'Tintern Abbey'

             ‘Tintern Abbey’ is an expression of Wordsworth’s philosophy of Nature. Accordingly, in this poem, he sets out to seek beauty in the meadow, woodland and the mountain-top, and to interpret this beauty in spiritual terms. The poem is a noble expression of the influence of Nature in the life of man in all its three stages: childhood, early youth and mature age. 

                Wordsworth, with his sister Dorothy, revisits the Wye River in 1798 after a gap of five years. The poet is spellbound by the beautiful landscape and objects of Nature such as ‘mountain springs’, ‘lofty cliffs’ etc. the long gap of five years could not erase the impression of the beautiful sight from his mind. The memories of the beautiful landscape which faded revived again. The poet, however, confesses that in the initial years of his life, he was only attached to the physical and superficial beauty of Nature.

                    However, a change appears in his attitude towards Nature. This is the second stage of his life i.e. early youth or the period of the sense. He has learnt to look at Nature, not as a thoughtless youth; he asserts that the memories of these beautiful objects of Nature have given him great joy and peace in noisy towns and cities.

                    Wordsworth has started listening to the ‘music of humanity’ in the ‘sounding cataract’ which used to haunt him like a passion when he has immature. He is now conscious of the sorrow of humanity and he sees in Nature the revelation of the divine law. Towards the poem's concluding lines, the third stage of the poet’s development is revealed. Wordsworth begins to find a soul and living spirit in the objects of Nature. His physical and sensuous appreciation of nature disappears. He now starts looking into the objects of Nature a soul which is closely linked to the soul of a human being:

A spirit, that impels….

And rolls through all things.

            Noting that his sister Dorothy is glad to see the beauty of Nature, the poet exhorts her to unite with Nature. Her love for nature would help her a great deal in her life future life. He asserts that when she would have troubles in her life, the memory of this landscape would provide her solace. In the last couple of lines, Wordsworth tells her sister that the objects of nature seem beautiful to him not because they are nice-looking but also because he is in her sweet company.
            'Tintern Abbey' is a great poem. It expresses clearly and powerfully what nature meant to Wordsworth. It shows him not as a lover of nature, but as “a high priest of Nature”. In this way, the poem is marked by an autobiographical note and personal feelings. It is a poem of sublime thought. The poet has expressed his honest and natural feelings about Nature’s Superiority. The language is so simple and lucid that one is not tired of reading it again and again. The sweetness of style touches the heart of the reader. The medium of this poem is neither ballad nor a lyric but an elevated blank verse. The blank verse that is used in it is low-toned, familiar, and moves with sureness, sereneness and inevitable ease. It has a quiet pulse, suggestive of 'central peace', which is felt in all his great poetry.

Wordsworth as a poet of Nature

As a poet of Nature, Wordsworth stands supreme. He is a worshiper of Nature. His love of Nature is probably truer, and tenderer, than that of any other English poet, before or since. Nature occupies in his poem a separate or independent status and is not treated in a casual or passing manner as by poets before him.

Wordsworth has a full–fledged philosophy, a new and original view of Nature. At least, three things can be noted in his treatment of Nature:

(i)  That it has a living personality,

(ii) That it exercises a healing influence on the aggrieved souls,

(iii) That it is a great moral teacher.

Wordsworth believes that we can learn more about man and morals, evil and good from Nature than all the philosophies. In his eyes, “Nature is a teacher whose wisdom we can learn, and without which any human life is vain and incomplete”.  He conceives of Nature as a living personality. He believes that there is a divine spirit pervading all the objects of Nature. This belief in Nature may be termed mystical Pantheism and is fully expressed in Tintern Abbey. He believes that the company of Nature gives joy to the human heart and he looks upon Nature as exercising a healing influence on sorrow-stricken hearts.

In the poem, ‘Daffodils’ William Wordsworth reveals his relationship with Nature. His choices of words throughout the poem make it clear that his relationship with Nature is a good one. The whole poem is about Nature. It talks about clouds, valleys, hills, trees, the breeze, stars, the Milky Way, a bay, waves, and most of all daffodils. Nature brings a state of imagination. It brings people into a different state of mind, an ambience to encompass the world and make it a better place.  In this poem, a host of daffodils stops the speaker while travelling through Nature. The word “host” makes it transform into a vision, which is imagination.

In the poem ‘Ode on Intimations of Immorality,’ Wordsworth uses nature to explain his perception of the beauty of nature. He uses meadows, groves, streams, the earth, rainbows, roses, birds, lambs, seasons, mountains, seas, valleys, the sun, flowers, and stars.

Nature has played an important role in ‘Solitary Reaper’. This poem is about a harvester girl. She is alone in the field, she cuts and binds, she bends over a sickle and she sings a melancholic song. The song that the poet has heard is sung by ‘solitary Highland Lass’. Her voice overflows the vale with her music, a melancholy strain’ that she sings while working in the field. So, we can say that the lonely girl is very nearly merged with nature. The girl is singing the song in dialect. The poet is trying to guess the theme of the song because he cannot understand the dialect. That is why, 

William Wordsworth discovers in nature an uncommon power which can transform this earth into a homeland for fairies and other supernatural agents. It is proved in his other poem, ‘To the Cuckoo’. The title itself is about a bird and it is also a part of nature. The bird is wandering in the valley. The poet heard the sweet voice of the Cuckoo. He felt delighted. The valley was full of beautiful flowers. Clear sunshine made the atmosphere in the valley enjoyable. So, it is a part of Nature. The poet in his extreme gladness addresses the Cuckoo as a ‘Blithe New-Comer’.

Wordsworth’s attitude to Nature can be clearly differentiated from that of the other great poets of Nature. He does not prefer the wild and stormy aspects of Nature like Byron, or the shifting and changeful aspects of Nature and the scenery of the sea and sky like Shelley, or the purely sensuous in Nature like Keats, or takes interest mainly in human nature rather than its pure form like Shakespeare. It is his special characteristic to concern himself, not with the strange and remote aspects of the earth, and sky, but with Nature in her ordinary, familiar, everyday moods. He does not recognize the ugly side of Nature ‘red in tooth and claw’ as Tennyson does. Wordsworth stresses the moral influence of Nature and the need for man’s spiritual discourse with her.

'The Immortality Ode’

 

‘The Immortality Ode’ is one of the most famous poems in English literature. It is the greatest poem in the whole series of Wordsworth’s poems. Wordsworth reached one of the highest peaks of the English poetry of the Romantic period with this ode. In fact, it is a landmark in the history of English poetry.

The theme of the poem is very simple but the thoughts conveyed are great. It deals with the theme of the immortal nature of the human spirit which is intuitively known by the child and partly forgotten by the growing man. But this spirit is to be known once more in maturity through the intense experience of heart and mind. Wordsworth’s philosophy of nature is beautifully expressed in this poem. According to the title, the poem deals with the knowledge of the immortality of the soul, or the recollection of childhood.

Wordsworth believes in the divine origin of the soul. The child is aware of this divine origin and had a direct touch with divinity. His soul is in direct communion with the divine spirit. As he grows up, he loses touch with spirit because of his attachment to the material world. In fact, this is beautifully explained in his sonnet ‘The World Is Too Much with Us’. The loss of childhood glory is the recurrent theme of Wordsworth’s poetry. ‘The Immortality Ode’

The Ode is built on a simple but majestic plan. The first four stanzas tell of a spiritual crisis, of a glory that has passed away from the earth and end by asking why and where the glory has fled. The middle stanzas examine the nature of this glory and seek to explain it through the philosophical doctrines of pre-existence and recollections from its childhood. Then the last three stanzas show that though the vision of celestial radiance is lost there remains much in life to compensate for this loss that can motivate him and bring his creative mind out of sadness.

‘The Immortality Ode’ can also be called an autobiographical poem. In this poem, the poet unlocks his heart and describes a crisis in his intellectual development. The ode deals with his childhood glory and the poet’s loss of ‘vision’ in his advancing years. ‘The Ode’ deals with two childhoods, the childhood everyone experiences after birth and the childhood we carry within us like memory. These two childhoods may be called ‘visible childhood’ and ‘invisible childhood’. The poet describes the experience of both these childhoods and contrasts it with the material world.

The descriptions of nature are also beautiful. The poem reveals the difference between his love for nature as a child and his love for nature as a man. As a child, he had a passion and appetite for nature, but he has a love for nature as a man. He was meditative and reflective towards nature. Even the most ordinary objects of nature gave rise to profound thoughts in him.

The poem is characterized by a strange sense of duality. Even though the world around the speaker is beautiful, peaceful, and serene, he is sad and angry because of what he (and humanity) has lost. Because nature is a kind of religion to Wordsworth, he knows that it is wrong to be depressed in nature's midst and pulls himself out of his depression for as long as he can.

‘The Immortality Ode’ is one of the greatest of Wordsworth’s odes. It is a poetic account of the immortal nature of the human spirit. So we can say that ‘Immortality Ode’ is the immortal ode in English literature.

 

Doctor Faustus as a Renaissance Play

 

The Renaissance gave birth to a new age in England. It cleared off the cobwebs of ignorance and superstition. It made the way clear for the diffusion of new thoughts and new ideals. It developed a passion for knowledge infinite and a love for more and more power. Deep learning began to find flavour. People of this age began to take interest in the exploration of the new world and in adventure. Literature, music, dance and mirth played a significant role in the general life of the people of this age. Interest in science, nature and geography stirred the people of the age.

The Renaissance inspired the writers of the age to give expressions to the values that the Renaissance had brought in its wake. Marlowe also showed his love for the Renaissance spirit. His Doctor Faustus reflects all the important features of the Renaissance. The hero of the play is a great Renaissance figure.

Passion for knowledge and power was a very important feature of the Renaissance. Doctor Faustus reflects this spirit. The hero of this play, Faustus, was born into a low family but he was endowed with the natural gift of a brilliant mind. He received a university education and got a doctorate in Theology. He mastered all the sciences of the time. But this could not quench his thirst for knowledge and power. Thus one by one he dismissed all subjects and decided to study magic. He believed that a sound magician is a mighty God. For the sake of acquiring knowledge, he sold even his soul to the Devil. Thus the character of Faustus reflects one of the important features of the Renaissance.

Deep learning was one of the important characteristics of the Renaissance. People of this period were fond of books. We find a clear reflection of this Renaissance spirit in the character of Doctor Faustus. He was fond of Aristotle's work. He studied a lot of books on theology, philosophy, medicine, law, logic, physics, and economics. The metaphysics of magicians and books of Necromancy were heavenly to him.        

Doctor Faustus deals with interest in the exploration of a new world and in trade and commerce. Faustus wants to have power over the spirits. He wants to have them fly to India for gold and to ransack the ocean for orient pearls. Like all Renaissance men, Doctor Faustus shows his interest in the quest for new regions beyond the seas. 

            Interest in science, nature and geography stirred the people of the Renaissance age. This spirit is clearly reflected in Doctor Faustus. Faustus knows that the year is divided into two circles over the whole world. When it is winter in one circle, there is summer in the other. He gets information about the entire universe from Mephistopheles.

Apart from the above-mentioned features, we get many other features of the Renaissance in Doctor Faustus. Like all Renaissance men, Faustus tried to make the impossible possible. He made several inquiries from Mephistopheles. The spirit of inquiry was a dominant trait of the Renaissance. Like all Renaissance men he loved music, dance, mirth and beauty. And that's why he wants to see Helen.

Thus, Doctor Faustus is an excellent play. It deals with the spirit of the age. It clearly reflects a lot of important features of the Renaissance.

Character Sketch of Doctor Faustus

 

Faustus is the central figure of Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. Faustus is a character ideal to be the hero of a tragedy where man alone is the maker of his fate, good or bad. He falls, not by the fickleness of fortune or the decree of fate, or because he has been corrupted by Mephistophilis, the agent of Lucifer, the Devil, but because of his own will.

Faustus is an ordinary German born in a humble family who goes to Wittenberg for higher studies, mainly supported by his kinsmen. But in course of time, he graces the golden field of learning and before long obtains a Doctor’s in Divinity for his unsurpassed skill in dispute on heavenly problems. He has attained mastery over various branches of study. Thus Faustus is a break from the traditional concept of the tragic hero to the extent that he is not of royalty or any noble parentage. But he is great all the same, because of his scholarship.

He possesses rich imaginative faculty. He cherishes the idea that as a magician he will be greater than emperors and kings, and his dominion will stretch “as far as doth the mind of man.” He will become a mighty God. Endowed with exceptional imaginative power, he visualizes as a magician the bright dreams of his future.

Faustus is not satisfied with his vast knowledge in various subjects of the university, for still, he is an ordinary man. Faustus wants to be a superman; he wants to be a “mighty God.” He is “swollen with cunning and of a self-conceit”—to such an extent that he becomes the “Icarus” of classical mythology. And he aspires on the artificial wings of his knowledge to soar above human limits, to reach the status of a “Jove in the sky.” Pride is the sin for which the angels fell.

Faustus stands not for a character, not for a man, but for Man, for Everyman. The grim tragedy that befalls him is not a personal tragedy, but a tragedy that overtakes all those who dare “practice more than heavenly power permits.” The terrible conflict that goes on in his mind is not particular to him alone, but common to all who waver between opposites.

Faustus’ choice of necromancy is made after inner conflict. The appearance of the Good Angel and the Bad Angel side by side are the personifications of his good and evil impulses. His conventional heart is opposed to his self-damnation and this is clearly hinted when his blood congeals as he proceeds to write: “Faustus delivers his soul to the Devil.”

The doubts and fears which rock the mind of Faustus are not of one character alone: these doubts and fears about hell, heaven, God, salvation and damnation have been experienced by all inquisitive men of all ages. Faustus wavers between his Good and Evil angels, between God and Devil, so we may see Marlowe hesitating between the submissive acceptance of a dogmatic system and a pagan simplicity of outlook to which instinct and temperament prompted him. It will be hard to condemn Marlowe as an atheist. His skeptical and rebellious temperament was not simply his personal tendency; rather he was impressed by the prevailing tendency for free thinking on religious matters. In the same sense, Faustus, with all their doubts and fears about hell and damnation, believes in Christ and God. Faustus in the beginning is a bold, defiant and adventurous spirit of the Renaissance but at the approach of his doom, he reaffirms his faith in Christ.

Doctor Faustus as a Morality Play

 

The play may largely be called a morality play. By selling his soul to the devil, Faustus lives a blasphemous life full of sterile and sensual pleasures for only twenty-four years. He criticizes Christianity by insulting the Pope with the Holy Fathers of Rome. There is a sharp conflict in his soul between his ambition and conscience, between the good angel and the evil angel who breaks out of this internal struggle. Yet, at the end Faustus yields to the temptations of Evil angel, thus paving the way for an eternal curse. When Faustus has barely an hour to live, he realizes with the utmost pain and horror that his sins neither can be ignored nor be purified and nothing can save him from an eternal curse. He realizes that his soul burn permanently into hell and he with the most effective expression scourges the very tormented soul in his last soliloquy: "My God, my God, look not so fierce on me!...”

The main goal of the morality play was to present educational ethics. It was a dramatic guide to Christian life and Christian death. Those who ignore the path of virtue and renounce faith in God and Christ and follow the path of the Devil and Satan is destined to despair and an eternal curse. This is Marlowe's message to his play Doctor Faustus. The sad choir's most palpable expression is in the final line: “I’ll burn my books!—Ah, Mephistophilis !”

In the depiction of moral plays, abstract figures of vices or virtues were embodied. Here in this drama Doctor Faustus, we also find the good angel and the evil angel, the first symbolizing the path of virtue and the last of sin and curse. The old man strongly symbolizes the forces of righteousness and morality. He suggests Doctor Faustus abjure magic and come to the path of light. This also bears witness to morality.

Doctor Faustus is hungry for knowledge and as result, he always is on a quest for that. He studies almost all branches of knowledge as well as religion, yet he still is hungry for more knowledge which is the reason behind adopting the prohibited knowledge of "black magic". Here his incomparable wisdom fails him.

The comic scenes of Doctor Faustus also represent the tradition of miraculous plays and ancient morals. We found Faustus playing despicable tricks on the Pope, who represents the corrupt religion. We also capture Doctor Faustus to make the trick with that of the horse courser who plainly believes Doctor Faustus. When he was overwhelmed by the magical horse, he, at last, realized the deceit of Doctor Faustus. The struggle between Faustus’s uncontrolled appetites and the powers of heaven continues. Faustus has free will, free choice, and the ability to affirm or deny God. He cannot blame anybody but himself for his actions and their consequences. After signing the document, Faustus says: ’Consummatumest’ which was the last words of Christ on earth according to the Gospel of St. John.

Marlowe shows great insight into the twisted mind of the magician by putting these blasphemous words in Faustus’s mouth. We see Faustus, his emotional and intellectual instability is fully revealed. He dwindles and waves between God and the devil. At first, he is conscience-stricken: “Now Faustus, must thou needs be damned, and canst thou not be saved”.

The issue of good and evil is very significant in Doctor Faustus. The struggle between good and evil turns the man to be hesitant and remain puzzled and Doctor Faustus is no exception to that. It is the selection of the man that he must have to choose either good or evil and which way is good and which way is bad for him.

We can conclude that Doctor Faustus is both the fulfillment of the English moral traditions and the finest and final of Marlow's heroic plays. As a morality play, it bears all the relevance and proves humility, belief, and compliance with God's law. As a heroic play, it rejoices in power, beauty, wealth, and knowledge as well as it is Marlowe’s masterpiece.

Twelfth Night: Theme of Love

 

                In the play Twelfth Night, Shakespeare explores and illustrates the emotion of love with precise detail. Shakespeare examines three different types of love: true love, self-love, and friendship.

            Twelfth Night consists of many love triangles, however many of the characters who are tangled up in the web of love are blind to see that their emotions and feelings toward other characters are untrue. They are being deceived by themselves and/or the others around them.

            There are certain instances in the play where the emotion of love is true, and the two people involved feel very strongly toward one another. Viola’s love for Orsino is a great example of true love. Although she is pretending to be a man and is virtually unknown in Illyria, she hopes to win the Duke’s heart. In Act 1, scene 4, Viola lets out her true feelings for Cesario, “yet a barful strife! Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife (1).”

            That statement becomes true when Viola reveals her true identity. Viola and Orsino had a very good friendship, and making the switch to husband and wife was easy. Viola was caught up in another true love scenario, only this time she was on the receiving end, and things didn’t work out so smoothly. During her attempts to court Olivia for Orsino, Olivia grew to love Cesario. Viola was now caught in a terrible situation and there was only one way out, but that would jeopardize her chances with Orsino.

            It’s amazing that Olivia could fall for a woman dressed as a man, but because Viola knew what women like to hear, her words won Olivia’s heart. The next case of true love is on a less intimate and romantic scale, and more family-oriented. Viola and Sebastian’s love for one another is a bond felt by all siblings. Through their times of sorrow and mourning for each of their apparent deaths, they still loved each other. They believed deep down that maybe in some way or by some miracle that each of them was still alive and well.

            Many people, even in today’s society, love themselves more than anything else. Twelfth Night addresses the issue of self-love and how it affects people’s lives. Malvolio is the easiest to identify with the problem of self-love. He sees himself as a handsome nobleman.

            Malvolio believes many women would love to be with him. He likes to see things one way only, and he deceives himself just to suit his outlook on the situation. For example, in the play, he twists Olivia’s words around to make it sound like she admires his yellow cross-gartered stockings when she really despises them. Both Sir Toby and Olivia show signs of self-love but it is not as big an issue. Sir Toby only cares about himself and no one else, not even his friends.

            He ignores Maria’s warnings about drinking into the night, and he continues to push Sir Andrew to court Olivia. Although he believes Sir Andrew doesn’t have a chance. Olivia cares about the people around her, but she also believes that no man is worthy of her beauty. She thinks she is “all that,” and that no one can match her.

            Friendship is the third type of love expressed in “Twelfth Night.” The closest friendship would have to be between Orsino and Cesario. They barely knew each other at first, and before long Orsino was telling Cesario his inner love for Olivia. He even had Cesario running his love messages to Olivia.

            The second friendship between Viola and the Sea Captain was not mentioned a lot, but they had a very deep bond between themselves. They survived the shipwreck together and the Captain promised to keep Viola’s idea about pretending to be a man a secret. If he had opened his mouth the entire play would have changed.

            The third friendship, and definitely the strangest, is between Sir Toby and Sir Andrew. They are close friends but sometimes Sir Toby doesn’t show it. He sets Sir Andrew up and likes to get him into trouble. An example is persuading Sir Andrew to challenge Cesario to a dual, even though he is not a great swordsman and is unaware of Cesario’s ability. On the other hand, Sir Andrew appreciates Sir Toby’s company because he always lifts his spirits and makes him feel like a true knight.

            Love plays a major role in “Twelfth Night,” and Shakespeare addresses true love, self-love, and friendship in a very compelling and interesting way. Love is great to read about because everyone deserves a little love. “Twelfth Night” is the true definition of love, and Shakespeare does a great job of explaining a somewhat difficult topic.

Character Sketch of Duke Orsino

 

Duke Orsino is one of the main characters in Shakespeare's play.  Of all the characters in the play, his social rank is the highest. He begins the play with a declaration that if music is the food of love, play on. 

The play is set in Illyria, where Duke Orsino is the ruler. Orsino is helplessly in love with a noblewoman by the name of Olivia. She is mourning the loss of her brother. In Elizabethan society, women had to obey their fathers in choosing their future husbands, but we have to realize that Olivia is free to choose her man because he has no father and no brother.

Orsino, however, is undeterred. Orsino hires a page to deliver his messages of love to Olivia. Unbeknownst to the duke, Cesario's real name is Viola, and she is only posing as a man. Viola is the main protagonist in Twelfth Night and much of the story is told through her perspective. Shortly after being hired by Orsino, Viola falls in love with the duke. She is unsure how to pursue her feelings, however, because Orsino believes her to be a man. 

Throughout the play Orsino complains about his unrequited love, causing him to fall into a state of melancholy. All the while, he has no idea that he has an admirer of his own. Duke Orsino is moody. He represents the tradition of courtly love of the Elizabethan age perfectly. He is a good ruler because a sea captain describes him as “a noble duke, in nature as in name.” His language is literary whenever he speaks on elevated matters such as love. It tells us about his knowledge. At the same time, it also tells us of his self-love because it seems like he enjoys listening to himself.

To complicate matters further, while Viola, under the guise of Cesario, is delivering Orsino's messages, she catches the eye of Olivia. Olivia falls in love with whom she believes to be the young and dashing Cesario, thus completing the love triangle. Orsino loves Olivia, Viola loves Orsino, and Olivia loves Viola.

Despite his often-professed love for Olivia, Orsino becomes quite fond of his newly hired page. The romantic entanglement comes to a head when Orsino travels with Cesario (Viola) to visit Olivia himself. Upon arrival, Olivia greets Cesario as her husband. Orsino is outraged, but all is resolved when Viola's twin brother, Sebastian, enters the scene. Olivia had in fact married Sebastian, thinking he was Cesario. Viola then reveals her true identity, and Orsino realizes that he has been in love with Viola the whole time. The play ends happily with Orsino and Viola becoming a couple. 

Orsino’s mind is immature. The clown in the play describes it as “for thy mind is very opal.” He is very moody while dealing with things in day-to-day life. His aggressive manliness has been turned upside down to reveal how comic it actually is. He shows maturity when he describes his bravery of Antonio even though he used to be his enemy. He corrects his pretention when he accepts his affected declaration of love for Olivia, takes Viola as his wife, and accepts her love. 

The duke is, however, according to Olivia and others, a perfect gentleman. He is handsome, brave, courtly, virtuous, noble, wealthy, gracious, loyal and devoted —he is everything a young lady could wish for in a husband. This ultimately makes it believable that Viola falls in love with him immediately.

Character sketch of Viola

 

Viola is the most vital character in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a romantic comedy. She is the heroine of this play. She is the most charming character in the world of Shakespeare.

Viola is very practical in her life. She has strong willpower and she is the mistress of her will. As a shipwrecked orphan, she has no one to protect her, she must resort to some means whereby her safety is assured. She knows that a single woman unattended in a foreign land would be in an extremely dangerous position. Consequently, she evaluates the sea captain's character, finds it suitable, and wisely places her trust in him. She takes no time in making future plans for herself. Within three days she wins the Duke’s favour with her sweetness and devotion. She plays the role of a boy so nicely. She knows well how to grab success. She is a keen observer of life and the world. That’s why she is never deceived.

Her radiant hope and sweet temperament make her an excellent character.  In the play, she is appreciated by all. She knows her duty well and performs it honestly. She goes again and again to Olivia and very earnestly and sincerely tries to enkindle love in her heart. We should also remember that even though she is in love with the duke, she is loyal in her missions and she tries to win Lady Olivia's love for him.

Viola’s character reflects her modesty. It is a precious jewel of her character. She disguises herself as a boy so that she will be safe and have a man's freedom to move about without protection. We know that she has a great love for the Duke but due to her modesty, she never expressed it. By putting Olivia and Viola in the same situation, Shakespeare shows the two ways of dealing with it. While Olivia chooses to mourn for her brother, Viola opts for looking forward. Viola attaches hope to the good fortune of her own survival and asserts faith that her brother may not have drowned at all. It is interesting to note the contrast between Olivia and Viola. Viola displays intelligence, and self-control and has a mature respect for love. Her views of love are confident, compared to Olivia who has no concept of the idea of true love.

Viola also has native intelligence, an engaging wit, and an immense amount of charm. These qualities will help her obtain her position with Duke Orsino, and they are also the same qualities which cause Lady Olivia to immediately fall in love with her. It was her charming personality, we should remember, which won her the sea captain's loyalty, without whose help her disguise would have never succeeded. And within a short three days, her wit, charm, loyalty, and her skill in music and conversation won her the complete trust of Duke Orsino.

Viola is essentially a woman. She may disguise herself as a man, but she has a woman’s tenderness, pity lack of physical boldness and courage. She is afraid of bloodshed and violence. She nearly faints at the sight of bright swords in the brief comic scene of her fight with Sir Andrew.

Viola’s love is pure noble and sacrificing. Her love is not the sentimental love of Duke, Orsino for Olivia not the impulsive love of Olivia for Sebastian, nor the sensual love of Sir Toby for Maria, nor the shallow love of Sir Andrew for Olivia, nor the self-love of Malvolio. Her love is sincere and noble love of the heart. She loves Orsino and never speaks of it.

Viola is a lovable character. In the play, she is appreciated by all. She knows her duty well and follows it strictly suppressing all her personal feelings and emotions. That’s why a scholar exclaims: ‘….Rosalind is a woman, Viola is a poem.”

Twelfth Night: As a Romantic Comedy

 

William Shakespeare has written many romantic comedies. Twelfth Night is one of the finest comedies of the author. We know that a romantic comedy is a play in which the romantic elements are mingled with comic elements. It is a form of comedy that deals with love. Love, at first sight, is often its main theme. Generally, a romantic comedy starts with some problems that make the union of the lover difficult. But it ends with their happy union.

Twelfth Night possesses certain features which are common to all romantic comedies of Shakespeare. It is based on love leading to marriage. It is a tale of love at first sight. Not one or two of the characters are in love, but all are in love. Twelfth Night opens with a note of love. The duke is in love with Olivia, Olivia is in love with Viola (disguised as Cesario) and Viola is in love with the Duke. Sir Andrew and Malvolio both love Lady Olivia and want to marry her. The entire fifth act echoes the wedding bells and offers a happy ending.

In Shakespearean romantic comedies, female characters play an important role. This predominance gives the play an air of romance. In this play, the entire story revolves around the two female characters named Viola and Olivia. Even the chief male characters find their significance due to them.

The atmosphere of Twelfth Night is full of mirth and laughter. From the beginning to the end the play presents a beautiful love story. When the play opens we find a Duke who is panting for Olivia. Viola in the guise of a boy gets a job with the Duke. She has fallen in love with him, though she keeps it a secret. Since the Duke has a great love for Olivia, he sends Viola to her to plead for him. Viola is good-looking and charming. She wins the heart of Olivia. This triangular love makes this play interesting and romantic.

The fifth and final act of the play shows a happy ending. In this act, we find Sebastian, the twin brother of Viola. He is very smart. His arrival solves the problem. All mysteries are exposed and almost all the characters get their due share of cheerfulness. This happy ending makes the play highly romantic.

A happy blending of fact and fiction is a very important characteristic of Twelfth Night. The person and the places, the plot and the setting are all imaginary. They have been given romantic touch by William Shakespeare. Some characters like Fest, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Malvolio are humourous characters. They provoke laughter and create a romantic atmosphere in the play.

Music and song play important role in the comedies of William Shakespeare. They are the keynote of the Twelfth Night. The whole body of the play is studded with songs. In short, the song and music of the play provide this comedy with an excellent romantic atmosphere.

To conclude, Twelfth Night is the purest and merriest comedy that Shakespeare wrote ever. Dowden has rightly called this play ‘Joyous, refined and romantic.’

Keats’ Negative Capability

Keats believes that a poet has no personality of his own. Just as a dramatist merges his personality into his characters, the poet should also identify himself with what excites his emotions. The dramatist splits his personality into the manifold variety of human life: his imagination embodies itself only in the figures of his imagination. His creations are living because they share his life breath. In the same manner, according to Keats, the poet should be open to every emotion that comes to him from the objects of nature. He should subdue his ego or self in such a manner that he may possess the negative capability of participating in the life of nature. In one of his letters, Keats writes that when he sees a swallow picking up the grass, he wants to be a swallow to feel what it is like to be one.

In ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, he actually transforms into the world of Nightingale and imagines himself on the same branch to experience what it experiences. And when he listens to its song in the darkness of the night, he shares its joy and wants to die.

In ‘Ode to a Grecian Urn’, he is wonder-struck to see the forest scene of some festival or sacrifice carved on the Urn. The details of the scene arrest his attention. He shares with the leaves and the human beings the immortality that they enjoy. He finds the young man singing a song that he will sing for eternity. He finds love and beauty captured in a moment of an ecstatic union and makes the moments eternal. This feeling of participation in the eternity of love and beauty as carved on the Grecian urn leads him to exclaim:

Beauty is truth, truth beauty - that is all,

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

In ‘Ode to Autumn’, Keats splits his personality into the personified visions of autumn, as it expresses itself in the various activities of Autumn and in the persons engaged in those activities. He finds autumn sitting like a happy farmer amid his heap of corn. Sometimes the season is present in the form of a man fanning the corn to separate from the husk, its ‘hair, soft-lifted by the winnowing wind’.

Keats was a worshipper of beauty, and it was his senses that revealed to him the beauty of things. The beauty of the Universe from the stars of the sky to the flowers of the earth - first struck his senses, and then from the beauty perceptible to the senses, his imagination seized the principle of beauty in all things. It was through his sense-impressions which kindled his imagination that he realized the truth that ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty’.

It is this capacity for a negative capability that enables the poet to experience at the same time the emotion of melancholy and joy. This is the peculiar quality of Keats’ genius that enabled him to express his feelings most naturally. Keats’ negative capability is precisely a rejection of set philosophies and preconceived systems of nature. According to Keats, the poet should be receptive rather than searching for fact or reason and should not seek absolute knowledge of every truth, mystery, or doubt.

John Keats: As a Sensuous Poet

The term ‘sensuous’ usually refers to delights borrowed from the senses. Sensuousness is the quality derived from five senses- sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. It is a way of perception through five senses. A sensuous poet uses those word pictures that help the reader to understand the sights and sounds expressed or suggested in a poem. John Keats is best known for his use of such images that appeal to human senses. The poetry of Keats is characterized by the use of sensuous language. Keats is a worshipper of beauty and apprehends beauty everywhere. It is his senses that first reveal to him the beauty of things. All his works, including his great odes contain rich sensuous appeal.

“Ode to Nightingale” is one of the most remarkable poems of sensuousness. In the second stanza of this ode, there is a description of the gustatory sensation of drinking wine. There are references to the visual and auditory senses too. The poet also paints the picture of a drunken whose mouth is purple stained because of the red wine he has drunk:

“With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,

And purple-stained mouth,”

‘Ode to Autumn’ is considered to be the perfect embodiment of concrete sensuous experience. The poem gives a graphic description of the season with all its variety and richness. The whole atmosphere and the mood of the season are presented through sensuous imagery and descriptions:        

                 “With fruits the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

                                 To bend with apples and moss’d cottage-trees,

                                 And fill all fruits with ripeness to the core.”

                ‘The “Ode on a Grecian Urn’ contains a series of sensuous picture-passionate men and Gods chasing  reluctant maidens, the fair youth trying to kiss his beloved, the happy branches of the tree enjoying an everlasting spring, etc. The ecstasy of the passion of love and of youth is beautifully depicted in the following lines:

                       More happy love! More happy happy love!

                       Fore ever warm and still to be enjoy’d,

                       For ever painting, and forever young.

            In the ‘Ode to fancy”, we have a series of pictures which please our senses. The fruits of autumn, buds and bells of May, the sweet singing of the birds, the various flowers, the daisy, the marigold, the lily, the primrose are a kind of feast which we enjoy as we go through the poem.

Wordsworth’s imagination is stirred by what he sees and hears in nature. Milton is no less sensitive to the beauty of nature, of the flowers in “Paradise Lost” in a sensuous manner. But Keats’ poetry appeals to our sense of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch and sense of hot and cold. He exclaims in one of his letters “O for a life of sensation than of thoughts”. He is a pure poet in sense of seeking not sensual but sensuous delight.

Keats is a poet of sensations. His thoughts are enclosed in sensuousness and this sensuousness is linked to the great pictorial quality of his poetic art in which he equals the excellence of Spencer. Keats is a mystic of senses. He sought to reveal the ultimate truth of the universe trough aesthetic sensations and not through philosophical thoughts. As he became a mature poet, Keats began to see not only the beauty of things but also their truth. The sensuousness of Keats’s poetic language is a heroic attempt to stabilize and appreciate an ultimately unattainable reality. That is why Keats’s poetic genius is unparalleled for all ages.

Theme of Astrophil and Stella

             The sonnet sequence Astrophel and Stella was published in 1591. One outstanding quality of the sonnets is the sincerity of the poet. Mair says, “The sonnets of Sidney are the first direct expression in English literature of an ultimate and personal experience.’’ The influence of Astrophel and Stella was so strong in the contemporary age that everybody tried his hands to write sonnets.

            Astrophel is the central character, who expresses his views, his passion for love for a lady, his conflict between reason and love, and so on. Sometimes, Astrophel seems to be addressing a friend, wits, or other persons and sometimes he communes with himself. The sonnets are a series of conversational monologues in which we hear the outpouring of the poet’s love and frustration caused by her enigmatic attitude or by her perpetual silence.

            In this, Sidney touches on a few main themes throughout the sonnet sequence. One of these themes is that of love versus desire. Throughout the sequence, Astrophel is shown as being madly in unreciprocated love with Stella. But this love quickly turns to desire that he cannot control, ultimately leading to their platonic relationship's downfall. Another theme, and all-encompassing metaphor, is the difference between light and day as the difference between Stella being with Astrophel and not being with him, respectively. Even the name of the sequence and characters imply this metaphor, translating to “star-lover” and “star.”

             In the beginning, Stella does not bestow any affection on Astrophel and it becomes clear that the feelings aren’t mutual; Stella proceeds to still be kind towards him. Astrophel later discovers that the woman he deeply loves is married to another man. During the marriage, Stella also discovers that she is unhappy which makes Astrophel become more in tune with his feelings for her. He eventually grows to love Stella by being in her presence and gaining knowledge of what and who she is. Stella then returns Astrophel's affection, though Stella isn’t completely satisfied. At the end of the sonnet, Astrophel tries to persuade her to make love with him despite her marriage vows. As a result, Stella ends the relationship and begins to let him know that the affair can no longer be consummated. Even though Stella loves Astrophel she will not continue to break her marriage vows.

    Throughout the sequence, Astrophel struggles between his love for Stella and his rationality. Because Stella is married, Astrophel recognizes that he can never have a full relationship with her. Moreover, he recognizes that his infatuation with her is foolish and irrational. He isolates his friends and family, damages his reputation in court, and threatens his emotional and mental well-being because he is obsessed with Stella. Yet, even as his reason urges him to give up Stella for his own good, Astrophel cannot stop loving her. The sonnets are full of dialogues between Reason and Love in which Astrophel admits that Reason is correct, but he remains unable to give up his love. Even at the end of the sequence, Astrophel's love prevails over his reason; he is happier having loved her and lost her than never having loved her at all.

            The sonnet sequence expresses the bitter sorrow, the struggle of a virtuous heart between love and duty, desire to possess her. Through the sonnets, the figure of a high-born young man appears more and more revealed. Within the narrow bounds of its fourteen lines, he expressed each movement of his verse, each incident of his love.

Sidney’s Sonnets

 

1.    1.  Not at First Sight, nor with a Dribbed Shot

In this sonnet, the poet declares that his love for his beloved was not a love at first sight but a gradual development. He says that he did not fall in love with Stella at first sight. Stella could impress him but did not captivate the heart of the poet completely. The poet rejects the Petrarchan convention of love. He says that no doubt when he saw his beloved first time his reaction was positive and he liked it. Yet he had not fallen in love with it so intensely that it became a passion with him. He began to love her gradually when he came to realize the worth and nobility of her character. After falling in love the lover has become accustomed to his slavery. He takes it a matter of pride to be the slave of his beloved and suffers the tyrannies of his beloved. The beloved has completely swayed over his mind, thought and feelings. In his slavery, he suffers the tortures of hell and expresses these sufferings of love in his poem.

2.     2. Virtue Alas, Now Let me Take some rest.

The poem presents the tussle between Astrophel's reasoning and emotion (passion). His heart (emotional side) wants to resign before the ruthless and "vain love". He requests his virtue to take rest and leave him at love's mercy and oppression. He urges virtue to use its scepter i.e. correction measure in schools or churches which is well suited for its purpose. Astrophel confesses that he has done a wrong by falling in love with Stella. He couldn't deny its charges because he can't stand against virtue's power. He can convince virtue with the little "reason that is left" in him about his feelings. He believes he can show "true a deity" that resides in his heart and even virtue would also fall in love with Stella. This love sonnet shows the contention of the narrator against love. It's an internal fight inside his mind. His reason says that love is sort of a crime, even Astrophel admits this point. He confesses it as if he has committed a sin. The poem follows a rhyme scheme: abab abab ccd ccd. Virtue is personified in the poem.

3. Your Words My Friend, Right Healthful Caustics Blame

In this sonnet, Astrophel declares that he is fully committed to his beloved Stella. Actually, the advice of Astrophel’s friend is the voice of reason and he is not ready to listen to it. He tells that he is in the trap of love. Love has spoiled his wits. He categorically negates all philosophies. He says that he is not ready to accept the teaching of Plato that man should sublimate his desire and concentrate on the higher thing. In this way, we witness again the debate between reason and passion and ultimately the lover proclaims that Stella is the most natural of all activities. 

4. No More, My Deare, No More These Counsels Try

Sidney begins the second section of his sonnet sequence Astrophel and Stella with this sonnet. In this section, Astrophel comes before us not as a hesitant lover who is afraid of the criticism of the world, but as a man of will and determination. He declares that there is no question of regret. The shame and disgrace even the criticism of his friends cannot the lover’s mind. His only aim in life is to possess the heart of Stella- the Goddess of beauty and love. Astrophel differs from the conventional lover in his refusal to reproach his beloved for cruelty. He recognizes the irresistible power of love. Stella has become for him a forbidden fruit and it has increased his longing for her more acute and intense. The lover is not after a big post. He does not want to be a philosopher like Aristotle or a great general like Caesar. His sole aim is to get Stella.  

5. Desire, Though Thou My Old Companion Art

Astrophel says that his desire and love have become one and inseparable. His love has been accepted by his beloved – Stella but on the condition that he would prove himself a virtuous and pure lover. He agrees but it is a short-lived commitment. The lover finds clamour of several desires once again compelling him to change his stance. The lover realizes that it is not possible for him to oppress his casual desires. The body cannot be controlled by virtue. And Astrophel sadly but frankly admits that more idealism is not enough, his body also wants sensual pleasures.    

Character Sketch of Portia and Shylock

 

Character sketch of Portia

Among the heroines created by Shakespeare, Portia occupies a high position. She produces a powerful impression on our minds, and her role in the play is most conspicuous and memorable. When the play the Merchant of Venice is mentioned anywhere, people think of two persons, namely Shylock and Portia; and these two persons are inseparable from each other in our minds because we remember Shylock chiefly as a villain wanting to take the life of his enemy Antonio, and we think of Portia as the person who defeats Shylock’s evil design. And, of course, Portia has other qualities also to impart a measure of greatness to her.

Her Sense of Humour and Her Sparkling Wit   

Portia has a strong sense of humour and sparkling. When she is first introduced to us, she tells Nerissa that she is feeling weary of the world. But this sad mood lasts only for a few minutes, and she begins to talk about the various suitors who have arrived at Belmont to try their luck at the caskets. Portia has something very amusing to say about each of these four suitors. Her comment on her English suitor is perhaps the most amusing. Portia’s comments on her various suitors show also her powers of minute observation and her penetrating judgment of human character.

Her Devotion to the Memory of Her Father

Portia is devoted to the memory of her father who, while dying, had devised a kind of lottery for the purpose of her choice of a husband. She is determined to carry out the terms of her late father’s will. Of course, she can disregard her father’s will and marry a man based on her own judgment. But she has implicit faith in her father’s wisdom, and she is convinced that her father’s will would prove to be the means of her getting the right man as her husband.

Her Compassionate Nature

Portia has essentially a compassionate nature. Her famous “Quality of Mercy” speech is proof of that. Mercy, she says, is an attribute to God Himself. Unfortunately, the Jew pays no heed to Portia’s plea. At the same time, we must acknowledge the fact that, in pronouncing the punishment to which Shylock has rendered himself liable, she tends to forget her own ardent plea for mercy. She allows the Christians to have their own way with him. She allows them to force him not only to part with all his wealth but also to be converted to Christianity. 

Her Modesty, Humility, and Femininity

Although Portia is a woman with a powerful intellect and extraordinary powers of reasoning, she yet remains a woman at heart with a lot of modesty, humility, and compassion. When Bassanio puts his hand on the lead casket, she feels overwhelmed. When he actually opens the lead casket and, finding her picture in it, claims her with a kiss, she makes a speech that embodies the very spirit of humility. She describes herself as an unschooled, un-lessoned, and unpracticed woman, and then goes on to make a complete surrender of herself to the man who has won her as his wife.

Her Generous Disposition

Portia is a very large-hearted and generous woman. Every wealthy person is not generous. Some wealthy persons are also the greatest misers. Shylock is, of course, the most striking example of this sort of thing. But Portia combines her vast material wealth with an inner treasure of generosity. On learning the plight of Bassanio’s dearest friend, she offers t Bassanio any amount of money that he may need for the rescue of Antonio from the clutches of the Jew. And then she dons a lawyer’s clothes to function as a judge in the case because she has hit upon a plan to save Antonio’s life.

The Muse of Wisdom and Love

For all these reasons, one of the critics describes Portia as the Queen of this play, and as the Muse of wisdom and love.

 

Character Sketch of Shylock

A Villain Deserving of Pity- Shylock is one of the most well-known characters in all of Shakespeare's plays. He is also a contentious character. Some critics and readers see him as a complete villain, while others believe that, despite his villainy, he deserves some sympathy.
 

A swindler- Shylock is a moneylender by trade. Money lending in and of itself is not something shameful, discreditable, degrading, or even objectionable. However, money-lending becomes odious and abhorrent when a money-lender becomes an exploiter by charging exorbitant interest rates.
 

His Christian intolerance, as well as his extreme miserliness- Shylock, repulses us not only because of his usury but also because of his religious intolerance. He despises Christians and despises them fiercely. At one point in the play, he says in an aside that he despises Antonio for two reasons: first, because Antonio is a Christian, and second because Antonio lowers the rate of interest in Venice by lending money for free.

His shady and devious dealings- Shylock is a cunning and deceitful man. Initially, he expresses his reluctance to lend to Antonio because Antonio has been mistreating him. However, a completely different thought-form in his mind. He then agrees to make the loan, but on the condition that the bond is signed including a clause stating that if Antonio fails to repay the loan within three months, he will be entitled to cut off a pound of Antonio's flesh closest to his heart.

Shylock is an obvious choice for the play's antagonist because he is the dark character who is unquestionably on the outskirts of society. He drives the plot's main conflict about the debt, and he is adamant about wanting Antonio's flesh rather than monetary compensation. The role of Shylock has been played in a variety of ways. He is sometimes portrayed as evil, and other times as a result of the bullying he endures in Venice.