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.
4 comments:
Claude,
It was reassuring to hear that Carlyle had a personable and compassionate leaning for the disenfranchised of his era. Carlyle's focus on the importance of Work, could make one think that he is more likely to criticize and challenge the young Irish beggar vs. criticizing the powers-that-be. So Carlyle does have a heart. Though, our text says that his contemporaries thought he so cranky that it was good that he married his cranky wife so that the two of them did not create four cranky people, had they married other people.
This poem was such a human lens through which to see the social problems in England. Great post! -Stacey
Claude,
This post missed the deadline, so there is a late penalty imposed on the grade.
Glad to see you discussing Carlyle--he is one of my favorite writers. The anecdote about the "Old Irish Widow" (not a poem, and not about a young widow) is important and striking, and a good focus to discuss. You get off to a good start here, but I would like to see you go into more depth and detail.
I loved your take on this poem. It's quite refreshing to see that there are (and will always be) people that actually care about the world. The fact that you said that he used this poem to wake up the government and "promote spiritual harmony among mankind" is beautiful. I am a humanitarian myself and I love to see the world help each other
The Victorian Age was later.
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