Radical+Poetry

=**Radical Poetry**=

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, one definition of the term Radical means something that is "characterized by departure and tradition; innovative or progressive." The OED also defines a radical person as "a person who advocates thorough or complete political or social reform; a member of a political party or part of a party pursuing such aims." These terms can, and have been, applied to multiple events and reforms over the years and certainly are now applied to events in the Victorian era.

The term radical comes up a lot in Victorian history. Radical politics describes those wishing to have significant changes to government or certain politics. This started in England as early as 1770 and continued into the Victorian Era. For example, "The "People's Charter," drafted in 1838 by William Lovett, was at the heart of a radical campaign for parliamentary reform of the inequities remaining after the[| Reform Act] of 1832. According to Glenn Everett's article, "Chartism or The Chartist Movement", The Chartists' six main demands were:
 * 1) votes for all men;
 * 2) equal electoral districts;
 * 3) abolition of the requirement that Members of Parliament be property owners;
 * 4) payment for M.P.s;
 * 5) annual general elections; and
 * 6) the secret ballot.

Although these radical demands are an important historical note to the Victorian era, it is the general idea of protest and rebellion and radical thinking which it represents that is important.

Similar to the radical political movements in the Victorian era, there was also the radical press, which involved the eventual removal of publishing fees and taxes that helped improve the success of the publishing industry. This was a long process that spanned years to get all of the fees and taxes removed and led to the boom in the publishing industry that made reading and writing a bigger part of Victorian culture (citation needed). In general, radicalism in the Victorian era fits the current definitions from the OED. There were many reforms and drastic changes now deemed radical, and this is now considered true for some poetry from the Victorian era as well.

Put broadly, radical poetry is poetry that experiments with new poetic forms and helps form new poetic movements. Just like radical politics, radical poetry is a significant change from the current or the expected. This definition, however, is true of any poetry or literary movement and must be elaborated to explain radical poetry. What deems a piece of poetry "radical poetry" is when it's new form is not only stylistically different, but also makes some bigger statement that is ideally evident to readers and critics. Radical poetry can make a statement about the current or old forms of poetry, or it can branch out to make a statement about politics. Since radicalism was such a big part of the Victorian era, most poetry from the period that is now considered radical has references to politics, or the authors were known to have radical political views. It is also important to note that the term "radical poetry" has only been applied in hindsight and not by poets themselves, unlike many self-proclaimed literary movements, and as mentioned this is directly related to the other radical movements of the Victorian era (citation needed).

Now, in retrospect, Robert Browning is considered the preeminent radical poet of the Victorian era. British academic and critic Isobel Armstrong, who is in the forefront in helping define radical poetry more clearly, speaks often about Browning in her published work //Victorian Poetry: Poetry, Poetics and Politics//. In three sentences extracted from her work it is evident Browning had a radical side:

"Browning and his wife were intensely committed to politics" (279).

"In their perpetual political disagreements, Browning always took a more radical line" (280).

"The monologue by its form becomes political art of a post-revolutionary situation, where questions of power and democracy must be foregrounded." (283).

Browning was clearly a radical thinker both in political views and in his poetry and that is what now defines him in retrospect as a radical poet. Not only was his writing unique, but his strong political views would often add a political undertone to his writing, hence making it radical. According to Armstrong, Browning's most radical poem is "Porphyria's Lover," which she describes as radical due to the fact that "Browning relies on the hermeneutic shock created by the absence of dialogue" (142). Basically, Browning forces the reader to interact and interpret the poem and experience it in a manner that was different than similar formed poetry of the era. Many of Browning's poetry, including "Porphyria's Lover," can be found at Representative Poetry Online.

Another radical poet from the Victorian era was Algeron Charles Swinburne, who can be described as "a radical character who incensed many of his fellow Victorians" (Poets' Graves). Swinburne's third collection of poetry, entitled //Poems and Ballads//, was largely criticized due to the many sexually charged passages which were seen as crude in the Victorian era (Everett). Moreover, Swinburne was an atheist and experimented with form; therefore in hindsight he was a completely radical poet during his time (citation needed). Examples of some poems by Swinburne can be found at Representative Poetry Online.

Arthur Hugh Clough was also a radical poet in the Victorian era. He was "radical in his politics as well as religion", which undoubtedly translated into his poetry; moreover, he is described as "a fine poet whose experiments in extending the range of literary language and subject were ahead of his time", so he fits the modern definition of a radical poet in that he experimented with technique and politics (Everett, "Arthur Hugh Clough"). An index of some poems by Clough can be found at Representative Poetry Online.

Works Cited

Information on Radical Press and Radical Politics:

Adams, James Eli, ed. //Encyclopedia of the Victorian Era//. 4 Vols. Danbury, Conn: Grolier, 2004. Armstrong, Isobel. //Victorian Poetry: Poetry, Poetics and Politics//. Oxford: Blackwell, 1993. Everett, Glenn. "Arthur Hugh Clough - A Brief Biography." //Victoria Web.// . Online. Everett, Glenn. "Chartism or the Chartist Movement." //Victorian Web//. . Online. Mitchell, Sally, ed. //Victorian Britain. An Encyclopedia//. New York: Garland, 1998. Priminger, Alex, et al, eds. //The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics//. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1993.

Other Sources:

Glenn Everett from The Victorian Web: Chartism or The Chartist Movement A. C. Swinburne: Biography Arthur Hugh Clough — A Brief Biography Poets' Graves