The Characteristics of Neoclassical and
Romantic Poetry
• Period: 1660 to 1789/98
• The major poets:
Dryden, Alexander Pope,
Thomas Gray
• Influenced by Classical
poets
• It is intellectual.
• It deals with social reality
and hardly talks about the
poet’s personal thoughts and
emotions.
• Period: 1789/98 to 1830/32
• The major poets:
Wordsworth, Coleridge,
Shelly, Keats
• Influenced by Rousseau and
French Revolution
• It is emotional.
• It expresses the poet’s
personal thoughts and
emotions and does not
comment on social issues at
all.
• Since it is a social
commentary, it is reflective
in nature.
• Neoclassical poetry is a
social document. Since
Neoclassical poetry is
impersonal, we do not find
the use of first person
pronoun ‘I’.
• Respect for the rules of
writing is one of the features
of Neoclassical poetry.
• It is expressive in the sense
that it expresses the poet’s
inner being.
• Romantic poetry is a person
discourse and therefore the
use of first person pronoun
‘I’. (John Keats called
Wordsworth ‘Egoistical
Sublime’)
• Romantic poets did not care
for the rules of writing
poetry.
• Neoclassicists tried to
imitate Classical poets as
closely as possible and
therefore hardly tried
anything new. It resulted in
rigidity.
• The poets used formal,
complex and mechanical
language in their poetry.
• On the other hand,
Romanticists believed in
originality and therefore
took Liberty in their
writing. (The influence of
French Revolution,1789)
• The Romantic poets
deliberately used simple
language (the language
actually used by men)to suit
their simple themes.
• Neoclassical poetry focused
on city life/ London life, the
manners and etiquettes of
aristocratic people. (The
Rape of the Lock)
• Heroic couplet was used
extensively. (Rhyming
couplet with iambic
pentameter).
• Nature and supernaturalism
became dominant themes. It
talked about peasants,
flowers, mountains,
fountains, birds, children,
etc. (The Daffodils)
• Ballad as a form of poetry
suited very well to the
spontaneity and creativity of
the Romantic poets.
• Neoclassical poets were
masters in the use of satire.
(Thanks to their critical
thinking and intelligence)
• Neoclassicists were keen
observers of society. They
focused on city life and
neglected country life. They
hardly composed on the
issues concerning rural and
rustic life.
• The use of heightened
imagination and sharpened
sensibility is one of the
major characteristics of
Romantic Poetry.
• Romanticists did not find
themselves comfortable in
urban and present life. They
ran away from reality and
found solace in Nature
(Wordsworth),
supernaturalism (Coleridge),
• Through their composition,
the Neoclassicists tried to
correct the follies of the
contemporary aristocratic
society.
• In short, neoclassical poetry
is didactic in nature. (Arts
for humanity’s sake)
Greek Past (Keats) and in
future ( Shelley). That’s
why the Romanticists are
also called ‘escapists’.
• Romantic poetry is not
didactic in nature but gives
us aesthetic pleasure. (Arts
for Arts Sake).
• The Mirror and the
Lamp by M.H.
Abrams is a
wonderful book on the
topic under
consideration.