Contemporary Romanticism

If Life Gives You Lemons, Make

JENNIFER PERRINE

your mouth into a trough, a spout
from which that sour sauce will pour,
pulp and spittle swimming down your
chin, eyes pinched shut, each acid thought

welling under the tongue. Thin slice
of pain wedged on the salty rim
of your face, let its tart grace skim
your glass neat: no sugar, no ice

to temper this bite, this slick burst
that cankers your lips. Life gives you
lemons: cut your teeth on their rinds,

tear them with gusto, slake your thirst
with their slavering, jaundiced juice,
swallow hard, leave no seeds behind.

To me, this poem urges readers to accept the things that happen in life. This is a play on the phrase "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" however, the message is to drink down the sour taste.

Romanticism

The main idea of romanticism consists of a deeply rooted feeling of subjectivity, grandeur and everything in nature. It became a stark contrast to the romantic notion of medieval times where adventure and romance flourished. I chose two writers and two poems that best personify romanticism during two different times within the period. The first poem, "Ode to a Grecian Urn" was written by John Keates, a man who came to prominence in the late 19th century. My next selection "Lines Written in Early Spring," by William Wordsworth patterns the exaltation of nature.

Habib brings up a good point that Romanticism responded to the elitist nature of the enlightenment period. To illustrate the scope and reach that romanticism had, every major belief or movement developed during the 1830s and 40s was spawned from romanticism. Habib states that it was during this time that the "major upheavals such as the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the revolutions of 1830 and 1848, along with the growth of nationalism, impelled the bourgeois classes toward political, economic, cultural, and ideological hegemony."

Lines Written in Early Spring - William Wordsworth

          I HEARD a thousand blended notes,
         While in a grove I sate reclined,
         In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
         Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

         To her fair works did Nature link
         The human soul that through me ran;
         And much it grieved my heart to think
         What man has made of man.

         Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
         The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;                         10
         And 'tis my faith that every flower
         Enjoys the air it breathes.

         The birds around me hopped and played,
         Their thoughts I cannot measure:--
         But the least motion which they made
         It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

         The budding twigs spread out their fan,
         To catch the breezy air;
         And I must think, do all I can,
         That there was pleasure there.                              20

         If this belief from heaven be sent,
         If such be Nature's holy plan,
         Have I not reason to lament
         What man has made of man?

Ode to a Grecian Urn - John Keats

Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thou express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fring'd legend haunt about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter: therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal - yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unwearied,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.

Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
What little town by river or sea shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e'er return.

O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty," - that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

Key Figures in the Enlightenment Period

John Locke - John's fundamental beliefs lied within the fact that the world presents an "assemblage of particular facts, yielding sensations which our minds then process"(Habib) which allows us to arrive to abstract ideas and general truths. A point that he stressed the most dealt with how language directly connects with human thought and that the utmost care must be heeded. Locke was a staunche opponent of rhetoric, claiming that it abuses language by delighting the listener. Instead he supported the idea that language should be clear; furthermore he insisted calling rhetoric a "powerful instrument of error and deceit." Locke also believed that everything contains two essences, a real essence and an essence perceived as real by the human mind. The basic idea presented by Locke explained that humans merely try to make generalized statements to make things seem true.

Edmund Burke - Burke shared the empiricist view with Locke for the simple fact that he believed that knowledge is gained through experimentation and experience. While others insisted that intuition guided humans, Burke believed that these impulses did not compare to empiracle evidence. He believed that since all humans have the same organs, they must perceive the world the same. The images, pleasures and pains of one man must be the same to another man. He reasoned that while sweetness is perceived as pleasurable and bitterness as unpleasant, a man can acquire a satisfaction through habit. Thus, a preference for a bitter taste can be acquired through repeated exposure.

Mary Wollstonecraft - Wollstonecraft became a proponent of women's rights when she wrote A Vindication to the Rights of Woman which made a case that similarities between women and men make them equal. Mary took a stance against the feudalist nature of society's past and also believed that a monarchy could not effectively rule a nation.

What I gather from these figures is this desire to move society forward. When most people trusted in their own beliefs, some figures came out to explain that everyone holds equality with one another and common sense should be the ruling nature of humanity. Humanity can only progress if they remember their past and base judgments off of what has been proven.

Chapter 8: The Early Middle Ages

The main conflict during this time was the acceptance of Christianity in society. While Rome was being taken over by the Germanic tribes, there was a severe culture clash that had many literary genres meet for the first time. Christian philosophy was highly disapproving of the "feudalist" writing of these Germanic tribes. Where Christian teachings would consist of characters that demonstrated meek and mild attitudes, the Germanic stories were full of themes like pride, loyalty and courageous acts.

Christianity spent a lot of time in the early Middle Ages trying to establish itself as a legitimate reliigon. During this time, major councils convened to cover matters such as connecting the Old Testament to the New Testament, condemning early beliefs of Plato and Aristotle and establishing practices of sermons and a heirarchy of power. These councils allowed the church to pick up after Rome collapsed. The Church was able to take this opportunity to establish itself as "the single institution." (Habib) Another advantage the Church had was their "assimilation and adaption to a wider population." (PF 135-136) The church's Latinization of its teachings allowed it to reach a broader scope and connect with much of the population.

Christianity had a two-fold plan for establishing itself during the Middle Ages with the standardization of the language as well as creating the concept of monasticism. This aspect of Christianity was established by St. Basil and St. Benedict. This entailed a "strict vow of poverty, obedience, humility, labor and devotion." (Habib) It was the monks of these monasties whose duties included writing books, translating the Bible, maintaining schools, libraries and hospitals. This order "united intellectual and manual labor... in the service of God." (PF, 135) Their goal was to advance society through research and teaching rather than by the slave labor of old societies. This promoted the "indispensable bridge between two epochs, between the ancient slave mode of production and the feudal mode of production." (PF, 137)

During the very early stages of the Middle Ages, Rome was in the midst of an economic and industrial decline. Economic activity was largely controled by the local establishments and trade was very rarely done outside of these territories. This feudal, heirarchal way of life was sanctioned by the church until the rise of Carolus Magnus or Charlemagne. (Habib, 153) Charlemagne was largely responsible for taking the reach of the Roman Empire and extending it beyond central Europe and Italy. He was then crowned by pope Leo in 800, "an event which signified the formation of the Holy Empire" (Habib 153) Charlemagne was an important figure not only for his diplomatic prowess, but also for his vision for the Roman Empire. He brought about a "real administrative and cultural revival" which included sponsoring "a renovation of literature, philosophy, art and education." and most importantly, "it was in this era that the groundwork of feudalism was laid." (PF, 137, 139) Christianity found itself becoming the state religion of the Roman Empire in 381. (Habib, 154) Thus the idea of transference was concieved. Transference is "the idea of a world empire; thus it had a universal, not a national character." (Curtius, 28-29)

Thoughts on Neo Platonism

Neo Platonism strikes me as the concept that the Matrix was trying to get at. The main concept of Neo Platonism is taking Plato's theory of forms and adding a hierarchy to it. The interesting thing about this is that it influenced much of Medieval Christianity in terms of "allegory and discourse which viewed the physical world as inherently symbolic of a higher world." (Habib)

Neo-Platonism is believed to be founded by Plotinus, a third century philosopher who despite being Greek and speaking Greek, had a Roman name. The philosophy he created was heavily influenced by Plato and his theory of forms. Habib explains that it is "the idea that ultimate reality subsists in another world, a transcendent and spiritual realm from which the physical world takes its existence and meaning." The main idea behind Neo-Platonism is that there is a heirarchy on four levels. The first is "The One" which embodies truth, origin and goodness. Next is Eternal, the divine mind. Next is There, the All Soul, World Soul and Here which is the world of matter.