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English Romanticism1798-1832
English romanticism developed as a reaction to many social influences:
--the unrest of the French Revolution --the excesses of the Industrial Revolution--the widespread poverty and oppression of workers.
A Time of RevolutionEnglishmen blamed King George III for the American Revolution and the loss of the American Colonies because of his inflexible and unsympathetic attitude.
Britain and Ireland joined together (UK) hoping to prevent a French invasion of Britain via Ireland, and later Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo.
IndustrializationRomantic writers reacted to the negative effects of industrialization— poverty, appalling working conditions, and oppression of workers—by turning to nature for truth and beauty. The upper and middle class found prosperity while the workers wallowed in degrading poverty.
Nat-Y-Glo Ironworks by George Robertson
Wivenhoe Park, Essex by John Constable
Primary Features of English Romanticism:Emphasis on the individual (over society)Rejection of artificiality in favor of passion and emotion (emotion over reason)Love of nature (over industry)Respect for the commonplace (ordinary things)Freeing of the imagination (freer artistic forms)
Revolt Against NeoclassicismNeoclassicism represented order, propriety, traditional rules in literature and in society, and writings about the human being as an integral part of an organized society, rather than as an individual (Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal”).
Neoclassicists emulated the rationality of ancient Greek and Roman writers.
English RomanticistsEnglish romantics revolted against the order and traditionalism of neoclassicism.
English romantics were influenced by revolutionary ideals and agitation for change.
English romantics valued emotion, nature, and the commonplace.
Romantic poets abandoned the measured couplet in favor of lyric poems.
For more information, see the online textbook:
Neoclassicism pp. 562-577Romanticism pp. 752-767
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