ABSTRACT
COSMAS ANDY IRIANTO BROTO. Michael as the Tragic Hero of Wordsworth’s “Michael”: An Application of the Theory of Modern Tragedy. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
The kind of tragic hero always follows the tragedy which is experienced by the hero. Tragic hero appears in Greek tragedy, Shakespearean tragedy, or Modern tragedy. Tragedy is affected by the background of social status, environment, economy, even the era. Related to the statement above, this analysis will focus on a character inside the poem who becomes modern tragic hero. This character experiences tragedy which is included as modern tragedy and is influenced by the near environment, family members, economical background, and also the unrealized one by one mistake all the time.
The objectives of this study are to answer three main problems. First, this study tries to describe and analyze the main character, the main character of the poem. Second, this study tries to find and describe the influence from the other characters in developing Michael’s tragedy. This is also done to differentiate who the real tragic hero is. Third, this study tries to find how Michael fits the modern tragic hero.
This study applies the structuralism approach because it analyzes Michael’s tragedy aspects from inside or outside the poem to reveal the tragic hero of the story of the poem. This approach is used to analyze form, structure, content, element, and the outside things of the literary work. This study applies library research as the method of the study in order to collect information and analyze the problem.
The result of the analysis shows that Michael is only an old shepherd with many amazing skills. Isabel, Luke, and Richard Bateman become the ‘agent’ to fulfill Michael’s hope and the ‘agent’ of Michael’s tragedy. Michael fits the modern tragic hero categories based on the theory of Arthur Miller. First, he is only an ordinary shepherd and does not have any nobleman blood relation. Second, he is ready to lay down his life to secure his sense of personal dignity. Third, he has the consequence of his total compulsion to evaluate himself justly. Fourth, he has the fear of being displaced. Fifth, he acts against the scheme of things degrading him. Finally, he has a tragic flaw because of his unrealized mistake.
ABSTRAK
COSMAS ANDY IRIANTO BROTO. Michael as the Tragic Hero of Wordsworth’s “Michael”: An Application of the Theory of Modern Tragedy. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2008.
Jenis pahlawan tragis selalu mengikuti tragedi yang dialami pahlawannya. Tragedi dapat dipengaruhi dari latar belakang status sosial, lingkungan, ekonomi, ataupun zamannya. Pahlawan tragis muncul baik itu dalam tragedi Yunani, tragedi Shakespear, ataupun pada tragedi moderen. Berkaitan dengan pernyataan di atas, analisa ini akan dititik beratkan pada seorang tokoh cerita dalam sebuah puisi yang menjadi seorang pahlawan tragis moderen. Tokoh ini mengalami tragedi yang dipengaruhi oleh lingkungan sekitarnya, anggota keluarga, latar belakang ekonomi, dan juga kesalahan-kesalahan yang tidak disadarinya dibuat satu demi satu seiring dengan berjalannya waktu.
Tujuan-tujuan dari studi ini adalah untuk menjawab tiga permasalahan utama. Pertama, studi ini mencoba untuk menggambarkan dan menganalisa Michael, tokoh utama dalam puisi. Kedua, studi ini mencoba menggambarkan dan menemukan pengaruh dari karakter-karakter lain dalam membentuk tragedi Michael. Hal ini juga dilakukan untuk membedakan siapa yang sebenarnya menjadi pahlawan tragis. Ketiga, studi ini mencoba untuk menemukan bagaimana Michael memenuhi kriteria sebagai pahlawan tagis pada tagedi moderen.
Studi ini menggunakan pendekatan strukturalisme karena menganalisa segala aspek tragedi yang dialami Michael dari berbagai segi baik dari dalam maupun di luar puisi untuk mengungkap pahlawan tragis dari cerita dalam puisi. Pendekatan ini digunakan untuk menganalisa bentuk, struktur, isi cerita, elemen, dan hal-hal di luar karya sastra ini. Studi ini juga menggunakan penelitian perpustakaan dalam mengumpulkan informasi dan menganalisa permasalahan yang ada.
Hasil analisa menunjukkan bahwa Michael hanyalah seorang gembala tua dengan kemampuan yang mengagumkan. Isabel, Luke, dan Richard Bateman menjadi ‘agen’ untuk memenuhi harapan Michael dan menjadi ‘agen’ dari tragedy Michael. Michael memenuhi kriteria sebagai pahlawan tragis pada tragedi moderen menurut teori Arthur Miller. Pertama, Michael hanyalah seorang penggembala biasa tanpa ada keturunan bangsawan. Kedua, dia siap untuk mengorbankan hidupnya untuk mengembalikan kehormatannya. Ketiga, dia mendapat akibat dari semua perbuatannya yang bisa dijadikan refleksi. Keempat, dia mempunyai ketakutan bila disingkirkan. Kelima, dia berusaha menetang semua masalah yang dihadapinya. Terakhir, dia mempunyai urutan dan kisah yang tragis yang disebabkan oleh kesalahan-kesalahan yang tidak disadarinya.
MICHAEL AS A MODERN TRAGIC HERO OF
WORDSWORTH’S “MICHAEL”: AN APPLICATION OF THE
THEORY OF MODERN TRAGEDY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
COSMAS ANDY IRIANTO BROTO Student Number: 034214049
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
MICHAEL AS A MODERN TRAGIC HERO OF
WORDSWORTH’S “MICHAEL”: AN APPLICATION OF THE
THEORY OF MODERN TRAGEDY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
COSMAS ANDY IRIANTO BROTO Student Number: 034214049
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA 2008
EX ME IPSA RENATA SUM
(From Myself I Reborn)
This undergraduate thesis is dedicated to
The One and Only Lord in the Kingdom of Heaven
My beloved late father
My beloved mother
My dearest little brother and sister
My dearest late little sister
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Praise to God, finally I finished my thesis. I would like to thank Jesus
Christ for blessing me all my life and for guiding me in writing my undergraduate
thesis.
I would like to thank Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka M. Hum, my advisor,
especially for his guidance, big patience, suggestions and flexible time during the
writing of my thesis. I also thank M. Luluk Artika W., S.S., my co-advisor, for
reading my undergraduate thesis and giving me suggestions in order to make it
better and Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum as my great examiner. And I also
thank all my lecturers for their guidance and their time to share their knowledge
during the years of my study, and all staffs of English Letters Department, Sanata
Dharma University library for all the help.
My deepest gratitude also goes to my beloved family for supporting me in
everything. I also would like to express my thanks to all of 2003 friends for
accompanying and supporting me during my study. It is nice to be your friend. I
dedicate special thanks to Michaella, Lintang, Mariae Bee, Lala, Nita, Tio, and
“Adhi Djajan” for their special support. Last but not least, my thank goes to
friends in WEDHUZ GOMBLOH Boarding House for giving me happiness and
helping me in the writing process of my undergraduate thesis.
Cosmas Andy Irianto Broto
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Theory of Character and Characterization………. 9
2. Theories of Modern Tragedy………... 12
3. Theories of Modern Tragic Hero………...……. 14
C. Theoretical Framework………. 16
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ………... 17
A. Object of the Study……… 17
B. Approach of the Study………... 18
C. Method of the Study……….. 19
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ………..………... 21
A. The Description of the Main Character of the Poem “Michael”……21
B. The Contribution of the Other Characters in Developing the Main Character’s Tragedy ……….. 25
1. Isabel……… 25
2. Luke………. 27
3. Richard Bateman………. 29
C. Michael as the Modern Tragic Hero……….. 30
1. A Common Man ………..30
2. Ready to Lay Down his Life to Secure his Sense of Personal Dignity ……….32
3. Accepting the Consequence of his Total Compulsion to Evaluate Himself Justly………36
4. Having Fear for Being Displaced ………39
5. Acting against the Scheme of Things Degrading him.………….40
6. Having a Tragic Flaw………... 45
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION………. 50
BIBLIOGRAPHY……….. 53
APPENDICES………. 55
A. Explication of “Michael”...………... 55
B. The Poem of “Michael”……….. 58
ABSTRACT
COSMAS ANDY IRIANTO BROTO. Michael as the Tragic Hero of Wordsworth’s “Michael”: An Application of the Theory of Modern Tragedy. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
The kind of tragic hero always follows the tragedy which is experienced by the hero. Tragic hero appears in Greek tragedy, Shakespearean tragedy, or Modern tragedy. Tragedy is affected by the background of social status, environment, economy, even the era. Related to the statement above, this analysis will focus on a character inside the poem who becomes modern tragic hero. This character experiences tragedy which is included as modern tragedy and is influenced by the near environment, family members, economical background, and also the unrealized one by one mistake all the time.
The objectives of this study are to answer three main problems. First, this study tries to describe and analyze the main character, the main character of the poem. Second, this study tries to find and describe the influence from the other characters in developing Michael’s tragedy. This is also done to differentiate who the real tragic hero is. Third, this study tries to find how Michael fits the modern tragic hero.
This study applies the structuralism approach because it analyzes Michael’s tragedy aspects from inside or outside the poem to reveal the tragic hero of the story of the poem. This approach is used to analyze form, structure, content, element, and the outside things of the literary work. This study applies library research as the method of the study in order to collect information and analyze the problem.
The result of the analysis shows that Michael is only an old shepherd with many amazing skills. Isabel, Luke, and Richard Bateman become the ‘agent’ to fulfill Michael’s hope and the ‘agent’ of Michael’s tragedy. Michael fits the modern tragic hero categories based on the theory of Arthur Miller. First, he is only an ordinary shepherd and does not have any nobleman blood relation. Second, he is ready to lay down his life to secure his sense of personal dignity. Third, he has the consequence of his total compulsion to evaluate himself justly. Fourth, he has the fear of being displaced. Fifth, he acts against the scheme of things degrading him. Finally, he has a tragic flaw because of his unrealized mistake.
ABSTRAK
COSMAS ANDY IRIANTO BROTO. Michael as the Tragic Hero of Wordsworth’s “Michael”: An Application of the Theory of Modern Tragedy. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2008.
Jenis pahlawan tragis selalu mengikuti tragedi yang dialami pahlawannya. Tragedi dapat dipengaruhi dari latar belakang status sosial, lingkungan, ekonomi, ataupun zamannya. Pahlawan tragis muncul baik itu dalam tragedi Yunani, tragedi Shakespear, ataupun pada tragedi moderen. Berkaitan dengan pernyataan di atas, analisa ini akan dititik beratkan pada seorang tokoh cerita dalam sebuah puisi yang menjadi seorang pahlawan tragis moderen. Tokoh ini mengalami tragedi yang dipengaruhi oleh lingkungan sekitarnya, anggota keluarga, latar belakang ekonomi, dan juga kesalahan-kesalahan yang tidak disadarinya dibuat satu demi satu seiring dengan berjalannya waktu.
Tujuan-tujuan dari studi ini adalah untuk menjawab tiga permasalahan utama. Pertama, studi ini mencoba untuk menggambarkan dan menganalisa Michael, tokoh utama dalam puisi. Kedua, studi ini mencoba menggambarkan dan menemukan pengaruh dari karakter-karakter lain dalam membentuk tragedi Michael. Hal ini juga dilakukan untuk membedakan siapa yang sebenarnya menjadi pahlawan tragis. Ketiga, studi ini mencoba untuk menemukan bagaimana Michael memenuhi kriteria sebagai pahlawan tagis pada tagedi moderen.
Studi ini menggunakan pendekatan strukturalisme karena menganalisa segala aspek tragedi yang dialami Michael dari berbagai segi baik dari dalam maupun di luar puisi untuk mengungkap pahlawan tragis dari cerita dalam puisi. Pendekatan ini digunakan untuk menganalisa bentuk, struktur, isi cerita, elemen, dan hal-hal di luar karya sastra ini. Studi ini juga menggunakan penelitian perpustakaan dalam mengumpulkan informasi dan menganalisa permasalahan yang ada.
Hasil analisa menunjukkan bahwa Michael hanyalah seorang gembala tua dengan kemampuan yang mengagumkan. Isabel, Luke, dan Richard Bateman menjadi ‘agen’ untuk memenuhi harapan Michael dan menjadi ‘agen’ dari tragedy Michael. Michael memenuhi kriteria sebagai pahlawan tragis pada tragedi moderen menurut teori Arthur Miller. Pertama, Michael hanyalah seorang penggembala biasa tanpa ada keturunan bangsawan. Kedua, dia siap untuk mengorbankan hidupnya untuk mengembalikan kehormatannya. Ketiga, dia mendapat akibat dari semua perbuatannya yang bisa dijadikan refleksi. Keempat, dia mempunyai ketakutan bila disingkirkan. Kelima, dia berusaha menetang semua masalah yang dihadapinya. Terakhir, dia mempunyai urutan dan kisah yang tragis yang disebabkan oleh kesalahan-kesalahan yang tidak disadarinya.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
William Wordsworth is the greatest poet of the nineteenth century. He has left
sufficient pure poetry, hearth-searching and beautiful. He is one of the great poets of
humanity. His poems are most human and at the same time most himself as poet. The
main theme of his poem of incidents in human life is love, the workings of love, its
poetry to inflict the deepest wounds and to heal the most irreparable. Love is not as
passion in the narrow sense of the word but passionate affection, as seen in “Michael”.
His own experience of life was by far the most important source of his ideas.
“Michael” is one of Wordsworth’s great narrative poems in the last poem to enter the
Lyrical Ballads. In “Michael”, he leaves the autobiographical framework almost
completely behind and concerns himself. It is because the story belongs to his
boyhood memory. “Michael” may have been conceived that Wordsworth thinking
back his youth and composing draft for the poem of his life. “Michael” has a special
importance in his life, for it marks the stage when he was led on from the pure
passion for nature to feel for passion that was not his own (Mukherjef and Rajender,
2000: 188-186).
He is concerned with the influence of natural object in the aspect in which led
him to feel for the affection. Wordsworth called “Michael” as a pastoral poem. It is a
poem about shepherd. Wordsworth’s shepherd lives where sheep to have to be
worked for. “Michael” is simple tale of human suffering of tragedy. The story of
“Michael” touches on a kind of loss and suffering. The universal aspect of the loss
suffered by Michael as the main character in the poem is a hope that has attached
itself to a person and seems to die with the person. He treats humanity and nature in
the same way. In here, he shows man as a part of nature.
The title Michael as the Tragic Hero of Wordsworth’s “Michael”: An
Application of the Theory of Modern Tragedy is chosen to be the topic of this study in
order to analyze the main character as the tragic hero of modern tragedy. The tragedy
in the poem is built by the tragedy of Michael supported by other characters. The
characterization in Michael successfully makes the poem a work of art, which gives
dramatic life to the structure of the poem. Wordsworth establish between himself and
his main character. The character and circumstances of Luke were taken from a
family to who he had belonged, many years before, the house where he lived in at
Town-end, along with some fields and woodlands of the eastern Shore of Grasmere
(Mukherjef and Rajender, 2000: 188-186).
He has the essential quality to communicate the main character’s tragedy
through the events of each other character in developing Michael’s tragedy. As the
main character in the poem, Michael is the central figure of heroic proportions. The
heroic characteristic that he has brought him as a good father, husband, and the leader
of the family; but his figure becomes a tragic hero when at last the land is lost, his son
does evil act, his wife dies and he dies also. Everything is because of his unrealized
3
Knowing the importance of Michael in the poem, I choose to focus the study
on Michael that later ended in tragedy. Michael’s tragedy is a simple tale of human
suffering. The poet has attempted to give a picture of a man, a strong of mind and
lively sensibility, agitated by two of the most powerful affections of human hearth,
the parental affection and the love of the landed property.
His life becomes miserable when his son goes to the town to work with his
rich relatives there. Firstly, His reception of the news of his son’s disgrace and light
does not break him physically. Then it becomes ironic. The strength that had once
been his mainstay to exist, now becomes a burden to him. The potency of his parental
love was earlier suggested by its power to ‘enforce’ his ‘patient mind’ to ‘acts of
tenderness’; now the potency of his grief is implied by its capacity to render his
physical strength meaningless. The unfinished sheepfold in desolation becomes a
symbol of the ruin of a heroic life and the loss of his hopes. Thus the simple story of
silent suffering and heroic fortitude deepens into truly tragic.
The life story of Michael with Michael as the ‘hero’ leads us to the Modern
Tragedy in which the hero or heroine end tragically. Modern Tragedy is chosen to be
the basic concept in doing the analysis because the life of Michael is as an ordinary
people in modern life. Modern Tragedy focuses on the tragedy of a common man not
a noble man like in Greek Tragedy (Walley, 1950: 50-59).
The hero in Shakespearean Tragedy faces his tragic ending mainly caused by
his own action. While in Greek Tragedy, the hero is fated to have a tragic ending. In
in the society. The hero causes the tragedy to him or to another and it is because of a
mistake that sometimes is not realized (Walley, 1950: 54-59).
Further, by doing this analysis, we can prove that the theories on play also can
be used in analyzing poem. The theories that are used in this study are taken from the
theories on play. The writer adores William Wordsworth so much, especially the
poem “Michael”. It is because the story of Michael almost the same as the writer life
story. This study is also to appreciate William Wordsworth as a great poet in literary
world.
B. Problem Formulation
From the background of the study stated previously, three problems can be
formulated as follows:
1. How is the main character described in the poem?
2. What are the contributions of each character in leading the main
character’s tragedy?
3. How does Michael fit the modern tragic hero?
C. Objectives of the Study
Some matters are stated to understand this study. The first is to find and
analyze the main character described through the lines in the poem. The second is to
find the influences of the other characters in developing Michael’s tragedy. The third
5
D. Definition on Terms 1. Modern Tragedy
According to Aristotle, tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious
and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself, in the medium of poetic
language, in the manner of dramatic plot, incorporating incidents to arouse
pity and fear wherewith to accomplish the catharsis of such emotion.
Modern tragedy for the lay portrays the life of the person in the modern
time where there is not influenced by the myth of god/goddess or the
social structure (noble man). The basic difference between Modern
Tragedy and Greek Tragedy is that Modern Tragedy tells about the life of
common people unlike Greek tragedy tells about the life of noble people .
Shakespearean Tragedy defines it as a story of exceptional calamity ( great
misfortune and misery) leading to the death of a man in high estate or the
story of human actions producing exceptional calamity and ending in the
death of such a man (Walley, 1950: 54-59).
2. Tragic Hero
In Greek Tragedy, Aristotle defines the main character of a tragedy is the
protagonist or the tragic hero, who through some flaws in his character
she loves. The hero is fated to have a tragic ending where god contributes
to the downfall of the hero (Walley, 1950: 54-59).
A.C Bradley defines the word tragic hero in the sense of Shakespearean
Tragedy as a person of high estate or having greatness more than common
people who experiences suffer conducting to his death by his own action
(Walley, 1950: 54-59).
In modern tragedy, the tragic hero is viewed in his social and moral
relationship. Tragic hero on Modern Tragedy tells about the heroic life of
a common people. The tragic hero is an ordinary people not a noble man
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
There are many opinions of critics to Wordsworth’s “Michael”. Graham
Hough gave opinion about the theme of “Michael” which is love of father for his son.
It is told in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) of a rather stiff simplicity and
much of it is straight narrative so unelaborated that it treads on the verge of the
prosaic. He said that the effect of “Michael” is not immediate. It is more prolonged
acquaintance with the poem reveals it as the most characteristic Wordsworthian
achievement. A poem where a long familiar emotion, that has been absorbed into the
personality and is no longer clamorous or importunate, is evenly diffused throughout
(Mukherjef and Rajender, 2000: 191).
R.O.C Winkler had opinion on the plot of “Michael”, especially the influence
of nature. He stated that in “Michael”, nature is something outside the human
situation. According to him, Michael as the main character in the poem is part of the
natural world himself, and the strength of his body and mind, the birth, growth, and
bereavement of his love for Luke, are all enforced in terms of his work among the
things of nature. The old man’s feelings with the natural world around him, there is
no scope for turning to nature for consolation. The natural word simply endures and
the only support that Michael has for his suffering is endurance (Mukherjef and
Rajender, 2000: 192).
Geoffrey H. Hartman said that the story of “Michael” touches on a kind of
loss and suffering which occurs in some form to everyone. The changes wrought by
the industrial revolution are only the occasional cause for the disaster. The universal
aspect of the loss suffered by Michael is of a hope which has attached itself to a
person and seems to die with the person. He also had opinion with the nature in
“Michael”. He said that the nature was essential to human actions and meditations.
His picture of the old man is not simply of suffering or muted despair, but of natural
resilience and the habit of fortitude. He clearly shows the symbol or the evidence of
Michael’s tragedy through his opinion:
“Though we are told about the seven years in connection with Michael’s unfinished labors at the sheepfold, there are remains his persistence which suggest an immemorial covenant between man and the land. Michael does not hasten the end and abides his times without abandoning the land even in imagination. Michael dies as he has lined: In the eye of nature. Yet Michael is not an obsolete possibility of the human spirit: the covenant that holds the mind of man to the earth springs only such as him” (Mukherjef and Rajender, 2000: 192-193).
This study is further analyzing the tragedy of Michael where Michael as the
tragic hero of modern tragedy. The analysis is going deep into the central character of
the poem. The analysis is also using the theme, “father’s love to his son”, to find the
elements of Michael’s tragedy. Different with R.O.C Winkler, the writer further
analyzes the nature as the ‘unrealized mistakes’ of Michael in supporting his tragedy.
The analysis further develops the opinion of Geoffrey H. Hartman, especially in
9
industrial revolution as the significant aspect in Michael’s tragedy are deeply
analyzed.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theories of Character and Characterization
“Michael” is a kind of blank verse poetry which is the standard medium of
English Drama and also a kind of narrative poetry. Narrative poetry is the poetry
which the main purpose is to tell a story. The poem of “Michael” has setting,
character, plot, and climax as the elements of narrative poetry. It also contains a series
of scene in dramatic form which is narrated (Levin, 1960: 131-144). This poem uses
non-participant point of view which is omniscient. The narrator relates what the
characters do or think. The omniscient narrator can at any time enter the mind of any
or all of the characters. The narrator is also neutral. Where the narrator recounts deeds
and thoughts but does not judge (Barnet, 1988: 50-52).
Character refers to the relevant behaviors trends that have particular moral and
ethical implications. The character of a person reveals from his or her behavior
whereas a personality of a person reveals from a social interaction (Sawrey and
Telfrod. 1968: 302). Abrams stated that character is the person presented in a
dramatic or narrative work, which are interpreted by the readers as being endowed
with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say, the
E.M Forster divides character into two terms, flat character and round
character. Flat character is build around ‘single idea or quality’ and is presented
without much individualizing detail, and therefore can be fairly adequately described
in a single phrase or sentence. Round character is complex in temperament and
motivation and is presented with subtle particularity (Abrams, 1981: 20).
Koesnosoebroto divided character into two kinds, major or main character and
minor character. Main character is the most important character in the story. Minor
character is character of less important than those the main. The main character needs
other character to make the story more convincing an lifelike (Koesnosoebroto, 1988:
67)
Characterization is the process by which an author or a playwright creates a
character. Characterization in literature is the presentation of the attitudes and
behaviors of imaginary persons in order to make them credible to the author’s
audience. According to Encyclopedia Americana: International Edition, Vol: 6,
characterization is a unique feature of such fictional forms as the short story, novel,
drama, and narrative poetry (Library of Congress Cataloging Data, 1995: 291).
Oscar Bracket states that characterization can be found in four levels:
physical, social, psychological, and moral. Physical is concerned with such basic
facts as sex, age, size, and color. Social is included the character’s economic status,
profession or trade, religion, family relationship. All those factors are that place him
in his environment. Psychological reveals the character’s habitual responses,
11
emotional and intellectual, which precede action. Moral decision differentiates
characters because the choices they make when facing moral crises show whether
they are selfish, hypocritical, or person of integrity (Bracket, 1974: 39-40)
Hugh Holman and William Harmon in A Handbook to Literature state that
characterization is divided into three fundamental ways. The first is the explicit
presentation by the author of the character through direct exposition, either in an
introduction or more often throughout the development of the story that is illustrated
by actions. The second is the presentation of the character in action with little or no
explicit comment by the author, in the expectation that the reader will be able to
reduce the attributes of the actor from action. The third is the presentation from
within a character, without comment on the character by the author, of the impact of
actions and emotions on the character’s inner self, with the expectations that the
reader will come to a clear understanding of the attributes of the characters. The three
fundamental methods are the basic terms for the author to give characterization
toward the characters in the story to be understood by the reader (Holman and
Harmon, 1986: 81-83).
According to Yelland, Jones, and Easton, characterization is the creation of
imaginary persons. The writer can reveal certain qualities of its own nature and the
writer also can try to keep himself in the background and presents the characters of
real people or of imaginary people. Through characterization, the readers will
understand why the character does the thing and can be emotionally involved in the
Characterization will always be a part of character. Characterization as the
part of character is the way an author characterize his or her work. From the theories
on character and characterization the writer could conclude that character is a person
presented in literary works that has his or her own personalities.
2. Theories of Modern Tragedy
There are many concepts that try to explain the definition or the meaning of
tragedy. A tragedy is an unhappy and painful situation which involves death (Kernan
1963: 163). Kernan states that a tragic hero is a person in the rest of his life denies the
world around him, but he knows he has to achieve in order to fulfill himself, and he
persists in his search while more ordinary men giving in. He commits himself to
some curse, which creates conflict with forces whose existence he has not suspected.
Therefore, he stumbles forward into his suffering, and at the end he usually achieves
something of value by his struggle.
Aristotle said that a tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious and
also, as having magnitude, complete itself, in language with pleasurable accessories,
each kind brought in separately in the parts of the work; in dramatic form; with
incident arousing ‘pity and fear’ wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such
emotion. The “language with pleasurable accessories” means that with rhythm and
harmony or song superadded. Tragedy is essentially an imitation of action and life, of
happiness and misery. All human happiness or misery takes the form of action
13
The basic difference between Modern Tragedy and Greek Tragedy is that
Modern Tragedy tells about the life of common people unlike Greek tragedy tells
about the life of noble people. In the Greek Tragedy god has an essential role of the
tragedy. The hero of the Greek Tragedy is fated to have a tragic ending where god
contributes to the downfall of the hero. Shakespearean Tragedy defines it as a story of
exceptional calamity (great misfortune and misery) leading to the death of a man in
high estate or the story of human actions producing exceptional calamity and ending
in the death of such a man (Walley, 1950: 54-59).
In modern time, the tragedy pictures more complex live and ideas. The theory
of Aristotle has been rejected by many critics. In The Tragic Fallacy, Joseph Wood
Krutch says that tragedy is not the imitation of noble action, for indeed, no one knows
what a noble action is or not such a thing as nobility exists in nature apart from the
mind of man. As matter of fact, a tragedy is essentially as expression, not of despair
but of triumph over despair and of confidence in the value of human life (Levin,
1960: 164).
It is not about gods nor king or noble man anymore. It is about human life,
human struggle, human individuality, human egoism, and human social life. Most of
modern literatures tend to picture the real condition of human being, and they are
written based on the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and feeling. Then it brings a
new kind of recognizable truth to the stage by introducing subjects and characters,
which previously is not considered acceptable especially in tragedy (Barranger, 1994:
“Michael” is considered as a modern tragedy for the play portrays the life in
the exact time. It is because modern tragedy tells about the life of common people
unlike Greek tragedy tells about the life of noble people influenced by the role of god
and otherwise Shakespearean Tragedy defines it as a story of exceptional calamity
(great misfortune and misery) leading to the death of a man in high estate because of
his own action (Walley, 1950:54-59).
Michael is just a shepherd or a common man. The tragedy of Michael is also
because the influence of the society and environment. That is why in the analysis the
writer uses the theories of modern tragedy.
3. Theories of Modern Tragic Hero
In Greek tragedy, Aristotle defined the main character of a tragedy is the
protagonist or the tragic hero, who through some flaw in his character brings death or
destruction upon himself or upon someone he/she loves. He said that the tragic heroes
usually from illustrious families and he is not an ordinary man. The tragic hero must
be someone who is highly renowned and prosperous. In Greek and Shakespearean
Tragedy, he is usually a king or prince. In Shakespearean tragedy, it also concerns
with a person, leaders of the state, or a member of great houses, who quarrels of
public movement (Levin, 1960: 134-151).
Aristotle also said that the tragic hero comes to grief through his hamartia, a
term sometimes translated as tragic flaw. The tragic flaw is an erroneous judgment
15
other human beings. Most tragic heroes are males. The tragic hero usually goes
beyond the standards to which reasonable people adhere; he does some fearful deed
which ultimately destroys him (Barnet, 1988: 741).
Arthur Miller states that tragedy is the disaster inherent in being torn away
from each person which has chosen image of self and position and that tragedy results
when the character’s environment denies the fulfillment of this self-concept.
According to Miller, the tragic hero of modern tragedy is the person with the
underlying struggle is that of the individual attempting to gain his ‘rightful’ position
in his society. Tragic man, then placed in a universe of irreconcilables, acting in a
situation in which he is both innocent and guilty, and peculiarly sensitive to the
‘cursed spite’ of his condition, suffers. Tragic man viewed in his social and moral
relationship (Levin, 1960: 171-178).
Miller states that a modern tragic hero has the categories that must be
followed. The categories are:
1. The subject must be a common man. He is not a king or a prince. The common
man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings are.
2. The subject must be ready to lay down his life to secure his sense of personal
dignity. The tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a
character that is ready to lay down his life, if needed be, to secure one thing his
sense of personal dignity.
3. The consequence of his total compulsion to evaluate himself justly. The
4. The subject must have fear of being displaced.
5. The subject acts against the scheme of things degrading him.
6. The subject must have tragic flaw, a failing that is not peculiar to grand or
elevated characters. Nor it is necessarily a weakness (Levin, 1960: 171-178).
C. Theoretical Framework
This study is to solve the problems formulation stated before. There are
several theories used to solve the problem formulation. To solve the first problem, the
theory of character and characterization are used. This is needed to find and describe
the characters in the poem. It is also used in understanding the characteristic of each
character because the writer of the poem using various expressions to build the
characterization.
The theories on tragedy then are used to find the tragedy in the poem. It is
including the elements which support it. The theories of modern tragedy and the
theory of tragic hero of modern tragedy are used to analyze Michael’s tragedy and the
other characters supports to his tragedy. There are many elements that included in the
story which needs to be analyzed as the part of modern tragedy. The theory of
modern tragic hero is used to analyze Michael as the central character in the poem
and to find how he can become a tragic hero of modern tragedy. The approach is used
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The study deals with the poem “Michael” written by William Wordsworth.
The poem was written at Town-end, Grasmere, in 1800. The poem consists of 21
stanzas and 482 lines (Mukherjef and Rajender, 2000: 173-183).
“Michael” is one of Wordsworth’s great narrative poems in the last poem to
enter the Lyrical Ballads. It is one of Wordsworth’s great narrative poems. In
“Michael”, he leaves the autobiographical framework almost completely behind and
concerns himself. In the poem Wordsworth creates four characters. They are Michael,
Isabel, Luke, and Richard Bateman.
In this study, the writer focuses on the characters, especially Michael as the
main character in the poem. Michael is just a shepherd in Grasmere Vale. He is a man
with strong mind and lively sensibility. He has a wife, Isabel, and a son, Luke. He
teaches everything to Luke with perfect parental affection. His life becomes
miserable when his son goes to the town to work with his rich relative there, Richard
Bateman. He makes an unrealized mistake which leads his family into tragedy. The
strength which had once been his mainstay becomes a burden to him.
B. Approach of the Study
In doing this analysis, the writer uses structuralism in order to analyze the
tragedy of the main character in the poem in revealing the tragic hero of the poem.
The writer uses the structuralism approach because it refers to the form, structure,
theory of tragedy and tragic hero, and the outside things of the literary work.
Guerin in A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature said that
structuralism is the study to detect the recurrent pattern not just in the particular work
but also throughout literature. Perhaps it is revealing something about the way the
human mind works (1979: 282).
According to Peter Barry in Beginning Theory (2002: 39-60), narratology is a
branch of structuralism although it has achieved a certain independence from its
parent. The essence of structuralism is the belief that things can not be understood in
isolation-they have to be seen in the context of the larger structures they are part of. It
follows from this that meaning or significance is not a kind of core or essence inside
things: rather, meaning is always outside. Structuralism approach takes you further
and further away from the text and into large and comparatively abstract question of
genre, history, and philosophy. This emphasizes on the intrinsic and also extra-textual
features in the analysis of literature.
Thus, in the structuralism approach to literature there is a constant movement
away from the individual literary work and a parallel drive towards understanding the
19
Structuralism is used because this study will discuss the character as the
theory of drama (tragedy and tragic hero) with reference to the genre or to its place in
the development of the genre. It deals with the tragedy of social life in the industrial
revolution in London.
C. Method of the Study
The writer applied a library research as the method of the study. This method
is collecting data by reading some books that is useful for the analysis. Two kinds of
sources are used to support the study. The primary source was taken from
Wordsworth poem “Michael”. The secondary sources were taken from some books
and information from internet browsing.
Doing the analysis, the writer took a few steps. Firstly, the writer read the
work thoroughly and also interpreted the characters of the work. After the writer read
the poem, some tragedy of the characters was found. The tragedy that happened to
Michael as the main character was very attractive. This made the writer interested to
have a character study in the play to analyze the main character in this poem.
Secondly, the writer decided the topic of the thesis and formulated the
problem formulation as the base of the thesis.
Thirdly, the writer used the appropriate approach to analyze the poem line by
line and makes a library research to find the theories that were related to the character
study for the analysis. The theories on character and characterization are used to
the structure of the poem. It is also used to find another relation with the theory on
modern tragedy and another “outside” aspect (industrialism).
After that, the theories and the approach were used in the analysis to analyze
the whole work from the first line till the end. After analyzing the characters and the
tragedy, the writer searches the tragic hero revealed from the analysis. The tragic hero
is revealed from the tragedy of the main character which is supported by other
(minor) characters.
Finally, conclusion is made. The conclusion contains the significant
information from the introduction until the analysis. It especially contains the
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
A. The Description of the Main Character of the Poem “Michael”
Michael is the main character in the poem. The character of Michael is
described in two conditions, when he was a boy and when he is old.
As a boy, he is not a clever or smart boy. He is lazy to study. He loves to live
freely with the nature.
“… while I was yet a boy
careless of books, yet having felt the power of nature , by the gentle agency
Of natural objects, led me on to feel
For passions that were not my own, and think” (Stanza 1, lines 27-31).
After that, Michael is described as an old man. He is a shepherd in Grasmere
Vale. He lives near the forest. He is described as a strong man and has a keen mind.
He is prompt, stout of heart, and strong of limb. He has the ability to watch the
shepherd better than the others. He can know everything which will happen by
noticing the nature. He is a cheerful person and so lively. He is kind and skillful as a
shepherd. He has many experiences as a shepherd, joy and fear. He has a big
responsibility as a shepherd. He can be said as the friend of nature. His age is around
eighties.
“Upon the forest-side in Grasmere Vale, thee dwelt a shepherd, Michael was his
name… the pleasure which there is in life itself” (Stanza 2, lines 40-77).
Inside those lines, there are more specific descriptions of Michael. Many of
his characteristics reflect the economical power. It is shown by his ability and instinct
as a skillful shepherd which can make him prosperous. He is better than the other
shepherd and this gives him more ‘natural capital’ to be rich as a shepherd.
“his mind was keen,
Intense, and frugal, apt for all affairs,
And in his Shepherd's calling he was prompt And watchful more than ordinary men.” (Stanza 2, lines 44-47).
Michael's stout heart may signify one of his minds, which is clearly that of a
successful businessperson: "apt for all affairs." He has the capacity to solve many
problems and he has the creativity and ideas to control many shepherds’ ‘affairs’. His
mind is able to read its ancestral lands like a text but Michael is neither a nature poet,
nor a natural theologian, nor a naturalist. He is very close to the nature. Nature is his
friend, teacher, master, father, and his worker. The nature is his pleasure and
absolutely his life.
“grossly that man errs, who should suppose
That the green Valleys, and the Streams and Rocks, Were things indifferent to the Shepherd's thoughts” (Stanza 2, lines 62-65).
The natural setting provides both a necessary backdrop for Michael to perform
his acts of heroism and a mnemonic album in which to preserve the memory of these
23
shows his continuity responsibility to the animal that he saves. He take cares them,
seeks them when they are lost, and saves them when they are in trouble. He acts not
only as a master or an ordinary shepherd, but also as a hero for the animal.
“So many incidents upon his mind
Of hardship, skill of courage, joy or fear; Which, like a book, preserved the memory the dumb animals, whom he had sav'd, Had fed or shelter'd, linking to such acts, So grateful in themselves, the certainty Of honorable gains.”
(Stanza 2, lines 68-73).
He has a wife that is 20 years younger than him. Her name is Isabel. Although
he is eighties, Isabel is his first and only wife. It is like a ‘late marriage’ for a man. It
is a proof that love is unlimited. From the marriage, he has a son that he loved much,
more than anything else. His name is Luke.
“His helpmate was commonly matron… of house or field.”
(Stanza 3, lines 79-109).
Michael is very old that he is near to the death. He is too old for a shepherd or
to stay as a shepherd. He is also described as “an old lamp” which shines his family.
Maybe he is old but he is still a shepherd and still “a light”. Although he is old, he
becomes the symbol of the shepherd there. He also becomes the teacher and the
can also be derived from his habit. He usually works till the evening where the old
lamp which accompanies the family can be seen from far.
“To deem that he was old,-in shepherd’s phrase, With one foot in the grave.”
(Stanza 2, lines 89-90).
“There by the light of this old lamp they sate,” (Stanza 3, line 124).
Michael also has an old style. His life is with ancient style of a shepherd
which is not colorful and monotonous. It happened before the coming of his wife and
his son. His life concerns with the nature not with the style of the common people. He
cannot be noticed with what happened in the actual culture events, but he cares with
the actual nature events in his environment so much.
“Down from the ceiling, by the chimney’s edge, That in our ancient uncouth country style With huge and black projection overbrowed Large space beneath, as duly as the light” (Stanza 3, lines 110-113).
Michael is a hard worker. He does anything for his family. He always tries to
do the best he can do. This is also as the habit of his family. Michael usually works
from morning till late in the evening. When at home in the night, he still does
something useful and he helps his wife.
“Living a life of an eager industry…” (Stanza 3, line 122).
His wife and his son make him always in a high spirit of life. He loves his
25
for Michael. He has a ‘raw material’ that is needed to be formed. Since the birth of
Luke, he teaches everything that he knew to him. He is the parent which has the
responsibility. Luke is the center of his life. Luke is his life. Michael put a big hope
on Luke.
“The shepherd, if he loved himself, must need have loved his helpmate; but to Michael’s hearth, this son of his old age yet more dear.”
(Stanza 4, lines 141-143).
B. The Contributions of the Other Characters in Developing the Main Character’s Tragedy
1. Isabel
Isabel is Michael’s wife. She is younger than him. She is a good woman, a
good wife for Michael.
“His helpmate was a comely matron, old-
Though younger than himself full twenty years. She was a woman of a stirring life,
Whose heart was in her house…” (Stanza 3, lines 88-82).
She does not realize that her presence later will lead Michael to the tragedy.
Michael as the tragic hero is started when he meets her. She sacrifices too much for
him. She works very hard from morning till late of the night to do the household
matters for Michael. She works harder because Michael is too old to do everything.
them. She also gives another color in Michael’s life. She comes as a new thing in his
life although later it becomes a tragedy because of the late meeting.
“Of day grew dim the Housewife hung a lamp, An aged utensil, when ha performed
Service beyond all others of its kind. Early at evening did it burn-and late” (Stanza 3, lines 114-117).
Isabel gives Luke as a beautiful present for him in the beginning. The
presence of her and Luke do not be treated well by Michael in the actual
environment. She gives Luke as hopes but also as an object of Michel’s obsession.
Luke will be the successor of Michael. She also does not think of Luke’s education
because she also works too much.
“Nor cheerful, yet with objects and with hopes, Living a life of eager industry”
(Stanza 4, lines 121-122).
She is a good wife for Michael because she does everything to please him
and this is not good. Michael becomes the object of her love but he does not show
love as that much to her. This is also an unrealized mistake that is never touched by
Isabel. She does not ask for the responsibility of treating her. Michael earns much
more care with Luke and nature than with her. In running the family life, she has
bigger role.
Another mistake is her decision to agree to send Luke to the city. Her
27
story. She also thinks shortly and has an equal comparison between Luke and
Richard.
“Thee thoughts, and many others of like sort, Passed quickly through the mind of Isabel, And her face brightened..”
(Stanza 12, lines 271-273).
Actually she realizes the tragedy which will happen because of her instinct as
a mother and a woman. She realizes that Michael will die without of Luke near
present. She does not reveal it to Michael but only to Luke. It is also unrealized
mistake because Luke also does nothing with this warning.
“And when they rose at morning she could see That all his hopes were gone. That day at noon She said to Luke, while they two by themselves Were sitting at the door, ‘Thou must not go: We have no other Child but thee to lose, None to remember-do not go away, For if thou leave thy father he will die.’ (Stanza 14, lines 292-301).
2. Luke
Luke is Michael’s only son. His presence is very worthy for Michael but his
presence is also late. He comes when Michael is already very old.
“An only Child, who had been born to them When Michael, telling o’er his years, began To deem that he was old,-in shepherd’s phrase, With one fot in the grave.”
(Stanza 3, lines 87-90).
Michael pours his life into him. He leads Michael as the tragic hero from the
tough as Michael in front of nature, but not in front of the actual world in the city. He
is the copy of Michael as a shepherd. His journey to London is for Michael. This
leads Michael to the tragedy of the family. Indirectly, Luke’s fault is from Michael.
The one that should be blamed is Michael. He sends him and gives him the way to
London by promoting him to Richard Bateman. Luke also considers this too easy and
he becomes too much proud. He only thinks of his success that he will get.
“Nor was there at that time on English land A prouder heart than Luke’s..”
(Stanza 15, lines 314-315).
All of them are Luke’s personal events that lead the family into tragedy. In the
end, he takes an evil way in order to be successful as soon as possible to make his
father happy. This is then becomes a fault because of the background that he has. His
father always teaches him to be honest. If he faces the industrial life, Michael should
teach him many tricks to solve many industrial work problems.
In the city then he takes an evil way to get the success instantly and this
destroys him and the family. His shame feeling makes him runaway from his mistake
because no one can help him.
“…Meantime Luke began
29
3. Richard Bateman
He is Michael’s relatives in London. He is a successful businessman. He leads
Michael to his tragedy by receiving Luke as his employee.
“…We have, thou know’st,
Another kinsman-he will be our friend In this distress. He is a prosperous man, Thriving in trade-and Luke to him shall go, And with his kinsman’s help and his own thrift He quickly will repair this loss…”
(Stanza 11, lines 247-252).
All Michel’s backgrounds are attached in Luke. The background of Michael is
not the same as Richard’s background. Michael’s life is running because of the
nature, but Richard is a poor boy who becomes rich because of the industrial work in
the city. Michael never sends Luke in formal school. He sends him to nature.
Business needs knowledge to explore nature. Richard also does not prepare Luke to
face the industrial works.
He accepts him ‘raw’ and never develops him. Luke is just a young foolish
boy from village who should face the cruel industrial works. He has the promises to
success Luke. He does not have the responsibility of his failed.
“with kind assurances that he would do His utmost for the welfare of the Boy;
To which, requests were added, that forthwith He might be sent to him..”
C. Michael as the Modern Tragic Hero
According to Arthur Miller in Tragedy and the Common Man, the tragic hero
has six categories that must be followed. Michael as the main character in Michael
fits the pattern that Miller consciously develops (Levin, 1960: 171-180).
1. A common man
Michael is not a king or a prince, he is an ordinary man, and he is just a
shepherd. He is a shepherd in Grasmere Vale. In the middle of the society, he also
does not have a power to control the society. He does not have any governmental
occupation. He is only famous as a skillful shepherd, a local village shepherd. He has
the ability to watch shepherd better than the others. He is the picture of a man, of a
strong mind and lively sensibility, agitated by two of the most powerful affections of
the human hearth, the parental affection, and the love of the property, landed
property. He is very close to the nature. He is a friend of nature. He has a wife and a
son.
“Upon the forest-side in Grasmere Vale, there dwelt a shepherd, Michael was his name…
the pleasure which there is in life itself” (Stanza 2, lines 40-77).
Michael's decision to send Luke to the city to save the family estate from
division and sale represents a shifting of roles is the proof that Michael plays God (or
31
remember the Abraham story in the bible, Luke plays as Isaac; and the role of
Abraham, with all of the pathos attaching to the need to make an anguished choice.
Michael's speeches upon learning of the "forfeiture" are revealing. After identifying
his God as the God of Genesis by proclaiming, "`And in the open sunshine of God's
love / Have we all lived,'" Michael identifies himself with that God as the cause and
source of that "sunshine," stating that "the sun itself / Has scarcely been more diligent
than I."
“I have been toiling more than seventy years, And in the open sunshine of God’s love Have we all lived; yet if these fields of ours Should pass into a stranger’s hand, I think That I could not lie quiet in my grave. Our lot is a hard lot; the sun himself Has scarcely been more diligent than I; And I have lived to be a fool at last To my own family“
(Stanza 10, lines 228-236).
Not surprisingly, as the one who plays God and hubristically tries on that
being's divinely inspired logic, Michael does not get the master's arguments quite
right. He considers that the ‘master’ of all is god and then he uses that to make a
‘parameter’ of himself. The ‘parameter’ is that Michael also the ‘god’ of his own
land. He says that actually he is more diligent than the ‘sun’. He does more than
everything to his land because he considers that he is the ‘master’ or the ‘god’ of his
"Our Luke shall leave us, Isabel; the land Shall not go from us, and it shall be free, He shall possess it free as is the wind That passes over it."
(Stanza 11, lines 254-57).
Michael's speech then gives way to tragic irony on the monstrous thing at the
end. In that statement, he has the power to decide and the power to control his own
family. These all are because the land is as his family ‘identity’ as an ordinary people
to survive in the neighborhood or his community. He acts like that he is a king, Isabel
is his queen, and Luke is their prince. He likes a king who sends his prince to war to
save the patrimonial land. Michael wants the land still belongs to them.
Those lines then becomes true at the end because Luke, "driven at last”. Luke
does leave, and the land does not "go from" Michael and Isabel and also does not
belong to Luke. Michael and Isabel are buried in it. The land is free of their control
He is seeking a hiding-place across the seas" that is, driven to board a sailing vessel
to the New World in order to remain free by evading his creditor .He does not posses
the land anymore. He stands in a land as wind up "free as is the wind."
2. Ready to Lay Down His Life to Secure His Sense of Personal Dignity “Old Michael, while he was a babe in arms,
33
In the beginning of Luke’s life, he is prepared by Michael to become his
successor as a shepherd. He is the best shepherd, a man of ‘honorable occupation’ in
his neighborhood. He loves his son so much and does everything for him, even doing
a “female service” for him. He acts as a woman, if necessary, to take care Luke. He
usually take cares animal. This can be the cause that the masculine side of Michael
still has a soft side. Everything is done to create his hope in the future in Luke.
“And left, the couple neither gay perhaps Nor cheerful, yet with objects and with hopes, Living a life of eager industry.”
(Stanza 4, lines 120-122).
All the members of Michael’s family are so hard working that they have
earned an almost proverbial reputation for their incessant work. They have earned a
legendary reputation for living with utmost frugality and economy. Michael uses
almost his life to do a hard work. Since he was a child, he take cares the animal and
the land. He uses almost his whole life to become closer to the nature. When he is
married, he still works hard and does not use his time to take a rest and enjoys his
life. He still works and works from the morning until the night. He does not use his
time to seek luck in the city but every time he deals with the nature. Then this
becomes ironic because although he and his family work hard but they do not have a
lot of money. They do not have enough saving to pay the debt. They do not have
enough goods to sell except the land.
The presence of Luke makes him work harder and harder. Everything is done
to prepare Luke as Michael’s success hope even many accidents or injury sometimes
happens again.
When Michael comes to know that he may be forced to sell some of his
fields, so that they will not be passed on to his son, all the life is drained out of him.
He even will not be in peace when he dies. His proud, his dignity, his honor, and
everything will be loss.
“And in the open sunshine of God’s love Have we all lived; yet if these fields of ours Should pass into a stranger’s hand, I think That I could not lie quiet in my grave. Our lot is a hard lot; the sun himself Has scarcely been more diligent than I; And I have lived to be a fool at last To my own family…”
(Stanza 10, lines 229-236).
Although he has to pay the debt because of his brother’s problem, but he
shows his dignity by forgiving him and wants to pay the debt. He also shows that he
is a gentleman by not denying that he is ‘an evil man’ because of the act in the past.
He shows his responsibility by paying the debt. He has to do that, but he does not
want to sacrifice the land.
“An evil man
35
The financial failure of Michael's nephew, "a man of an industrious life and
ample means," causes the man to default on a covenant of sorts: a contract of
guarantee. This default in its turn means that Michael must either, under the terms of
the secured note that he has executed, or he must find some way of raising a large
amount of money quickly to prevent the "forfeiture."
Michael’s hope to save the land is Luke. He then has an idea to pay the debt
from Luke’s occupation.
"Our Luke shall leave us, Isabel; the land Shall not go from us, and it shall be free, He shall possess it free as is the wind That passes over it."
(Stanza 11, lines 243-247).
Michael’s struggle is that he is attempting to make Luke, his son, becomes a
successful person in London, and not only becomes a shepherd like him. He does
everything and he sacrifices everything to make it. Sending Luke to London is the
same as sending Michael’s heart far from his body.
Actually Michael cannot be separated with Luke. Later he dies because he
loses this hope because of his unrealized mistakes. Because of the mistake, his son,
3. The Consequence of His Total Compulsion to Evaluate Himself Justly “ His days had not been passed in singleness.
His Helpmate was a comely matron, old— Though younger than himself full twenty years” (Stanza 3, lines 87-90).
Michael then marries, but actually, he is too old. This can become the
consequence because he cares with his land more than everything. This marriage then
becomes a tragedy for the whole family. His wife then can be seen stronger than
Michael because she is much younger. Michael evaluates himself that he is not as
strong as the nature. He confesses that his wife, Isabel, works more hard than he does.
He also confesses that he is a fool at last and not a good man. He realizes that it is
because of his past. When he was a boy, he was lazy to study and he was not a clever
or smart boy. He only loves to live freely with the nature. As the result, he realizes
that he makes a false choice.
He also confesses that in the past he had a debt to his nephew and he was
now called upon to discharge the debt. This bad news stunned the family and damped
all the hopes they had cherished.
“From day to day, to Michael’s ear there came Distressful tidings. Long before the time
Of which I speak, the Shepherd had been bound In surety for his brother’s son, a man
37
His responsibility to his brother then becomes a big burden for him and his
family also becomes the victim of his contract with his brother. Michael and his
family now get the consequence to pay the debt. This is something ironic because
Isabel and Luke actually keep in touch with the charge indirectly. Isabel and Luke as
the part of the family instantly get the responsibility. This is something that out side
their minds. Michael as the main person in that debt case becomes stressed and panic.
It is actually not only about the future of his brother but also his future and his family.
“And I have lived to be a fool at last to my own family. An evil man
that was, and made an evil choice if he were false to us; and , if he were not false, there were ten thousand to whom loss like this Had been sorrow, I forgive him;- but
‘Twere better to be dumb than to talk thus” (Stanza 10, lines 235-241).
It seems that he can forgive his brother easily. Although the burden is very
big, he still has a gentle heart as a good brother. The harder consequence is that
Michael has to “sacrifice” his only son to pay the debt by sending him to London.
This is the only instant way to solve his problem. Michael is not strong enough like
when he was young. He also does not have any rich relatives who can give him a lot
of loan. He does not have any other capital or asset which can save him.
Michael does not prepare Luke to face the industrial life in London. He only
thinks to get a lot of money in a short time from Luke job in the city. Luke himself
does not have enough background and skill in the job in the city. The consequence is
“Meantime Luke began
To slacken in his duty; and, at length, He in the dissolute city gave himself To evil courses: ignominy and shame Fell on him, so that he was driven at last To seek a hiding-place beyond the seas.” (Stanza 19, lines 442-447).
Luke’s evil act then makes Luke seeking a hiding-place across the seas sailing
vessel to the New World in order to remain free by evading his creditors. Luke is
taught to be a gentleman in front of the nature but his act is very embarrassing. He
runs away and it shows that all the education that he has got is useless. He shows his
weakness and proves that he is not a gentle man. It is very different with Michael.
Luke does not show his responsibility as Michael’s dearest son. This makes him lost
his family and his patrimonial land. Michael lost his son, his land, his life, and
everything. Those big consequences are very tragic. It is started by the loss of
physical strength of Michael.
“Years after he had heard this heavy news. His bodily frame had been from youth to age Of an unusual strength”
(Stanza 20, lines 453-455).
Michael has unusual strength as an old shepherd. He is very strong. This is
very ironic. The strength, which had once been his mainstay, now becomes a burden
to him. By the news comes to him, he starts to lose his strength. His heart is broken.
The effect also comes to his physical body. He becomes weak and has no spirit to
continue his life because he loses his hope. In here, the physical strength becomes
