English Romanticism 1795-1835

Defining Features of Romanticism 17TH AND 18TH CENTURY CHARACTERISTICS

The Restoration◦ Monarchy restored to Charles II

The Industrial Age◦ Economic revolution of 1700s increased wealth◦ British inventions perfected the use of the steam

engine, manufacture of cloth, global impact of world trade

The Enlightenment/ Age of Reason◦ Scientific Revolution focused on human ability to

reason ◦ Rediscovery of classical texts and focus on harmony

restraint and clarity

ENGLISH ROMANTICISM CHARACTERISTICS

A rejection of eighteenth- century classicism and rationalism

◦ Emphasis on the trials and dreams of the common people

◦ Deep attachment to nature and a pure and simple past

A reaction to nearly a century of progress in science and industry

◦ Refocus on the common man, the overused factory worker, farmer, peasant

◦ No faith in the reason of science and reason

A questioning of the power of human understanding

Historical Context • The American Revolution (last half of 18th century)• The French Revolution (1789-99):

• Declaration of the Rights of Man (Woman) • 1792: The French First Republic (waging war

upon England) • 1793: King Louis XVI executed • 1793-94: The Reign of Terror (under the Jacobin

Club) • 1804: Napoléon Bonaparte crowned Emperor of

the First French Empire • 1815: Napoléon defeated at Waterloo

"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"

Joseph Mallord William Turner 1806-08The Battle of Trafalgar as Seen From the Mizen Starboard Shrouds of the Victory

Romanticism saw a shift from faith in reason to faith in the senses, feelings, and

imagination; a shift from interest in urban society to an interest in the rural and

natural; a shift from public, impersonal poetry to subjective poetry; and from

concern with the scientific and mundane to interest in the mysterious and infinite.

Mainly they cared about the individual, intuition, and imagination.

Caspar David Friedrich 1818Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog

Tenets of Romanticism Imagination and emotion are more important than reason and formal rules

Emphasis on intuition and a reliance on natural feelings to guide conduct

Focus on love of nature, the common man, primitivism

Belief that the ills of mankind come from modernization and urbanization

Interest in the supernatural, the mystical, the gothic and the exotic

Attraction to rebellion and revolution especially in regards to human rights, individualism and freedom from oppression

Emphasis on introspection, the melancholy, sadness and pshycology

Thomas Cole 1832 A Wild Scene

Romantic Poetry The expression of the poet’s inner feelings

Wordsworth: poetry is “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”

The poet-prophet

Shelley: “Poets are the mirrors of the gigantic shadows that futurity casts upon the present”

Disregard conventional rules and the deliberate act of composing poetry

Keats: “if poetry comes not as naturally as the leaves to a tree it had better not come at all”

The essential role of passion in art and in thinking in general

Coleridge: “Deep thinking is attainable only by a means of deep feeling”

All things (notably ordinary, humble, and trivial) are equally fit subjects for poetry

Wordsworth: urges poets “to choose incidents and situations from common life” and describe

them in a “language really spoken by men”

De-familiarize the familiar and thereby arouse the sense of wonder

William Wordsworth

1770-1850

William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge released a collection of poems called Lyrical Ballads in

1798. With it, the pair revolutionized the theory and practice of poetry. Its release is often considered the

beginning of the Romantic Period. Wordsworth writes of feelings, memories, and observations. He wrote in

simple, common language about simple subject matter. The poet lived in Paris at the beginning of the French

Revolution. He supported the French Revolution when he saw it grounded in liberty, but opposed it when it

began to threaten freedom, liberty. Wordsworth wrote poetry all of his life, but his best work was penned in his youth and up to 1808; in his old age he became

increasingly conservative and conventional. He became England’s poet laureate in 1843.

William Blake

1757-1827

A true romantic in thought and style yet his poetry was hardly known in his lifetime and therefore not considered a founder of the Romantic Movement, despite his timing. Blake designed his own books, writing poems and carving

engravings that illustrated them. Blake, who viewed the poet as both artist and prophet, was interested in the

relationship of Innocence and Experience “two contrary states of the human soul,” as he called them. Blake was

strongly influenced by the Bible. He saw the French Revolution’s violence as purifying, and believed it would lead to redemption and reunification of humankind. Blake believed Nature viewed through the human imagination could lead us to Eden, which we became alienated from. Redemption occurs with unification of bodily senses and

imagination.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

1772-1834

Samuel Taylor Coleridge is probably remembered most for his darkly symbolic “Khubla Khan” and his timeless

“Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” which was published in Lyrical Ballads. Coleridge was a close friend of William

Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy, until he and Wordsworth had a falling out. Coleridge’s poetry is

especially recognized for its atmospheric power, melodic subtlety and strong visual and other sensory effects. He is known as one of the leading intellectuals of the romantic

era, chiefly because of his literary criticism, which is marked with a sensitivity and subtlety, often articulately

arguing the finest distinctions in literature. Coleridge used laudanum as a pain reliever and although there was no

stigma attached to consumption of opium at the time, there was also little understanding of the nature or dangers of addiction. “Khubla Khan” was in fact written after an

opium-fueled dream, according to Coleridge.

John Keats

1795-1821

John Keats was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets along with Lord Byron

and Percy Bysshe Shelley despite his work having been in publication for only four years before his death.

Although his poems were not generally well received by critics during his life, his reputation grew after his death, so that by the end of the 19th century, he had

become one of the most beloved of all English poets. He had a significant influence on a diverse range of

poets and writers. Jorge Luis Borges stated that his first encounter with Keats was the most significant literary

experience of his life. The poetry of Keats is characterized by sensual imagery most notably in the

series of odes. Today his poems and letters are some of the most popular and most analyzed in English

literature.

Percy Byce Shelley

1792-1822

In terms of writing, Shelley is known for his purely lyrical style of poetry. He is also known as an Idealist …

he believed man is naturally good yet thwarted by corrupt social forces. Shelley, a vegetarian, was an advocate for social justice, including animal rights.

According to Shelley, who died in a boating accident just after his 30th birthday, Nature is the embodiment of love, beauty, and liberty, and will eventually triumph in

which Man, Nature, and God will live in harmony. Shelley’s uncompromising life and idealism made him a

figure of scorn during his lifetime but a hero to generations of poets that followed. Shelley was

famously associated with Lord Byron and John Keats, while his second wife was Mary Shelley, author of

Frankenstein.

George Gordon, Lord Byron

1788-1824

Byron was a study in contrasts: Some critics accuse him of poor command of language and slipshod verse. He was

appreciated more on the ‘continent’ then in England. Other critics find great value and mastery in his poems. By some he was considered the “greatest of all” English Romantic

poets.Other contradictions: His poem Don Juan gave him a

reputation as a great lover and his exploits with women were numerous and infamous, but he was fundamentally

homosexual. Byron was a political radical, yet skeptical about the effectiveness of reform or revolution. He yearned

for fame, yet knew its pitfalls. He ranted about literary critics negative assessment of his work, yet he was even

harder on his own writing. Critics accuse him of poor command of language and slipshod verse. He was

appreciated more on the ‘continent’ then in England. Other critics find great value and mastery in his poems.