Romantic Period 1798-1832

Transition from Enlightenment to Romanticism Nearly a century of progress in science and industry Faith in reason and human understanding is lost (remember, metaphysical poetry was “brainy” poetry) Satire is popular during the enlightenment period and there was an attitude that “humanity was unreasonable” (614) The Romantic Period will… Display music and art that is based on emotion, adventure, and imagination as well as an appreciation for nature Show a time of political revolution and new ways of looking at the world Show how people were able to work for themselves

Romanticism Events that led to the beginning of Romanticism: French Revolution – 7/14/1789 Placed limits on the powers of King Louis XVI Established a new government Approved document “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen” Affirmed the principles of “liberty, equality, and fraternity.”

Romanticism British ruling class felt threatened by the events in France. 1793 – Reign of Terror in France. Jacobins, under the leadership of Robespierre sent some 17,000 to the guillotine. 1793- France declares war against Britain. War dragged on for 22 years. Romantic Documentary: Liberty (start@1:22)

Romanticism Crackdown on reformers Tory government outlawed all talk of parliamentary reform outside the halls of Parliament.

Romanticism British government ignored problems caused by the Industrial Revolution -Overcrowded factories -Unsafe working conditions -Long hours/Low pay -Loss of jobs -Government sided with companies and tried to squash unions.

Romanticism 1824- Law was passed permitting Britain’s first labor unions to organize 1829 – Catholic Emancipation Act restored economic and religious freedoms to Roman Catholics. 1832 – Voting rights extended to middle class males through the Reform Bill of 1832. 1833 – First law governing factory safety. 1833 – Abolishment of slavery

Romanticism Romanticism was a movement that affected not only literature but also all the other arts. Writers of the Romantic Movement responded to the misery and ugliness brought by industrialization with a returned interest in nature and a pure, simple past. The Romantics: Rousseau

Romanticism Romantic poetry is characterized by: -emphasis on emotion -incidents and situations from common life -human passions -nature as a wild, free force of poetic inspiration The Romantics: William Blake

Romanticism William Wordsworth (1770-1850) Provided an early statement of the goals of Romantic poetry in the preface to Lyrical Ballads (1798), a collaboration with his friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The preface defined poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling” and explained that “poetry takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.”

Romanticism According to Wordsworth, the subject of this new poetry dealt with, “incidents and situations from common life” over which the poet throws “a certain coloring of imagination, whereby ordinary things should be presented… in an unusual way.”

Romanticism Lyric – a poem in which a single speaker expresses personal emotions and observations.

Romanticism Coleridge – used dreams as a basis of many of his great poems. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” was based on a dream reported by his friend, John Cruikshank. The poem vividly illustrates the torments guilt can create and the horror of complete isolation from society. “Kubla Khan” captures the Romantic love of nature and interest in the exotic, the faraway and the strange. The poem was based on a dream he had during an opium induced sleep. The Romantics: Coleridge (start@1:22ish) The Romantics: Coleridge and parenthood

Romanticism Second Generation of Romantic Poets -Lord Byron -Percy Bysshe Shelley -John Keats

Romanticism Lord Byron (George Gordon) – 1788-1824 Member of the House of Lords “Byronic Hero” – “an inscrutable figure with hollow cheeks and blazing eyes, wrapped in a cloud of gloom, full of mysterious and undefined remorse, an outcast from society… he will not brook questioning, though he himself questions all established social standards.”

Romanticism Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) Aristocrat and political radical Shelley urged Britain’s lower class to rebel. Remembered for his personal an emotional verses.

Romanticism John Keats (1795-1821) Master of lyrical poetry Born to a London stable keeper Abandoned a career in medicine to become a poet. Keats tried to reconcile the eternal and therefore almost inhuman, beauty of art with the realities of human suffering.

Romanticism Female writers Mary Shelley - Gothic novelist Fascination with mystery and the supernatural. Jane Austen – Romantic novel of manners – turning a satirical eye on British customs. Her social satire is more reflective of the classical sensibility of the 18th century rather than the new notions of the Romantic age.

Romanticism Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) Passionately devoted to his native Scotland Novels focused on historical events and settings with attention to local flavor and regional speech.

Romanticism End of the period generally considered 1832.