Thursday, January 26, 2012
Disenchantment, Doubt, and Fear
Napoleon's "meteoric rise and fall" both horrified and mystified all of Europe. At the same time countries were uniting to defeat a regime that threatened the Rights of Man, a phenomenon of hero-worship was prevalent. This era was full of the feelings of disenchantment, fear of extremism, and doubt; and they are visible in the Lord Byron's "Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte" and Percy Shelley's "England in 1819." In "Ode," Byron is coming from a place of broken-idolatry. He had faith in Napoleon - his clever strength - and his ability to stabilize France, but Napoleon disappointed - and scared - the world with his ambition. Byron bitterly mocks Napoleon, purposefully setting a tone of supreme defeat from the start with a very interesting collaged epigraph. The first section translates as, "Put Hannibal in the scales; how much weight will you find in the greatest commanders?" Throughout this poem, Byron refrains this idea. What is Napoleon now? Nameless. No one. He ends the poem in doubt of the future. Shelley's poem was striking to me especially after I realized how long this Revolutionary movement had been going on, how much England and France had been through, yet it seems the problems dating back Medieval England had not been successfully addressed. He reiterates his fierce opposition to the Church from "Feelings of a Republican.." in lamenting how religion is "Christless, Godless." His discontent, however, is not all consuming as he holds on to the hope of "illumination."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You make a great point about how Byron had faith in Napoleon’s ability to stabilize France - this is something that we didn’t really delve into during class but seems to be of strong importance. In spite of an air of aversion towards monarchs, I’m sure the French people appreciated how Napoleon guided France in in the nation’s return to eminence after the chaos that followed the revolution. Perhaps the fact that Napoleon was from common origins instead of royal blood could have tempered their hostility towards rulers during his reign. Yet after his fall the reality of the fact that another sovereign had reemerged certainly would have dashed their hopes for liberty and egalitarianism. I would think many people would fear another fall into chaos and may come to believe that the future of France would consist of cyclical rises and falls of powerful ruling individuals.
ReplyDeleteYes, not only did he stabilize France, but he also brought an end to the Reign of Terror/Thermidorian Reaction/Revoultion in general. Amdist all the violence of fractured political factions ticking one another off and responding with mass execution, Napoleon rose up and wrecked shop. His consolidation of power was truly a blessing to the French nation, and in that way, his dirge becomes more bittersweet.
ReplyDelete