1. The Romantic Period: Definition and Influence
Isn’t It Romantic?
The Romantic Period: Definition and Influence

2. The Romantic Period in Europe: Influences
Late 18th century– mid – 19th century
Literature: Publication of William Blake’s Songs of Experience, 1789
American Revolution, 1776
French Revolution, 1789
Industrial Revolution: English Reform Acts in 1832 and mid – century

3. The Romantic Period: Characteristics
William Wordsworth, Preface, Lyrical Ballads:
“. . . there is no necessity to trick out or to elevate nature. . “
Nature is not idealized, but embraced as it is
Romantic writers spent much time engaged in walking, climbing, swimming, sailing; nature was to be enjoyed and celebrated, then used as an integral part of one’s creative writing

4. The Romantic Period: Characteristics
Wordsworth:
“Poetry is the image of man and nature”
Artists of all types began to celebrate the common man; composers composed for audiences instead of single patrons; artists took their subjects from everywhere around them, plus from their imaginations; writers wrote about everything they could see or imagine

5. The Romantic Period: Characteristics
Wordsworth:
“. . . poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. . .”
Individual experience
Release of feeling through art
Refusal to modify or control feelings
Emotion over reason

6. The Romantic Period: Characteristics: Ethical Values
Value of the individual
Championing progressive social and political movements
Respect for the wildness of nature
Stood against conservative morality and authoritarian government
Importance of creativity, of fresh ideas

7. The Romantic Period: Characteristics: Expression
Emotion, sometimes extreme
Imagination, from the real lives of people to the imagination of Gothic tales, Fairy tales, supernatural stories, and science fiction
Originality, with a premium upon expression that used new techniques as well as new ideas
Intensity, passion

8. The Romantic Period: Characteristics: Subjects and Themes (From Margaret Drabble)
Myths and legends, heroes in exile
Imaginary creatures, old (vampires or fairies) or newly invented (Frankenstein’s monster)
Exotic places and people
Individual experience
Intense characters
Unrequited love
Dreams, psychological interpretation of characters

9. The Romantic Period: The Artists
Composers, especially German, include Brahms, Beethoven, Wagner, Verdi, Schumann, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky. Opening page: Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

10. The Romantic Period: The Artists
The Poets: Byron, Shelley, Keats, Coleridge, Wordsworth
Major Novelists: Emily Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, and Mary Shelley.
The Painters: Goya, Turner, Constable, Rosetti

11. More Resources How-To Links
Drabble, Margaret, ed. “Romanticism.” The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, – 3.
How-To Links
Basic PowerPoint Presentations
How to Make a Good Presentation
Poetry Terms Review
Terms to use in analyzing the poems you choose