Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

Percy Bysshe Shelley was the most progressive revolutionary romanticist in English literature. Like Byron, he came of an aristocratic family and like Byron he broke with his class at an early age.

He was born at Field Place, Sussex. His father was a baronet. Shelley was educated at Eton public school and Oxford University. There he wrote a pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism for which he was expelled from the University. His father forbade him to come home. Shelley had an independent spirit, and he broke with his family and his class for ever. He travelled from one town to another, took an active part in the Irish liberation movement and at last left England for Italy in 1818. There he wrote his best poetry. Shelley's life was mainly spent in Italy and Switzerland, but he kept ties with England.

In 1822 the poet was drowned. When his body was washed ashore he was cremated by Byron and his other friends. His remains were buried in Rome. The inscription on his tomb reads: Percy Bysshe Shelley - Cor Cordium (the heart of hearts).

Like Byron, Shelley was devoted to the revolutionary ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity. He believed in the future of mankind. He never lost faith in the power of love and good will. He thought that if men were granted freedom and learned to love one another they could live together peacefully. This hope fills his first poems Queen Mab (1813), The Revolt of Islam (1818) and his later poetic drama Prometheus Unbound [prə’mi:θjəs].

The plot of the poem Queen Mab is symbolic. Queen Mab, a fairy, shows the past, present and future of mankind to a beautiful girl. Queen Mab shows the ideal society of the future where men are equal, free and wise.

The Revolt of Islam is a romantic and abstract poem, but it is a revolutionary one. Shelley protested against the tyranny of religion and of the government, gave pictures of the revolutionary movement for freedom and foretold a happier future for the whole of mankind.

In Prometheus Unbound Shelley gives the Greek myth his own interpretation. He sings of the struggle against tyranny. The sharp conflict between Prometheus and Jupiter (the chief of the Roman gods) is in the centre of the drama. Prometheus is bound to a rock by Jupiter for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to mankind. The huge spirit Demogorgon [‘diməu’go:gən], representing the Creative Power, defeats Jupiter and casts him down. Prometheus is set free and reunited with his wife Asia (Nature). The fact that Jupiter is dethroned symbolizes change and revolution. Now the mind of man can look forward to a future which is "good, joyous, beautiful and free".

1. What family did Shelley come from? Where was he educated? 2. Why can we call Shelley the most progressive revolutionary romanticist?  3. Name his first notable works.

Walter Scott (1771-1832)

Walter Scott ['wo:ltə 'skot], the father of the English historical novel, was born in the family of a lawyer. His mother was the daughter of a famous Edinburgh physician and professor. She was a woman of education and stirred her son's imagination by her stories of the past as a world of living heroes.

As Walter was lame and a sickly child he spent much of his boyhood on his grandfather's farm near the beautiful river Tweed. He entered into friendly relations with plain people and gained first-hand knowledge of the old Scottish traditions, legends and folk ballads.

At the age of eight Walter entered the Edinburgh High School. Later Walter Scott studied law at the University. Though he was employed in his father's profession he was more interested in literature than in law.

Walter Scott's literary career began in 1796 when he published translations of German ballads. In 1802 he prepared a collection of ballads under the title of The Minstrelsy' of the Scottish Border. In 1804 Walter Scott gave up the law entirely for literature. His literary work began with the publication of The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), a poem which made him the most popular poet of the day. A series of poems followed which included Marmion [‘ma:mjən] (1808) and The Lady of the Lake (1810). These poems brought fame to the author. They tell us about the brave Scottish people, their past and the beauty of their homeland.

Soon, however, Scott realized that he was not a poetic genius, and he turned to writing in prose.

Scott's first historical novel Waverley ['weivəli] published in 1814 was a great success and he continued his work in this new field. From 1814 to 1830 he wrote 29 novels, many of which are about Scotland and the struggle of this country for independence. Such novels as Waverley, Guy Mannering (1815), The Antiquary (1816), The Black Dwarf (1816), Old Mortality (1816), Rob Roy (1818), The Heart of Midlothian [mid 'ləuθjən] (1818) describe Scotland in the 18th century.

The Bride of Lammermoor ['læməmuə] (1819) and The Legend of Montrose (1819) have the 17th century background. Ivanhoe ['aivənhəu] (1820) deals with the English history of the 12th century. The Monastery (1820), The Abbot and Kenilworth ['kenilwe:θ] (1821) describe the times of Mary Stuart and Queen Elizabeth. Quentin Durward (1823) refers to the reign of Louis [lui] XI in France.

Misfortune struck the great novelist in 1825—1826: the publishing firm, where he had been partner went bankrupt. Walter Scott had to pay a large sum of money. This affected his health and he died on September 21, 1832 at his estate in Abbotsford. Walter Scott was buried at Dryburgh Abbey.

Walter Scott was the creator of the historical novel in English literature. He realized that it was the ordinary people who were the makers of history and the past was not cut off from the present but influenced it. This romantic love of the past made him create rich historical canvases with landscape and nature descriptions, as well as picturesque details of past ages. His descriptions of the life, customs and habits of the people are realistic. We can agree with Belinsky that the reader of Scott's novels becomes, in a way, a contemporary of the epoch and a citizen of the country in which the events of the novel take place.

1. Give a brief account of Walter Scott's life.

2. What were the main historical themes he wrote about in his novels?

3. What is the contribution of Walter Scott to the development of the historical novel in English literature?

Jane Austen (1775-1817)

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, in the Hampshire village of Steventon, where her father, the Rev. (reverend) George Austen, was rector. She was the second daughter and seventh child in the family of eight: six boys and two girls. Her closest companion was her elder sister.

Austen's earliest known writings date from 1787, and between then and 1795 she wrote a large body of material that was collected in three manuscript notebooks: Volume the First, Volume the Second, and Volume the Third. In all, these contain 21 items: plays, verses, short novels, and other prose.

In 1793 — 1794 Jane Austen wrote a short novel-in-letters Lady Susan. Jane was a girl of seventeen. Some of the letters tell of herenjoyment of local parties and dances in Hampshire, of visits toLondon, Bath, Southampton, Kent and to seasideresorts in Devon and Dorset.

Sense and Sensibility was begun about 1795 as a novel-in-letters called Elinor and Marianne after its heroines. She contrasted two sisters: Elinor who is rational and self-controlled, and Marianne who is more emotional. Between October 1796 and August 1797 she completed the first version of Pride and Prejudice. Northanger Abbey was written in about 1798— 1799. In 1811 she began her novel Mansfield Park . Between January 1814 and March 1815 she wrote Emma.

Jane Austen's novels are deeply concerned with love and marriage. The novels provide indisputable evidence that the author understood the experience of love and of love disappointed. This observation relates most obviously to her last novel Persuasion (1815—1816). The years after 1811 seem to have been the most rewarding of her life. She had the satisfaction of seeing her work in print and well reviewed and of knowing that the novels were widely read. The reviewers praised the novels for their moral entertainment, admired the character drawing, and welcomed the homely realism. Although Jane Austen preserved her anonymity and avoided literary circles, she knew about the reception of her novels.

Jane Austin is different from other writers of her time, because her main interest is in the moral, social and psychological behaviour of her characters. She writes mainly about young heroines as they grow up and search for personal happiness. She does not write about the social and political issues, but her observations of people apply to human nature in general.

Modern critics are fascinated by the structure and organization of the novels, by the realistic description of unremarkable people in the unremarkable situations of everyday life.

Question: 1) What family did Jane Austen come from? 2) Name Jane Austen’s notable novels.