Romanticism and Romantic Poetry 1798-1832

What does the term “Romantic” mean to you?

What is Romanticism? British Romantic writers responded to the climate of their times. Their new interest in the trials and dreams of the common people and their desire for radical change developed out of the democratic idealism that characterized the early part of the French Revolution. The basic idea of Romanticism is that reason cannot explain everything. A reaction against Enlightenment, Romanticism searched for deeper, often subconscious appeals. Romanticism holds that pure logic is insufficient to answer all questions.

Characteristics of Romanticism An emphasis on nature Focus on human feelings/emotion Compassion for mankind Freedom of the individual Romantic hero Rebellion against society Rebellion against the commercial, inhuman, standardized expectations The 5 I’s of Romanticism Imagination Intuition Innocence Inner Experience Inspiration

Characteristics of a Romantic Hero Outcast or rejected from society Non-conventional in ideas and ways of life Often on some kind of quest (physical or emotional/spiritual) Often innocent but intuitive Often alienated or disillusioned Brooding; somewhat of a moody rebel Drawn to nature Adhere to their own code of morality and justice

Romantic Poetry William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge defined as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” They also explained that Romantic poetry “takes its origin from emotion and recollected in tranquility” --emphasis on EMOTION Deals with “incidents and situations from common life” Presentation of common life in an unusual way Emphasis on NATURE as a wild, free force of inspiration Second generation Romantic poets were more REBELLIOUS (Gordon, Lord Byron, Shelley, Keats)

“I must create a system or be enslaved by another man’s.” William Blake Strove to break free from patterns or thought that defined common experience As if to emphasize the difference between his views and the ordinary, he claimed mystical visions were the source of his inspiration Blake came to believe that a return to innocence was not, at least by itself, sufficient for people to attain true self-awareness: they must also recognize and accept the parts of themselves that religion and morality teach them to reject. He believed in a union of opposites: a fusion of innocence and experience “I must create a system or be enslaved by another man’s.”

William Wordsworth Wordsworth took generations of assumptions about proper style, words, and subject matter for a poem and calmly put them aside Gone was flowery language, wittily crafted figures of speech, and other elements that defined poetry in the past. Instead, Wordsworth offered an intensified presentation of ordinary life and nature using common language Wordsworth’s ballads showed how the lives and experiences of ordinary people, when properly viewed, were truly extraordinary Wordsworth is known as the father of English Romanticism

George Gordon, Lord Byron Came from a long line of handsome but irresponsible aristocrats He became known as “Mad, bad, and dangerous to know” and became an overnight celebrity after the publication of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, which depicted a young hero similar to himself--moody, sensitive, and reckless The Byronic Hero Lord Byron often wrote about dark, brooding protagonists who were impassioned by a cause

Percy Bysshe Shelley A passionate reformer who believed that his time had betrayed the ideal of a perfect society Much of his poetry and even his nature poems express the view that government and other institutions should be reshaped to conform to the will of the people While married, he fell in love with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin; after his wife’s tragic death, he and Mary Godwin married His radical politics, tract about atheism, separation from his wife, elopement--all made him an outcast from his homeland He, Mary Shelley, and Lord Byron were close friends who lived in Italy, and a storytelling session inspired Mary Shelley to write her famous Frankenstein Shelley died in a boating accident at the age of 29

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” John Keats Although he died at the age of 25, Keats left his mark on literature, making many wonder what he might have accomplished had he lived longer Keats was born to working-class Londoners (unlike Byron and Shelley) Keats’ life was full of tragedy; he lost siblings in infancy, both his mother and father died at a young age, and he beloved brother Tom died in 1818 During 1818, he also met the love of his life, Fanny Brawne, but in 1821, he lost his battle with tuberculosis Keats wrote his own epitaph: “Here lies one whose name was writ in water” Keats’ poetry is known for holding beauty to the highest value and the pursuit of beauty of utmost importance He explored the beauty he found in ordinary circumstances “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”