Romantic Period (England)

Katie MenssenMackenzie Baesman

❖ May 1789 - beginning of the French Revolution ➢ began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s➢ reconstructed their country’s political landscape, destroying centuries-old organizations such as

■ absolute monarchy ■ feudal system

● distribution of land in trade for service➢ strong influence on ideals and art of Romantic Period

❖ 1793 - France declares war on England❖ 1798 - William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge produce Lyrical Ballads

➢ mark the start of the Romantic Period❖ 1801 - Act of Union establishes United Kingdom of Ireland and Great Britain❖ 1812 - US declares war on Britain ❖ 1818 - Mary Wollstonecraft - published Frankenstein

➢ considered one of the greatest Gothic romances❖ American Revolution taking place at this time

➢ Napoleonic Wars❖ period ended with the passing of the Great Reform Bill

Historical

Philosophical

➢ The truest experiences are found in nature.➢ Filter the experience through imagination and emotion. ➢ Jean Jacques Rousseau

○ French enlightenment○ “Savages” v. “social men”- living inside selves v. outside○ reason is root of all problems

➢ William Goodwin○ government is a corrupting force in society- dependence and ignorance○ “mental enslavement” ○ Private judgement and public discussion

➢ Often competing and opposing philosophies and points of view➢ Individual opinion is expressed- think for themselves

Scientific and Technological

➢ “mechanical romanticism”○ became popular

■ between the time that Napoleon ruled in 1815 to the conquest of Napoleon III in 1851➢ electromagnetism

○ defined as “the phenomena associated with electric and magnetic fields and their interactions with each other and with electric charges and currents”

➢ photographic reproduction➢ grand operas➢ phantasmagorias

○ defined as “a shifting of phantasms, illusions, or deceptive appearances, as in a dream or as created by the imagination”

➢ automatons○ defined as “a mechanical figure or contrivance constructed to act as if by its own motive

power; robot”➢ socialist utopias➢ all a part of mechanical romanticism of time period

Scientific and Technological

❖ André-Marie Ampère➢ discovered electromagnetism

❖ Alexander von Humboldt➢ a traveling German polymath

■ defined as a person of great and varied learning

❖ François Arago➢ scientist-engineer who designed

the daguerreotype photographic process

Literary ➢ Wrote about the marvelous and

supernatural, the exotic, and the medieval

➢ Also found beauty in the simple life of rural people and aspects of everyday life.

➢ Wrote about everyday experiences enhances by imagination and emotion.

➢ Introduced the idea of individual opinions and independent thought

➢ Simple everyday language➢ Poetry

Poetry

➢ Introduced the idea of individual thought ➢ Became known as “the spontaneous

overflow of powerful feeling”➢ Viewed as very imaginative and expressive➢ Intuition over reason➢ Nature is a major influence

Authors to Know

➢ William Blake○ Work dated previous to Romantic movement (1790s)○ attended art school○ Poetical Sketches- protesting war, tyranny, King George

III○ Said he saw God at age of four, angels in trees,

brothers- Songs of Innocence

More Authors

➢ William Wordsworth○ Lived in the Lake District- biggest influence○ Year long walking tour in France○ Letter to the Bishop of Llandaff- unpublished in support of

French Revolution

○ Lyrical Ballads- “common speech” protesting hierarchy of epic poetry

More Authors

➢ Lord Byron (George Gordon Noel Byron)○ Most flamboyant and notorious of the major

romantics○ Leader of the poetic revolution○ demanded freedom for the oppressed ○ catharsis of strong emotion