Texts such as Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' and Elizabeth Barrret Browning's 'Sonnets from the Portuguese' offer perspective throughout the prevailing values, ideas of their respective contexts, as well as their attitudes. Both texts are a reflection of their context albeit a different context with similarities and differences in perspectives, values, ideas and attitudes. In the sonnets the Vicotrian context has shaped the representation of relationships where marriage involves the values of a string durable love that includes fidelity, honesty, sincerity and respect. Alternately in 'the Great Gatsby' the self centred time of indulgence and hedonism of the roaring twenties has shaped the representation of marriage that involves violence, dishonesty, infidelity and lies. Similarly, both texts depicts a love that transforms our life and is a force that can affect and reshape us which is beyond our control.
She portrays her personal voice through the use of sonnets, specifically Petrarchan. It is commonly used by males to woo their unattained love. Both composers portray love as idealistic, however it is interfered with by life. It is a universal theme shown through the different time periods. Nevertheless, Elizabeth Barrett Browning advocates that the strength of love can help overcome the obstacles.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a female composer in a patriarchal society that is hi ghly religious and traditional, wrote reluctantly about her love for Robert Barrett Browning throughout her poems. Sonnet XIII specifically reflects on parochial Victorian age values and shows how Barrett Browning does not conform to female expectations as she wrote spontaneously about her obsession with love. Similarly, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals the consequences of obsession with love and the impact of non-conformity in social and historical contexts through the characterisation of Gatsby, who refuses to conform to expectations of immorality and develops an obsession with this. Thus, the issue of different context and forms is significantly ineffective as the consequences of obsession relatively have the same effect even if the influence was different. Barrett Browning presents positive consequences of obsession as her sonnets, whilst being heavily influenced by religion and spirituality, also
Elizabeth Browning presents an idealistic and an optimistic view towards love and hope through sonnets I, XIV and XLIII. Although composed in two different time frames, both texts have been influenced by personal contexts in their representation of love and hope. Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Fitzgerald’s texts both explore the necessity of love in order to accomplish in life, but are hopeful in achieving their respective love but are contrastingly represented. The sole foundations for Elizabeth’s sonnets arise from her ambivalent and evolving attitude towards the patriarchal values of her society and her father’s repressive restraint on love through his extreme conservatism. She however challenges and subverts the dominant patriarchal paradigms and tropes of her society as she searches for the solution to her descent into morbid conviction.
Through a comparison of how the authors depict this theme the responder gains an insight into the different human experiences of each time and the composers. In both texts the two protagonists search for the platonic form of the universal desire of love; however love is undoubtable transformed by their respective contexts which are why the texts offer an insight into two different human experiences. The persona in the sonnet sequence figuratively speaking wishes to be loved ‘for loves sake only’. Similarly Jay Gatsby metaphorically seeks a love that ‘went beyond her artificial world’. Although the two protagonists both idealised and sought a platonic love, because of the historical context of 1850’s England and 1920’s America experienced by the composers, it was only possible for the persona in the sonnets to achieve this while Gatsby couldn’t realise his ideal; this is reflective of the composers themselves.
The Puritan faith is not something easily described or summed up, but both of these poems provide justice. If one wanted to get a full perspective of the Puritan faith, simply read both Edward’s and Bradstreet’s compositions. One would perceive two
Andrew Marvell’s “To his Coy Mistress” and Robert Herrick’s “Corinna’s going a Maying” are both carpe diem poems, and as such, they are bound to have a few things in common. However, Herrick’s poem, while commonly portrayed as more religiously influenced, proves to be more alike to “To his Coy Mistress” than just the carpe diem theme denotes. Despite the air of worship associated with “Corinna’s going a Maying,” the speaker in the poem expresses beliefs and images that are so similar to the values of the speaker of “To his Coy Mistress” that it is evident that “Corinna’s going a Maying” is not as religiously concerned as many would like to believe. A.B. Chambers, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, argues that “Corinna’s going a Maying” is unique because it celebrates both pagan and Christian rites, and that neither rite takes precedence over the other (216).
Cosi The particular aspect of love that is the focus of the play is fidelity; the notion of faithfulness, commitment and loyalty. The play explores many aspects of love, the characters present slightly different perspectives, some final about their positions from the start and others change or develop differing perspectives. This concept is explored through the individual characters Lucy and Lewis. Using the technique of characterisation, Nowra is able to present the idea of ‘free love’ negatively to the audience through the character Lucy. Who strongly endorses the idea that love is an indulgence, “After bread, shelter, equality, health, procreation, money comes maybe love” .
It is passion developed under its most profound and serious aspect; as in Isabella, we have the serious and the thoughtful, not the brilliant side of intellect. Both Helena and Isabel are distinguished by high mental powers, tinged with a melancholy sweetness; but in Isabella the serious and energetic part of the character is founded in religious principle, in Helena it is founded in deep passion. There never was, perhaps, a more beautiful picture of a woman's love, cherished in secret, not self-consuming in silent languishment — not pining in thought — not passive and "desponding over its idol" — but patient and hopeful, strong in its own intensity, and sustained by its own fond faith. The passion here reposes upon itself for all its interest; it derives nothing from art or ornament or circumstance; it has nothing of the picturesque charm or glowing romance of Juliet; nothing of the poetical splendour of Portia, or the vestal grandeur of Isabel. The situation of Helena is the most painful and degrading
One literary period, that of courtly love, clearly maintains this separation, which can be shown through examples from the story Tristan and Iseult. Examining the rules of courtly love, three clear examples emerge. The first is that “an excess of passion is inconsistent with love.” In essence, courtly love is distinguishing the separation by saying that one may not love just because one shares high amounts of sexual desire. For example, we saw the fundamental tie of Tristan and Iseult’s relationship as their physical passion to each other. Being tied together solely by their sexual desire for each other comes across as breaking this rule of courtly love.