Allison Amaya
LITR 4232
Dr. White
14 April 2001

The Question of Change and Expansion

During the Victorian Era, great accomplishments lead to peace and prosperity for the British Empire. Accomplishments include owning nearly a quarter of the worldâs land and its people. As a result, trade and commerce expanded, and Great Britain reached the height of its power. Furthermore, science rapidly made progress during this time. These rapid strides in economic and technological advances gave the British people a feeling of pessimism about whether they were progressing for the good. As a result, people began to question manâs place, or duty, on earth. Also occurring within the time of the Victorian Era is the American Renaissance. During this period, Americans were expanding their territory according to the belief in Manifest Destiny, or the idea that God or Nature intended for the United States to spread its civilization from coast to coast. Like the British, Americans questioned their moral responsibility concerning change and expansion. Consequently, the concerns of the people were echoed in the literature written during these time periods. For example, the Victorian poet, Alfred Tennyson, voiced his concerns about constant change and expansion in "The Lotos-Eaters," while the American writer, Washington Irving, also expressed his concerns in "Rip Van Winkle." An examination of the poem, "The Lotos-Eaters," and the short story, "Rip Van Winkle," reveal that Tennyson and Irving romanticized the concept of stasis while also questioning the duty of change and expansion.

In "The Lotos-Eaters," Tennyson romanticizes nature in order to emphasize the virtues of a land that remains in stasis as opposed to a land that is in constant change. When the mariners land on the island, its is described as a "land where all things always seemâd the same" (Tennyson 24). Tennyson is saying that the beauty of the island has been preserved because no one has attempted to change it. Tennyson is also saying that colonization and expansion lead to industry, which strips nature of its beauty. Furthermore, the atmosphere of the island is romanticized in that "there is neither sharp sunlight nor clear moon, only the haze of a seemingly perpetual afternoon; the air itself is languid and the stream, not full and rushing but slender and slow, seems to pause in its fall from the cliff" (Ryals 97). The idea of an island that remains constantly at the most pleasant time of day and a stream that is barely moving romanticizes the idea of being at rest with no worries. Tennyson is again saying that a land of stasis is preferable to a land of change and expansion because change requires hard work. Tennyson exemplifies the merits of a land in stasis with his comparison of a blossom becoming an apple:

With winds upon the branch, and there

Grows green and broad, and takes no care,

Sun-steepâd at noon, and in the moon

Nightly dew-fed, and turning yellow

Falls, and floats adown the air.

[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]

The flower ripens in its place,

Ripens and fades, and falls, and hath no toil,

Fast-rooted in the fruitful soil. (72-83)

The description of the apple romanticizes how nature continues to grow and live without any cares or hard work. Tennyson is suggesting that a land can continue to thrive without the toil of trying to change and expand. Furthermore, the "adjectives, nouns, and verbs used in connection with land are those of stillness" (Ryals 98). For example, the romantic description of the apple emphasizes how the "flower ripens in its place" (Tennyson 81), and the plant is "fast-rooted in the fruitful soil" (83). These descriptions romanticize a correspondence between nature and man. In other words, just as nature can succeed in remaining in one place, so can man remain rooted to a land and thrive happily.

Not only does Tennyson romanticize nature, but he also uses nature to describe the idleness and dream-like state of a land that has not been destroyed by expansion and change. For example, "from the craggy ledge the poppy hangs in sleep" (Tennyson 56). The idea of a plant sleeping demonstrates the ease and comfort of a land that is preserved in its present condition. In addition, the slow moving streams all flow out to the sea, suggesting "that the departing water indicates a flowing out of vitality from the land of the lotos-eaters" (Ryals 97). The loss of vitality continues the preservation of a land that would otherwise be destroyed by action, or expansion. Furthermore, the streams produce an effect in which the mariners are "Falling asleep in a half-dream!" (Tennyson 101) Tennyson is suggesting that only in a land of idleness can man be at ease and have the ability to dream.

Tennyson also emphasizes the merits of stasis by using the arguments of the mariners to demonstrate the negative effects of constant change and expansion. The mariners question, "Should life all labor be?/ Let us alone. Time driveth onward fast" (Tennyson 87-88). Tennyson is demonstrating that time is constant and moves rapidly. Furthermore, he is questioning whether all of manâs precious time should be spent on labor, or expanding his lands. The mariners continue their argument by saying, "Let us alone. What pleasure can we have/ To war with evil? Is there any peace/ In climbing up the climbing wave?" (92-94) Tennyson is emphasizing that in order for a nation to expand, wars must be fought. This constant motion of expansion can not bring pleasure when it causes death. Furthermore, Tennyson uses the climbing wave to symbolize the ceaseless turbulent motion that is associated with war. In the closing stanza of the poem, the mariners proclaim, "We have had enough of action, and of motion we" (150). Tennyson is demonstrating that man should take a stand like the mariners and support the idea that a land of stasis is more pleasurable than suffering the negative effects of a land in constant motion. Tennyson illustrates that man can live as happily as a god in a land in stasis when he describes the mariners: "In the hollow Lotos-land to live and lie reclined/ On the hills like Gods together, careless of mankind" (154-155).

Just as Tennyson romanticizes nature to emphasize the merits of stasis, so does Irving in "Rip Van Winkle." Irving uses the romantic imagery of the mountains as an "escape from temporial and social pressures" just as Tennyson uses the island as an escape for the mariners (Shear 164). For instance, the Kaatskill mountains are described as a "dismembered branch of the great Appalachian family, and are seen away to the west of the river, swelling up to a noble height . . ." (Irving 1343). The fact that the mountains are a dismembered branch of a larger mountain system but are still noble romanticizes how nature is separate from a civilized world. Also, the mountains symbolize a type of noble solidarity that can only be obtained through stasis. This is similar to Tennysonâs use of the apple to symbolize that nature continues to exist without expansion and change. When Rip ventures into the mountains, he sees the "lordly Hudson, far, far below him, moving on its silent but majestic course . . . at last losing itself in the blue highlands" (1346). Irvingâs romantic description of a lordly river moving majestically stresses the tranquillity of a land that is unaffected by change and expansion. The silent movement of the river is also similar to the rivers on the island of the Lotos-eaters. Like the rivers on the island, the Hudson is also taking all the vitality away from the area. As a result, nature retains its beauty and stasis by washing away the energy that accompanies expansion and change.

Like Tennyson, Irving also uses nature to describe the dream-like state of a land that has not been destroyed by expansion and change. For example, Rip looks down at the river and sees the "sail of a lagging bark, here and there sleeping on its glassy bosom" (Irving 1346). The idea that the ships are sleeping in the breast of the river is symbolic of a child sleeping on the bosom of its mother. Irving is emphasizing the tranquillity of nature. He is also emphasizing how this dream-like state can only be achieved in a place where the land is not changing and expanding. Sleep can only come when man is at rest or in a state of stasis.

While Irving romanticizes nature and uses its dream-like qualities to support the idea of stasis, he contradicts these concepts by arguing for change and expansion, which is unlike Tennysonâs view. Rip is the symbol of stasis while his wife is the symbol of industriousness and responsibility. Irving notes the greatest "error in Ripâs composition was an insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor" (1344). His wife, on the other hand, "kept continually dinning in his ears about his idleness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing on his family" (1345). While Rip is content to remain in idleness like the Lotos-eaters, Dame Van Winkle wants Rip to have higher aspirations. This is markedly dissimilar to "The Lotos-Eaters" because Tennyson argued against constant laboring. However, Irving himself stated, "Man must be aspiring: ambition belongs to his nature. He cannot rest content but is continually reaching after higher attainments and more felicitous conditions" (Zlogar 58). Irvingâs comment strongly contrasts the sentiments of Tennyson in "The Lotos-Eaters." Consequently, Irving uses Rip to symbolize the consequence for remaining in a state of stasis. When Rip meets the strange men in the mountains, he is confronted with men very similar to himself. These men, like Rip, "missed their opportunity for leading productive lives within society . . . they are figures who never heeded the warning to make better use of their time . . ." (53). Because Rip refused to embrace change and expansion, he lost twenty years of his life while sleeping. His slumber not only costs him his personal life, but the opportunity to partake in the changes and expansion of his land.

In conclusion, the Victorian poet, Alfred Tennyson, and the American Renaissance writer, Washington Irving, become the voices for their people concerning menâs role of changing and expanding their land. Both writers romanticize the idea of nature remaining in a state of stasis while civilization is struggling with change. Both writers also admire the dream-like state that nature produces because of its idleness. However, Tennyson and Irving disagree as to whether it is everyoneâs duty to aspire to higher attainments or to remain satisfied with the current conditions of their lands. The writersâ variance reflect the struggle to answer the question of whether change and expansion is the duty of all mankind.

Works Cited

Irving, Washington. "Rip Van Winkle." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. 1342-1354.

Ryals, Clyde. Theme and Symbol in Tennysonâs Poems to 1850. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1964.

Shear, Walter. "Time in ÎRip Van Winkleâ and ÎThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow.â" Midwest Quarterly 17 (1976) : 158-172.

Tennyson, Alfred. "The Lotos-Eaters." The Major Victorian Poets: Tennyson, Browning, Arnold. Ed. William E. Buckler. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1973. 34-38.

Zlogar, Richard. "Accessories That Covertly Explain: Irvingâs Use of Dutch Genre Painting in ÎRip Van Winkle.â" American Literature 54.1 (1982) : 44-62.