Aldous Huxley as an essayist
Aldous Huxley, born in 1894, came of the family of intellectuals of England. His father's name was Leonard Huxley, who was a biographer, and journalist. His grandfather was a well known scientist of his time. From his maternal side he was connected to Dr. Arnold, the famous headmaster of Rugby Chapel and the father of the great poet critic, Matthew Arnold.
A Versatile Genius:
Huxley was a versatile genius. He began his life as a scientist, but later on he became a poet, a critic, a wrtier of the books of travel and essayist and a great novelist.
His important novels are:
Chrome Yellow (1921),
Antic Hay (1923).
Point Conter Point (1928),
Eyeless in Gaza (1936),
After Many A Summer (1938) and
Ape and Essence (1949).
Brave New World Revisited (1959) And
Ends And Means (1937).
Besides all these, he wrote many other works. "The Brave New World' is a fantasy of the future. It is the best work of Aldous Huxley.
Aldous Huxley as a thinker:
Huxley as a thinker placed novel ideas about the world. His main concern as a thinker is that he is the reflector of the feelings of the age. He picks up subjects of importance and surprises his readers by his opinions.
In his essay entiled 'Agra' he does not like aritistic essays, he is at liberty to deal with his subject for a long time. The subjects introduced by him for discussion reveal his vast knowledge and his great culture.
He calls his novel the "Brave New World". It is a proof of his study of Shakespeare's "Tempest'. The Selected Snobbery is an essay, which reveals his sense of culture. He is above all things a satirist, whose tone can vary from jovial irony to biting malice. His satire springs from an easy polished style, a great gift of epigram, a ready wit and an alert mind.
For example, he writes -
"Marbles, I perceive covers a multitude of sins".
His vast knowledge and Utra-refined culture:
Aldous Huxley had suprising knowledge and experience of the world. In the essay "Taj" the writer shows his great gift of knowledge. He had made a whirl-wind tour of India. During these wanderings he came to Agra.
He regrets that he could not appreciate the beauty of the Taj. His opinion on the Taj shows his great knowledge of the architectural art. Huxley expresses it in the following words -
"Nature, I repeat did its best, but though it adorned
it could not improve the works of man.
The Taj even at sunset, even reverberated
upside down from tanks and river, even in
conjection with melancholy cypresses
the Taj was a disappointment."
A Confessional Writer:
Huxley is a confessional writer. He confesses to his readers that he has the weakness to dislike what all people like. He cannot submit to all that every person submits. Huxley is an analytical critic. He sadly points out that Spenser is a great poet in the world's eye. Great poets like "Milton and Wordsworth" have approved the greatness of Spenser.
Huxley calls him a 'mere versifer'. Spenser does not appeal to Huxley as a great poet. Although he is impatient to acknowledge the greatness of Spenser. Huxley gives the reason of his disappointment.
He says that a poet should communicate to his readers. Spenser as a poet has nothing to communicate to his readers. Hence he is not a great poet in his eye. One may be surprised at the remark of Huxley yet he is a justified critic, who has neither any ill will nor malice for the object of the criticism.
His keen critical sense:
Aldous Huxley as a critic is full of courage. He has an uncompromising nature. He cannot bear human follies. The poverty of imagination in the Taj teases him. He cannot bear the architectural defects of the Taj.
He points out the tapering minarets as a great fault on the name of building construction. His attitude in criticism was scientific as well as emotional. As a scientific critic his attitude was the attitude of detachment. As an emotional critic, he prises the Hindu architectures of the Rajputana and the buildings of Fathepur Sikri built by another Muslim emperor Akbar.
The Sharpness of his mind:
Roaming about the different cities of India of historical importance Huxley comes to Rajasthan. Here his imagination catches the Vanity of the Indian Kings to build up cities after their names seeing Jaipur of Jai Singh, Fatehpur Sikri of Akbar and Udaipur of Udai Singh. Like Ruskin he was a critic of high art.
Commenting on snobberies of modern age, he discusses the cultural snobbery. He divides it into platonic and unplatonic snobberies. Unplatonic snobbery is possession snobbery. He also calls it the modernity snobbery which h: Jeen introduced among the modern men to create a liking to buy modern and ultra new articles on the grounds of fashion. This is the manufacture's trick to promote his sale.
Conclusion:
As a writer Huxley's ideas are not plain and simple. His language is the language of the learned. What he says he tries to prove by his reason and logic. He tries to enter into the mind and heart of the reader and tries to convince him with his thoughts and feelings. Huxley is quite different from A. G. Gardiner, Robert Lynd and Forster of the same age.
