19 Dramatic Strategy in Shelley's Poems to Jane Williams (Received December 3, 1999) KyushuInstituteofTechnology KeiNIJIBAYASHI Argument When we discuss the Romantic lyrics which are privately composed, we tend to compare them with the poets' masterpieces and to regard them as less important. In fact, this should not be the case. A poet often composes a piece of poetry with the larger poetic scheme in mind. Some lyrics are intended to represent a certain aspect of his poetics. So it is important to interpret such poems as clues to understanding his poetics. Sometimes the study of these poems offers us a new point of view in helping us to reevaluate the poet. This paper will focus on Shelley's neglected final poems and will demonstrate that they form a certain thematic group, have distinctive dramatic characteristics and have much in common with his later works in the way of representing Shelley's philosophy of time and morality. i My guiding wish was, that the small pieces of which these volumes consist, thus discriminated, might be regarded under a two-fold view; as composing an entire work within themselves, and as adjuncts to the philosophical Poem, `The Recluse.' ') When William Wordsworth published Poems in 1815, he clearly shows his intention of positioning his small lyrics in the preface. They are not only self-complete, but also satellite poems which would explain or enrich the universe of his supposed life work, The Recluse, ofwhich The Prelude and The Excursion remain as parts. This seems to disclose a Romantic poet's thoughts about small poems in'relation to long masterpieces. The Romantic poets are often evaluated by their major works: Wordsworth's The Prelude, Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Byron's Don Juan, Shelley's Prometheus Unbound and Keats's Endymion. But, as Wordsworth states, it is undeniable that many of the shorter Romantic 1yrics represent some aspect of an individual poet's thought. Blake's songs, Coleridge's early poems, Keats's odes notably form their central poetics. Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience, for example, summarizes his philosophical, ethical, 20 Kei NIJIBAYASHI religious, aesthetical thought to some extent. Wordsworth's shorter poems have always been regarded as important as The Prelude. In looking at Shelley's work, some poems have been closely studied and accepted as poems to show ideas central to his poetics: "Ode to the West Wind," "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty," "To a Skylark," "Ode to Liberty" and so on. On the other hand, some lyrics have been neglected or undeservedly treated, Among Shelley's shorter poems, the poems to Jane Williams (hereafter, the Jane Poems) are outstanding as a largest group. In fact, a few of them are individually studied and some poetic techniques are discussed by William Keach in Shelleor 's Style or by Donald Davie in "Shelley's Urbanity." What has not been fuIly explored is how Shelley's other works relate to the Jane poems. More precisely, it has not been clarified how characteristic they are as a group in relation to his later poems like Hellas and The 7Yiumph of Life. The Jane Poems are generally considered to be apart from the main stream of Shelley's great works. ii The Jane Poems are considered to be love poems. But it is difficult for us to define the nature of Shelley's love for Jane Williams.2) It seems certain, however, that his last days when he was in love with this woman were among the happiest and calmest in his life. A mood of calm can be noted in the Jane Poems; especially in the poems to be discussed: "The Invitation," "The Recollection," "With a Guitar, to Jane" and "The Keen Stars Were Twinkling." As Judith Chernaik observes, the theme of these poems seems to be "the happy union oflove, music, poetry, nature." 3) Indeed, this peacefu1 mood creates a lyrical world different from that of his earlier works. Among the Jane Poems, "The Invitation" and "The Recollection" are probably the best known and most discussed.4) Although Shelley originally wrote these as one longer poem, he intended to divide it into two separate sequences from the very first. His intention can be conjectured by differences in metre, form and tone between two poems.5) "The Invitation" seems to preserve its calm and happy mood throughout; it describes Shelley's growing love for Jane. However, when we look at it into detail, a darker mood can be observed. For example, the "halcyon"day, which "seems" to him the birth of "The brightest hour of unborn spring," in fact lasts briefly.6) He compares Jane with this unsure and transient day: Best and brightest, come away -- Fairer far than this fair day Which like thee to those in sorrow Comes to bidasweet good-morrow. (443) Dramatic Strategy in Shelley's Poems to Jane Williams 21 In spite of the generally pleasant import of these lines, he makes the rhyme scheme unpleasant: "away / day" and "sorrow / morrow." To add to this implied sadness, he deliberately provides ominous elements which incessantly undermine the ephemeral paradise of the poem: personification of sad concepts and some disharmonious images in the last stanza. In "The Invitation," personified concepts appear as if they were actors on the stage, and the poet, a supposed director, directs each to keep away from him for the sake of his happiness. Reflexion, you may come tomorrow, Sit by the fireside with Sorrow -- You, with the unpaid bill, Despair, You, tiresome verse-reciter Care, I will pay you in the grave, Death will listen to your stave -- Expectation too, be off. To-day is for itselfenough -- (444) Even in the midst of happiness with Jane, he is conscious of and tries to expel these unhappy and discouraging thoughts. In fact, ironically, they will come back to him in the sequential poem, "The Recollection." For example, the personified "Reflexion" appears again as "Memory." This ironical relation between the cause (the poet's dismissal of unhappy concepts) and the result (their formidable recurrence) dramatically links"The Invitation" and "The Recollection"like two acts. In addition, the image of the poet -- like that of a conjurer trying to control uncontrollable thoughts which continue to disturb --serves to accentuate this dramatic consequence. The rhyme also forebodes the tragedy of his love in the near future: "tomorrow/Sorrow," "Despair/Care" and " grave/stave." The discussion of images in the last stanza of "The Invitation" eventually leads us to conclude that the poem's peacefu1 mood is superficial. There are two significant images: the recess of pine trees and the night which is imagined at noon. The recess is described as discording with the poem's harmonious world. Where the pine its garland weaves Of sapless green and ivy dun Round stems that never hiss the Sun -- [Italic mine] (444) The nook is strangely excluded from the sunny ideal world, for "all things seem only one 1 In the universal Sun" (444) .7) Quite contrary to the lively outer world, the nook 22 Kei NIJIBAYASHI is hidden and confined by "sapless green and ivy dun" as if it were an embodiment of the unpleasant concepts which he tried to dispel. If we can interpret this nook as the dark side of the poet's mind, it indicates that he recognizes the ephemeral nature and the sad consequence of his love. The coiling plants too are possibly symbolic of the psychological troubles he experiences in love. 8) The poet strangely imagines night in the middle of day, and this also anticipates the unfortunate turn of the poet's love. When the night is left behind In the deep east dun and blind And the blue noon is over us, And the multitudinous Billows murmur at our feet Where the earth and ocean meet, And all things seem only one In the universal Sun. -- (444) [Italic mine] Why does he emphasize the noon by contrast with the night? The answer can be deduced from the transient peace in his mind. The day described is a "halcyon" day; it is so rare and momentary that it only promises him a brief "unborn spring." This happiness is only possible in daytime and night will come soon. Potential winter lurks behind the superficial sunny day. Contrary to "Ode to the West Wind," the poet's view involves despair. Though he thought he had dismissed unhappy ideas, he can never dispel the dark winter which comes from within. Even though the poet believes that he is in a harmonious world, the only word he can use for confirming it is "seem:" "all things seem only one" (444) . This imperfect unity of the paradise will disintegrate in the subsequent poem: "The Recollection." Ifwe assume "The Invitation" as a question about Shelley's love, "The Recollection" is the answer. We move from the state ofhappiness to that oftragic climax and end. Surprisingly, the introductory stanza of "The Recollection" begins with the image of death. The halcyon day described in "The Invitation"has now been lost and dead; the blue noon has been replaced by the severe countenance of Winter. Now the last day of many days, All beautifu1 and bright as thou, The loveliest and the last, is dead. Rise, Memory, and write its praise! Up to thy wonted work! come, trace The epitaph of glory fled; Dramatic Strategy in Shelley's Poems to Jane Williams 23 For now the Earth has changed its face, A frown is on the Heaven's brow. (444-5) The poet retrospectively views the lost paradise, and he commands the personified "Memory" (which, as we have seen, is"Reflexion"transformed) to reproduce the past.