The Redress of poetry: Seames Heaney

The redress of Poetry :

Professors of poetry ,apologist for it,practitioners of it ,from Sir Philip Sydney to Wallace Stevens,have benn trying since centuries to show us how poetry relates to our existence as citizens of society.The chief obstacle all these advocates feel is Plato's stand against poetry.As a moralist,Plato disapproved poetry,because it is immoral. As a philosopher he disapproves it because it is based on falsehood.Plato wants to persue truth at every cost but an art deals with illusion.In Plato's world of ideal,ther is no place for poetry and for the formation of an ideal state he wants that everything which is wrong must be removed and only useful and practical things should be introduced.

Sidney defended poetry by declaring that all imaginative literature falls under the head of poetry.He called Plato,among all the philosopher the most poetical.He further asserted that Plato was not against poetry but he was against the abuse of poetry.Similarly Seamus Heaney is of the view that poetic imagination seeks to redress what is wrong.Moreover 'useful' and 'practical' can be derived from the imaginary world provided by the  poets. It is just as that Government and revolutionaries take the society into their imaginary ideal world. In this context Seamus Heaney quotes Wallace Steven who says that,

" The nobility of poetry is violence from within that protects us from violence without.It is imagination pressing back against the pressure of reality."

Wallace Steven also declares the  poet a potent figure because he creates the world to which we turn incessantly and he gives life to the supreme fictions without which we are unable to concieve of that world.In this way,poetry through its own world gives solutions to the problems of our daily life.A political activist cannot present such solutions.He even wants poetry to serve his political agenda.He would demand the poet,either he is American or Irish or an English,to dehumanize the face of the enemy.While the poet ,as Sydney mentioned,idealizes humanity.

 TO illustrate this point further, Seames Heaney quotes Simon Weil who in her book,"Gravity and Grace" says,

"If we know in what way society is unbalanced we must do what we can to add weight to the tigher scale".

Infact Weil wants to say that in this real world, injustice and tyranny are the order of the day.TO create balance in this world ,poetry can perform a redressing effect.Clearly this idea, she derives from Christian teaching and from Christ's paradoxical identification with the plight. 

Heaney also quotes other defenders of poetry.For example Havel thinks that the redress of poetry is like an excersice of the virtue of hope as he says ,

"It is an orientation of spirit,an orientation of heart."

W.H Auden has given the famous principle of trinity--making,judging and knowing for understanding the poetic faculties of a poet; making means creation of a new world,judging means to judge in the light of poetic realities and knowing simply means grip on social and political realities.

So Seames Heaney thinks that poetry focuses on from delight to wisdom.Moreover its cadence(rise and fall) ,etymology  and rhymes carry readers in the realm of wonder.Poetry is also inventive in spirit and principle.In the post colonial period of late twentieth century poetry has given voice to denied expression in the ethnic,social and political life.But it is not possible for poetry to promote cultural and political change and yet maintain its integrity .Yeates for example tried to write short lyrics and poetic drama where every speech would be short and concentrated but his personal stylistic ambition was overcome by his national irish spirit and a reaction to English style is found in his works.

Poetry ,Seames Heaney,asserts whether it belongs to old political system or new one it has to be a working model of inclusive conciousness.It should not simplyfy.Its projections and invention should be match for the complex reality which surrounds it and out of which it is generated .As long as the co-ordinates of the imagined things corrospond to those of the world that we live in and endure,poetry is fulfilling its counterweighting function.Jorge Luis expresses similar views when he says,

"Poetry lies in the meeting of poem and reader,nor in the lines of symbols printed on pages of a book.What is essential is aesthetic act, the thrill, the almost physical emotion that comes with each reading."

In this regard,Seamus Heaney considers the poetry of George Herbert,an excellent example of it.He also analysis a poem "Pulley" of George Herbert and illustrates his point that poetry brings balance in the world of hard realities.

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Discuss the role of Supernatural machinery in “ The Rape of the Lock”.

Q No 5:

Discuss the role of Supernatural machinery in “ The Rape 

of the Lock”.

Answer:

The use of supernatural machinery like the gods, angels, devils and so on is an important feature of epic poetry. It is found in epics of different countries from Illied to Paradise Lost. Every epic based upon the relation between men and women and the higher super natural divine powers who shape their destiny. It actually is an inalienable part of epic writings and raises the central action of epic to the metaphysical world.

Keeping this tradition of epic poetry alive Pope has also used supernatural elements in “The Rape of the Lock". Pope has two alternatives. He could use the Christian or the Classic Greek machinery. But the use of Christian machinery would not have served his purpose in the mock-epic. Whereas keeping in mind the mock-epic theme of “The Rape of the Lock", the use of Classical Greek machinery was also not an easy job.

All this compelled Pope to use some different kind of supernatural machinery that could serve his purpose. As “The Rape of the Lock” was meant to satirize the vanities, bogus moralities and unchaste thinking of 18^{th century} men and women, Pope skillfully used the petty spirits like Sylphs, Nymphs, Gnomes and Salamanders. These tiny spirits are in reality representatives of different kinds of 18^th century women.

These tiny spirits serves variety of purpose in “The Rape of the Lock". They are very important dramatically, thematically and structurally for the poem. Keeping up the tradition of series epic, Pope has introduced these microscopic spirits. Through this supernatural machinery Pope creates the impression that the heroic part is over and Pseudo heroism and artificiality has taken its place. The non-heroic characters of 18^th century beaus and belles are highlighted through supernatural machinery.

They are not merely mock-epic elements, nor are they merely instruments of satire on the aristocracy; they also bring out fine passages of poetry from Pope.

Through these tiny spirits Pope mirrors and mocks at the 18^th century aristocratic conventions and customs. The way Ariel disclosed to protect chastity of women from plotting Lords is a mock in itself. Most of the speeches of Ariel as well as his visit to cave of spleen move simultaneously on mirroring and mocking.

Pope’s use of this supernatural machinery is clever. The size of these tiny spirits is also very important. Their tiny size highlights the triviality and pettiness of the thinking of aristocratic women of Pope’s age. These tiny spirits indicate that how trivial and tiny were the ways and customs of the women of his age.

From all this description of the Sylph’s machinery it is perfectly clear that Pope made it an integral part of poem. This machinery vastly enriched the literary mockery and made the poem a work of timeless appeal.

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Give a character sketch of Belinda in "Rape of the lock"

Q No4:

Give a character sketch of Belinda

 Answer:

Pope has presented Belinda as a complex character. He has presented her in different roles and under different shades, some are satirical other ironical but all entertaining. The character of Belinda has created much controversy since the publication of the poem. Some critics consider her treatment fair while others as unfair. However, the reality lies in between these two extremes we can discuss her character under the following heads:

1: The Heroine o f the Poem:-

Belinda is the heroine of the story. It is her character around whom the story of the whole poem is woven. We see her sleeping till noon and her awakening by her lap dog “Shock”. We are present at her toilet and watch the progress of the sacred rites of pride. Then we see her proceeding from the Thames River to the Hampton Court. Then her smiling looks upon the well dressed youths that crowds her. In short, she is the main character and heroine of the poem.

2: Belinda ve Miss Arabella Fermore:-

It is through Belinda that poet laughs at the follies of female sex. Belinda is the Miss Arabella Fermore of real life. She was an acknowledged beauty of her time, when Pope wrote this poem. Her different portraits show two locks of hair that rests on her shoulder. These two

locks are the same that we found in Belinda's character and this poem is all about the rapping of these two locks by Lord Peter.

3: A creation o f Wit, Beauty and Poetry:-

Belinda is a creation of wit, beauty and poetry. She wakes up at 12 and the first thing which grasps her attention is a love-letter. Then she paints and decorates her with diamonds, ornaments, perfumes and puffs, powders and patches . Then she went out for the

conquest of lovers. Her smiles are sunny, her manners polished, her eyes large. She goes for sail and then to Hampton court and participate in different fun making activities. Then her locks are raped by the Baron. She fights with the help of snuff and bodkin. Her party triumphs but she is unable to regain her lost locks.

4: An object of Mockery and Adoration:-

Belinda is both object of ridicule and beauty which compel admiration. As a representative of the aristocratic class, she is mocked at. But, as a beautiful and charming lady, she deserves our admiration. On the one hand, she is mocked at; on the other hand she is praised as a woman of beauty and charm. She is almost presented as goddess of beauty and youth.

5: Representative of her class:-

Belinda is represents lady Fermore of real life, whom Lord Peter made angry by cutting her lock. Lord Peter in the poem is represented by the Baron. Both the families of Fermore and Peter’s were inimical to each other but they were friendly to Pope. Pope would not have been able in bringing them close to each other if he had not presented them satirically. Therefore, as an individual, Pope praised them but in the full-fledged version he mocked at them. Belinda and Lord Peter appeared to him as typical representative of their class and he satires them.

6: Central Character of the poem :-

From the opening lines, it immediately becomes clear that Belinda is the central character. She is the heroine of this mock-epic. Here in the fourth line, she is given a place which is higher than any other’s; she is both the end and means of the poem. She is accorded the status of the goddess of charm and beauty. Her character represents degradation of aristocratic class. This makes her character larger than other character of the poem.

7: Her Ravishing and Dazzling beautv:-

The first thing that Pope tells us about Belinda is her ravishing dazzling

beauty. When she opens her eyes, brightness of her eyes seemed to eclipse the

sun. This metaphor suggests the dazzling beauty of Belinda.

8: Her Habits:-

Pope has described Belinda's habits in detail. She is a late riser and awakes 12’o clock in the day. She is extremely sophisticated and has great love for luxuries and beauty. It seems she has no other interests in life. The first thing she does after awaking up is to make up her. This is a clear indication of the fact that beautifying herself is like a religious rite for her.

9: Her romantic nature:-

Belinda has a romantic nature. Her journey on the river Thames can be compared with that of Cleopatra in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. This parallel strengthens her romantic nature. Like Cleopatra her physical charms makes even religious sanctity irrelevant. She wears a lively and agile look in her eyes and on her face which reveals the brilliance and intelligence of her mind. She is cautiously courteous to everyone, and gives pleasing gesture to all. She sheds her smiles on everyone who comes to her as the sun sheds its warmth on everyone. Her physical charm is captivating and can shake the faith of anyone.

10: A shrewd Coquette :-

Belinda is true representative of the vices found in her class, but none of them is serious. She reveals to us her shrewdness and coquetry. She is blind with a sense of arrogance. Above all, Pope wants to present her as an embodiment of self-deception.

11: An emotional Being:-_________

Belinda is an emotional being. She is excessively joyful in victory and greatly tearful in sorrow. When Baron succeeds in cutting the lock of Belinda, she shows the extreme of being exceedingly sorrowful and tearful.

12: Lack o f spirituality:-

In Belinda spiritual lackness is quite evident. She just like all aristocratic ladies of her time is more careful about personal reputation rather than spiritual sacredness. She is hardly aware of her soul and she is only sentimental. She has no sense of moral integrity.

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“The Rape of the Lock" is a mirror to social life of eighteenth century

Q No3:

“The Rape of the Lock" is a mirror to social life of eighteenth century England. Elaborate.

Or

Discuss Pope's realism.

Or

Discuss “ The Rape of the Lock” as a social criticism.

Answer:

A great work of art is always the most typical product of its own time. It reflects the life of its age in itself. If it fails to do so, it will also fail to be universal in its appeal.

Without any doubt “The Rape of the Lock” is a great work of art and it reflects the social and cultural life of its time. “The Rape of the Lock” is concerned with the aristocratic society and presents a charming picture of it. The aristocracy of the 18^th century English society was a newly formed class. The aristocratic people were primarily urban with easy flow of money from trade and commerce. They spent their time in idle gossips, back biting, playing games of cards, and in frivolities of sex and love games. Sex intrigues  and courting lies at the parties were their chief hobbies. Being free from the problems of earning their bread they were living a fashion crazy life. The “Rape of Lock” is a mirror of such a kind of society.

Lord Peter and Belinda are representative figures of that society. The details of the daily routine of the gentle men and women are given in an entertaining way. They raise from the luxurious beds at 12’O clock in the noon and it was done by the licking of the lap dogs.

The strayed life of the women is clear from their toilet ceremony. The ladies used to spend more time on applying beauty products to them than anything else. Belinda's preparation at the dressing table is not only ironic and amusing but meaningful too. For many of them like Belinda, dressing table was sacred place like the place of worship. Pope gives minute details of the ladies constant concern for enhancing their beauty effect with artificial means. They undertake great pains to make their hair curly. They were more anxious to win the heart of the choicest beaus . For that purpose, they spent hours at dressing table and

dance and play games of cards with gentlemen of their own choice.

In other words, these ladies were devoid of any real moral sense or any real meaningful purpose in life. To them, husbands were no more important than lap dogs. The death of husbands affected them only as much as the death of lap dogs or breaking of china jars. For them reputation was all, but honour was almost equal to nothing. Loss of chastity was not a serious matter for them. To them church meant nothing but to miss a ball was a serious issue for them.

Gentlemen of that age were also not better than ladies. They were chiefly concerned with getting richer and carrying on sexual adventures with fashion crazy ladies. Lord Peter is a real portrait of the youth of that age. For them all time was a leisure time. To them love letter were more sacred than the Bible. Flirtation with the young ladies was both their hobbies and

vacations. Lord Peter’s sense of victory and triumph at the cutting of Belinda's lock of hair is symbolic of the shallowness, triviality and emptiness of the youth of the contemporary aristocratic class. Their most favorite games were games of playing cards, symbolic of futility and laziness.

Pope also presents the picture of other classes of the society of his time. Among people of other classes are the judges, the merchants and others. Judges did not take their job seriously, nor were the jury-men careful and patient about their responsibility. The judges and jury-men act impatiently and care more for their meal rather than cases. The merchants were also concerned with making money at the exchange.

Pope also gives satirical remark at the coffee-drinking habit of the age, which was regarded as the sign of aristocratic fashion.

To sum up it can be said, such a wasteful kind of life was led by the fashionable people of Pope’s time. Undoubtedly, Pope has given a realist picture of his age but in a bit satirical way. Though, it does not give a complete picture of Pope’s age, yet it presents a real picture of one particular class of his time, aristocratic class, and here its completeness is beyond any doubt.

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The rape of Lock : A mock Heroic epic

Q No. 2:

“The Rape of the Lock" is a mock-heroic poem. Discuss.

Answer:

Heroic or epic poems are poems like Odyssey, the Aeneid and Paradise Lost, that deals with man's exalted aspects. Their action is powerful, their parsonages are dignified and their style is elevated. Following the traditions and devices of a serious epic, mock epic deals with situations and personage in a serious manner and style, but these situations and personage are trivial and petty. In the result, it produces humorous effect.

“The Rape of the Lock'' is a mock-heroic epic poem, both in its matter and spirit. The intention is to reject the artificiality and hollowness of the Pop's age. Pope had intelligently used the formula and elevated style of epic poetry but has employed it to something very trivial. The petty and ridiculous cutting of a lock of hair, has been given an epic treatment. In the result, the little is made great and great little. Ultimately, the poem falls in the category of mock-epics.

However, it is important to note that “The Rape of the Lock'' is a very complex mock epic. It is not limited only to comparison and parody; rather it has instructive purpose too. Mock- heroic effect is achieved at three levels; action, convention  and style.

At the surface level of the action, the mock-heroic effect is produced by contrasting Belinda's spending of day in trivial activities with heroic adventures and great achievements of heroes and heroines of serious epic. Mockery is also produced by comparing petty war of sexes— of Belinda and Lord Peter— with the bloody wars of nations. The desired aim is achieved when the reader find the war of sexes as that of nations.

Similarly at the social level, the poem gives the picture of moral condition of people of Pope’s age. The world of coaches, snuff boxes, lap dogs, and lustful eyes is like the elevated world of Homer, Vergil and Milton. The mock-heroic effect is produced by placing side by side gigantic with very small and the heroic with non-heroic.

Therefore, “The Rape of the Lock" is more than a mere parody of serious epic. It is also evident from the fact that actually this poem was written to reconcile the two families. It aims at moral reformation. This places “The Rape of the Lock” in the line of “Odyssey”, “Aenied” and “The Fairy Queen”. “The Rape of the Lock" revolves around a very serious theme like Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. But its theme is not only funny but trivial also. In the result, its action automatically becomes parody of pure epic.

Almost all the epic starts with the invocation                             to muse , god,

goddess and God. Having a trivial theme and action Pope invokes a fashionable vain-belle Belinda for help. The use of supernatural machinery is another tradition and distinctive feature of epic poetry. Pope has effectively imitated this feature of serious epic also. In classical epics, the role of gods and goddess was very important. In “The Rape of the Lock” this role is played by tiny spirits, Sylphs , Nymphs,  Genomes  and Salamanders . It is quite according to the trivial subject and self-exhibiting characters of the poem. Likewise, Umbrial’s journey into “the cave of spleen ” is intentionally designed to make fun of the visits of epic heroes to the underworld.

The weapons used in the war of sexes do not consist of shinning swords and mighty shields but hairpins, cosmetics and amorous looks . Pope creates the same serious atmosphere, which reader finds in Virgil’s “Aenied’. Like Homer and Milton, Pope also uses different similes. He compared Belinda's eyes with a radiant lighting sun. At another place he ironically compares her with “Queen Dido” and “Helen”. The funniest comparison is between Belinda's petticoat and “Mighty shield” of epic heroes.

Lastly, Pope's elevated style is another source of mock-heroic effect. He uses number of poetic beauties like periphrases , alliteration, long vowel, sounds and elevated poetic diction. These all devices increase beauty, charm and mock-heroic effect of the poem. Besides, Pope uses rhetorical style just like serious epic. Then the use of high sounding words, signs of exclamation and interrogation throughout the poem makes its style grander. Then there are lengthy speeches like the serious epic.

In the end, it can be said that with any doubt that “The Rape of the Lock” in one of the finest piece of mock-epic. But it is not just a parody of epic tradition. It gives Pope a position of a great artist and moralist.

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