Tennyson - The Victorian Age

The Victorian age was named after queen Victoria of England. The era reflects men and women’s different classes in society. During that period, people were identified by ranks. Ranks were based on family name, economic wealth, and education. Men had a higher social status than women. Women were viewed more as second class citizens; they had no rights and therefore, could not enjoy the same privileges as their male counterparts. They where expected to be responsible for domestic duties and obey their husbands.

This view expressed by Tennyson in the poem “The Princess” published in1847 explains the division of gender roles during the Victorian age:

“Man for the field and women for the hearth:

Man for the sword and for the needle she:

Man with the head and women with the heart:

Man to command and woman to obey:

All else confusion.”

She portrayed men as strong and smart individuals. They belong in the battle field: “Man for the sword and for the needle she:” The term ladies and gentlemen was used to classify people. The gentlemen were groups of men that had the opportunity to attend school and acquired the skills that would help them behave like those above them in society. The ladies were the women that were married to those men or the daughters of affluent families. Although these women enjoyed the benefits of being born in rich families or linked to the men by marriage, they did not possess a true identity. They could not vote, nor could they make important decisions even in their own families.

Women’s rights have greatly improved since the Victorian Age. Women can now do mostly everything that men do. They enjoy the same education, social status, and economic power as men. Even tough we still need to continue to work on women’s rights; we have come a long way since the 18^th century.

Thomas Carlyle – The Irish Widow

Thomas Carlyle was born in Scotland England in1795. At that time, the world was transitioning from the Victorian age to the industrial era. What ensued was power and great wealth for the aristocrats of Great Britain. Carlyle’s view of the world was different from those of his coterie. He criticized and challenged government authorities to change the social and economic conditions of the people of England. In his poem, The Irish Widow, he describes a young Irish widow with three children being denied assistance from rich establishments of a city. The Irish girl begged as if she was saying “Behold I am sinking, bare of help: ye must help me! I am your sister, bone of your bone; one God made us: ye must help me!” The authorities answered “No, impossible; thou art no sister of ours.” After exhausting all alternatives, the young lady became sick of typhus fever and died. The disease infected and killed seventeen other people. Carlyle used this poem to gauge government authorities of England. He attacked them with strong acrimony. He suggested that they are selfish to the point of willing to sacrifice their own lives instead of helping a fellow citizen in need. The poem is dedicated to end unfair treatment of others and to promote spiritual harmony among mankind.

Dorothy Wordsworth - Thoughts on My Sick-bed

Dorothy Wordsworth was a brilliant writer. Although admired by many in the literary circles of her time, she never considered herself a poet. She said “I should detest the idea of setting myself as an author”. She was writing to please her brother William. She enjoyed a happy early childhood interrupted by the lost of her mother when she was seven. During that time, her father had been often busy on business had to send her to live with distant relatives, and her brothers away for school. She was later reunited with her brother William with whom she shared her passion for writing. She became very ill in 1829. She suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in 1935. Before she died, she wrote a poem entitled Thoughts on My Sick-bed. She seemed to really enjoy her life experiences including the gift of writing. She also suggested that she never sought the gifts that she was blessed with. “Ah! Say not so-the hidden life couchant within this feeble frame hath been enriched by kindred gifts, that, undesired, unsought-for”. The verse insinuates the way she now sees herself on her death-bed and comparing it with her younger days.

At first, it was difficult to understand whether she felt like she lived a fulfilled life. It seems as if as she was doing something that she did not really care about. The aforementioned verse affirmed my beliefs that she felt a sense of pride for her accomplishment.

Felicia Hemans - The Wife of Asdrubal

Felicia Hemans published numerous poems, publications and plays during her career. She overcame a lot of adversities throughout her life. Her father left her family to start a new life in Canada when she was young; and her husband left for Italy shortly after their marriage. Felicia's relationship with men evoked in her a sense of distrust and unreliability. In the wife of Asdrubal, she describes how a vindictive woman killed herself and her children following her husband's capture. She also explains the cowardly act of the husband in the verse "this fierce Asdrubal, was so mean-spirited, as to come alone, and privately throw himself at the conqueror's feet". She concludes the story by depicting the wife as a hero. She triumphed in the end. Instead of being sympathetic toward the husband, she sought revenge by killing herself and her two children. " Base coward said she! the mean things thou hast done to save thy life shall not avail thee".

I understand the author's frustration, but I totally disagree with the fact that the character destroyed to innocent lives to satisfy her ego. That was a very selfish act. The wife may have disliked her husband, but the children may have loved their father. The story also characterizes the significance of honor during the romantic period.

Samuel T. Coleridge - The Aeolian Harp

Samuel Coleridge was born in 1772. He was among the most prolific writer of his time. Despite his poor health and his addiction to opium, he never ceased to demonstrate his passion for life, nature and music. The titles of many of his poems confirm his affinity for fine art. Such titles include The Rime of the Ancient Marinere and the Eolian Harp. In the Eolian Harp, he describes his affection for Sara in the following verses: "Thy soft cheek reclined thus on mine arm, most soothing sweet it is". In the second paragraph he went on to say " And now, its strings boldier swept the long sequacious notes over delicious surges sink and rise. The preceding quote indicates that Coleridge had a true understanding of music arrangement. He described the crescendo and decrescendo of the movement of the piece just as a music director would. The author also compared music and nature in verse 20 where he said, Such a soft floating witchery of sound as twilight elfins make, when they at eve voyage on gentle gales from Fairy-Land. Where Melodies round honey-dropping flowers, footless and wild, like birds of Paradise.

Coleridge's work clearly captured the attitude and the true essence of his era. He was a true romantic.