Escapism in romantic poetry and conventional poetry

Abstract

In literature, escapism might seem to take us to unconventional worlds, but again and again, it
presents an inverted yet unveiled picture of this world. The word "Escape" was the idea that
became a reality for escapist poets. Escapism is not one thing, but one movement. And it was
not only the solution to the intermittent revolutions, personal or impersonal, that resisted
man's quest and hunger for happiness. There were no doubt many other solutions and
suggestions, but one of those which was most attractive of those poets who desired to find
eternal beauty and truth and the one was 'Escapism'. Occurrences in politics, uncertainty in
society, mental disturbances, insecurity of morality of character, confusions in religion, and
philosophical ideologies of the day, all such things added to the element of escapism in writers'
thoughts, personalities, and ultimately their works.

Keywords: Escapism, nature, and imagination.

Introduction

Escapism is the concrete desire to dive into the ocean of imaginative entertainment instead of
dealing with the stress, boredom, and daily trials of worldly affairs. Escapism is observed as a
'pejorative' term because it is used to indicate a strong reproof, a criticism of the habit of
escaping from the duties, and a failure to face trials of life. Escapists try to hide behind the
facade of their idle world of dreams and peace from harsh, unpleasant facts and duties, just like
an ostrich trying to hide its head in the sands during the storms in the desert. Life is just like a
prison cell, poets are liberators and imagination is the only key. When life is believed to be a
prison, poets are believed to be the liberators so it is certain that the escapists try to escape
through their poetry. The poet's images of escapism are sometimes fleeting, sometimes
untouchable, but uncontrollable, reflex thoughts that emerge, unbidden, along the way.

James Engell claims, "The Romantics used imagination in contrast to the sterile and mechanistic
belief that pervaded the eighteenth century, most notably neo-classical formalism and
materialism.

Dissolving differences and studying similarities between Romantic Poetry and Confessional

Poetry

The world of fancies of the poets is well perceived in both Romantic poetry and Confessional
poetry. In 'Ode to a Nightingale' the romantic poem, Keats' flight of imagination serves as a
great source for him to escape from his real world into the imaginary world of Nightingale. In
the second stanza, he shows his wish for a wine to let him "leave the world unseen" and he
wants to vanish into the dim forest with the nightingale.

"A further oddity resides in the phrase 'leave the world unseen'.
It is ambiguous, but the apparently primary meaning, that Keats

wishes to slip away unnoticed has little point" [Bloom, 43].

His imagination alone makes him wonder about the world of the nightingale and his vanishing
in it. If the moment when the nightingale's voice promised a more abundantly beautiful life was
a pure moment of illusion, imagination and art can offer nothing better, nor even as good.
Keats' imagination gives him a fleeting escape from his reality and he knows very well that fancy
will cheat him and it will never last long with him.

Similarly, in 'Ode to Intimations of Immortality' another romantic poem, Wordsworth discovers

his explanation of the power of imagination in the capacity of children to create and to imagine
and while doing so, having no sense of time or of the limitations of our human state of mind. He
sees the boy playing with some emulation fragments of adult life. Wordsworth's imagination
imagines the child as 'Mighty Prophet! Seer blest!'.

"Looking outwards is looking inwards and in the solemn imagery

which the boy creates out of what he sees and hear, Wordsworth

makes it clear that the language of sense is also the natural

language of the imagination"[Bloom,45].

In the practice of imaginative creativity possible to the mature mind, the shapes and forms of
humanity can be identified in nature and vice-versa. Just like a flower can summon thoughts
too deep for tears because a flower can take in the shape of human life and it is the mind of
maturity joined with the memory of childhood that makes it able to the poet that vital and
moving connection In 'Because I could not stop for Death', the confessional poetry, Emily
Dickinson's imagination makes her be the death as her gentleman caller. And it is her
imaginative style that makes her capable of making the statement that she is already dead
centuries ago and she assumes shorter than the day.

"since then – 'tis centuries- and yet

feels shorter than day" [21-22]

In the poem: 'Lady Lazarus', the poet Sylvia Plath depicts a lot of things through her fancy.
Firstly, she fancies that she is a Holocaust victim. Secondly, she considers her life as a cat life
having nine lives, and Finally, she imagines that she burns as a Holocaust victim reborn as a
phoenix.

In the final stanza, she says:

"Out of the ash

I rise with my red hair" [82-83]

"Sylvia, however, who finds the world more insidious and intolerable

than any of the others, is not bound by any metaphysical belief in the

self's limitations, instead of resisting the self's antagonists she

derives a tremendous thrill from throwing her imagination into the act

of self-obliteration" [Bagg, 36].

'Nature' is considered the most important aspect that is seen in both Romantic and
Confessional poetry. But, nature is very meaningful in Romantic poetry. In 'Ode to Nightingale',
the poet wonders that the world of the nightingale is a dim 'Forest', which is an absolute part of
nature. And his beautiful description of night and moon is a clear portrait of his fondness
towards nature.

"… tender is the night,

And happily, the Queen-Moon is on her throne". [35-36]

In 'Ode to Intimations of Immortality' according to the view of Wordsworth, nature exists

independently and needs only to be used and transcribed. Even in the first three stanzas of the
ode, when his memory overwhelms with the crisis of life is still fresh, Wordsworth takes nature
as full of beauty and joy. Wordsworth philosophically admits that the lack of innocence gives
him maturity and understanding of life but nature is an ever-changing process that can give
happiness in every single stage of life.

"And O ye fountains, meadows, hills and groves,

Forebode not any serving of our lives!

Yet in my heart of hearts, I feel your might

I only have relinquish'd one delight

To live beneath your more habitual sway". [192-196]

In 'Because I could not stop for Death', Emily Dickinson exhibits the act of nature to portray the
stages and phases of her life. Gazing grain shows her phase of adulthood and setting Sun shows
the ceasing of her life.

"We passed the fields of Gazing grainWe passed the setting Sun". [11-12]
The dew which makes her cold reveals to us that she is with coldness and darkness of death.
She also compares the swelling ground that is the grave in which she is going to live, which also
reflects her love for nature so that she depicts that she will be resting forever among nature.

In 'Lady Lazarus', Sylvia Plath compares herself with a Seashell. When she portrays an incident
of her suicide attempt, she claims that she has brought back to life like extracting pearls from
the Seashell. And also she compares her life with the nature of a cat which has nine times to
die. In both Confessional poetry, nature is less portrayed and it survives as the comparison for
the poet whereas in Romantic poetry, poets use nature as the only way which leads them to
escape from their real world. Both the elements of 'Mortality' and 'Immortality' are highly
provoked by both Romantic poets and Confessional poets. In 'Ode to Nightingale', Keats only
tries to escape to the world of nature, but when it is not possible and permanent, he elevates
death and mortality. He shows that he has been half in love with the essence of death.

"I have been half in love with easeful death

… Now more than ever seems it rich to die" [52-53]

"Keats is surprised by joy not because he has found it at the heart of

pain but because he has found mortality to be a catalyst of happiness" [Bloom, 42].

In this poem, Keats not only portrays mortality but also worships the immortal nature of the
bird Nightingale. He moves from the ancient time of emperor and clown to the crucial time of
Ruth, till the time of Keats, Nightingale exists and its song is the only source which soothes all
human creatures. Keats' moment of joy cannot be reckoned merely by his belief of the
Nightingale's immortality; somehow his visualization seems to raise a more human hope. In
'Ode to Intimations of Immortality' Wordsworth tries to give a proposal to the readers to attain
Immortality through the remembrance of Childhood. Throughout the poem, the poet elevates
the phase of childhood. His childhood gave him a lot of good memories to cherish. He has a
claim that infancy lies in heaven and children know the secret of God. Hence he calls children
the best philosophers. According to Wordsworth, childhood is the only way to attain
Immortality but he realizes that it is not possible and he consoles himself by saying that his lack
of innocence gives him the maturity to understand life. Therefore, man cannot achieve
immortal life, nature alone can be immortal and indeed watches the man's mortal life.

"The clouds that gather round the setting Sun

Do take a sober coloring from an eye

That hath kept watch o'er man's mortality" [201-203]

And his maturity made him understand this truth. In 'Because I could not stop for death Emily
Dickinson's ideas of immortality and eternity are displayed through her own words. In the first
stanza, she claims that her journey with death also includes Immortality. Death is not the end of
life but a gateway to immortal life.
"The speaker is saved not from death but from

the life that would endeavor to ignore death" [Loving, 47].

"The carriage held but just ourselves

And immortality" [3-4]

In 'Lady Lazarus', Sylvia Plath elevates death. She claims that 'Dying is an art'. Usually an

Art is said to be a form of escape from the real world. So dying for Plath, is a way of escapism.
Her confession of her suicide attempts reveals her idea of mortality. In both Romantic and
Confessional poetry, poets used their enthusiastic poetic techniques which shaped their poetry,
presented their poetry in a very effective manner. More Imagination leads to more images and
metaphors in their poetry. In 'Ode to Nightingale', Keats used a lot of images, similes,
metaphors, and personification. Keats also uses metaphor to compare the beautiful song of the
nightingale to a musical composition called a 'requiem', which is performed after someone's
death.

"still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vainTo thy high requiem become a sod". [59-60]

Keats personifies Moon and stars as Queen and her attendants.

"and haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,

Clustered around by all her starry fays" [36-37]

He also personifies Death as a male, as likely as not the guy with the hood and sickle. But he
isn't afraid of death, he tries to chase him. Finally, he personifies fancy as a deceiving elf, which
cheated him.

"Adieu, the fancy cannot cheat so well

As she is fam'd to do, deceiving elf". [73-74]

"Keats concentrates and intensifies techniques he had mastered

in other genres, especially a characteristic, slow-moving,

orchestration of sound, versification, and imagery" [Susan, 88].

Like Keats, Wordsworth's poetry is also filled with images of nature. He metaphorically portrays
a shepherd boy as a child of joy. And also he uses the metaphor to symbolize human 'birth' as
sleep and forgetting and 'God' as their home.

"Our birth is but a sleep and forgetting

…For God, who is our home" [59-60]

He also metaphorically depicts the six-year child as the best philosopher, mighty prophet, and
seer. Wordsworth also personifies Earth as a mother and homely nurse and he calls Man Earth's
foster child. He tries his best to satisfy the audience by saying that Earth gives all its pleasure to
separate God and Man.

"Earth fills her lap with pleasures of her own;

…The homely nurse doth all she can

To make her foster child, her inmate man". [78-80]

In 'Because I could not stop for death Emily Dickinson's use of imagery prove death and the
things regarding death and even, she personifies death as her gentlemen lover.

"Because I could not stop for death

He kindly stopped for me" [1-2]

The 'setting Sun' is the image that marks the end of the day but might also stand for the end of
life. Using the word 'house' instead of 'grave' or 'tombstone' also inflames the images of death.

"We passed before a house that seemed

A swelling of the ground".[17-18]

Her 'Gossamer gown', shows that she is properly dressed for a heavenly marriage. So
'Frustration' of the poets are visible in both Romantic and Confessional poetry and it was

the biggest reason for the poets which lead them to the search for escapism. Keats's frustration
is viewed when he addresses his worldly troubles and problems. Wordsworth's frustration is
viewed when he pines for his childhood and for the innocence he has lost during his childhood.
Sylvia Plath's frustration is visible when she catalogs her treatment as an object, as a circus
animal, and as a victim. Emily Dickinson's frustration is visualized in her usage of Anaphora in
her poetry, she repeats 'we passed' several times, which indicates the monotonous, frustrated,
worldly state of the poet's mind. Both the Romantic poets and Confessional poets, use their
imagination which leads them to super use of poetic techniques like images, metaphors,
symbols, anaphora, apostrophe, and personification. The concept of Nature, frustration,
mortality, and immortality are available in both but their ideas and their way of thinking and
their proper usage of figures of speech and their construction of ideas differ much as compared
to their situation, to the kind of problems and their age of existence.

Conclusion
The seers who are sensitive to the Romantic age and Confessional poets appreciated and have
strong faith in the depth and powers of imagination. They were dissatisfied with the
modernized world, poets found comfort and happiness in their own created world of
imagination, where they favored escape from the brutal realities of life. Escapism is considered
as the direction of escape from cruel reality or routine by overindulging in daydreaming,
fantasy, or entertainment. It is a habit of retreating from unpleasant reality, as through
diversion or fantasy. Escapism, in the Romantic age, occurred as a result of societal problems
and depression and later it moved into the phase of the crisis of individuals. But it is certain that
they also lead the poets to use escapism for their problems. In the analyzed poems, Keats'
poetry has some concern for both humankind and society although he deals with his problems
as well. But Wordsworth personally tries to escape from his issues. Escapism, in Confessional
poetry, began with the miseries of individuals and moved into the problems of society.

Poets' imaginative power and their dignified skills in poetry allowed them to use poetic
techniques which represented their poetry in a very effective manner. Images, similes,
metaphors, personification, and apostrophes are the important poetic techniques highly used
by the poets in the analyzed poems. Because of societal pressure, poets are unable to state
their problems directly in their poetry, these poetic techniques help the poet to reveal their
depression in a very indirect manner. The Frustration of the poets is the main subject noticed in
all the analyzed poems. It is unique in its way. Their escaping tendency is well reflected in their
poetic work. By using various techniques poets depict their frustration and depression and their
motif to escape from their problems. They are well displayed and analyzed in John Keats' 'Ode
to a Nightingale', Wordsworth's 'Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early
childhood', Emily Dickinson's 'Because I could not stop for death Sylvia Plath's 'Lady Lazarus'.
Their imagination and fancy served as perfect skills, which helped them to use escapism in their
poetry. Romantic poets and Confessional poets, both try to escape through the same kind of
medium like death but they are different in their perspectives, notion, and style.

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