English Literature in the Beginning of the 19th Century

ROMANTICISM

The period of Romanticism covers approximately 30 years, beginning from the last decade of the 18th century and continuing up to the 1830s. Romanticism as a literary current can be regarded as a result of two great historical events: 1) the Industrial Revolution in England and 2} the French Bourgeois Revolution of 1789. The Industrial Revolution began with the invention of a weavring-machine which could do the work of 17 people. The weavers that were left without work thought that the machines were to blame for their misery. They began to destroy these machines, or frames as they were called. The frame-breaking movement was called the Luddite movement, because the name of the first man to break a frame was Ned Ludd.

The reactionary ruling class of England was against any progres­sive thought influenced by the French Revolution. The last decade of the 18th century became known as the "white terror". Progres­sive-minded people were persecuted and forced into exile.

The Industrial Revolution in England, as well as the French Bourgeois Revolution, had a great influence on the cultural life of the

country. Romanticists were dissatisfied with the present state of things in their country. Some of the writers were revolutionary: they denied the existing order, called upon the people to struggle for a better future, shared the people's desire for liberty and objected to colonial oppression. They supported the national liberation wars on the continent against feudal reaction. Such writers were George Gordon Byron [ 'd3o:d3 'go:dn 'Ьаюгэп] and Percy Bysshe Shelley ['p3:si 'bif 'Jell] •

Others, though they had welcomed the French Revolution and the slogan of liberty, fraternity and eguality, later abandoned revolutionary ideas. They turned their attention to nature and to the simple problems of life. They turned to the ideas of the feudal past by way of protest of capitalist reality. Among these writers were the poets William Wordsworth [ 'w3:dzw90], Samuel Taylor Coleridge fsaemjual 'tens 'ksulncfc], Robert Southey¹ fsaixk], who formed the "Lake School", called so because they all lived for a time in the beautiful Lake District in the north-west of England. They dedicated much what they wrote to Nature. Legends, tales, songs and ballads became part of the creative method of the romanticists. The romanticists were talented poets and their contribution to English literature was very important.

Vocabulary

abandon [э'Ьзегк!эп] v оставлять dissatisfied [ 'dis 'saetisfaid] а неудо-
approximately [s'proksimitli] aaV при- влетворенный

близительно fraternity [fre't3:niti] n братство

blame [bleim] n причина object [3b'd3ekt] v возражать, проте-
decade [di'keid] n десятилетие стовать

dedicate ['dedikeit] v посвящать persecute ['p3:sikju:t] v преследовать

deny [di'nai] v отвергать terror [Чегэ] п ужас

Questions and Tasks

1. When did romanticism come into being?

2. What historical events did this new literary current coincide with?

¹ Robert Southey [ sauoi] (1774—1843) —Роберт Cayra, англ. поэт «озернойшколы».

 

3. Why did romanticism come into being?

4. What were romanticists dissatisfied with?

5. Comment on the differences between the revolutionary romanticism of England and the poets of the "take School".

6. What are the representatives of revolutionary romanticism?

7. What writers belonged to the "Lake School"?

8. What themes did the poets of the "Lake School" choose for their verses?

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth f W3:dzwa0] was the greatest representative of the Lake School Poets. He was born in a lawyer's family and grew up in the Lake District, a place of moun­tains and lakes. Soon after mother's death in 1788 he was sent to Hawkshead fruxkfsd] Grammar School, situated in a lovely village near Lake Windermere [ 'windamia]. The boy was allowed plenty of leisure: to go boat­ing and fishing on the lake and studying wild life in the woods. There William came to know and love the world of nature. His fa­ther died leaving him an orphan at the age of thirteen. His two uncles sent him to Cam­bridge University. During his college days William took a walking tour in France, Switzerland and Italy. After graduating he toured Wales and France and became deeply in­volved in the cause of the French Revolution in which he saw a great movement for human freedom. Later he was greatly disappointed at the outcome of the Revolution. He thought that it had brought only cruelty and bloodshed. William withdrew into the quiet of the country.

In about 1795 William Wordsworth met the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who became one of his closest friends. In 1797 he two poets published their best work Lyrical Ballads.

William Wordsworth wrote sonnets and ballads. The most haracteristic themes of Wordsworth's poetry were the defence of

 

Vocabulary

George Gordon Byron

the common country people, their feelings and beliefs, the beauty of nature. Every object in nature was in his eyes a source of poetry. His fame grew worldwide.

When he died he was buried in the little church at Grasmere ['grasmia] in the Lake District.

The Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er¹ vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

Ahost of golden daffodils,

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the Milky Way They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of the bay; Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they

Outdid the sparkling waves in glee;

A poet could not but be gay

In such a jocund company.

I gazed — and gazed — but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought.

For oft'², when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solutude And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.

o'er — over ¹ off — often

 

bliss [blis] n блаженство cause [ko:z] л дело couch [kautf] n кушетка daffodil ['dasfsdil] n нарцисс defence [di'fens] n защита flutter ['fkts] v трепетать glee [gli:] n веселье host [hgust] n множество involve [m'vrjlv] v вовлекать

jocund ['фэкэгкГ] а веселый margin ['та:фп] п край outcome ['autkAiri] n результат pensive ['pensiv] а грустный solitude fsolitju:d] n уединение sprightly ['spraith] а веселый toss [tDs] v вскидывать; качать vacant ['veikant] а бездумный

Questions and Tasks

| 1. Give a brief account of Wordsworth's life.

2. Name his first notable work.

3. What did Wordsworth write?

4. What were the most characteristic themes of Wordsworth's poetry?

5. What was every object in nature in his eyes?

6. Express the idea of the poem The Daffodils in some sentences.

George Byron (1788-1824)

George Gordon Byron ['Ьаюгэп], the great romantic poet, has often been called a poet of "world sorrow". In almost all his poetry there is a current of gloom and pessimism. The reason for this gloom and sorrow may be found in the social and political events of his day which influenced him so deeply.

"To solve the mystery of the gloomy poetry of so immense, colossal a poet as Byron, we must first search for the secret oftheepochit expresses", Belinsky wrote.

During his childhood the First Bour­geois Revolution took place in France.

 

At the same time the Industrial Revolution developed in England and the invention of new machines, which supplanted workers, brought misery to thousands of labourers. Wars, political oppres­sion of the masses, all these facts observed by the poet, gave rise to his discontent with the social and political life of his time and that's why his poetry was full of gloom and sonow. But Byron was not inclined to accept the then existing conditions passively. He raised his voice to condemn them, and to call men to active struggle against the social evils of his time. That's why he may be rightly called a revolutionary romanticist. Byron's heroes, like the poet himself, are strong individuals who are disillusioned in life and fight single-handed against the injustice and cruelty of society.

The poet was born on January 22, 1788 in an ancient aristocratic family in London. His father, an army captain, died when the boy was three years old. The boy spent his childhood in Aberdeen, Scot­land, together with his mother. His mother, Catherine Gordon, was a Scottish lady of honourable birth and respectable fortune. Byron was lame and felt distressed about it all his life, yet, thanks to his strong will and regular training, he became an excellent rider, a champion swimmer and a boxer and took part in athletic activities.

When George lived in Aberdeen he attended grammar school. In 1798 George's grandurifcle died and the boy inherited the title of lord and the Byron's family estate, Newstead Abbey ['njuistid]. It was situated near Nottingham, close to the famous Sherwood Forest. Together with his mother the boy moved to Newstead Abbey from where he was sent to Harrow School. At the seven­teen he entered Cambridge University. He was very handsome. He had a beautiful manly profile. His contemporary young men tried to imitate his clothes, his manners and even his limping gait. He seemed proud, tragic and melancholic. But he could also be very cheerful and witty.

Byron's literary career began while he was at Cambridge. His first volume of verse entitled Hours of Idleness (1807) contained a number of lyrics dealing with love, regret and parting. There were also some fragments of translation from Latin and Greek poetry. His poems were severely criticized by the Edinburgh Review, the leading literary magazine of that time. The poet answered with a

biting satire in verse, English Bards and Scotch Reviewers ( 1809), in which he attacked the reactionary critics and the three Lake School Poets, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey.

St John's College, Cambridge

After graduating from Cambridge University in 1809 Byron start­ed on a tour through Portugal, Spain, Greece, Turkey and Albania. He returned home in 1811. By right of birth he was a member of the House of Lords. On February 27, 1812 Byron made his first speech in the House of Lords. He spoke passionately in defence of the Lud­dites¹. He blamed the government for the unbearable conditions of workers' life. In his parliament speech Byron showed himself a staunch champion of the people's cause, and that made the reac­tionary circles hate him.

' Luddites were workers who expressed their protest against exploitation by breaking machines. Ned Ludd was the first to destroy frames.

In 1812 the first two cantos of Childe Harold's¹ Pilgrimage [ 'tfaild 'hasr9ldz'pilgnmid3] were published. They were received by his contemporaries with a burst of enthusiasm. He became one of the most popular men in London. He himself remarked, "I awoke one morning and found myself famous".

Between 1813 and 1816 Byron composed his Oriental Tales. The most famous of tales are The Giaour [ 'фаш], The Corsair [ 'кэзеэ] and Lara, all of which embody the poet's romantic individualism. The hero is a rebel against society, a man of strong will and passion. Proud and independent, he rises against tyranny and injustice to gain his personal freedom and happiness. His revolt, however, is too individualistic, and therefore it is doomed to failure.

In this period Byron began to write his political satires, the most outstanding of which is the Ode to Framers of the Frame Bill.

In 1815 Byron married Miss Isabella Milbanke, a religious woman, cold and pedantic. It was an unhappy match for the poet.

Though Byron was fond of their only child Augusta Ada, he and his wife parted. The scandal surrounding the divorse was great. Byron's enemies found their opportunity and used it against him. They began to persecute him. The great poet was accused of immorality and had to leave his native country.

In May 1816 Byron went to Switzerland where he made the acquaintance of Percy Bysshe Shelley [ 'p3:si 'bif 'Jell], and the two poets became close friends.

While in Switzerland Byron wrote Canto the Third of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1816), The Prisoner of Chillon ['pnzna av 'Jibn] (1816), a lyrical drama Manfred (1817) andanumber of lyrical poems.

The Prisoner of Chillon describes the tragic fate of the Swiss revolutionary Bonnivard who spent a number of years of his life in prison with his brothers.

Chillon is a castle on the shore of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. The story told by Byron had real historical foundation. Bonnivard was an active fighter for the liberation of his native city of Geneva

¹ Childe — устар. благородный юноша, еще не посвященный в рыцари. Childe Harold — букв, юноша Гарольд

from the control of Charles III, Duke of Savoy. Bonnivard was a republican, and the Duke of Savoy imprisoned him in the Castle of Chillon where he was kept from 1530 to 1536 without trial. In 1536 the citizens of Bern, Switzerland, captured the Castle of Chillon and released Bonnivard.

In 1816 Byron wrote his Song for the Luddites where he again raised his voice in defence of the oppressed workers, encouraging them to fight for freedom.

In 1817 Byron went to Italy, where he lived till 1823. At this time political conditions in Italy were such as to rouse his indig­nation. He wished to see the country one and undivided. Acting on this idea, the poet joined the secret organization of the Corba-nari which was engaged in the struggle against the Austrian op­pressors.

The Italian period (1817—1823), influenced by revolutionary ideas, is considered the summit of Byron's poetical career. Such works as Beppo (1818), and his greatest work Don Juan[" drm' d3U3n] (1819—1824) are the most realistic works written by the poet. It is a novel in verse, that was to contain 24 cantos, but death stopped his work and only 16 and a half cantos were written. Though the action in Don Juan takes place at the close of the 18th century, it is easy enough to understand that the author depicts the 19th century Europe and gives a broad panorama of contemporary life.

Other works of this period are: Canto the Fourth of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1817), The Prophecy of Dante [ 'proftsi] (1821), where speaking in the person of the great Italian poet Dante, Byron calls upon Italians to fight for their independence; the tragedy Cain (1821).

Once Byron wrote:

When a man hath no freedom to fight for at home, Let him combat for that of his neighbours.

The defeat of the Carbonari uprising (1823) was a great blow to Byron. The Greek war against Turkey attracted his attention. He went to Greece to take part in the struggle for national inde-

pendence. His restless life ended there. Soon after his arrival he was seized with fever and died on April 18, 1824. He was thirty-six years old. The poet's heart was buried in Greece, his body was taken to England and buried near Newstead. The government did not allow him to be buried in Westminster Abbey. Only in 1969 the authorities finally allowed his remains to be buried in the Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. His death was mourned by the progressive people throughout Europe. Pushkin called Byron a poet of freedom. Goethe spoke of him in his Faust, Belinsky called him "a giant of poetry".

Vocabulary

accuse [a'kju:z] v обвинять

athletic [se6'letik] a спортивный

authority [o:'0Dnti] п власть

blame [bleim] v обвинять

burst [b3:st] n взрыв

canto ['ksentsu] n песнь (часть поэмы)

capture ['kaeptfs] л захват

combat ['kombst] v бороться

contemporary [кэпЧетрэгэп] а совре­менный

discontent ['diskan'tent] n недоволь­ство

disillusion [,disi'lu33n] v разочаровы­вать

distress [dis'tres] умучить

to feel distressed мучиться; пере­живать

divorse [di'vo:s] n развод

encourage [т'клпаз] v воодушевлять

doom [du:m] v обрекать to be doomed быть обреченным

estate [is'teit] п поместье

failure [Teiljs] n неудача, провал

fever ['firv9] n лихорадка

foundation [faun'deijbn] n основание

frame [freim] n ткацкий станок

gait [geit] n походка

gloom [glu:m] n мрачность; уныние immense [I'mens] о огромный indignation [,mdig'neijgn] n негодова­ние inherit [m'hent] унаследовать, полу­чать в наследство lame [leim] а хромой limp [limp] v хромать match [maetf] n брак mourn [mo:n] v оплакивать observe [sb'z3:v] v наблюдать pedantic [pi'dsentiklo педантичный profile ['preufail] n профиль rebel [n'bel] n повстанец; бунтарь regret [n'gret] n сожаление release [rf lis] v освобождать revolt [n'vault] n восстание rouse [rauz] v возбуждать severely [si'vish] adv жестоко single-handed ['sirjgl'haendid] а в оди­ночку staunch [sto:ntf] n стойкий summit ['sAmit] n вершина supplant [sa'plaint] v занимать Swiss [swis] а швейцарский trial [traisl] n суд

unbearable [лп 'ЬеэгэЫ] а невыно­симый

Questions and Tasks

1. Why has Byron often been called a poet of "world sorrow*?

2. What was the reason for this gloom and sorrow?

3. What were the political events of his time which influenced him so deeply?

4. How did Byron accept the existing conditions?

5. Why may he rightly be called a revolutionary romanticist?

6. What are the characteristic features of Byron's heroes?

7. Relate the main facts of Byron's childhood.

8. Where did Byron get education?

9. When did his literature career begin?

 

10. How was his first volume of verse entitled?

11. What was Byron's first speech in the House of Lords about?

12. When did he become one of the most popular men in London?

13. What period is Byron's creative work usually divided into?

14. What works were written by Byron in the London period?

15. Characterize the hero of his Oriental Tales.

16. What are the titles of his works in the Swiss period?

17. Speak on the origin of the plot of his poem The Prisoner of Chillon.

18. What can you say about the Italian period of his work?

19. Why did Byron go to Greece?

20. When did he die?

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

After two years of touring on the Continent Lord Byron wrote the first two cantos of the poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage [ 'tfaild 'hseraldz 'pilgrim^]. The poem was written at different periods of Byron's life. The hero, Childe Harold, is very often absent from the poem, and in Canto the Fourth practically disappears.

Childe Harold came from an old aristocratic family. His ancestors were men of great courage and heroism. Harold's life was very diffe­rent from theirs, it is full of pleasure and entertainment. But now he only felt a great weariness and discontent. He lost faith in friendship and was disappointed in the world of lies in which he found himself. Hoping to find Good in other countries he left England. Childe Ha­rold is a sensitive, disillusioned and generous-minded wanderer.

When the poem first appeared in print, many people believed that Byron's own character was presented in the person of Childe Harold,

 

but the author denied it: he justly considered himself to be an active fighter for freedom, while Harold was merely a passive onlooker.

Childe Harold leaves his country for Portugal and Spain; when the ship is far from the shores of England, he sings Good Night to his Motherland.

Good Night

(From Childe Harold's Pilgrimage)

Adieu! adieu¹! My native shore

Fades² o'er³ the waters blue;

The night-winds sigh, the breakers roar,

And shrieks the wild sea-mew.

Yon sun⁴ that sets upon the sea

We follow in his flight.

Farewell awhile to him and thee,

My native Land — Good Night!

A few short hours and he will rise

To give the morrow⁵ birth;

And I shall hail the main⁶ and skies,

But not my mother earth.

Deserted is my own good hall,⁷

Its hearth⁸ is desolate;

Wild weeds are growing on the wall,

My dog howls at the gate.

And now I'm the world alone, Upon the wide, wide sea, But why should I for others groan When none will sigh for me?

Perchance¹ my dog will whine in vain, Till fed by stranger hands; But long ere²1 come back again He'd tear me where he stands.³

With thee, my bark, I'll swiftly go Athwart⁴ the foaming brine⁵; Nor care what land thou bearst⁶ me to, So not again to mine.⁷

Welcome, welcome, ye⁸ dark-blue waves! And when you fail my sight⁹, Welcome, ye deserts and ye caves, My native Land — Good Night!

Canto the First describes Portugal and Spain. Byron shows his sur­prise at the contrast between the splendour of the land, where "fruits of fragrance blush on every tree", and the poverty of the people.

In the Spanish scenes the poet shows the people's struggle against Napoleon's invasion which the poet witnessed during the stay in Spain in 1809— 1810. Byron sympathizes with those peo­ple fighting for their freedom and independence and blames the ruling classes who betray the interest of the country.

Canto the Second is devoted to Albania and Greece. Describing Harold's stay in Albania, Byron describes his own adventures in the country. He admires the Albanians for their kindness, generosity and hospitality, and praises the great men of the past.

The motif of disappointment sounds with great force when Ha­rold comes to Greece. The miserable state of the Greek people,

 

¹ adieu [э' dju:] (фр.) — прощай

² fades — здесь исчезает

³ o'er — over

⁴ yon sun — вот это солнце (yon = yonder — тот, там)

⁵ the morrow—tomorrow

⁶ the main — поэт, стихия, океан

⁷ hall — здесь дом, замок

⁸ hearth [Ишв] — домашний очаг

¹ perchance [рэ tja:ns] — устар. может быть

² ere [га] — устар. прежде чем

³ where he stands — на месте

⁴ athwart [эЭ' wo:t] — вопреки

⁵ the brine — соленая вода, море

⁶ thou [баи] bearst [beast] — ты несешь

⁷ so not again to mine — лишь бы не снова в мою страну (Англию)

⁸ уе — устар. you

⁹ and when you fail my sight — и когда вы скроетесь из виду

Questions and Tasks 1. How many cantos is the poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage composed of? 2. When were these cantos written? 3. Give a character sketch of Childe Harold. 4. Is he like the great poet himself? 5. What is the first canto about? 6. Speak on the second and third cantos. 7. Whom is the fourth canto devoted to? 8. What is the merit of Child Harold's Pilgrimage'? Don Juan

Don Juan^1 fdrm 'фи:эп], Byron's greatest work, was written in the prime of his creative power, in the years 1818 — 1823. It gives a broad critical pictures of the European life of the end of the 18th century. Byron's Don Juan is a young Spanish nobleman.

who suffer under the yoke of the Turks arouses Byron s indig­nation and makes him recall the glorious past of Greece.

Canto the Third begins and ends with a touching address by Byron to his daughter Ada, whom he was destined never to see again.

Is thy¹ face like thy mother's my fair child!
Ada! sole daughter of my house and heart?
When last I saw thy young blue eyes they smiled,
And then we parted,...............................

Stanza 1

From personal sorrows Byron passes to the sufferings of the peoples that groan under the yoke of oppression.

The greater part of canto describes the beautiful scenery of Switzerland. Pictures of nature —■ now calm and serene, now stormy as the feelings of the poet himself, alternate with philosophical reflections.

Canto the Fourth, dealing with Italy, is usually regarded as the finest. It describes the people and events of ancient history. Byron regrets the fall of the free states, their high culture and art.

Byron calls Italy the "Ivlother of Art" and admires the Italian people who have the world such men as Dante, Petrarch [ 'petra:k], Boccaccio [bau'kaitjiau] and other titans of art, science and literature.

A great part of Canto the Fourth is devoted to the theme of genius and immorality. Byron puts forth the idea that true glory is achieved through creative activity, and not by birth and power.

The merit of Childe Harold's Piligrimage is in its broad critical description of contemporary life and vivid pictures of nature.

Byron's bright characters, beautiful pictures of nature and brilliant satirical power, rich and melodious verse will be admired by many generations to come.

The poem established Byron as a major literary and romantic figure.

Vocabulary

address [a'dres] n обращение alternate [ol't3:neit] v чередоваться ancestor ['aensists] n предок betray [bi'trei] v изменять blush [bUf] v краснеть deny [di'nai] v отрицать; отвергать desolate ['desslit] а заброшенный destine ['destm] v предопределять disillusioned [^disi'lirpnd] а разоча­рованный foam [faum] v пениться fragrance ['freigrans] n благоухание groan [дгэип] v стонать hail [heil] v приветствовать howl [haul] v выть, завывать melodious [mi'lsudjss] а мелодичный

merely ['imsli] adv всего лишь motif [m3u'ti:f] n основная тема, лейт­мотив onlooker ['on Juks] n наблюдатель put forth [fo:8] v выдвинуть reflection [n'flekjbn] n размышление regret [n'gret] ^сожалеть sea-mew ['sirmju:] n чайка sensitive ['sensitiv] а чувствительный serene [si'ri:n] а спокойный shriek [fri:k] v пронзительно кричать sigh [sai] v вздыхать sole [ssul] а единственный splendour ['splenda] n великолепие weariness ['wrennis] n усталость yoke [jsuk] n ярмо

 

⁵ thy [6ai] — твое, твоей, твои

¹ Don Juan — Дон Жуан (дон — по-испански господин)

 

The poem opens with scenes from the hero's childhood which passes in an aristocratic Spanish family. Little Juan is described as:

A little curly-headed, good-for-nothing. And mischief-making monkey from his birth.

Juan, the youth, falls in love with Donna Julia, the beautiful wife of the old and respectable Don Alfonso. The young woman returns Juan's feelings, but his mother finds out about the love-affair and sends her son abroad "to mend his former morals".

The ship is caught in a storm and sinks several days after its departure. Juan escapes in a boat with thirty other passengers. The unfortunate are tossed about the boundless sea for days and days and, one by one, die of hunger and thirst. Juan alone survives and swims to the shore of an island where a famous smuggler and pirate Lambro ['laembrau] lives. Juan is found by the only daughter of Lambro — Haidee [hai'di:]. She takes care of him. The young people fall in love. Suddenly Lambro returns to the island. The lovers are discovered and forcibly separated. Juan is sold into slavery to Turkey and Haidee dies of a broken heart. Juan is bought in a slave market by the Turkish sultana. He is sent to the harem in the guise of a woman. He lives through many adventures there. At last he escapes from Turkey and gets to the Russian camp near Ismail [ лгта: 'i:l], a Turkish fortress sieged by land and water by Suvorov's armies. Byron gives realistic pictures of the storming of Ismail under the command of the great Suvorov.

On Ismail's surrender Juan is sent to St Petersburg with the news of the victory and is received at the court of Empress Catherine. Soon he leaves Russia, travels through Europe, and finally lands in England.

After staying in the country for some time, Juan understands that the policy of England does not follow the principles of true freedom. But many lines of the poem, on the other hand, show the author's love for his native country, for its people, nature and art.

In the last part of the poem Juan, accompanied by a group of guests, visits the country seat of a Lord Amundeville to take part in a foxhunt. Juan is a success with the ladies. Here the narrative breaks off. Canto the 17th of Don Juan remained unfinished. However in the letters

Byron spoke about the end of the poem. He wanted his hero to take part in the French Revolution and die fighting for freedom.

There are practically two heroes in the poem. One is the literary hero — Don Juan who lives and gains his knowledge of life within the framework of the plot. The other is the poet himself.

"Almost all Don Juan", Byron wrote in one of his letters, "is real life, either my own, or from people I knew".

As Juan's adventures cover a considerable part,of Europe it gives his author an opportunity to describe different countries, to comment on politics and relations between men and to give a satiric portrait of his contemporary society. The poem is marked not only for its criticism and realistic portrayal, but for its revolutionary ideas as well.

In the extract given here Byron addresses the free and happy peo­ple of the future living in the golden age of freedom, peace and happi­ness. The poet expresses his hatred of "tyrants" and "thrones" that must be overthrown in order to free mankind. Thrones, in the golden age of freedom and happiness, are objects of curiosity in museums.

To the Free People of the Future

(From Don Juan, Canto VIII)

... I will teach, if possible the stones

To rise against earth's tyrants. Never let it

Be said¹ that we still truckle unto thrones²; —

But ye³ — our children's children! think how we

Showed what things were before the world was free!

That hour is not for us, but 'tis⁴ for you. And as, in the great joy of your millennium⁵, You hardly will believe such things were true As now occur, I thought that I would pen you'em⁶;

¹ Never let it Be said — Пусть никто не скажет

² still truckle unto thrones — все еще гнем шею перед тронами, т. е.
монархами

³ ye — you поэт.

⁴ 'tis — it is поэт.

⁵ millennium [mi 'leniam] — золотой век счастья и свободы человечества
⁶ 1 would pen you 'em (them) — я вам их опишу

 

But may their very memory perish too!' —

Yet if perchance² remembered, still disdain you'em³

More than you scorn the savages of yore⁴,

Who painted their bake limbs, but not with gore⁵.

Vocabulary

boundless ['baundhs] о беспредельный pirate ['paiant] n пират

empress ['empns] n императрица prime [praim] n расцвет

extract ['ekstrsekt] n отрывок separate ['separeit] v разлучать

forcibly f/fosabli] adv насильственно smuggler ['srrjAgta] n контрабандист

flamework ffreimw3:k] n структура, ком- sultana [ssl'tamg] n султанша

позиция surrender [sg' rends] n сдача

guise [gaiz] n одежда survive [sg'vaiv] v выжить, уцелеть

harem ['hesrem] n гарем toss [rns] v бросать, кидать
mischief-making fmistfifmeikir)] о озорной

Questions and Tasks

1. When was Don Juan written?

2. Give a brief summary of the contents of Don Juan.

3. How many cantos of the poem were finished?

4. How did Byron want to finish the poem?

5. How many heroes are there irwthe poem? What are they?

6. What gives Byron an opportunity to describe different countries, to com­ment on politics and relations between men?

7. Speak on the main idea of the poem.

8. Comment on the extract of the poem given here.

Political Poetry

The "luddite" theme is quite important in Byron's poetical work. In his speech on the framework bill (1812) in the House of Lords Byron opposed the government's reactionary policy and defended the

Luddites. He said, "You call these men a mob¹, desperate, dangerous and ignorant;... Are we aware of our obligations to a mob? It is the mob that labour in your fields and serve in your houses, — that man your navy, and recruit your army, — that have enabled you defy all the world, you can also defy you when neglect and calamity have driven them to despair! You may call the people a mob, but do not forget that a mob too often speaks the sentiments of the people."

Four days after his speech in Parliament anonymous Ode ap­peared in a morning newspaper. 'The title (Ode) was very ironic, because an Ode is supposed to be a poem, or a song, recited on formal occasions. Byron's Ode to the Framers of the Frame Bill was a combination of biting satire, revolutionary romanticism and demo­cratic thought.

In the Ode the anonymous poet gave a remedy against the rebel­lious weavers, who came to their masters to ask for help. He sug­gested the best thing to do was to hang them.

The poet stressed that men are cheaper than machinery; and if they were hanged around Sherwood Forest for breaking the machinery, it would improve the scenery.

Those who had heard Byron in Parliament had no difficulty in recognizing the author of the Ode, for in the verse Byron repeated most of the thoughts expressed in his speech.

In 1816 Byron wrote his famous Song for the Luddites in which he called upon the people to revolt against their tyrants. It is considered one of the first revolutionary songs in English classical poetry.

Song for the Luddites

I

As the Liberty lads o'er the sea²

Bought their freedom, and cheaply, with blood,

So we, boys, we

Will die fighting, or live free.

And down with all kings but King Ludd!

 

¹ may their very memory perish too — пусть самая память о них исчезнет

² perchance [pa'tfains] — perhaps

³ still disdain you'em (them) — все же вы их презираете

⁴ of yore — минувших времен поэт.

⁵ gore — blood поэт.

¹ a mob — a crowd

² Liberty lads o'er (over) the sea—i.e. Americans who fought for the independence
of their country.

A-

п

When the web that we weave is complete,

And the shuttle exchanged for the sword,

We will fling the winding sheet

O'er the despot at our feet,

And dye it deep in the gore he has pour'd.

Ill

Though black as his heart its hue,

Since his veins are corrupted to mud,

Yet this is the dew

Which the tree¹ shall renew

Of Liberty, planted by Ludd!

The importance of Byron's poetic works, especially of his political poems, is very great. Translated by Russian poets, Byron's poetry has become a part of our national culture. In Russia, Pushkin and Lermontov were among his admirers. Pushkin called him the "ruler of people's thought". Belinsky called him the Prometheus [ргэ mi:Gju:s] of the century. Hertzen called his poetry "a word of fire". Maxim Gorky said that Byron was one of those writers "who were honest and severe in their exposure of the vices of the ruling classes" and "who had the ability and courage" to write, the truth.

Byron's influence on the minds of such great poets as Heine² and Mitzkevitch³ was very great.

Byron remains one of the most popular English poets both at home and abroad.

Vocabulary

anonymous [o'lmrumss] о анонимный calamity [ka'laemiti] n несчастье

aware [a'wes] а знающий defy [di'fai] v бросать вызов; прези-
to be aware осознавать рать

¹ The Tree of Liberty — daring the First Bourgeois Revolution in France

(1789 — 1793) a symbolic procedure [ргэ ' sv.d^s] was established by planting trees of Liberty. Byron refers to this custom.

² Heine ['hama], Henrich (1794— 1856) —Генрих Гейне, нем. поэт

³ Mitzkevitch, Adam — Адам Мицкевич, польск. поэт

 

Prometheus [pra'mi:9ju:s] n Прометей rebellious [n'beljas] а восставший recruit [n'kruit] v пополнять remedy ['remsdi] n средство sentiment f'sentimant] n мнение, отно­шение shuttle ['JXtl] n челнок tyrant ['taisrent] n деспот web [web] n ткань winding-sheet ['wamdmTkt] n саван

desperate ['despsnt] о доведенный до

отчаяния dew [dju:] п роса

exposure [lks'psigs] n разоблачение fling [flin] v (flung) бросить gore [go:] n кровь hue [hju:] n цвет man [mffin] v укомплектовывать neglect [ru'glekt] v пренебрегать obligation [ubli'geijbn] n обязательство oppose [a'psuz] v выступать против

Questions and Tasks

1. Where does the "luddite" theme appear in Byron's works?

2. Comment on the Ode to the Framers of the Frame Bill.

3. Speak on the main idea of Song for the Luddites.

4. Discuss Byron's place in English literature.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

Percy Bysshe Shelley ['p3:si 'bif' feih] was the most progressive revolutionary romanticist in English literature.

Like Byron, he came of an aristocratic family and like Byron he broke with his class at an early age.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

He was born at Field Place, Sussex. His father was a baronet. Shelley was educat­ed at Eton public school and Oxford Uni­versity. There he wrote a pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism feiGnzam] for which he was expelled from the University. His father forbade him to come home. Shel­ley had an independent spirit, and he broke with his family and his class for ever. He travelled from one town to another, took an active part in the Irish liberation movement and at last left England for

 

Italy in 1818. There he wrote his best poetry. Shelley's life was mainly spent in Italy and Switzerland, but he kept ties with Eng­land.

In 1822 the poet was drowned. When his body was washed ashore he was cremated by Byron and his other friends. His remains were buried in Rome. The inscription on his tomb reads:

Percy Bysshe Shelley Cor Cordium¹

Like Byron, Shelley was devoted to the revolutionary ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity. He believed in the future of mankind. He never lost faith in the power of love and good will. He thought that if men were granted freedom and learned to love one another they could live together peacefully. This hope fills his first poems Queen Mab (1813), The Revolt of Islam ['izla:m] (1818) and his later poetic drama Prometheus Unbound [pra'mirGjas /vn'baund]

The plot of the poem Queen Mab is symbolic. Queen Mab, a fairy, shows the past, present and future of mankind to a beautiful girl. Queen Mab shows the ideal society of the future where men are equal, free and wise.

The Revolt of Islam is a romantic and abstract poem, but it is a revolutionary one. Shelley protested against the tyranny of religion and of the government, gave pictures of the revolutionary movement for freedom and foretold a happier future for the whole of mankind.

In Prometheus Unbound Shelley gives the Greek myth his own interpretation. He sings of the struggle against tyranny. The sharp conflict between Prometheus and Jupiter ['скдкрйэ] (the chief of the Roman gods) is in the centre of the drama. Prometheus is bound to a rock by Jupiter for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to mankind. The huge spirit Demogorgon f dimax/ дэ:дэп], representing the Creative Power, defeats Jupiter and casts him down. Prometheus is set free and reunited with his wife Asia (Nature). The fact that Jupiter is dethroned symbolizes change and revolution. Now the mind of man can look forward to a future which is "good, joyous, beautiful and free".

¹ Cor Cordium — the heart of hearts

When Shelley got news that the workers of Manchester had been attacked by government troops, his indignation was aroused, and he immediately wrote the poems The Masque of Anarchy [' ma:sk 3v 'aenaki] and Song to the Men of England. In the first part of the poem The Masque of Anarchy the procession of horrible masks may be regarded as an allegorical picture of the then rulers of England. In the second part the poet sings the men of England, their strength and future victory. He calls on them to rise against their human leeches.

Rise, like lions after slumber In unvanquishable number!¹ Shake your chains to earth, like dew Which in sleep had fall'n² on you: Ye are many — they are few.

(The Masque of Anarchy, XCI)

In his great lyric Song to the Men of England Shelley calls upon the workers to take up arms in their own defence. This poem and other revolutionary poems of his became the popular songs of the workers.

Song to the Men of England

Men of England, wherefore plough For the lords who lay ye³ low? Wherefore weave with toil and care The rich robes your tyrants wear?

Wherefore feed, and clothe, and save, From the cradle, to the grave, Those ungrateful drones who would Drain your sweat — nay⁴, drink your blood?.

¹ In unvanquishable number — непобедимыми рядами

² fall'n поэт. — fallen

³ ye — you

⁴ nay — no

 

Shelley lived a short life. He was only twenty-nine when he died. But the working people of England did not forget the poet who had been their champion and friend. Shelley's entire life and art were devoted to struggle against oppression and tyranny in every form.

1. What family did Shelley come from? 2. Where was he educated? 3. Why was he expelled from the university? 4. Why did Shelley break with his family? 5. Where did he live after he had left England? 6. When did he die? 7. How did it happen? 8. Why can we call Shelley the most progressive revolutionary romanticist? 9. Name his first notable works. Relate briefly the plot of these works.   10. On what occasion was the poem The Masque of Anarchy written? 11. Comment on the poem Song to the Men of England. 12. Describe Shelley's lyrical poems. 13. Express the idea of the poem The Cloud in some sentences. 14. What can you say about Shelley's place in English literature?

The seed ye sow, another reaps; The wealth ye find, another keeps; The robes ye weave, another wears; The arms ye forge, another bears.

Sow seed, — but let no tyrant reap; Find wealth, — let no impostor heap; Weave robes, let not the idle wear; Forge arms, — in your defence to bear.

Shelley is also known as the author of many lyrical poems devoted to nature and love. He was sure that the world and nature are ever changing, ever developing to higher forms. He was very fond of nature, he wrote of the clouds, and of the wind and of the high snow-covered mountains. Yet above all other things he loved the sea. Among his nature poems are The Cloud, To a Skylark, Ode to the West Wind, Winter and many others.

The Cloud

I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,

From the seas and Streams;

I bear light shade for the leaves when laid

In their noonday dreams.

From my wings are shaken the dews that waken

The sweet buds every one,

When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,

As she dances about the sun.

I wield the flail of the lashing hail,

And whiten the green plains under,

And the again I dissolve it in rain,

And laugh as I pass in thunder.

Shelley's poetry is musical, deeply sincere, and original in form.

Vocabulary

bind [bamd] v (bound) привязать cast [ka:st] v (cast) бросать

to cast down свергать cradle ['kreid] n колыбель cremate [kn'meit] v кремировать dethrone [di'Greun] v свергать с престола dissolve [di'zolv] v заливать drain [drem] v выпускать drone [drsun] n тунеядец flail [fleil] n цеп

forbade [fa'beid] v past от forbid forbid [fs 'bid] v (forbade; forbidden)

запрещать foretell [for'tel] v (foretold) предска­зывать foretold [fofteuld] v past и р. р. от foretell forge [foxtj] v ковать grant [gra:nt] v даровать

Questions and Tasks

hail [heil] л град heap [hi:p] v богатеть idle [aidl] а ленивый impostor [im'psustg] n мошенник inscription [m'sknpjgn] n надпись interpretation [in,t3:pn'teijbn] n толко­вание lash [laef] v падать leech [li:tj] n пиявка liberation [Jiba'reifsn] n освобождение myth [miG] n миф reap [ri:p] ужать

represent [,repn'zent] v представлять robe [гэиЬ] п одежда slumber ['sUmbs] n сон sweat [swet] n пот tie [tai] n связь wield [wi:ld] v держать в руках

 

Walter Scott (1771-1832)

Walter Scott ['wo:to'start], the father of the English historical novel, was born in the family of a lawyer. His mother was the daughter of a famous Edinburgh physician and professor. She was a woman of education and stirred her son's imagination by her stories of the past as a world of living heroes.

As Walter was lame and a sickly child he spent much of his boyhood on his grandfather's farm near the beauti­ful river Tweed. He entered into friend­ly relations with plain people and gained first-hand knowledge of the old Scot­tish traditions, legends and folk ballads.

At the age of eight Walter entered the Edinburgh High School. Later Walter Scott studied law at the University. Though he was employed in his father's profession he was more interested in literature than in law.

As a boy and man he was fond of spending time in the country in the Highlands and in the Border. He collected and studied the native ballads, legends, folk-songs and poems.

Walter Scott's literary career began in 1796 when he published translations of German ballads.

In 1802 he prepared a collection of ballads under the title of The Minstrelsy' of the Scottish Border.

In 1804 Walter Scott gave up the law entirely for literature.

His literary work began with the publication of The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), a poem which made him the most popular poet of the day. A series of poems followed which included

¹ The Minstrelsy — the singing of minstrels. A minstrel — in the Middle Ages a singer of old ballads and songs.

Marmion [' maimjan] (1808) and The Lady of the Lake (1810). These poems brought fame to the author. They tell us about the brave Scottish people, their past and the beauty of their homeland.

Soon, however, Scott realized that he was not a poetic genius, and he turned to writing in prose.

Scott's first historical novel Waverley [ 'wervali] published in 1814 was a great success and he continued his work in this new field. Novel after novel came from his pen. His novels appearpd anonymously. Nobody knew he was a writer. From 1814 to 1830 he wrote 29 novels, many of which are about Scotland and the struggle of this country for independence. Such novels as Waverley, Guy Mannering (1815), The Antiquary [di'sentikwan] (1816), The Black Dwarf [dwo:f] (1816), Old Mortality (1816), Rob Roy (1818), The Heart of Midlothian [mid 'taixJjan] (1818) describe Scotland in the 18th century.

The Bride of Lammermoor ['laemsmua] (1819) and The Legend of Montrose (1819) have the 17th century background.

fvanhoe ['arvanhau] (1820) deals with the English history of the 12th century.

The Monastery (1820), The Abbot and Kenilworth [ 'kemlw3:0] (1821) describe the times of Mary Stuart and Queen Elizabeth.

Quentin Durward ['kwentin 'd3:wad] (1823) refers to the reign of Louis [' lui] XI in France.

It was only in 1827 that Walter Scott declared openly the authorship of his novels. He worked hard. The writer turned out, on an average, a novel and a half a year. His mind was so crowded with stories, characters and incidents that invention came without apparent effort.

Misfortune struck the great novel­
ist in 1825— 1826: the publishing firm,
where he had been partner went bank- Sir Waiter Scott was buried
rupt. Walter Scott had to pay a large ^{in the Abbey of Dr}yburgh

 

sum of money. This affected his health and he died on September 21, 1832 at his estate in Abbotsford.

Walter Scott was buried at Dryburgh Abbey.

Walter Scott was the creator of the historical novel in English literature. He realized that it was the ordinary people who were the makers of history and the past was not cut off from the present but influenced it. This romantic love of the past made him create rich historical canvases with landscape and nature descriptions, as well as picturesque details of past ages. His descriptions of the life, customs and habits of the people are realistic. We can agree with Belinsky that the reader of Scott's novels becomes, in a way, a contemporary of the epoch and a citizen of the country in which the events of the novel take place.

Walter Scott was the first to depict personalities typical of the period and the country described. His characters are vivid and expressive.

This makes Walter Scott one of the greatest masters of world literature. His influence can be seen in the historical novels of almost every nation.

Vocabulary

affect [a'fekt] v влиять canvas ['ksenvas] n картина

anonymously [a'nommgsli] оЛанонимно effort f'efst] n усилие

apparent [a'pasrent] а видимый entirely [m'taiali] adv всецело

background ['baskgraimd] л место дей- physician [fi'zijbn] n врач

ствия plain [plem] а простой

bankrupt f baerjkrapt] о обанкротившийся sickly ['sikli] а болезненный

to go bankrupt обанкротиться stir [st3:] v возбуждать

Questions and Tasks

1. Give a brief account of Walter Scott's life.

2. How did he acquire his vast knowledge of ballads, legends, folk-songs?

3. What was the beginning of his literary career?

4. What poems brought fame to the author?

5. Why did he turn to writing in prose?

6. What was Walter Scott's first historical novel?

7. What was the main historical theme he wrote about in his first novels?

 

8. Name Walter Scott's novels which describe Scotland.

9. What other themes did he touch upon in his novels?

 

10. What novels did he write about England and France?

11. How many novels did Walter Scott write from 1814 to 1830?

12. What misfortune struck the great novelist in 1825-1826?

13. Why was he obliged to work very hard?

14. When did he die?

15. What is the contribution of Walter Scott to the development of the historical novel in English literature?

Ivanhoe

Among the outstanding historical novels of Walter Scott Ivanhoe is one of the best. The events described in Ivanhoe take us back to the 12th century England. The scene of the novel is set in England during the reign of Richard I in about 1194. The power is in the hands of the Normans who oppress the conquered Anglo-Saxons.

King Richard I is engaged in the crusades. During his absence the country is ruled by his brother John who is very cruel to the people. The Anglo-Saxon nobility fights the Normans however they can. Cedric fsi:dnk] the Saxon also tries to keep the former privileges for his people. He has even disinherited his son Wil­fred Ivanhoe who upset his father's plans and later became a de­voted follower of the Norman King Richard.

When Richard I and Ivanhoe return to England, Ivanhoe, un­der the name of "Disinherited", takes part in a tournament. Cedric and his ward Lady Rowena [гэи 'i:na] recognize him. In the next days' sports he is wounded. An old Jew, Isaac farzak] of York, and his daughter Rebecca, whom Ivanhoe once helped, take care of him. On their way from the tournament Cedric and lady Rowena meet Isaac and the wounded Ivanhoe. All of them are seized by the Templars¹, dressed as outlaws, and carried to the castle of a Nor­man feudal, Torquilstone. Under the command of Robin Hood and Richard I the castle is attacked and the prisoners set free. Cedric and Rowena return home, but Rebecca has disappeared. She has been carried off by Sir Brian ['braian], one of the Templars. When

¹ the Templars — члены католического духовно-рыцарского ордена

 

the Grand Master of the Templars hears of the influence that Re­becca has over Sir Brian, he commands the knight to give her up as a witch. Ivanhoe fights in her defence.

The marriage of Ivanhoe and Rowena takes place shortly afterwards. Rebecca and her father leave England for Spain where they hope to find better protection than they received in England.

The central conflict of the novel lies in the struggle of the Anglo-Saxons against the Norman barons. The Anglo-Saxons have no right in their own land. There is no equality among themselves, either. Class interests give rise to a bitter struggle. The Norman conquerors also fight for power among themselves.

At the same time some of them want to subdue the Anglo-Saxons completely, while others are ready to co-operate with them.

Walter Scott shows that the second tendency is progressive because it leads to the birth of a new nation.

A great number of characters take part in the chief events of the novel. Some are historical people, e. g., King Richard I, his brother John and Robin Hood. Others are typical of the period, for instance, Cedric the Saxon and Isaac of York. There we meet also romantic heroes, such as Ivanhoe, Lady Rowena, Rebecca and Sir Brian.

Scott is not indifferent to the fate of the characters and to the historical events in which they take part. He was both romantic and realistic in his works. •

Walter Scott's style and language are very interesting. He was a master of dialogue, which helped him better describe his characters. His heroes spoke using expressions peculiar to their professions (the priests, the archers, the tradesmen).

He was fond of humour, and there are a lot of comic situations in his novels. This makes them still more interesting for the reader.

Walter Scott has always been loved and much read in this country.

Vocabulary

co-operate [kau'opsreit] vсотрудничать subdue [ssb'dju:] /полностью подчинять

feudal ['fju:dl] n феодал tournament [Чшпэтэш;] п турнир

former [Тэ:тэ] а бывший upset [A'pset] v нарушать

nobility [nau'bihti] n дворянство, знать ward [wo:d] n подопечный

peculiar Ipi'kjurlja] а присущий witch [witj] n ведьма
privilige ['pnvihdj] n привилегия, пре­
имущес