Eccentric Authors and
Timeless Works
When first
starting this assignment I thought I would write about how many of the authors
we have read this semester were reviewed poorly by critics of their time. It
seemed strange that these works that were lambasted by the critics are now celebrated
as some of the greatest works of all time and are taught in schools two hundred
years after they were written. As strange as it seems though, this is not
uncommon throughout history. From the Greek philosophers to Emily Dickinson
there has always been and will always be work that goes unappreciated or
unnoticed in the authors lifetime only to become fundamental later on. I began
to think about why these works have been treated this way. I wondered: Do these
author's have anything in common? I came to the conclusion that the majority of
the authors we have read this semester
were unique and eccentric people during their lives, and that these
eccentricities are present in their writings. I cannot say that this is the
reason their work has become to essential over time, but it certainly adds to
appeal of the work. Learning about the lives of the authors and drawing
connections to the work has been the most enjoyable experience for me this
semester.
Clare's Madness
One of the
most prominent instances of an artist's eccentricity affecting their work is
John Clare. Like Hogg, Clare was a poet "shaped by the language and
customs of rural life" (Black 795). Clare's rural upbringing shaped his
early work, he wrote extensively about nature. His later madness also had a
large influence on his work. Reading "Don Juan A Poem" it is clear that
Clare was not mentally well when writing it. He is angry and bitter yet, as we
discussed in class, there is a shift in the poem where his former self shines
through. When writing about women and politics Clare seems like a tumultuous
storm yet when she shifts to writing about a natural scene he seems calm and
serene. This juxtaposition really highlighted the nature of his illness. His
two "I Am" sonnets also functioned the same way. The first sonnet
seems to be written by someone with a God complex while the second seems to be
written by a man who has dejectedly accepted his fate.
Keats the Lover
Keats could
pass as a character created by Shakespeare. His work is so expressive and vulnerable,
after reading it you feel you really know him. Keats seemed to me to be the
author who bared the most and put the most of his own life into his work.
"When I Have Fears that I May Cease to Be" especially stands out to
me as confessional. His metaphors are accessible and he outright states his
fears. There is no real way to misinterpret his meaning in the poem and that
made the poem more effective. Keats' expressive style makes his work resonate
more deeply inside the reader. We all have fears of death and being forgotten.
What makes his work seem so much more poignant is that Keats died thinking he
was a failure. Keats died with his fears justified only for them to proved
unjustified over time. This adds another layer of sorrow to his work.
Coleridge's Drug
Addiction
Samuel
Taylor Coleridge was addicted to laudanum, or tincture of opium, and openly
admitted that it affected his work. In his paper "De Quincey, Coleridge,
and the Formal Uses of Intoxication" Cooke states that for De Quincey and
Coleridge "the primary need served by the opium is the need to overcome
the double sense of the inadequacy of life for them and of their own inadequacy
to life" (Cooke 26). Addiction is something that effects every facet of a
person's life. According to Coleridge it was a drug induced dream that gave him
the visions of Xanadu which he wrote of in "Kubla Khan." He also wrote
about the pains of opium withdrawal in "Pains of Sleep." I found this to be a great example of how something almost entirely detrimental
can lead to great and sometimes uplifting art. Almost like a cancer patient
writing a heartwarming account of their final days.
I found looking at this recent image of Xanadu while reading
"Kubla Khan" to be interesting. You can see the area marked out which Coleridge refers to in
the poem. Coleridge's descriptions are so lively and verbose you can really get
an idea of what he saw in his dream.
Wollstonecraft's Feminism
Mary
Wollstonecraft was an outspoken feminist, not something entirely common for her
time period. Her feminism entirely affected her work as we discussed in class.
As BG12 stated in their post "Marriage and Slavery" in Maria "we're only presented with
the kinds of marriage where women are horribly wronged and beaten down." Maria does make strong statements on
marriage's unfair effect on women. Yet Wollstonecraft chose to get married
anyways. Wollstonecraft knew marriage did not have to be unfair and detrimental
to women, but that it often was. She used her work to raise awareness and
further a cause that she believed in greatly while living a life that could be
used as an example.
The Nightmare by
Henry Fuseli was shown during the presentation on Wollstonecraft. I thought the
discussion on where the creature is sitting was interesting. The creature is
holding the woman down and he is seated on her womb. It could be ventured that
the woman is held back by the fact she is a woman. Maybe a child is her
nightmare because she knows it will take away the little independence she has.
Hogg's Lack of
Education
James Hogg
was not only derided by critics, but also by his friends and contemporary authors. His close friend and fellow author Sir Walter
Scott wrote in a letter that: "Hogg's Tales are a great failure to be
sure. With a very considerable portion of original genius he is sadly deficient
not only in a correct taste but in common tact" (Black 197). Hogg was
acclaimed when he was first published and hired to write for a magazine, but
"as the magazine gained in popularity and influence, Hogg found himself marginalized
and excluded by more cosmopolitan and politically savvy writers" (Black
197). Hogg's prose stood out to me though as some of the easiest material to
read this semester. That's not to say that Hogg's work was any less meaningful
than the other authors, but he seemed to write more straightforward. Hogg did
not rely on overly flowery language and his work seems more straightforward to
me. This could be the lack of "correct taste" and "common
tact" that Scott speaks of. Hogg's lack of early education might have
served him better in the long run. What may have seemed crass and unpolished at
the time appears more accessible today.
The Abolitionists'
Dilemma
Writing
about slavery the way Cowper and Southey did reflects an intense interest in
abolition. Firstly, writing about abolition wasn't the most popular thing to do
at the time so they were already making a bold statement just by writing. But
they did so much more than that, Southey's "The Sailor who had Served in
the Slave-Trade" is a moving and haunting example of the guilt associated
with the slave trade, Cowper's "The Negro's Complaint" is a
humanizing view of slaver from the enslaved's point of view, and "Sweet
Meat has Sour Sauce: or, the Slave Trader in the Dumps" is a cutting
satire that disgusts the reader with its title and words. The personal impact
of Cowper's and Southey's views might have been the most important we read all
semester because they pertained to a practice that affected most of the world.
The common
thread among these author's is not just that they had unique or eccentric
aspects. These authors either intentionally or unintentionally incorporated
their flaws, beliefs, ideologies, ideas, and themselves into their work, and
that is not unique either. Every artist incorporates themselves in their work.
The artists themselves are what is unique. What they have incorporated into
their work has struck a chord with people through generations and will continue
to do so. Humorous personal touches also add to the character of these pieces.
Walpole claiming his work was an old work that he translated added to the
mystique. Byron's snarky comments in the dedication of "Don Juan"
gave the reader a great sense of his personality. Without personal touches
these works would obviously be more bland and they would probably not make the
statements that they do. All of this is of course obvious, but learning about
the author's behind the work and how their personal experiences influences has
been the most eye opening aspect to me this semester.
Works Cited
Black, Joseph, ed. The Broadview Anthology of British Literature. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press,
2010. Print.
Cooke, Michael G. "De Quincey,
Coleridge, and the Formal Uses of Intoxication." Yale French Studies 50 (1974) : 26-40. Web. JSTOR.
