Representative Literary Figures of the Victorian Era

Justifying Tennyson as the Representative Literary Figure  of Victorian Era Robert Browning's my Last Duchess : Themes And Insights

Alfred, Lord Tennyson is often regarded to be the poet who best defines Victorianism, and in turn, represents an epitome of what that time reflected in his works. His poems touch every significant issue that faced this era making him the quintessential literary figure representing the Victorian experience.

1. The Industrial Revolution: Social and economic dislocation caused by the Industrial Revolution is reflected in Tennyson's poems, Locksley Hall and In Memoriam A.H.H. In fact, he did grievance over the dehumanizing effects of industrialization, where the fast growth of cities and factories left behind personal connections and traditional values.

2. The Rise of Science: Tennyson had an interest in the changes that science brought during the Victorian period and of its scientific discovery. From works such as The Princess and Morte d'Arthur, Tennyson reviews the relationship of science versus religion, the problems that arose through the theory of evolution. His poems indicate the way people doubted and questioned during the science-religion phase as it did seem that the realms were conflicting.

3. The Role of Women Justifying Tennyson as the Representative Literary Figure  of Victorian Era : 

Thus, the role of women in Victorian society had to change. Tennyson could thus discuss through poems like The Lady of Shalott and Enoch Arden the problems given to women in challenging their gender roles. His poems tend to spot the tension between independence that a woman desires and the constraint by the society.

4. The Nature of Faith:  Tennyson was a profoundly personal and questioning religious figure who at one end seriously wrote upon his faith, while at another it also questioned through personal times of grief and doubt. The nature of faith that seeks meaning in the treatment meted to man in changing times is reflected in In Memoriam A.H.H. and Ulysses.

His poetry is not only intellectually rich, but also musically beautiful in its expression. Tennyson's mastery over the language and images he created made his works memorable and continue to echo resonance among readers today. The forms of faith, science, gender, and societal change found in Tennyson encapsulate the Victorian period and make him the most representative literary figure of his time.

Robert Browning's my Last Duchess : Themes And Insights

One of the best-known poems by Robert Browning, My Last Duchess, is a powerful dramatic monologue that describes themes of power, control, and objectification. The poet narrates his story and reveals his obsession with controlling his dead wife, the Duchess, and his chilling way of looking at her as a possession.

1. Power and Control:  It depicts how much in the psyche of the Duke is the necessity to dominate not only the wife's actions but also her emotions. He lets it be known how this "too much" kindness and smile towards others troubled him. This power then goes on to stretch into his wife's life, as if he cannot bear anything that is not exclusive to him. Hence it reflects the rather sadder side of relationships, where love becomes ownership.

2. Jealousy and Possession:  From the Duke's speech, one gathers that he is one who clings possessively to the Duchess. What one finds beautiful and kind in her must be channeled toward him only, he believes. His jealousy marks an inability to treat her as a peer; she must be his completely, even in death.

3. Art and Aestheticism: It is one form of meditation on art and the role that it plays within power. The Duke proudly points towards the portrait of his dead wife now a permanent, silent thing, thereby emphasizing that he can control her image. That portrait is something which symbolizes how he tries to "possess" her even beyond death, reflecting his obsession to retain the power and control over her beauty .

4. Morality and Corruption: The casual way the Duke speaks about the murder of his wife, without any semblance of guilt, underlines his moral decay. Here, the man is on his knees rationalizing what he has done as if that is a great injustice he has suffered at the hands of the usurper. He shows how wealth, status, and lust for domination can drive a person derailed from right and wrong.

In short, My Last Duchess delves into the dark forces of power and jealousy and its play in love relationships. Through the chilling monologue by the Duke, Browning uncovers the objectification of women and the possible moral corruption that often accompanies wealth and power.