Characteristics of The Pre Raphaelite Poetry

         The Victorian period is remarkable because of its various trends. The Pre Raphaelite movement was started by D. G. Rossetti in mid ninetieth century. It was originally not a literary but an artistic movement. Rossetti himself was a painter. He felt that contemporary painting has become a formal and unrealistic. He wanted to go back to the realism, sensuousness and devotion to detail. There were features of art of Indian painter before a Raphael. Rossetti and other member of the group were both the poet and painter. Thus the Pre Raphaelite poetry came in to existence in poetry. The movement was against contemporary poetry of Tennyson and others. According to him contemporary poetry is deals with the problems of society. The wanted to write poetry based on aesthetic pleasure.

       Pre Raphaelite poetry was influenced by several poets of thirteenth century of Italy. The group of poet was inspired by Spencer’s symbolism and sensuousness of Keats and mysticism of Shelly in the Pre Raphaelite poetry.

Let us discuss the remarkable feature of the Pre Raphaelite Poetry.

Break With Tradition:

       Pre Raphaelite poetry was revolt against the set tradition of the poet like Tennyson. The Pre Raphaelites opposed the over concern of poets like Tennyson and those poets were depicting contemporary social and political problems. The Pre Raphaelite poets escaped from the realism of such poetry. They took shelter in a dream world of their own.

Medievalism:

        The middle age influenced many poets before Raphael. The Romantic poet like Keats, Coleridge, and Scott under such influenced. D. G. Rossetti and Morris has special urge for medievalism. They were attracted to the Romantic chivalry, mystery and supernaturalism of the Middle Ages. Rossetti’s poem ‘The Blessed Damozel’ and ‘Sister Hallen’ are full of spirit of Middle Ages. Most work of Morris like the ‘Earthly Paradise’ and so connected with the spirit.

Devotion to Detail:

            The Pre Raphaelites were connected more about particular in their painting and in their poetry. The devotion to detail purely visual in both painting and poetry. The detail of poetry was both auditory as well as visual. Every Pre Raphaelite poet had this tendency. D. G. Rossetti’s ‘The Blessed Damozel’ is devoted to detail.

Sensuousness:

           Like Rossetti most Pre Raphaelite poets were painter as well as poet. We find the element of sensuousness in their poetry. The poets of group were more devoted to detail. Whenever he described human body or physical passion, they deal it in detail. The result was the poetry becomes sensuous. The poem ‘Silent Moon’, and ‘The Blessed Damozel’ have a quality. Because of the sensuousness the Poetry of The Pre Raphaelite is also blamed to the flaccid.  

Art for Art’s sake:

           The Pre Raphaelites were the advocate of the theory of art for art’s sake. They aimed to give perfect and finish to their poetry. Like Dryden and Pope the movement was artistic. It revolted against didacticism and philosophy of Tennyson and Morris. Morris himself calls him – ‘an idle singer of an empty day’. He advised to the moral and spiritual issues from the poetry.

Music and Melody:

        The Pre Raphaelite poetry is rich in music. The Pre Raphaelite poet cultivated it with special efforts. The poetry has the quality of the wave of the Melody. The poetry of Swinburne is indeed musical and melodious. His ‘The Garden of Proserpine’ is musical having electoral and rhyme.

Picturesqueness:

        The Pre Raphaelite poetry was strongly pictorial because of those writes who wrote a natural work. They were mostly a painter also. The aim of those poets was to create the landscape painting in poetry. This poetry is notable for its word picture like –

“The blessed damozel leaned out,

From the gold bar of heaven”.

Love of Symbolism:

          Another remarkable characteristic of movement was its love of symbolism. This is Medieval note and Rossetti learnt it from Dante. William Morris and A C Swinburne  also obediently used symbolism.

Kinship with the Romantic Literature:

       The Pre Raphaelite poetry is very close to Romantic Poetry. It has some characteristics which Romanticism have. They derived the love of aesthetic pleasure by Scott, Coleridge and Keats. Pictorial quality and melody by Keats and Coleridge, supernaturalism from Coleridge. Of all Romantic Poets Keats made great input on Pre Raphaelites. Rossetti and Morris called the worshiper of beauty. It was truly called by Rickets. The Pre Raphael movement was the logical development of Romanticism.

Conclusion:

         In short, The Pre Raphaelite movement was entirely a new one. It may be considered to be direct and legitimate development of Romantic Revival in England.