Romanticism

Romanticism can best be defined as the movement that holds in its’ premise the ideal of time, and the double edged sword that it is. As such, Romantics believed that because of the limited life from time, expression was the only concept that could create a lasting impression on someone’s life. In John Keats’ “Bright Star, Would I Were Steadfast as Thou Art,” the speaker describes his struggle to create his own identity and everlasting impression on society. Similarly, “Clocks and Lovers” by W.H. Auden entails the speaker’s conversation with a clock, who tries to dissuade him out of being significant. Both poems lament at the essence of time; this can be supported with several examples throughout both texts.

            As Keats opens “Bright Star, Would I Were Steadfast as Thou Art,” the speaker immediately reveals his lack of conviction in his actions. The title serves to illustrate the revering nature of the speaker; he anguishes at not being as omnipotent as the star. The conjecture can also be made that he feels jealousy and distrust towards it. As the poem progresses, the reader notes the star’s great power and everlasting impact on its surroundings, watching “the moving waters at their priestlike task,” clearly exemplifying the star as a sort of all-knowing religious figure. Subtly, the speaker insinuates that he will be awake forever in a “sweet unrest,” emanating the feeling that he despises the star for being so powerful, and he not. Auden creates an illusioned world that completely clashes with Romanticism as “Clocks and Lovers” opens. A man is with a lover and all is well, creating the clever situation that love’s ignorance is bliss. However, a clock soon preaches to the speaker, ““0 let not Time deceive you,” (23) indicating that he is wasting the one limited gift he has that is time, neither creating any significant work nor an everlasting impact on society on something as frivolous as love. Resistant to leave his lover, the clock urges the speaker to not be a fool, telling him to wake up and “plunge your hands in water.” The speaker is ignorant to change, and because time passes, the clock leaves, with “the lovers they were gone,” indicating that he wasted time on a mortal concept.

            It is incontrovertible to assert that both poems display Romantic elements. Keats and Auden both include the elements of time in their poems as well as the indirect suggestion that humans do not use time wisely. In both poems, neither speaker uses time as their counterparts the star and the clock, respectively, have. Thus, it is suggested that humans can never create an everlasting impact on others. Empathy leads to humans’ demise in the eyes of the omnipotent forces.

Grendel

Essay III

            In John Gardner’s novel Grendel, the protagonist Grendel is the quintessential outsider. He lives a reticent life, lurking in the outskirts of a Dane establishment during the day and slithering into his cave at night. As time progresses, he experiences several revelatory instances where his complete outlook on life is challenged. Encountering humans and speaking to a dragon both impact the way Grendel thinks. Nevertheless, he still retains his original, existentialist values. Thus, the conjecture can be made that based off the events in Grendel’s life, his mind is constantly struggling to counter the ideals of the outside world against his own.

            As the novel opens, Grendel’s interest in the outside world compels him to escape his cave and see the other side. One night, while Grendel is searching the outside world, he encounters humans, meticulously observing them right before they attack him. The humans’ logic of attacking unknown beings does not change Grendel, however. As the story progresses, Grendel remains on the outskirts of the forest. He does not blindly attack because he fears humans as they did him but instead because he wants to learn their strategies and logic. Speaking to an omnipotent dragon, he tells Grendel that all the frivolous actions he commits are worthless. He tells Grendel to instead, “seek out gold and sit on it,” signifying he should not try understand what is around him. Eventually, everything will “turn to dust,” thus in lieu of trying to be a saint, become a cold-minded intellect. Even to death, however, Grendel chooses to understand what is, unaffected by the dragon’s words.

            Perhaps one of the greatest testaments to Grendel maintaining his true logic is his death. As Grendel and the mysterious Geat, clearly Beowulf, are dueling, Beowulf tells Grendel, “Though you murder the world, transmogrify life into I and it, strong searching roots will crack your cave and rain will cleanse it.” Clearly about to kill Grendel, Beowulf tells Grendel these words in order to create a control he will hold over him in death. As Beowulf flees, bleeding to death in his arm, he runs back to where he originally left the cave in the opening of the novel. This creates the illusion that he is the same as when he was young. Right before he dies, he says, “Poor Grendel’s had an accident.” This last ode serves as a vessel for Grendel dying on accident, not at the hands of Beowulf. Thus, he is not controlled by Beowulf or society, but himself.  

Hamlet

In what can perhaps be called literature’s most significant play and William Shakespeare’s magnum opus, Hamlet explores the ensuing struggle after Prince Hamlet seeks revenge once he discovers his uncle to be his father’s murderer. As Hamlet progresses, the young prince executes his plan with explicit detail, creating a smokescreen around his loved ones that only he can navigate through. Hamlet’s actions in the play suggest that he is a sociopath, evoking neither emotion nor rectitude. However, Shakespeare paints Hamlet not as an apathetic murderer, but a grieving son. This can be supported through several instances in the play.

            As Hamlet prepares to avenge his father after discovering the murder conspiracy, he falls into a downward spiral. All those around him notice, and when Polonius takes his leave, Hamlet replies, “You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal.” (205) This response to Polonius indicates that Hamlet feels he has lost everything. His father is dead, his murderous uncle is the king, and his mother married before the funeral was even over. This evokes a strong response of sympathy and compassion in the reader. Later, perhaps the most famous line in the world, “To be, or not to be: that is the question,” (58) describes Hamlet’s struggle for life. Feeling as if nothing is worth it, he does not plan to kill King Claudius but instead himself. This clearly shows that he is not thinking of murder. As Hamlet prepares to kill him in Act III, Scene III, he notes that Claudius is praying. His reluctance to kill a religious man is a testament to his empathetic nature.

            There is no doubt that some of Hamlet’s thoughts are murderous and cynical in nature. Nevertheless, Hamlet is not a cold-blooded killer. He ultimately kills Claudius not because of what a ghost told him to do, but to release what he had been feeling all along. Thus, Hamlet’s murdering Claudius can be seen not as the ultimate act of a sociopath, but as the ultimate act of a scrupulous human.