Wordsworth's Preface to Lyrical Ballads

Q1- Basic differences between the Poetic Creed of Classicism and Romanticism.

The Classicism and Romanticism are two ideologies used in the literary work. It is sometimes called as school of thoughts, technique of writing. But it is more than just a manner, ideology or school of thoughts. Both Classicism and Romanticism gives us an idea about the dominance of certain things. The points which differenciated Classicism and Romanticism are given below:-

1- Intellect and Imagination
In Classicism Intellect was consider as a ruling guiding principle whereas in Romanticism Imagination is the guiding principle rather than intellect.
eg, Pope and Dryden uses intellect in writing their work of art whereas Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley uses  imagination in their work of art.

2- Restraints and Liberty
In Classicism Restraints was the ruling word, on the other hand in Romanticism there is no restraints, the writers believes in liberty, there is free play of imagination, poet is free to express his feelings and thoughts in a work of art.

3- Classical and Medieval
In Classicism the writers relied on Classical writers like Aristotle, Plato, Socrates whereas in Romanticism the writers relied on the writer of the Medieval period.

4- Urban and Rustic life
The Classical writers represent the Urban and city life in their work of art, whereas in Romanticism the writers and poets like Wordsworth represent the humble and rustic life of the people in their work of art. The rustic life attracts them more rather than the city dwellers. they sing the glory of rural life.

5- Objectivity and Subjectivity
Classicism believes in Objectivity and Romanticism believes in Subjectivity. Eg. The line from Wordsworth's Daffodills  "Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings", the first two words spontaneous overflow represents subjectivity.

Q2- Why does Wordsworth say 'what is poet' rather than 'who is poet'?

In Wordsworth's preface 'A poet is a man speaking to men'. A poet inherent a talent which is absent in general people. A poet is differs from others in terms of degrees, he endowed with more lively sensibility, enthusiasm, tenderness. He has greater knowledge of human nature. Wordsworth gives more platonic definition of poet when he uses the phrase " more comprehensive soul". He says that a poet is more comprehensive, a better human being. So to describe the characteristics of the poet Wordsworth says about 'what is poet' rather than 'who is poet'.

Q3- What is poetic diction? which sort of poetic diction suggested by Wordsworth in his Preface?

In general poetic diction means 'choice of words'. that how a particular poet chooses word and place it at different place to bring more effective meaning to his work of art. Wordsworth says that he is not satisfied with the current writers who chooses the more complex words in their diction. He says that the writers or poets uses highly unnecessary ornamental language which is only related to the city dwellers, city life, all education institution in the city. it means in Preface Wordsworth is attacking on the city life. Wordsworth was interested in writing the diction in the language of common people, means the language really used by the real man. In this statement of Wordsworth all critic raised their arguments that what Wordsworth mean by real man, is the city dwellers are not real, they gives example also about Wordsworth's poem Micahel in which there is a farmer of the age of 80, more lively or hearty, in this way even Wordsworth talking about exclusive man not real man.

Q4- What is Poetry?

According to Wordsworth " Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings; it takes its origin from emotions recollected in tranquility." Wordsworth is the only poet who takes this definition of poetry after Dryden in his Preface.

Q5- Discuss Daffodils- "I wandered lonely as a cloud" with reference to Wordsworth's poetic creed?

Daffodils is the most famous example of Wordsworth's definition of poetry. The poem has four stanzas. The first three stanzas are written in past tense " I wandered as a cloud.....", but the final stanza of the poem is written in present tense " For oft, when on my couch I lie......" The poet reclining on a couch , when he goes to a nature walk he must seen the stretch of Daffodils, which he recollects when he is in a vacant mood.  In this way the definition of poetry we find appropriate in Daffodils by Wordsworth.

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Puritan and Restoration age

M.K Bhavnagar University

Department of English

Sem-1

Name- Hema Goswami

Roll no. : 15

Enrollment no. : 2069108420180020

Course 2:  The Neo-classical Literature

Topic- Puritan and Restoration age

Introduction

Neoclassical literature was written between 1660-1798. This period was further divided into three parts:-

The neoclassical writers imitate the style of the Greek and Roman writers. Therefore the term ‘neo’ which means ‘new’ indicates the modern writer who influence by the classical writers. The neoclassical era was also the era of enlightenment. During this era logic and reasoning dominate the entire mind of the writers (notari, 2017). This age was preceded by the Renaissance and followed by the Romantic era. When Wordsworth published the first lyrical romantic ballad in 1798, then this period was ended in the history of the literature.

The Neoclassical era was the time of comfortableness among the countrymen of England. It also reflect the starting point of the middle class and also the starting of the education,  means during this era more people were educate. There is also a change in the mindset of the people regarding their clothing system.

 

Puritan Age

Puritan age was begun from 1600 and it ends in 1660. The year 1660 is the beginning of the Restoration period. So before the Restoration period there is the thought of Puritanism among the peoples of England and also among other countries.

So the literature of the 17^th century divided into two periods:-

The 17^th century marked as the decline of the Renaissance spirit and the new writers starts imitating the great writer of Elizabethan era and followed the new paths. Now there is no writer remain who write on the basis of their imagination. The age was dominated by the logic and reasoning. The temperament of the writers was totally changed which was called essentially modern.

The 17^th century from 1600 to 1660 was dominated by Puritanism and it is called the Puritan age. Because Milton was the nobler representative of the Puritan spirit, so the age was also called as Age of Milton (Neoenglish system, 2010).

This movement is also considered as the second and greater Renaissance in literature. With the rise of this period the moral or intellectual nature of the man was also rose. It was like the rebirth of the morality among the peoples of the society. The Renaissance which already had a marked quality of its high culture, now needed only the moral sobriety and profundity, which were given by the Puritan movement.

Unscrupulousness and fanaticism in politics and religion were on rampant during the Renaissance period. Therefore the Puritan movement came and it stood for its liberty and introduced the morality and high ideals in politics. Puritan movement had two objectives:-

But soon the Puritans began to look down as narrow-mindedness during the Restoration period. They were against all sort of recreations and amusements, in fact in reality they were not so. Puritans are very much religious in their concept, they didn’t form a separate religious sect.

Milton and Cromwell are the two real champions of liberty who stood for toleration against the tyrannical rule of Charles I. It would be wrong if we called them narrow-mined fanatics. Means in reality the high standard of morality leads to them to be trapped in their own world and was unable to think beyond it.

From very first the name Puritans was given to them who advocate the change in the church of the England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. But many opposed to this movement including the King Charles I, but soon he was defeated and beheaded in 1649 and the Puritan movement came out triumphantly. Therefore in this way the Puritan movement was more called the National movement of England.

In literature also there was the same confusion as we found in the field of politics and religion. The literary achievements of this period are not of high order and of greatness but still some of its works recognized as the great work of the writers. The Puritan poetry is further divided into three parts:-

 

1-The School of Spenser

Edmund Spenser was the leader of the school of Spenser. There were many followers of Spenser. Spenser and Sidney both made the Italian poetry more fashionable during the 16^th century. All the writers of the age make Spenser as their master.

The two brothers Phineas Fletcher and Giles Fletcher are the most thorough disciples of Spenser during the reign of James I. They were both priests.

Phineas Fletcher wrote number of Spenserian pastorals and allegories. The Purple Island was his most ambitious poem which portrays the detailed allegory of the physical and mental constitution of men, the struggle between Temperance and his foes, the will of man and Satan.

Giles Fletcher’s Christ’s Victorie and Triumph in Heaven and Earth over and after Death, is the most famous allegorical narrative which was written in Lyrical strain. As Giles was more Lyrical and mystical than his brother Phineas. This work portrays the Temptation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ.

William Browne, George Wither and William Drummond are the other poets who wrote under the influence of Spenser.

2-The Poets of the Metaphysical School

John Donne, Herrick, Richard Crashaw, Henry Vaugham, Thomas Carew, George Herbet and Lord Herbert are the metaphysical poets. However the leader of this school was John Donne. The poetry of metaphysical poets is full of conceits, exaggerations, quibbling about the meaning of the words, far-fetched similes, metaphors. The metaphysical poets were honest and they were the original thinkers. They were all aware of the life and have concerned with the death.

John Donne wrote poetry of vey high order. The Progress of the soul; An Anatomy of the World, an elegy; and Epithalamion are his best known works. His poetry was divided under three categories:-

Robert Herrick wrote amorous as well as religious verse.

Thomas Carew was the finest lyric writer of his age. He is superior to Herrick in workmanship. ‘Persuasions of Love’ is a fine piece of work of Thomas Carew.

Richard Crashaw had different temperament than Herrick and Carew. He was very religious poet. ‘The Flaming Heart’ is the best work of Richard.

Henry Vaughan was a mystic like poet. He is more uniform and clear, tranquil and deep than Crashaw.

George Herbert is the most widely read poet of his age. He expressed his thoughts in a clear manner than others. There is also Transparency of his conceits.

Lord Herbert of Cherbury is inferior to his brother in writing verse. He is well known for his autobiographies. He was the first poet who use metre.

3-The Cavalier Poet

Ben Johnson was the leader of the Cavalier poets. Johnson followed the classical methods in his writing. He was influenced by the classical writer like Horace, and others. Ben Johnson’s work, lyrics and songs are different from that of Shakespeare.

The term ‘Cavalier’ means royalist but in real all the Cavaliers are not royalist. There is not much difference between the Cavalier and Metaphysical poets, because some Cavaliers like Carew, Suckling and Lovelace were also the disciples of Donne. Even some poems also have same quality of both Donne and Ben Johnson. But the Cavalier poets wrote on trivial subjects, whereas the metaphysical poets wrote only on serious subjects.

Sir John Suckling is the courtier of Charles I and most of his poems are trivial; written in doggerel verse.

Sir Richard Lovelace was another follower of king Charles I. ‘Lucasta’ is his volume of love lyrics. His poems like “To Lucasta” and “To Althea, from Prison” was very famous in English poetry.

John Milton

Milton was the greatest port of the Puritan age. He was identified as Puritanism. Milton was different from all the poets of his age. Milton was a deeply religious man and was endowed with the artistic merit of high degree. Milton was a great scholar. He was not only the scholar of classics but of Hebrew literature also. He was a great humanist.

The most significant early works of Milton are- The Hymn on the Nativity, Lycidas, Comus.

Lycidas is an elegy written in the country’s churchyard on the death of Milton’s friend.

Conclusion

Therefore we can say that during this period English literature developing into a grand iloquent and rich instrument. And it is also capable of expressing the great ideas, scientific, philosophical, religious, poetic and personal.

Restoration period

The Restoration in England began in 1660 just after the age of Puritans and last long till 1700 (wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2017). It took place during the Stuart period, when all the monarchies of English, Scottish and Irish were restored under the Stuart king Charles II. The term Restoration used  to describe the restoration of the monarchy and also the period, when new political settlement was established. In the reign of Charles II, the entire age of Restoration is covered and also half in the reign of his younger brother James II.

Richard Cromwell

Richard Cromwell was unable to proceeds his father’s policies, so English Restoration was not continued. He was the son of Oliver Cromwell. The main weakness of Richard was that he did not have the confidence of the army. The Wallington House party removed him from their group and reinstalled the Rump Parliament. And the commandment was given to Charles Fleetwood.

Charles II hoped that with Spanish support he can wins the battlefield but he was defeated by General Lambert. Lambert was become the major General of all the forces in England and Scotland and Fleetwood being general.

Lambert went with large force to meet George Monck, who was the commander of English forces in Scotland. Into this atmosphere Monk was marched south with his army from Scotland under the Cromwell, but soon Lambert’s army desert him and he returned to London almost alone.

Lambert was sent to the Tower of London, on 3 March 1660, but he escaped from there in month. He was recaptured by Colonel Richard Ingoldsby. Lambert was incarcerated and died in custody on Guernsey in 1694.

Charles II

Charles II made several promises in the Declaration of Breda in relation to the reclamation of the crown of England, on 4 April 1660. It was proclaimed that king Charles II was the lawful monarch since the execution of Charles I. Charles leaves the Hague and returned from exile on 23 May and entered London on 29 May 1660. So therefore to celebrate the return of his majesty, 29 May was made a public Holiday. This day was popularly known as Oak Apple Day. Charles II was crowned at Westminster Abbey at 23 April 1661.

Because of the sudden and unexpected change, some contemporaries called Restoration as a “divinely ordained miracle” or the Restoration of the divinely order. The Cavalier Parliament was established on 25 April and it was also known as Pensionary Parliament because it provides pensions to the adherents for many years. Like its predecessor, it was very much royalist. Edward Hyde was the leading political figure at the beginning of the Restoration. He was the first Earl of Clarendon.

Conclusion

The Glorious Revolution ended the Restoration. The Glorious Revolution which overthrew King James ll of England was propelled by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder. 

William III was also known as Prince of orange. He organize a meeting to handle the current situation of England in a Convention Parliament. The Parliament members decide that to fill the vacancy of throne James’s daughter Mary has to rule jointly with her husband William. The Bill of rights was passed by English Parliament in 1689 that denounced James for abusing his power. There is also srict order was passed against the Roman Catholics. No Roman Catholics has rights to ascend the English throne and nor any English monarch permitted to marry a Roman Catholic.

Hence it was an end of the Restoration period with the Glorious victory of William III.

Bibliography

Neoenglish system. (2010, december thursday). neo english system. Retrieved from neoenglishsystem.blogspo.t.in: neoenglishsystem.blogspot.in/2010/12/puritan-age-1600-1660.html

notari, d. (2017). college english literature. Retrieved from study.com: study.com/academy/lesson/neoclassical-literature-definition-characteristics-movement.html

wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2017, october 18). wikipedia the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from wikipedia. org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restoration_(England)