Romantic Literature : John Keats and his Mythology

   Assignment

Topic :

John Keats and his Mythology

                    
  Paper : 3

   Romantic Literature 

Name :  Ravina Parmar
Roll no : 19
SEM : M.A. sem- 2
Batch year : (2019-2021)
Email :ravinaparmar827@gmail.com
Enrollment no : 2069108420200031
 Submitted to : Smt. S. B. Gardi English Department Bhavnagar

• John Keats and his Mythology : 

- ( Ode to a Nightingale)
- ( Ode to Psyche )

Introduction :

                     

                  John Keats used Greek mythology in his Odes. Normally the question was raised in my mind why John Keats used mythical elements in his odes ?  How does mythology connect with his odes ? As we know that the Myth was used and transformed by its believer. As we have great mythical characters Rama and Krishna, and of course we have thousands of different stories about them. So here we discussed how Keats used myth in his famous odes.

                  Generally the myth is used to explain how things came to be, to teach lessons or values, to explain social or religious rituals, and to entertain, to give different kinds of messages. But Keats uses myth in a vastly different way. Let's see what is the meaning of "Mythology" according to merriam Webster dictionary :

                 An allegorical narrative and a body of myths: such as the myths dealing with the gods, demigods, and legendary heroes of a particular people. And also a branch of knowledge that deals with myth.

     So the main purpose of the assignment is how John Keats used myth in his odes, which way he portrayed, how he connected with his time and situations. He had used many mythical elements in various poems but here I am dealing with two poems that are Ode to Psyche and Ode to a Nightingale.

Introduction of Poet :

                     John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) belonged to the romantic age. He was the one of the main figures of second generation romantic poets. His poems were not generally well received by critics, during his lifetime but after his death he became a well known English poet. The poetry of Keats is characterised by sensual imagery, most notably in the series of odes. He died when Only 25 years old but he was known as one of the most remarkable in the history of literature.

His remarkable poetry :

No.	Poetry
1.	Volume of poems (1817)
2.	Lamia and other poems (1820)
3.	On a Grecian Urn
4.	Ode to a Nightingale
5.	To Autumn
6.	To Psyche

   Shelley, Byron, Keats and other romantic writer mythology become a new language for exploring religion and spiritual themes. And also  Harry Levin  notes that the three poets ( Byron,Keats and Shelley) 

" Are very near the center of Romantic, Hellenism in England ".

            

                So here I am discussing four poems and in which how and were Keats used myth. Let's see how John Keats writes his poetry through the use of myth.

Poem : Ode to a Nightingale 

                         This poem was first published in 1819. It is a kind of song. This poem is written in ten lines stanzas. Also that is different from other poems because this poem has a unique rhyming pattern. One thought suggests another and, in this way, the poem proceeds to a somewhat arbitrary conclusion. In this poem we find that human Morality and immortality of poetry symbolized by the Nightingale. And also in this poem 'Ode to a Nightingale' uses the birds music to contrast the Morality of humans with immorality of art.

In 'Ode to a Nightingale' we find that many mythical characters. John Keats relates his ideas and his feelings to the mythical characters. These mythical characters through he was putting beauty in his poem.

It is quite a long poem. In which Keats used the following myths and you can say mentioned these mythical characters:

The myth of Tereus, Philomela and Procne :

          Here in this poem we can connect the myth of Philomela. Philomela and Procne were the daughters of king Pandion. Procne was married to the king Tereus. Who was the son of Mars and the cruel God of war. But later on Tereus like younger sister Philomela. He wished that he had married her instead of Procne. And then He sent Procne away into a great forest and also he had cut her tongue. Then, he told Philomela that her sister was dead. But she could weave most wonderful pictures, and could embroider letters, and put them together to form a few simple words. She needed nothing more but spread her story. Then Philomela finds that these letters are from her sister. Then she helped her sister and at that time Tereus became more cruel.

Philomela and Procne ran as fast as they could but King Tereus was getting nearer and nearer. The gods' pity had changed them into birds, Philomela became a Nightingale.

         She hides away from other birds, and remained silent while they were singing. At night, when all was dark and still, she used to sing under the windows of the peasants, telling the story of her dumb sister's wrongs, and her own sorrow.

         So in this poem also we know that the Nightingale who sings a song in the dark night.

"Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget

         What thou among the leaves hast never known,

The weariness, the fever, and the fret

         Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;"

             Philomela and Procne get freedom from Tereus like that  poet wants that type of freedom. He would like to disappear in forest like Nightingale.

'Darkling I listen; and, for many a time

         I have been half in love with easeful Death,'

As we know, Philomela and Procne got freedom from the cruel Tereus. As a human being dead within a second and have a new life as beautiful birds. So here the poet also wants to "Easeful Death", don't want to have a painful death.  He wished, he could die as easily and painlessly as he could fall asleep.

       In myth, the nightingale symbolizes immortality and freedom. This is an allusion to the myth of Philomela and her sister who were turned into birds in order to escape their captor and rapist.

The myth of Dryad :

In this poem 'ode to a Nightingale' we find that the Poetry lined like :

" That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees "

Dryads are always female and usually inhabit oak. The myth of Hippocrene  that is also  included in this poem. Like the lines :

 ' O for a beaker full of the warm South,

         Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,

                With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,'

The Hippocrene was a fountain in Greek mythology that was sacred to the muses. It was supposed to bring poetic inspiration when a person drank the water from the fountain.

Myth of Bacchus,  he was the Roman God of wine. Bacchus was essentially a copy of the Greek god Dionysus. Here in this poem we got the beautiful Poetic imagination. Here the poet has rejected the wine for imaginative thinking. Keats wants to escape from life not by means of wine  but by a much more powerful agent of imagination.

Poem : Ode to Psyche :

      This poem was written in the year 1819. The whole poem is filled with Greek  symbols, characters, motifs and customs. The poem opens with an address to the Greek goddess Psyche.

O Goddess! hear these tuneless numbers,wrung By sweet enforcement and remembrance dear,

And pardon that thy secrets should be sung

         Even into thine own soft-conched ear:

Surely I dreamt to-day, or did I see

         The winged Psyche with awakene'd eyes?

So here we can see that in the starting of the poem we find that the description of goddess Psyche.

          Here we can see the similarity of the characters and situations between the myth of Psyche and the poem ' Ode to Psyche '. Let's see what is the myth of Psyche and Cupid. How Keats had portrayed in his poem.

              "Ode to Psyche" is  simply a song to love and the creative imagination; in the full context of the odes. The basis for the story of “Ode to Psyche” is a famous myth. 

                     Psyche was the youngest and most beautiful daughter of a king. It has been told and retold in several different versions and it has inspired artists all over the world. She was Nymph who attracted the love of Cupid but who left her. Because she makes him angry for her disobedience. She found her lover all over the Earth and had to carry out supernatural tasks. And then eventually Jupiter, at Cupid's entreaty, consented to their marriage and Psyche was brought to heaven. Let see the description of the poem :

" O latest born and loveliest vision far

         Of all Olympus' faded hierarchy!

Fairer than Phoebe's sapphire-region'd star,

         Or Vesper, amorous glow-worm of the sky;

Fairer than these, though temple thou hast none, "

               These lines through we know that she was the youngest, loveliest and most beautiful of all the Olympians gods and goddess. She has no temples like others. Here we can say that the poet constructs a perfect setting for Psyche to enjoy her divine immortality. 

" And there shall be for thee all soft delight

         That shadowy thought can win,

A bright torch, and a casement ope at night,

         To let the warm Love in! "

     So here he recalls the myth of Psyche meeting Cupid  in the dark but evoke a warning evening awaiting the entry of one's warm love. Not in a secret way but openly. That through the poet expresses his own feeling of being an immortal, he wants to become immortal. So here Keats uses sensual imagery to celebrate the creative power of the poetic imagination bto immortalise a goddess, who represented not just love but the way that love and the soul grows through desire, loss, suffering and reunion.

               And also we feel that the poem is like the temple of Psyche, to worship Psyche but also to immortalise her. Therefore the power of art itself. When we thought about, Why did this myth attract Keats ?  In a way all classical illusions are not connected with Poetic expression , But Keats tries to connect the poet's concerns with images and stories which had gathered in meaning over the centuries. And also this Yale clearly relates the keatsian concerns : Like the importance of love, idealised as an expression of emotional desire and sexual sensation. He tries to explain the value of suffering in any situation.

    

Conclusion : 

        Thus, John Keats beautifully used mythical elements in his poems. That through he talked about suffering, death, and wish to become immortal. He suffered from tuberculosis so unintentionally the fear of death comes out in between. His wish to live a long life that comes across. So he connects his situation with mythical characters and situations. And also Myths are sacred tales that explain the world and peoples experience. Myths are as relevant to us today as they were to the ancients. Myths answer timeless questions and serve as a compass to each generation. So in this way he expressed his situations through the myths. 

Cited work :

• Geller, and Geller. “Dryad - Tree Spirit of Greek Mythology.” Mythology.net, 8 Apr. 2017, mythology.net/greek/greek-creatures/dryad/#.

• Keats, John. “Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44479/ode-to-a-nightingale

• Keats, John. “Ode to Psyche by John Keats.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44480/ode-to-psyche

•      “Mythology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Mythology. Accessed 5 Mar. 2020.

• Myth of Philomela ***, m.talesbeyondbelief.com/myth-stories/philomela.htm.

                 

Assignment : Victorian Literature: Dorothea Brooke as a Modern St. Theresa

                     Assignment

                              Topic :

Dorothea Brooke as a Modern St. Theresa in Middlemarch

                   Victorian Literature

Name :  Ravina Parmar

Roll no : 19

SEM : M.A. sem- 2

Batch year : (2019-2021)

Email :ravinaparmar827@gmail.com

Enrollment no : 2069108420200031

 Submitted to : Smt. S. B. Gardi English Department Bhavnagar

• Write a critical note on the character of Dorothea Brooke, as a modern St. Theresa.

About Author :

                    The novel Middlemarch is the famous novel by George Eliot ( Mary Ann Evans 1819-1880 ).  Middlemarch is the study of provincial life. George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. Although female authors were published under their own names during her lifetime. But there is one reason behind her pen name. Reason is that she wanted to escape the stereotype of women's writing being limited to lighthearted romances. She also wanted to have her fiction judged separately from her already extensive and widely known work as an editor and critic.

                   In George Eliot's writing we find that the reflection of country life in England, just as we look to Dickens for pictures of the city streets and Thackeray for the vanities of society. If we talked about portraying the characters, she has minutely explained the motives of her characters and the moral lesson to be learned from them. Her heroes and heroines differ from other writers. Well known name in the English novelist. Her contribution as a novelist is very remarkable. Famous novel by her :

No.	Novels	Publication date :
1.	Romola	1862- 1863
2.	Felix Holt	1866
3.	Middlemarch	1871-1872
4.	Daniel Deronda	1877
5.	The Spanish Gypsy	1868
6.	The Impressions of Theophrastus Such	1879

     Let's briefly look at the novel Middlemarch. What are the issues expressed by Eliot many mores.

• Middlemarch : A Provincial Life

      According to the British Broadcast corporation (BBC) poll Middlemarch is the greatest British novel. In this novel we find that lots of characters, you can say a web of character. Middlemarch is very attentive to the historical events and situations of the time.

               The most important of these is the 1832 Reform Act, which expanded the population of eligible voters in the country and changed aspects of the parliamentary system in order to make it more democratic. Other important events include the Catholic Relief Act of 1829, which allowed Catholics to become Members of Parliament.

                 Although in Middlemarch we don't get clearly a protagonist because all the characters are important at place. But the character of Dorothea is suggesting something more than others. Let's discuss Dorothea's character.

• Dorothea as a Modern St. Theresa :

• 

First of all we have to know about Saint Teresa.

Saint Theresa :  ( 28 March1515 - 4 or 15 October 1582)

            St. Theresa, a spanish Catholic nun from the 16th century.  She was known as a Doctor of the Church as well as known for Catholic Reformation.  Spanish noblewoman who felt called to monastic life in the Catholic Church. She is the founder of the Discalced Carmelites. In 1970 she was declared as a doctor of the church for her writing and teaching on prayer. St. Theresa is the patron saint of Headache sufferers. Her symbols are a heart, an arrow and a book . She was canonized in 1662 in Rome by Pope Gregory XV. "Just being a woman is enough for my wings to fall off,"  St. Teresa said. This statement, written in her autobiography, is one of the famous sayings of this great saint, whose full name was Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada.

✍️ Personality :

         As we know that Dorothea has a soft corner for poor people she likes to work for them. In Middlemarch she is the only woman that through we got a kind of influence in our mind. We like Dorothea's character instead of other women's characters. Maybe because George Eliot describes it as like St. Theresa. Theresa was an influential and pivotal figure of her generation. As a young child Theresa showed signs of a deeply religious nature. She would enjoy giving alms to the poor. So here we say that both have similar kinds of messages and helping nature.

          St. Theresa spent much of her time in writing in her life and at the age of 51 she felt it was time to spread her reform movement. As in the novel Dorothea who spent her time reading books and drawing designs for a cottage ,she dreams of making a cottage for poor people.

      " St. Theresa proclaimed poverty, she believed in work not in begging. "

As we know that if any literary text is a famous one then we definitely can say that lots of research has been done on that particular text. Here we have the most remarkable novel Middlemarch , so here alao large body of critical works and research.

 ✍️  Here Hilary Fraser mentioned in his article " St. Theresa, St. Dorothea and Miss Brooke in Middlemarch " , how Dorothea related with the author and established the tone of the novel, should have fallen passionately in love with the handsome young Ladislaw by the end. Many readers find it a serious inconsistency that Dorothea, that would be At. Theresa. 

In the beginning of the novel in prelude, we find that the description of St. Theresa and her life and how she became a saint.

" Here and there is born a Saint Theresa, foundress of nothing, whose loving heart-beats and sobs after an unattained goodness tremble off and are dispersed among hindrances, instead of centring in some long-recognizable deed."

Saint Theresa's life of achievement is offered as a contrast to the heroine of Middlemarch, Dorothea Brooke, and all that Dorothea fails to achieve. George Eliot examines Dorothea' s life in part through the medium of medieval hagiography, a form which recognises the tensions and crises through which a martyr passes.

            

The analogy of the saint Theresa occurs along the journey that Dorothea makes at moments  in the novel when her life is taking a new direction such as her engagement to Casaubon, her meeting with Will and Casaubon's death.

"If  she had written a book she must have done it as Saint Theresa did, under the command of an authority that constrained her conscience."

These lines show us how Dorothea compared  and contrasted with Theresa. Both women like to read and research kind of work or to write something that is their hobbies. But here the narrator tries to say that if she wrote a book that should be her own not collaborate with her husband Casaubon. Authority is their but not any relationship.

Dorothea's 'special tragedy' is the ordinary tragedy of most people. In the 'Finale' Eliot offers a paradox because she uses martyrdom as a referent for ordinary tragedy, and martyrdom is both tragedy and triumph. Dorothea is likely martyrdom , But the quarter in which Dorothea actually incurs martyrdom is in her second marriage. And the triumph is the second quarter is Dorothea's initial renunciation of Will.

✍️ 

                 As we know that Theresa is known as a reformer. So that Reformation we can see here the narrative looks into the lives and habits of the people of Middlemarch. It recognises that the issue of Reform affects every aspect of Eliot's novel, we understands how the image of Saint Theresa, the successful, and female, reformer and educator, consistently informs 

any reading of the entire novel, not only because Theresa was successful but because she was a woman. If we think that Dorothea is removed as the novel's central focus yet every issue of the novel, from women's education to marriage, every character from Will Ladislaw to Rosamond Vincy, reflects back upon and revolves around Dorothea.

“The important thing is not to think much but to love much and so do that which best stirs you to love. Love is not great delight but desire to please God in everything.” (Teresa)

In her later life after the illness she again started praying and felt   love with god. She stressed the importance of experiencing God’s Love. As we compare this situation with Dorothea's life when Casaubon died after that she realized what true love is ? And then married Will.

          As Theresa herself admitted, sometimes she felt like “a lion,” and other times like “an ant.” In Dorothea's character also we find these kinds of situations. Like before the marriage with Casaubon she expressed her ideas without any fear and expressed her ideas confidently. But after the marriage she became like an ant. She was dominated by her husband.

Dorothea's passage through the pages of Middlemarch is a painful lesson with all the force and suffering of a religious allegory.

•           Conclusion :

Thus the whole discussion leads us to know why George Eliot chose St. Theresa. Franklin E Court mentioned that 

" The image of St. Theresa in Middlemarch is a positive Ethics."

 There are two reasons behind choosing St. Theresa that is " To suggest elements of mystical dedication and excess that later would be linked with Dorothea". And the second reason is that " At the period in her life she simply may have been infatuated with the life of Theresa." There is a chain of reasons that leads to logically choosing St. Theresa, that to exaltation of women's achievement in the realm of literature and reform during times of male oppression issues and also that is clearly related with Eliot's personal life and literary intent in Middlemarch. 

        In a way Dorothea and St.Theresa have most of similarities that's why Eliot used Theresa in the prologue . So here we can conclude that Dorothea was a modern St. Theresa.

Work cited :

• Catholic Online. “St. Teresa of Avila - Saints & Angels.” Catholic Online, www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=208.

• Court, Franklin E. " The Image of St. Theresa in Middlemarch and Positive Ethics " The Victorian Newsletter, spring 1983.

• Eliot, George. Middlemarch Penguin Classics Edition. 1972.

• Fraser, Hilary. " St. Theresa, St. Dorothea, and Miss Brooke in Middlemarch." Nineteenth-century Fiction, 40, no. 4, 1986,pp. 400-411. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3044729. Accessed 6 Mar. 2020.

• Pettinger, Tejvan. “Biography of St Teresa Avila”, Oxford, UK – www.biographyonline.net. 12th Jan. 2013.

Thank you......