (Non-dualism) Philosophy of the East, more specifically India! By arguments and counter-arguments, this point can not be proved, and therefore the rationalistic mind would not accept this. For example, when Bertrand Russell said, “Mental fear creates God,” it actually doesn’t make any difference to God! Russell is speaking from his mental level.

Emerson, talking about the essential and real nature of things can be explained through an example: Howsoever powerful and big may be the waves in an ocean, their essential nature is mere water! Mind is nothing but the bundle of thoughts. When the thought process is changed, the action process is also changed. When the thoughts are changed, the mind is changed, when the mind is changed; the man is changed; when the man is changed, the society is changed. There are inconsistencies in our perception and in our capacities for articulating ideas—this is bound to happen.

Everyone speaks from the level of his progression, as cited in the example of Bertrand Russell, above. Such capacity is inborn as well as acquired. When Poe posits the figure of Auguste Dupin, whose perspective appears to supersede all partial perceptions, one needs to understand that he is thinking from the level of his perceptions about life. That can’t be and need not be truth. Poe’s conception of final intelligence is comparable with Emerson’s assertion that such finality is unattainable through the process and methods of intelligence and reason.

That is the transcendental experience to be experienced, and no words can describe it for understanding by the masses. It is the level of unspeakable truth. It is the sweetest sound —the silence within! Auguste Dupin is an analytical genius. How come he became the genius? What is the secret behind his extraordinary abilities? Dupin lives in isolation, he is a completely detached individual, and this detachment gives him the extra power of close observation and he comes to correct conclusions. Police are in the middle of everything and are habituated to work in noise pollution (of the mind?

) But Dupin works in ‘silence. ’ By depicting this style for working, Poe castigates the various social institutions, which are incapable of providing proper facilities and full justice to the people. Dupin is not attached to anybody and he is working without the motivated desires. =============== References Cited: Emerson, Ralph Waldo: Essays & Poems Emerson (Everyman’s Library) Publisher: Orion Publishing Group, Ltd. (March 15, 1995) Poe, Edgar Allan: Thompson G. R. (Editor): The Selected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe (Norton Critical Editions) Publisher: W. W. Norton; 1st edition (April 2004)

The first phone call from heaven tells the story of a small town called Coldwater, Michigan. The story begins when one Friday a number of people started receiving a call from their loved ones who have already died saying that life after death is wonderful, that they are happy in heaven . Tess is contacted by her mother whom she had nursed during her illness, Katherine received a call from her sister to whom she had been so close until her death from an aneurysm, Elias Rowe is phoned by a man who blames him for his death, and Jack, the chief of police is contacted by Robbie, his son who got killed in Afghanistan.

At first, those people who are receiving the calls hesitated to share the news with others for fear of mockery. Until, Katherine Yellin announces on their church congregation that she is receiving a call from her dead sister. The news spread instantly, some are convinced it’s a miracle, some said it’s a hoax but whatever it is made Coldwater the center of media and people’s attention. People are drawn to this town to be a part of this miraculous phenomenon. National news reporters are sent in to cover the story. The police force is increased to maintain order among the supporters and protesters and also phone demands increased.

One man named Sully Harding, recently lost his wife and struggling to be a father to a young son, strongly believes that there is no such thing as miracle and it hurts him seeing his son, Jules waiting and hoping that his mother will call him soon. Driven by this event, Sully is determined to prove whether these “phone calls from heaven” is true or not. He begins to investigate on his own, Sully, working for a newspaper business, finds that working on print business provide access to information that just might find the missing link that ties all these phone calls together.

It involves cell phone carriers, amount of time since death, and a few other things that are too similar to ignore. With the help of Elias Rowe and the young girl from town’s library, he learns a couple of facts that the calls only come in on Friday, and each recipient happens to have the same cell phone plan. Something isn’t right and Sully didn’t stop investigating until he figures out what it is. Sully soon uncovered the surprising truth, he learned that the calls that other people are receiving has connection on what happened the day his wife died.

Sully was in the air force, he was flying in a fighter jet when he decided to make a pit stop to visit his wife. Upon landing on the airport he was given a poor flight instruction by a young traffic controller on a bad mood. Due to this poor instruction Sully’s plane collided with a small Cessna resulting on accident and deaths. Sully’s wife, Giselle, was speeding to the airport when he saw the smoke from the accident and panicked and the air traffic controller who causes the accident sped away and crashed on Sully’s wife that results death for both of them.

The father of deceased air traffic controller, Elliot Gray, has military intelligence experience that he was able to destroy all the data that would have implication to his son, and put all the blame on Sully, causing his imprisonment. Afterwards, the father of the dead controller accessed voicemails of different people in order to put together words and phrases that would make it seem like a call from their loved ones from heaven. The call is actually aimed for Sully, it is out of guilt for the death of Giselle but he never got the call.

After Sully confronts the perpetrator, he sped away from the perpetrator’s home with the news about the hoax but the snowstorm sent him off the road and onto the frozen lake. Then, his phone rang, it was Giselle, his wife telling him to get out of the car because the car is going to plunge in the ice. Sully did so just in time. Then, laying on the snowbank, he heard the siren of an ambulance. Someone had called 911, he was brought in the hospital and after he spoke with the chief police officer.

He learned that the Horace called in the station saying that there is a dead man at his property and when the police arrived that dead man was Elliot Gray himself. At the end of the story, Sully has proven that the “phone calls from heaven” are hoax. Thus, when he thought that it was Giselle’s voice Elliot last manipulated he scrolls his phone and check the unknown number which he heard Giselle’s voice on the car accident and realized that the call was made an hour after Elliot’s death. Sully realized that after all, he got a real phone call from heaven.

Industrialism during the Victorian Period serves as the new beginning of the age. From a conservative era, industrialism played a significant role to the modernity and liberty of the period from the past civilizations; this transformation does not only affect the social, economic, and political aspects of the period but also its literature. Many writers, authors, and poets emerged during the industrialism that brought new light and path to the beginning and renovation of Victorian Period.

Industrialism affects the Victorian Poetry as well as the novels of the era. Through poetry, the poets are capable in describing the lives and situations of the people in longer verses. Within the concept of Romantic poetry, industrialism develops a deeper perspective as it contains social change. Therefore, it can be said that industrialism opens the door of power and alteration to the traditional construction of literature specifically the Victorian Poetry. Matthew Armold is one of the most popular poets during the Victorian Period.

His works described the transformation of European lifestyle from Romanticism to Industrialism. However, the concept of industrialism in Arnold’s poetry can be seen within the context of romantic drama. Some of these are “The Buried Life”, “Dover Beach”, and “The Scholar Gypsy. ” Arnold’s “The Buried Life” is about the situations of the whole society. The narrator of the poem discusses the difference between men and women’s identity during the period where women are already part of the society.

Women have better opportunities and status through the existence of different laws and policies imposed by the system. “I knew the mass of men conceal’d / Their thoughts, for fear that if reveal’d / They would by other men be met / With blank indifference, or with blame reproved; / I knew they lived and moved / Trick’d in disguises, alien to the rest / Of men, and alien to themselves–and yet / The same heart beats in every human breast! (Arnold, 16-23)” the poem describes hope for new beginning.

The emotions within the poem show happiness with sort of questioning the new trend of the society. The construction of the poem is in the context of Romanticism but as the reader understands the point of the narrator, it will be seen that the poem symbolizes change that opens various transition from the conservative formation of the society to the liberal context. The basic example is the concept of ‘breast’ that shows different meanings and essence.

Throughout the poem – whether a part of woman’s body, a depiction of femininity, womanhood, or motherhood, and also a descriptive word to described the transformation of woman’s status into the society. On the other way around, the “Dover Beach” described the flow of social change – like the sea, there is no assurance where it goes but it will take the calmness of life while enduring the pain of thunderstorms and winds. The narrator shows the religious side of the poem where there is a concept of faith and destiny.

The attack of the author within his poem is simple but spontaneous to the acquisition of knowledge from the environment and religion. “So various, so beautiful, so new, / Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, / Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; / And we are here as on a darkling plain / Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, / Where ignorant armies clash by night (Arnold, 32-37). ” It also shows how religion transformed in a significant basis where it has its own way of defining the word ‘faith;’ through the discussion of radical journey of the narrator and his society.

In the poem, the narrator discusses how happy he is to obtain new form of living. Though it is different from the common good, it gives new light to conquer the upcoming circumstances of life. Like “The Buried Life,” the “Dover Beach” is also constructed in romantic idea where there is love, happiness, and traditional style of passion but Arnold created the poem not to discuss its romantic essence because he wants to convey the impact of industrialism to the whole society of Victorian Period.

The point of view of the poem is based on the concept of transition from one angle to another and also the emotions of the public towards it. The “Scholar Gypsy,” is about the new age of ideas and knowledge of the Victorian Peiord. The narrator discusses the new way of acquiring learning from the new formed society. Because industrialism demonstrates several changes like the English class structure, the poem discusses the manifestations of these changes to the academic institutions and the system as a whole.

The poem literally described the life of a man who lived in a country side. In the beginning, his life is the usual depiction of human life – happy and contented in his simple being. However, he could not accept the social transformation that emerged in his environment and led him to escape from modernity to hide from the corners of the forest and live alone. He is not prepared with the transition that is why he could not learn the new idea of alteration from conservative to liberal society. “And then they land, and thou art seen no more.

/ Maidens who from the distant hamlets come / To dance around the Fyfield elm in May, / Oft through the darkening fields have seen thee roam, / Or cross a stile into the public way (Arnold, 80-85). ” The poem discusses the new life of Victorian period in general. It shows how women work, how men live, how the system evolves, and how the society changed. This is a general viewing of the whole renovation where there are new policies and laws that will protect both men and women. Women could dance for joy while men became busier with their lives and careers.

As a conclusion, the three poems have different attacks and perspectives on the issue of industrialism during the Victorian Period. Matthew Arnold described the different angles on how men and women of the society accepted the new lifestyle of the era. Some became happy but some also disappeared because of this renovation. In the beginning of industrialism, the Victorian Period made a success because of the different changes happened and nurtured the whole society but as it went through its end, these changes benefited some but not everyone in this period.

The three poems showed how the industrialism affects the people or the whole nation. Through these verses, we could be able to understand what the people had experienced during those times. Works Cited Arnold, Matthew. “Scholar-Gipsy. ” Bartleby. com 17 November 2008. http://www. bartleby. com/101/751. html Arnold, Matthew. “Dover Beach. ” 17 November 2008. http://www. victorianweb. org/authors/arnold/writings/doverbeach. html Arnold, Matthew. “The Buried Life. ” 17 November 2008. http://www. victorianweb. org/authors/arnold/writings/buriedlife. html