Evaluate and respond to the presentations of women in the Romantic period. Feel free to discuss presentations of women, by women (such as Austen’s Persuasion) as well as presentations of women by men (such as the “she” in Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty”). Consider the following questions: are these presentations problematic? What do they tell us about the values and briefs of the Romantic Period? Do any of these presentations subvert (complicate, or call into questions) the time’s notions of femininity?
In the early 19th century there were two different period’s Age of Reason (ending) and the Romantic period (beginning). The Age of Reason was the highest ideals about life, art and literature were the only things they mainly focused on. The industrial revolution was the biggest turning point of England creating factories jobs, bring wealth and prosperity to the country. On the website scholieren.com, stated that “young people over Europe thought freedom and equality was very important.”
During the Romantic Period, women did not have any voice on politics issues, were household wives, and had no voting rights. But, what is the real role of the women? A woman was treated as a piece of property and their only jobs was to stay at home and take care of the house chores and their children. Many writers like Austen and Byron had two different ideas about the romantic women. But, what were the real views of these two author’s towards women in the Romantic era?
Jane Austen wrote only about the world she knew, because she only lived in small villages on the south of England. Austen wrote about the normal daily life of women of her age and class. During the lifetime of Austen, she wrote about six books, but the book “Persuasion” by Jane Austen...
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...ick, and Olivia Verma. "Persuasion Themes." Study Guides & Essay Editing. Nick Smith and Olivia Verma, 1999. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Moncur, Michael. "Quotations by Author." Jane Austen Quotes. Quotations Page, 1994. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Lynn, Nan, Myretta, Barbara, Carol, Carolyn, Cheryl, Golda, Kathleen(elder), Laraine, Laurel, and Linda. "Persuasion." Persuasion. The Republic of Pemberley, 2004. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Smith, Nick, and Olivia Verma. "Lord Byron's Poems Summary and Analysis." Lord Byron's Poems Study Guide : Summary and Analysis of "She Walks in Beauty, Like the Night" Grade Saver, 1999. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Wilson, Ben. "She Walks in Beauty by Byron: Analysis, Theme & Interpretation." Education-Portal.com. Portal Education, 2002. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Gordon), Lord Byron (George. "She Walks in Beauty." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
When studying gender roles in history, one will find that females are often depicted in similar ways no matter the era or region of study. Even when comparing the industrialized, early, twentieth century to today’s progressive era, there are striking similarities between female roles. We can see that over the course of the twentieth century, the qualities of loyalty and honesty have decreased in marriages due to the treatment of the two main female roles as depicted literature. The first was the role of the wife. The wife was often portrayed as a housekeeper and a nanny. Dull in appearance, there was no aesthetic beauty to this typical female. The other main role was the “other woman.” The more mysterious and promiscuous character, this woman portrayed the other part of the female population. Both of these types of characters are composites that portrayed the average, disposable female while how they were treated conveyed the general handling of females in the early, twentieth century.
This stanza begins the encounter. It sets the scene saying it is a lazy street. He begins to describe the woman's beauty, pointing out her hazel eyes and tiny feet.
“She was peace. She pulled in her horizon like a great fish net. Pulled it from her waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in meshes! She called in her soul to come and see”(Hurston 193).
Women felt like they were being confined almost like in a jail, since they were stuck in the house, hidden away from society. Just like in the “Poor Singing Dame” the poor woman got thrown in jail where she died just because she would not stop expressing her feeling of happiness even though she was not wealthy. “Yes, injured Woman! rise, assert thy right! Woman! too long degraded, scorned, opprest; O born to rule in partial Law 's despite” (Barbauld, Lines 1-3) and “He sent his bold yeomen with threats to prevent her, And still would she carol her sweet roundelay; At last, an old steward relentless he sent her- Who bore her, all trembling, to prison away!”(Robinson, Lines 36-40). This shows that women started to feel like they needed to tell men to step aside from their role as rulers and leaders in society, and instead accept that women can rule just as good as any
The Age of Enlightenment opened the doors to independent thinking and development in areas such as math, astronomy, politics, philosophy and many more. Toward the end of the Age of Enlightenment, the Romantic Era was born and it seemed to be in protest to the ideas that the Enlightenment had brought to society. Although both time periods were established around more independent thinking and growth, The Enlightenment and the Romantic Era contrast significantly. These two periods differed in almost every aspect, including (but not limited to): their beliefs, reasons for coming into being, and the impacts that they have had on society.
You must analyse at least six poems, ensuring you include at least one pre-1914 poem.
The verbose use of imagery in this poem is really what makes everything flow in this poem. As this poem is written in open form, the imagery of this writing is what makes this poem poetic and stand out to you. Marisa de los Santos begins her poem with “Its here in a student’s journal, a blue confession in smudged, erasable ink: ‘I can’t stop hoping/ I’ll wake up, suddenly beautiful’” (1-3). Even from the first lines of this story you can already picture this young girl sitting at her desk, doodling on her college ruled paper. It automatically hooks you into the poem, delving deeper and deeper as she goes along. She entices you into reading more as she writes, daring you to imagine the most perfect woman in the world, “cobalt-eyed, hair puddling/ like cognac,” (5-6). This may not be the ideal image of every person, but from the inten...
Halperin, John. The Life of Jane Austen. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1984. Print.
Famous poets and poems. “Emily Bronte Poems” famouspoetsandpoems.com. Famous Poets and Poems. 2006-2010. Web. 4 Dec. 2011.
Women roles have changed drastically in the last 50 to 80 years, women no longer have to completely conform to society’s gender roles and now enjoy the idea of being individuals. Along with the evolution of women roles in society, women presence and acceptance have drastically grown in modern literature. In early literature it was common to see women roles as simply caretakers, wives or as background; women roles and ideas were nearly non-existent and was rather seen than heard. The belief that women were more involved in the raising of children and taking care of the household was a great theme in many early literatures; women did not get much credit for being apart of the frontier and expansion of many of the nations success until much later.
Although these poems are both centered around the theme of love, they each contain a different meaning. Lord Byron's “She Walks in Beauty” is dedicated to conveying love through the use of metaphors. Keats' poem, “La Belle Dame sans Merci,” on the other hand, tells a story about how love can be deceiving. Despite their differences, these poems have similarities as well. They each have three parts that progress a story along through the use of literary techniques. Each poem was also written in the early 1800's. These poems both implicate the reader to make a connection to everyday life by relating possible experiences of love.
I shall endeavour to explore and analyse how women are presented in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” and Duffy’s “Human Interest”.
Austen was a recondite writer with a new inside perspective with an outside view on life in the early 19th century. Born on December 16, 1775, Austen was a curious child given the unseal luxury of an education. Her father was a part of the gentry class and raised a family of ten, but was not well off by any means (Grochowski). Sense and Sensibility, written by Jane Austen, tells a dramatic story of three sisters and their emotional journey where they encounter love and betrayal. Because Jane Austen was raised in a liberal family and received a comprehensive education, her dramatic analysis of societal behavior in Sense and Sensibility was comparable to the hidden truths of social and class distinctions in 18th and 19th century Europe.
Women in the Romantic Era were a long way from being treated as equals; they were expected by society to find a husband, become a typical housewife, and a good mother. So what happens when women get tired of being treated horribly and try to fight back towards getting men to treat them as an equal? Both Mary Robinson’s, “The Poor Singing Dame” and Anna Barbauld’s “The Rights of Women” show great examples of how women in the Romantic Era were disrespected and degraded by men, whereas all they wanted was to be treated with respect and dignity.
There are many periods in time that have been crucial in the development of human ideals and technology. One of the most important times was the Romantic Era. This period began in the late 18th century, and peaked around the 1850’s. It was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature until Industrialization had come fully into effect. Because of all the variables and factors of the time, the world was ready for a new era, a modern era that advanced the world far beyond expectations. The Romantic Era was a time of innovation, social struggles, and major changes in industry and society, all due to Industrialization. One of the most important was all of the innovation that occurred.