It was back in my graduation years while I was studying the Romantic Age that I learned how important Opium had become for some writers of the 19th Century. Opium- I wonder if anyone in the 21st century is still unaware of this substance, but let me define it briefly for you. Opium is a recreational substance that is also used as a medicinal drug in various regions of the world. It has pretty addictive narcotic properties that have a substantial impact on one’s cognitive state alongside helping to deal with gastric issues.
One would have ideally never thought about its significance on the literary front. But, honestly, when you delve deeper, you will know that it has given literature some of the best works up till now. But why was it only prevalent in poetry of the Romantic Age and why only during this particular time frame? Let us unveil the matter step-wise and understand what it is with poets and opium…
Opium and its origins
Cultivated for thousands of years now, opium (poppy) was referred to as the “joy plant” by the Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia around 3400 BCE. That is how far the tracing of its origins goes. The opium poppies have been regarded as magical and sacred in ancient times and were a way to a healthier, wealthier, and more fertile life for many beliefs. The knowledge of its effects spread to the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, with figures like Hippocrates, Greek physician and philosopher, recognizing its medicinal properties. The cultivation of the opium poppy (Papaver Somniferum, as coined by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus) expanded through trade routes. These trade routes particularly included the Silk Road, reaching China and India. It became widely used for pain relief during the 16th and 17th centuries but at the same time, its addictive properties were also noted.
Even though once an important “currency” for trade, the usage and trading of opium were often reconsidered in various parts of the world. The 19th-century Opium Wars between Britain and China further entrenched its global significance. Even though exploitative, these trade practices made opium more accessible to the masses. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw opium derivatives like morphine and heroin being commercialized, giving way to widespread addiction globally. In modern times, opium is hardly used in its raw state, but its derivatives are often used (legally or illegally) mostly medically, but not without restrictions and regulations.
If you look at the bigger picture, opium is nothing new, especially when we talk about literature of popular culture. A few important classical literary texts that reference opium and/or its effects include:
- Homer’s Odyssey- The instance where Helen uses a drug, likely opium, to ease grief.
- Vergil’s Aeneid- Although not directly hinting at opium, this one mentions various plants, and potions leading to states of altered consciousness.
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz- References opium through the Deadly Poppy Field scene, where Dorothy, Toto, and the Cowardly Lion become drowsy and fall into a deep sleep after walking through a vast field of poppies.
Circling back to the main point in the discussion- how did opium become so important for writers (especially in the 18th and 19th centuries)? Let us understand what ways opium was consumed at that point in time…
The 18th – 19th Century Opium Fetish
Slight opium mixed with alcohol? Nice idea, as it sounded back then. A Swiss physician and alchemist named Paracelsus came up with his “medical elixir” called the Laudanum, a tincture of opium dissolved in alcohol. It rose to popularity during the 16th century and became more and more popularly consumed as the centuries progressed. By the 17th century, physicians had started seeing Laudanum as a “cure-all” solution to almost every ailment. It helped with relieving pain, forfeiting insomnia, easing diarrhea, getting rid of kidney stones, relieving pleurisy, treating respiratory disorders, treating gout, preparing patients for surgery, quieting crying babies, and even helping with emotional disorders. The availability of inexpensive Laudanum at almost any drugstore accessible to princes and peasants alike led to widespread abuse and addiction.
If we closely observe the 18th and 19th centuries, we will get to know how Industrialization and resulting Globalization somewhere contributed to enabling the widespread availability of opium. Industrial advancements in transportation, trade, and mass production made opium more widely available and affordable. The British East India Company played a major role, systematically cultivating opium in colonial India and exporting it, particularly to China, leading to extensive addiction and the Opium Wars (1839–1842 and 1856–1860). During this time only, Romanticism and Romantic writers came into being, with their ideals conflicting against Industrialization.
Industrializing societies like Britain and the U.S. witnessed opium-based products such as laudanum and patent medicines become household staples. As we just talked, they were marketed for everything from pain relief to curing insomnia and hysteria. With fewer regulations and rapid urbanization creating stressful living conditions, opium’s allure grew, fueling both medicinal use and recreational addiction. It was not until the late 19th and early 20th centuries that stricter regulations emerged.
Important Opium dependent writers and their works
Romanticism and the Industrial Revolution often clashed in their ideals. The Industrial Revolution focused on progress through technology, urbanization, and economic growth. In contrast, Romanticism reacted against this shift. It celebrated nature, individual imagination, and a simpler, rural way of life. Romantics saw rapid industrial changes as “dehumanizing” and “destructive” to the natural world. Apart from praising and writing about nature and its beauty, Romantic writers focused upon individuality, looking on the inside, acknowledging emotions and feelings, focusing on the supernatural and spirituality, on the sublime, and most importantly, imagination.
In William Wordsworth’s Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, a text that marked the start of the Romantic Age, he describes who a poet is. Apart from the matter that a poet is a man talking to men and connecting to common experiences, he explains how to be a poet, one has to detach from one’s self. One has to put feet into other people’s show, disassociating with the idea of self and letting imagination take over to describe the world and its experiences from another person’s point of view. To achieve this level of prowess at writing was not and still is not easy for almost any human being. It demands a different level of imagination and detachment from the real world.
Also Read: All You Need To Know About The Romantic Age (Late 18th to Mid 19th Century)
As a means of expanding their imagination, heightening their emotions, and transcending ordinary reality, many Romantic poets turned to opium. Seeking a path to divinity or artistic enlightenment, they valued intense feelings, dreams, and altered states of consciousness. The belief was that true creativity and poetic inspiration came from deep emotional and sensory experiences. In such instances, Opium, often consumed in the form of laudanum, became a tool for unlocking the subconscious.
Poets like Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Thomas De Quincey famously explored its effects. For example, Coleridge claimed to have conceived parts of his poem “Kubla Khan” in an opium-induced dream. The subtitle of the poem says “Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment.” This indicates that it was a dream-like state that helped the poet write the poem and that it still remains unfinished (“fragmented”). Additionally, Thomas De Quincey’s book titled “Confessions of an English Opium-Eater” proves to be a firsthand account of opium addiction and its hallucinatory effects. It is an autobiographical account provided by Quincey that reflects on his addiction to laudanum and its effects on his life. This text is significant because it pioneers the exploration of addiction, had a profound impact on Romantic and Symbolist writers, gives insights into 19th-century England, and has a lasting psychological relevance.
Female writers with opium “issues”
This side of the case and opium addiction is even more interesting because it wasn’t only men who were inspired by opium and wrote. The examples of female writers, who wrote or experienced various things as an aftermath of opium consumption, are less documented. Apart from all the medical uses of laudanum as described above, it was also used to ease menstrual pain, relieve anxiety, and treat hysteria. Yes, you read it right- hysteria!
Hysteria could be defined as a state of extreme emotional distress, often accompanied by involuntary neurological symptoms such as loss of control over speech, movement, or behavior. It is a temporary psychological condition in which a person’s actions may become highly unpredictable and difficult to regulate. The popular belief of the 19th century was that this illness is gendered and can be found typically in women. Men used this term to define what a woman is going through when she acted in ways that invited doubt, were unmanageable, or were hard to understand by men. It was even a part of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders until removed in 1980.
Coming back to female writers who consumed and wrote under the effects of opium- prime examples are Elizabeth Barrett Browning (spouse of Robert Browning), and Charlotte Bronte. While Browning relied on laudanum to manage chronic pain and respiratory illness, some believe its influence can be seen in the heightened emotional intensity and dreamlike quality of her poetry. Brontë, on the other hand, likely consumed opium-based treatments for ailments such as migraines and tuberculosis. Her novels, especially Jane Eyre and Villette, contain feverish, hallucinatory scenes that some scholars suggest may have been shaped by her experiences with drugs.
Looking at the broader scale, societal restrictions on women from openly discussing their struggles (whether physical, emotional, or intellectual) played a significant role in their consumption of opium and its presence in their literary works. Because what was writing if not a way to vent out at that time? Especially in the 19th century, women, those of the upper and literary classes, were expected to maintain an image of delicacy and restraint, even in the face of chronic pain, mental distress, or creative frustration. Laudanum consumption became an escape and acted as a catalyst for them to pour out.
Concluding notes
The connection between poets and opium runs deeper than pain relief—it was intertwined with literary creation, altered states, and artistic defiance. Yet, behind this creative mystique lay a darker truth: addiction, decline, and the fine line between inspiration and destruction. The legacy of opium in poetry remains a haunting testament to both its allure and its cost.
Jennis Jacob, a passionate literary enthusiast in her 20s, is a writer and poet. With eight years of experience in literature, she is currently a master in English and finds inspiration in Womanist, American, and Indian Partition Literatures. Her works have appeared in anthologies such as ‘Carved Words Of Creative Minds’ and ‘100 Splendid Voices,’ and she is working on upcoming books. Through LitWithASip, she aims to ignite a love for literature and empower individuals to embrace their true selves.
