The Victorian era centred upon an established social order and conforming to various religious, economic and social institutions of the period. The works of Gaskell and Browning explore many of these established social paradigms and provide insights into the context of and values prevalent in the Victorian era.
Browning’s “My Last Duchess” is set in the Renaissance period in Italy, yet also expresses values relevant to the Victorian era. The theme of male superiority is central to the poem, reflecting a significant aspect of Victorian society. The use of dramatic monologue allows the reader to relate to the distorted psyche of the duke. Although the reader does not condone his criminal behaviour, it provides an insight into his thoughts and views, reflective of the misogynistic Victorian era. The poem follows the iambic pentameter, yet Browning utilises rhythm and syntax to provide a conversational tone. Enjambment is used throughout the text as in “For never read Strangers like you” to provide a more naturally irregular rhythm replicating conversational speech. The deliberate informalisation of the formal iambic pentameter reflects a conversational tone but also echoes the tone of the Duke’s narration. He too is relaxing his usual proud formality to confide in the reader and the envoy his thoughts, through the monologue. This informal and almost jovial tone allows the reader to relate to the duke and continues until “I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together. The use of meiosis emphasises the blunt nature of the statement and provides a further insight into the duke’s psyche.
The Essay on Readers Tone Poetry Sidelight Poet
Tone is the reflective attitude the poet attempts to evoke in her reader. When a person speaks they are able to bring to mind both a literal meaning (denotation) as well as a connotative meaning. The connotation of a sentence spoken is noted by "body language, intonation, word choice and many other subtle nuances that allows the speaker to effect a desired reaction from her listener. The poet must ...
There is no twinge of guilt or regret in the words of the Duke; his unblemished dignity and noblesse oblige provide sufficient justification. His actions are even more unjustifiable as his disdain for the Duchess is due to her overtly warm and lively demeanour “She like whate’er she looked on”. The Duke is unhappy with her indiscriminate showings of happiness “Her looks went everywhere”, expecting favourable treatment for his “gift of nine-hundred-years-old name”. However, as she is painted on the wall “looking as if she were alive” the Duke has transformed her into an object of art which he can admire without concern; a beauty which he can thoroughly possess. The painting is guarded by a curtain controlled solely by him “Since none puts by, the curtain I have drawn for you but I” preserving her beauty and the sins she committed when alive. This obsessive and possessive nature of the Duke reflects the attitudes towards women in the Era. Although not as extreme as the Duke, women were expected to be servile and subordinates to men and discriminately hold their husbands in the highest esteem.
Porphyria’s Lover explores similar attitudes towards women and is another dramatic monologue providing an insight into the homicidal lunacy of the male persona. This poem also reiterates the prevailing attitude towards women as being inferior, and shows the importance of social barriers in the era. When Porphyria enters, her behaviour is overtly sexual “put my arm around her waist, and made her smooth white shoulder bare”. The difference between their social barriers is obvious as she leaves a “gay feast” in contrast to his mere “cottage”. Despite the fact that she gives in to her passion “from pride and vainer ties dissever” he feels her reluctance and difficulty in completely giving herself to him due to the social barriers. This fear of losing her to her social connections and the force of her love prompts him to kill her “strangled her”. Following the murder, the poem undergoes a change in tone now that she is under his control, emphasising the significance of male dominance to the era. Although the rhythm remains as iambic tetrameter, the pace quickens with lighter consonant and vowel sounds to provide an almost dolce quality suggesting hysterical relief. His possessive nature and relief is shown through the repetition “my burning kiss” and “my shoulder bore”. Overwhelmed by her love and overt sexual gestures and unable to cope with her as a real person, the persona resorts to murder to restore the male dominance in the relationship. This questions the Victorian attitude towards sexuality and explores the hostility and repression of women in the society. The final line of the poem provides a fitting conclusion and emphasises this view of women in the Victorian era “and yet god has not said a word” justifying his actions as perfectly acceptable to restore the proper order of male superiority.
The Essay on Women In Religion
“I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”–Genesis 3:16. There has been much controversy in this section in the Holy Bible, that many believe people have oppressed women in religion from the beginning. Women in religion has been a very controversial topic ...
Elizabeth Gaskell, in North and South also explores the themes of female servitude in the Victorian era as well as the importance of Christianity and religion in the era. The protagonist Margaret Hale emigrates from the south of England to the Industrial north, providing and insight into the conflict in the area. Hale is characterised as an altruistic yet stereotypical woman serving her loved ones despite her ambitions to “get high up. . . see far away. . . and take a deep breath of fullness in that air” Despite hear desires, she is burdened by constant dependency by her family “The father and brother depended upon her…she must be working, planning, considering” The Victorian era esteemed goodness in women as sacrificial service to others, citing Christianity as the justification for this servile expectation of women. Moulded by Christianity and the social pressures of the era, Hale resigns herself to perform her duties despite her resentment of her role.
The resignation of Hale to satisfy the stereotypical role of women also highlights the importance of Christianity to the Victorian era, as she sees herself as satisfying her religious duties by accepting her domestic duties. However, despite the importance of Religion to Victorian society, the era also saw a movement towards anti-religion and atheism among the working class. This is accurately portrayed in the scene when Higgins, a textile worker, visits the former clergyman Mr. Hale. The atrocious working conditions and poor pay in the area caused many of the workers to question their religion, shown through Higgins’ statement “I reckon yo’d not ha’ much belief in yo’ if yo’ lived here — if yo’d been bred here. The use of dialect and furthers her rhetoric of realism in accurately portraying the working class and their disquietudes about religion “They’re real folk. They don’t believe i’ the Bible”. The growing doubt regarding religion was not wholly confined to the working class however, evident in the behaviour of Mr. Hale resigning as a minister “Doubts, pap! Doubts as to religion?” This suggests that despite the integral role that Christianity played in the Victorian society, it was not always evidenced by the virtues of individuals due to the ruthlessness towards the working class. It also highlights the hypocrisy of the era towards religion, shown through the double standards imposed by factory owners who subject workers to profane working conditions.
The Essay on Western Religion Sin In Judaism Christianity And Islam
Western Religion: Sin in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is known that there are three major religions dominating in the West. They are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. So it is necessary to distinguish their differences as to faith and sin. Judaism is one of the oldest religions in the world. It is the religion of Jewish people.This religion is known to be monotheistic faith with traditions ...
Both the works of Gaskell and Browning portray the context and values of the Victorian era, providing us with an insight into social paradigms prevalent in the period. Exploring various institutions of the era such as the expectations of female servitude and male superiority and the importance and questioning of faith, these texts provide an accurate representation of the era and significant insights into its contexts and values.
