Publicação
The religious poetry of Stevie Smith and Emily Brontë: negotiating between hope and despair
| Resumo: | This paper aims at exploring the religious connections between Stevie Smith (1902-71) and Emily Brontë (1818-1848) through a close reading of some of their most representative poems. In spite of their very different historical contexts – Victorian and Modern, these women poets seem to share experiences and concerns regarding their respective views on God and Mankind, as well as a rich spiritual dimension in spite of religious dissention. Often referred to as sceptics or mystics, Smith and Brontë have in fact absorbed the prevailing religious doubt and the spiritual experiments that characterised their respective periods. Their religion, inclined toward spirituality not doctrinal orthodoxy, is often used in their poems as a critique of social failures or as an appeal to inner moral standards. They reflect the chiastic tension between hope and despair, between the desire to believe and the realization that Christianity was seriously flawed. |
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| Autores principais: | Guimarães, Paula Alexandra |
| Assunto: | Poetry Brontë Smith Religion Hope Despair |
| Ano: | 2009 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | outro |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade do Minho |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho |
| Resumo: | This paper aims at exploring the religious connections between Stevie Smith (1902-71) and Emily Brontë (1818-1848) through a close reading of some of their most representative poems. In spite of their very different historical contexts – Victorian and Modern, these women poets seem to share experiences and concerns regarding their respective views on God and Mankind, as well as a rich spiritual dimension in spite of religious dissention. Often referred to as sceptics or mystics, Smith and Brontë have in fact absorbed the prevailing religious doubt and the spiritual experiments that characterised their respective periods. Their religion, inclined toward spirituality not doctrinal orthodoxy, is often used in their poems as a critique of social failures or as an appeal to inner moral standards. They reflect the chiastic tension between hope and despair, between the desire to believe and the realization that Christianity was seriously flawed. |
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