When
we began this course, Professor Porter emphasized the importance of “looking
back” as a quintessential Romantic activity. This post culminates the
semester’s efforts to delve into the Romantic realm as we, like the period
authors we studied, perform the task of “looking back.” Throughout this year we
have read and discussed poetry and topics within contexts varying from
revolution to human rights, especially with reference to how they are
constructed by gender, to romance, among others. Though I found a great deal of thematic
devotion to gender rights, calls for social change, classical allusions, and
natural imagery, I decided to focus on a more abstract element embedded within
the various texts and the purpose it served. I explore the recurrent motif of
emotionality and expressiveness within the Romantic texts, arguing that
reliance on emotion, as opposed to rationality, produces the so-called “new
morality” defined by Irving Babbitt. This “new morality” adheres to the kind of
sensibility prevalent in many of the Romantic texts—one that elevates emotion
above rational thought. This concept of new morality is portrayed across
various styles present in the many pieces composing our spectrum of Romantic
works, lending a certain obscurity and ingenuity to each compositions and thus necessitating
deeper analysis.
Borrowing from
Babbitt’s chapter on the ideal romantic morality: “The romantic moralist tends to favor … the creative, infinite, and to
dismiss whatever seems to set bounds … as something inert, mechanical, finite”
(147)
This
quote almost explicitly harks back to Blake’s Songs of Experience, specifically recalling the poem “The Tyger.” This
piece quite emphatically responds to its companion piece, “The Lamb” from Songs of Innocence. As
“The Tyger” suggests, Blake valorized natural, organic elements by referencing
“distant deeps, skies … forests of the night.” An emotive quality heightens the
questioning tenacity of the work, albeit rhetorical, as adjectives and
adjectival phrases such as “burning bright” (1), “fearful,” (4) and “dread” (12)
describe the allegorical figure of the tiger. The effusiveness of Blake’s
diction exposes the inner struggle of the narrator.
This divided nature is unequivocally
the result of society’s progression toward the reasonable, as symbolized by the
mechanistic Industrial Revolution, and away from the creative and emotional.
Referencing the Blake dictionary, it is evident that Blake’s use of emotion
(and, consequently, his affirmation of the “new morality”) corresponds to his
idea of the Poetic Genius. This Blakean phrase describes humanity at its most
imaginative; for Blake, the Poetic Genius was the pinnacle state of man and he
even went so far as to equate great poetry with prophecy and divinity (Damon
330). His devotion to striving for this state of being implies his commitment
to emotion. Blake adamantly fights against what he deems Urizen (onomatopoetically
“your reason”), a satanic force that limits energy and entraps the imagination
(420-422), evidencing his distaste with the progression toward the rational as
envisioned by the Enlightenment philosophes.
Such personal
turmoil—imagination/emotion versus reason; the extent to which striving for the
Poetic Genius serves as an appropriate means to the “new morality”—visually and
metaphorically manifests through the structure and creation of “The Tyger”
itself. In a self-referential fashion, Blake reveals the paradox of utilizing
the Poetic Genius to conjure images and poetic stanzas while constricting them
to a fixed frame through the mechanized process of engraving. The act of
engraving coalesces the imaginative with the rational while the content of the
piece appears intensely emotional. Thus, Blake reveals both a desire for the
“new morality” while admitting that he is somewhat bound by societal
construction from fully committing to it or allowing himself to embrace it.
Another reason I referenced this
poem was to remove a degree of confusion from the “new morality” being
presented and the, pardon my bluntness, “classic morality” that Blake commonly
integrates within his texts. Indeed, Blake commented a great deal about the morality
of the late 18th century and how the educational methods of the
time, conduct books and the catechistic approach, neglected to properly commit
the tenets of that morality to the general populace, most especially to
children. It is essential to note the distinction between these two intentions
of Blake: he imbues his work with the “classic religious and behavior-based”
morality to critique the educational and denominational institutions of his era
but incorporates sensibility as a suggestive means of enforcing the “new
morality. ”
Austen’s Persuasion
In
stylistically divergent form, Austen similarly accomplishes the celebration of
sensibility, willing to engage in emotional response over rational response. Meng
writes that characters, such as Louisa Musgrove in Persuasion cannot win the hero because “though [they] possess
seemingly ‘good’ outward qualities, they lack the inward moral character
essential to the true Austen heroine” (14). I would argue that the morality to
which she alludes references the “new morality” defined by Babbitt and speaks
to the emotional capacity of the character. The Miss Musgroves, unlike Anne,
appear to function purely on a superficial level and fail to express their
feelings and emotions openly, as does our female protagonist. Furthermore,
Anne’s experience of maturation and personal growth throughout the novel, as
well as her ultimate victory in “snagging her prince—or, rather, her Captain,”
insinuates the success of the “new morality” while suggestively demoting social
rank and other constructed hierarchical aspects as indicators of self-worth. An
excerpt from Persuasion reveals,
through syntactical structure and dialogic exuberance, Anne’s embrace of
emotion: “For the first time, since their renewed acquaintance, she felt that
she was betraying the least sensibility of the two. She had the advantage of
him in the preparation of the last few moments. All the overpowering, blinding,
bewildering, first effects of strong surprise were over with her. Still,
however, she had enough to feel! It was agitation, pain, pleasure, a something
between delight and misery” (Austen 194).
Anne’s
journey of self-awareness is a rather tumultuous one of inner turmoil as well
as “she frequently struggles to act in love and selflessness” (Meng 33).
Initially persuaded to act against her emotions (the act itself promulgated by
Lady Russell’s more “reason-based” motivations to ensure status and notoriety
among the elite), her ultimate reliance on her feelings produces satisfaction.
This once again implies the benevolence of the “new morality” and encourages
reliance on emotion over “rationale.”
Upon
consideration of this author, I’d like to introduce another quote from Babbitt:
“Men were eager to be told that they
…could trust the spontaneous overflow of their emotions because it made
possible an inevitable recoil from the opposite doctrine of total depravity and
the mortal constraint that it had put on the instincts of the natural man”
(123). The concept of theological terror was one that had been used in the 17th
and early 18th centuries, emphasizing the need for strict adherence
to dogma and Christian demands (120). The mid-late 18th century
witnessed a repudiation of these demands and allowed for the creation of the “new
morality” as humanity embraced emotion.
Cowper’s “The Negro’s Complaint”
The simple form of this poem set to
the tune of “The Sailor’s Complaint” may initially escape recognition as an
emotive piece but a closer analysis reveals it to be intrinsically effusive. In
the opening stanzas, the forlorn tone of the speaker followed by the blatant
admonishing of plantation owners evokes a strong emotionality. The use of
rhetorical questions and vivid imagery further lends to the expressive quality
of the work. Written in 1788, this poem was reprinted in illustrated editions,
playing a powerful role in garnering antipathy among the British toward the
slave trade. Though not the illustration specific to the distributed edition, I
believe that J.M.W. Turner’s artistic rendering of the Zong incident in his painting “The Slave Ship,” when coupled with
the text, evokes an even greater emotive force than that generated solely by
the text alone.
The brilliant,
frenzied depiction of the 1781 incident complete with fiery orange-red center
and iron shackles and manacles clasping the wrists and ankles of drowning
slaves inimitably captures the bleak, aggressive character of this calamity.
The Romantic Period's glorification of nature was dually reinforced in the
piece: Turner illustrates the immense power of nature over humanity with his
relatively minuscule human forms in comparison to the vast sea and overarching
sky. He lends a sort of unearthly element to the painting, which reinforces the
disconnect between what is acceptable in reality and what is being permitted to
transpire: the evils of slavery and the slave trade. Though his perspective is
merely implied through a rash representation, his efficacious motivations and
overwhelming feelings are quite clear.
Its elicitation of grieving emotions perhaps connects this piece most to the “new morality.” It was philosopher David Hume who claimed “[Affliction and sorrow] have always a stronger and more lasting influence than any pleasure or enjoyment” (Hume 113). The very strength of the emotions, interpreted in this light, would produce the greatest willingness to supplant the contorted “rationality” of the slave trade. This piece also connects to another characterization made by Babbitt of the “new morality:” “The underlying assumption of romantic morality is that the personal virtues, the virtues that imply self-control, count as naught compared with the fraternal spirit and the readiness to sacrifice one’s self for others” (141). Because this piece staunchly opposes the slave trade and seems to call for equality—“Skins may differ, but affection/ Dwells in white and black the same” (15-16)—Cowper seems to call for another aspect of the “new morality,” namely the expansion of brotherhood and the progression of mankind as a whole (a concept borrowed from Rousseau).
Its elicitation of grieving emotions perhaps connects this piece most to the “new morality.” It was philosopher David Hume who claimed “[Affliction and sorrow] have always a stronger and more lasting influence than any pleasure or enjoyment” (Hume 113). The very strength of the emotions, interpreted in this light, would produce the greatest willingness to supplant the contorted “rationality” of the slave trade. This piece also connects to another characterization made by Babbitt of the “new morality:” “The underlying assumption of romantic morality is that the personal virtues, the virtues that imply self-control, count as naught compared with the fraternal spirit and the readiness to sacrifice one’s self for others” (141). Because this piece staunchly opposes the slave trade and seems to call for equality—“Skins may differ, but affection/ Dwells in white and black the same” (15-16)—Cowper seems to call for another aspect of the “new morality,” namely the expansion of brotherhood and the progression of mankind as a whole (a concept borrowed from Rousseau).
Hemans' “The Wife of Asdrubal”
Hemans is another author whose
emphatic use of emotion makes her an able producer of the Romantic “new
morality.” A review of her work by the Edinburgh
Monthly Review characterized her poetry as falling “within the expressive
paradigm and gendered discourse of sensibility … [her verses] appear the
spontaneous offspring of intense and noble feeling, governed by a clear
understanding, and fashioned into elegance by an exquisite delicacy and
precision of taste” (374). The Euripidean (recall Medea) poem “The Wife of
Asdrubal” expertly conveys intense feelings and justifies my argument that
Hemans was one such Romantic author who produced the “new morality.” The eponym
“Wife of Asdrubal” fails to properly portray the wild, tenacious character of
the female heroine figure. Hemans’ descriptions are lurid at times, fierce at
others:
Bright in her hand the lifted dagger
gleams,
Swift from her children’s hearts the
life-blood streams;
With frantic laugh she clasps them to
the breast
Whose woes and passions soon shall be
at rest;
Lifts one appealing, frenzied glance
on high,
Then deep ‘midst rolling flames is
lost to mortal eye. (63-68)
Hemans
recognizes the courage it takes for this woman to perform infanticide and
suicide, committing two most egregious acts driven by feelings of maternal
love, devotion, and sacrifice. The passionate portrayal of this female
character illustrates the propagation of “new morality” in its condoning of two
seemingly criminal acts for the emotions they champion, in its reversal of
reason and feeling and an alteration in what is conventionally considered right
and wrong. Clearly, Hemans invests herself in the poetics of sensibility.
Conclusions
The ever emotive and sometimes
fraternal nature of Romantic texts clearly laid the foundations for the “new
morality” of the age. And, “looking back” as we are wont to do, it is rather
simple to come across other works on the spectrum of Romanticism that exhibit
these same qualities and, consequently, promote Babbitt’s “new morality.” The
individualized methods by which each author achieves this end, however, are in
abundance, making for a virtually endless resource for students studying the
genre to provide innovative analysis.
Austen,
Jane. Ed. Linda Bree. Persuasion. Canada: Broadview Press Lmtd, 1998. Print.
Babbitt,
Irving. Rousseau and Romanticism. Cambridge: The Riverside Press, 1919.
Print.
Blake, William, Mary Lynn Johnson,
and John E. Grant. Blake's Poetry and Designs.
New
York: W.W. Norton, 2008. Print.
Damon, S. Foster. A Blake
Dictionary: The Ideas and Symbols of William Blake.
Hanover
and London: University Press of New England, 1988. Print.
Hartman, Anne. “Extract from Debating Confession: The Poetics of
Self-expression,
1815-1850, an
unpublished Ph. D. thesis (University of London, 2001).” <
Hume,
David. “The Philosophical Works of David Hume: Volume II” Boston: Little,
Brown and Company, 1834. Web. 23 Apr
2012.
Landow,
George P. “Images of Crisis: J.M.W. Tuner’s Slave
Ship.15 July 2007. Web. <
Mellor,
Anne K. and Richard E. Matlak. British Literature,1780-1830. Wadsworth,
Cengage Learning, 1996. Print.
Meng,
Brittany A. “The Enduring Austen Heroine: Self-Awareness and Moral Maturity
in Jane Austen’s Emma and in Modern Austen Fan-Fiction.” Liberty University, Nov.
2010. Web. 22 Apr 2012.
Rev. of The Sceptic, by
Felicia Hemans, Edinburgh Monthly Review 16 (April 1820):
374.
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