Transitional Poetry

What is Transitional poetry?

• Transitional poetry is a revolt against the old patterns of writing poetry.

• This movement was against the rational, intellectual, artificial, and unromantic poetry of the early 18th century.

• New poets believed that poetry should be spontaneous ,natural ,close to men's day-to-day lives, and natural.

• This poetic movement began with the publication of James Thomson's poem The Seasons in 1726.

• The Seasons is a poem that differs from other neoclassical poems of the time in both style and theme.

 

Historical Background:

(a) Decline of the Party Feud:

In the 18th century, there was a contest between two political parties: the Tories and the Whigs. But in 1760, with the help of George III Tories came into power.

(b) Commercial and imperial expansion:

The 18th century saw significant wealth and importance growth in the British Empire, fostering research and original work. The possession of India and America inspired new territories, and the clash of ideals led to a fresh literary effort. We can find it in Edmund Burke's works.

(c) The French Revolution:

The Revolution, a deeply diffused unrest, began long before its climax in 1789. Revolutionary ideas stirred literature to the depths; they also affected English literature.

 

The Age of Transition:

 

1. The double tendency:

 

The 18th century saw a period of transition, marked by two main tendencies.

the old order of classical writing style. It was led by Samuel Johnson.

The search for the new order of Romanticism: The New Romanticism featured a return to nature, a fresh interest in man's position in the world of nature, enlightened sympathy for the poor and oppressed, and a revolt against conventional literary techniques.

 

2. The New Romanticism:

 

Return to nature: New poets started writing poetry on natural elements, then spent time in nature and tried to put it into their poetry.

The poets developed a sympathy for the poor and oppressed; they started writing about the common man's life.

Revolt against classical writing styles like 'heroic couplets'. Instead, they wrote poetry with simplicity and sincerity.

Fresh treatment of romantic themes in such poems as 'The Lay of the Last Minstrel, The Ancient Mariner, and 'La Belle Dame sans Merci'. Writers turned to supernatural stories, legends, and the more colorful periods of history, especially the Middle Ages.

 

3. The New Learning: 

 

The 18th century saw a minor Renaissance in Europe, characterized by increased wealth, comfort, and a higher standard of human intellect. Leading English writers, such as Gibbon, Hume, and Sterne, visited Paris, the hub of European culture. This led to the revival of the Romantic movement in literature, resulting in research into archaic forms like ballads and new editions of older authors like Shakespeare and Chaucer. Bishop Percy's Reliaues (1765) is a landmark in the Romantic movement's history.

 

4. The new philosophy:

 

Voltaire's new thinking brought about a change in the mentality of people, with Scotland's philosopher Hume leading the way. The new spirit helped to demolish old beliefs, paving the way for fresher creations and a more optimistic Romantic ideal.

5. The Growth of Historical Research: 

History, a late literary form, gained importance in the 18th century, originating in France and Scotland. Gibbon played a vital role in it, being fluent in both French and English.

 

6. The New Realism:

 

At first, the spirit of inquiry suppressed romance, but it drew all mankind into literary endeavors, leading to the development of novels. That focused on human life, portraying themselves in detail. Romanticists, in sympathy and freshness of treatment, followed the new ideal.

 

7. The Decline of Political Writing:

 

The party spirit decayed, pamphleteering was over, and politicians were not in favor of poets and critics. On public demand, writers like Johnson and Goldsmith started publishing letters. But later in the century, the pamphlets took their place due to political bustle.

 

Transitional poets:

 

(1) Robert Burns (1759–1796)

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet endowed with an unrivalled gift of song. His poetry is marked by the strong democratic quality and revolutionary spirit of his age. He maintained utmost sincerity towards his surroundings while describing them. He gave vent to the his feelings of the peasants, their joys and sorrows, thoughts and feelings, humour and philosophy, their superstitions and beliefs through his poetry.

 

His famous poem "The Cotter's Saturday Night" is written in the Spenserian stanza. In the poem, Robert Burns contrasts homely life and the simple purity of the peasant and his family with wealth and luxury. He skillfully brought natural passion back into English poetry. Robert Burns is a mouthpiece of the growing faith of his time in liberty, equality, and fraternity.

 

(2) James Thomson (1700–48)

Though James Thomason was a contemporary of Alexander Pope, he broke away from the traditions of his school. He discarded the heroic couplet and expressed himself in blank verse and the Spenserian stanza. His famous "The Seasons" is more important for its accurate and sympathetic description of natural scenes. 

 

James Thomson is famous for his "Castle of Indolence," which is written in a Spenserian stanza and captures much of the imaginative colors of the Elizabethan poets.

 

(3)Oliver Goldsmith: (1728–74)

 

Goldsmith was an intimate friend of Dr. Samuel Johnson, but he showed romantic traits in his poems "The Deserted Village" and "The Traveller." His natural description, a peculiar note of sentiment and melancholy, and his humanitarian outlook for poor villagers bring him closer to the romantics of the 19th century.

 

(4) Thomas Gray (1716–71)

 

One of the most important precursors of romantic revival is Thomas Gray. His "Elegy Written in the Country Churchyard" has made him immortal. He started his career as a classical poet and ended as a real romantic.

 

As W. H. Hudson says, "His work is a kind of epitome of the changes that were coming over the literature of his time." His elegy is full of romantic spirit, a description of nature, a note of melancholy, love for common men, and the twilight.

 

(5) Thomas Chatterton (1752–70)

 

Thomas Chatterton came into prominence when he said that he had discovered the old poems of Thomas Rowley, the 15th-century monk. Chatterton had discovered them in a box lying in a Bristol church. Chatterton's work considerably influenced romantic poets.

 

(6) James Macpherson (1736–96)

James Macpherson also published some poems by a third-century poet named "Ossian". The poems are highly romantic, and they transport the reader to a new world of heroism and supernaturalism.

 

(7) William Collins (1721–59) 

William Collins is a fine combination of classical and romantic poems. His "Ode on the Popular Superstitions on the Highlands" and "To Liberty" influenced Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In his poems, there is purity of music and clarity of style.

 

(8) William Cowper - (1731-1800) 

William Cowper is a blend of the old and the new. His famous poem "The Task" is written in blank verse. William Cowper was not a student of poetry as an art; he composed poems just to give vent to his pent up feelings in his own fashion.

 

In his famous poem, "The Task" he breaks away from the traditions of classical poetry and pursues an independent course. "The Task" is teemed with the spirit of humanitarianism. The poem is pregnant with the poet's philosophy and his ideas of liberty.

 

The poem also attacks the practise of militarism and the slave trade. Cowper was also the revolutionist who was preaching the gospel of 'back to nature' and the simplification of life.

 

(9) William Blake (1757-1827)

William Blake started a revolt against all social, political, and literary conventions of the 18th century. He was even more romantic than the romantic poets of the 19th century. Blake is famous for his "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience". His passion for freedom was akin to that which moved Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Shelley in their earlier years. Blake's mysticism also makes him a romantic poet. a

 

(10) George Crabbe (1754-1832) 

 

George Crabbe expressed the penury, misery, and discontent of the poor through his poems, for he himself witnessed it closely. Realism is the keynote of Crabbe's poetry. He says, "I sing the cot as truth will paint it and as bard will not."

 

There is a fine blending of realism and romanticism in Crabbe. "The Parish Register", "The Village", "Tales in Verse", and "The Borough" are some famous poems by Crabbe. There is a fine, realistic description of country life and nature.

 

 

Resources: 

 

Book:

History of English Literature- Edward Albert

 

Websites:

www.studocu.com

www.litgalaxy2019.com