Some symbols in poems of george gordon, lord byron = một số biểu tượng trong thơ của byron

How to engage with the symbol to sense all of it meanings 10 Chapter II: Some symbols in poems of george 2.1.. In a very literal sense, words themselves are all symbol standing for an o

Acknowledgement

After a long period of time to study, with a great attempt, I have finally finished my thesis Now I would like to express my gratitude to all who have helped me fulfill this thesis

Firstly, I would like to express my deep thanks to my supervisor M.A TrÇn Ngäc T-ëng, who has helped me very enthusiastically

Secondly, I am grateful to my family for their great help and

Table of content

Part I: Introduction 1

Part II: Content

1.6 How to engage with the symbol to sense all of it meanings 10

Chapter II: Some symbols in poems of george

2.1 Romanticism and its essential features 13

2.3 George Gordon ,Lord Byron (1788 – 1842) 16

2.4.2 Sword symbolizing weapons 17

2.4.6 Heart symbolizing will and encouragement 22

2.4.11 Light and darkness symbolizing the beauty‛ 27

2.10.12 Light and darkness symbolizing contraction between warmth and

2.4.13 Childe Harold symbolizing Byronic hero 30

2.4.14 Hero in ‚ Oriental Tales‛ symbolizing Byronic hero 31

I Look at the image in the following pictures and answer the question:

II In the following poem, is the rose a symbol, a simile, or a metaphor?

35 III In this stanza, what violet symbolizes? 35

IV Identify symbol in this stanza and explain it 35

V Read the following poem and answer questions 35

VI How many symbols are there in the following poem and present

VII Read and answer questions 37 VIII Read and answer the following questions: 37

IX Analyze symbol of light in this stanza: 38

Part I: Introduction

1 The rationale of choosing the theme

‚Language of poetry is almost always picturesque‛ (Paul Hunter J), language of poetry creates picture in our mind and helps us see things fresh and new; it makes our life more interesting and significant

What makes poetic language picturesque? In my opinion, the most important factor is the frequent use of figures of speech With the help of figures of speech, a lot of abstract ideas are expressed very clearly and interestingly

One of the most difficult devices of figures of speech is symbol; it is not always easy for us to recognize the symbolic nature of all actions, characters and objects However, the symbol brings about the great

aesthetic values and significance for poetic works Therefore I really want

to explore its values Moreover, I wish I could do something to help my friends or any reader overcome the problems when reading poetic work in which the poet uses symbols to express ideas An another reason is when I learnt English literature, I was very interested in a poet, Lord Byron – the poet of freedom, realism and love in the English Romanticism I find the symbol in his poetry beautiful and meaningful, and they also symbolize ideal of his own

That’s why I choose the subject ‚Some symbols in poems of George Gordon, Lord Byron ‛

2 The aims of thesis

The main aims of this thesis are:

- To understand more about the symbol in literature

- To enrich my knowledge about Romanticism

-To know more about Lord Byron, his life and idea

- To understand about the symbol in Lord Byron’s Poetry

- To improve the ability of interpreting poetry

3 Scope of the study

- Studying symbol in literature, especially poetry

- Studying symbols in Lord Byron‘s poetry

4 Methods of the study

- Studying documents dealing with the thesis

- Using analytic, contrastive, descriptive and collective methods

5 Format of the study

This graduation thesis consists of three main parts:

Part I: Introduction In this part, I give my background: the reason of choosing the theme, the aims, the scope, the methods and the format of the study

Part II Content

Chapter I: Theoretical preliminaries

Chapter II: Symbols in poems of George Gordon, Lord Byron

Chapter III: suggested exercises

Part III: Conclusion

I give a brief summary on what I have studied above and give some

suggestions for further study

Part II: Content

Chapter I: Theoretical preliminaries

1.1 Figures of speech:

Figures of speech are deviation from denotative or common forms of statement They are pictures, images, vivid language appealing to imagination, making easy comprehension They are devices known for usage in literature, especially in poetry

In Kirszner & Mandell (1984) ‚Figures of speech-expressions that suggest more than their literal meaning one more prominent in poetry than other kinds of writing‛

According to Hunter (1986) ‚ Figures of speech in which something

in pictured or imaged or picture forth in terms of something already familiar to us, are taken for granted in daily life Thing we can’t see or which aren’t familiar to us are pictured as thing we can’t ‚

There are many types of figures of speech such as metaphor simile, metonymy, personification, symbol, etc

- Metaphor is the transference of meaning from one object to another based on similarity between these two objects

- Metonymy is the substitution of one word for another with which it

- A flag is a symbol of nation

A prison is symbol of confinement, constriction and loss of freedom

In Hunter (1986), ‚A symbol is many things to many people, and often it means that no more than the person using the term is dealing with something he doesn’t know how to describe or think about precisely The term is difficult to be precise about, but it can be used quite sensibly A symbol is put simply, something which stands for something else‛

In a very literal sense, words themselves are all symbol standing for

an object, action, or quality, not just for letters or sounds, however, in poetry symbols are said to be those words and groups of words which have

a range reference beyond their literal denotation

According to X.J Kenedy, ‚A symbol is a specical kind of image for

it exceeds the usual image in the richness of its connotation

In Kirzsner & Mandell (1994), ‚Poetry uses symbol as a kind of shorthand, as a subtle way of introducing a significant idea or attitude A symbol is an idea or image that suggests something else-but not in the simple way that a dollar sign stands for money or a flag represents a country A symbol is an image that transcends its literal, or denotative, meaning in complex ways by suggesting other items or ideas‛

1.2.2 Etymology:

The word ‚symbol‛ came to the English language by way of middle English, from old French, from Latin, from the Greek ( symbolon), from the root words (syn) meaning ‚together‛ and ‚a throw‛, having the

together object, people, or actions and a meaning that is not necessarily inherent in them

1.3 Categories of symbol in literature

Symbols can be divided intro major categories: Conventional symbol, contextual symbol and private symbol

They may also develop more complex and ambiguous ideas For example: in ‚Love’s Emblem‛ of John Clare, the speaker in ‚Love’s Emblem‛ sends the rose to Chloe to decorate her bosom and reflect the blush of her check and brow and he goes on to mention some of the standard meaning The rose is pure, transitory, fragnant, beautiful, and always appreciated To say that the rose is am emblem of love is to say that

it traditionally symbolizes love, and the speaker expects Chloe to accept his gift readily She will understand it as a complimentary in going on to call her a rose, except that her qualities are said to be more lasting than those of momentary flower

1.3.1.2 Subclasses of conventional symbols:

+ National or regional symbol:

Nation or regional symbols are conventional symbol only within a given culture It means that a specific symbol is controlled by a specific

culture People living in different cultures may consider the meaning of an object different to decide the meaning of a symbol; we should look at the particular tradition or body of belief which makes the many symbols have national or regional features

For example: Color yellow means the previous things or immortality

to Vietnamese people but means disease to English people

Black cat is symbol of good luck to English people however it is a symbol of bad luck to Vietnamese poeple

+ Universal symbols:

Universal symbol are those likely to be recognized by people regardless of their culture They have the same meaning in every community all over the world

Example:

- A rose suggests love beauty

- A sword is the symbol of fighting

- Spring symbolizes growth

- Winter symbolizes death

+ Archetypal symbols:

Archetypal symbols are those which were not conventional at first, but after a long time being used and known by many people, they become more familiar and gradually go into the minds of people everywhere with the same meaning In other words, many symbols have appeared so frequently and for such a long time in the literature or various cultures that their meaning seems to be natural, these are known as ‚archetypes‛

Example: ‚The woods are lonely, dark and deep

But I have to promise to keep And miles to go before I sleep And miles to go before I sleep‛

(Robert Frost, Stopping by woods on a snowing

The repetition of the last time puts an additional stress on both

‚miles‛ and ‚sleep‛, that the words imply more than they literally say Reader familiar with other literal works that use either a journey or sleep

as symbols can see this poem as using the conventional archetypal symbol

of a journey towards death, an additional implication that co-exists with its surface meaning of a journey on a winter’s night

1.3.2 Contextual Symbol:

Contextual Symbols are those that become symbols only within the context of a particular work They may not have the same symbolic meaning or even any symbolic meaning in different work

Example:

In ‚A rose for Emily‛, William Faulker focuses attention on an unseen watch in a pivotal scene The reader’s first view of Miss Emily Grierson reveals her an ‚a small, fat woman in black, with a thin gold chain descending to her waist and vanishing into her belt Several sentences later the narrator returns to the watch Noting that Emily’s visitor ‚could hear the invisible watch ticking at the end of the gold chain‛ Like these visitors, readers can assume that the presence of that watch intended to reinforce the impression that she can not see at that time ( The watch) has moved on The vivid picture of the pale, plump woman in the musty room with the watch invisibly ticking dose indeed suggest both that she has been left back

in time and that she remains unaware of the progress around her

In ‚Barn Burning‛, another Faulkner story, the clock is a somewhat more complex symbol The itinerant snopes family in without financial security and apparently without a future The clock the mother carries from shack to shack ‚The clock inlaid with mother-of-peal, which would not run, stopped at some fourteen minutes past two o’clock of a dead and forgotten day and time, which had been (Sarty’s) mother’s drowry – is their only possession of any value The fact that the clock no longer works seems

At first to suggest that time has run out the family and at the same time to reflect their powerlessness and paralysis on another level the clock stands in pathetic contrast to the Spain’s grand home, with its gold and glitter and oriental rugs Knowing that the clock was part of the mother’s dowry, and that a dowry conventionally suggests a promise, might lead readers to believe that the mother still clings to the clock, however, it could suggest just the opposite

In the very different details of the contexts the same thing or the same object can be different symbols

highly individual use of Newton as a symbol until they have read a number

of his more challenging poems

1.4 Purposes of symbol:

- To render the abstract in concrete terms and refer to what we can perceive

As Thomas Carlyte said in ‚Saitor Resartus‛, ‚The infinite is made to blend with the finite, to stand visual, and as it was, attainable there‛

- To enrich a work and give it additional layers of meaning As Robert Frot has said ‚A symbol is a little thing that touches a larger thing‛

- To expand the possible meaning of a work

- To encourage reader to probe work for values and ideas to consider and weigh the suitability of a variety of interpretation It servers as a ‚hot spot‛ that invites questions and exploration The answers to these questions reinforce and enrich the works’ theme

1.5 Recognizing symbols

How to know when an idea or image is a symbol?

At what point we decide what a particular detail goes beyond the literal level and takes a symbolic significance? We need consider how an idea or image help us to determine whether or not it functions as symbol According to Kirner & Mandell, Frequently, a symbol can be recognized by its prominence or repetition

For example: In ‚Child’s Grave, Hale Country, Alabama‛-(Jim Simmerman), The cross is introduced in the first line of the poem and it is the focal point of the poem, In ‚ The sick rose‛- (WilliamBlake) the importance of the rose is emphasized by the title and reinforced throughout the poem

Besides, to identify an image or idea a symbol of our decision that a particular item has some symbolic value must be supported by the details of the poem and make sense within the context of the ideas developed in the poem Moreover, the symbol must suggest the poem’s theme

Example:

Volcanoes be in Sicily And South America

Volcanos nearer here

A lava step at anytime

Am I inclined to climb?

Vesuvius at home

(Volcanoes by in Sicily-Emly Dikinson) This poem opens with a statement of fact: Volcanoes are located in Sicily and South America In line 3 and 4, however the speaker makes the improbable observation that volcanoes are located near where she is at the moment Reader familiar with Dickinson know that she lived in Amherst Massachusets, a town with no volcanoes This information leads reader to suspect they should not take the speaker’s observation literally and that in the context of the poem volcanoes may have symbolic significance But what do volcanoes suggest here? On the hand, Volcanoes represent the awesome creative power of nature; on the other hand, they suggest its destructiveness The speaker’s contemplation of the crater of Vesuvius – The Volcano that buried Pompeii in A.D.79 – Is therefore filled with contradictory associations Since Dickinson was a recluse, Volcanoes – active, destructive, Unpredictable, and dangerous – may be seen as symbolic of everything she fears in the out – side world and perhaps, within herself She has a voyeur’s attraction to danger and power, but she is also afraid of them For this reason she may feel safer contemplating vesuvius at home – not experiencing exotic lands, but simply reading a geographical works

1.6 Engaging with the symbol to sense all of its meaning

The uses of symbols have created many good effects for literary works, especially poetry However, to perceive the meaning through symbols is not always easy for every reader When reading a literary work, which contains symbols, many readers may put the question: ‚How am I supposed to know the symbol when I see it?‛

To engage with the symbol to sense all of its meanings

First of all, it is necessary to read the literary works carefully The best approach is to read the work closely, taking comfort so that it is better not to notice symbols at all than to find significance in every small stone and huge meanings in everything

Secondly, the concrete details need to be paid attention In looking for the symbols, pick out all the references to concrete object At the same time, we should ask ourselves: ‚What is work about, what does it add up to? If , when the work is paraphrased depends primarily upon the meaning

of certain concrete object may be the symbols

Thirdly the reader should understand about biographical, historical and theoretical context The understanding about biographical, historical and theoretical context is vital in deciding the meaning of a symbol Since a lot of symbols do not exist in isolation from another who write them

Fourthly, the reader must understand cultures, literary conventions and habits of expression change from generation to generation, understanding these may help us understand works written during an earlier period More over, what people of any age write reflects their connection to the dominant culture of their time

Therefore, the reader may decide the symbolic significance by looking at contiguous detail in the works and by examining the author’s attitude toward a tradition or body of beliefs

Lastly, the reader should reread literary works With the contextual symbols, the reader need note the contribution of all parts of a work to discover the symbols in herent meaning The contextual symbols are not always obvious During an initial meaning they may seem to be simply a part of the concrete description or narrative movement of the literary work with each reading, a work become more familiar, and its details, patterns, and emphasis – the element that creates contextual symbols – become more apparent, this is why rereading is important

Chapter II: Some symbols in poems of George

gordon, lord byron

2.1 Romanticism and its essential features:

2.1.1 Romanticism

Romanticism in English literature is a historical period beginning from the last decade of the 18th century and continuing up to the 1830 S During this time , English society witnessed so many changes and events such as :The American Revolution (1775 – 1783) , the French Revolution (1789) , the ‚Holly Alliance‛ and the Industrial Revolution At the same time, there were contrasts between the two generations of Romanticism, they were the conservative trend represented by William Wordsworth, Sammuel Talor Coleridge and Robert Soutley and the progressive trend by Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe shelly and John Keats

What is meant by ‚Romanticism ‚

Romanticism was the embodiment of disillusionment in the consequences of the French Revolution and in the great theories of the enlighteners In addition, romanticism was also the embodiment of the negative attitudes of various social classes towards the way of life that the industrial Revolution bourgeoisie created To escape from this state of sickness, the romantics, on the one hand, advocated returning to the nature,

on the other hand, it tried to construct dream world from their own imagination as refuge for their souls

As an approach to literature, Romanticism was the embodiment of the revolt against classicism which older ideal of strict rationality and control

of emotion within the bounds approved by reasons This revolution was both in topic and in style Topically, the great romantic’s poets found their inspiration chiefly in the simplicities of every day life: an ordinary sunset, a walk over the hills, a cluster of spring flowers, the songs of nightingale, a

cottage girl, etc Stylistically, the romantics express their feelings in everyday language, easily understood by all

In Romanticism, the poetry was not to be bounded or controlled in any rule; poets were freely inspired and expressed their imagination and emotions

2.1.2 The essential feature of Romanticism:

Poetry in the Romanticism is almost concerned with the following features:

1 a deep interest in the nature and obscure, humble or underprivileged

people

This was a period, it was believed that civilization was harmful to man; as a result, a lot of people considered the nature a hiding place, in which they could escape from the sickness of town- life, the complexities of civilization in the industrial towns When man lived in ‚humble and rustic life ‚the real feelings of their heart flourish best

2 A vivid imagination that can produce supernatural or fantastic dream worlds:

This main feature was expressed in Coleridge‘s poetry, there was an extremely strange territory of memory and dream, of strange birds, phantom ships, Arctic sea – cavern and unearthly instruments The world was nowhere magic reigned beyond the control of reason and man ceased

to be a powerful and reasonable being but a toy tossed her and thereby supernatural forces

3 A sense of disappointment mixed with a melancholy mood:

The age was thought to be an age of anxiety,disillusion, the individual man shrank into his own ego , becoming drowned in loneliness,the decrease of the age and opposed to everything which was ‚ non – ego‛

Byron provide the readers with a political geography in verse , a vast panorama of different countries through ‚ Childe Harolds’ pilgrimage ‚ , sir Water Scott , through historical novels took his readers to ‚ old, far –off things and battles long ago ‚ in his native Scotland

5 An enthusiasm in fighting against tyrannical authority and glorifying liberty:

Byron was the most forceful embodiment of the spirit of rebellion against tyrannical authority His Cookney School and he believed in heroism and self – sacrifice Their works always full of hated of social injustice, the dream of social justice that the broad masses of people cherished and for them, fighting was the only way to pull mankind out of its troubles

6 A revolution in literary language use:

The romantics made a revolution in literary language use their actual poetry showed that they were the enemies to conventionality and daintiness

of the earlier classical poetic diction, to the triteness and to its failure to record direct observation and emotion the use of everyday language was characteristic feature of the innovation verse

2.2 The two generations of the romantics

2.2.1 The conservative trend (the lake school)

William wordworth, Samuel Taylor, Coleridge and Robert Southey were presentatives of this trend They underwent evolution in their political veiwpoints and creative activities They started with protesting against social injustice, showing their intersests in the vital proplems of the times They were warm admirers of the French revolution But later on, they went over to the side of reaction and start of rejecting both economic and social progress

The Lake poets turned away from the ideas of Enlightenment to the distrust of reason and rationalism, they bent their pens towards the

idealization of the partriachar feuldal past and medieval attitudes They often hid themselves in a life closed to nature and in a supernatural world, kept them far from the social injustice instead of fighting for a better world

2.2.2 The progressive trend (The Cockney school)

This school includes all romantics of the young generation, whose representatives were Lord Byron, who was undoubtly the greatest, Percy Shelley, and John Keat, were the second Opposed to the conservative trend

of the Lakists, the Cookney poets expressed the ideas and interests of the classes that were disappointed to see the state of things resulting from the post-industrial revolution society They saw its negative sides and their criticim were sharpened by the longing for a better present and a wonderful future Their work embodied the dream of social injustice that broad masses

of people cherished

2.3 George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788- 1824):

Being on January 22, 1788, Byron was descended from two aristocratic but violent and undisciplined families He lived in the period when European countries and Britain had so many changes and events ,which changed him from the imaginative poet to a practical politician and the unrestrained libertine to a sturdy military disciplinaria

Byron was the greatest representative of the Cookney School opposed the conservative trend of the Lakists He created an immensely popular romantic hero – defiant, melancholy haunted by secret guilt He was also a romantic paradox: a leader of the era’s poetic revolution, he named Alexander pope as his master; a worship of the ideal, he never lost touch with reality He always fought for the freedom, satirized many side of English life and hated all false and insincere talk His works were closely associated with freedom, love and realism

Byron was poet of great facility and considerable power in narrative

Romanticism which was at once time highly fashionable in England and on the continent He was a man who has been summarized by his biographers

as one of ‚the most splendid examples we have of the struggling, winning and losing, enjoying and scorning, aspiring and falling, loving and hating human spirits.‛

2.4 Some symbols in Byron’s poems

2.4.1 Rose symbolizing beauty of love

‚The rose of love glad the garden of life

Thought nutured’ mid weeds Dropping pestilen dew

T’ill time crops the leaves with unnerciful knife

Or prune them forever, in love’s last adieu‛

(Love’s last adieu)

‚Hoa hồng tình yêu l¯m vườn đời đẹp tuyệt

Dù chen giữa cỏ hôi trong s-ơng độc nặng gieo Rồi thời gian chặt l² c¯nh b´ng lưỡi dao ²c nghiệt‛

Rose is usually associated with beauty of love The beauty of love makes the Byron’s life more significant and happier; it is ‚the garden of life‛ That beauty is not influenced by bad effects of contemporary society

It does not surrender the tyrannical authority Howewer, for fight for freedom, Byron has to put his love out side The rose is a conventional symbol

2.4.2 Sword symbolizing weapon

In former times, sword was an usual weapon used to fight against enemies so sword is as a conventional symbol of weapon for fighting in literature

Byron was on the side of liberty against the Holy Alliance and tyranical authorities To him, freedom was no slavery, no suppresion, no

exploitation and no tyranny Thus, he wanted to call people to take the weapons and strungle for freedom, fighting was not by trite and hollow words,it needed to be carried out by action, he used sword as a symbol of weapon for the fighting by action

‚When the web that we weave is complete

And the shuttle exchanged for the sword

We will fling a winding sheet O’er the despot at our feet And dye it deep in the gone he has poured‛

(Song for Luddies)

‚Khi tấm v°i ta dệt đ± xong xuôi

Ta rời con thoi và tấm g-ơm cầm lấy D-ới chân ta tên bạo chúa chết rồi Cho hắn, ta sẽ ném tấm vải niệm lên ng-ời V¯ nhuốm tấm v°i trong vũng m²u từ tim hắn ch°y‛ For freedom working class, who were only used to using the ‚shuttle

‚to weave cloth for earning life had left their work and stood up handling weapon to gainst tyrannical authorities, and the sword was used as weapon for fighting by violence ,not by words.With the fight by violence and with enthusastic spirit, the working class would succeed in their cause

The image of a sword as weapon for fighting is also seen in the poem ‚so, well go no more a roving‛

‚For the sword out wears its sheath

And the soul wears out the breast And the heart must pause to breathe And love itself has rest

Though the night was made for loving‛

‚Kiếm ta đeo xé bao đòi đ²nh

nên con tim thôi còn đâu sức mạnh

ái tình đành bỏ qua

Dù đêm được t³o cho đôi lứa‛

‚So, well go no more a roving‛ is a poem about love, pain and fighting The man in love decided put a side his love although it is a very beautiful and romantic love with many memories and he also feels very pain,but his desire for freedom is so strong, so it urges that the man takes the sword to fight for the just cause

We also find the sword as weapon in the work ‚On this day I complete my thirty sixth year)

’The sword, the banner, the field

Glory and Greece, a round me see!

The Spartan, borne upon his shield

Was not more free‛

‚Đây kiếm, đây cờ, đây chiến trường phía trước

Hi Lạp và vinh quang, hết thảy thấy chăng, Chàng Spart x-a trọc trời khuấy n-ớc, Cũng không tự do b´ng!‛

Byron travelled through many countries, he saw a lot of revolutions

of the working class, especially, the revoluion of Greek poeple, he admired them.So he called English people to follow the Greek revolution to use the sword for fighting for liberty The sword is a conventional symbol

2.4.3 Chain symbolizing slavery

Inliterature, chain is often used to refer to slavery In Byron we also find chain with this meaning

‚And the each pillar there is a ring

And in each ring there is a chain

That iron is cankering thing For in these limbs its teeth remain

With marks that will not away‛

(The prisoner of Chillon)

‚V¯ mỗi cột có một vòng sắt nặng

Đ-ợc gắn cùng một dây xích cùm tay Nh- hung thần từng phút, từng giây

đem nọc độc gắn vào x-ơng thịt

để nghìn năm không bao giờ s³ch vết‛

symbol of chain represents the prisoner’s bondage, the chain is holding generations of soldiers This means that the slavery in this country has existed for so long and it has caused misery and death not only for the prioners but also for all working class, for whole country and for following gererations

‚He died, and they unlock’d his chain

And scoop’d for him a shallow grave Even from the cold earth of our cave‛

(The prisoner of Chillon)

‚Em chết rồi người ta th²o cùm tay

Và vội vàng đào hố chôn ngay Trên miếng đất nơi em vừa tắt thở‛

When the brother of the prisoner died, the chain was removed and his body was given partial freedom.However, he was buried in the cell in a section where the sun would not shine; the chain was put over his grave as

an ironic momument to his death In this way, his brother may not be bound

by physical chains, but his final resting place would always be in a prison

In the deep sense, the prisoner died but the slavery still existed A chain is a conventional symbol

We also see chain as a symbol of slavery in Shelly’s poem

‚Shrink to your cellars, holes and cells