Thursday, November 3, 2016
11/03 A Summer Evening's Meditation
I find Anna Barbauld's vision for the afterlife depicted here most interesting and quite unique, especially for this particular time period. Instead of envisioning her soul in Heaven, Barbauld hoped to have the ability to space travel. She wanted to uncover the vast mysteries of space after death. It makes me curious about how she must have felt when she was writing this poem, because she is basically acknowledging how small humans are when compared to the immeasurable universe. She seems to take the limitlessness of space very well, considering that there was not much information about space in the Romantic period. Her ability to balance her extraterrestrial curiosities with Christian faith is astounding. Barbauld never seems to question the existence of God in this poem. She doesn't even question the purpose of the human existence, which is often a normal response that occurs when one thinks about how unbelievably large the universe is. Barbauld's optimism for the afterlife is related beautifully across the page, but it makes me wonder what her true thoughts were on death and post-death. Could it be possible that she honestly believed that death would allow her to pursue knowledge that is out of reach for those on earth? It would seem that even the splendor of Heaven would not be able to satisfy her hunt for truth and wisdom!
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This poem is definitely not what I would have expected to be written during this time period. I also think it's very impressive how shes balance her extraterrestrial curiosities with Christian faith. I know that her poem was well received based on the presentation on Thursday but I wonder if this specific poem was well received. The strangeness and refusal to include the traditional Christian ideas in England during this time on afterlife and Heaven is why this poem was so surprising to me. It makes more sense now that I know that Barbauld was not a part of the England church. I know we discussed exactly what her beliefs were but I don't remember if she believed in the traditional idea of Heaven and Hell. Either way, this is an interesting commentary on the afterlife.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Jasmine and Jordan. I really enjoyed her connection of science and the universe and faith in the afterlife. It speaks to how strong her dedication to the pursuit of knowledge was when her dream of the afterlife was the answer and understandings of the universe as a whole, nit just the existence of man. I do wonder how the public really responded to her portrayed beliefs.
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