Victorian Life Through Color
The use of color in Victorian literature and art has gone far beyond simple description to form it's very own sort of diction. Whether reading Victorian prose or looking at a Pre-Raphaelite painting one is drawn in and deeply affected by the arrangement and combination of it's colors. In the two of these mediums, each color is both powerful and used precisely either to represent a trait or emotion or to compliment other colors to form a greater representation of an idea. Furthermore, seeing these colors in the mind brings out any unconscious association, bias, or preconceived notion of what traits and emotions generally go along with a given color. This use of color is partially why Victorian poetry is so beautiful and compelling to the reader. It describes an onslaught of emotions without ever having to call them by name. Indeed, it can truthfully be said that Victorian literature and art speak to the reader in a language of color. The first point to look at when examining the Victorian use of color is the general similarity between it's art and poetry. These mediums, in fact, have gone beyond similarity and become practically interchangeable. In this way, the colors of each poem seem
In Tennyson's Mariana, the morning is "gray-eyed" because her lover has left her (Abrams 1202). Throughout all of Victorian art and literature it is clear that color has an astounding impact on each aspect. " The colors here show the reader her complete purity and beauty in her willingness to sacrifice her life for love. The pathetic fallacy could arguably be considered the whole cause of the language of color. Finally, colors also show us the feelings of the artist or writer as well, letting us know their personal views or beliefs. The only real difference is that the narrator's despair has made the blue sky "dark," a word synonymous with evil and hate. These feelings are not an accident, but instead the intentional utilization of the power of that color has in both painting and poetry. By using this description the reader conjures up an image much more detailed and complete. Tennyson's most desirable female of all, for example, is characterized by not only having a ghostly white appearance, but is even wearing white clothing. This is easily understood when read because of the universal language of color in both Victorian art and literature. One striking example of this is Millais's Ophelia, in which the beautiful subject is no more apparent than the bright shades of green in the surrounding riverbank. Often used in the Pre-Rapaelite scenes of the last paragraph, the incredible influence of color on nature is definitely an integral part of the language of color. The perfect Victorian woman, represented fully by only a color. Victorian art and literature both clearly depend on color to bring them to life.
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Merlin Merlin,
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Acceptance Essays
