Download File - The Romantic Period (1798

Teacher: Mrs. Elliott
Students: Lina, Sienna, & Anjali
Course: ENG4U
The Romantic Period
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- The romantic period is often referred to as
romanticism.
- Romanticism has very little to do with things
popularly thought as “romantic.”
- No other period in English literature displays more
variety in style, theme, and content than the
Romantic Movement.
- Romanticism can best be described as a large
network of sometimes competing philosophies,
agendas, and points of interest.
- Romanticism is soul searching and truth seeking by
way of feeling and vision.
Romanticism: a complex artistic,
literary, and intellectual movement
Introduction
• The Romantic Movement in literature
began around the end of the 18th
century in Western Europe and
flourished in the first half of the 19th
century.
SKIP
• Romanticism “is not exactly
[found] in the choice of subjects
nor in the exact truth, it is in the
way of feeling […]If you say
Romanticism, you say modern art
– that is to say intimacy,
spirituality, color, aspiration
towards infinity expressed by all
means that contain the arts”.
– Charles Baudelaire
Romanticism
What Defines the Romantic Period?
• The four basic elements that define Romanticism.
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1. The acknowledgment imagination and intuition as equal to reason.
2. The belief that there are significant moments of experience, which
cannot be comprehended by reason.
3. The extreme importance of the individual, the subjective, and one’s
personal truth.
4. Rejects every rule that might inhibit the full expression of self, in a
non-violent way.
Revolt of ideas and beliefs.
The Beginning
• originated in the 18th century in Western Europe
• was an intellectual movement that influenced many works of
literature, music, painting, architecture etc.
• was prepared by a literary transitional movement from
Enlightenment, called pre-romanticism
• it passed through different stages that were specific for the diverse
regions of Europe
Principles of Romanticism:
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Romanticism …
was a reaction against convention.
asserted the power of the individual.
reflected a deep appreciation of the beauties
of nature.
• emphasized the importance of the subjective
experience.
• was idealistic.
Emergence of Romanticism
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Logic and
Reasoning
(End of
Enlightenment}
Emotion
Imagination
Feeling
(Beginning of
Romanticism)
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Romanticism brought on the
feelings of “fulfillment.”
Focused on emotion and
individualism.
Nature had a new found
meaning it wasn’t just to
define the environment, but
used as metaphors for topics
like love.
French Revolution and the
beginning of the attention on
individuals and their quest for
self fulfillment and human
possibility.
Why this movement?
• The Romantic Movement was partly a
rebellion against the Enlightenment of
the previous century and its focus on
scientific and rational thought.
• In order to fully address the Romantic period and its effect, it is
essential to first identify its tie with the French Revolution. The
French Revolution was all about the people vs. the monarchy.
Again, with the introduction to knowledge – information provided
by enlightened thinkers to the civilians on their impoverished
situation (as well as the inefficient rule of King Louis the 16th) –
caused an uprise, which would drastically change the face of Europe
(later positioning it as a supreme power under the rule of Napoléon
Bonaparte, a military turned Emperor).
Just as the Scientific Revolution paved the way for the Enlightenment …
…Enlightenment ideas paved the way for the French Revolution.
• Basically, it is simply a chain of reaction which could also be
viewed as a ‘domino effect’
“for every force reaction there is an equal in the opposite
direction” – Issac Newton (part of the Scientific Revolution).
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In response, the romantic vision had taken forms other than political –
developing apace.
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For example, in Lyrical Ballads, which was a watershed in literary history
(1798 and 1800) – presented and illustrated a liberating aesthetic:
William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge claimed that “poetry
should express, in genuine language, experience as filtered through
personal emotion and imagination; the truest experience was to be
found in nature.” Wordsworth's romanticism is probably most fully
realized in his great autobiographical poem, "The Prelude" (1805–50).
Romantic poets
• In Prometheus Unbound (1820), Percy Bysshe Shelley combines soaring
lyricism with an apocalyptic political vision producing extreme effects. His
wife, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, wrote the greatest of the Gothic
romances, Frankenstein (1818) – which is widely mentioned even in this
day and era.
• Lord Byron designed his romantic lyric with a rationalist irony and was
also often associated with his own characters – particularly the ‘rebellious,
irreverent, erotically’ inclined Don Juan.
• Moreover, this era also included poets such as Robert Southey—bestremembered today for his story "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"—
Leigh Hunt, Thomas Moore, and Walter Savage Landor.
Expansion of Romancism
• Romantic literature has touched many
areas of Europe, beginning with
Germany, followed by Britain, the United
States, France, as well as, parts of
Eastern Europe; involving Russia and
Poland.
• Germany is where some of the earliest examples of Romantic
literature emerged. In fact, the most important literary figure
of the period was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Goethe used
myth and local folklore as subjects for his poetry and helped
inspire a sense of German nationalism in the decades before
a unified Germany.
The American and French Revolutions in the late 18th century added to the popularity
of such romantic ideals as freedom, liberty, and national pride.
• Romanticism dominated English literature throughout the 19th
century and amongst these notable Romantic poets from Britain,
includes: William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William
Blake, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats. Some
well known Romantic novels examples popular in 19th century
Britain are Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), Emily Bronte's
Wuthering Heights (1847), and Charlotte Bronte's Jane
Eyre (1847) – which exploited such emotions as fear and
romantic love.
• Romanticism also influenced the literature of other countries,
such as in France. The novels of Victor Hugo and Stendhal
showed some Romantic influence, but they are more often
characterized as part of the Realist movement.
• In Eastern Europe, Russian writers Alexander Pushkin and
Mikhail Lermontov, as well as Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz, were
among the practitioners of the Romantic Movement.
• Although there are many styles and genres of
the Romantic Period, the ones that I found
were very prominent while researching were
Individualism, Nature and Imagination. The
poets of this era often used these 3 themes
throughout their writing.
• Individualism – the concern focused on the individual rather than
society. Romantics see the individual as important and unique.
• Nature – The Romantics are often called nature poets. The Romantics
praise experiences of the beauty and majesty of nature.
• Imagination – Romantic poets had their own special view of the creative
power of the imagination and of the ways in which the human mind is
adapted to nature. A majority of romantic novels favor imagination over
rational, real story telling.
Different types of
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Historical Considerations
Imagination
Nature
Symbolism and Myth
Emotion, Lyric Poetry, and the Self
Contrasts With Neoclassicism
Individualism: The Romantic Hero
The Everyday and the Exotic
Romanticism
Origins
• According to sources, the Romantic Period was a direct
reaction to the French Revolution.
[Personal Opinion]
• Historically speaking, the Romantic Period (1798-1870)
actually emanated from the Reformation period (a
movement which shortly followed the Renaissance period).
Why? Because, if it would not have been for the
Reformation period … Baroque style would have never been
born. As well, Key individuals (ranging from scientists to
renown philosophers) would have never brought this much
impact in history.
• The Renaissance was an evolution (which ‘recaptured’ the
essence of Ancient Greece and Romans in order to ‘improve’
or attempt to perfect certain concepts). Whilst, the
Reformation on the other hand, was a true Revolution (“it
exploded on the scene” – Mr.Panneta, Grade 12 History
teacher) and created new ideals in terms of life-style.
Romanticism & Art
Liberty Guiding the
People, 1830
(Sample of Romantic Era ART)
• The place of the individual in the
Romantic world view is one of the chief
elements that distinguish romanticism
from neo-classicism. It is portraying the
break away from classicism, the
philosophical revolt against realism.
• (Ideas of time……)
The Industrial Revolution
• The industrial Revolution was a period of time
where the agriculture, textile and metal
manufacture, transportation, economic policies and
the social structure of England developed rapidly.
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(Historical Context)
• The Industrial Revolution in England was based on
the rapid development of science
during the scientific revolution in the 18th century,
which led to new technologies such as steam
engines; railways and iron working that became the
basis of the industrial revolution.
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(Historical Context)
• Historical Context of the time period:
• - Direct reaction against a variety of ideas and
historical happenings in the 1700s
• - The revolutions were at the very core of
Romanticism
• - Newfound feelings of liberty, expression of
oneself, and freedom
• - Escape from modern realities
• How did ideas of the time shape the writing? How did
the writing influence people?
• - Romanticism was preceded by the philosophy of neoclassicism
• - Focusing on individualism, imagination, etc..
• - Philosophical revolt against rationalism
• - Pulled away from industrialization
• - Injection of their emotions and feelings and passions.
“True change takes place in the imagination.”
– Thomas Moore
Romanticism & Art
[Dido Building Carthage;
or The Rise of the
Carthaginian Empire, 1815]
Sample of Romantic Era ART
“True change takes place in the imagination.”
– Thomas Moore
Values and Beliefs
"a journey away from the corruption of
civilization and the limits of rational thought
and toward the integrity of nature and the
freedom of the imagination."
– the American Romanticism period
"Science is a vulture, with wings of dull realities."
-Edgar Allan Poe
Romantic Literature
• Romantic literature is characterized by
an emphasis on emotion, passion, and
the natural world.
Romantic Period Authors
To name a few:
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Edmund Burke (1729-1797),
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834),
George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824),
William Blake (1757-1827),
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822),
Thomas Paine(1737-1809),
William Wordsworth(1770-1850),
John Keats (1795-1821),
Dorothy Wordsworth (1771-1855),
and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
• WILLIAM
BLAKE
•WILLIAM
WORDSWORTH
Romantic Poets
•SAMUEL T.
COLERIDGE
Blake’s life was
spent in rebellion
and the restrictive
influences of
institutions such as
government and the
church. Blake was
aware of the
negative effects of
the rapidly
developing industrial
and commercial
society.
William Blake
“To see a World in
a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven
in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the
palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.”
- Auguries of Innocence
William Blake
The Lamb and The Tyger
Blake wrote two books: “
Songs of Innocence”and
“Songs of Experience”.
In “The Lamb” from the
Songs of Innocence Blake
presented with an image
of a gentle, benevolent,
loving God.
In “The Tyger” from
Songs of Experience, God
is vindictive and
terrifying.
William Wordsworth
• William Wordsworth publication of Lyrical Ballads and a Few
Other Poems(1798) were identified as the beginning of the
English Romantic Movement.
• The dominant theme of Lyrical Ballads was Nature,
specifically the power of Nature to create strong
impressions in the mind and imagination. The voice in
Wordsworth’s poetry is observant, meditative and
aware of the connection between living things and
objects. There is the sense that past, present, and
future all mix together in the human consciousness.
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth’s
poetry emphasies the
value of childhood
experience an the
celebration of nature.
He glorifies the spirit of
man, living in armony
with his natural
environment, far from
the spiritually bankrupt
city. Him being
pantheistic identified
the nature with god.
About William Wordsworth
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Was born in 1770 , in Cockermouth, Cumbria
Wordsworth's earliest poetry was published in
1793 in the collections An Evening Walk and
Descriptive Sketches. Wordsworth's most
famous work, The Prelude (1850), .
Other Poems & Stories By William
An Evening Walk (1793)
Descriptive Sketches (1793)
Borders (1795)
Lines Written Above Tintern Abbey (1798)
Lyrical Ballads (1798)
Upon Westminster Bridge (1801)
Intimations of Immortality (1806)
Miscellaneous Sonnets (1807)
Poems I-II (1807)
The Excursion (1814)
The White Doe of Rylstone (1815)
• Wordsworth is best known as a nature poet who found
beauty, comfort and moral strength in the natural world. If he
were alive today he would probably be a member of an
organisation that campaigns to protect the evironment. For
him the World of nature is free from corruption and stress,
and offers man a means of escape from industrialised society.
• For Wordsworth, good poetry was “the spontaneous overflow of
powerful feelings.” And such poetry should use simple,
unadorned language to deal with commonplace subjects
for a particular purpose. The form is often a lyric that lends itself
to spontaneity, immediacy, a quick burst of emotion, and selfrevelation.
An excerpt of The Mad Mother by William Wordsworth
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“Her eyes are wild, her head is bare,
The sun has burnt her coal-black hair,
Her eye-brows have a rusty stain,
And she came far from over the main.
She has a baby on her arm,
Or else she were alone;
And underneath the hay-stack warm,
And on the green-wood stone,
She talked and sung the woods among;
And it was in the English tongue.
"Sweet babe! they say that I am mad,
But nay, my heart is far too glad;
And I am happy when I sing
Full many a sad and doleful thing:
Then, lovely baby, do not fear!
I pray thee have no fear of me,
But, safe as in a cradle, here
My lovely baby! thou shalt be,
To thee I know too much I owe;
I cannot work thee any woe.....”
Samuel T. Coleridge
Coleridge’s poetry often
deals with the
mysterious, the
supernatural and the
extraordinary. While
Wordsworth looked for
the spiritual in
everyday subjects,
Coleridge wanted to
give the supernatural a
colouring of everyday
reality.
• GEORGE
BYRON
• PERCY BYSSHE
SHELLEY
Romantic Poets
• JOHN
KEATS
George Byron
Byron was the
prototype of the
Romantic poet. He
was heavily involved
with contemporary
social issues. He like
the heroes of his
long narrative
poems, was a
melancholy and
solitary figure whose
actions often defiend
social convections.
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Shelley was the most
revoluctionary and
non-conformist of the
Romantic poet. He
was an individualist
and idealist who
rejected the istitutions
of, family,church,
marriage and the
Christian faith and
rebelled against all
forms of tyranny.
John Keats
Keats’s life makes
his literary
achievements even
more astonishing.
The main theme of
his poetry is: the
conflict betwenn the
real world of
suffering, death and
decay and the ideal
world of beauty,
immagination and
eternal youth.
“Perhaps the most striking feature of the
poets of the Romantic Movement is their
attitude to nature. The solitude of real nature
is alien, immeasurable, inhuman; the
Romantic solitude is a vision of nature which
reflects the solitude of the poet. The
Romantic finds everywhere in nature his
own image.” -Stephen Spender
Victor Hugo
Hugo and the Romanticism
• Hugo was the one who wrote the
literary manifesto of the
romanticism in the preface to his
tragedy called Cromwell
• he says that the new doctrine is
the “liberalism in literature” and
that “there are neither rules, nor
models” for romantics
• as Hugo presents it, Romanticism
evolves as an opposition to
Classicism and Romantic
Parnassianism, offering literature
freedom of expression through
the dismission of norms.
“liberalism in literature” -Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Puts emphasis on the
individual, beauty, nature,
mysticism. Reactions against
characterized neoclassicism.
Expressing unique feelings.
The Fighting Téméraire tugged to her
last Berth to be broken, J.M.W. Turner
Romantic Social Concerns
• Desired radical change
• Favored democracy over
monarchy
• Concerned with the
common people, the
good of the individual
• Felt that nature
should be untamed,
wild (the first
environmentalists)
Has
disappeared ?
• Romanticism as a literary sensibility has never completely
disappeared.
• It was overtaken by other aesthetic paradigms like Realism and
Modernism, but is still ‘lurking’ under the surface.
• Many great poets and novelists of the twentieth century says the
Romantics as their greatest inspirational voices. The primary reason
that Romanticism fell out of the limelight is because many writers
felt the need to express themselves in a more immediate way
The End