I. Uter. Ature of the middle Ages 5 страница

My native Land- Good Night!"

Napoleon's armies had just stopped righting in Portu­ gal. The national liberation struggle was in full swing in Spain. Unlike his hero Byron reacted very strongly to the sufrerings of the people. He raised his voice against his

own country, because the hypocrisy of English policy was very clear: the ruling circles pretended that they were defending the oppressed; at the same time their acti­ ons were always governed by their own interests.

Byron hated wars; he considered that they brought

every kind of evil to people. He called upon the monarchs to stop these wars. But he was no pacifist. He sang of the heroism of the Spanish people in their struggle for nati­

onal liberation. He sang of Spanish girls who had left their homes, abandoned their girlish occupations to fight for their country. In this struggle they showed extraordinary courage. Among these girls was one, especially brave. She was the guerilla Augustina, who became famous for her actions in the defence of Saragoza. The stanza dedicated to the Maid of Saragoza reveals Byron's attitude towards the national liberation wars, his admiration for the heroic Spanish women:

Is it for the Spanish maid, aroused,

Hangs on the willow her unstrung guitar, And, all unsex'd, the anlacc hath esroused,

Sung the loud song, and dared the deed of war? And she, whom once the semblance of a scar Appall'd, an owlet's!arum chill'd with dread, Now views the column-scattering bay'net jar,

The falchion [lash, and o'r the yet warm dead

Stalks with Minerva's step where Mars might quake to tread. (1, LIV)

The second canto takes the reader to Greece. Deep sorrow for the downfall of the once great Hellas is evident in the stanzas of this canto. Only a faint shadow has re­ mained of the former greatness of Greece. It was being torn to pieces both by the oppressor- Turkey, and by the "defender"- England.

Tell not the deed to blushing Europe's ears; The ocean queen, the free Britannia, bears The last poor plunder from a bleeding land...

(II, XIII)

The third canto was written after the poet's exile in

1816. The grief at being separated from his baby daughter is shown in the beautiful lyrical address that opens the third canto:

Is thy face like thy mother's, my fair child! Ada! sole daughter of my house and heart?

When lasl I saw lhy young blue eyes they smiled, And!hen we parted...

(III, I)

Harold's journey takes him along the roads of Europe­ an history. Napoleon lost the battle of Waterloo and his power over Europe came to an end.

And Harold stands upon this place of skulls, The grave of France, the deadly Waterloo;

How in an hour!he power which gave annuls lis gifts, transferring fame as fleeling too'

(Ill, XVIII)

In the stanza that follows, Byron stresses that universal hate is the logical end of all tyrants.

He who ascends to mountain-lops, shall find

The loftiest peaks most wrap! in clouds and snow; He who surpasses or subdues mankind,

Must look down on the hale of those below.

(Ill, XLV)

From then on the poet, together with his Childe Harold, will try to find consolation in surrounding nature. Harold continues his journey up the river Rhine and on his approach to Switzerland he appears in the poem for the last time (Stanza LV).

The fourth canto is dedicated to Italy and its people.

Byron creates magnificent pictures of Italy's great poets and artists. He writes of ancient Rome where Freedom once lived. Byron meditates on the history of mankind, on Napoleon's downfall and the return of feudal reaction. He is sure that Time will bring a change and Freedom will triumph.

Yet, Freedom! yet thy banner, torn, but flying, Streams like the thunder-storm against the wind; Thy trumpet voice, though broken now and dying, The loudest still the tempest leaves behind;

Thy tree hath lost its blossoms, and the rind, Chopp'd by the axe, looks rough and little worth, But the sap lasts, and still the seed we find

Sown deep, even in the bosom of the North;

So shall a better spring less biller fruit bring forth. (IV, XCVIII)

The poem comes to an end. But before putting the final fullstop Byron writes an appeal to the Ocean, that was for him the symbol of something unconquerable.

Roll on. thou deep and dark blue Ocean- roll' Ten lhousand fleets sweep over thee in vain; M811 marks!he earth with ruin- his control Stops with the shore;- upon the watery plain The wrecks are all thy deed, doth remain

A shadow of man's ravage, save his own,

Wilen, for a moment, like a drop of rain,

lie sinks into lily depths with bubbling groan, Wilhout a grave, unknell'd, uncoffin'd, and unknown.

(IV, CLXXIX)

A new romantic character was created in Chi/de Harold's Pilgrimage; the poem showed a new approach to reflecting the life that surrounded the hero. It was enriched with new ideas and new emotions, and it was dominated by a soc i a I theme.

Childe Harold's discontent and scepticism are traits of the men of his epoch. In the past, when great social chan­ ges were taking place, such feelings were characteristic of

progressive people. Harold's doubts and melancholy echo the doubts and melancholy of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The difference between them is that Hamlet's desire for action is not like Harold's pessimistic passive contemplation.

Byron's own attitude to life is reflected both in his lyrical character and, more directly, in his lyrical digres­ sions. These are given against a political background that enables the poet to show his negative attitude to reaction, to oppressive wars, as well as to convey his views on Free­ dom, his hopes for the Future. The poet's "world sorrow" that is his great sorrow for oppressed people, for Freedom down-trodden by reaction in Europe, is best expressed in this poem. However, the motives of sorrow and pessimism are overcome by a clearly revolutionary optimism about the Future.

The language of the poem is an innovation. The novelty

of the character needed a new form of expression. Byron filled the words and images with new content: historical events now formed the emotion and the dynamics of the verse. An appreciation of Good and Evil is achieved through the lyrical description of Nature, of historical and social facts. In the last canto the language of the poem

approaches the spoken language. All this is innovation both in form and content.

1. How many cantos is the poem Chi/de Harold's Pilgrimage com­

post'd of? When were these cantos written? What is the genre of the poem?

2. What are the peculiar traits of Childe Harold's character? Is he in any way like!he great pod himself? 3. What is lhe first canto about? What arc the second and third cantos about? Whom is the fourth canto dedicated to?

THE CORSAIR

The romanticists set many of their works in oriental surroundings. Byron was no exception. His hero in these poems is usually a sombre, solitary, tragic figure. These traits and his individualistic rebellion against his surroun­ dings make him a romantic figure, the so-called "byronic" hero, who stands alone against the world. Among the outstanding figures of Byron's "oriental" poems Conrad, the Corsair, is probably known bes! (not only through the poem, but also through the ballet composed on this subject by Adan) The Corsair was published in 1814, and it was a great success.

The poem is composed of three cantos and is written in

the measure of the heroic couplet.* The s!ory is about a proud lonely man, maltreated by society He left it and became a Corsair, the leader of a small group of pirates with whom he lived on an island. He and his men were always ready to fight the rich. His followers, however, never asked him who he had been in the past.

... But who that ChieP his name on every shore

Is lamed and iear'd- \hey ask and know no more.

(I,

Conrad was a man of intellect and great passions. He revolted against those who had offendet him and became a pirate.

Proud and fearle sJ tJ;l Corsair cared for nobody, with

the exception of his br\oe Medora, whom he loved passiona­

tely. After each of his battles he came back to her. Once,

however, Medora waited for him in vain. He had been taken prisoner by Seyd Pacha. Conrad's men had been defeated.

• A heroic couplet is a stanza of two rhyming lines, having five iambuses in each line and expressing a complete idea.

Later he managed to escape with the help of the Pacha's beautiful slave Gulnare. But when he returned home, he found Medora dead.

He ask'd no queslions- all were answcr'd now

By lhe firs! glance on that still- marble brow

(Ill, XXI)

Conrad's grief at the loss of the only being he loved was so great, that life lost its meaning. He disappeared and his men were unable to find him. They buried Medora and mourned for Conrad, for they all loved him.

The Corsair's romantic character is shown in an ori­

ental setting which Byron knew very well. The descriptions of the battles, the oriental weapons, clothes, ornaments and

customs are perfect. They are accompanied by beautiful descriptions of Nature, in which the Sea has great signifi­

cance.

The author's attitude to the world is reflected in Con­

rad's actions. Byron stood out against feudal reaction, against all reactionary forms of bourgeois rule, against his own ruling class, in fearless, solitary rebellion. The lan­ guage of the poem is laconic. The heroic couplet helped Byron to develop the concise style for which he was famous.

POLITICAL POETRY

The "Luddite" theme is quite important in Byron's poetical work. It is with this theme that he began his de­ fence of the oppressed, his biting satirical poetry directed against the ruling classes.

He first approached the "Luddite" theme in his speech

in the House of Lords in 1812. He stood out against the ruling class of his country defending the men who broke weaving machines. Parliament passed a death sentence upon them. Byron's famous speech in defence of the weavers became a speech of accusation against the ruling classes.

Four days after his speech in Parliament an anonymous Ode appeared in a morning newspaper The title (Ode) was very ironic, because an Ode is supposed to be a dignified

poem, or a song, recited on formal occasions. Byron's Ode to the Framers of the Frame Bill was a combination of biting satire, revolutionary romanticism and democratic thought.

3 AnrnHHcKaA nHTepaTypa 65

In the Ode the anonymous poet showed how to deal with the rebellious weavers, who came to their masters to ask for help. He suggested that tlte best thing to do was to hang them. This would save both the money and the meat they asked for The poet stressed that men are cheaper than machinery; and if they were hanged around Sherwood Forest for breaking the machinery, it would improve the scenery Here arc the first two stanzas of the Ode.

Oh well done Lord Eldon! and better done Rider! Britannia must prosper with councils like yours, Hawkesbury, Harrowby, help you to guide her, Whose remedy only must kill ere it cures;

Those villains:!he Weavers, are all grown refractory, Asking some succour for Charily's sake-

So hang lhcm in clusters round each Manufactory, Thai will a(once put an end \o mistake

The rascals, perhaps, may betake!hem to robbing, The dogs lo be sure have got nothing to eat-

So if we can hang!hem for breaking a bobbin,

'Twill save all the Government's money and meat; Men are more easily made \han machinery­ Stockings felch better prices \han lives-

Gibbets al Sherwood will heighten!he scenery,

Showing how Commerce, how Liberty thrives!

Those who had heard Byron in Parliament had no difficulty in recognizing the author of the Ode, for in the verse Byron repeated most of the thoughts and accusations expressed in his speech.

In 1816, in Italy, when he heard of the disturbances caused by the Luddites he wrote his famous Song for the Luddites, in which he called upon the people to revolt against their tyrants. It is cornsidered one of the first revolutionary songs in English classical poetry

As!he Liberty lads o'er!he sea

Bough!!heir freedom, and cheaply, with blood, So we, boys, we

Will die fighting, or live free,

And down with all kings but King Ludd!

II

When lhe web that we weave is complete, And the shuttle exchanged for the sword,

We will fling lhe winding sheet

O'er lhc despot at our feel,

And dye il deep in the gore he has pour'd.

\/The importance of Byron's poetic works, especially his political poems, is very great. Hertzen called his poetry "a word of fire" Byron addressed oppressed nations, calling upon them to stand up to tyrants and fight for Freedom. He was the mouthpiece of the national liberation wars, that he considered just and necessary.

Byron had a deep faith in man, in his desire for Free­ dom, he anticipated future revolutionary changes. All this, at times, gave way to deep pessimism, to individualistic themes, to motifs of so-called "world-sorrow" These con­ tradictions in his work can be easily understood if one considers the epoch Byron lived in: great changes in social life, the last flare-up of feudal reaction, the complexity of social and historical development.

Byron's influence on the minds of such great poets as

Heine and Mitzkevitch was very great. In Russia, Pushkin

and Lermontov were among his admirers. Pushkin called him the "ruler of peoples' thoughts" However, the great Russian poet also saw very clearly the weak sides of Byron's contradictory genius- his individualism, his oc­ casional pessimistic outlook. Belinsky called him the Pro­ metheus of the century; Engels appreciated Byron's bitter satire against society. He said that Byron and Shelley were much read by the workers.

Byron's works are well known and much read all over

the world; they have been translated into a number of

languages including Belarusian.

I. What is lhe peculiar selling of the "oriental" poems? Why are lhe heroes of these poems called "byronic" heroes? 2. What place does lhc "Luddite" theme occupy in Byron's political works? 3. What is the ex­ planation for the rnolifs of "world-sorrow" in Byron's works? 4. Whal was Pushkin's altitude to Byron?

 

WALTER SCOTT

(1 771-1832)

The name of Walter Scott is closely associated with the genre of the 'historical novel, J genre which he introduced into English literature.

Walter Scott was the son of a well-to-do Edinburgh lawyer who wanted him to study law However, his great interest in history and passionate love for his country

changed the course of his life. The we<Jith of Scottish

folklore attracted his attention. He collected the legends and popular ballads of Scotland and published them under the title of The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border

Up to 1814 he wrote poems on legendary and historical subjects and became quite famouas a poet. In 1814 he published his first historical novel Waverley; it was a suc­ cess and from then on Walter Scott dedicated himself entirely to prose, mostly to writing historical novels; he wrote twenty-nine novels in all. The historical events that attracted his attention were those connected with the relations between Scotland and England. For many centu­ ries England, which was socially and economically more developed than Scotland, had oppressed its freedom-loving neighbours to the north. The English were often helped by the Scottish bourgeoisie.

Of the twenty-nine novels Scott wrote, nineteen are on

Scottish subjects. The periods chosen by the author are the

17th and 18th centuries. Among these books are Waverley, Guy Mannering, Rob Roy and The Heart of Midlothian.

G8

Walter Scott understood the important role the common people played in the historical development of a country In many of his novels he chose the common men of Scotland for his heroes. Those brave, strong men fought for their country, for its freedom, against the English oppressor.

Scott wrote six historical novels about England; the periods he chose, were the end of the 12th century, or the Norman Conquest, the end of the 16th century, or the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and the middle of the 17th century. Here he wrote about thEnglish Revolution and about the Restoration that followed it. Among these novels are Ivan­ hoe, The Abbot and others. The subjects are at times con­ nected with Scotland, for the two countries are very similar in their historical development. Thus, in The Abbot Walter Scott describes one of the episodes of the tragic life of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Four of Scott's twenty-nine novels are written on different subjects. Among them is Quentin Durward in which the writer gives an interesting portrait of king Louis XI of France. This king was one of the most cunning politi­ cians of his time.

IVANHOE

Among Scott's historical novels Ivanhoe is one of the best. In it he describes the events of the end of the 12th century. The Normans, who had come from France and had conquered England in 1066, were now fighting for absolute power in the country

The Anglo-Saxon people hated their Norman conquerors

and many common folk ran away to the Forest of Sher­ wood, to join the outlaws who lived there. Their leader was a brave man, a fine archer He hated the rich and helped the poor His name was Locksley. (Locksley was one of the names of the legendary Robin Hood).

There were great conflicts at that time between the Anglo-Saxon feudal lords and the Normans that had con­ quered them. Richard Plantagenet, known, as Richard the Lion Heart was then kii1g of England. He had gone away to take part in the crusades in Palestine. In the meantime his brother, Prince John, tried to seize the power in the country with the help of the Norman nobles.

Against this historical background of the 12th century Walter Scott gives the story of a young Anglo-Saxon knight, Ivanhoe, who had quarrelled with his father, Cedric the Saxon, and was sent away by him. He fought with Richard

the Lion Heart in the crusade's. He returned to Eng­ land sccretlv to join his bPinvPrl- tl,e heiltttiful lady Rowena.

Tltis ic; the first chapter of Ivanhoe (adapted and ab­

ridged) in which Waller Scott shows the attitude of the common people, the Anglo-Saxon serfs of Cedric the Saxon, towards the hated Normans.

The sun was selling upon one of the rich, grassy glades of the forest we spoke of in the beginning of the chapter. There were two human fig­ ures in the grade, whose appearance was in keeping with the scene. The elder of these men had a stern wild aspect. His rlress was very simple­ a long jacket with sleeves made of the skin of some animal, and a broad leathern belt with a horn and a long broad knife at the waist. He had sandals on his feet, but his head was bare. His thick hair was a dark-red colour, forming a contrast with his long yellow beard. The man had a brass ring, like a dog's collar, round his neck with the inscription: uGurth, the son of Beowulph, is the born serf of Gedric of Rotherwood"

Beside Gurlh, the swineherd, sat a person about ten years younger in

appearance whose dress was of better materials and more fantastic. His jacket was bright purple: his short, crimson cloak was lined with yellow He had silver bracelets upon his arms, and on his neck a collar of the same metal with the inscription: uwamba, the son of Witless, is the serf of Cedric of Rotherwood" He had a cap with bells on it which jingled as he turned his head lo one si1Je or the other It was the dress of a domestic clown or jester.

The dialogue between Gurth and Wamba was carried on in Anglo­ Saxon which, as we have said, was spoken by the oppressed. For the benefit of our reader we shall give it in the following translation:

"The curse of St. Wilhold upon these swine and upon me!" said the swineherd. "Here, Fangs! Fangs!" he cried to his dog, which ran about helping his master to collect the scattered herd. "Wamba, up and help me! Go round the back of the hill and drive them before you"

"Truly", said Wamba, without moving, "I have consulted my legs and

they are against it. I cannot run about the wet forest in this royal dress. I advise you, Gurlh, to leave the herd to their fate which cannot be other than to be turned into Normans before morning"

"The swine turned into Normans!" repealed Gurlh. "I don't un­

derstand you, Wamba"

"Why, what do you call these animals running about on their four legs?" asked Wamba.

"Swine, fool, swine", answered the swineherd; "every fool knows

that"

"And swine is good Saxon", said Warnba; ubut what do you call a swine when it is prepared for food?"

"Pork", answered the swineherd.

"I am very glad every lool knows that too", said Warnba; "and pork, I think, is good Norman-French. So, when the animal lives, and is in the charge of a Saxon scrl, it is called by a Saxon name, but it becomes a Nor­ man. and is called pork, when it is carried to the castle for the table of the nobles. What do you think of this, friend Gurth, ha)"

Mil is true, friend Wamba. sad but true. All the heavy tasks remain on

our Saxon shoulders, but the enjoyment is for the Normans. And so it is in everything"

Mastery of description of customs and habits was a peculiarity of Scott's talent. His narrative is also full of life and exteremely colourful. His ability to include popular legends, songs and tales into the plot is swell known. In Ivanhoe, for example, an important part is played by Locksley, the legendary Robin Hood, and his merry outlaws.

Scott's knowledge of history and his gift of describing

historical events were extraordinary. His contemporary George G. Byron, a friend and a great admirer of his ta­ lent, said of this wonderful master of the novel: "He is

a library in himself"

Walter Scott's style and language are very intersting.

He was a master of dialogue, which helped him better

portray his characters. His heroes spoke using expressions peculiar to their professions (the priest, the archers, the

tradesmen, the doctors). He also introduced Scotch dialects into these dialogues.

He was fond of humour and his novels abound in comic

situations which make them still more interesting for the

reader

Walter Scott has.always been loved and much read in

other countries, too. Belinsky was a great admirer of theta­

lented Scotsman and called him a Columbus in art. He said that Scott had created the historical novel, for up to his time

history had never been approached from the point of view of the people as the makers of it.

I. What were the historical events that most attracted Waller Scolt's attention in Scotland and in England? 2. What period of English history docs Walter Scott describe in !uanhoe and how does he charac­ terize the common people of England of that lime? 3. What made Waller Scott's language interesting?

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