English Literature - Literary Background - Notes

LITERARY BACKGROUND – NOTES

1.   Caroline Age- Poetic Trends:

There are three kinds of poets during the Caroline age – (i) Metaphysical, (ii) Cavalier, and (iii) Puritan. John Donne, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, henry Vaughan belonged to the Metaphysical school of poetry. Cavalier poets include Ben Johnson and his followers. Robert Herrick, Thomas Carens, Sir John Suckling and Richard Lovelace.  The puritans are opposite to the Cavalier poets.  They are chiefly Milton and Andrew Marvell.

2.   Metaphysical Poetry and Metaphysical Poets:

The Metaphysical poetry developed as a revolt against the outdated and exhausted Elizabethan poetry.  The leaders of this revolt were Ben Johnson and John Donne.  Literally “Meta” means “beyond” and “physics” means “physical nature”. That is Metaphysical poets write about the things which are beyond the physical nature. Their chief subjects are Love and Religion.

The following are the characteristics of the Metaphysical poetry:

(i)                  It is heavily over-loaded with conceits, which may be defined as the excessive use of over-elaborated similes and metaphors drawn from the far fetched, remote and unfamiliar resources.

(ii)                 Metaphysical poets have always perceived similarity between dissimilar objects and used similes and metaphors to convey their perception of that similarity.

(iii)               They use figures of speech excessively.

(iv)               They perceive occult relationships.

(v)                 Their images are logical and intellectual rather than sensuous and emotional.

(vi)               Metaphysical poets use words which call the mind into play rather than those which speak to the senses.

(vii)              Metaphysical poets start their poems abruptly. Often, the openings will be colloquial. As a result, the poem takes a dramatic form.

The Metaphysical Poets:

          John Donne is the leader of the Metaphysical school of poetry. George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, Henry Vaughan, etc., are the followers of this school.

3.   The Cavalier Poetry:

The Cavalier poetry was largely poetry of the Courts.  The Cavalier poets used to write poetry reflecting the fun and their easygoing life. Ben Johnson was the leader of this group. Other poets who were followers of Ben Johnson called themselves as “Tribes of Ben”.

Clergy man Robert Herrick, the courtiers Thomas, Carew, Sir Johnson Suckling and Richard Lovelace belonged to this tribe. Robert Herrick wrote religious poetry also.  Bulk of his poetry was written under the influence of the court.

4.   The Puritan Poetry:

The Puritan poets are opposite to the Cavalier poets.  They sang of loftier (superior) things and great epic subjects.   Andrew Marvel and John Milton were the chief poets of this school of poetry. Among the Puritan poets, John Milton is a remarkable writer. His famous works are Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes.

Milton’s poetry can be divided into three phases:

1.    Early Poems (1628-1640)

2.    Prose Writings (1640-1660)

3.    Later poetry (1660-1674)

(Milton’s early poetry includes odes like “Ode on the Morning of Christ’s nativity” and other poems “L’Allegro”, “Il’Penseroso”, “Comus” and “Lycidas”, “On Shakespeare”, “On Arriving at the Area of Twenty three”, etc. 

Milton’s prose writings include many pamphlets in support of Public liberty. Out of these, “Areopagitica” is very important.

In the third phase of life, Milton’s genius found the fullest expression.  During this period, he created “Paradise Lost”, “Paradise Regained”, “Samson Agonistes”.)

Milton’s poetry serves a moral and spiritual purpose. He was autobiographical in his poetry.  He wrote like a scholar.  The politics, Religion and Morality are his interesting subjects.  He is a master of Rhyme in his shorter poems and a master of Blank verse in the longer ones. His Grand style in Paradise Lost has taken him to heights.

5.   Restoration Period:

The age of Charles-II is called the Restoration period, because he was restored on the throne out of which his father Charles-I was removed earlier. The term “Neo-Classical” is applied to the literature of this period. The writers of this age believed that the writers of ancient Greece presented the best models and the ultimate standards of literature.

The Poetic Trends of Restoration period:

          The writers of the restoration period opposed the excessive freedom of the Metaphysical poets.  They wanted to have some accepted standards of excellence.  They believed that the ancient Greek and Latin classics would be the best models for them to follow.  In the poetry of Restoration period, we find a significant observance of the rules of the ancient Greek and Latin classics (as expounded by the French Critic Boileau though they were not original but a modified one). The literature evolved during this period was called the “Neo-Classical” or a new form of the original classical.

The characteristics of the Neo-Classical Poetry:

The following are the chief characteristics of the Neo-classical poetry:

1. Realism: Neo-classical poets are mostly realists.  They represented their society, Courts and men as they were. They emphasized vices rather than virtues.
2. Dominance of Reason and Good Sense: Neo-classical poetry is marked by the dominance of reason and good sense.  It has no place for the imagination, enthusiasm, emotion and mysticism.  Their poetry appeals to our intellect and reason.
3. Pre-occupation with the Town life: Neo-classical poetry is exclusively the poetry of the town life lived by the fashionable persons in the great city of London.
4. Insistence on set poetic rules and correctness: The poetic rules and correctness as laid down by the great classical writers of the age of Augustus were insisted.
5. Absence of the Romantic Elements: Their poetry was purely classical, but not romantic.
6. Simplicity, Directness and Polish: The Neo-classical poetry is marked by the simplicity, lucidity, directness and polish in the manner of expression.
7. The Rise of the Heroic couplet: The poets of this age used “Heroic couplet” liberally compared to other stanza forms.

6. Sonnet:

Sonnet was born in Italy.  It was originally a short poem, recited to the accompaniment of music.  The word “Sonnet” is a derivative of the Italian “Sonetto” meaning ‘a little sound or strain’. The Italian sonnet was brilliantly used by ‘Petrarch’. Hence, it was called as the “Petrarchan sonnet”. It is also called the ‘classical sonnet’.  It is a short poem of fourteen lines, expressing one single thought of feeling.  It is composed of two parts- the Octave and the Sestet. The Octave is a stanza of eight lines, with rhyme scheme abba, abba. The Sestet is a stanza of six lines with various rhyme schemes cde, cde or cdc, dcd or cde, dce. .  At the end of the octave, there is well-marked pause of casura (indicated by the punctuation, often emphasized by a space) followed by a volta or turn in the thought.

          Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey introduced the Sonnet into England in the first half of the 16^th century.   In their hands, the form underwent a change.  Surrey adopted a rhyme scheme widely different from the Italian Sonnet. His sonnets contain three quatrains, in alternate rhyme, followed by a  concluding couplet: abab, cdcd, efef, gg. This form was successfully used by Shakespeare. Hence, it was later called as “Shakespearean Sonnet”.  Since it is divided into four parts, it has no pause and turn of thought (caesura and volta) at the end of the eighth line.

7. The Influence of the Bible on English Prose:

          William Tyndale was the first person to translate the Bible i., the New Testament into English language in the 16^th century. Besides following Erasmus’s Latin version of the New Testament and Luther’s German version, he worked directly from the Hebrew and the Greek.  There is a vigour and homeliness about his style.  Miles Coversale’s “The Great Bible” developed a sensible year for English prose rhythm and a gift for felicitous phrasing.  “The Great Bible” was revised under the leadership of the Archbishop Parker in 1568 and called as the “Bishop’s Bible”. On this text, the Authorised Version of the Bible (1611) was based.  In 1549, under the leadership of Thomas Crammer, the Prayer Book was prepared. It brought solemnity, beauty and sublimity to the English Prose.  Any how, The Bible has brought rhythmic vitality and sonority to the English Prose.

8. Essay:

          The word “Essay” has been used for almost anything that is not fiction or poetry or drama.  Different people defined “essay” in different ways.  The shorter Oxford English Dictionary says it is “A short composition on any particular subject.” The term “Essay” which means ‘trying out’ was coined by the French writer Michel de Montaigne. His work Essais (1580) is the first modern example of the form. Francis Bacon’s Essays (1597) began the tradition of essays in English. Other important English essayists include Addison, Stele, Charles Lamb, Hazlitt, Emerson, D.H. Lawrence, and Virginia woolf.

Chief characteristics of the Essay:

          Certain features which are common in almost all the essays are as follows:

(1)  Length of the Essay: A literary essay will be brief, short or of moderate length.

(2)  Subject matter: There are no restrictions w.r.to the subject matter. It may be historical or scientific or political or any other one.  As the essay will be brief, the essayist writes only those aspects of the subject matter, which are most significant and leaves out the rest.

(3)  Personal in nature: the essay is personal in nature.  The essay expresses the personal likes and dislikes, prejudices and Predictions of the essayist.

(4)  Informal and Unsystematic: There is no logical or formal development of thought in an essay.  Various points or arguments may not be in a systematic order.  But, the modern essay tends to be more and more elaborate, systematic and perfect in form. 

(5)  Attractive and charming: A good essay should be attractive.  It must have some sense of humour.  It must be charming so that it may be easily retained in the mind.

(6)  A prose Composition: An essay is meant to teach the hearts of ordinary people.  An essay is very easy for any one to follow because it will be in prose.

Types of Essays:

(i). The Aphoristic Essay:

          Aphorism is a statement of some general principle, expressed memorably by condensing much wisdom into few words. Aphorisms often take the form of a definition. An essay written with aphorisms is called an ‘Aphoristic essay’.  This form of essay is different from the personal essay. Bacon is the originator of the essay in England.  His essays are aphoristic essays.  His writings do not describe or portray the man himself.  He gives an objective or impersonal turn.  His main concern is to give “counsels, civil and moral” to his readers.  These counsels are conveyed in short, crisp sentences that read like aphorisms.

Examples of Bacon’s Aphorisms:

-      Reading maketh a Full Man; Conference a Ready Man; and writing an Exact Man.

-      Studies serve for Delight, for Ornament and for ability.

-      Some books are to be tasted; Others to be Swallowed; and some Few to be Chewed and Digested.

(ii) Essay of Character:

          In the earlier part of the 17^th century the Essay took the form of character sketches.  Character became a favourite form of description and satire.  Writers like Hall, Overbury, Earle used to give pen-pictures of the various types of men and women – Ex. The Hypocrine, The Milk Maid, The Affectate, Traveler and so on. Such type of essays where the character and its characteristics occupy the central theme are called Essays of character.

(iii) The Critical Essay:

          During the Restoration period Dryden introduced a new variety called the Critical Essay.  The themes of his essays were of literary criticism.  They can be called essays in criticism. The merits and the demerits of a literary work will be thoroughly discussed in the essay.  Two of the best known are The Essay of Dramatic Poesy and The Preface to his Fables.

(iv) The Periodical and Social Essay:

          With the rise of Journalism at the beginning of the 18^th century, the essay began to appear in periodicals. They derived abundant material from the manners and lapses of the people of the society.  Richard Steele and Joseph Addison were the acknowledged masters of the form.  Steele started the Tatler ( a periodical, magazine) in 1709 with a clear objective of recommending a general simplicity in dress, discourse and behaviour.  His intention was to expose the false acts of life, of pulling off the disguises of cunning, vanity and affectation.  In 1711  Steele, in association with Addison started the Spectator (a periodical, magazine). Most of the essays were employed to serve a social purpose.  The Periodical essay was adopted for literary criticism and the delineation of character.  We have many periodical essays written by Dr. Johnson and Jonathan Swift.

(v) The Reviews:

          In course of time, the periodical essays gave scope and place for critical essays which are also called as Reviews.  They have no concern with social and personal topics.  For the Reviews, the main context is criticism, as they possess many literary features.  The best known of the early Reviews was the Edinburgh and the Quarterly Review. Great men of letters like Southey, Scott, Hazlitt, Macaulay used to write reviews.  Now also, we find many reviews in the daily news papers like The Hindu giving the details of books of literary value.

(vi) The Personal Essay:

          A few great writers used the essay to reveal and exploit their own personality.  Montaigne is the person whose name has to be mentioned as a writer of this kind.  Charles Lamb’s “Essays of Elia” is a book consisting of many personal essays.  These essays are a delightful blend of autobiography, erudition, fancy, humour and sentiment.   E.V. Lucas, Leigh Hunt, Hazlitt, Thackeray, De Quincy, etc., are all the exponents of the personal essay.  Charles Lamb is considered to be the prince of personal essayists.

9. Epic Simile:

          Epic similes are formal and sustained similes, in which the secondary subject (vehicle) is developed far beyond its specific points of parallel to the primary subject (tenor).  Usually it compares one complex action (rather than a simple quality or thing) with another. This was frequently used by Homer in his epic poems, and hence was called as ‘Homeric simile.’ It was also used by Virgil, Milton and others in their literary epics. In his mock-heroic poem, “The Rape of the Lock”, Alexander pope also used epic similes, to give grandness and epic-style to the trivial subject.

10. Satire:

          Satire is a mode of writing that exposes the failings of individuals, institutions and societies to mock and contempt. Satire is often a subsidiary element in literary works that may not be wholly satirical, especially in comedy.  The satire thrives upon abuses, social or individual. Its subjects are the courtier and the court life, the puritan, the woman, the corrupt priests, the dishonest tailor, the Englishman who aped Italian or French fashions.  The heroic couplet was considered by the satirists as the fittest medium for satire.

Its tone may vary from tolerant amusement to bitter indignation.  Various forms of literature may be satirical, The models of Roman satire, especially the verse satires of Horace and Juvenal inspired some important imitations by Boileau, Pope and Johnson in the greatest period of satire- the 17^th and 18^th centuries. In this classical tradition, an important form is ‘formal’ or ‘direct’ satire, in which the writer directly addresses the reader (or recipient of a verse letter) with satiric comment.  The alternative form - the ‘indirect satire’ usually found in plays and novels allows us to draw our own conclusions from the actions of the characters, as for example in the novels of Evelyn Waugh or Chinua Achebe. 

6.   Sonnet:

Sonnet was born in Italy.  It was originally a short poem, recited to the accompaniment of music.  The word “Sonnet” is a derivative of the Italian “Sonetto” meaning ‘a little sound or strain’.

The Italian Sonnet:

          The Italian sonnet was brilliantly used by ‘Petrarch’. Hence, it was called as the “Petrarchan sonnet”. it is also called the ‘classical sonnet’.  It is a short poem of fourteen lines, expressing one single thought of feeling.  It is composed of two parts- the Octave and the Sestet. The Octave is a stanza of eight lines and the Sestet is a stanza of six lines.  The Octave has two rhymes (say ‘a’ and ‘b’) arranged in the following scheme: abba, abba. The sestet sometimes has three rhymes and sometimes two, different from those employed in the Octave and arranged in various ways as follows: cde, cde or cdc, dcd or cde, dce. the Octave may be divided into two stanzas of four lines each, called quatrains; and the sestet into two of three lines each, called tercets. At the end of the octave, there is well-marked pause of casura (indicated by the punctuation, often emphasized by a space) followed by a volta or turn in the thought.

The English Sonnet:

          Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey introduced the Sonet into England in the first half of the 16^th century.   In their hands, the form underwent a change.  Surrey adopted a rhyme scheme widely different from the Italian Sonnet. His sonnets contain three quatrains, in alternate rhyme, followed by a  concluding couplet:  abab, cdcd, efef, gg.  This form was successfully used by Shakespeare. Hence, it was later called as “Shakespearean Sonnet”.  Since it is divided into four parts, it has no pause and turn of thought (caesura and volta) at the end of the eighth line.

Satire:

Satire is a mode of writing that exposes the failings of individuals, institutions and societies to mock and contempt. Satire is often a subsidiary element in literary works that may not be wholly satirical, especially in comedy.  The satire thrives upon abuses, social or individual. Its subjects are the courtier and the court life, the puritan, the woman, the corrupt priests, the dishonest tailor, the Englishman who aped Italian or French fashions.  The heroic couplet was considered by the satirists as the fittest medium for satire.

Its tone may vary from tolerant amusement, as in the verse satires of the Roman poet Horace, to bitter indignation, as in the verse of Juvenal and prose of Jonathan Swift.  Various forms of literature may be satirical, from the plays of Ben Johnson or of Moliere and the poetry of Chaucer or Byron to the Prose writings of Rabelais and Voltaire.  The models of Roman satire, especially the verse satires of Horace and Juvenal inspired some important imitations by Boileau, Pope and Johnson in the greatest period of satire- the 17^th and 18^th centuries. In this classical tradition, an important form is ‘formal’ or ‘direct’ satire, in which the writer directly addresses the reader (or recipient of a verse letter) with satiric comment.  The alternative form of ‘indirect satire’ usually found in plays and novels allows us to draw our own conclusions from the actions of the characters, as for example in the novels of Evelyn Waugh or Chinua Achebe.