00182—Negative Capability by John Keats

This term was introduced by the poet John Keats in a letter written December 1817 to define a literary quality :

at once it struck me, what quality went to form a Man of Achievement especially in Literature & which Shakespeare possessed so enormously— I mean Negative Capability, that is when man is capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact & reason.

He goes on to criticize Coleridge for not being 'content with half knowledge'; and in later letters complains of the 'egotistical' and philosophical bias of Wordsworth's poetry. By negative capability, then, Keats seems to have meant a poetic capacity to efface one's own mental identity by immersing it sympathetically and spontaneously within the subject described, as Shakespeare was thought to have done.

00180—How does Matthew Arnold evaluate Chaucer’s greatness?

Matthew Arnold is an admirer of Chaucer’s poetry.  He remarks that Chaucer’s power of fascination is enduring.  “He will be read far more generally than he is read now.”  The only problem that we come across is the difficulty of following his language.  Chaucer’s superiority lies in the fact that “we suddenly feel ourselves to be in another world”.  His superiority is both in the substance of his poetry and in the style of his poetry.  “His view of life is large, free, simple, clear and kindly.  He has shown the power to survey the world from a central, a human point of view.”  The best example is his Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.  Matthew Arnold quotes here the words of Dryden who remarked about it; “Here is God’s plenty”.  Arnold continues to remark that Chaucer is a perpetual fountain of good sense.  Chaucer’s poetry has truth of substance; “Chaucer is the father of our splendid English poetry.”   By the lovely charm of his diction, the lovely charm of his movement, he makes an epoch and founds a tradition.  We follow this tradition in Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton and Keats.  “In these poets we feel the virtue.”  And the virtue is irresistible.

In spite of all these merits, Arnold says that Chaucer is not one of greatest classics.  He has not their accent.  To strengthen his argument Arnold compares Chaucer with the Italian classic Dante.  Arnold says that Chaucer lacks not only the accent of Dante but also the high seriousness.  “Homer’s criticism of life has it, Shakespeare has it, Dante has it, and Shakespeare has it.”  Thus in his critical essay “The Study of Poetry” Matthew Arnold comments not only on the  merits of Chaucer’s poetry, but also on the short comings.  He glorifies Chaucer with the remark, “With him is born our real poetry.”

00083--[Matthew Arnold]-On what type of subjects can great poetry be written?

            
All art is dedicated to joy, and there is no higher and no more serious problem than how to make men happy.  Only the right art creates the highest enjoyment.  In order to achieve this end, the first problem that comes before a poet is to choose a subject fit for high poetry.  What can be those subjects?  Arnold himself replies:  "Those certainly, which most powerfully appeal to the great primary human affections; to those elementary feelings which subsist permanently in the race, and which are independent of time."

            The modernness or antiquity of a subject has nothing to do with its fitness for poetical representation.  Its fitness depends upon its inherent qualities.  The date or the age of an action signifies  nothing.  The action or situation itself, its appeal to permanent human feelings, its power to please, to move, and to elevate - these are the basic requisitions of the subject fit for high class poetry.  Whether past or present the subject should be excellent because without an excellent subject excellent poetry cannot be written.  Quoting Aristotle, Arnold says, "All depends upon the subject:  Choose a fitting subject, penetrate yourself with the feeling of its situation; this done, everything else will follow."

            A trivial subject cannot be raised to poetic excellence only by the art and craft of the poet.  Homer, Virgil, Shakespeare, Spenser, Milton, Wordsworth, Keats and all other great poets were able to write excellent poetry because they were able to choose excellent subjects to write upon.  The proper choice of subject is, therefore, a matter of prime importance for a great poet.

00052--Write a note on Alexander Pope's concept of "Nature".

                             

            Pope's concept of "Nature" was very different from the concept of the Romantic poets like Wordsworth, Shelley or Keats.  Wordsworth gave the call to "return to nature", while Pope exhorted man to "follow nature".  Both these concepts are diametrically opposed to each other.  To Wordsworth nature was the external phenomenon of the universe; to Pope nature was uncorrupted human nature controlled by reason and approved by tradition.  Pope spoke of "nature still, but nature  methodized".  To Pope nature means reason and commonsense.  He says that the rules framed by the ancients were rules of nature and poetry must submit to them.  This became the guiding principles of Pope and he strongly asserted 'to learn the ancient rules' for 'copying nature is to copy them'.

            Wit, taste and rules are all bound up with nature.  Thus the dictum 'follow nature' meant to follow the moral law which is the central reality.  But even this concept of nature is bound up with its own laws:

"Nature, like liberty, is but restrained

By the same laws which first herself ordained."

            This nature is the fruitful source of life, the source of the inner light of intelligence.  Hence it sees things as in themselves they really are, and judges them correctly.