Madonna's Class Summary

Our Thursday, January 27th class focused on small and large group discussions, in which we examined the underlying themes of Manfred and addressed the question of whether Manfred is based on Romantic Imagination or Romantic Irony or a combination of the two. In my own small group as well as in the large group discussions that followed, the overwhelming consensus was that while the prevailing theme of Manfred is predominantly Ironic, essentially the text consists of a combination of the two elements working together and playing off one another to construct the irony of Manfred’s life, and in turn the irony of mankind in general.

Class began with a reward quiz on our reading of Byron’s Manfred. Before breaking into discussion groups Professor Foss gave us an overview of the Byron resources available on the WIKI and asked us to read the introduction section and peruse the “Byronic Hero” quotes posted there. He then provided us with the highlights of Byron’s life which included such juicy details as, aristocratic squandering of wealth and sensational rumors of relations with a half-sister and a male companion, coupled with progressive and revolutionary politics that made him a hero throughout Europe while causing him disgrace in England. He went on to point out the semi-autobiographical nature of Manfred, and asked us to consider the ways in which Byron’s own life informs the text.

As a springboard for our small group discussions of the text we were instructed to consider the following questions: Would you view this as a dark text – cynical and pessimistic in nature? Or is Manfred’s refusal to bow down to any spirit based upon the powers of his own mind and reminiscent of the powers of the human mind and imagination? And how do the dramatic scenes spoken by or of Manfred define the poem/define Manfred. Does the text affirm the powers of imagination? And if so How?

We began our small group discussion with a review of the elements of Manfred’s life that closely parallel the known facts of Byron’s own life. Most notably, we compared the rumors of Byron’s liaisons with his half-sister and Manfred’s relationship to Astarte. Next we discussed the underlying irony of the parallels between Manfred’s Astarte, “the only thing he seem’d to love, - / As he by blood was bound to do, / The lady Astarte, his -” (944, 45-7) and Byron’s half-sister, with the hyphen standing in as thinly veiled substitution for Augusta Leigh. We found that the theme of desire versus morality hinged upon these forbidden relationships and created irony.

We then turned to a discussion of the elements of imagination inherent in the natural embodiment of the seven spirits, each representing a facet of nature, and the supernatural powers that each represented (928-9). We determined that, based upon the dream-like tone and the supernatural embodiment of nature, this scene contained an overt sense of romantic imagination. The conversation, then, quickly turned to the irony of Manfred’s situation. We determined that the underlying plot was one of multifaceted irony, created by the tension between Manfred and the spirits.

Although Manfred possesses great knowledge and power, he is powerless to help himself; he exercises power over powerful spirits but they are powerless to give him that which he most desires, “[f]orgetfulness” (929, 35). We found that this tension between Manfred and the spirits gains strength in the tensions of Manfred’s personal wish “[t]o rest forever” (931, 19) and his fear of the unknown. Ultimately, due to his unwillingness to surrender any of his power to another, Manfred is unable to accept any of the offers of help that he receives. In the concluding scene, we found the final irony of Manfred’s life as he bragged to the spirits, “I have not been thy dupe, nor thy prey - / but was my own destroyer” (946, 138-9). This, we concluded is true of all mankind; although man struggles against nature, ultimately his battle is against himself. Man is his own worst enemy; therefore, man is irony.

Upon reconvening for large group discussion, we heard this theme, of Manfred’s plight representing the universal plight of humanity, echoed in the conclusions of several of the other groups. One group noted the representation of Manfred as man, based upon his being so named in the text immediately following his opening dialogue. Further, another group commented on the fact that all human characters’ had names that began with Man. Another topic of discussion concerning irony, centered on the lines of juxtaposition contained in Manfred’s ordering away of the spirit in the final scene (945, 87-90). One group found a transcendence of all that is wrong with humanity, in the fact that is overcome by his own desires rather than by stronger powers (spirits). It was noted that the powers of man and God bounce off one another; at times one is stronger than the other, but the overwhelming theme was seen to be more about the process of becoming rather than who is stronger. In conclusion, we determined that Manfred utilizes a combination of both Romantic Imagination and Irony, with the imagination working to further the irony, in the form of the Spirits, and the irony working to further the imagination, as represented by the impact of the interaction of man and nature on the process of becoming.