The
Hero as Poet - Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle was born
in 1795 and died in 1881. His genius matured and came to full flowering on the
very threshold of the Victorian era. His writings were influenced considerably
by the social, economic, cultural, scientific, technological and religious
changes which characterize the era. ‘The Hero as a Poet’ is the third lecture
in Carlyle’s series of six lectures published in book form as Heroes and
Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History’. The lecture is divisible into three
well defined parts: in the first part he considers briefly the history of the
heroic ideal, and the essentials of a hero, and in part second and third he
examines the heroic qualities of Dante and Shakespeare whom he holds out as
model hero-poets.
Part
I
He begins by pointing out
that in the past a hero was treated as a God or a prophet i.e., either as one
having the qualities of a God or as one speaking with the voice of God.
However, such fallacies are not possible in the modern age. Science does not
permit us to believe that a man can be a God or a prophet. In the modern age, a
hero appears in the less ambitious character of a poet. A poet is a heroic
figure belonging to all ages. He is a heroic character who does not grow old or
outdated.
Hero, poet and prophet,
philosopher and thinker are different names for great men who differ from each
other not in their capacities but according to their different environment. In
the opinion of Carlyle, it is differences of age and environment which are of
the utmost importance. All heroes whether we call them prophets or poets are
essentially Great Men i.e., men of sympathetic hearts and penetrating vision.
They all have the seeing eye and the
understanding heart. That is why in some old languages they are both called
‘Vates’.
A vein of poetry exists
in all persons; all grow poetic under the stress of powerful passion. When this
vein of poetry is more developed in a man than in his neighbours, the man is
called a poet. One who rises above the general level of poets is called a
Universal poet. However, it should be remembered that most poets are soon
forgotten, and the greatest, not even Shakespeare, will be remembered for ever.
Part
II
Dante,
an Italian poet, writer and
philosopher. His Divine Comedy, is widely considered as one of
the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary
work in the Italian language. He was instrumental in establishing the
literature of Italy. He is described as the "father" of the Italian
language. His apprehension of the reality was thorough, and this reality is
presented in the three parts of the poem, viz. Inferno, Purgatorio, and
‘Paradiso’. Reality for Dante was not the world in which he lived. He found
that the world was full of falsehood as folly, hypocrisy and meanness, and
imposters prospered, and honest and sincere people died of starvation.
Consequently his eyes were turned heaven-wards where he discovered an eternal
truth, a spiritual reality, which promised peace and happiness to the suffering
human soul. ‘The Divine Comedy’ is an embodiment of Dante’s vision of spiritual
reality. The sinners and the wicked who prosper in life, are thrown in eternal
hell. Evil cannot escape punishment, however, great, gaudy, or pompous it may
appear to us on the earth. Yet, God gives to the sinners a chance of making
amends and improving themselves by sincere penitence. Purgatory is an
embodiment of this aspect of God’s mercy. The soul is purged and hallowed by
suffering, and ascends to the region of the blessed i.e., Paradise.
Part III
Shakespeare
is endowed with a unique intensity of vision. His vision is so keen that it
penetrates even to the farthest depth of life. From its penetrating and keen
vision no aspect of life remains hidden. ‘Such a calmness of depth; placid,
joyous, strength; all things imaged in that great soul of his, so true and
clear, as in a tranquil unfathomable sea’. The genius of Shakespeare is shown
in his delineation of character. His characterization shows complete command
over human psychology. His great soul takes in all kinds of men and objects, a
Falstaff, an Othello, a Juliet, a Coriolanus, and sets them all forth us in
their rounded perception and completeness. He has a universal sympathy for all
and sundry. He portrays the character of people as they really are, without
condemning their failings and shortcomings or extolling their virtues. In no
other writer do we find such a great catholicity and tolerance as in
Shakespeare.
Such are
the Carlyle’s views on the heroism of poets. Dante and Shakespeare are used to
illustrate his views. Some of his remarks are certainly original and
penetrating, and come to us as a revelation, a pleasant surprise. We may not
agree with him; still we cannot help admiring him.
