Chapter 8 Romantic Allegory Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound Blakes’ Visions of the Daughters of Albion

Chapter 8 Romantic Allegory Nature of allegory through the Ancient Mariner Romantic poets response to the tradition of allegory The 3 poems by Coleridge, Shelley and Keats as allegories

What is an Allegory?? a. The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form. Allegory is saying one thing, while meaning another. b. A story, picture, or play employing such representation. The most famous allegories are John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and Herman Melville's Moby Dick. c. A tale in verse or prose in which characters, actions or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities. An allegory is therefore a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning. The allegory has its origin in Greek literature (Aesop’s Fables) and religious traditions of Old and New Testament.

Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Texts have depth. They have a surface meaning and other layers of meaning beneath the surface. That is they have explicit and implicit meanings Show ppt of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Art and Allusions) Read part III The Ancient Mariner (p: 202 RW) Spot the elements of imagery from elements of nature Natural (sunset – imprisonment – ship approaches to rescue) Supernatural the ship moves without wind!! Deeper level : Move from the natural to the supernatural.

Two figures are in the ship: Death : Male Life-in-death : Female. She resembles death, and looks even ghastlier than death itself!! Version of femme fatale?? Events in Part III : 1- Supernatural 2- Natural 3- Death of the crew (group) and life in death of the ancient mariner, a lot which is worse than death. Through imagery, symbolism and plot, one cannot decipher (read) the meaning. Therefore, the understanding of the levels of allegory is crucial (important)

Levels of allegory: (p: RW) 1- Literal level: the actual story and events on the surface, as they appear. 2- Ethical level: Theme of human destructiveness and alienation- Death in life is the most severe (harsh) kind of alienation. The moral of the mariner’s actions. 3- Historical level: This individual’s experience is applicable upon all human beings. 4- Religious level: Conflict between the forces of good and evil.

Allegory is the interpretation of myth, narrating those myths for historical purposes. The flourishing (successful) of allegory suited the social and political circumstances of 18 th, 19 th C, where a social revolution poses a serious possibility. The story is more important than plot in Allegory. The ‘tinsel and glare’ of the language are not as important as the implicit, hidden meaning.

Apart from its being applicable to all human beings, these are possible interpretations of the historical connotations in the Ancient Mariner: Fears about the increase in technology. The growing utilitarian attitude towards human society. Perceived belief in religious faith Invading process of urbanization. Why is the historical issue underplayed???

Romantic Writing and Allegory: (p: 209- RW) Romantic writers considered allegory as an inferior (lesser) form of poetry, since it is too restrictive (limiting). Many interpretations can create ambiguity and significant meanings might be underplayed Allegory out vies (competes) poetry and art → Coleridge dislikes it. True poetry represents eternal verities (truths), echoing Aristotle. With all this attack of romantic poets on Allegory, why did these poets continue to write allegories???

The poem as narrative show how, though Coleridge uses the poetic form, he is still concerned principally to tell an exciting and fantastic story. The narrative voice The mariner's tale, told in the first-person, is set in a third-person narrative about a wedding. Show how the poet uses the first person narrative voice to make the tale more vivid and moving.

Themes of the poem examine the ideas of crime and punishment in the poem, and the poet's attitude to the natural world. The albatross is a “pious bird of good omen”; the mariner kills it for no reason; at first his fellow sailors blame him, then when the fog goes they approve of his action (and so share his guilt); when they are becalmed they change their minds again and blame him, hanging the dead bird around his neck;

The supernatural The poem is full of strange, macabre, uncanny or “Gothic” elements. Gothic horror fiction was very popular at the time it was written. Discuss how these elements appear in the poem. You should consider: the strange weather; the albatross as a bird of “good omen”; Death and Life-in-death; the spirit from “the land of mist and snow”, and the two spirits the mariner hears in his trance; the angelic spirits which move the bodies of the dead men; the madness of the pilot and his boy; the mariner's “strange power of speech”,

Imagery This poem is very vivid, as the poet describes some spectacular scenes. These are often memorable in themselves but also stand for (symbolize) other things. Comparisons are made to describe things, as when the becalmed vessel (boat) is said to be As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. Find some of the more striking or memorable images (there are lots of them!) and discuss the use the poet makes of them.

Sound effects The poet uses effects of rhyme, alliteration (same initial consonant) and pacing (as in the line "For the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky" which suggests the slow passing of time and the mariner's weariness) and other effects of sound. Discuss how these are used by Coleridge to re- inforce ideas in the poem.

Language study Coleridge uses many dialect (regional non-standard) words, and archaic (old- fashioned) spellings of standard words. Why does he do this? Discuss particular examples of unusual words or spellings.

Allegorical theme: Human destructiveness and alienation resulting The ship arrives with two supernatural figures on board: Death and Life-in-Death and all the other crew in the ship die except the ancient mariner. Relationship between the ancient mariner and the world outside that is nature Killing the albatross is a destructive response to nature. This destructive act left him alienated from his fellow crewmen

(p: RW) Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound. Power relationship between Prometheus and Jupiter is presented in a symbiotic (slave/master) relationship Literal level: The slave defies (challenges) his master Religious level: God/Lord is a foul/tyrant of gods and the human kind. Ephemeral power of the tyrant god Jupiter by those he tyrannizes over, (by the slave). Oppressor and oppressed: The latte has the power only because the first gave it to him. Ethical level: individuals should cease to construct those who oppress them as absolute power → transcend this symbiotic relationship Historical level: the move from individual to collective: bloodless act of transcendence.

(p: RW) Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound. Milton’s influence on Romantic poets is obvious, despite their rejection of allegory in theory. Allegory allows poets to express their beliefs implicitly due to the lack of freedom of speech in a turbulent post- war period. Covert expression of political beliefs, like the fables of kalila wa dimna, by Ibn el mukaffa’, Aesop’s and la fontaine’s fables. Romantic poets used to be spied upon because they were very influential upon their society and they can stir a revolution with their pens.

Blakes’ Visions of the Daughters of Albion (see p: RW and the script on Anthology vol 2)