Young Genius and Fancy 1795 Essay

Title: Genius and Fancy; or, Dramatic Sketches: With Other Poems on Various Subjects.

The collection, Genius and Fancy; or, Dramatic Sketches: with other poems on various subjects, by Mary Julia Young offers a collection of poems that could be considered unrelated to one another except perhaps through a few recurring allusions and themes sprinkled throughout. Comprised of thirteen poems, the collection includes two sonnets, two odes, and a song. Like many of Young's other works, this collection includes a lengthy title that offers the reader the option of opting for one title, or, the other, and a blend of popular writing styles for the time. The commercialization of her work was an important factor in Young's writing as a woman earning a living from her publications. The reality of Young's financial situation could reveal some of her motivations and stylistic choices as one of necessity, choosing to adopt a style that was easily consumed and easily sold.

Young makes continual allusions throughout her poetry to Greco-Roman mythology, employing conventions such as invocating the muses and making direct reference to specific gods and goddesses. Several of the works touch on class and war, emphasizing an overall anti-war attitude through the use of widowed figures and the comparison of characters from different classes, such as in "The Flood: an Irish Tale." Her "Sonnet to Dreams" is reminiscent in theme of Lickbarrow's "On Sleep" and Moody's "To Sleep, A Song." This poem in particular appears to adhere to a popular topic of the time, with the desire to return to sleep within Romantic poetry providing a possible look into a pervasive malcontent that stretched beyond the individual poet's life.

Young personifies personal traits, giving them mythical or godlike status and calling upon them as muses to help her find inspiration. This convention is repeated throughout the collection, creating a distinct vision of the attributes she herself deemed worthy in people: compassion, kindness, good humor, and maybe a touch of skepticism toward material wealth except when used to help others. Her critique resides in her appraisal of specific characters and traits, rather than a direct criticism of what she disagrees with, with the exception of "Constancy, an Ode," in which the character Stella within the poem directly criticizes a lover trying to woo her away from her beloved with riches. Overall, Young imbues this collection with her personal attitudes and loves, focusing on her appraisal for the arts, nature, and romance in a lighthearted manner that nevertheless is able to encompass topics of class and war subtly. The following is a closer analysis of selected works from the collection, in the hopes that it will reveal some of these themes more profoundly.

Genius and Fancy; or, Dramatic Sketches

The collection opens with the titled piece "Genius and Fancy, or Dramatic Sketches," with the following dedication:

The poem is a clear homage to the actors of the Drury Lane Theatre, making direct reference by last name and description to the cast. It is told as a story-within-a-story-within-a-poem, with the overarching narrative concerning Genius and Fancy, two personified attributes on an "Ever-green hill" (5), a likely reference to Parnassus, the home of the muses.

The opening reads as a kind of unconventional invocation to the muses of Fancy, Genius, and Fame. At the start of the poem Genius is attempting to write and struggling to find a theme without the help of Fancy, who is frolicking in a yard. There is a clear reference to the courtship between writers and their work and the role of intellect and pizzaz in creating something satisfactory. The poem is explicit in stating that "...Genius and Fancy should never divide" (5). Thus, Young sets up her own ideas of what good writing requires through an imaginative scene in which these qualities interact with the real world, primarily as spectators in this poem.

Fancy joins Genius to tell them about their adventures in the fields of Parnassus. In the fields they encounter more muses and personified qualities. Thalia, the goddess of idyllic poetry and comedy, meets Fancy and explains how she has complained to Apollo about his sons, which includes MURPHY and SHERIDAN. These two characters are the first to be introduced as people who exist in the real world and who interact with the muses of Parnassus. MURPHY is a reference to dramatist Arthur Murphy, who in the poem is pleaded with to begin writing again. SHERIDAN is in reference to Richard Brinsley Sheridan, an important character to the poem as London playwright and owner of the Drury Lane Theatre, the setting and connection between the following characters that appear in the poem, all cast members and workers in the theatre. Thalia is presented as the leader of the theatre however, stating

Thus, the invocation to the muses, and fame specifically, is not written for the narrative voice of the poem, but on behalf of those residing in the kingdom of Drury. The poem acts almost as a who's who list of the London theatre scene at the turn of the century, with references made to the following*:

The majority of the poem is composed of flattering descriptions of the cast of Drury Lane, as retold through the perspective of Thalia the muse, who was given the list by Fame. Thus, the implication is that Fame already has its sights set on this group, and it is up to the union of Genius and Fancy to reveal them to the world through their writing. Thalia assigns this task to them, stating, "Tell Genius this list to her hands I consign / With their names let their comic abilities join" (15). The larger implication of the poem is that Genius and Fancy reside within the poet themselves. Thus, Young has taken it upon herself to make sure her friends are known and remembered.

The Flood. An Irish Tale.

This poem is set up through a description of romanticized peasant life. Young illustrates the stereotypical "simple" life. Donnel and Kathleen, the married couple within the poem are characterized as a happy, hardworking and morally superior couple. Kathleen is described as

The family lives a content life, full of "domestic bliss" (18). In the eighth stanza the poem takes a turn, imbuing a feeling of mortality. The poet remarks,

In other words, we are offered no security in life. Every moment of happiness comes to an end and death can wrench us from our loved ones without warning. The happy family's bliss does indeed come to an end due to an unexpected flood. Their home and belongings are washed away but they remain unharmed.

Young introduced a subtle critique of class with the introduction of Lord Fitz-Maurice, who happens to be passing by and stops to help the family. He promises to rebuild their home and to help them in any way he can. This act of kindness on his part is described as an exception due to his moral superiority rather than the norm. Young seems to wrestle with the idea of nobility by deed and nobility by title, remarking:

The critique here seems to be against the idea that nobility by title grants you fame and virtue. The lord is not kind due to his birth and social status, but rather because he has been graced with virtue. Young presents a clear division between wealth and social status as being less important than the virtue of a person's character, subtly criticizing that this does not come as naturally to those members of higher classes as it does to the peasants through their characterization. Furthermore, the poem concludes with the Lord stating that through helping the peasants his heart will know the true bliss that riches can create. With this statement Young appears skeptical of material wealth, except when it is used to help others.

Constancy, An Ode.

This poem primarily criticizes war and fighting through the use of war-torn lovers. Stella and Henry, the two protagonists of the poem, are separated "With cold indiff'rence" (25) by war. Stella waits in despair, often convinced of Henry's death. The poem's title itself, is playing with the idea of Stella's faithfulness and also with peace. By using constancy as the subject of an ode, Young evokes the idea that peace can be equated with the quality of being dependable and unchanging.

The poem also includes a critique on wealth. Following Henry's departure, Celedon "the rich, the vain" (26) attempts to win Stella's heart. Stella rebukes him, stating:

The desire to possess riches is compared to an impurity of the soul. Furthermore, the idea that one may be "caught" by riches implies that wealth is an insidious net with which people can be trapped. Celedon leaves with choice words, warning Stella that time will fade her beauty and she will be left alone, waiting forever. Stella prays to the gods, asking them to protect her love. Young's invocations to the gods is a repeated gesture throughout the collection, revealing a religious zest that relies on Greco-Roman mythology rather than Catholicism.

To Miss---On Her Spending too much Time at Her Looking-Glass.

This poem serves to re-emphasize Young's ideas about the origin of true happiness. Young calls on the miss to reflect on the idea that her beauty will fade with time and to develop parts of her character rather than focusing on her looks:

There is an implied comparison between artificiality and reality, with Young's virtues residing in the latter. This is reinforced through the symbol of the looking-glass itself, which reflects an unreal reality to the figure in the poem. While not explicitly stated, this poem in comparison to others in the collection reveal a strong anti-materialistic view on Young's part, equating material wealth with vanity and an erosion of worthwhile virtues.

Conclusion

Mary Julia Young is able to construct a collection of work that clearly presents her attitudes on the world around her through a series of "dramatic sketches." While her topics are varied, she is able to manipulate them through a combination of light-hearted language and steadfast vision to create scenes of anti-materialist, anti-war, and pro-art sentiments. By far the most important connecting theme is her treatment of the subject of virtue. Unlike other poets who deal with the subject in a religious manner, Young does not rely on Christianity to proclaim the divinity of character, but instead relies on references to Greco-Roman mythology, adding an element of myth and fantasy to her work.

Young, Mary Julia. Genius and Fancy; or, Dramatic Sketches: with other poems on various subjects. London : sold by H.D. Symonds, Paternoster-Row; W. Lee, New-Street; Covent-Garden; and J. Gray, Glasshouse-Street. 1795.

Lloyd, Nicola. "Mary Julia Young: A Biographical and Bibliographical Study." Romantic Textualities: Literature and Print Culture, 1780-1840 18. Centre for Editorial and Intertextual Research, 2008.

"Arthur Murphy." The Encyclopaedia Brittanica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature. Ninth Edition, Vol. 17. Edited by Thomas Spencer Baynes. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1884.
*This is not an exhaustive list of those referenced in the work, but an overview of those most well known.

The Romantic-Era Women Writers Project at Nebraska

Bibliographical and Contextual Apparatus