Yielding to the Illusions of Reality: A Žižekian Approach to Selected Works ofRobert Southey

This research paper undertakes an examination of four of Southey’s selected works: “To Horror,” “TheRace of Banquo,” “Ode, Written During the Negotiations with Bonaparte,” and “Wat Tyler.” It furtherinvestigates the relationship between each poem and its historical context, while offering valuableperspectives on the inherent fallacies of Romanticism. The study reveals the features of Romanticideology and meaning in the poet’s works, and then attempts to highlight the reason for his politicalshift by applying psychoanalysis and Slavoj Žižek’s theories. In contrast to the prevailing notion thatSouthey betrayed revolutionary ideals and abandoned the promised era of freedom and justice that theFrench Revolution ushered in, the paper, agreeing with scholars admitting this continuity, maintainsthat his regard for the people still remained with him. Moreover, this analysis leads to the conclusionthat Southey’s transition to conservatism was an attempt to avert the complete disintegration of theSymbolic Order and rationalize the Revolution’s failure, thereby implying that a utopia could be realizedon Earth if the proper ‘obstacles’ are removed. Adopting such a gesture confirms his status as a genuineRomantic ideologue.

کلیدواژه ها:

Robert Southey ، Ideology ، Romanticism ، The French Revolution ، The Symbolic Order ، The Real ، Fantasy.