The Romantic Movement

Romanticism in English Literature

 Hanover(George I-Victoria) (1714-1901) George I (1714-1727) George II (1727-1760) George III (1760-1820) George IV (1820-1830) William IV (1830-1837) Victoria (1837-1901)

The Age of Romanticism( 1798-1850) The Age of Revolution

George III ( latter half) to Victoria in 1837 Second creative period Seeds were sown ( middle of 18th Century) Declaration of American Independence ( 1783) English Reform Bill ( 1832) establishment of true democracy ( consequence of French Revolution) Triumph of Romanticism in literature, democracy in government

French Revolution
French Revolution (1789-1799)radical political and social upheaval in Franceimpact on Europestorm centre of political unrest Monarchy was overthrown and radical restructuring forced upon Roman Catholic Church Deterioration of economy-fiscal mismanagement- long years of feudal oppression-call on the assembly representing all classes-Meeting of Estates GeneralClergy, Nobility, Rest of France Storming of Bastille ( prison fortress) social disorder differences within the assembly-whether monarchy to continue Struggle between Girondins, MontagnardsPeriod of Terror-16000 guillotined Old ideas on Monarchy, Aristocracy, Religious Authorityoverthrown New Enlightenment ideas on Equality, Citizenship and Inalienable rights Republic was proclaimed in 1792-Louis XVIexecuted in 1793 1799- new Constitution--Army general Napoleon BonaparteFirst Consul1802Emperor of France

French Revolution
Crucial influence on British philosophical, intellectual and political life in 19th century Liberty, Equality, Fraternity French Revolutionoften called Start of the Modern Worldan epochal event that changed the European mindsetPatriotism , devotion to the State instead of Monarch, mass warfareall solidified in the modern world

Impact on England
Fired by political liberty and energy & sublimity of Natureartists sought to break the bonds of 18th century conventions Patriotic clubs and societies multiplied in England Young England led by Pitt, hailed Old England looked with horror on the turmoil in France Misled, the two nations were at war All were apprehensive

Economic conditions
Workshop of the world Unequal distribution of wealth Vast sum spent on defence forces Heavy duties on corn , wheatinflation Nobles, landowners, merchants, manufacturers lived in luxury Ladies, children labor Riotous mobs of hungry men and women England turned from affairs of Francelooked into her own economic conditions

Reforms
Napoleons overthrow at Waterloo in 1815 Reforms Abolished--- African slave trade, horribly unjust laws, child labor, restriction on press, limiting manhood suffrage, restrictions against Catholics in parliament 1833- Proclaimed Emancipation of all slaves in all her colonies

 Elder writersWordsworth and Coleridge hailed the new era with joy As the Revolution proceeded to unexpected developmentsdisappointment, disillusion, dejection, despairrejection of youthful ideas soured adoption of older reactionary faith Young writersShelley, Keats, Leigh Huntstill adhered to Revolutionary doctrinesbut warmth of the early days disappearing Interest in social concerns intensified

 Metaphysical writers abused Elizabethan ideals of liberty ; followers of Dryden and Pope abused the classical ideals of order and restraint Signs of revolt visible -1726-James ThomsonThe Seasonsdifferent in form and content Collins and Gray continued the movement Goldsmith and Burns added by their realism, humor in treatment of scenes of rustic life Cowper, Crabbe and Blakeold order at the point of death 1798Lyrical Balladsfull emergencecleft clear

Emergence of Romanticism

The Return to Nature

Essence of Romanticism : Literature must reflect all that is spontaneous and unaffected in Nature and in Man and be free to follow its own fancy in its own way We see this literary independenceElizabethan Era Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks Sermons in stones, and good in everything ColeridgeKubla Khan, The Ancient Marinertwo dream pictures Wordsworth: Nature is not only seasons and seasonal fruitionit is the eye of all things natural and supernaturalthe observant soul can peer and behold the spirit nature amplified and glorified ...the light of setting suns And the round ocean and the living air And the blue sky, and in the mind of man In search of sublime momentssupernatural, marvelous, exotic, medieval also beauty in simple rural life and everyday world

Tintern Abbey
For I have learned To look on nature, not as in the hour Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes The still, sad music of humanity, Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power To chasten and subdue. And I have felt A presence that disturbs me with the joy Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime Of something far more deeply interfused, Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, And the round ocean and the living air, And the blue sky, and in the mind of man:

Kubla Khan
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree : Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea. So twice five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round : And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree ; And here were forests ancient as the hills, Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free; We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea. Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink

First Generation (1798-1815)

Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey Years of Napoleons downfall Initially enthusiastic about French Revolution Later disappointedshow hostilitygo back to national moral tradition Mysticism gets connected with National idealism and not with revolutionary ideas of freedom, equality Seek authority in Elizabethan Renaissance in literature Stress simplicity of common people in social spheres; purification of common life

Second Generation (1815-1832)

Keats, Shelley, Byron, Leigh Hunt, Moore, Landor Napoleon defeated; hostility subsides Demand and need for liberal, social approach towards common people and their problems Fired with liberty, equality, justice Doesnt deny Elizabethan authoritybut doesnt accept tradition Excess enthusiasm; revolutionary ideas; lack of social responsibility

Second Generation (1815-1832)

Keats's great odes-- intellectual and emotional sensibility merge in language of great power and beauty. Shelleyamalgamation of soaring lyricism and an apocalyptic political vision--sought more extreme effects and occasionally achieved them {Prometheus Unbound (1820)} His wife, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley --- greatest of the Gothic romances, Frankenstein (1818) Byroninvested romantic lyric with rationalist irony SoutheyGoldilocks and the three bears

First vs Second
First generation moderate formbelieves in orthodox, moral and social traditionpractice self restraint Second generationextreme formasserts revolt of passion against reasonclaim unlimited freedom for imagination and feelingsreject the claim of reason and intellect believe imagination and emotion can lead to truth

Characteristics
Imagination and emotion are more important than reason and rules; imagination is a gateway to transcendent experience and truth Artist was individual creator-creative spirit was more important Intuition and reliance on natural feelings as a guide to CONduct Emphasizes love of nature, respect for primitivism, value for common / natural man Nature a means for divine revelation, metaphor for creative process Idealizes country lifemany of the ills are because of urbanization

Characteristics
Interest in medieval past, supernatural, mystical, gothic, exotic Attracted to rebellion, revoltconcerned with human rights, freedom, individualism Emphasis on introspection, psychology, melancholy, sadness Often dealt with death, transience and mans feelings about these ( Byronic hero) No other period displays more variety in style, theme and content primary vehicle--poetry

 Different as it has added new experiences gained in the interval Turns its gaze to the past and is quite zealous about itselflost, nostalgic, regretful of loss Try to recapture the past experiences, feelings, moods that were in Elizabethan daywriters try to probe deep into self Objects of the past now appear in a magic garb and bring a sense of wonder

Literature of Romantic Period

Collins, Gray, Burns, BlakePre romantics Poetry: Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Southey, Leigh Hunt Novel: Scott ( Historical) ; Austen ( human relationships within the context of English country life) Prose : Charles Lamb ( Master of personal essay) , De Quincey ( Master of personal confession) , Hazlitt, Landor Periodicals : Edinburgh Review, Blackwoods magazine major forums of controversiespolitical, literary Literary CriticismColeridges Biographia Literaria William Hazlitt Non fictional proseGodwin & Mary Wollstonecraft human and womens rights

Wordsworth (1770-1850)
Lyrical Balladsillustrated a liberating aesthetic poetry should express experience in genuine language-filtered through personal emotion and imaginationtruest experience was to be found in nature The Preludeautobiographical sublime power of nature The Tintern Abbey, The Rainbow, Ode to Intimations of Immortality, Ode to Duty, The Solitary Reaper, The Daffodils

Ode to Intimations of Immortality

from recollections of early childhood
The clouds that gather round the setting sun Do take a sober colouring from an eye That hath kept watch o'er man's mortality; Another race hath been, and other palms are won. Thanks to the human heart by which we live, Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears, To me the meanest flower that blows can give Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.

The Rainbow
My heart leaps up when I behold A Rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; So is it now I am a man; So be it when I shall grow old, Or let me die! The Child is father of the man; And I wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety.

Coleridge
WorksPoetic, Critical, Philosophical Kubla Khan, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Christabel, Frost at Midnight Heavenly, dreamy state that people enjoy while experiencing nature which is beautiful and benevolentnature is also harsh and dreary Dejection : an ode, Ode to France, Religious Musings, Fears in Solitude Biographia Literaria ( Sketches of my literary life and opinions) --criticism of Wordsworths theory of poetrydespises the rules for criticizing the Bards works ; Lectures on Shakespeare; Aids to Reflection ( religion and philosophy)

Dejection : an ode
I see the old Moon in her lap, foretelling The coming-on of rain and squally blast, And oh! that even now the gust were swelling, And the slant night-shower driving loud and fast! Those sounds which oft have raised me, whilst they awed And sent my soul abroad, Might now perhaps their wonted impulse give, Might startle this dull pain, and make it move and live!

Biographia Literaria (Ch.14)

Doubtless this could not be, but that she turns Bodies to spirit by sublimation strange, As fire converts to fire the things it burns, As we our food into our nature change. Finally, GOOD SENSE is the BODY of poetic genius, FANCY its DRAPERY, MOTION its LIFE, and IMAGINATION the SOUL that is everywhere, and in each; and forms all into one graceful and intelligent whole.

John Keats
Away! away! for I will fly to thee, Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards, But on the viewless wings of Poesy, Though the dull brain perplexes and retards: Already with thee! tender is the night, And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne A thing of beauty is a joy for ever; Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness; but still will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

Shelley
I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: `My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away".

Lord George Gordon Byron(1788-1824)

Don Juan satire/ epic/ novel in versesocial criticismliberty, tyranny, war, love, sexuality, hypocrisy, etc., of high society--autobiographical Childe Harolds Pilgrimage Darkness She walks in Beauty Lara He created his own cult of personality, the concept of the 'Byronic hero' a defiant, melancholy young man, brooding on some mysterious, unforgivable in his past.

There's not a joy the world can give that it takes away When the glow of early thought declines in feeling's dull decay, 'Tis not on youth's smooth cheek the blush alone, which fades so fast, But the tender bloom of heart is gone, ere youth itself be past

Charles Lamb (1775-1834)

Essays of Elia ; Tales from Shakespeare Imperfect sympathies Valentines Day Dream Children : A Reverie In Praise of Chimney sweepers A Bachelors complaint of the behavior of married people Poor Relations Essays personal, gentle, old fashioned, irresistibly attractive; humor , pathos and spontaneity Appeared in London magazine Characteristically romantic imagination akin to WW and STC his friends

 A poor relation--is the most irrelevant thing in nature,--a piece of impertinent correspondency,--an odious approximation,--a haunting conscience,--a preposterous shadow, lengthening in the noontide of your prosperity,--an unwelcome remembrancer,--a perpetually recurring mortification,--a drain on your purse,--a more intolerable dun upon your pride,--a drawback upon success,--a rebuke to your rising,--a stain in your blood,--a blot on your scutcheon,--a rent in your garment,--a death's head at your banquet,--Agathocles' pot,-a Mordecai in your gate,--a Lazarus at your door,--a lion in your path,--a frog in your chamber,--a fly in your ointment,--a mote in your eye,--a triumph to your enemy, an apology to your friends,--the one thing not needful,--the hail in harvest,-the ounce of sour in a pound of sweet.

 I am, in plainer words, a bundle of prejudicesmade up of likings and dislikingsthe veriest thrall to sympathies, apathies, antipathies. In a certain sense, I hope it may be said of me that I am a lover of my species. I can feel for all indifferently, but I cannot feel towards all equally. The more purely English word that expresses sympathy will better explain my meaning. I can be a friend to a worthy man, who upon another account cannot be my mate or fellow. ( Imperfect Sympathies)

Jane Austen (1775-1817)

Idea of presenting life of English country society exactly as it was as opposed to romantic extravaganzanovels of common lifehomeloving personaverse to publicity and popularitylife mostly spent in country parishes Pride and Prejudice ( 1797) ; Sense and Sensibility ( 1815); Northanger Abbey Emma, Mansfield Park Humor, delicate satire

 A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. When he was present she had no eyes for anyone else. Everything he did was right. Everything he said was clever. If their evenings at the Park were concluded with cards, he cheated himself and all the rest of the party to get her a good hand. If dancing formed the amusement of the night, they were partners for half the time; and when obliged to separate for a couple of dances, were careful to stand together, and scarcely spoke a word to anybody else. Such conduct made them, of course, most exceedingly laughed at; but ridicule could not shame, and seemed hardly to provoke them

Find examples
Love for nature: Spiritual ecstasy, Intellectualizing, Expressing through senses, landscape Yearning for the past Thirst for independence Supernatural and terror elements Morbidity Imagination, emotion, passion Instinct for the elemental simplicity of life Superb imagery Homely diction

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