English Speech on the Great Gatsby and Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets to the Portugese
In what ways do the texts you have studied highlight the changing values of dreams and desires?
“How do I love thee, let me count the ways” or I could write you a novel and tell you about my love for you. Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnets from the Portuguese portrays a very pure view of love and desire whereas Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby highlights a loss of spiritual value in the superficial jazz age. When comparing these two texts, it is made apparent what impact a change of contexts and social values has upon dreams and desires. Such ways in which this is evident is the contrast of the 1940s Victorian Era, which connected deep, spiritual and religious values with love; and the lawless, materialistic and shallow understanding of love in the 20s.
Browning’s Victorian society was seen as a peaceful time of prosperity and colonisation. It was also noted as the height of the Romantic era. This spurred a growing relevance in the arts, and therefore poetry. Love sonnets in particular were extremely popular. Dreams and desires were expressed through these artistic forms, and Browning displays this in her sonnets.
Browning tends to challenge the courtly love tradition and the expectations of womanhood throughout her sonnets. “Except for loves sake only. Do not say “I love her for her smile, her look, her way of speaking gently”. These features of love are all alterable and by saying this, she shows her passion and desire for Robert Browning to only love for loves sake. In comparison to Gatsby, where he loves Daisy for superficial reasons, Browning has created an organic love that is celebrated in the Romantic era. When viewing this alongside the Gatsby, we see Daisy weeping over shirts, which symbolizes her superficiality and the fact that they were careless people in the twenties who celebrated shallow desires. This change of values can be evidenced by viewing the texts together. We have Browning asking her readers “am I dying?” due to the confusion and unknown
“How do I love thee, let me count the ways” or I could write you a novel and tell you about my love for you. Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnets from the Portuguese portrays a very pure view of love and desire whereas Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby highlights a loss of spiritual value in the superficial jazz age. When comparing these two texts, it is made apparent what impact a change of contexts and social values has upon dreams and desires. Such ways in which this is evident is the contrast of the 1940s Victorian Era, which connected deep, spiritual and religious values with love; and the lawless, materialistic and shallow understanding of love in the 20s.
Browning’s Victorian society was seen as a peaceful time of prosperity and colonisation. It was also noted as the height of the Romantic era. This spurred a growing relevance in the arts, and therefore poetry. Love sonnets in particular were extremely popular. Dreams and desires were expressed through these artistic forms, and Browning displays this in her sonnets.
Browning tends to challenge the courtly love tradition and the expectations of womanhood throughout her sonnets. “Except for loves sake only. Do not say “I love her for her smile, her look, her way of speaking gently”. These features of love are all alterable and by saying this, she shows her passion and desire for Robert Browning to only love for loves sake. In comparison to Gatsby, where he loves Daisy for superficial reasons, Browning has created an organic love that is celebrated in the Romantic era. When viewing this alongside the Gatsby, we see Daisy weeping over shirts, which symbolizes her superficiality and the fact that they were careless people in the twenties who celebrated shallow desires. This change of values can be evidenced by viewing the texts together. We have Browning asking her readers “am I dying?” due to the confusion and unknown