Pride and Prejudice: Title

1.   Pride and Prejudice: Title

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“Pride and Prejudice” was first written in 1797 under the title “First Impressions”. It was later revised and published under the title “Pride and Prejudice” in 1813.

First impressions do play an important role in the novel. Elizabeth is misled in her judgment of both Darcy and Wickham. Her attitude towards both the characters is only a result of the First Impressions. But if we study the novel deeply, we find that “Pride and Prejudice” is an apt title. The first impressions only last for the first few chapters of the novel while pride and prejudice permeate the soul of the novel. The novel is about the pride of Darcy and the prejudice of Elizabeth caused by their mutual misunderstanding.

Earlier in the novel, Mary describes Pride as “…a common failing. Human nature is particularly prone to it”. Mr. Darcy stands as the most obviously proud character. Wickham tells Elizabeth that he has a ‘filial pride’ and we tend to agree with Mrs. Bennett’s complaint that “He walked here and he walked there, fancying himself so very great”.

His haughty manners at the ball gave people a very bad impression of his personality, especially Elizabeth, whom he considered as “tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt (him)”. Lady Catherine, Miss Bingley and even Elizabeth Bennett constitute the other proud characters. While Lady Catherine’s patronizing behavior and Miss Bingley’s rudeness are due to their social class, Elizabeth can be deemed proud on the account that she has high respect for herself and this is best displayed when Elizabeth refers to Darcy: “And I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.” Being rejected by him at the ball, her prejudice mounts up and from the start; she willfully misinterprets all his utterances and actions.

Darcy’s pride stemming from the superiority of intellect, his noble ancestry and his enormous riches prejudices him strongly against Elizabeth’s family and her low connections. Although “he had never been bewitched by any woman as he was by her”, Darcy feels beneath his dignity to admit to his love for her. Even when he can repress his feelings no longer and does propose to Elizabeth, “he was not more eloquent on the subject of the tenderness than on pride”. He is considerably humbled when he is rejected without ceremony, and Elizabeth’s words “had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner” and her criticism of his self-conceit affect him deeply.

Elizabeth’s refusal initiates a process of introspection and self analysis in Darcy. Consequently,  he emerges as a man who has gone through a considerable transition. This is revealed by his long explanatory speech to Elizabeth towards the end of the novel. The greatest proof of this transition is in his remaining firm in his choice of Elizabeth even after Lydia-Wickham elopement which draws from Elizabeth the acknowledgement- “indeed he has no improper pride. He is perfectly amiable.”

In Elizabeth, the intelligent and self-assured young woman too we see the interesting compound of Pride and Prejudice. Her initial prejudice against Darcy arises from injured pride. At the Natherfield ball she overhears Darcy calling her, “tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt(him)”. From that evening Elizabeth is left with no cordial feeling towards Darcy. In addition, Elizabeth is prejudiced in favour of Wickham, charmed by her fine countenance, pleasing addresses and his flattering attentions.

Elizabeth's judgments about other characters' dispositions are accurate but only half of the time.  While she is correct about Mr. Collins and how absurdly self-serving and sycophantic he is and about Lady Catherine de Bourgh and how proud and snobbish she is, her first impressions of Wickham and Darcy steer her incorrectly.  When Charlotte tries to show Elizabeth the agreeable side of Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth cries out in a disdainful manner: “To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate! Do not wish me such an evil”. It is only when she reads Darcy’s letter that her eyes are opened to the true characters of both Darcy and Wickham.

In fact Darcy’s letter introduces in Elizabeth the same self-criticism that Darcy too undergoes. Thus Elizabeth realizes her folly in trusting her first impressions and states, "how despicably have I acted. I, who have prided myself on my discernment! - I, who have valued myself on my abilities."

 In sum, the title, “Pride and Prejudice” very aptly points to the theme of the novel. The two protagonists have been tangling with pride and prejudice throughout the novel. They also struggled to put down their pride and get rid of their prejudice. However, to say that Darcy is proud and Elizabeth is prejudiced is to tell but half of the story. The fact is that both Darcy and Elizabeth are proud and prejudiced. The novel makes clear the fact the Darcy’s pride leads to prejudice and Elizabeth’s prejudice stems from a pride in her own perceptions.

In a nut-shell, the appropriateness of the title, Pride and Prejudice is indeed unquestionable and it bears immense significance to the plot, thematic concerns and the characterization in the novel.

Significance of the Title of the Novel Pride and Prejudice

1.   Significance of the Title of the Novel Pride and Prejudice

What is the Significance of the Title of the Novel Pride and Prejudice? How are These Qualities Portrayed in the Novel?

The title “Pride and Prejudice” is very likely taken from a passage in Fanny Burney’s popular 1782 novel Cecilia. The novel deals with the gradual union of Darcy and Elizabeth. Shortly after they meet, the begin to diverge because of their ‘Pride’ and ‘Prejudice’; but in course of time, Darcy’s pride demolishes and Elizabeth’s prejudice turns into a reasoned attitude and finally they are best suited to each other for a marital relationship.

At the Meryton ball, When Bingley suggests that Darcy should dance with Elizabeth, he makes the insulting remark that she is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt him. Elizabeth overhears his remark and fells somewhat slighted and becomes prejudiced against him. Her prejudice against him is strengthened by the lies told by George Wickham who says that Darcy has deprived him of his father’s promised career of a clergyman to Wickham. Further, Colonel Fitzwilliam reveals to her that Darcy is responsible for dissuading Bingley from marrying Jane.Elizabeth is agitated over the revelation and hates Darcy as never before for medding in Jane’s life.

Though Elizabeth is prejudiced against Darcy, he begins to feel affection for her. He is attracted by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. When Elizabeth was staying with the Collinses, Darcy made his first proposal to her. Elizabeth turns down his proposal accusing him of dissuading Mr. Bingley from marrying Jane and his ill-treatment towards Mr. Wickham. In order to defend himself he writes a letter to her. Regarding Jane and Bingley, Darcy admits that he persuaded Bingley to give up Jane, for he had the impression that Jane did not really love Bingley. As for Wickham, Darcy states that after the death of Darcy’s father, Wickham wished to take up law and gave up his claim to a church living by accepting in lieu of it 3,000 pounds to use it to study law. Darcy gave him 3,000 pounds but Wickham misspent the money, and tried to get more from Darcy, and when that failed, tried to elope with Darcy’s sister, which was foiled by Darcy.

Now, learning the truth about Wickham and Darcy’s frank confession that he has dissuaded Mr. Binhley from marrying Jane, Elizabeth’s prejudice begins to melt away. Besides, when she visits Pemberley, the housekeeper Mrs. Reynolds praises Darcy as a sweet tempered and benevolent young man. Darcy also plays a vital role in materializing Lydia’s marriage to Wickham because he paid all of Wickham’s debts and bought him a commission in the army. When Darcy proposes to her for second time, he says that what he has done it out of his deep love for her. He wishes to know if she has changed her mind after her first refusal. Elizabeth responds that her feelings have greatly changed and that she also loves him.

Darcy admits to Elizabeth that her refusal of his first proposal caused him to examine his pride. While making his first proposal of marriage to Elizabeth, he was sure that she would accept it most readily and promptly. But she had humbled him by rejecting his proposal and made him realize that he was not worthy of her as long as he remained a proud and conceited man. Thus, Elizabeth had taught him a lesson by refusing his proposal which helps him to get free from his pride. As for Elizabeth, she overcomes her prejudice gradually for Darcy’s real affection for her. Thus, the title of the novel is justified.

Discuss the significance of the Lydia-Wickham episode?

Pride and Prejudice has a well knit, coherent plot where all events and characters are integrated and exemplify the same theme. The Lydia-Wickham episode is one of the sub-plots of the novel and contributes much to the main plot of the Elizabeth-Darcy courtship and marriage.

Wickham as a Foil to Darcy:
Wickham's first importance is to deepen Elizabeth's prejudice against Darcy. Darcy appears proud and forbidding when he mortifies Elizabeth by refusing to dance with her for she is not sufficiently beautiful to tempt him. His haughtiness and general demeanour make him unlikeable to Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth, the whole of Meryton and infact even to the reader, who all wish to see this proud man from Derbyshire receive a set-down. And Wickham in the early chapters seems to be just the person to do it.

He is precisely what Darcy is not ----- pleasant and charming and more to Elizabeth's point he is attentive to her unlike Darcy who had ignored her. When he first meets Elizabeth, he singles her out and make her his confidant. Elizabeth enamoured by his grace, charm and attentiveness flirts with him and is so taken in by his polished manners that she is ready to believe the slanderous falsehoods that Wickham has to tell about Darcy. Thus, Wickham is integral in driving the wedge of prejudice deeper in Elizabeth, alienating her further from Darcy. Significantly Darcy's supposed villainy towards Wickham is one of Elizabeth's reasons for refusing Darcy's first proposal at Hunsford. Wickham is therefore, integral to the main plot of the Elizabeth-Darcy affair.

The Elopement:
The Lydia-Wickham elopement comes off exactly at the moment when Elizabeth starts cherishing hopes of marriage with Darcy. Just as Wickham had jeopardized any attraction between Elizabeth and Darcy by deepening Elizabeth's prejudice in the beginning and just as Lydia's foolish and flirtatious behaviour had initially hardened Darcy against the vulgarity of the Bennet family, the two by eloping together jeopardize the chances of Jane and Elizabeth to happy marriages with Bingley and Darcy. But the set-back is merely temporary though essential in highlighting the true feelings of Elizabeth and Darcy. Elizabeth's sense of frustration suggests her newly acquired feeling for him. It helps her to realize that Darcy is exactly the man, who, in disposition and talents is most suited to her. Darcy too gets the opportunity to prove to Elizabeth that he has shed his earlier pride and reveals his real and inherent nobility. His love for Elizabeth is deep enough for him to overcome his disgust for Wickham and associate himself with the Bennet family's disgrace by marriage Elizabeth. His gallantry and nobility are revealed when he even pays off Wickham's debts, buys him a new commission in the army and forces him to marry Lydia. Thus, the Lydia-Wickham sub-plot is integral to the main plot of Elizabeth and Darcy and is instrumental in providing the initial conflict. It also finally paves the way for the Elizabeth-Darcy marriage. 

A Marriage Based on Passion and Economics:

The Lydia-Wickham episode is relevant too in exemplifying the theme of marriage in the novel. Theirs is a marriage based only on passion on the part of Lydia and economic consideration on the part of Wickham. Wickham's flight is occasioned by his mounting debts and only when Darcy is ready to pay off the debts he marries Lydia. Such a marriage is bound to be unsuccessful and sink into indifference. The Lydia-Wickham marriage based as it is on the wrong considerations of infatuation and economics, highlights by contrast the propriety of the Darcy - Elizabeth marriage.

Relevance to Theme of Parenthood:
Lydia is relevant also to the theme of parenthood in the novel. Lydia's flirtatiousness and her lack of moral sense is a criticism of the inadequacy of her parents. Mrs. Bennet is a woman of mean understanding and Mr. Bennet has cynically withdrawn himself from any moral responsibility towards his family. Their unhappy marriage affects the daughters who are flighty and immature except for Jane and Elizabeth. Mr. Bennet is morally culpable in allowing Lydia to go to Brighton in spite of Elizabeth's warning regarding Lydia's exuberant spirits. He is wrong in being willing to buy personal peace at the cost of family honour and the result is Lydia's elopement with Wickham and the disgrace it brings to the entire family even jeopardizing the marital prospects of the two elder Bennet sisters. Thus, the Lydia-Wickham episode is relevant and integral to the novel both thematically and structurally.

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: Character and Role of Darcy

   Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: Character and Role of Darcy

Darcy is the hero of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The ups and downs in the romance between Darcy and Elizabeth form the principal interest of the novel. The pride of Darcy gives to the prejudice of Elizabeth and the complications of the plot are due to the increasing prejudice of Elizabeth against Darcy.

Darcy is quite conscious of his standing in society. He is one of the gentry inheriting a fortune man. That consciousness makes him stuffy and grave and his pride tends to heart others. He refrains from speaking in light vain and dislikes small talk. An aristocrat with an enormous fortune his pride seems to have determined his attitude to others. At the Meryton ball his pride comes into focus light when he remarks that “she is tolerable, but not maintains a dignified exclusiveness from ordinary society. We never see him familiar and amiable in his ways .He can not escape from the consciousness of his superior position. It is his superiority that creates the tension between Elizabeth and Darcy from the very beginning of the novel.

Darcy is an ideal master, an excellent brother and a generous and good natural gentleman. His great folly is to prevent his friend. Here his only concern is to dissuade his friend from counting one who does not love him. There is no malice and wickedness in what he does or is their any hypocrisy in his dealing with other. Even when Wickham elopes with Lydia he does everything to end the disgrace in an honorable marriage and to does all this secretly

Darcy's love for Elizabeth is genuine and his sincerity can be questioned. Through in his appearances he is found to be in conflict with Elizabeth, his emotional involvement result in growing consciousness of an attachment to her. Since his first meeting with her consciousness being closer to her through his self - respected when he realizes that Elizabeth is her equal for , in his family to there are vulgar people like Lady Catherine . His pride is humble. This realization also brings him much closer Elizabeth.

Darcy has no respect for silly ceremonies and state conventions. He hates vulgarity and prides himself with or being discerning. He appears at the first as rude one but slowly and gradually he starts changing. He may be egoist he is good and gentle. He is gradually cured of his egoism under the influence of love. Darcy always stands apart from the other character of the novel and his development is psychological one. The conflict between pride and prejudice is resolved as the two central characters namely Darcy and Elizabeth understand them. The plot of novel moves on with the development of the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy. The final union intricate the relationships of the characters in the novel.

Regarding Darcy's character Darcy himself is the best judge. From Darcy's account we come to know " I have been a selfish being all my life - - - - - - - . As a child I was taught what was right, but I was not to correct my temper -- Such I was from eight to eight and twenty and such I might still have been for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth! What do I not owe! You taught me a lesson hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. But You I saw properly humbled ". 

Theme of Love and Marriage in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

1.   Theme of Love and Marriage in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Pride and Prejudice is one of the most popular novels of Jane Austen due to its multi-dimensional versatility of themes. Andrew H. Wright remarks: “ She (Jane Austen) develops themes of the broadest significance, the novels go beyond social record, beneath the didactic, to moral concern, perplexity and commitment”

One of the most important themes of Pride and Prejudice,  love and marriage, is also the central theme of the novel. The oft-quoted opening sentence of the novel demonstrates this basic theme: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife”

It is true that the chief preoccupation of Jane Austen’s heroines is getting married and life is a matrimonial ceremony for them. Pride and Prejudice dramatizes the economic inequality of women, showing how women had to marry undesirable mates in order to gain some financial security. Marriage was a significant social concern in Jane Austen’s time and she was fully conscious of the disadvantages of being single as she wrote to her niece Fanny Knight, “Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor….which is one very strong argument in favour of matrimony”.

Through five marriages, Jane Austen defines good and bad reasons for marriage. Charlotte – Collins, Lydia – Wickham, Jane – Bingley and Elizabeth – Darcy are the four newly-weds. The old marriage is that of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet is the worst example of its kind in the novel. They are pole apart in their thoughts and temperaments. Their marriage is shown to be a disaster, with the wife playing the part of a fool and the husband retreating to live an uninvolved life.  Jane Austin says about this marriage:
" Her (Elizabeth’s) father captivated by youth and beauty … had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her “. Their marriage lacks "emotional compatibility and intellectual understanding". The Bennet’s marriage ends in mutual forbearance.

Charlotte and Collins are the first newly-weds. Charlotte agrees to marry Collins solely for her financial security. It is relatively her advancing age that hastens her engagement. Charlotte tries to justify her position by giving argumentative reasons to Elizabeth: “I am not romantic you know, I never was, I ask only a comfortable home”. Thus, to Charlotte, marriage is an economic transaction undertaken in self-interest.

The runaway marriage of Lydia-Wickham is based on mere superficial qualities as sex, appearance, good looks and youthful flirtation. The passion between the unprincipled rake, Wickham and the flighty Lydia is bound to cool, and in their unhappy conjugal life, mutual toleration is the nearest approach that can be expected.

The marriage between Jane and Bingley is a successful marriage of its kind. Jane Austen expresses her opinion about this marriage through the words of Elizabeth:
"All his (Bingley) expectations of felicity, to be rationally founded, because they had for basis the excellent understanding, and super excellent disposition of Jane, and a general similarity of feeling and taste between them."
However, unlike Darcy and Elizabeth, there is no planning in their relationships. Both the characters are too gullible and too good-hearted to ever act strongly against external forces that may attempt to separate them. So, their marriage is in between success and failure.

The fifth and final example of marriage is that of Elizabeth and Darcy. It is a kind of an ideal marriage based on the true understanding and cross examinations. According to Jane Austen , the courtship of Darcy and Elizabeth is a perfect union which sums up the purpose of her novel. Although it begins with the pride and prejudice; it passes through many stages as "it converts from full hatred to complete admiration and satisfaction" . For Darcy, Elizabeth is no longer the woman who is "not handsome enough to tempt (him)", as he admits that “… it is many months since I have considered [Elizabeth] as one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance.”. Also for Elizabeth , he is no longer "the last man in the world whom (she) could ever be prevailed on to marry" but he becomes the "man who in disposition and talents , would most suit her" .

Thus the theme of love and marriage is very aptly exemplified in Pride and Prejudice. Beginning with the arrival of Bingley and Darcy, both single men “in possession of a good fortune”, the novel traces the courtship of Jane-Bingley and Elizabeth-Darcy through various misunderstandings and hindrances, before they are happily married to each other. We can sum up above discussion in the words of Elizabeth:

 “There can be no doubt that it is settled between us already that we are to be the happiest couple in the world.”

Tennyson’s “Ulysses”--- The Representative of Victorian Times

Tennyson’s “Ulysses”--- The Representative of Victorian Times

Tennyson, (1809-1892) a great literary titan, is the representative poet of Victorian Age and mirrors the most vital problem of industrial and moral life – “religious doubts, social problems, the revolt of the cultured mind against a corrupt society, pride in a far-flung Empire, the spirit of compromise so characteristic of the Victorian period”. He was, thus, a truly national poet and from a nationalistic view-point declares;

“There is no land like England

Where’re light of day be:

There is no hearts like English hearts,

Such hearts of oak as they be”.

Tennyson himself said that “Ulysses” which was written shortly after Hallam’s death, (September 1832) gave his “feeling about the need of going forward, and braving the struggle of life, perhaps more simply than anything in In Memoriam (1850)”. Ulysses is one of his massive pillars on which Tennyson’s fame mainly rests. It embodies “the modern passion for knowledge, for the exploration of its limitless field, for the annexation of new kingdom of science and thought”.

[Prof Hales]

Ulysses finds the meaninglessness of life which he has been enjoying in his hilly kingdom in the company of old wife and ruling over the savage people who do not know him. He wants to “drink life to the less” as a typical Victorian would have done. A life of indolence is no more than death. It is a life in death. A life of rest from all toils and moils is not desired. He has seen much and known much but is not satisfied with what he gained; for him as to the Victorians;

“All experience is an arch where through

Gleams that untravelled world whose margin fades

For ever and for ever when I move”.

The adventurous spirit in Ulysses does not allow him “to pause, to make and end, to rust unburnished, not to shine in use!” The unquenchable desire seized him;

“To follow knowledge like a sinking star

Beyond the utmost bound of human thought”.

Ulysses’ energy is an inexhaustible. Man’s life is short. To Ulysses a little life is left. But old age does not mean, for him the end of life so to Ulysses ceaseless activity and motion and not, “to strive, to seek to find and not to yield” are ought to be ever remembered as even in old age. Some work of noble note may yet be done.  Till one’s death every hour should be spent in actively. It may prove a bringer of new things. This guiding principle for life is typically Tennysonian and basically Victorian in tone.

The high spirit, energy and resolution of Victorian Age are fully celebrated in Ulysses. Ulysses like a typical Victorian is fired with energy to grasp the unattainable and the infinite. With his old mariners he is extremely eager to go out a new voyage in search of undiscovered shore and fresh adventure;

“To sail beyond the sunset and the baths

Of all the Western stars until I die”.

It is true that though the mariners are not in full strength of young’s, though they are “made week by time and fate” but they have the will and the determination to touch the untouchable.

Some ways of Hellenic life come into focus light in “Ulysses”. Household deities were worshiped in proper care and attention. The failure to adore them was a great moral lapse. Ulysses praised his son for his praying “meet adoration to my household gods”.

“Ulysses” is not devoid of word picturing. The brilliant picture of evening landscape of  Ithaca  can be visualized through these lines;

“The light being twinkle from the rock;

The long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep

Moans round with many voices”.

Thus Tennyson’s “Ulysses” is a superb creation of artistic excellence. With Keatsian pictorial quality, his astonishing command of musical resources of language is blended so accurately that it becomes a landmark in English literature. It expresses the philosophy of the poet as well as the energy and resolution of his age. Stop ford A. Brooke aptly remarks about Tennyson as a representative poet of his age: “His age was vividly with him, and he wrote of patriotism, of the proper conception of freedom, of the sad condition of the poor, of the woman’s position in the onward movement of the world, of the place of commerce and science in that movement, of war as the remedy of selfishness and evils of commerce and of future race”.

Ulysses' by Tennyson as a Dramatic Monologue

1.   'Ulysses' by Tennyson as a Dramatic Monologue

A dramatic monologue is a lyric poem in which a single imaginary speaker or a historical personage expresses his thoughts and feelings to an imaginary silent audience. The distinguished features of dramatic are as follows.

In this kind of poem a single person, who is apparently not the poet, utters the entire poem in a specific situation at a critical moment.

This person addresses and interacts with one or more other people, but we know of the presence of the audience and its reaction from the clues in the utterance of the speaker.

A dramatic monologue concentrates on the idiosyncrasies of the speaker.

Robert Browning is well known for his dramatic monologues. His ‘My Last Duchess,” Andrea del Sarto,” ‘Fra Lippo Lippi’, Tennyson’s ‘Ulysses’ and ‘Tittonus,” T.S Eliot’s ‘The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ are some of the best known dramatic monologues. Tennyson like another Victorian genius Robert Browing is good at composing dramatic monologues. His well known poem Ulysses is an excellent example of dramatic monologue in which he adopts a classical hero Ulysses or Odysseus as the main character for his work. Here he tries to focus on the adventurous as well as knowledge seeking spirit of Ulysses. But the philosophy of life given through the mouth of Ulysses is actually Tennyson’s own philosophy.

In the poem Ulysses, Ulysses is supposed to be speaking and expressing his thoughts and feelings to the silent listeners. He is standing before the royal palace of Ithaca and speaks before the mariners, who had been his fellow sojourners during his long journey to Troy. The monologue begins with his cynical remarks towards life. .

It little profits that an idle king

By this still hearth, among these barren crags,

That hoard and steep and feed and know not me.

Ulysses, the man of nimble wit, is not satisfied with his life among his subjects, who are unaware of his heroic mould. His aged wife ( Penelope) also cannot understand his heroic soul. But his intention is not clear until he says.

I cannot rest from travel, I will drink

Life to the lees.

Here by the word ‘travel’ he means the journey which he made to rescue Helen from Paris and the perilous journey after the destruction of Troy. But he refuses to take rest and is determined to take a life of adventure to the very end. He compares life to a cup of wine. Just a man drinks till he has reached the sediment at the bottom, Ulysses also will taste all aspects of life without leaving anything behind. Through these words, Ulysses’ insatiable passion for knowledge is expressed. He is the man who can never take rest from the pursuit of knowledge.

Ulysses has become old but it is the knowledge and experience which he has gathered so long urges him on even in the old age to sail in quest of knowledge. He knows that a life spent in idleness is no life at all. Just a sword losses its polish and gets rusty when if is kept out of use for longtime, so also vigor and energy will be dulled and blunted if we do not exercise then always. He is perfectly aware that knowledge is vast and unlimited and our life on earth is too short to learn everything. Even a number of lives taken together would be too short for gaining all knowledge. So far he is concerned he has a single life to live. And of this single life too a greater part has already been spent. Only a few years of life are left to him. Hence he is determined to make the best of every moment of the remaining years of his life. To him an hour spent in some profitable work means an hour saved from the silence of death.

But the monologue of Ulysses reaches to the point of climax, when he inspires his sailors and makes on appeal to them to enter upon a life of exploration with great courage. He says…

Death closes all, but something ere the end

Some work of noble note, may yet be done.

Ulysses knows that he and his sailors, being old are nearer death, but he has not given up hope and believes that old men also can earn great glory and achieve great deeds. So, he inspires his sailors to achieve some great deeds even in their old age before thy die. The paths of knowledge may be full of dangers, but he is strongly determined. And finally he makes a noble resolution to carry on his quest. He is not upset by the passing away of his youth and bodily strength. He knows that even old age cannot rob great men of their courage, bravery and other spiritual qualities. Therefore, he asks his sailors to show the same courage that they had in youth. He reminds then that everyone of them is brave and strong willed, everyone of them knows how to labor, how to struggle hard and how to pursue a great aim. Everyone of them will tough out any bad situation and never bow his head before hardships or troubles.

Thus, by the monologue Tennyson portrays the character of Ulysses. His portrayal of the character Ulysses deserves huge appreciation for there is a consonantal movement of thought, pervading the character Ulysses from beginning to the end. Every word Uttered by Ulysses helps to constitute the idea that life is short and knowledge is unlimited, so we must not stop from pursuing knowledge.

Theme And Central Idea Of ‘The Last Ride Together’ By Robert Browning

Robert Browning’s poetry is regarded as the finest love poetry. His poems deal with the emotions of love. His philosophy of love is an important part of his philosophy of life.

The Last Ride Together” by Robert Browning  begins with a lover getting finally rejected by his lady-love after he waited for her for a long time. As the lover is sincere in his love, he does not have any ill-will for his lady-love. On the contrary, he tells his beloved that the uncertainty is no longer present as he knows that he would not get her love. The speaker says, his beloved’s love was the most meaningful thing in his life and after he has lost her love, his life has lost all its meaning and significance. In fact, he feels proud that he had the opportunity to love her and enjoy her company for a long time. He is grateful towards her for the beautiful and blissful moments they had together. For this he asks God to bless her.

Though he has no hopes of ever getting her love back in his life, he requests her for two wishes. First, he should be allowed to cherish the memories of his love and the memories of the happiness during the courting period. Secondly, if she considers nothing indecent in this request, he wants to go on a last ride with her. The lady is in a dilemma, not able to decide whether she should accept the request or reject it.

Finally, the lady accepts his request. The lover is extremely happy, it seemed like the circulation of blood in his body has been regenerated. The lover is at peace as he is going to enjoy bliss and his lover’s company for another day. He hopes for the world to end that very night so that his moment of bliss becomes eternal. In that way, he would be with her always and there would be no need of despair at being rejected by his lad-love.

The third stanza is about the description of the heavenly bliss which the lover experiences when his beloved lies on his bosom.
The last ride begins. This blissful experience gives the lover soul a terrific experience. The poet compares the lover’s soul to that of a crumpled paper which has been kept like that for a long time. When exposed to wind, this paper opens up, the wrinkles get smoothened and it starts fluttering in the wind like a bird. In the same way, the lover’s soul has grown wrinkled due to the grief of his failure in love. But after encountering the last ride with his beloved, his soul experiences tremendous joy and feels rejuvenated.
The lover as he rides with his beloved continues to think about the world. He says that brain and hand cannot go together hand in hand. Conception and execution can never be paired together. Man is not able to make pace with his actions to match with his ambitions. He plans a lot but achieves a little. The lover feels that he has at least achieved a little success by being able to ride with his beloved. He compares himself with a statesman and a soldier. A statesman works hard all his life but all his efforts are merely published in a book or as an obituary in newspapers. Similarly a soldier dies fighting for his country and is buried in the

Westminster Abbey, which is his only reward after death. Sometimes an epitaph is raised in his memory but that is all. The lover then compares his lot with that of a poet. He believes that a poet’s reward is too small compared with his skills. He composed sweet lyrics, thoughts of emotions of others, views that men should achieve beautiful things in life. But the reward he gets in return is very little and he dies in poverty in the prime of his life. Ordinary men cannot compose such poems. Compared to the poet, the lover considers himself luckier as he has at least achieved the consolation of riding with his lover for the last time.During the ride, the lover was lost in his own thoughts while his beloved did not speak a single word. But it did not make any difference to him as her company is a heavenly bliss for him.The lover thinks that it would be a heaven on earth for him if he continues to ride with his beloved forever. He wishes that the moment should become everlasting so that they could continue to ride together forever and ever. That would indeed be heavenly bliss for him.

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The poem is full of romantic overtones. It describes the romantic feelings of the lover towards his lady love. Therefore, ‘The Last Ride Together’ can be aptly described as a love poem.

 

The Last Ride Together Critical appreciation.

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 The Last Ride Together  Critical appreciation.

The Last Ride Together is a poem by English poet Robert Browning, first published in his 1855 collection Men and Women. His first major work released after his marriage to Elizabeth Barrett, it consisted of fifty-one poems, each by a different narrator. It is considered one of the most important works of poetry in the Victorian era. The Last Ride Together is a ten-stanza poem primarily focused on themes of love and loss. It takes the form of a monologue by a rejected lover reflecting on the end of a love affair. The title represents the last time the former couple takes a carriage ride together. Although the narrator does grieve the end of his romance, he wishes to reflect his appreciation for the time they had together and the love he experienced. The poem has an overall bittersweet tone, balancing sadness and optimism.

In the first stanza, the narrator blames the end of his romance on fate. He bemoans that everything he has tried has failed, and it seems the end of his love affair is set. Despite this, he expresses his love and appreciation for the woman he has spent years with, and blesses her name. He asks only for her the memory of the time they shared together, and one last ride with her before she goes.

The second stanza focuses on the woman’s reaction, as she surveys him with pride tempered with pity. The narrator compares waiting for her answer with life or death, accentuating the emotional stakes that are always at play when it comes to love and passion. In the end, they say yes, and the parting couple embarks on their final ride together.

The third stanza focuses on the blissful feeling of that last ride, with the narrator waxing poetic about how wonderful the time together feels. He focuses on the beauty of the surroundings, the passion he feels, and the ecstatic feeling that he feels when she touches him. She has provided him with more than he asked for, and he is filled with gratitude for this.

The fourth stanza focuses on Browning’s philosophy of the passing nature of life. The narrator begins to let go of what was and begins to enjoy what is. He describes his soul as smoothing out as he lets go of past hopes. He knows that there’s no point to speculating what could have been. Things could be better or worse, and instead he chooses to simply enjoy the moment that they are sharing together.

The fifth stanza continues the themes in the fourth, with the narrator contrasting himself with men who strove for other things, and those who have failed. He does this to hide his personal anguish over the end of his affair. He accepts his defeat and expresses his hope for a better future in heaven at the end of his life.

The sixth stanza presents the philosophical idea that a life of contemplation in love is far better than any pleasures that the material world can provide. This stanza contains many allusions and analogies, such as comparing the greatest joys of life to a crown that one can reach. It compares the life of a love with that of a statesman and a soldier, and comes down firmly on the idea that the lover’s life is superior.

The seventh and eighth stanzas focus on comparisons of the love to a great poet and later a great sculptor. The narrator describes the talents of these artists – the poet’s work being defined by how they create rhyme and rhythm, while the sculptor devotes years to a chunk of rock and carves something spectacular out of it. He later does the same with a composer, stringing notes together. He compares these arts to the years of his life he gave to his love, attempting to create something beautiful out of their union.

In the ninth stanza, the narrator wonders what fate has in store for them, and admits he has no idea what would have transpired had they remained together. He expresses his regret that it has to end here, but admits that there is nothing he can do and chooses to let go, stating that his life with his lover is now as far away from him as heaven.

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The final stanza has him turn his focus back to his lover, as he observes her and notes that she hasn’t said anything in a while. He wonders what would happen if they simply rode forever, together, and this instant they shared was made eternity. That is where the poem ends, on that wistful note for an eternity of this moment, without the future apart that awaits them when the ride ends.

Robert Browning published thirty-one major works of poetry in his life, and is considered today to be one of the most important poets of Victorian England. Despite this, during his lifetime he was heavily overshadowed in fame by his poet wife Elizabeth Barrett. Men and Women and the book-length epic poem The Ring and the Book were the two works that elevated his reputation and led to him being regarded as one of the defining poets of the era, and today they remain widely read along with the rest of his work, although many of his earlier works remain fairly obscure. Perhaps his largest influence on pop culture is Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, which was inspired by Browning’s poem Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came.

 

'The Last Ride Together' as a dramatic monologue

Introduction

A major poet of the Victorian period, Browning was basically a dramatic poetry. Though a great admirer of Shelly, he drew more from the tradition of John Donne. As a dramatic poet his chief interest lay in the drama of the human mind. Obviously in his poetry the stress was on 'incidents in the development of the soul'. Browning perfected the dramatic monologue form, and this remains his distinct contribution to English poetry. As a poet his supreme achievement lies in his dramatic lyrics and monologues. Borrowing held a dynamic view of life, based on trust in the love of God and faith in a life after death. Though modern critics view him more as a septic, a faith that looks through death informs his entire poetry.

  The poem as a dramatic monologue

The Last Ride Together is one of the finest dramatic monologues of Browning. The dramatic monologue as perfected by Browning is a poem in which a speaker other than the poet, speaks to an imaginary audience at a decisive moment in his life. The speech invariably reveals a state of mind or set of beliefs. Since there may be a contradiction between the speaker's apprehension and articulation of reality and objective reality, irony becomes a key factor in the dramatic monologues. The speaker here is a lover. He is in a critical moment of his life - he is rejected by his sweetheart. And, he discloses his mind to a silent audience. The lover asks for the only favour of a last ride with his lady and she grants it. In the ride together, he gathers up the rapture of a lifetime, and with no further heaven to be hoped for, he wishes that the ride may lengthen out into eternity.

The lover is rejected by his sweetheart. But he accepts his fate with dignity. He thanks and blesses here for all the joy her love has given him. Though she hesitates, the ride is finally granted, and he feels deified for one more day, and even imagine the very end of the world. She leans on his bosom and he experiences a joy as that of one who admires a respledent cloud and gradually feels it upon him. As they ride along he reflects on his lot. His life has been twisted out of shape. But he realizes that it is no use struggling to set it right. Equally futile are speculations on how he might not have lost his love if he had said this or done that. Past is past and what matters is the present. If the worst had happened he might not have had even the present bliss of a last ride. 

Through the poem, Browning presents the self-consolation. It's based on the underlying theory of 'blame it all on fate'. Of course the poem talks about love and its attendant failures. The speaker thinks that failure is inevitable and as he himself has failed. He is attempting to reduce his pain by trying to curtail his desires. Some words are chosen to convey the feeling of polite resignation and acceptance of defeat. Moreover, the diction is superficial, and of super human psychology because a man who has been ditched can't have too many good things to say about the former flame unless of course he is ironical about it.

The next paragraph deals with the anticipation of a response by the speaker from the mistress. It is this dilemma and wait for the answer that contributes to the dramatic effect of the poem. The stanza progresses thus - from spine chilling excitement and anticipation to joy to relief and finally to ecstasy. The images of the mistress bending her brow, her "deep dark eyes", her breathing and consequent heavily of the bosom and her blush conveys and all most erotic charm to the poem. In a superb metaphor - " With life or death in the balance". The speaker compares yes with life and no with death.

The diction provides a picture of the action in the man with which Browning was more concerned. It clearly brings out the anxiety and the emotional turmoil in the speaker's brain. Words like - 'bent that brow' refers to the brooding of the lady over the proposal. 'Fixed' and 'breathing' clearly brings out the anxiety of the speaker. The condition of 'yes' and 'no' has been beautifully painted as 'life' and 'death' respectively. The stanza could also be memorable for line - "Who knows but the world may end tonight." This line affirms the stupid optimism of the speaker who becomes as  much a butt of ridicule as the people he satirizes for their failure. 

 'The Last Ride Together' deals with the beautiful feeling that follows after being with one's beloved the feeling of being on the top of the world after achieving one's goal. It also deals with the more physical part of love. The tone is of being overwhelmed in love in which everything is blessed. The next stanza provides us with a touch of Browning's philosophy. Dealing with the present and stop being bothered about the past. The tone of the poem presents a mix of consolatory and philosophical musings. With the "fluttering in the wind" metaphor, the speaker compares the soul with a long-crammed scroll. In itself it is a fresh metaphor unparalleled in literature.

Browning's poem contains little of artistic or dramatic techniques but more of philosophical elements. The theory of failure is introduced. In order to hide his agony he deliberately compares himself with those people who had failed in their lives but not with these who have achieved the zenith. It's a mere acceptance of defeat and on untrue optimism of better chance in future life.

In the poem 'The Last Ride Together' Browning presented the philosophical idea that the life of contemplation in love is far greater than material world. The words like 'fleshy', 'screen', 'heap of bones', etc. signify the sensuous markers of the poem. The gulf between imagination and creation is shortened. Browning deals with the comparison of the life of the statesman and soldier with the life and achievement of lover and puts the lover and his momentary triumph over the achievements of the statesman and the soldier. The speaker's tone is self congratulatory because nobody else congratulates him for having a last ride with her beloved. The tone is that of the justification of one's failure, the tone is of giving a lame excuse.

The poet's achievement is great. His brain throbs with music, and he puts into words what others can only experience. He considers beautiful things as the best things in the world, and makes thoughts ride in rhyme. All the same he does not get for himself what the world values most highly in life -the health, wealth and youth. Though he risks his health, wealth and youth, he does not come one bit nearer his goal than the lover and his lady. His vocation, the lover thinks, is indisputably superior to that of a poet.
The sculptor dievotes his entire time to art and is her slave. After years of his toiling, at last he creates his Venus, his masterpiece. But it is still inferior to an ordinary village girl one may see crossing a stream. The lot of the composer is no better. He also grows grey in the service of his art. But after all his labour, when he gives his masterpiece to the world the only praise he gets is that through ambitious, it cannot be popular for long.
If he had succeeded in love, then he would have no 'bliss to die with' nothing to look forward to, after death. Then heaven would have no meaning for him. It is therefore, inevitable that he should fail here, in order to succeed in heaven. If heaven is a perpetuation and perfection of the earthy conditions - 'the instant made eternity' - then he and his lady will ever be as they are now, riding together in each others company.
In the monologue there is less probing of the self and development of character. The poem is in fact, a sustained reflection on the role of love, even when rejected, as a maker of happiness, and the meaning of failure. As a maker of happiness love is superior to all the arts - poetry, sculptor and music. And, failure is the token of triumph.

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               Conclusion

In a nutshell, we can conclude that the poem contains the core of Brownings philosophy. Browning is an optimist. He firmly believed that "Happiness is the crown of life." He is personal in nature. He holds that life is persistent struggle for an ideal or perfection. He believes that "Love is a crisis of man's life." It implies that man is imperfect or imperfection or failure is part of human nature something inevitable in life. Heaven is where 'life's flower is first discerned'. In other words, Browning believes that there is a life after that for man - a heavenly life. Heavenly life, therefore, is a perfect version of earthly life - 'the instant made eternity'. Heaven will have meaning only if man has 'a bliss to die with', an unrealized ambition. Brownings monologues are spiritual and sensuous together. It is a part drama, part philosophy, part poetry and part life all rolled into one.