2. Major Victorian Poets victorian Novel and Novelists

2. Major Victorian Poets
Poets shifted from the extremely personal expression (or subjectivism) of the Romantic writers to an objective surveying of the problems of human life. The poems of Tennyson, Browning, and Arnold especially reflect this change. Much Victorian poetry was put to the service of society.Alfred Tennyson (1809-92) attempted to give direction to his readers. 'Idylls of the King' (1859) is a disguised study of current ethical and social conditions. 'Locksley Hall' (1842), 'In Memoriam' (1850), and 'Maud' (1855) deal with conflicting scientific and social ideas. Much of Tennyson's poetry, however, can be read without worrying about such problems. His narrative skill makes many of his poems interesting just as stories. For example, each of the Arthurian tales in 'Idylls of the King' brings the reader a wealth of beauty and experience. 'The Lady of Shalott' and 'The Death of Oenone' are pleasing tales to young readers. (See also Tennyson.)For those who have seen Rudolph Besier's modern play 'The Barretts of Wimpole Street', Elizabeth and Robert Browning need no introduction. Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-61) wrote the most exquisite love poems of her time in 'Sonnets from the Portuguese' (1850). These lyrics were written secretly while she was being courted by Robert Browning. (See also Browning, Elizabeth Barrett.)Browning (1812-89) is best remembered for his dramatic monologues. 'My Last Duchess' (1842), 'Fra Lippo Lippi' (1855), and 'Andrea delSarto' (1855) are excellent examples. The stirring rhythm of 'How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix' (1845) and the simple wonder of 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin' (1842) endear Browning to readers. His expressions of personal faith have inspired thousands of readers ('Epilogue to Asolando', 1889; 'Rabbi Ben Ezra', 1864; 'Prospice', 1864). The poetic drama 'Pippa Passes' (1841) is one of his finest efforts. (See also Browning, Robert.)The poetry of Matthew Arnold (1822-88) is marked by an intense seriousness and classic restraint. 'Sohrab and Rustum' (1853) is a fine blank-verse narrative. His elegiac poems on the death of his father, Dr. Thomas Arnold ('Rugby Chapel', 1867), and of his friend Arthur Hugh Clough ('Thyrsis', 1867) are profound and moving. His interest in the problem of making Englishmen aware of higher values of life caused him to quit writing poetry and turn to critical prose. As a critic, he drove his ideas home with clarity and force. (See also Arnold, Matthew.)Arnold's somber and disillusioned poem 'Empedocles on Etna' (1852) was characteristic of the poetry dealing with the conflict between religion and science. A much more popular poem on the same theme was the free translation of the 'Rubбiyбt of Omar Khayyбm' (1859), by Edward Fitzgerald (1809-83). The poem was originally written by Omar, a Persian astronomer. Fitzgerald claimed that the only course of action left to the man whose religious ideals had been destroyed by science was self-indulgence.²The Pre-Raphaelites, a group of painters and poets, rebelled against the sentimental and the commonplace. They wished to revive the artistic standards of the time before the Italian painter Raphael (1483-1520). Their poems are full of mystery and pictorial language. One member was Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82). His 'Blessed Damozel' (1850) and 'Sister Helen' (1870) are typical of this highly sensuous verse. 'Goblin Market' (1862), by his sister Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-94), is one of the most fanciful poems in the language. (See also Rossetti Family.) William Morris (1834-96) also was interested in both painting and poetry. His interest in handicrafts grew into a philosophy of art, and he dedicated the rest of his life to the attempt to bring a love of workmanship back into the English workingman's life. This activity took two forms: the promotion of the crafts through such organizations as the Kelmscott Press and the promotion of the worker's happiness through guild socialism. 'The Earthly Paradise' (1868-70) is a series of tales linked by the same device used in 'Canterbury Tales'. In 'The Dream of John Ball' (1888), a prose romance, Morris dealt with one of the leaders of the 14th-century revolt of Wat Tyler. (See also Morris, William.)Another poet closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelites was Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909). Swinburne wrote many verse dramas on classical and historical subjects ('Mary Stuart', 1881). Many of his lyrics were criticized for their eroticism. All his poetry is filled with rich, melodic effects. Some critics have said that his verse is all "sound and fury signifying nothing." (See also Swinburne.)The direct opposite of Swinburne was Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-89), a Jesuit priest. His imagery and metrical technique are quite modern, and his subject matter is intensely religious. His poems, written between 1876 and 1889, were appreciated by his close friends but they were not published until 1918 because their unusual rhythm and metaphors were considered too strange to be accepted earlier.There were other notable poets writing at the end of the century. They included Francis Thompson (1859-1907), author of 'The Hound of Heaven' (1893); Ernest Dowson (1867-1900), who wrote 'Cynara' (1896); and the pessimist John Davidson (1857-1909), author of 'Fleet Street Eclogues' (1893).