Topic > Victorian, Romantic, and Modernist Literature: Style as Cultural Commentary

“A Cold Coming” by Tony Harrison, “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” by William Wordsworth, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and 1984 by George Orwell they each display distinct sensibilities that reflect the time from which they emerged. The modernist manifestos differentiate the modernist movement from earlier ones through its conscious examination of literature's purpose in the cultural landscape, but this very quality is what connects all four of these texts. Romantic, Victorian, and modernist texts each represent a writer's efforts to capture his time in a way that is meaningful and relevant. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The narrator of Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey" reveals his artistic intentions in the narration of his poem. The Romantic literary tradition shows a concern for a pure and unadulterated representation of nature that rejects high vocabulary and stylistic devices. “Tintern Abbey” thus pays homage to the principles of Romanticism while showing the universal desire to create a literary work of value. “Tintern Abbey” affirms the writing process as something that is both educational and comforting. Wordsworth writes: “For I have learned to look upon nature, not as in the hour of thoughtless youth; but often listening to the quiet and sad music of humanity” (88-91). The act of writing moves the narrator's observation beyond mindless appreciation and into the state of interpretation, creating a depth that would be difficult to achieve through a mimetic representation of an object. By inserting himself into the poem, Wordsworth shows how he actively uses memory as a way to create meaning. His struggle to capture the essence of his early memory, his frustration at not being able to recreate the past, and ultimately his satisfaction with the knowledge he has gained over the years all contribute to what has been a journey for Wordsworth. long and fruitful. uses the text-in-text framing device to map the process of creating a narrative. The lack of chronology and the contradictory contributions of multiple narrators create a convoluted mess, exposing the vulnerability of the narrative. The narrative proves to be highly unstable, subject to distortions and misrepresentations. The industrialization of the Victorian period led to class regimentation. While none of the characters directly experience industrialization, inherent biases in the class structure influence their technique of representing each other through narrative. Every character in the story exaggerates Heathcliff's brutality, just as Edward Linton presents himself as pathetically feminine, Hareton as frighteningly stupid, Joseph as irritating, and Catherine as hysterical. Because each of these characters carries with them a stigmatized personality, Lockwood seems unable to present them in a neutral light. Nor can the characters represent each other fairly, as they each occupy a web of competing ideologies. Joseph and Hareton speak in an extravagant caricature of lower-class dialect, while Catherine and Heathcliff display extreme emotional breakdowns that defy plausibility. Thus, Wuthering Heights challenges literature's ability to bridge class divides. Although the novel comes from the Victorian period, it expresses nostalgia for romantic values. While Modernism is concerned with forward momentum, annihilating all antiquated literary forms to arrive at a new method of interpreting reality, the text Wuthering Heights.