Week-1 Lesson -1

Topic: Introduction to Romanticism

Course Title: The Romantic Poets

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiRWBI0JTYQ

In this Session we will study about:-

1. Historicity of Romanticism

2. Different features of Romanticism

3. A preview on important Romantic poets

Historicity of Romanticism:

If the eighteenth century is called the age of rationalism, the first half of the
nineteenth century is often called the Age of Romanticism. It is true that there were
other powerful influences at work, but romanticism was the dominant one, at least
in literature and fine arts. In a broad sense, romanticism was a reaction against the
forms and conventions of the eighteenth century. Enlightenment told the people
how exactly to think, feel and behave. Neo-classicism set down hard and fast rules
which the poet, playwright or artist must observe if he wanted to produce a perfect
composition. The result was that rules, formulas and conventions reigned supreme
in literature, in fine arts and in society generally.
Romanticism was a revolt against classical restraint, intellectual discipline and
artificial standards. Romanticism did not oppose everything for which the past
stood as literary romanticism proceeded from neo-classicism. A writer or an artist
is neither exclusively classical nor romantic. Wordsworth was not entirely free of
classicism. Pope was not wholly unromantic. While enlightenment and neo-
classicism put emphasis on reason, romanticism put emphasis on feelings and
imagination. During the age of reason, both feeling and imagination were kept
under the restraint of taste and decorum. A cultured person was expected to check
his feelings and imagination as “something plebian and uncultured.” Lord
Chesterfield told his son that he had not laughed since he had the use of his reason.
Fontenelle never laughed, ran or wept. The restraint which was exercised in polite
society was expected to be maintained in literature and fine arts. Only those
sentiments were allowed to be expressed which could be suitably displayed in a
drawing room.

The Romanticists asserted the rights of feelings and imagination. According to

them, feeling was more important than reason. Novalis wrote, “The heart is the key
to the world.” Goethe maintained that “feeling is everything.” Madame de Stael
asserted that feeling far surpasses reason as a means of arriving at the truth. The
view of Lamartine is that man is really himself only “under the stress of powerful
feeling.”

Man must discard artificial standards in the expression of feelings and follow the
prompting of the heart. Imagination must be free from its shackles. The
romanticists believed that there should be no check on genius and hence men must
follow their imagination. If a work of literature or art shows the sovereignty of
reason, with measure, harmony and sympathy in representation, it may be called
classical. If it is characterised by the dominance of feeling and imagination, it can
be called romantic.

The individual was subordinated to the general or universal. The rules of neo-
classics demanded that the subject-matter of literature must be limited to that
which is universal in human experience. As opposed to this, romanticism
emphasized the particular and the personal. It was not contrary to good taste to
exploit one’s own personality.

Accentuation of the person accounts for the diversity of subjects treated in

romantic literature and art. The various romanticists led their imagination roam far
and wide. What was interesting to them was the primitive, the grotesque, the
supernatural, the infinite, the exotic, the medieval, the pastoral, the startling and
anything which was novel.

As feelings and imagination differ in each person, romanticism involves the

accentuation of the personal or individual. Hence, some of the writers styled
romanticism as “the liberation of personality” or “the Emancipation or the ego.”
During the age of reason, there was standardization which avoided local variations
and individual diversities.

Literary-Romanticism:

Herder (1744-1803) was the father of German romanticism. He had a high opinion
of the irrational, the spontaneous, the natural and the individual of the middle
Ages. He regarded folk poetry as “the true expression of feeling.” The other
romantic waters of Germany were Goethe, Schlegel, Fichte and Schleiermacher.
They praised feudalism, chivalry, the crusades and the medieval folk songs.
As regards France, “The Spirit of Christianity” by Chateaubriand (1768-1848)
revived interest not only in Christianity but also idealized the middle Ages. In his
other writings, Chateaubriand glorified nature and pictured the American Indian as
a “noble savage.” Victor Hugo (1802-1885) carried the romantic tradition of
Chateaubriand to its loftiest heights. In his drama entitled “Cromwell published in
1827, Hugo repudiated the traditions of neo-classicism and embraced all the
romantic ideas and aspirations which had been current since the beginning of the
century and he became the leader of the Romantic Movement? He published his
famous drama entitled “Hemani” in 1830 and that book made romanticism the
vogue for years to come. He published in 1831 his novel called “The Hunchback of
Notre Dame” which is considered to be the most successful single work of the
period. It stirred men’s hearts to the depths.

English romanticism was neither so intense nor as comprehensive as that in

Germany and France It was largely restricted to poetry. Sir Walter Scott is the
outstanding figure m novel. English romanticism was an expression of the desire
for freedom from the restraining forces of reason and the assertion of the rights of
feeling and imagination.The beginning of the age of romanticism in England is
usually dated from the publication in 1798 of Lyrical Ballads, a collection of
poems of Wordsworth (1770-1850) and Coleridge (1772-1834). In his preface to
the second edition published in 1800 Wordsworth set forth his ideas of poetry. As
regards the subject, his purpose was “to choose incidents and situations from
common life.” To quote him, “Humble and rustic life was generally chosen
because in that condition the essential passions of the heart find a better soil m
which they can attain their maturity, are under less restraint and speak a plainer and
more emphatic language.”
As regards style, Wordsworth declared that the language of poetry should be “the
language really used by men.” The poem entitled “The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner” by Coleridge thrills with its images of horror and supernatural beauty.
The turbulent soul of Lord Byron (1788-1824) found relief in the wilder aspects of
nature, more particularly in mountain peaks and the sea. Byron won fame as the
author of the first two cantos of Childe Harold published in 1812.

His Don Juan published in 1819 is considered one of the great satirical poems in
the English language. He died in Greece while he was fighting for the
independence of the Greeks. As regards Shelley (1792-1822), two passions, those
for nature and humanity, characterized almost everything he wrote. For him, nature
was the incarnation of the divine. Some of the best examples of his poetry of
nature are “The Cloud,” “To a Skylark” and “Ode to the West Wind.”

As regards John Keats (1795-1821), the keynote of his work is to be found in the
opening line of Endymion (1818), “A Thing of Beauty is a Joy forever.” His odes
are among the imperishable things of English verse. Of these, “To a Nightingale”
is considered as his masterpiece. Mathew Arnold writes, “No one else in English
poetry save Shakespeare has in expression quite the fascinating felicity of Keats,
his perfection of loveliness.”

As regards Spain, romanticism revived her past. The only genuine romanticist in
Russia was Lermontov (1814-1841). Next to Pushkin, he was the greatest Russian
poet of the nineteenth century. His most important poetical work was “The
Demon” published in 1838. He also published his novel entitled “A Hero of Our
Times” in 1839. As regards Italy, Manzone (1785-1873) was a poet, novelist and
dramatist. He was a representative of the Romantic Movement. Like
Chateaubriand, he stressed the sublimity of Christianity. His “Sacred Hymns” are
among the most beautiful lyrics ever offered to Christianity. His “The Betrothed”
is considered the best prose work of Italian romanticism.

Central features of Romanticism 

 An emphasis on emotional and imaginative spontaneity

 The importance of self-expression and individual feeling. Romantic

poetry is one of the heart and the emotions, exploring the ‘truth of the
imagination' rather than scientific truth. The ‘I' voice is central; it is the
poet's perceptions and feelings that matter.

 An almost religious response to nature. They were concerned that Nature

should not just be seen scientifically but as a living force, either made by
a Creator, or as in some way divine, to be neglected at humankind's peril.
Some of them were no longer Christian in their beliefs. Shelley was
an atheist, and for a while Wordsworth was apantheist (the belief that god is
in everything). Much of their poetry celebrated the beauty of nature, or
protested the ugliness of the growing industrialization of the century: the
machines, factories, slum conditions, pollution and so on.

 A capacity for wonder and consequently a reverence for the freshness and

innocence of the vision of childhood. See The world of the Romantics
Attitudes to childhood

 Emphasis on the imagination as a positive and creative faculty

 An interest in ‘primitive' forms of art – for instance in the work of early

poets (bards), in ancient ballads and folksongs. Some of the Romantics
turned back to past times to find inspiration, either to the medieval period, or
 to Greek and Roman mythology. See Aspects of the Gothic: Gothic and the
medieval revival

 An interest in and concern for the outcasts of society: tramps, beggars,

obsessive characters and the poor and disregarded are especially evident in
Romantic poetry

 An idea of the poet as a visionary figure, with an important role to play as

prophet (in both political and religious terms).

Who were the Romantics?

Some authors have been regarded as pre-Romantic:

 William Blake (1757-1827) a visionary poet who was also an artist and

engraver, with a particular interest in childhood and a strong hatred of
mechanical reason and industrialization;

 Robert Burns (1759-1796) who worked as a ploughman and farm labourer

but who had received a good education and was interested in early Scots
ballads and folk-song;

 Walter Scott (1771-1832), another Scot, who developed his interest in old

tales of the Border and early European poetry into a career as poet and
novelist.

The first generation of Romantics is also known as the Lake Poets because of

their attachment to the Lake District in the north-west of England:

 William Wordsworth (1770-1850) who came from the Lake District and was

the leading poet of the group, whose work was especially associated with the
centrality of the self and the love of nature;
  Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was Wordsworth's closest colleague
and collaborator, a powerful intellectual whose work was often influenced
by contemporary ideas about science and philosophy;

 Robert Southey (1774-1843), a prolific writer of poetry and prose who

settled in the Lake District and became Poet Laureate in 1813; his work was
later mocked by Byron;

 Charles Lamb (1775-1834) was a poet but is best-known for his essays and
literary criticism; a Londoner, he was especially close to Coleridge;

 Thomas de Quincey (1785-1859) the youngest member of the group, best

known as an essayist and critic, who wrote a series of memories of the Lake
Poets.

The second generation of Romantic poets included:

 George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824); 

 Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was one of the leading poets;

 John Keats (1795-1821) was a London poet, especially known for his odes
and sonnets and for his letters, which contain many reflections on poetry and
the work of the imagination.