THE PRE- RAPHAELITE MOVEMENT
INTRODUCTION
The Pre- Raphaelite movement was found in the Victorian age. It was different from the main stream of victorian literature. It was an idealistic movement against materialism and didacticism of Victorian poetry. It had no concern with scientific and philosophic problems, its chief concern was with art. It emphasised the connection between poetry and painting. The Pre- Raphaelite movement or brotherhood was a rebirth of romanticism. This asserted the freedom of art and artist from the control of society. This movement was given this name because it infused into literature the spirit and ideals of Italian painters before Raphael.
-
The aims of the Pre- Raphaelite were:
1. To have genuine ideas to express.
2. To sympathise what is direct, serious and hard felt in art.
3. To study nature attentively.
4. To exclude what is conventional self parading and learn by rote.
5. To produce in poetry what the painters produced in painting before Raphael.
The Present Raphaelite brotherhood was founded in 1848 by three painters Holman Hunt, John Millais and Rossetti. The main practitioners of this school of the Pre- Raphaelite brotherhood were DG Rossetti, Christiana Rossetti, William Morris and A C Swinburne.
-
AN EXTENSION OF ROMANTIC REVIVAL:
Rickett calls this movement the logical development of Romantic Revival. It is characterised by the revival of mediaevalism. The Pre- Raphaelites derived from Keats. Mediaevalism inspired the Pre- Raphaelites. These poets gave details and a touch of realism to the Middle ages.
-
ART FOR ART’S SAKE:
The Pre- Raphaelites had no didactic, moral, or philosophical purpose. Keats was a source of inspiration to them. Like Keats they were also worshiper of beauty. They aimed at achieving perfection of form. Their main purpose was to depict beauty for its own sake.
-
PICTURESQUENESS:
Like the poetry of Keats, the Pre- Raphaelite poetry abounds in bright and sensuous word pictures. The aims of these poets was to create the effect of landscape painting in poetry.
-
LOVE OF SYMBOLISM:
This is one of the remarkable characteristics of this movement. This is a mediaeval note. Rossetti learnt this secret from Dante. William Morris and A C Swinburne have also used plenty of symbols.
-
MUSIC AND MELODY
The Pre- Raphaelites paid great attention to music, artistic metres and to the choice of musical words. In the poetry of Swinburne the word and music carried to an extreme. He often sacrificed sense for the sake of sound.
PRE RAPHAELITE POETS:
1. Dante Cabriel Rossetti (1828-1882)
DG Rossetti was the leader of the Pre- Raphaelite school of poetry. He was primarily an artist. He was painter and a poet. He was influenced by romantic poets and fascinated by the supernaturalism of the medieval. His world was beyond the limits of ordinary experience. It was ruled by beauty, mystery, wonder and love. His poetical work consists of two volumes “Poems (1870)” and “Sonnets (1881).” Some of his famous Works are The White Ship, The King’s Tragedy, The Blessed Demozel. Rossetti can be called the enthusiastic advocate of beauty. He combined physical beauty with spiritual.
2. William Morris (1834-1896)
Morris was a man of versatile genius. He was considered as a poet, artist, manufacturer and socialist. He was attracted towards the Middle Ages. The Earthly Paradise (1868-70) is a collection of 24 tales on various subjects of classical and mediaeval origin.Morris appears as a dreamer and romancer In this volume. His poetical works include “The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems (1858)“, “Life and Death of Johnson (1867)“, “The Pilgrim of Hope (1385)” etc. His later works were mainly in prose. Two of them, The Dream of John Ball and News from Nowhere were romances of social propoganda.
3. Cristiana Rosetti:
She was the younger sister of D G Rosetti. She differs from DG Rosetti in many ways. However she shares with him her love for art. Religion is the essence of her poetry. She loves simplicity and being spontaneous. She was a lyrical poet. She sings of renunciation, love between husband and wife, of the world with all its beauty and joys. Her works include “Goblin Market and Other Poems( 1864)“, “The Prince’s Progress and Other Poems (1866)” and “Verses(1893)“. They are entirely lyrical. They are characterized by deep religious feeling.
CONCLUSION:
In the words of a historian, the Pre- Raphaelites were above all artists. Art was their religion. They were the lovers of art for art’s sake. They had no morality to preach. They had no reforms to introduce through the medium of their poetry. Love of Beauty was their doctrine. They aimed at perfect form and finish. They were pictorial poets. This poetry is rich in melody too. It is marked by sensuousness and passion. However, the Pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood was formed in 1848 but it soon turned into a decadent movement. Their poetry soon lost the real touch. It became elaborate and unreal. The lamp was burning, the oil was spent and smoke only lingered there.