Tennyson and Browning

This blog is assigned by Prakruti Ma'am:

1)Justify Tennyson as “Probably the most representative literary man of the Victorian era”.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson can be considered the most representative literary man of the Victorian era because his work encapsulates the period's core themes, conflicts, and public sensibilities. His unique position as a widely popular Poet Laureate, combined with his exploration of the anxieties and progress that defined the age, made him an emblem of his time. 

The voice of the Victorian public

For decades, Tennyson was the most celebrated and famous poet in England, reaching a level of public reverence almost unparalleled by any other writer. 

Poet Laureate:

 His appointment as Poet Laureate in 1850 cemented his role as the national poet. He often wrote official verse for major national events, such as "Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington" (1852) and ceremonial poems celebrating royal occasions.

Royal approval: 

He was a personal favorite of Queen Victoria, who found great comfort in his work after the death of her husband, Prince Albert. Her praise for his elegy In Memoriam A.H.H. is a powerful symbol of his emotional resonance with the public.

Reflecting the national mood: 

As "the voice of England" for over half a century, his poetry provided a poetic chronicle of the age, capturing its patriotism, industrial advancement, and moral introspection. 

A chronicler of Victorian anxieties and aspirations

Tennyson's poetry is a complex mirror of the Victorian psyche, reflecting both its progressive spirit and its deep-seated doubts. 

Conflict between faith and science:

This was one of the central struggles of the Victorian age. Tennyson explored this tension most famously in In Memoriam A.H.H., written after the death of his friend Arthur Henry Hallam. He grapples with new scientific concepts, such as the evolutionary struggle summed up in his iconic phrase "Nature, red in tooth and claw," while ultimately affirming a fragile but enduring spiritual faith.

The pursuit of progress: 

The Victorians were driven by a desire for progress and exploration. Poems like "Ulysses" embody this restless spirit, with the hero yearning "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield". This ideal, however, is often set against a backdrop of melancholy and the feeling that "the old order changeth".

Moral and social order:

Tennyson’s epic Idylls of the King is an allegory for Victorian England. He uses the Arthurian legend to explore contemporary issues of moral decay, societal purity, and the fear that a noble civilization could collapse from within. The poem champions Victorian ideals of chivalry and moral integrity while simultaneously acknowledging humanity's inherent flaws.

The role of women:

Through works like The Princess, Tennyson engaged with contemporary discussions about women's education and their changing role in society. While the poem parodies certain feminist ideas, it also reflects the broader social currents of the time. 

Masterful poetic craftsmanship

Tennyson's command of language, rhythm, and imagery was unparalleled in his day and played a crucial role in his representative status. 

A rich tapestry of form:

He was a technical master, experimenting with a wide range of styles and meters, from the short lyricism of "Break, Break, Break" to the blank verse of "Ulysses".

Memorable phrases:

His works provided the English language with a wealth of phrases that have become part of its fabric, including.

"'Tis better to have loved and lost" and "Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die".

Bridging poetic movements:

Tennyson's style artfully blends elements of Romanticism with its focus on nature and intense emotion with a uniquely Victorian moral seriousness. This ability to combine aesthetic appeal with moral purpose resonated with his audience. 

2) Discuss the following themes in the context of Browning's poetry: Multiple Perspectives on a Single Event and Medieval Renaissance Setting, Psychological Complexity of characters, Usage of Grotesque Imagery.

Robert Browning's poetry is often characterized by a keen focus on psychology, history, and the moral ambiguities of human nature. These themes are frequently explored through his masterful use of the dramatic monologue, which allows him to delve into the minds of complex and often morally compromised characters. 

Multiple Perspectives on a Single Event

Browning's poetry challenges the idea of a single, objective truth by presenting events through the subjective viewpoints of different speakers. This technique is most famously exemplified in his epic poem, The Ring and the Book. 

Subjectivity of Truth:

 

In The Ring and the Book, Browning recounts a 17th-century murder trial in Rome from the perspectives of ten different characters. Each monologue offers a unique, biased version of the story, revealing how individual motives, biases, and self-justifications shape a person's understanding of reality.

The Unreliable Narrator: 

His use of dramatic monologues requires readers to piece together the truth by critically evaluating what each character says, often exposing the speaker's own flaws and personality indirectly. This technique highlights the idea that no single perspective provides the full story. 

Medieval and Renaissance Settings:

Browning frequently set his poems in medieval and Renaissance Europe, most often in Italy. This was a deliberate choice that allowed him to explore contemporary Victorian issues without being overly didactic or moralizing. 

Social Critique through Historical Distance: 

By using a remote time period and location, Browning could critique Victorian concerns such as shifting religious values, the conflict between art and morality, and the corruption of power. For example, the vanity of the Renaissance bishop in "The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed's Church" serves as an indirect critique of organized religion and moral decay in Browning's own time.

A "Broader Canvas":

The Renaissance period, with its "complex history of cultural transition" and emphasis on humanism, offered Browning a rich backdrop for his "soul studies". This setting allowed him to explore the tension between worldly desires and spiritual devotion. 

Psychological Complexity of Characters

Browning was fundamentally a "poet of the human soul," and his primary interest was in the "incidents in the development of a soul" rather than external action. He is noted for his mastery of psychological portraiture. 

Probing the Inner Self: 

Through his dramatic monologues, Browning gives voice to a wide range of characters, from scholars and artists to murderers and aristocrats, allowing them to reveal their innermost secrets and motivations. This technique provides a deep psychological analysis of the speaker's mind, a process he referred to as "soul dissection".

The "Psycho-Analysis" of a Speaker: 

Poems like "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover" are exemplary psychological portraits. In "My Last Duchess," the Duke's calm monologue reveals a deeply possessive and controlling nature. In "Porphyria's Lover," the speaker's disturbed mind is exposed as he rationalizes strangling his lover to "freeze" her in a moment of idealized love. 

Usage of Grotesque Imagery

Unlike many of his Victorian contemporaries, who focused on beauty, Browning often used images of "ugliness, violence, and the bizarre" to explore profound philosophical and psychological themes. 

Disturbing Human Behavior:

Browning embraced the grotesque to depict the depraved side of human nature. In "Porphyria's Lover," for instance, the grotesque is found in the speaker's act of strangling his lover with her own hair. The poem presents the horrific act with a calm, disturbing tone.

Contrasting Beauty and Horror: 

The grotesque in his work often appears alongside moments of beauty or in unexpected places. In "Fra Lippo Lippi," Browning sets a poem about a Renaissance artist not in a palace, but in a back alley near a brothel. This juxtaposition of the beautiful and the bizarre is a defining feature of his style, which was ahead of its time. 

3)Compare Tennyson and Browning's perspectives regarding the nature of art and its purpose in society.

While both Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning were central figures in Victorian poetry, their perspectives on the nature and purpose of art in society were fundamentally different. Tennyson generally viewed art as a vehicle for moral instruction and national sentiment, while Browning was more focused on using art to explore and anatomize the inner workings of the human psyche. 

Tennyson: Art as a moral and national instrument

Art with a moral purpose: Tennyson largely followed the Victorian belief that literature should serve a moral or ethical function. In his poem "The Palace of Art," the soul of the artist retreats from society to pursue art for its own sake. The soul is punished for this isolation by being plunged into despair, only finding release by leaving its ivory tower to return to humanity.

Art for the nation: 

As Poet Laureate, Tennyson often acted as the poetic voice of England, crafting verses that reflected and celebrated national identity, progress, and patriotism. His art was a public service intended to capture the zeitgeist of the age.

Emphasis on beauty:

Tennyson sought to create a lyrical, melodic art that was outwardly beautiful and harmonious. His poetic style was designed to induce a specific, often melancholic or nostalgic, mood in the reader, focusing on the refined expression of an idea. 

Browning: Art as a tool for psychological dissection

Art for discovery:

 

Browning used art to explore the psychological complexities of human nature rather than to impart clear moral lessons. For Browning, the purpose of art was not to judge but to understand. He delved into the minds of flawed, immoral, or eccentric characters, allowing the reader to observe and interpret the morality for themselves.

Art as oblique truth:

In the final book of The Ring and the Book, Browning explicitly states his philosophy that

"Art may tell a truth  Obliquely." 

By presenting multiple, flawed perspectives on a single event, his art demonstrates that absolute truth is elusive and subjective. This differs sharply from Tennyson's moral certitude.

Emphasis on realism over idealism:

Browning was a champion of realism in art. In "Fra Lippo Lippi," the painter argues that painting realistic, imperfect people is a more honest and spiritual act than creating the idealized, ethereal saints favored by the Church. The purpose of art, for Lippo—and for Browning is to capture the messy, vivid reality of life. 

The artist's role in society

Tennyson: The public prophet

A spokesman for his age:

Tennyson was widely seen as a representative literary figure, one who spoke for, and to, the Victorian public. His status as Poet Laureate reinforced his position as a public figure with a responsibility to reflect and guide public sentiment.

The artist's duty

Tennyson's work suggests that the artist has a duty to engage with and improve society, not retreat from it. The soul's return to the "cottage in the vale" in "The Palace of Art" symbolizes the artist's responsibility to connect with and serve humanity. 

Browning: The hidden provocateur

The private observer:

In contrast, Browning often adopted the role of a detached, analytical observer. He wrote for a more discerning, intellectual audience and did not seek the same level of mainstream popularity or public guidance as Tennyson.

Art as a mask: 

Browning’s use of the dramatic monologue allowed him to explore uncomfortable or transgressive topics while maintaining a distance from his persona. He could channel the voice of a murderer ("Porphyria's Lover") or a jealous duke ("My Last Duchess") without moralizing. The artist, in this view, is a chameleon who uses art to explore the full range of human experience, even its darkest corners.

The artist as a critic: 

Browning was critical of the way art could be co-opted and commodified by the wealthy elite, a theme he explores in "My Last Duchess," where the Duke treats the art and the artist as mere property. 

Tennyson's art was a reflective mirror and moral guide for the public, while Browning's art was a psychological probe into the private, often disturbing, complexities of the individual mind. Where Tennyson sought to elevate and instruct, Browning sought to reveal and provoke.