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Poetry 2nd course

3rd Stage / Evening Studies

Dr. Anaam Ali

2022

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POETRY 2nd Course

Romanticism

It is a literary, poetic, and philosophical movement which aimed

at reviving romantic inclinations. It started as a reaction (ردة فعل)

against too much moralism and didacticism in the neoclassical

poetry.

But first, we have to know something about the history of this

movement because it first started as a philosophical movement

and that was in Germany. Those who founded it were mainly 3

Germanic philosophers and their names were: Kante – Fichte –

Schelling.

Now these philosophers explained the meaning of romanticism

from their own point of view, especially their analysis of feelings,

emotions and every human feeling connected with what was

previously mentioned.

As soon as other European poets and authors knew about this

movement and the philosophers who wrote about it, they wanted to

read what was written on this subject, so they took books on

romanticism and read them and after reading them, they liked

what was written about romanticism and they wanted to apply

that in their poetry.

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So now, this movement moved from Germany to France and

England where it expanded and was given special characteristics

and features and other influences and all of that was mixed

together and appeared to the readers as we read it now.

There are certain factors and influences that surrounded this

movement and the first one is middle ages literature.

Now, middle ages with all its magic and beauty and love stories

was reused/rediscovered because as we have said before this

movement looked for whatever is connected with feelings and

passion and it found its target in medieval ages that’s why there

was heavy usage of these stories and myths in romantic poetry.

Within the same respect (field) we have the everlasting influence

of Greek and Roman mythology especially that connected with

[love, hatred, loyalty, the love and belonging to one’s homeland.]

This also added to the special flavor of this movement.

Another influence (character) which was vivid/clear in the poetry

of romanticism was the influence of French revolution which

occurred in 1789.

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The eldest generation of romantic poets who were William Blake

– William Wordsworth – Samuel Coleridge.

These poets were highly fascinated by what happened in France

and the principles of romanticism which called for equality,

freedom and brotherhood.

And they wanted something similar to happen in England [a

revolution which changes the face of England and improve the

style of life there.

Just as they thought that this will happen in France but

unfortunately, this didn’t happen in France and the revolution

turned into rivers of blood and killing and assassinations and the

first killed were its leaders.

So as much as these poets were looking forward for this revolution

as much as they hated it with the 2nd generation of romantic poets,

they were influenced by the American civil war and Abraham

Lincoln who called for the liberation of slaves.

And again, these poets wanted something similar to happen in

England but it didn’t happen till now.

On the other hand, there is the influence of certain radical (متحرر)

authors and poets who have certain principles which added to the

mixed qualities of romanticism specially that of Jean-Jacques

Rousseau and certain female writers who called for the

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emancipation (تحرير) of women specially Mary Shelley and her

mother.

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The Language and Vocabulary of

Romantic Poetry

Each romantic poet has his own way of using language and

vocabulary and images and that’s why each one of them is a

school by himself.

Note/ Dr. Anaam wants us to write in paragraphs during

examinations.

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William Blake

He is the father and founder of romanticism. He belonged to a

middle-class family and he had his education in public school, but

he didn’t finish his study and he worked with his father in order

to help the family financially.

He started writing poetry when he was 15 years old [a teenager]

and he continued writing till his old age.

Now, he was the first to write in romantic style and he put the

base for the coming romantic poets and he chose certain romantic

themes about which he wrote most of his poems.

The first of these themes was love and for him, love is of two

kinds:

1- free love [pure love] in which the two lovers are strong enough

to say that they do love each other without fear of social

restrictions.

2- secret love and in this case, the lovers love each other secretly

because they are afraid of the society and the family that is why

he calls it secret love which could not end happily.

Now, for each of these two kinds, Blake chose images taken from

nature and most of them were flower images.

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Now for the pure love, he chose Lily images (الزنبق) and sun flower

and white rose and every bright flower.

And for the secret love, he chose one specific flower which is the

red rose because red symbolizes passionate love

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Songs of Innocence

and

Songs of Experience

Now Blake (as a poet) wrote on different subjects in addition to

romanticism ones this is because he had interest and concern for

other issues especially that connected with society and he had his

own views/opinions about the situation of the English society and

living conditions and misery at that time.

Now for him, the main cause of the miserable life at that time was

the royal family, the noble class surrounding the royal family

and the church that’s why he attacked them publicly. That’s why

in his later years, the king knew that Blake will be a danger to the

throne so, he ordered that he will be put in a mental health center

because he is mad.

On the other hand, he attacked the church and here we mean [the

institution of the church] because they cared only for their

interest and for the way in which they can increase their wealth

and money that’s why the poor will stay poor unless he steals

money while the rich get richer.

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Now according to the views/opinions mentioned above, Blake

wrote 2 collections of poems entitled Songs of Innocence and

Songs of Experience.

In these two collections, he gave his opinion on what was going

on in his society like poverty, child labor, race discrimination.

Now, he wrote on these subjects and in each collection, the

attitude was different [how?] for example, when he wrote about

child labor, he was very much concerned about the child who

was forced to work at an early age in order to support the family.

That’s why most of these children would suffer clinically ( (صحيا

because most of them worked in mines (مناجم) and factories and

as chimney sweepers (منظف مداخن) and this last job increased the

number of dead children because they would be suffocated by the

soot ( صخام) in the chimney when they go through it.

So, Blake wrote 2 poems on this subject entitled The Chimney

Sweeper. Here, we have to make something very clear which is

that Blake divided these poems into 2 different volumes for a

reason which he thought is suitable to the ideas he presented.

In other words, in Songs of Innocence when he talked about child

labor, he presented the character of the child as very innocent

and doesn’t comprehend the miserable situation he is in, and all

he knows is that he is tired and sick and suffocated.

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While in Songs of Experience the character of the child has

changed and he is no more naïve and he knows who put him in

this situation whether his parents or the boss or the church

which preaches and calls for good treatment and decent living

conditions while in reality, the church cares only for its benefit.

On the other hand, and in both volumes, Blake attacked the

institution of the church which takes money and positions and

controls people with its orders but does nothing for the poor and

he uses Biblical Allusions to enforce his themes.

On the other hand, Blake introduces new themes which later on

became powerful enough to change the destiny of nations

especially race discrimination and he wrote a famous poem on

this subject.

When writing all these themes, Blake was not optimistic about

any change that could happen in England and he believed that

(hope) and (change) happen only in dreams, not in reality or it

could happen later on after the day of judgment that’s why never

be hopeful about the future.

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The Little Black Boy by William Blake

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William Blake has 2 chimney sweepers.

In each poem, Blake portrays to the reader an image of the theme

so that the reader can imagine the whole thing in his mind, as if

there is a video tape of what he is talking about.

In this poem, in which the main theme is race discrimination,

Blake imagines a dialogue between a son and his mom and the

two of them are slaves because when Blake wrote this poem,

slavery and slave trading was active at that time.

From the beginning of the poem, the child explains his negative

attitude towards being having a dark skin but he doesn’t show

it directly to his mom.

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Stanza 1

My mother bore me in the southern wild,

And I am black, but O! my soul is white;

White as an angel is the English child

But I am black, as if bereav’d of light.

Now in the 1st stanza, he says that he was born in South Africa

which is a hint to Kongo where at that time they would bring,

buy, and sell slaves and I’m Black.

Here, the child mentions that he isn’t white which is the main

problem he suffers from because he feels inferior to the white

and it seems that there is a white boy of his age which he likes to

befriend him but it seems that the white is rejecting him.

So now, he will try his best to convince the white boy that he is

like him so that the boy might accept him.

In the last line of 1st stanza, the black boy doesn’t like his dark

skin that’s why he says that he is bereaved of life which is

something very devastating.

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STANZA 2 + 3 + 4 + 5

My mother taught me underneath a tree,

And sitting down before the heat of day,

She took me on her lap and kissed me,

And pointing to the east, began to say:

“Look on the rising sun: there God does live,

“And gives his light, and gives his heat away;

“And flowers and trees and beasts and men receive

“Comfort in morning joy in the noonday.

“And we are put on earth a little space,

“That we may learn to bear the beams of love;

“And these black bodies and this sun-burnt face

“Is but a cloud, and like a shady grove.

“For when our souls have learn'd the heat to bear,

“The cloud will vanish; we shall hear his voice,

“Saying: ‘come out from the grove, my love & care,

“ ‘And round my golden tent like lambs rejoice’ ”

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Now, the mom felt the suffering/agony of her son. So, she took

him in her lap and she will try her best to lessen the suffering of

her boy.

So, she pointed to the east and she said to him “ There god lives

and he gives us his light everyday and all of us, whether human,

tree, flower or animals all live in his kingdom but we will not be

here forever, that’s why I don’t want you to fear that because

sooner or later we will move to another world (an equal world)

in which all of us will be white just like the English blonde boy.

Now, these dark bodies of us are but a grey cloud and this cloud

will be removed when we move to the eternal kingdom of god.

That’s why my boy, I want you to endure this till we meet god

and we will all be living under his golden tent.”

Now, after the mother finished her speech, the boy took her

speech for granted because it was something like a cure for his

inner injuries.

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Stanza 6

Thus did my mother say, and kissed me;

And thus I say to little English boy.

When I from black and he from white cloud free,

And round the tent of God like lambs we joy,

So, he says, only when we shall meet god, we will be equal but

now, this is impossible. Only then, he shall love me.

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➢ Homework/ For next week, write a paper about the poem (The

Chimney Sweeper part 1) from songs of innocence.

➢ This poem is not included in the book, find it online…

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• We have 2 Chimney Sweepers (two poems with the same title)

but one is written in Songs of Innocence while the other in

Songs of Experience and that was for a reason and an intention

meant by the poet.

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From Songs of Innocence

The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake

Poem Link:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43654/the-

chimney-sweeper-when-my-mother-died-i-was-very-young

In the first “Chimney Sweeper”, the child is innocent and all he

knows is that he is just working day and night and he is almost all

the time fearful of the punishment of the boss if he didn’t do his

job well.

Stanza 1

When my mother died I was very young,

And my father sold me while yet my tongue

Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!"

So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.

The poem opens with a general statement uttered by a little child

but this statement/sentence sums up many ideas about the

reason of the suffering of these sweepers.

So, he explains to the reader that he is a little orphan and that

when his mother died, his father simply forced him to work at a

very young age.

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Here, the poet uses the word [sold] to emphasize the idea that

the father was truly cruel for doing this to his little boy and for

further emphasis, the child utters a sentence which carries many

implications.

When he says “So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.”

Where he contradicts how he cleans other people’s chimneys

while he is all the time dirty and covered with soot.

Stanza 2

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head

That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved, so I said,

"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,

You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."

In the second stanza, the poet will portray to us an image taken

from the life of chimney sweepers and this image will reflect to us

how harsh and miserable their life is.

So, he says, let me tell you something about one of my fellow

sweepers who had a long curly hair and his hair used to tangle

when he goes through the chimney that’s why the boss shaved

his hair and the little boy cried because he is now bald.

But his friends tried to calm him down so they said to him “don’t

be sad because now you don’t have to worry if your hair gets

dirty, and so he was quiet.

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Stanza 3

And so he was quiet, & that very night,

As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight!

That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, & Jack,

Were all of them locked up in coffins of black;

Now, he was quiet. He felt better for hearing this and when he got

to sleep, he saw a dream/vision. He dreamt that he and his

friends were all imprisoned in black coffins which is a

metaphor for sweeping. It is a very horrible image to show the

kind of life these little children have.

Stanza 4 + 5

And by came an Angel who had a bright key,

And he opened the coffins & set them all free;

Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run,

And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.

Then naked & white, all their bags left behind,

They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind.

And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,

He'd have God for his father & never want joy.

but this is going to be changed (only in dreams) and this

change was by an angel who came by with a bright key and he

freed them and they all went to the green plains and played and

jumped and laughed like any other children of their age

but that was only a dream and the angel told tom that if he would

be a good boy, he will have god for his father [which is a reference

to the Christian prayer.]

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Stanza 6

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark

And got with our bags & our brushes to work.

Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm;

So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.

Now, Tom wakes up to the ugly reality and he got his brush and

his bag but still the effect of the dream was there so, he was

active to go and work because the angel promised him to have a

good father unlike the real one who made him a chimney

sweeper.

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From Songs of Experience

The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake

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Poem link:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43653/the-

chimney-sweeper-a-little-black-thing-among-the-snow

Now, In “The Chimney Sweeper” part 2, the child is no more a

child. He is just like a grown up and he can point out the reason of

his misery.

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A little black thing among the snow,

Crying "weep! 'weep!" in notes of woe!

"Where are thy father and mother? say?"

"They are both gone up to the church to pray.

Because I was happy upon the heath,

And smil'd among the winter's snow,

They clothed me in the clothes of death,

And taught me to sing the notes of woe.

And because I am happy and dance and sing,

They think they have done me no injury,

And are gone to praise God and his Priest and King,

Who make up a heaven of our misery."

Again, the poet portrays to us an image in which we have a little

black thing [the child who is covered with soot] and he is

running in snow trying to have a normal life just like any other kid

of his age and when others saw him covered with black, they

are astonished to see him as such.

So, they asked who had done this to you, was it your father or

mother?

He says that they all did this to me (my mom, dad, the priest, and

the king.)

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Here, Blake points out the true reasons of corruption of child

labor and they are:

The family which forces their children to work in order to

bring much money.

The priest which is an image for the religious institution which

only preaches (يعظ) but does nothing to improve the quality of

life of children.

Blake also blames the king because this man cares only for his

life and pleasure and doesn’t care for the prosperity of the lives

of his people.