Poetry: context Flashcards
What is a Romantic ?
someone who believes that:
- society is bad and humans are inherently good
- humans should return to nature
- science/industrialism is bad
- individualism is good
- people should express and be in tune with their emotions
Why was Ozymandias written ?
- critiques the autocracy of George III
- champions Romantic ideas such as that society is short-lived in deference to nature
Who wrote Ozymandias ?
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Why did Percy Shelley indirectly critique George III’s autocracy instead of directly ?
strict punishments for treason at the time
What is the etymology of the name Ozymandias and how does it link to the theme of the poem ?
Ozy = comes from greek word meaning “to breathe”
Mandias = mandate, “to rule”
- together implies that he lived/breathed to rule
- irony, as his rule breaks down relatively quickly; illustrates how a return to nature and individualism should be considered in favour of industrialism and society
What is significant about the structure of Ozymandias ?
- sonnet (ABABCDCDEFEFGG rhyme scheme)
- rhyme scheme breaks down as the poem goes on
- symbolic of the decay of (Ozymandias’) influence/rule and society over time
Who was Ozymandias historically ?
Ramses II of Egypt
What is the opposite of Romanticism ?
Enlightenment
Who was Jean-Jaques Rousseau ?
Romantic philosopher who first put forward the idea of inherent goodness being corrupted by society.
What was Rousseau’s idea of the ‘noble savage’ ?
- man of culture
- isolates self from society
Why was London written ?
- criticism of industrialisation + institutions (church + monarchy)
- criticism of the class system
- criticism of society
Who wrote London ?
William Blake
What is significant about the structure of London by William Blake ?
- quatrain (four line) stanzas all the way through the poem
- four quatrain stanzas
- rhyme scheme (alternate) remains the same throughout
- monotony and consistency echoes tone of pessimism in the poem that the bad things about London will never change/no escape from misery DUE TO SOCIETY’S STRICT RULES, LIKE THE STRUCTURAL RULES EMPLOYED
- condemns Enlightenment and puts forward Romantic idea of individualism/back to nature
Who wrote the Prelude ?
William Wordsworth
What is pantheism and why is it relevant ?
- the religious belief that God exists in everything and that everything is God
- William Wordsworth was a pantheist
Which Romantic poet pioneered the back to nature movement ?
William Wordsworth
How is the Prelude structured in terms of its theme and why is it important ?
- discussion of New Testament God (loving, benevolent etc.) in first half
- discussion of Old Testament God (powerful, vengeful etc.) in second half
- reminds Christians of the existence of the Old Testament presentation of God and criticises the fear of churches to discuss OT God as scared will scare people away instead of appreciating the duality of God and the lessons taught by the OT presentation
Why was the Prelude written ?
- criticism of the church
- promote back to nature movement
What (is perhaps) significant about the rhyme scheme in the Prelude ?
- no rhyme scheme
- mirrors Romantic ideas of freedom/individualism/lack of societal rules
- also mirrors back to nature movement pioneered by Wordsworth (nature has no apparent strict order)
Who wrote My Last Duchess ?
Robert Browning
Why did Browning write My Last Duchess ?
- to illustrate the evils that derive from (unequal distribution of) power in society
- believed poets had moral responsibility to address such evils of the world
In what style is My Last Duchess written in and why is it significant ?
- dramatic monologue
- echoes main talking point of poem (unequal distribution of power) as only Duke of Ferrara speaks; all power with him, controls narrative + reader’s view
What is My Last Duchess literally about ?
Duke of Ferrara’s marriage negotiations to marry the Count of Tyrol’s daughter to replace the Duchess that he had killed prior out of jealousy - conversation with Count of Tyrol’s servant
What is the significance of the way My Last Duchess is structured ?
- written in iambic pentameter (Shakespeare’s nobility and regal characters only speak in iambic pentameter - shows power)
- very strict and tight rhyme scheme (AABBCC etc.) with some rhymes being forced; echoes unnatural power of the Duke
- line breaks in awkward places to emphasise unnatural nature of Duke’s societal power or the evil that comes from it thus breaking the natural order