When we examine Robert Herrick’s “To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time” and Alfred Tennyson’s “Lady of Shalott” we see some similarities. Herrick’s poem, as addressed “to the virgins”, can be read as a warning to young women to marry while they are young, but his message to all readers is that we live our lives to the fullest, enjoy our youth and find love while we can. Tennyson’s poem exemplifies this idea: The Lady of Shalott who sits in her tower isolated from the world, alone, decides to leave her tower to follow the man she loves—no matter the cost. Herrick’s “To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time” may be more blatant in its message but, when we examine the text, we see that Tennyson’s “Lady of Shalott” shares the theme that life is too short to live and die alone, and we should not wait to find love.
Robert Herrick’s “To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time” is a warning to us that life is short and youth will not last forever. The poem’s title is addressed to the “virgins” or the inexperienced. While this could be read in the sexual context of the word, we could interpret it that Herrick is speaking to all readers who have not fully experienced life and love in general. It begins: “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,/ Old Time is still a-flying” (1-2). The use of the word “rosebud” gives the imagery of a flower that has not been exposed or opened to the world. It also evokes the feeling of youth, as a rosebud has not fully bloomed. “Old Time” is capitalized, making it an actual entity that will not last forever, as it is “old.” In the second stanza, Herrick further emphasizes the urgency to live life to the fullest before it ends:
The Glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he’s a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run...
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...on poems share the idea that we must actively live our lives. We should not be content with passively living and not experiencing love. Herrick’s message “to the virgins” final message in his poem is that we marry young before we lose our chance and are alone forever. Tennyson’s poem is the tale about The Lady of Shalott who lived isolated from the world and spent her last living hours seeking after the knight she loved. Like the virgins urged to make the most of what they have before time runs out, The Lady of Shalott followed her love—her last living act—so that she her life would not be in vain. She died following her heart, no longer content with sitting in her tower. Herrick and Tennyson’s poems both share the theme of making the most of each moment we have, particularly when it comes to finding love, so that we are not isolated and alone when the “sun sets.”
Pain, misery and disappointment are all a significant part of this world’s concepts of both life and love. A prime example of this is displayed in Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre, where the protagonist, Jane, suffers through a particularly difficult life; her love is constantly stripped from her the moment she is relishing it most. With Bronte’s introduction of Bertha Rochester, Jane’s never-ending cycle of disappointment and loss of love.
In “The Author to her Book,” the book was about an unpleasing child whom she had worked so hard to improve. She tells her child not to fall into the wrong hands but to explain that her mother has had to turn her out of poverty; “rambling brat.” This metaphor is used in explaining the mockery tone that she uses when referring to her work. She reminds her fellow readers that only few women or parents would care to be held responsible for their offspring. Her children are mostly her true subjects in all of her writings. Her family poems avoid sentiments though but she loves her husband and children more than any other thing in the world. She addresses death in “Before the Birth of One of her Children” which was directed to her husband and shows the fear of being a housewife where every pregnancy was like a preamble to death. Her other poems are in memory of her grandchildren who died while they were still very young. Her feelings in these poems is repressed and her attitude is like surrendering to God’s will but she was always pained at every death situation which is not surprising as she has to mourn her lost loved ones. She designated two poems to her husband when he was away for business. She argues that her love is above a female deer whose mate is absent. In the first letter to her husband, she uses the sun to express her true feelings for him; “I wish my sun may never set, but burn.”
Lady Chudleighs’s “To the Ladies” exhibits a remorseful stance on the concept of joining holy matrimony. Chudleigh’s usage of metaphoric context and condescending tone discloses her negative attitude towards the roles of a wife once she is married. It is evident that Mary Chudleigh represents the speaker of the poem and her writing serves a purpose to warn single women not go get married and a regretful choice to women who are.
He noticed that as people delved into improving society, they at the same time lost their sense of humanity and innocence as they sped up industry and the making of material wealth for the well to-do. This loss of innocence is echoed in Tennyson's Arthurian lyrical poem "The Lady of Shalott" (Longman pp. 1913-1918).
John Clare’s “An Invite to Eternity” is a poem that at first glance seems happy and inviting but once examined, is actually quite depressing and aloof. Although it appears to be a direct address to an anonymous “maiden,” in reality the poem is much more complex. Clare offers his “sweet maid” a less than appealing future life, presenting her with an “eternity” filled with harsh landscapes and loneliness. Most readers’ first impression when they think of eternity is almost dream-like or heavenly. However, Clare’s vision of eternity is dark and mysterious and uninviting. These different versions of expectations, as well as the use of antique word forms such as “thou” and “wilt”, seems to suggest a conscious misuse of traditional and old-fashioned love poetry and portrays the “maiden” as being nothing more than a figment in Clare’s imagination. Further, this is not the first time Clare has written about such a hellish place. His poem “I am” resembles the “eternity” he is speaking of in “An Invite to Eternity.” “I am” was a reflection of a period in his life where he was isolated in a mental institution. In this context, the strange and ominous world that Clare presents as “eternity” takes on a new meaning as a representation of his social death while in the asylum. Supporting this idea, “An Invite to Eternity”
Tennyson’s abstract poetic structure provides comprehension difficulties in finding a single thematic idea. He intertwines historical allusions, along with deep and person feelings through one piece of work. The organic structure of certain Tennyson poetry presents a tone of uncertainty. While his unconventional works give a more solidified aura. Contrary in structure, mood, and tone, “Ulysses” and “The Lady of Shalott”, harbor the underlying theme of coveting to escape from their idle worlds.
The concept of love has long been the preferred topic of conversation among prominent male poets. Towards the closing of the sixteenth century, however, the emerging of the female poet took place. With the introduction of Queen Elizabeth, an initial path was now cleared for future women poets to share their views on the acclaimed topic of love. Due to this clashing of ideas, the conflicting views of two exceedingly different sexes could manifest itself. Who better to discuss the topic of love then Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who expresses her ideas with intelligence comparable to the best male poets, and Emerson, world renowned for his poignant opinions? In accordance with the long history of conflict between males and females, both Emerson’s "Give All to Love" and Browning’s "Sonnet 43" convey the pleasure love brings, but while Emerson’s poem urges the retention of individualism in a relationship, Browning pleads for a complete surrender to love.
Alfred Lord Tennyson offers oblique reflection on a number of major Victorian themes and subjects in his poem “The Lady of Shalott”. The most prominent theme that appears in the poem is the idea of passion and love in a woman. The poem is simply about the way women were suppressed from their feelings and everything else during the Victorian era. Tennyson’s poem shows the commentary of society's oppression of women during the Victorian era. Tennyson takes the knowledge of women’s entrapment in society and makes it a literal entrapment in his poem. This essay will argue how passion, love, and women’s oppression is a major theme of the poem and what the commentary it alludes to about the Victorian era.
Authors use poetry to creatively present attitudes and opinions. “A Man’s Requirements,” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and “A Letter to Her Husband, Absent upon Public Employment” are two poems with distinct attitudes about love that contain different literary approaches. In both of the poems, love is addressed from a different perspective, producing the difference in expectation and presentation, but both suggest the women are subservient in the relationships.
There is also a standard structure in this poem, with the second and last line of each stanza shorter than the other two. It uses half-rhyme, creating an "a, b, a, b" rhyme scheme which adds speed to the entire poem. This, in turn, re-emphasises the fact that time is ticking away and we need to make the best out of our youth and regret not in the future. I find this second poem easier to grasp, mainly due to the references and comparisons to tangible things. I guess the subject matter also appeals more to me, as the subject matter in "Song" gives me an impression that from the physical love he is looking for in the girl, he is not serious about her. As for "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", it is purer, warning readers to be more careful in what one does with his youth.
While other writers use their poetry to decipher the meaning of life, Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea was busy writing about how to live it. Five of her poems, “Jupiter and the Farmer,” “The Tree,” “The Shepherd Piping to the Fishes,” “Love, Death, and Reputation,” and “There’s No To-Morrow,” convey strong messages to the reader about how to live their lives. In her poetry, Anne Finch uses anecdotes to help illustrate the validity of her statements, thereby providing the reader with a strong, meaningful, and important message about how life should be lived.
In the Middle Ages, when The Canterbury Tales was written, society became captivated by love and the thought of courtly and debonair love was the governing part of all relationships and commanded how love should be conducted. These principles changed literature completely and created a new genre dedicated to brave, valorous knights embarking on noble quests with the intention of some reward, whether that be their life, lover, or any other want. The Canterbury Tales, written in the 14th century by Geoffrey Chaucer, accurately portrays and depicts this type of genre. Containing a collection of stories within the main novel, only one of those stories, entitled “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, truly outlines the 14th century community beliefs on courtly love.
Similar to many of the great feministic novels of its time, Jane Eyre purely emerges as a story focused on the quest for love. The novel’s protagonist, Jane, searches not only for the romantic side of love, but ultimately for a sense of self-worth and independence. Set in the overlapping times of the Victorian and Gothic periods, the novel touches upon both women’s supposed rights, and their inner struggle for liberty. Orphaned at an early age, Jane was born into a modest lifestyle, without any major parent roles to guide her through life’s obstacles. Instead, she spent much of her adolescent years locked in imaginary chains, serving those around her but never enjoying the many decadences life has to offer. It is not until Jane becomes a governess that many minute privileges become available to her and offer Jane a glance at what life could have been. It is on her quest for redemption and discovery that she truly is liberated. Throughout Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel Jane Eyre, the story’s protagonist Jane, struggles to achieve the balance of both autonomy and love, without sacrificing herself in the process.
People tend to go to absurd limits for love, especially when it is forbidden. Love is one of the most desired emotions because it gives people the feeling of being complete. To love and be loved is the ultimate goal for most people because they desire a companion to go through life with. Being lonely and desiring an unattainable love like what is represented in “The Lady Of Shalott” can cause someone to go mad and ultimately dive into the deeper end of things which leads to a path of temptation. Tennyson uses the actions and thoughts of The Lady of Shalott in “The Lady Of Shalott” to show how being lonely and having love almost in grasp can cause people to go to unimaginable lengths for the sake of love, although they know it is best to stay away.
The final element of the Victorian Age that can be seen in Tennyson's poetry is a feeling of isolation that was heavily felt among the Victorians. This sense of isolation, which sparked a desire for social change, was felt for various reasons. The first is that the scientific discoveries mentioned before set younger generations apart from the previous ones. Many people feared the effects of rapid industrialization, as they often didn't fully understand technology, making them feel isolated from the modern world and nostalgic towards simpler, rural life. Another is that the spiritual doubt that came as a result of these scientific advancements also led Victorians, and in particular, Victorian artists, to feel isolated from life, love, and spirituality. This theme can be seen in The Lady of Shalott, along with the themes about women's roles. In the poem, the Lady of Shalott is completely isolated from society that it becomes harmful to her psyche and ultimately chooses death over her life of isolation. The dangers of social isolation shown in the poem emphasize the need for social change that was greatly felt in the Victorian age. It also shows the isolation of the Victorian artist, who must observe life rather than participate in it. For example, the Lady of Shalott must continue to weave her web alone, and as soon as she tries to participate in the world her web is ruined. This can be symbolic of how it was often thought that an artist's work can suffer when he tries to become more than an observer, when he breaks his isolation. A similar theme is expressed in Ulysses, where the speaker, like the Lady of Shalott, wishes to explore the world, but is resigned instead to a life of conformity: marriage, manners, a tedious job. He is r...