The Importance of the Backstory in Understanding Victorian Poetry

     Since the Victorianism unit came to a close, I've been trying to think of an overarching theme or characteristic that I can use to sum up the pieces we read in class. I couldn't think of anything that applied to both prose and verse pieces, but I was able to come up with a trait that a number of poems in this unit share. This trait is the dependence upon the backstory to create meaning. In other words, a number of Victorian poems rely upon either a preexisting piece of literature or a historical occurrence as background for the events portrayed in the poem. In specific, Alfred Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott," Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," and Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" all depend upon a backstory to some extent.
     Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" is a prominent example of a poem whose construction relies upon a preexisting piece of literature, in this case on the Arthurian legend of Elaine of Astolat from the Italian novella Donna di Scalotta. The title character in this poem is modeled on Elaine herself and her problematic relationship with Lancelot. Also, there is the fact that many of the references within the poem assume a familiarity with the basic framework of Arthurian legends, specifically the tales relating to Sir Lancelot and his preference for Guinevere over all other women. Without the backstory of Elaine and her unrequited love for Lancelot, Tennyson's poem would lose much of its thematic resonance and thus be a less influential work.
       Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," unlike Tennyson's poem, relies upon an actual historical figure for the poem's premise. The word "Ferrera" preceding the poem is the first indication that the duke in the text is most likely the sixteenth-century duke of Ferrera, Alfonso Il d'Este. Proceeding from this fact, it is possible to reconcile his "last duchess" with the fourteen-year-old Lucrezia di Cosimo de' Medici whom he married for her substantial dowry. Without having this information, the poem is rather confusing, especially when trying to figure out just whom the Duke is addressing in the dramatic monologue. With the historical backstory, however, it becomes possible to ascertain that the Duke is speaking to the envoy of the Count who is responsible for arranging the Duke's next marriage.
     The backstory in Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" is less central in the process of understanding the poem than in "My Last Duchess," yet the poem still loses impact without several historical footnotes. For example, when the poem references Sophocles also hearing the "eternal note of sadness"  it is important to know that he was a Greek playwright who wrote heavily about fate and the will of the gods since this fact adds significance to Arnold's overall theme of a doomed and faithless world. Also, there is another ancient Greek reference that also foregrounds the timelessness of Arnold's message: that of the "ignorant armies" which refers to the Peloponnesian War fought between Athens and Sparta.
     Overall, all three of these poems would lose impact were it not for the ability of the audience to refence their respective backstories. The poems would still be lovely examples of verse composition from the Victorian era, but their thematic messages would either be lost or profoundly lessened without the presence of those backstories and their historical and literary reverberations.