Classics and the Western Canon discussion
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The Blithedale Romance
Blithedale Romance
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Blithedale Romance - Preface through Ch. 7
Chris wrote: "When Priscilla arrived with Mr. Hollingsworth, I surmised that was the very great favor that Mr. Moodie wanted of Coverdale....to bring her. Am I jumping to connclusions?."I thought the same as a logical assumption, but I'm reserving judgement on whether that was actually it, or whether Hawthorne is doing a bit of sleight of hand (which would fit with the Veiled Lady's Sibylline response to his question).
Clari wrote: "What has struck me most in this opening section is how little of the ideology and what brought these people together is put forward. "You're right, it's short on detail. But there's quite a bit of romanticization about the project. "our exploded scheme for beginning the life of Paradise anew." " in quest of a better life." "I once had faith and force enough to form generous hopes of the world's destiny—yes!—and to do what in me lay for their accomplishment;" "I once had faith and force enough to form generous hopes of the world's destiny—yes!—and to do what in me lay for their accomplishment;" " the blessed state of brotherhood and sisterhood, at which we aimed,"
And that's just from the first 2 chapters; I would find more, but I'm being called to dinner.
In looking for passages from an earlier post I ran across this from his trip to Blithedale:"There were four of us who rode together through the storm; and Hollingsworth, who had agreed to be of the number, was accidentally delayed, and set forth at a later hour alone."
Have we met any of the other three? Zenobia was already there, as was Silas. Unless I missed it, I don't think we've been introduced to any other members of the group, have we?
The nameless three. I take this as first use of a device to sketch a background of substantial population at Blithedale while avoiding encumbrance of the story with actual useless characters. Keep an eye on this piece of narrative trickery. Miles Coverdale gets a phonebook type name. Zenobia is a designation only. Hollingsworth is surname only. Priscilla is forename only. Each of these four foreground characters has a different form of name.
Aleph wrote: "The nameless three. I take this as first use of a device to sketch a background of substantial population at Blithedale while avoiding encumbrance of the story with actual useless characters. Keep ..."Really great points.
Miles Coverdale = non-descript name. Is he an everyman?
Zenobia = fake identity. She's not what she seems.
Priscilla and Hollingsworth: Each is missing something. The two have to be combined to make a whole identity/person.
Lily wrote: "As Roger says @15, the boot prints on the pure white snow immediately provide a premonition of where the story is headed. Still, Hawthorne is sustaining suspense on the "how" from here to there. (Did Hawthorne plant a spoiler up front? ) "And then there's this (in chap. 2):
The better life! Possibly, it would hardly look so, now; it is enough if it looked so, then. The greatest obstacle to being heroic, is the doubt whether one may not be going to prove one's self a fool; the truest heroism is, to resist the doubt -- and the profoundest wisdom, to know when it ought to be resisted, and when to be obeyed.
Yet, after all, let us acknowledge it wiser, if not more sagacious, to follow out one's day-dream to its natural consummation, although the vision have been worth the having, it is certain never to be consummated otherwise than by a failure.
The historical Miles Coverdale was a reform-oriented cleric, and eventually a budding Calvinist. I find it curious that Hawthorne should choose this name for his narrator. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myles_C...
So far I find this tale quite funny myself. Without the humor it would be insufferable. As noted before, we've not seen much ideology yet, but there is plenty of high-minded idealism:
"Thus the track of an old conventionalism was visible on what was freshest in the sky."
"...there was better air to breathe. Air, that had not been breathed, once and again! Air, that had not been spoken into words of falsehood, formality, and error, like all the air in the dusky city!"
"I felt, so much the more, that we had transported ourselves a world-wide distance from the system of society that shackled us at breakfast time."
"We had left the rusty iron frame-work of society behind us. We had broken through many hindrances that are powerful enough to keep most people on the weary tread-mill of the established system, even while they feel its irksomeness almost as intolerable as we did."
"It was our purpose - a generous one, certainly, and absurd, no doubt, in full proportion with its generosity - to give up whatever we had heretofore attained, for the sake of showing mankind the example of a life governed by other than false and cruel principles, on which human society has all been based."
"And, as the basis of our institution, we purposed to offer up the earnest toil of our bodies, as a prayer, no less than an effort, for the advancement of our race."
Kerstin wrote: "As noted before, we've not seen much ideology yet, but there is plenty of high-minded idealism: "I would think it was tongue-in-cheek until I remember that Hawthorne was an early member of Brook Farm, and they really did believe this idealism.
Is Hawthorne reflecting his history here with affection? Or is he bemoaning the foolish idealism that he once held?
Everyman wrote: "I would think it was tongue-in-cheek until I remember that Hawthorne was an early member of Brook Farm, and they really did believe this idealism.Is Hawthorne reflecting his history here with affection? Or is he bemoaning the foolish idealism that he once held?"
Oh, there is no question they really believed it. This is a common life experience, after all, of youth and early adulthood where some form of idealism is followed which then gets tempered by time and experience. This is partly why I find this so humorous.
From these early chapters I can't quite make out yet if Hawthorne is looking back with affection, which would mean he still believes in the basic premises. Or if he thinks them foolish, then life's lessons taught him otherwise.
Kerstin wrote: "From these early chapters I can't quite make out yet if Hawthorne is looking back with affection, which would mean he still believes in the basic premises. Or if he thinks them foolish, then life's lessons taught him otherwise. ..."I felt like it was a combination of the two. As Coverdale, he feels a fond nostalgia for this idealistic time, for the unwitting arrogance that accompanies their earnest commitment to this endeavor. He can recognize the arrogance now, and no longer believes that the world can so easily be remade. It is the same air with which most of us look back on the foolish peccadillos of our youth. He reveals the cynicism which has come with the years when he says, "In my own behalf, I rejoice that I could once think better of the world's improvability than it deserved. It is a mistake into which men seldom fall twice, in a lifetime; or, if so, the rarer and higher is the nature that can thus magnanimously persist in error" (51). While he doesn't regret his former passion for reforming society, he clearly no longer believes it possible, and sounds rather contemptuous at the idea of someone even trying now.
I, too, see a droll tone apparent from time to time. I think Coverdale is definitely being tongue-in-cheek, especially given that he is now describing these events from the viewpoint of someone who no longer believes in these philosophies. While The Scarlet Letter is pretty humorless, I found "The Custom House" to be quite funny in places. Hawthorne can do humor when he wants to!
Cindy wrote: "Kerstin wrote: "From these early chapters I can't quite make out yet if Hawthorne is looking back with affection, which would mean he still believes in the basic premises. Or if he thinks them fool..."I underlined the same quote :)
I just finished chap VI, Coverdale's Sick-chamber and was so struck by the writing describing Coverdale's thoughts on Zenobia. Quite sensual and erotic! Was this common or uncommon for this time period of American literature? I also thought Hawthorne's physical descriptions made me think of Eve in Eden ("her womanliness incarnated" in particular) but her manner certainly doesn't match.In the previous chap, I was found the para describing Priscilla's silk purse interesting & C's comment that it may be "a symbol of Priscilla's own mystery" a little tantalizing. A teaser.
Cindy wrote: "As Coverdale, he feels a fond nostalgia for this idealistic time, for the unwitting arrogance that accompanies their earnest commitment to this endeavor..."How far (if at all?) can we connect Coverdale as a fictional creation to Hawthorne as the author? I only know the very basic autobiography.
Clari wrote: "How far (if at all?) can we connect Coverdale as a fictional creation to Hawthorne as the author? I only know the very basic autobiography. ."The only link I'm aware of is that Hawthorne was an early participant in Brook Farm. He left after about 6 months, I think, so we'll see whether the same is true here. Brook Farm was primarily initiated by a George Riley (I think that's right), but so far there is no equivalent figure here. He was single at the time he joined Brook Farm, but was engaged, which Coverdale apparently isn't.
That's all I've figured out so far.
I found it interesting that although he (Coverdale) was rhapsodizing about the project that first night, the ruddy glow in the windows welcoming the stranger, the comradeship of the group around the dinner table, etc., by the next morning, as he lies in his sick bed (and how sick really is he? A cold doesn't produce a fever, or at least not a serious one) he's regretting his decision. "What, in the name of common-sense, had I to do with any better society than I had always lived in?" "Was it better to hoe, to mow, to toil and moil amidst the accumulations of a barnyard.."That was a very quick turnaround! Will be interesting to see whether his enthusiasm for the project returns with his health, or whether the bloom is already off the rose and it's only a matter of time until the pedals start falling.
Though it seems he had had his doubts before:"It was our purpose—a generous one, certainly, and absurd, no doubt, in full proportion with its generosity—to give up whatever we had heretofore attained, for the sake of showing mankind the example of a life governed by other than the false and cruel principles on which human society has all along been based." [Chapter 3]
No doubt absurd, eh? Yet he goes anyhow
"Pigs! Good heavens! had we come out from among the swinish multitude for this? " [3]Swinish multitude?
Coverdale does, the more closely one examines his language, seem to delight in hyperbole.
Everyman wrote: "I found it interesting that although he (Coverdale) was rhapsodizing about the project that first night, the ruddy glow in the windows welcoming the stranger, the comradeship of the group around the dinner table, etc., by the next morning, as he lies in his sick bed (and how sick really is he? A cold doesn't produce a fever, or at least not a serious one) he's regretting his decision.Pigs! Good heavens! had we come out from among the swinish multitude for this? " [3]
Swinish multitude?
Coverdale does, the more closely one examines his language, seem to delight in hyperbole. . ..."
These are some of the things I find humorous: his conviction that he's dying from a cold, his retreat from his lofty goals at the first sign of hardship or discomfort. I think that Hawthorne is creating a likable character in Coverdale, but his dramatic tendencies make him a little absurd. But then, Coverdale's viewpoint on looking back on this period of his life seems to be that the whole endeavor was somewhat absurd. At least, that's the feeling I get from it so far.
Cindy wrote: But then, Coverdale's viewpoint on looking back on this period of his life seems to be that the whole endeavor was somewhat absurd. At least, that's the feeling I get from it so far..."The fun for me is how (dull, strait-laced?) Hawthorne is using words to convey that sense of absurdity. My reaction: it belongs more to today than the dated feeling I expected. (But the next chapter -- next week -- felt a bit of a let-down to me. Will need to read more to see if there is a turnaround again.)
From chronology appended to 5 novels in Library of America edition:Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-1864
1839 – With the help of Elizabeth Peabody, is appointed Weigher and Gauger at Boston Custom House. Becomes engaged to Sophia Peabody
1841 – Resigns from Custom House. Joins utopian community of Brook Farm, but leaves after eight months
1842 – Marries Sophia on July 9
1844 – Daughter Una born
1846 – Son Julian born
1851 – Daughter Rose born
1852 – Publishes Blithedale Romance
Tamara wrote: "The four of them come together at Blithedale and yet not one of them shows a genuine interest in the social experiment." Brilliant observation. I had just observed this in Hollingsworth character, but you're right. I was wondering why did Mr. Coverdale got sick. Yeah, sure, the change of weather was too much, but I remember also that he was hesitant about doing the actual work, and that he almost begged Hollingsworth to send him home. I also dislike him; but I think that's what the author wants; I do think the author tries to satirize the whole idea of an elitist group of people who think of themselves as an oasis amidst the moral sandwaste of the rest of the world. And yes, I also like Silas because he's like the one that is actually doing the real work, not the ingenious, creative, delusional part of the experiment. But Hollingsworth's the character I most like; his tenderness and his introversion and his, I think, relationship with the announced catastrophe makes him very interesting and likeable to me. Actually every character except Coverdale interest me. I look forward to see what happens with the The Zenobia-Psriscilla duo.
Everyman wrote: ""Pigs! Good heavens! had we come out from among the swinish multitude for this? " [3]Swinish multitude?"
Coverdale, for all of his poetic sensitivities, seems to neither possesses the common touch nor thinks much of the people in general. The very next paragraph reveals who he is referring to as the swinish multitude.
after our separation from the greedy, struggling, self-seeking world, should relate to the possibility of getting the advantage over the outside barbarians in their own field of labor.Swinish multitude sounds like an early draft version of basket of deplorables . In fact, he does refer to another character as deplorable later in the book. I hope he does not intend on running for office later in life.
Does Hawthorne intend his narrator to be likeable? I find his demonstrations of elitist contempt both offensive and insulting; diminishing my sympathy for him.
David wrote: "Swinish multitude sounds like an early draft version of basket of deplorables . In fact, he does refer to another character as deplorable later in the book. I hope he does not intend on running for office later in life..."Hilarious comparison! You brightened my day in an otherwise gloomy, rainy day in Kansas.
Does Hawthorne intend his narrator to be likeable? I find his demonstrations of elitist contempt both offensive and insulting; diminishing my sympathy for him. I think the tries to make Coverdale unlikeable. Why does he get sick? That's key for me: why does Hawthorne makes him get sick? To convey, I think, the idea that the Blithedale experiment was only an ideal, one that, faced with reality, couldn't get over a mild cold. I dislike Zenobia and Coverdale; their dismisiveness of poor Priscilla is almost disgusting, and the fact that they "accept" her only after a "what would the world say if we, a group that tries to reform society, turn our back to a child and live her in the snowstorm?" consideration talks much about the true motive of the experiment: to prove themselves better than the rest. I think that's Hawthorne point: Blithedale is not better than the rest, yet they think of themselves as, literally, apostles.
Iván wrote: "But Hollingsworth's the character I most like; his tenderness and his introversion and his, I think, relationship with the announced catastrophe makes him very interesting and likeable to me."My problem with Hollingsworth is that I don't understand why he's there. He doesn't believe in the project. , it doesn't fit at all with his philanthropic interest in reformation of criminals, which he lectures about ("It is a sad pity that he should have devoted his glorious powers to such a grimy, unbeautiful, and positively hopeless object as this reformation of criminals, about which he makes himself and his wretchedly small audiences so very miserable.")
Coverdale and Zenobia joke about having to commit crimes to keep him interested in the community.
Hawthorne seems, at least so far, to have brought him there primarily because of his influence on other people. He's the first to show sympathy and kindness to Priscilla as she stands cold and mute before the company. ("Hollingsworth's behavior was certainly a great deal more creditable than mine.")
His kindness to Coverdale, as has been mentioned, is exceptional.
And there is a hint of things to come in the passage "But he now looked stern and reproachful; and it was with that inauspicious meaning in his glance that Hollingsworth first met Zenobia's eyes, and began his influence upon her life."
And then there is that strange passage at the end of Chapter 7: "It is my private opinion that, at this period of his life, Hollingsworth was fast going mad;" What are we to make of that?
Why really, has Hollingsworth come to Blithedale? (Or, asked another way, why has Hawthorne brought him there?)
Iván wrote: " I think that's Hawthorne point: Blithedale is not better than the rest, yet they think of themselves as, literally, apostles. ."They, or at least Coverdale, do have pretty much contempt for the common throng. Perhaps that's why Hollingsworth is there; he is perhaps the only one who has really committed his life to serving the common throng, and Zenobia mocks him for it.
David wrote: "Swinish multitude sounds like an early draft version of basket of deplorables . In fact, he does refer to another character as deplorable later in the book. I hope he does not intend on running for office later in life..."I got a good laugh out of that comment also. Tee hee!
Everyman said: Hawthorne seems, at least so far, to have brought him there primarily because of his influence on other people. He's the first to show sympathy and kindness to Priscilla as she stands cold and mute before the company. ("Hollingsworth's behavior was certainly a great deal more creditable than mine.")I agree about Hollinsworth's influence on others. His kindness towards Priscilla and bringing her to Blithdale in light of his interest in reforming criminals, could part of her mystery be that she got in trouble?
Everyman wrote: "My problem with Hollingsworth is that I don't understand why he's there. He doesn't believe in the project. , it doesn't fit at all with his philanthropic interest in reformation of criminals, which he lectures about..."In Chapter 7, Coverdale tells us this about Hollingsworth:
I began to discern that he had come among us actuated by no real sympathy with our feelings and our hopes, but chiefly because we were estranging ourselves from the world, with which his lonely and exclusive object in life had already put him at odds.
In other words, I think Hollingsworth had come for a bit of peace and quiet and to get away from the real world so he could work on his project. Later, we are told:
I have seen him, a hundred times, with a pencil and sheet of paper, sketching the facade, the side-view, or the rear of the structure, or planning the internal arrangements, as lovingly as another man might plan those of the projected home where he meant to be happy with his wife and children.
So he's obviously working on his project.
Also, I found his bit of self-criticism when he takes care of the sickly Coverdale endearing. Coverdale suggests he should have been a priest because he is so solicitous in taking care of the sick. Hollingsworth replies:
And you call me tender!" repeated Hollingsworth thoughtfully. "I should rather say that the most marked trait in my character is an inflexible severity of purpose. Mortal man has no right to be so inflexible as it is my nature and necessity to be."
"I do not believe it," I replied.
But, in due time, I remembered what he said.
Interesting and endearing.
Chris wrote: " His kindness towards Priscilla and bringing her to Blithdale in light of his interest in reforming criminals, could part of her mystery be that she got in trouble? "That's certainly an option. But it would seem, then, that she isn't the favor Mr. Moodie was asking Coverdale about.
Tamara wrote: "In other words, I think Hollingsworth had come for a bit of peace and quiet and to get away from the real world so he could work on his project.."
Good point.
I am reading
The Blithedale Romance
in parallel with my f2f book group's choice of Fates and Furies, a 2015 publication that was a multiple awards finalist. Like Hawthorne, Lauren Groff has extraordinary skills in selecting words and framing them into picturesque metaphors and sentences. But what is such fun to me is contrasting the two presentations of sections of America some 160 years apart!(Just took a look at some reviews. May be headed for a twist: "Mathilde’s story contains more outlandishly fictional twists than those of David Copperfield, The Goldfinch’s Theo Decker, and Becky Sharp combined." Slate)
Lily wrote: "I deeply enjoyed the language -- the sentences and the phrases and the words in the first chapters.."This is what struck me while reading as well, Lily.
I wonder if one way Hawthorne possibly modeled Coverdale on himself can be found in the conversation between Hollingsworth and him on Fourier? He is in favor of Fourier and Hollingsworth is against. From what I understand, Fourier's system had some similarities with the Brook Farm experiment, but he lays out more financial aspects and how these social experiments could be profitable. If Hawthorne joined Brook Farm to save money before getting married, this may explain Coverdale's interest in Fourier in the book.
I have just read three chapters so far and am finding it funny. These people have absolutely no idea how hard farming is. I am glad they had the sense to have a real farmer on the team. As for Zenobia- she has made her first appearance in the book and I get the feeling that she is going to be trouble.
Clari wrote: How far (if at all?) can we connect Coverdale as a fictional creation to Hawthorne as the author? I only know the very basic autobiography.From the introduction which I advised people to approach cautiously:
...[Hawthorne} asked only that his readers appreciate the "fictitious handling" to which his experience had been subjected, and he urged them to accept Blithedale inhabitants as "imaginary personages."... The most troubling identification that Hawthorne anticipated derived from his unusual decision to utilize a first-person narrator. Too easily, he knew, readers would confuse Coverdale's voice with the author's and believe they were getting Hawthorne's views in Coverdale's. In that event, Coverdale's perceptions of Blithedale might be taken as Hawthorne's indictment of what still remained for him "the most romantic episode of his own life."
...This was not autobiography or political tract, he wanted readers to understand, and he was not using Coverdale's voice to put forward either a personal history of Brook Farm or any theory or conclusion, "favorable or otherwise, in respect to Socialism."
How differently we readers move through a particular fictional world like Blithedale Romance. How defining is the personal subjectivity that refracts back to us through Hawthorne's words. It would not occur to me per se to like or dislike the characters. Especially in a romance streaked with satire. I am curious to see what degree and consistency of being these named people exhibit, how they interact, and what the invisible narrator-god destines them for. As characters, each of them strikes me as a flattish type: Hollingworth the projector, Zenobia the buxom, Priscilla the juvenile, and secondarily Silas the rustic. By virtue of being the narrator, Coverdale remains more elusive. His poeticality seems pasted on. Maybe he boils down to something like bemused reminiscer on early mid-life naivete.
Like others, I find humor in the writing (though perhaps not as much as some others here), which is a surprise to me since, from The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables, humor is not something I had previously attributed to Hawthorne, and it's a surprise (a pleasant one) to find it here. Though maybe it was there in the other books and I just missed it, or maybe I was too young then to appreciate it. It's often subtle, somewhat like Austen, but not nearly as witty.
"Zenobia put her head into the entry, and besought Silas Foster to cease his clamor, and to be kind enough to leave an armful of firewood and a pail of water at her chamber-door." Here I laughed and began to see the Romance differently. First, what with the Veiled Lady and Zenobia parallel, the secret task of Moodie, the mysterious Priscilla, I thought I was going to read something deep, something that would make a big point. Now I'm in for the chuckles.
Iván wrote: ""Zenobia put her head into the entry, and besought Silas Foster to cease his clamor, and to be kind enough to leave an armful of firewood and a pail of water at her chamber-door." Here I laughed an..."And what's more, she treats Silas not as a comrade but as a servant.
David wrote: "Blithedale RomanceOne dictionary's definition of blithe is a casual and cheeful indifference considered to be callous or improper. The singlular appearance of the word blithe seems to be in line w..."
I think the word "blithe" has something to do with the carelessness with which Coverdale and company have undertaken this endeavor. As Holly noted: Hmm-I was also thinking the farm was solid until I heard that it would require so much work from the "newbie farmers" who seemed to have very little idea of the work that was required. It does not seem that they have done too much planning. My understanding of the word "blithe" is that it refers to a naive optimism which would cause one to leap before looking.
It seems to me that the participants at Blithedale are there not so much to partake in this particular new societal construct, but rather to get away from the old...hiding away, as it were and as mentioned earlier, a motif.
I'm a bit late to the party, but reading the opening chapters, I was struck by the contrast between how Hollingsworth is treated when he is present, and how he is talked about behind his back. At the end of chapter 3, Coverdale is very quick to agree with Zenobia's assessment of him, even though he has met him, and Zenobia hasn't. And at the end of chapter 7, Coverdale comes to the conclusion that Hollingworth's motives are duplicitous, when he has very little evidence to suggest this. Another thing I noticed, Silas Foster, unlike all the others, is at Blithedale because he is paid to run the farm, and teach them husbandry. (Ch. 2) Perhaps this explains why he is so much more down-to-earth than them? In chapter 4, Coverdale observes, "Neither did I refrain from questioning, in secret, whether some of us—and Zenobia among the rest—would so quietly have taken our places among these good people, save for the cherished consciousness that it was not by necessity, but choice."
David. I noticed that comment in chapter 4 as well. Is the farm a real social experiment or are they all just playing the roles? In other words, do they take themselves seriously?
Rosemarie wrote: "David. I noticed that comment in chapter 4 as well. Is the farm a real social experiment or are they all just playing the roles? In other words, do they take themselves seriously?"The impression I get is that I they take themselves seriously, far more seriously than they take the project. Silas Foster, on the other hand, takes the project very seriously, because it is his livelihood. As Everyman noted above, Zenobia in particular, seems to treat him as a servant.
Genni wrote: "Lily wrote: "I deeply enjoyed the language -- the sentences and the phrases and the words in the first chapters.."This is what struck me while reading as well, Lily."
I'm joining the discussion late, but my overall take-away from this section is my surprise and pleasure with Hawthorne's writing. I remember enjoying The Scarlett Letter years and years ago, but I didn't remember why. Hawthorne's writing is just juicy.
Mrs. Foster took her knitting-work, and soon fell fast asleep, still keeping her needles in brisk movement, and, to the best of my observation, absolutely footing a stocking out of the texture of a dream.Hawthorne's observations as the narrator are also intriguing, and often profound.
But there was something of the woman moulded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it, as men often are of what is best in them, nor seemed ever to know that there was such a soft place in his heart.
Yes, I loved that passage about Mrs. Foster and her knitting as well. It's faintly ridiculous, and yet quite imaginable at the same time.
David wrote: "Yes, I loved that passage about Mrs. Foster and her knitting as well. It's faintly ridiculous, and yet quite imaginable at the same time."I've known women who could knit with their eyes closed, faster than I could track their fingers. But maybe not while they were sleeping... still, it's a lovely vision, and very lyrical.
Classics and the Western Canon
Books mentioned in this topic
The Goldfinch (other topics)The Blithedale Romance (other topics)
Fates and Furies (other topics)
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion (other topics)
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Lauren Groff (other topics)Jonathan Haidt (other topics)
Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem..."
Neat!
Hawthorne: 1804 - 1864
Shelley 1792 - 1822
"To a Skylark" 1820
The Blithedale Romance 1852