Charlotte Turner Smith: a Harbinger of Romantic Poetry?
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CHARLOTTE TURNER SMITH: A HARBINGER OF ROMANTIC POETRY? A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY GÖKÇE SERT IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE SEPTEMBER 2018 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Tülin Gençöz Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bilal Kırkıcı Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nurten Birlik Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Hande Seber (Hacettepe Uni., IED) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nurten Birlik (METU, FLE) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Margaret Sönmez (METU, FLE) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nil Korkut Naykı (METU, FLE) Assist. Prof. Dr. Serkan Ertin (Kocaeli Uni., IDE) PLAGIARISM I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name : Gökçe Sert Signature : iii ABSTRACT CHARLOTTE TURNER SMITH: A HARBINGER OF ROMANTIC POETRY? Sert, Gökçe Ph.D., Department of English Literature Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nurten Birlik September 2018, 229 pages Charlotte Smith, a prolific and prominent poet of the late 18th century, inspired many of her successors with the innovative poetic genres and subject matter that she introduced. Although her literary legacy was largely forgotten for centuries, she has been recently rediscovered by feminist scholars of Romanticism and is nowadays being cited as the first Romantic poet. Despite the many innovations in her poetry, this study, however, intends to problematize this labelling, by arguing that Smith’s poetry fails to adhere to important Romantic principles. Hence, this research focuses on the concepts of transcendence and Burkean sublime, sensibility and subjectivity to reveal her complex relationship to Romantic preoccupations and tradition of poetry. The discussion of the poems is preceded by an introductory chapter about Smith’s legacy and life as biographical references to her painful life are integral to any comprehensive discussion of Smith’s poetry. Following the introduction, a theoretical chapter on the concept of Romanticism lays the foundations for the discussion. The close reading of the poems reveals that owing to her lack of formal education, Smith does not have the philosophical background that many of her male counterparts do; thus, the worldview presented in the poems is mostly superficial, lacking the profundity that is predominant in later, canonical Romantic poetry. However, her poetry does reveal the ethics of feminine sensibility, the complexity of the female dissent and the fluidity of subjectivity, which insights make her one of the most important and interesting lyrical voices of her time. iv Keywords: English Romantic poetry, Charlotte Smith, the sublime, sensibility, subjectivity. v ÖZ CHARLOTTE TURNER SMITH: ROMANTİK ŞİİRİN BİR ÖNCÜSÜ MÜ? Sert, Gökçe Doktora, İngiliz Edebiyatı Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Nurten Birlik Eylül 2018, 229 sayfa 18. yüzyıl sonlarında yaşamış, üretken ve öncül bir şair olan Charlotte Smith, kullandığı yenilikçi türler ve konularla kendinden sonra gelen pek çok şairi etkilemiştir. Her ne kadar edebi ünü yüzyıllar boyunca unutulmuş olsa da, şair son yıllarda feminist eleştirmenler tarafından yeniden keşfedilmiştir ve günümüzde ilk Romantik şair olarak anılmaktadır. Şiirlerinde pek çok yenilik barındırsa da, bu çalışma Smith’in Romantik olarak adlandırılmasını sorunsallaştırmakta ve aslında şairin önemli Romantik prensiplere uymadığını savunmaktadır. Bu çerçevede, bu çalışma, aşkınlık ve Burke’e göre yüce, duyarlılık ve öznellik kavramlarına yoğunlaşarak Smith’in Romantik düşünce yapısı ve şiiriyle olan karmaşık ilişkisini irdelemektedir. Şiir çözümlemelerinden önce verilen giriş bölümü, Smith’in şiirlerinin detaylı olarak anlaşılması için gerekli olan şairin yaşamöyküsüne ve edebi mirasına yer vermektedir. Girişin ardından gelen teorik bölüm, Romantik dönemin özelliklerini vererek tartışmanın zeminini hazırlamaktadır. Şiirlerin detaylı okumaları, Smith’in örgün eğitim eksikliğine bağlı olarak, dönemin erkek şairlerinin aksine, şairin felsefi bilgisinin eksikliğini ve dünya görüşünün yüzeyselliğini ortaya koymaktadır. Yine de, Smith’in şiirleri kadın duyarlılığını, topluma muhalif olmasının karmaşıklığını ve öznelliğin akışkanlığını göstermesi açılarından önemlidir ve şairi döneminin en önemli ve ilgi çekici lirik seslerinden biri yapmaktadır. vi Anahtar Sözcükler: İngiliz Romantik şiiri, Charlotte Smith, yüce, duyarlılık, öznellik. vii DEDICATION To my dear daughter, Bahar, and to single mothers everywhere… viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation came to be written during a rather difficult period in my life (which occasionally resembled the life of the central figure of this study, Charlotte Smith), and for that I need to thank many people for their support as they made it possible for me to finish the research. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nurten Birlik, who has never given up on me, even though I have many times. Without her never-ending support, patience, understanding, encouragement and constructive feedback, I would never have been able to complete this study. I am also much indebted to the members of the examining committee, Prof. Dr. Hande Seber and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Margaret Sönmez whose positive and heartening demeanour reinstated my self-esteem and encouraged me to continue my study in my darkest hours. Their professional and personal help and guidance brought me light, inspiration and strength whenever I needed. I also would like to take this opportunity to thank the other valuable members of the committee, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nil Korkut Naykı and Assist. Prof. Dr. Serkan Ertin for their support, helpful criticism and reassurance. I am also very much indebted to Prof. Dr. Yıldız Ecevit, who lifted up my spirits with her never- ending positivity. Yet unfortunately she could not be with us in the final stages of this study due to familial reasons. I am very grateful to my dear friend and my anchor, Berna Arslan, who has persistently endured my ups and downs, patiently and wisely offered me much appreciated advice and stood by me against all odds. I wholeheartedly thank her for her invaluable friendship which has shed light on my life for so many years. I would also like to thank Buket Doğan, with whom I shared this rocky journey for many years. Thank you, Buket, for patiently answering all my questions, ix listening to my endless moaning and offering your assistance. Special thanks to Serkan Algan and Özgür Köse, dear friends and valuable colleagues, with whom I frequently shared PhD-related anguish. Their advice, help and encouragement have been much treasured. I am also very much obliged to my colleagues in the Department of Modern Languages, Derem Çanga and Gökçe Erkan, who reminded me of how lucky I am to have such supportive, generous and compassionate friends that I can confide in every single day. Their insight, support, patience and good-humour rejuvenated me when I lost faith in myself. Thank you for excusing my leaves and doing everything possible to ease this process for me. Very special thanks to my friends and neighbours Hürana and Murat Aydın whose good-spirits, wonderful food, and constant assistance have made life much more tolerable; I am truly indebted and blessed to have them. I also would like to express my deepest thanks to my mother, father, and brother for their incessant support and belief in me. Thank you for always being there for me, making me feel loved and appreciated, and supporting me in every possible way. Also, very special thanks to my aunt, Özlem Sert, who offered me help and care whenever I needed. And finally, I would like to thank dear Bahar, who has certainly been the most patient person in this entire process, tolerating my long hours of studying and patiently enduring all the arrangements I had to make to complete this study. I promise, I will make up for the lost time with endless hours of playing games, painting, and dancing. x TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ................................................................................................ iii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................... iv ÖZ ................................................................................................................... vi DEDICATION ............................................................................................. viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................ ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION: CHARLOTTE SMITH AND HER LITERARY LEGACY ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Aim and Scope of the Study ................................................................... 1 1.2. Smith’s Life ........................................................................................... 12 1.3. Smith’s Legacy .....................................................................................