Romantic poetry lecture 5

Romanticism is the beginning of literary modernity (late 18th century)

Lyrical Ballad by William Wordsworth
Dominance of subjectivity, and emotion of the poet.
Uniqueness and individuality are important in romantic poetry.
The inaccessible self
Romantic literary revolution broke with classical and rhetoric tradition, genres like
sonnet, tragedy
The romantic literary works organized the system of literature, taxonomy to define
literary features
The classical and rhetoric genres vs creativity and subjectivity (free play of creative
invention)
Generic characters: genres can’t be abolished; genres are modes of utterance in
creativity and subjectivity.
Genres are tools of interpretation, have a role in consulting meaning.
Romantic poetry has a ‘hyper consciouses of genre which does not deny them but
experience with them

Epic poem:
Tip of hierarchy of genres ancient instances determining this place (Homer, Virgil)
Epic poems are the founding texts of a culture, founding myth of culture
Encyclopaedic explanation of the world as it is exit for a given culture

The Prelude (Epic poem) analysis:

Enthusiastic outburst (lyrical, expressing emotions of writing the epic poem, through
the power and the beauty of nature)
There is no gap btw mind and nature
Nature teaches the babe that the mind is the one as the God’s mind, oneness with the
universe, remaking the unconscious mind, through creating the truth, constant
creation of truth through remaking the unconscious mind.

Criticize the arrogance of human assumption of power while nature is superior, the
poet is not afraid of the nature, he is afraid of the humans are too ignorance to realizes
their arrogance and insignificant.

Romantic poetry praises the beauty of nature and the past life and protest how humans
have ruined our nature and our beauty past by industrialization.
Romantics poets focus on rational emotion against the industrial revolution.
Man, vs nature

Mount Snowdown chapter 14

The poet praises the power of nature, that even an unguided man can be compelled
and acknowledge the power of nature.
The power of nature can be access and acknowledged by the great thinker
The poet’s experience with the nature indicates that through one’s experience of
growing to create themselves freedom from human desire.
Uses Plato’s theory of love, the poet thinks nature’s power impel all living things to
its perfection, and in human sense, it’s a longing power of immortality
We can understand intellectual love with our imagination, from which to believe in
humanity.
The poet referred his sister Dorothy that the kindred spirit of hers helped him became
mature, also referred it is his sister’s spirit guided him through not being rationalist
but feel the power of nature.
He also praises his wife who he married while writing the prelude, sharing his
experiences with her.
He praises Coleridge who motivated him to write the epic poem.
The poet uses lark’s song to describe his satisfaction of writing the epic poem.
The poet lament on Coleridge’s death and desire for the moment of him reading the
poem.
The poet indicates that once humans may acknowledge their ignorance and arrogance,
and assured of ultimate freedom of humanity, praises he and, his friend Coleridge’s
have find happiness in writing their works, they are happy in the small contributes
with their works.