Comparative Essay: Keats and Sparks

Romanticism and Feminism may seemingly depict two absolutely dissimilar perspectives, but it is never impossible to correlate the two themes. Through the season-related poem of the English poet John Keats, “Human Seasons” and “To Autumn”, and “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” written by the Scottish novelist, Muriel Spark, the inconspicuous relationship between the two will be explored as well as the features and characteristics of each subject.

Romanticism, defined as “literature depicting emotional matter in an imaginative form”, was a movement in art and literature in the eighteenth and nineteenth century which celebrated nature rather than civilization. Imagination, emotion and freedom are certainly the focal points of romanticism. Some of the many characteristics of the literature of romanticism includes subjectivity and an emphasis on individualism, spontaneity, freedom from rules, solitary life rather than life in society and love of and worship of nature.

John Keats, the last born English Romantic poet who died at the age of 25, was one of the key figures in the Romantic era as his poems and letters considered as among the most popular and analysed in English literature, despite the fact that during his lifetime, his works were not generally received by critics. His art, specifically his poems, are characterised by sensual imagery, and through two of his poems “Human Seasons” and “To Autumn”, it is depicted as well as to convey the idea of romanticism.

In “Human Seasons”, life is represented through the season cycle in which life is divided into the seasons. Keats suggests that in spring, it is the time of childhood where one absorbs experiences without having to reflect on them. Through the use of sibilance, it gives that flow that indicates the spontaneous way that one absorbs experiences. On the other hand, summer is described as the time when one gets older and starts reflecting on the past experiences to gain wisdom where one “ruminate thoughts” and reaches that mature age. In autumn, he suggests that one has reached old age when one is satisfied, contented and hesitant to take part of new experiences, assuming that one has “been there and done that”. By the use of the metaphors “quiet coves”, “closed wings” and “threshold brook”, a clearer image of someone experiencing autumn is depicted when one is tired yet complete. Moreover, winter is a time that is inevitable which everyone experiences – death – and is destined for at the end.

“To Autumn”, a lyrical ode, also refers to life as the seasons almost exactly like “Human Seasons” although indirectly, and the fluxes and changes that occur within the cycle. However, autumn is the evident focus of the poem. Through the use of personification, “conspiring” and “to bend”, autumn is being described as the period of “maturing”, hinting that it is the period of pensive reflection. Autumn is also personified in the second stanza as a woman by the use of visual imagery such as “winnowing wind” where it insinuates what women were seen as – soft and calm. By the idea of “production” being present, “the birth of feminism” is brought about, especially since in the poem, autumn is related to as a woman.

In both poems, the idea that “experience and interaction with nature leads to knowledge and truth” and that “life is worth living and is correlated to nature” expresses the Romanticist point of view where knowledge leads to wisdom to uncover the truth. On the other hand, negative capability, where one accepts the uncertainty and the unresolved, is also present in both poems where it is stated that with death also comes beauty, not stressing about the temporal concerns in life and basically enjoying life as it is. Keats values life, time, love and having as much as experiences in the two poems.

Moving on from Romanticism, Feminism is a philosophy in which women and their contributions are valued and can also be described as a movement or a revolution that includes women and men who wish the world to be equal without boundaries – discrimination.

Muriel Sparks, an award-winning Scottish novelist, was named one of the “the 50 greatest British writers since 1945” by Time Magazine, and it is unquestionable as to why she received such recognisable praise. One of her most acclaimed works, “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie”, displayed Sparks originality of subject and tone, making extensive uses of prolepses or flash-forwards, and the unforgettable character of Miss Jean Brodie, a “great” feminist teacher who out of place at Marcia Blane School, catapulted Spark into the first rank of the Scottish literature.

In her odd and limited way, Miss Brodie had evident feminist inclinations – wearing whatever she wants, sleeping with whom she wants and encouraging her students to be the heroes of their own lives. The fact that Miss Brodie clearly had both two of the male teachers in the Marcia Blaine School around her world, and this apparently showcased how – unlike the usual “men are the knights in shining armour while the woman are the damsels in distress” – women had some sort of power over man, able to manipulate and lead them to do absurd and unreasonable actions. By the presence of allusions such as Sybil Thorndike – a famous British actress of that time – and Jane Eyre – a very famous and influential novel that also exhibits the features of feminism – the fact that women are slowly getting some recognition is a massive step for improving women’s position in society in which, in the past years, women were almost like as slaves for men, unable to have their voices heard.

However, not only was Miss Brodie a feminist, but she also claims romanticist ideas as a believer that “Goodness, Truth and Beauty comes first”, despite the fact that she is the one enforcing knowledge on student. Instead, she is more like a dictator – perhaps inspired by Mussolini whom she admire a lot – as she sees as her set as her “fascisti”, thinking that they are inferior to her. This doesn’t only make her a delusional romanticist but a hypocritical one as well because, at times, she exaggerates on her teachings, making her students believe whatever that comes out from her mouth is nothing but the truth for she is now at her “prime”. By the use of prolepses and stream of conscious of Sandy Stranger, the “nonsense” of Miss Brodie was exposed.

It is evident that Keats’ poems and Sparks’ novel may be dissimilar at most ways, despite the fact that there are Romanticism and Feminism views that crossed over, but there are also other significant links between the two authors’ works. As described in both of Keats’ poems, spring was the time when one absorbs everything without reflection, and basically, in Sparks’ novel, the Brodie set were the victims in summer. Since the set were in their absorbing period, they obeyed and treated Miss Brodie’s teaching like it’s their Bible, deceived by Miss Brodie’s declaration that she is in her “prime”. In summer, which is the time of looking back and realising ideas that might have been missed, have brought Sandy Stranger to see through Miss Brodie’s nonsense which eventually lead to her betrayal.

In the novel, no one had experience the season of Autumn, the age when one lays contented and relaxed, even though three characters, Miss Brodie, Mary McGregor and Joyce Emily, died in the narrative. Mary skipped Autumn as she didn’t have that period in her life where lay rested and contented in her life for she had died in a fire as well as Joyce Emily who died when she was told to enlist in the Spanish Civil War. Hence, they immediately experienced the unavoidable winter.

On the other hand, it is believed that the so-called prime of Miss Brodie may have caused her seasonal cycle to be on hold due to the fact that she lived her life through her students. Therefore, she missed the period of autumn. Her betrayal also played a great role because instead of feeling satisfied after her so-called prime, she was left thinking as to who betrayed her until her winter, depriving her from that chance of relaxation and serenity.

In order to reach contentment not only in autumn but life in general, it is believed that one should maximise their spring and summer. Since Miss Brodie didn’t make the most out of her “prime”, she didn’t experience that contentment that one would want to have in their lives. In other words, no one wants to die with any resentment, pain or anger in their hearts.

Through the two seasonal poems of Keats – “Human Seasons” and “To Autumn” – and Sparks’ novel “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie”, the two correlation between the two themes in both texts were explored. Keats’ two seasonal poems suggest that life was divided into seasons – spring (childhood), summer (age of maturity), autumn (age of contentment and relaxation where one waits for their time) and winter (death). They also suggest that life is worth living and is correlated to nature, a Romantic point of view. Through Sparks’ novel not only the seasonal cycle of life was compared to the lives of the characters, but a unique way of representing Feminism was shown through Miss Brodie’s unique narcissistic character who falsely claimed herself to be a romanticist. Romanticism and Feminism may insinuate two different perspectives, but through the works of these two authors, it has been proven possible to correlate two different ideas.