Byron's Views Of Human Nature example essay topic

In an essay of not more than 1600 words compare and contrast William Wordsworth's and Lord Byron's views of human nature revealed in their poetry. In what sense can these views be considered 'Romantic"? Support your analysis with illustrations. The Romantic Era (1776-1830) occurred in Europe and was a period of overcrowded cities, dirty streets and poverty due to the Industrial Revolution and the aftermath of the power scuffles in Europe. During this era - the arts flourished and a new perspective in poetry was developed.

The Romantics wrote about the simplicity of rural life, nature and beauty, the exaltation of the emotions over the reason, intimate, private matters and the abuses of society. Among the most renowned poets of the Romantic Era were William Wordsworth and Lord Byron whose Prelude and Don Juan respectively were renowned works. Both these poems can be considered Romantic as they carry assertion of the power of the self and validity of strong feelings. These poems also show imagination, nature, symbolism and myth, which will be discussed later. Both these poems also discuss the human nature. Human nature is depicted as the "fundamental dispositions and traits of humans" according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary.

These dispositions and traits can be good or bad. In the following paragraphs we will be comparing Wordsworth with Byron on their views of human nature. It is very natural for the child to want to be independent. We can see this in Book One of The Prelude (L 304-326) when Wordsworth relates his experience of bathing in the river naked and climbing trees and robbing the bird nests at night. It is human nature that a child is inquisitive of the nature. He has taken the opportunity to explore the birds' nest and bath in the river naked without feeling self-conscious.

Wordsworth also writes about an incident where he imagined that a peak beyond the lake became a presence, which reared up and menaced him because of his misdeed of taking a boat (L 381-410). We see guilt as the natural feeling following his wrongdoing and how he learns for this incident that stealing is wrong. In that aspect Wordsworth is given a natural education and learns about nature. Comparatively in Lord Byron's Don Juan, finest tutors and carefully screened books restrict Juan to an education at home. In this education he is taught martial arts, languages, sciences and arts but is completely void of education of natural instincts and facts of life (L 300-320).

This makes Juan completely unaware of natural feelings. His natural sense of inquisition is suppressed. All this trouble to conceal sex education from Juan only made him a Casanova in his later life. We can also see how human nature can be bad when Julia covers up her guilt of wrongdoing by confronting Don Alfonso on what a virtuous wife she has been and how many other eligible men have wooed her. This incident shows human nature in a completely opposite light from Wordsworth because Julia is guilty of a misdeed but does not repent instead she tries to cover up and escape. Both Wordsworth's view of limitless freedom and Byron's restriction can be considered Romantic as they portray strong feelings.

In Book Two of The Prelude (L 296-305) Wordsworth thanks nature for having kept him innocent of the feelings of egotism and greed so widespread at that time. Nature alone kept him pure at heart and satisfied with his simple, rustic pleasures. In contrast, more important men - men who acquire ambitions and set out to fulfill them become fulfilled with apathy and greed (L 446-465). He than suggests that ambition may come from too much concern with society: people become status seekers competing with their fellow humans to acquire the material symbols of status.

Wordsworth has stated that it is human nature to be driven by ambition. People are far too concerned with the likes of society and live their lives according to what society expects of them. Contrasting this view with Byron, he discusses the societal attitudes of the time through the characters' actions and attitudes. Among these attitudes is a strong focus on wealth and beauty. There is a prevailing focus on external beauty illustrating the shallowness of humans. Reading the poem, the concept of wealth and power appears - reflecting on the society's obsession with wealth and possibly how the Industrial Revolution let so many thrive while others sunk into poverty.

The poet feels obliged to discuss financial status, as it was important in those days for matchmaking. As a Romantic, Lord Byron talks extensively about love and human nature. The poem greatly exposes loveless marriages and the mirage of expectations in the society of marriage being the ultimate nest of eternal love. The pair of married couples are unhappily married. Don Jose and Donna Inez are mismated by incompatibility of character. (L 201-205).

Don Alfonso and Donna Julia are mismated by age (L 489-490). It was a marriage of convenience (L 515-520). Donna Julia and Don Jose had they been closer in age, might have made a compatible pair. Julia finds in Juan the warmth of the father. Donna Inez and Don Alfonso who had been lovers (L 525-536) at one time might have gotten along well in marriage.

Human nature and society Byron seems to say work against a happy marriage. Both these view can be considered Romantic as they prove a problem and some sort of a solution. In Book Six of The Prelude (L 351-354) we hear Wordsworth say that at the anniversary of the French revolution everybody was enjoying themselves. It is human nature to want good and be happy. Therefore seeing the people rejoice gave Wordsworth faith that most social problems in France will be solved wit the new political system. Wordsworth returns after his trip to the Alps to find that war has began and believes that that freedom is not far.

The human flaw of waste and violence is exposed in the above quotation as the soldiers for no apparent or justifiable reasons killed many innocent civilian people mercilessly. The episode of the war also conveys the idea how humans manage to kill each other and find excuses for it to justify themselves - such as the 'holy war' related to religious clashes. Comparatively we can see how Byron illustrates lack of faith or trust as human nature. The poet establishes how easy it is for humans to pretend or deceive because of their selfish intentions. For example Don Juan's mothers fake accusations of her husband being insane (L 209-210). The human nature is revealed to be sneaky, conniving and dishonest - leading to all the abuses and problems in the society.

Sincerity is almost absent in the poem as all the characters display one or more of the human flaws and commit deceiving acts. Self love and being self-centered seem to be the underlying cause of most problems in the human society. Examining the poem, one can observe how the self-love and inconsideration towards others contributes to the combination of problems the society faces. A prominent example is Don Juan's father, who cared only for himself and cheated on his wife to satisfy his own sexual needs (L 145-155). His actions taken out of selfishness led to a break up of his family and affecting the child.

Juan himself was not concerned of consequences when he was involved with Julia, leading to his and her lives being ruined, a scandal and a shame for his family, and his deportation from the homeland. Both these views too can be considered Romantic because of the strong emotions discussed. In Book Nine of The Prelude (L 512-534) the sight of a half starved peasant girl who leads an emaciated cow causes the poet's friend to cry out against the injustice, which produces the many poor and few rich. Both companions were filled with faith that the ancient regime and its system of privileges would soon pass.

Again we see a very optimistic view by Wordsworth against a pessimistic Byron view. After Wordsworth began to study the teachings of Godwin he was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt because he believed the end would justify the means. It is the good nature of humans to forgive and forget or to give a second chance. But in the case of Don Juan's affair Julia was sent to a nunnery by Don Alfonso and Juan on a European tour by his mother. They were not given a chance to be forgiven. These views can be considered as Romantic as they show the various ways of human thinking.

Wordsworth has an insight into permanent sources of joy and consolation for mankind which Byron has not; his poetry gives us more which we may rest upon than Byron's, - more which we can rest upon now, and which men may rest upon always. I place Wordsworth's poetry, therefore, above Byron's on the whole, although in some points he was greatly Byron's inferior, and although Byron's poetry will always, probably, find more readers than Wordsworth's, and will give pleasure more easily. But these two, Wordsworth and Byron, stand; it seems to me, first and pre-eminent in actual performance, a glorious pair, among the English poets of this century. (1519 words)