Romantic age (1798-1830)

The romantic period was an artistic and literary movement that originated in Europe towards the end of
the 18th century.it Originated with publication of Lyrical Ballads in 1798.it Emphasized on feelings,
emotions and natural man.

Historical background:

Romanticism was reaction against the age of enlightenment or age of reason. That time there was three
historical events done, such as French revolution (it influence on romantic poet), industrial revolution
(England), American Revolution (independence). George III was the king of England. Romanticism
coincided with the revolution in France and in America. Hence is also known as the age of
“Revolution” .It was not come in writing just; it also came in arts like painting. They think that human
was careless, and away from nature, emotionless etc. due to age of reason, so this is essential human
comes back to the art and literature. It was on peak that time and it also influence the Victorian age
sometimes.romentics also influences on Americans and Indians.

Social and Economic Background

The first phase of Industrial revolution was about 1750 to 1850. Coal and steam engines were driving
force. Major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation and technology. Economy
dominated by industry and machines. England emerged as the most industrialized nation. It led to social
unrest among the working class. Violent class conflict between employers and workers. Also step toward
democracy.

Authors

Romantic poets divided in 2 generations

Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey and Scott belong to the first romantic generation. Though they were in
their youth filled with great enthusiasm by the outburst of the French Revolution which held high hope
for mankind, they became conservatives and gave up their juvenile ideas when the French Republic
converted itself into a military empire resulting in Napoleonic wars against England and other European
countries.it also known as lake poets.

The second generation of Romantic writers—Byron, Shelley, Keats, Leigh Hunt, Hazlitt and others—who
came to the forefront after the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, revolted from the reactionary
spirit which was prevailing at that time in England against the ideals of the French Revolution.

Works

 William Blake – The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

 William Wordsworth – The Prelude

 Samuel Taylor Coleridge – The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

  George Gordon, Lord Byron – Don Juan, "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage"

 Percy Bysshe Shelley – Prometheus Unbound, "Adonaïs", "Ode to the West Wind",

"Ozymandias"

 John Keats – Great Odes, "Hyperion", "Endymion"

William words worth:

William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel
Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint
publication Lyrical Ballads (1798). William Wordsworth was a great poet of nature. Nature and its
objects get reflection in many of his works. Below we get great poems written by him -His remarkable
lyrics include in two volumes. They are - The Solitary Reaper, The Greek Linnet, I wandered lonely as a
Cloud. He wrote many poems in philosophical strains.He is also a nature lover poet.his works are
daffodils,we are seven, These poems are - Ode on Intimation of Immortality, Resolution and
Independence, Ode to Duty.Other Poems of Wordsworth are - Tintern Abbey ( 1798), The Sparrow's
Nest ( 1801), My Heart Leaps Up ( 1802), To the Cuckoo ( 1804), The Affliction of Margaret ( 1804),
Stanzas Suggested by a Picture of Peele Castle ( 1805), Character of the Happy Warrior ( 1806),
Laodamia ( 1814) and Michael ( 1814).

In daffodils(I wonder lonely as cloud), he explain the nature and tells about the beauty of flower.

He use different techniques like metaphor, simile, etc.

Colridge:

Samuel Taylor Coleridge(1772-1834) Coleridge was a romantic as well as a revolutionary poet in the
History of English Literature. He was a best friend of William Wordsworth. Coleridge, Wordsworth and
Southey were called “Lake poets” by one of the Scottish magazines just because of their visits to a
lakeside in England. In the Beginning Coleridge believed with Wordsworth that nature leads one from
“Joy to Joy” and that she never betrays the heart that loves her. Later he became more “realistic” and
came to realize that joy came from within, not from external nature.

His works divide themselves naturally into three classes- the poetic, the critical, and the philosophical,
corresponding to the early, the middle, and the later periods of his career.

His works are Kubla Khan, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Ode to Dejection etc.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:  It is Coleridge’s chief contribution to the Lyrical Ballads of 1798 and
one of the world’s masterpieces.  The mechanism of the poem, its meter, rime and melody are perfect.
Its setting is medieval. The supernatural events in the poem find a befitting backdrop in the medieval
setting.  The phantom ship, the crew of dead men, the magic breeze, the vesper bell and the prayer to
Mary in the poem- all point to the Medieval setting of the poem.he use supernatural element in this
poem.
Romantic Poetry

Romanticism was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the
end of the 18th century. Romantic poetry refers to the poetry written during the romanticism. Romantic
poetry was a reaction against conventions, rules, and traditional laws of poetry. It is considered to be
the exact opposite of neoclassical poetry; neoclassical poetry is the poetry of reason and intellect
whereas romantic poetry is the poetry of emotion, passion, and sentiments. The romantic poets were
against the influence of intellect in their poetry. According to Wordsworth, one of the foremost
Romantic poets, ““Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from
emotion recollected in tranquility.” Emotion and imagination are hallmarks of romantic poems.

Nature is one of the most used themes in romantic poetry; nature was something to be revered and
admired. It was a source of inspiration, happiness, and satisfaction. Pastoral life, medievalism,
Hellenism, supernaturalism are also important features of romantic poetry.

William Blake, William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, and
John Keats are considered to be the leading figures in romantic poetry.

Characteristics:

 Glorification of Nature(“To Autumn” by John Keats.)

 Celebration of Artistic Creativity and Imagination (You can see this in William Wordsworth’s
poem, “The Prelude.")
 Emphasis on Aesthetic Beauty(A classic example of this characteristic is George Gordon, or Lord
Byron’s, poem “She Walks in Beauty.")
 Themes of Solitude(You’ll see solitary themes in many literary works from this period, including
in this excerpt from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “Frost at Midnight.")
 Spiritual and Supernatural Elements (rime of ancient marine)
 Focus on the Self and Autobiography (One key example of Romantic autobiography is Jean-
Jacques Rousseau’s  Confessions.)
 Freedom of speech, expression

• Use of common language

• Rise of humanism

• Ignore traditional rule and customs