Time Case

Time. It's what we all crave, what we all desire, what we all wish we had more of. Though, in our current society, the true value of time is not truly appreciated until a state of nostalgia sets in which causes us to long and revise on the past. Therefore, even though the quote above was coined by an English philosopher, William Penn almost two centuries ago to this present day, it is still reflective of how succeeding eras have placed their own weight on the importance and value of time.

In particular, this is perfectly shown through the stark comparison between the socially constraining yet moralistic nature of the Victorian Era where high values were upheld in contrast with the 1920's or more commonly coined term, the 'Jazz Age' where the name itself is indicative of an era that revolved around pleasure, leisure, indulgence and promiscuity. Respectively, it was these two specific eras that had a substantial influence on the works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's 'Songs from the Portuguese' (1845) and F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' (1926) where the analysis of both texts side by side presents us with the changing value of time. It is interesting to note the adverse difference in the value of time as it was initially appreciated and savoured but was eventually exploited during the latter stages.

Commencing in the mid 1800's, the Victorian Era was largely characterized by female suppression and social restraints but was also a period that flourished with rapid technological advancements and improvements in machinery due to the Industrial Revolution. Although, while this was all occurring on the outside world, Elizabeth was emotionally bed ridden in her estate on Wimpole Street due to the tragic death of her mother and brother and consequently developed a serious morphine addiction to ease her pain during her late 30's. This pessimistic idea that the outside world was going to progress without her in conjunction with the lingering fear of death and mortality which plagued Elizabeth due to her ailing sickness, had an enormous effect on her sonnet writing as time was seen as more of a gift rather than a given right.