A Literary Analysis Of Three Masters' Genres: Faulkner, Browning, And Ibsen

Sometimes one can understand the truth of a cliché despite how hackneyed and over-analyzed it may seem, however great works of literature in all genres proves to stand as richly fruitful and as timeless markers as any beautiful lyrics ever known. Three masters of the genres of the short story, the play, and the poem are hereby represented by William Faulkner, Robert Browning, and Henrik Ibsen. Each genre is provided with a named theme of control for each specified work and genre. William Faulkner's short story “Barn Burning” shall explore the theme of guilt and sin of the fathers being bestowed upon the progeny, in terms of the struggles and choices finally made by the progeny. Robert Browning's poem “My Last Duchess” investigates the theme of the depth of the mystery of love and passion of a royal lady who is nevertheless a woman of flesh-and-blood wherein a piece of art can capture the great impact of emotional suffering, anguish, and sexually charged emotional energy through the subtle physical observances. Henrik Ibsen's combining of old and modern perspective in his play “A Doll's House” shall carry the theme examined herein of considering or questioning the ethics of a woman leaving her husband for the sake and freedom of self-discovery.

Each controlling theme as its own entity of critical analysis seeks to connect literary device or connect each thesis to the characters involved in the human dramatization. Symbolism, language, and setting shall be considered as well. Supporting points will hopefully lend credibility or at least reasons for pondering the thoughts each work provokes, in a way or ways that make sense to the reader. There is are obvious reasons literature is categorized under the expression of the “Humanities.” Seems as though story cannot be separated from the fact, feelings, emotions, and passions of our being human. Finally, a common thread between the three works shall provide an opportunity to speculate shared ideas that each of the literature speaks to.

William Faulkner's short story, Barn Burning, speaks of guilt and sin of the fathers being visited upon the sons, generations or progeny. However, in the story, the son Sarty Snopes actually takes a pro-active role in the end to decide the fate. When Abner Snopes, it is clearly displayed that Sarty's father loses his cool with his usual the world-owes-me-something attitude. After Smith yells “Damnation!” and having declared himself glad to be banned spitting out, “I aim to. I don't figure to stay in a country among people who...” according to the Archive documentation of the text paints a real picture of his character. The guilt of Abner burning down his landlord's barn is obviously indisputed as the case is summarily dismissed, with no court appeal.

The text has some interesting language which reflects the manner of man that Abner is. One scene in the story as a telltale backdrop in the setting, according to the Archive recalls Abner's clothing as a “stiff black coat” and his personage as “the wiry figure walking a little stiffly.” Symbolism in the classic sense of a literary device utilizing allusion, suggest a dark nature about the father. The symbolism communicates broadly a lack of virtue in the father. The sin, guilt, and shame of the father which disillusions the son sets a sort of trap in a way – or a dilemma. In other words there comes a time in life where we must perceive a real need to view our parents as human, and thereby fallible. This may come as a shock to many.

Depending of course upon the intensity of the disillusionment, a father or mother of dubious principles aired to the public like so much dirty laundry can be embarrassing. Naturally young Sarty's allegiance as a son to his father is challenged especially after moving to the Major de Spain household. When as fate might present an opportunity for a fresh start, it would seem that even after the harsh lye soap debacle of ruining the rug Abner might acquiesce to the situation at hand and try a little humbleness.

Even after a reduction of the fine for screwing up the rug from twenty bushels of corn down to ten, Abner takes upon himself the role of the victim being wrongfully treated. A word is in order here about the historical conflicts between blacks and whites particularly in the American South, and although Faulkner utilizes this setting, there remains a universal core pointing to the dignity or indignity of the human condition. Personal character is always a matter of heart and soul underneath individual skin. Faulkner, as Yuan Education notes, uses Abner's character's makeup as a “narcissistic white man who always feels being mistreated and always seeks an outlet to vent his anger” and mostly his wounded foot to demonstrate through symbol Abner's “wounded pride.”

If you try and think about colloquial conversation whenever the foot is mentioned it's not always a good thing. For example, she stuck her foot in her mouth signifying she said the wrong thing. The foot can portend an evil bent.

Robert Browning's poem entitled My Last Duchess is rather intriguing. It is compelling and striking to note that the object of the poem, according to a Wikipedia source, was the fourteen-year-old bride of the fifth Duke of Ferrara one of the famed de' Medicis. While it is true that this source is not normally ever referred to with any great academic weight, in this case indeed provides a clear painting of the portrait of the young woman – along with the full text of the poem itself. The thesis of the poem has a connotation of passion, mystery, and depth of the love of a lady of royal means and standing, yet she is as common as any other woman of flesh-and-blood. She experiences an impact of emotional suffering, anguish, perhaps the sweet pangs of love and sexually charged emotional energy which leave their imprint upon the body and soul.

What has happened? According the Browning's own words in the poem as records Wikipedia, of her façade “the depth and passion of its earnest glance,” and “how such a glance came there” suggest a subtle passion that draws in the viewer to feel what perhaps the woman in the portrait may be yearning over or yearning for. There is much to be said of the bursting period during the Italian Renaissance against which background and setting the poem reads. Apparently, the young woman had a flirty cheerful nature that was not entirely due to the presence of her husband, as Browning relates in the poem when he says “'twas not her husband's presence only, called that spot of joy into the Duchess' cheek.” Contemplating this alone hints at a woman's right to freedom of expression even in the smallest of ways. A chuckle, laugh, spiritedness, or outburst of joy must have rather been frowned upon, even among women of high breeding inside the royal courts.

The mystery and depth of passion of the lady may have been as though she were in love, with a man, her husband perhaps, or generally held an exuberance for life and yearning to passionately break free from the constraints of being or feeling pinned in. We do not know. It is impossible to precisely assess the situation. What is quite telling though and odd, as Shmoop informs is that the Duke keeps the portrait painting behind a curtain, allowing only himself to draw it open to gaze upon it. Basically, in the end, he tries to kill her free spirit and as the poem reflects such when it conveys he “gave commands” then “all smiles stopped together.” Is it difficult to imagine that a man of power would be irritated with the carefree, genial attitude of a young woman?

Living under such stifled control perhaps makes the woman hold a love or lover particularly dear. Her freshness and youth appreciated, as it would seem, the simple pleasures of life. Now it obviously would be unfair to characterize all men of wealth and power as being old, stodgy, and grumpy fools yet it is not hard to imagine even in this day and age. It doesn't take much digging to imagine a contemporary modern actress, pretty movie starlet or model as having been disappointed after being in a close relationship with an older more powerful man of financial or positional means. Once again this is not a blanket indictment against all men who wield power, but almost is an indictment against a society that permits it.

One striking feature about how Browning uses the poem is quite fundamental. The fact that he chooses a poem to depict this ethereal drama really fits a transcendence he seems to be attempting to capture. There is something about a poem. After all, even the modern-day lyrics in songs are nothing but poems set to music. Music can be sheer poetry and poetry music.

In any case, it seems as though My Last Duchess imposes a passionate joy for life, innocent carefree happiness that is smothered by the jealousy of one in misery. The sin and guilt of free expression can be costly one may suppose.

Henrik Ibsen's famous play called A Doll's House, in a Christmas time setting speaks volumes of the promise of jovial and warm family gatherings, charitable gift-giving, and the comforts of sweet dainties and rum. The female protagonist Nora is being blackmailed by a bank employee all choked up with bitterness but determined to smear Nora's life since he knows about her previous forgery surrounding a loan. Contemplation of suicide is a serious thing and Nora thinks about jumping to her death in an icy lake. Just as feared, when her husband finds out about her indiscretion he flies into a rage. The thesis here speaks to questioning the ethics of a woman leaving her husband for the sake and freedom of self-discovery.

Which is worse? Staying with a man just to married in name only? Or feeling like a woman is forced to leave because she cannot bear the coldness of such an arrangement, and coming to the conclusion that the only answer is to leave her home and enter the world alone? The reference as reminds readers how Nora's husband, Torvald, refers to her as “my little squirrel” and still loving her despite the fact as his “little caged song bird.” The thought alone can be a bit sickening and depressing. Ibsen literature in the format of a play helps to pump a sense of real-life scenario, betrayal, and discomfort within the dynamics of human relationships when one has done something wrong.

In these moments of wrongdoing, which may not always be based upon any intentional maliciousness is hard to cure. That is once a deed has been done it is difficult to assuage parties who are involved and either directly or indirectly hurt by the action. The internet is replete with real-life stories of men and women who break up days before a wedding, forever changing the course of their lives. And who is to say? Some of these disruptions may have been the biggest mistakes of their lives. You only live once. Ibsen's sense of creating a dichotomy of peril plays out very well in the dialogue and circumstances of the plot. Although these three genres and tales derive from different writers, there may be room for a common ideology tying them together or at least giving room for the overlap of general themes that run through the human condition.

The common thread running throughout all the works, given the diversity of setting, symbolism, and language is guilt and sin, betrayal, and the questioning of what comprises ethical choices. A narrower common thread might depict itself as hard choices and the guilt of sin. That sin may be intended or unintended, but the human condition does not allow for perfection. Literature helps human beings to find a commonality in emotions, morality, and struggle of one passion or another. Character analysis helps pull the significance of lessons and needed sympathies or sensitivity because after all, nobody is perfect.

Works Cited

Archive. (2013). Collected stories of William Faulkner [Data file] Retrieved from http://archive.org/stream/collectedstories030393mbp/collectedstories030393mbp_djvu.txt

FullBooks.com. (2013). A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen [Data file] Retrieved from http://www.fullbooks.com/A-Doll-s-House1.html

Plays About. (2013). A doll's house: Plot summary [Data file] Retrieved from http://plays.about.com/od/plays/a/dolls_summary.htm

Shmoop.com. (2013). My last duchess by Robert Browning [Data file] Retrieved from http://www.shmoop.com/my-last-duchess/summary.html

TheatreDatabase.com. (2013). Henrik Ibsen – Ibsen's plays [Data file] Retrieved from http://www.theatredatabase.com/19th_century/henrik_ibsen_001.html

Wikipedia. (2013). My last duchess {full text of poem and portrait} [Data file] Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Last_Duchess

Yuan Education. (2013). Learn it easier – Educational resources – Barn Burning (William Faulkner) [Data file] Retrieved from http://yuaneducation.wordpress.com/2011/06/25/barn-burning-william-faulkner/