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THE SEDUCTIVE FEMININE BEAUTY IN DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI’S SONNET “LILITH” AND PAINTING LADY LILITH

Year 2021, Volume: 61 Issue: 2, 1054 - 1068, 28.12.2021
https://doi.org/10.33171/dtcfjournal.2021.61.2.19

Abstract

The Pre-Raphaelite movement was established in 1848 not only as a rebellion against the principles in art of the Royal Academy but also as a reaction to the values of the Victorian
Age. Drawing heavily from Dante Gabriel Rosetti's depiction of the sexually attractive and seductive female character as a femme fatale, all other members of the Pre-Raphaelite
Brotherhood – such as Victorian poets, painters, designers and illustrators – began portraying female figures in their works as seductive femme fatales, which was indeed in total contrast with the Victorian idea of woman as “the angel in the house.” Hence, especially, in poetry and painting, female beauty and sexual yearning had a significant place. Given that, the leading Victorian poet-painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), a vehement founding member of the Brotherhood, used female figures extensively, and thereby the concept of feminine beauty dominated his poems and paintings. Especially, through his widespread use of unconventional female figures like fallen women and prostitutes, Rossetti manifested his explicit opposition to the Victorian ideals. Furthermore, by emphasising seductive feminine beauty in his works, he tried to break the sexual taboos in Victorian poetry and art. Therefore, he was marginalised in the Victorian Age; yet still, he became the best representative of art for art's sake movement. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to examine the depiction of women both in Rossetti's sonnet “Lilith” and painting Lady Lilith with reference to his ballad “Eden Bower.” Moreover, this paper analyses how Rossetti introduces his femme fatale figure, and hence, concludes that through his unconventional portrayal of woman and her beauty, Rossetti brings a new insight not only to the depiction of women in Victorian poetry and art but also to the condition of women in the Victorian Period in general.

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Thanks

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References

  • Allen, V. M. (1984). One Strangling Golden Hair: Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Lady Lilith. The Art Bulletin 66 (2): 285-294. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3050418
  • Bennett, M. (1988). Artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Circle. London: Lund Humphries.
  • Doughty, O. (1963). Dante Gabriel Rossetti. London: Longmans.
  • Faxon, A. C. (1989). Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Oxford: Phaidon.
  • Fredeman, W. E. (1956). The Pre-Raphaelites and Their Critics: a Tentative Approach Toward the Aesthetic of Pre-Raphaelitism. Diss. Oklahoma: The University of Oklahoma.
  • Gordon, L. (1977). Green Magic. New York: The Viking Press.
  • Greene, M. E. (1970). A Study of D. G. Rossetti’s Poetry and Aesthetic. Diss. Bloomington: Indiana University.
  • Griffiths, M. (1997). ‘Soul’s Beauty’ and ‘Body’s Beauty:’ Feminine Figures in the Poems and Paintings of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Diss. Kent: Kent State University.
  • Hobbs, J. N. (1968). The Poetry of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Diss. London: Yale University.
  • Kac, E. Media Poetry: An International Anthology. Chicago: Intellect.
  • Kastan, D. S. (2006). The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Kayıhan, Ç. (2010). Creating a World of Aesthetics: Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Reaction to the Dominant Victorian Culture. MA thesis, Ankara: Hacettepe University.
  • Leeming, D. (2005). The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Miller, J. H. (Winter, 1991). The Mirror's Secret: Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Double Work of Art. Contemporary Critics Look at Victorian Poetry, 29 (4): 333-349. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40003000
  • Mills, A. (2003). Mythology: Myths, Legends and Fantasies. Australia: Global Book Publishing.
  • Moller, K. (2004). Rossetti, Religion, and Women: Spirituality Through Feminine Beauty. Web. 2.10.2017. https://victorianweb.org/authors/dgr/moller12.html
  • Pater, W. (1986). Walter Pater: Three Major Texts. W. E. Buckler (Ed.). New York : New York University Press.
  • Rossetti, C. (2008). Poems and Prose. Ed. S. Humphries. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Rossetti, D. G. (2003). Collected Poetry and Prose. J. McGann (Ed.) London: Yale University Press.
  • Smith, S. H. P. (1978). Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Flower Imagery and the Meaning of His Painting. Diss. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh.
  • Sonstroem, D. A. (1970). Rossetti and the Fair Lady. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
  • Swinburne, A. (2004). Major Poems and Selected Prose. J. McGann (Ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press.
  • Wildman, S. (2004). Waking Dreams: the Art of the Pre-Raphaelites from the Delaware Art Museum. Art Services International.

DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI'NİN “LILITH” ADLI SONESİNDE VE LADY LILITH ADLI TABLOSUNDA BAŞTAN ÇIKARICI KADIN GÜZELLİĞİ

Year 2021, Volume: 61 Issue: 2, 1054 - 1068, 28.12.2021
https://doi.org/10.33171/dtcfjournal.2021.61.2.19

Abstract

The Pre-Raphaelite movement was established in 1848 not only as a rebellion against the principles in art of the Royal Academy but also as a reaction to the values of the Victorian Age. Drawing heavily from Dante Gabriel Rosetti's depiction of the sexually attractive and seductive female character as a femme fatale, all other members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood – such as Victorian poets, painters, designers and illustrators – began portraying female figures in their works as seductive femme fatales, which was indeed in total contrast with the Victorian idea of woman as “the angel in the house.” Hence, especially, in poetry and painting, female beauty and sexual yearning had a significant place. Given that, the leading Victorian poet-painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), a vehement founding member of the Brotherhood, used female figures extensively, and thereby the concept of feminine beauty dominated his poems and paintings. Especially, through his widespread use of unconventional female figures like fallen women and prostitutes, Rossetti manifested his explicit opposition to the Victorian ideals. Furthermore, by emphasising seductive feminine beauty in his works, he tried to break the sexual taboos in Victorian poetry and art. Therefore, he was marginalised in the Victorian Age; yet still, he became the best representative of art for art's sake movement. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to examine the depiction of women both in Rossetti's sonnet “Lilith” and painting Lady Lilith with reference to his ballad “Eden Bower.” Moreover, this paper analyses how Rossetti introduces his femme fatale figure, and hence, concludes that through his unconventional portrayal of woman and her beauty, Rossetti brings a new insight not only to the depiction of women in Victorian poetry and art but also to the condition of women in the Victorian Period in general.

Project Number

-

References

  • Allen, V. M. (1984). One Strangling Golden Hair: Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Lady Lilith. The Art Bulletin 66 (2): 285-294. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3050418
  • Bennett, M. (1988). Artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Circle. London: Lund Humphries.
  • Doughty, O. (1963). Dante Gabriel Rossetti. London: Longmans.
  • Faxon, A. C. (1989). Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Oxford: Phaidon.
  • Fredeman, W. E. (1956). The Pre-Raphaelites and Their Critics: a Tentative Approach Toward the Aesthetic of Pre-Raphaelitism. Diss. Oklahoma: The University of Oklahoma.
  • Gordon, L. (1977). Green Magic. New York: The Viking Press.
  • Greene, M. E. (1970). A Study of D. G. Rossetti’s Poetry and Aesthetic. Diss. Bloomington: Indiana University.
  • Griffiths, M. (1997). ‘Soul’s Beauty’ and ‘Body’s Beauty:’ Feminine Figures in the Poems and Paintings of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Diss. Kent: Kent State University.
  • Hobbs, J. N. (1968). The Poetry of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Diss. London: Yale University.
  • Kac, E. Media Poetry: An International Anthology. Chicago: Intellect.
  • Kastan, D. S. (2006). The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Kayıhan, Ç. (2010). Creating a World of Aesthetics: Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Reaction to the Dominant Victorian Culture. MA thesis, Ankara: Hacettepe University.
  • Leeming, D. (2005). The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Miller, J. H. (Winter, 1991). The Mirror's Secret: Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Double Work of Art. Contemporary Critics Look at Victorian Poetry, 29 (4): 333-349. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40003000
  • Mills, A. (2003). Mythology: Myths, Legends and Fantasies. Australia: Global Book Publishing.
  • Moller, K. (2004). Rossetti, Religion, and Women: Spirituality Through Feminine Beauty. Web. 2.10.2017. https://victorianweb.org/authors/dgr/moller12.html
  • Pater, W. (1986). Walter Pater: Three Major Texts. W. E. Buckler (Ed.). New York : New York University Press.
  • Rossetti, C. (2008). Poems and Prose. Ed. S. Humphries. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Rossetti, D. G. (2003). Collected Poetry and Prose. J. McGann (Ed.) London: Yale University Press.
  • Smith, S. H. P. (1978). Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Flower Imagery and the Meaning of His Painting. Diss. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh.
  • Sonstroem, D. A. (1970). Rossetti and the Fair Lady. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
  • Swinburne, A. (2004). Major Poems and Selected Prose. J. McGann (Ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press.
  • Wildman, S. (2004). Waking Dreams: the Art of the Pre-Raphaelites from the Delaware Art Museum. Art Services International.
There are 23 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Creative Arts and Writing
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Arzu Çevirgen 0000-0003-0801-0732

Project Number -
Publication Date December 28, 2021
Submission Date September 3, 2021
Published in Issue Year 2021 Volume: 61 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Çevirgen, A. (2021). THE SEDUCTIVE FEMININE BEAUTY IN DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI’S SONNET “LILITH” AND PAINTING LADY LILITH. Ankara Üniversitesi Dil Ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi, 61(2), 1054-1068. https://doi.org/10.33171/dtcfjournal.2021.61.2.19

Ankara University Journal of the Faculty of Languages and History-Geography

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