Summative Entry

Studying the literature and culture of the Nineteenth Century has amplified my understanding of what it is to be human.

The study of the literature and the culture of the Nineteenth century has amplified my understanding of what it is to be human through the beliefs of the Romanticism period and the Victorian era and the literature that explored the ideas and issue that were brought about during those times. The romanticism period brought forward the ideology of nature over scholar and the relationship we have with nature. This ideology showed me that being human is more than having a connection with the people that came before you but more about having a relationship with the world around you. A poet who we studied in the course which is possibly one of my favourite poets is William Wordsworth. Wordsworth wrote an abundance of poems about humans relationship with nature or what he thought as a romanticist it should be like, but more critical talked about what we could learn from nature. This argument is presented in his poem Expostulation and Reply where Wordsworth is having a conversation with a scholar arguing that exact point. Wordsworth states in the poem Books! ‘tis a dull and endless strife:/ Come, hear the woodland linnet, /How sweet his music! on my life,/There’s more of wisdom in it. (Greenblatt 251). These words sum up Wordsworth’s argument that there is more to learn in nature than what one can learn in a book. Another aspect that amplified my understanding of what it is to be human is the ability to enjoy an experience without questioning what is happening. Wordsworth’s poem The Tables Turned is an excellent example of this as Wordsworth explains that humans try to constantly analyse when we should take a moment for what it is and not constantly kill the experience by thinking about it too much. A central part of what it is to be human is to live in the moment and enjoy it.

Portrait of William Wordsworth (Poetry Foundation)

While studying Romanticism and the works of William Wordsworth amplified my understanding of what it is to be human, studying Charles Dickens and the Victorian age did the same thing. The Victorian era saw the rise of Queen Victoria in England and advancements in technologies such as trains. Through this time period and Charles Dickens work my understanding of what it is to be human was amplified. Charles Dickens in his novel Hard Times brings to light the issue of statistics and facts versus human emotion. Reading this novel made me realise that being human means to be compassionate and have a sense of care for other humans. This is also brought up in the time period as workers where being treated poorly and their work environment was considered to be in poor condition. Through Dickens, we see this everyday occurrence represented in his novel through the fictional town of Coketown where it is evident in its description that it is merely a place of industrialisation and not a place of enjoyment. This new introduction of industrialisation caused humans to be pushed aside and forgotten which is not what it is to be human at all. Instead, it is the opposite and that as humans we should take care of one another regardless of status and background.