377. DSC 101: Pre-Raphaelite Poetry (2)

1. The Pre-Raphaelite movement, which began in the mid-19th century, was primarily an artistic movement but had a significant impact on literature as well. It was influenced by Romanticism and reacted against the industrialization and materialism of the Victorian era. Their literature, much like their art, was detailed, sensuous, and symbolic, often dealing with themes of love, death, nature, and spirituality. Founded in 1848 by a group of English painters, poets, and critics, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood sought to return to the detailed, vibrant style of art that existed before the time of the Renaissance painter Raphael. In literature, this movement was characterized by a similar return to medieval themes, vivid imagery, and a focus on beauty, emotion, and morality.

Key Figures and Works

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, was a pivotal figure in both the artistic and literary branches of the movement. As a poet, Rossetti's work is rich in sensual imagery and medievalism. His collection The House of Life (1881), for example, is a sonnet sequence that explores themes of love, loss, and the passage of time, drawing on symbolic and romantic imagery.

Christina Rossetti, Dante Gabriel’s sister, was also a key literary figure of the movement. Her poetry reflects the Pre-Raphaelite focus on emotional intensity, religious devotion, and detailed natural imagery. Her famous poem Goblin Market (1862) deals with themes of temptation, sacrifice, and redemption, blending Christian allegory with fairy tale-like fantasy.

William Morris, another significant contributor, combined his literary work with his passion for medieval arts and crafts. His epic poem The Earthly Paradise (1868–1870) reflects Pre-Raphaelite ideals by reimagining classical and medieval myths, emphasizing human emotion and a romanticized view of nature. Morris also founded the Kelmscott Press, which produced beautifully illustrated editions of literary works, further blending art and literature.

Themes and Style

Pre-Raphaelite literature is often characterized by its emphasis on beauty, nature, and the past. Writers in this movement were drawn to detailed descriptions, rich, and vivid language. They sought to evoke intense emotions through their portrayal of love, death, and spirituality, often in a medieval or mythical setting.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's short-lived illustrated magazine, The Germ; the poetry and devotional prose of Christina Rossetti ( Goblin Market and Other Poems, The Prince's Progress and Other Poems, Called to Be Saints, Time Flies); Gerard Manley Hopkins' onomatopoetic theory of language (as expressed in "The Wreck of the Deutschland" and elsewhere); Dante Gabriel Rossetti's movement from confident belief in the divine and the signifying power of the devotional emblem to religious and representational uncertainty (in works such as "My Sister's Sleep" and The House of Life); and Algernon Charles Swinburne's challenging of the emblem's representational limits (in Chastelard and "Laus Veneris," as well as in other works), all echo the themes and style of the pre-Raphaelite literature. The consistent incorporation of emblem structure in their literature is recurrent.

Conclusion

The Pre-Raphaelite movement in literature was a reaction against the Industrial Age’s materialism, offering a return to the emotional and aesthetic values of the medieval past. Through their richly descriptive, symbolic, and often mystical works, writers like Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Rossetti, and William Morris left a lasting impact on English literature, inspiring future generations to explore beauty, nature, and the depth of human emotion.

2. Short Note:

Pre-Raphaelites

An artistic movement founded in 1848 by the poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the painters John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt, who is often credited with the group’s name, which indicates not a dismissal of the Italian painter Raphael, but rejection of strict aesthetic adherence to the principles of composition and light characteristic of his style. The Pre-Raphaelites’ commitment to sincerity, simplicity, and moral seriousness is evident in the contemplative but uncomplicated subjects of its poetry (as in Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s “The Woodspurge”) and in the religious, mythical, and literary subjects depicted in its paintings. Christina Rossetti was both a close associate and critic of the group; her poem “Dream Land” was published in the Brotherhood’s periodical The Germ, which ran a total of four issues in 1850. Her poem “In an Artist’s Studio” offers a critique of the Pre-Raphaelites’ treatment of their female subjects, describing a painter who renders a woman “not as she is, but as she fills his dream.” Algernon Charles Swinburne and George Meredith were among the various authors associated with the group’s members. While a relatively short-lived movement, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood had a profoundly influential effect on the course of Victorian literature and art.