Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Political Agenda
In regards to which poem would have made a more political impact, between Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Southey, my partner and I both came to the agreement they Southey made more of a political statement. The main reason for this is that the Rime of the Ancient Mariner read more like just a story and I would not have seen it as an allegory to abolition unless 1) I was really digging or 2) it was spelled out. Also in Southey's poem the avid use of religion adds to the political aspect because during the time it was written religion and politics were inevitably interwoven. Also that fact that Southey's poem was more compact keeps the reader focused for the entirety of the poem.
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My group also agreed that Southey's poem made a more direct political statement than Coleridge's poem. While both works are deeply religious, I see more of a Christian allegory in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, containing slave references as more of a background to the true action. Southey's poem uses religious references to build up the focus of his poem, which is an abolitionist agenda. Christianity is the mode in Southey's work, while it's the central feature of Coleridge's poem.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Southey's poem was definitely clearer in regards to being a more direct abolitionist statement, but maybe they're both good political statements, just for different demographics. Both are directed towards educated white men, obviously, but I think Coleridge's poem could possibly be a decent impact on the upper class of the educated, because they would be able to pick out the allegory and spend more time analyzing it. Southey's poem appeals to the widespread middle class portion of that demographic, because its more obvious. The problem with Southey's poem is that its almost too straight forward, and isn't a very good rhetorical argument in convincing people into the abolitionist movement because it would be difficult for a slave owner to relate to the narrator's extreme guilt.
ReplyDeleteSo both have their issues, but I'd say they could appeal equally to different classes.
I agree with the idea that these two poems appeal to different classes. While Southey's poem is more directly about slavery, I found the theme of guilt in Coleridge's poem to be far more effective than Southey's. To me, the albatross is one of the most recognizable symbols for guilt. Applying it to slave traders and the abolitionist movement just makes that guilt easier to imagine. It seems that where as Southey works on the readers immediate senses to get a reaction to the torments of slavery, Coleridge tactfully eases guilt into the readers conscience. I find that if the goal of these poems where to persuade one to join the abolitionist cause, Coleridge's would be more effective just by this use of tact.
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