The Romantic Period

1798-1832“Poetry is the

spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from

emotion recollected in tranquility.”

William Wordsworth , Preface to Lyrical Ballads

Basic Definition-Basic Definition- The Romantic period

was a time of nature-inspired poetry, political questioning and individualism.

This political, artistic and social movement began as a reaction to the “scientific thoughts” of the writers of the Enlightenment and Age of Reason.

William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote the “Lyrical Ballads” in 1798 and most scholars believe this began the movement.

The “Lyrical Ballads” are a set of poems describing the personal and subjective view of nature through connections with beauty and the divine.

In addition to the artists rebelling against the Age of Reason, there was a similar movement happening in Germany called Sturm und Drang

This movement brought about the most important characteristic of Romanticism: the voice of the individual

The “voice” of the speakers in Romantic poetry is a person who rebels against traditional norms, who fights for independent thought and seeks solace with nature and the child’s imagination

Common themes are carpe diem, innocence versus experience, non-conformity, appreciation for beauty in nature – we’ll study themes along with the literature.

Questioning of authority Values individuals who question authority Personal liberty above all else Glorifies the childlike imagination=innocent Nature is omnipresent: rural landscapes and

picturesque settings Non-conformity ; originality Subjective rather than objective – life is more

than observations The ordinary is described extraordinarily

Nature has a transformational powers Poems about nature communicate this power

nature has to alter human perception and perspective

Specific viewpoints 1. Nature does not die ; serves as “agent of death” 2. Nature was created by God and is proof that he

exists 3. Nature affects the human mind 4. Nature provides the concept of “moral freedom” 5. Nature is beautiful and beauty is truth to the

Romantics

The aesthetic movement that began later during the Romantic period is also called “art for art’s sake”

“Art for art’s sake” means Romantics appreciate art for the affects its beauty has on the individual. They enjoy the beauty of art in various forms

Happiness to the Romantics is creating harmony between unlimited will and limited world

Poems search for a symbolic understanding of the world: its beauty, burdens, human instincts, pain and eternal truth

Focus on using art (poetry) to turn chance into design

One topic in particular was a favorite among

the Romantics Nature.

These poems were not quaint, predictable, over-simplified glorifications of

Nature on a purely observational level.

These poems were designed to communicate Nature’s

transformative power. Nature is portrayed as omnipresent and

capable of altering human perception and perspective. The

settings of these poems, therefore, are picturesque and

exotic, a characteristic specific to Romanticism.

Views of Nature:Nature does not die, but serves

as the “agent of death”

Nature is a beautiful, intricate system that must have been

created by God---Nature assures us that God exists

Nature is not hostile, but is a mysterious force that affects the

human mind

‘’Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against’’?

“What’ve you got’?”

Movies such as Marlon Brando’s ‘’Wild One’’ have popularized the ideal of an irresistible bad boy, glamorous in his fatal passion, rivaling society with a hell-bent

glare.

This bad boy stereotype first entered our English culture in the Romantic poetry of Lord Byron.

These ill-fated but beautifully emotional characters are called “Byronic Heroes.”

Another characteristic of Romantic literature

is the inclusion of supernatural

elements.

Perhaps, for the Romantics, Nature was so powerful that it could not

be contained. Nature takes on a mysterious,

sometimes even scary quality in literature of the Romantics. Supernatural elements play a large part

in these works.

First Generation poets:William BlakeWilliam Blake

William WordsworthWilliam WordsworthSamuel Taylor Samuel Taylor

ColeridgeColeridgeThese poets began & lived These poets began & lived

through all or most of the entire through all or most of the entire Romantic movementRomantic movement

Second Generation Poets:Percy Bysshe

ShelleyJohn KeatsLord Byron

-Began their careers in the 2nd decade of the century

but died before 1825

British Romantic poetry most frequently took the form of

lyric poetry. This genre employed rhythm, repetition, and sometimes rhyme to give the poem a lyrical or musical

effect. Lyric poetry emphasizes deep feeling and emotion as opposed to logic,

reason or narrative.

Although poetry was the most expected Romantic genre, Romantic novels

were also written.

A popular novel by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, is

also representative of the period.