An Interpretation Of Swinburne's Poetic Works From A Moral Perspective

This paper is intended to interpret Swinburne's poetic works from a moral perspective. In view that most Swinburnian studies center upon his biography or stylistic features of his works and that few researchers care about the moral thoughts in his works, my research is of some significance.In this paper I try to extract and generalize Swinburne's moral ideas from his verse products, contrast his ideas with the corresponding Victorian ones and find out the personal and social factors that underlie the unconventionality of his moral ideas. By fulfilling these tasks I hope to draw the conclusion that Swinburne's ideas regarding moral issues are unconventional. The label "unconventional" is used not to exculpate Swinburne from the charge of immorality but to show that he is incompatible with but may be in advance of his times.Swinburne's moral views can be analyzed from the following four types of relationship: man (in the sense of gender difference) and woman, man and nation, man and religion and man and his fate.Concerning the relationship between man and woman, Swinburne showed his inconsistency with mid-Victorian era by accepting what was generally condemned and abusing what was commonly praised. However, the deviation from tradition was not so great as to make him a sheer pagan. He was pagan and Christian within one body.Swinburne's reflections on the relationship between man and nation are mainly embodied in two concepts: political freedom and true patriotism. Political freedom means republicanism of both British and other European monarchies. Closely connected with this understanding of political freedom, true patriotism means the sacrifice of personal happiness for the benefit of the nation rather than the monarch.Influenced by Darwin's evolutionary theory, Comte's Positivism and Victorian religious skepticism, Swinburne openly challenged the authority of the Christian God, sincerely eulogized man and relentlessly exposed the deceptive nature of the Christian church. To be succinct, Swinburne's contemplations on the issue of religion are "the defense of religion against theology and priest-craft" (Hyder 209).Swinburne's thoughts concerning man and his fate changed with both his age and the social milieu. Accordingly his life can be roughly divided into three phases: angry denunciation of fate, complete denial of fate and philosophical acceptance of fate.Both eternal influence and personal temperament worked to create such a soul as...