ROMANTIC PERIOD IN ENGLISH LITERATURE: 1785-1830

A BRIEF OVERVIEW

SOCIAL & POLITICAL CONTEXT

PERIOD OF GREAT CHANGE IN ENGLAND:

AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY W/ POWERFUL

LANDHOLDING ARISTOCRACY WAS GIV-

ING WAY TO MODERN INDUSTRIAL NA-

TION OF LARGE-SCALE EMPLOYERS & A

GROWING, RESTLESS MIDDLE CLASS.

AMERICAN & FRENCH REVOLUTIONS

WERE HUGELY IMPORTANT ELEMENTS

OF THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE.

THREATS TO EXISTING SOCIAL STRUC-

TURE WERE BEING POSED BY NEW,

REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS.

PERIOD OF CHANGE (cont.)

PERIOD OF CHANGE (cont.)

A TIME OF HARSH POLITICAL REPRES-

SION IN ENGLAND, IN SPITE OF NEED

FOR CHANGES BROUGHT ABOUT BY

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

PERIOD OF CHANGE (cont.)

MILL TOWNS GREW, THE LANDSCAPE

WAS INCREASINGLY SUBDIVIDED,

FACTORIES SPEWED POLLUTION OVER

SLUMS, & THE POPULATION WAS IN-

CREASINGLY DIVIDED INTO RICH &

POOR.

PERIOD OF CHANGE (cont.)

REFORMS DID NOT OCCUR BECAUSE

THE PHILOSOPHY OF LAISSEZ-FAIRE

(“LET ALONE”) PREVAILED.

LACK OF REFORM (cont.)

CONSEQUENCES WERE LOW WAGES,

HORRIBLE WORKING CONDITIONS,

LARGE-SCALE EMPLOYMENT OF

WOMEN & CHILDREN IN BRUTALLY

HARD OCCUPATIONS (SUCH AS COAL

MINING).

LACK OF REFORM (cont.)

IN THE FACE OF TECHNOLOGICAL UN-

EMPLOYMENT & POVERTY, WORK-ERS

—WHO COULD NOT VOTE—HAD TO

RESORT TO PROTESTS & RIOTS,

INCURRING FURTHER REPRESSION.

BUT WHILE THE POOR SUFFERED, THE

LEISURE CLASS PROSPERED.

PLIGHT OF WOMEN

WOMEN OF ALL CLASSES WERE RE-

GARDED AS INFERIOR TO MEN, WERE

UNDEREDUCATED, HAD LIMITED VO-

CATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, WERE SUB-

JECT TO A STRICT CODE OF SEXUAL BE-

HAVIOR, AND HAD ALMOST NO LEGAL

RIGHTS.

PLIGHT OF WOMEN (cont.)

IN SPITE OF THE ABOVE, THE CAUSE

OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS WAS LARGELY

IGNORED.

ROMANTICISM

TERM “ROMANTICISM” IS DIFFICULT TO

DEFINE B/C OF THE VARIETY OF

LITERARY ACHIEVEMENTS, AND

WRITERS OF THE PERIOD WERE ONLY

LATER LABELLED “ROMANTIC.”

ROMANTICISM (cont.)

BUT MANY HAD A SENSE OF “THE

SPIRIT OF THE AGE”—THAT A GREAT

RELEASE OF CREATIVE ENERGY WAS

OCCURING AS ACCOMPANIMENT TO

POLITICAL & SOCIAL REVOLUTION. IT

WAS SEEN AS AN AGE OF NEW BEGIN-

INGS & LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES.

POETIC THEORY & PRACTICE

WORDSWORTH TRIED TO ARTICULATE

THE SPIRIT OF THE NEW POETRY IN

THE PREFACE TO LYRICAL BALLADS

(1800, 1802).

CONCEPT OF POETRY, THE POET

POETRY WAS SEEN AS THE “SPONTA-

NEOUS OVERFLOW OF POWERFUL

FEELINGS”; THE ESSENCE OF POETRY

WAS THE MIND, EMOTIONS, & IMAGI-

NATION OF THE POET (NOT THE OUTER

WORLD).

POETRY & THE POET (cont.)

FIRST-PERSON LYRIC POEM BECAME

THE MAJOR ROMANTIC LITERARY

FORM, WITH “I” OFTEN REFERRING

DIRECTLY TO THE POET.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF BE-

CAME A MAJOR TOPIC OF ROMANTIC

POETRY.

POETRY & THE POET (cont.)

POETS OFTEN SAW THEMSELVES AS

PROPHETS IN A TIME OF CRISIS, REVIS-

ING THE PROMISE OF DIVINE REDEMP-

TION IN TERMS OF A “HEAVEN” ON

EARTH.

POETIC SPONTANEITY, FREEDOM

INITIAL ACT OF POETIC COMPOSITION

MUST ARISE FROM IMPULSE; BE FREE

FROM THE RULES INHERITED FROM

THE PAST; AND RELY ON INSTINCT,

INTUITION, & FEELING.

NATURE

IMPORTANCE OF ACCURATE OBSERVA-

TION & DESCRIPTION OF WILD NATURE,

WHICH SERVES AS A STIMULUS TO

THINKING & TO THE RESOLUTION OF

PERSONAL PROBLEMS & CRISES.

NATURE (cont.)

LANDSCAPE WAS OFTEN GIVEN HU-

MAN QUALITIES OR SEEN AS A SYS-

TEM OF SYMBOLS REVEALING THE

NATURE OF GOD.

CLOSENESS W/ NATURE WAS SEEN AS

BRINGING OUT HUMANITY’S INNATE

GOODNESS.

GLORIFICATION OF THE COMMON-PLACE

HUMBLE, RUSTIC SUBJECT MATTER &

PLAIN STYLE BECAME THE PRINCIPAL

SUBJECT & MEDIUM OF POETRY.

THE COMMONPLACE (cont.)

POETS SOUGHT TO REFRESH READERS’

SENSE OF WONDER ABOUT THE ORDI-

NARY THINGS OF EXISTENCE, TO MAKE

THE “OLD” WORLD SEEM NEW.

THE SUPERNATURAL & STRANGE

MANY ROMANTIC POEMS EXPLORE

THE REALM OF MYSTERY & MAGIC;

INCORPORATE MATERIALS FROM

FOLKLORE, SUPERSTITION, ETC.; &

ARE OFTEN SET IN DISTANT OR

FARAWAY PLACES.

THE STRANGE (cont.)

RELATED TO THIS WAS A RENEWED

INTEREST IN THE MIDDLE AGES (AND

THE BALLAD FORM) AS A BEAUTIFUL,

EXOTIC, MYSTERIOUS BYGONE ERA.

THE STRANGE (cont.)

THERE WAS ALSO GREAT INTEREST IN

UNUSUAL MODES OF EXPERIENCE, SUCH

AS VISIONARY STATES OF CONSCIOUS-

NESS, HYPNOTISM, DREAMS, DRUG-

INDUCED STATES, AND SO FORTH.

INDIVIDUALISM & STRIVING

HUMAN BEINGS WERE SEEN AS ESSEN-

TIALLY NOBLE & GOOD (THOUGH COR-

RUPTED BY SOCIETY), AND AS POSSESS-

ING GREAT POWER & POTENTIAL THAT

HAD FORMERLY BEEN ASCRIBED ONLY TO

GOD.

INDIVIDUALISM (cont.)

THERE WAS A GREAT BELIEF IN DEMO-

CRATIC IDEALS, CONCERN FOR HUMAN

LIBERTY, & A GREAT OUTCRY AGAINST

VARIOUS FORMS OF TYRANNY.

INDIVIDUALISM (cont.)

THE HUMAN MIND WAS SEEN AS CRE-

ATING (AT LEAST IN PART) THE WORLD

AROUND IT, AND AS HAVING ACCESS TO

THE INFINITE VIA THE FACULTY OF

IMAGINATION.

INDIVIDUALISM (cont.)

REFUSING TO ACCEPT LIMITATIONS,

HUMAN BEINGS SET INFINITE, INAC-

CESSIBLE GOALS, THUS MAKING FAIL-

URE & IMPERFECTION GLORIOUS AC-

COMPLISHMENTS.

INDIVIDUALISM (cont.)

THIS REFUSAL TO ACCEPT LIMITA-

TIONS FOUND EXPRESSION IN BOLD

POETIC EXPERIMENTATION.

INDIVIDUALISM (cont.)

MANY WRITERS DELIBERATELY ISO-

LATED THEMSELVES FROM SOCIETY

TO FOCUS ON THEIR INDIVIDUAL

VISION.

THEME OF EXILE WAS COMMON, W/ THE

ROMANTIC NON-CONFORMIST OFTEN

SEEN AS A GREAT SINNER OR OUTLAW.