ROMANTIC PERIOD IN ENGLISH

LITERATURE: 1785-1830

A BRIEF OVERVIEW
SOCIAL & POLITICAL CONTEXT
 PERIOD OF GREAT CHANGE IN
ENGLAND:
 AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY W/ POWERFUL
LANDHOLDING ARISTOCRACY WAS GIV-
ING WAY TO MODERN INDUSTRIAL NA-
TION OF LARGE-SCALE EMPLOYERS & A
GROWING, RESTLESS MIDDLE CLASS.
PERIOD OF CHANGE (cont.)
 AMERICAN & FRENCH REVOLUTIONS
WERE HUGELY IMPORTANT ELEMENTS
OF THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE.
 THREATS TO EXISTING SOCIAL STRUC-
TURE WERE BEING POSED BY NEW,
REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS.
PERIOD OF CHANGE (cont.)

 A TIME OF HARSH POLITICAL REPRES-

SION IN ENGLAND, IN SPITE OF NEED

FOR CHANGES BROUGHT ABOUT BY

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

PERIOD OF CHANGE (cont.)

 MILL TOWNS GREW, THE LANDSCAPE

WAS INCREASINGLY SUBDIVIDED,
FACTORIES SPEWED POLLUTION OVER
SLUMS, & THE POPULATION WAS IN-
CREASINGLY DIVIDED INTO RICH &
POOR.
PERIOD OF CHANGE (cont.)

 REFORMS DID NOT OCCUR BECAUSE

THE PHILOSOPHY OF LAISSEZ-FAIRE

(“LET ALONE”) PREVAILED.

LACK OF REFORM (cont.)

 CONSEQUENCES WERE LOW WAGES,

HORRIBLE WORKING CONDITIONS,
LARGE-SCALE EMPLOYMENT OF
WOMEN & CHILDREN IN BRUTALLY
HARD OCCUPATIONS (SUCH AS COAL
MINING).
LACK OF REFORM (cont.)
 IN THE FACE OF TECHNOLOGICAL UN-
EMPLOYMENT & POVERTY, WORK-ERS
—WHO COULD NOT VOTE—HAD TO
RESORT TO PROTESTS & RIOTS,
INCURRING FURTHER REPRESSION.
 BUT WHILE THE POOR SUFFERED, THE
LEISURE CLASS PROSPERED.
PLIGHT OF WOMEN

 WOMEN OF ALL CLASSES WERE RE-

GARDED AS INFERIOR TO MEN, WERE
UNDEREDUCATED, HAD LIMITED VO-
CATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, WERE SUB-
JECT TO A STRICT CODE OF SEXUAL BE-
HAVIOR, AND HAD ALMOST NO LEGAL
RIGHTS.
PLIGHT OF WOMEN (cont.)

 IN SPITE OF THE ABOVE, THE CAUSE

OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS WAS LARGELY

IGNORED.
ROMANTICISM

 TERM “ROMANTICISM” IS DIFFICULT TO

DEFINE B/C OF THE VARIETY OF

LITERARY ACHIEVEMENTS, AND

WRITERS OF THE PERIOD WERE ONLY

LATER LABELLED “ROMANTIC.”

ROMANTICISM (cont.)

 BUT MANY HAD A SENSE OF “THE

SPIRIT OF THE AGE”—THAT A GREAT
RELEASE OF CREATIVE ENERGY WAS
OCCURING AS ACCOMPANIMENT TO
POLITICAL & SOCIAL REVOLUTION. IT
WAS SEEN AS AN AGE OF NEW BEGIN-
INGS & LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES.
POETIC THEORY & PRACTICE

 WORDSWORTH TRIED TO ARTICULATE

THE SPIRIT OF THE NEW POETRY IN

THE PREFACE TO LYRICAL BALLADS

(1800, 1802).
CONCEPT OF POETRY, THE POET

 POETRY WAS SEEN AS THE “SPONTA-

NEOUS OVERFLOW OF POWERFUL
FEELINGS”; THE ESSENCE OF POETRY
WAS THE MIND, EMOTIONS, & IMAGI-
NATION OF THE POET (NOT THE OUTER
WORLD).
POETRY & THE POET (cont.)

 FIRST-PERSON LYRIC POEM BECAME

THE MAJOR ROMANTIC LITERARY
FORM, WITH “I” OFTEN REFERRING
DIRECTLY TO THE POET.
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF BE-
CAME A MAJOR TOPIC OF ROMANTIC
POETRY.
POETRY & THE POET (cont.)

 POETS OFTEN SAW THEMSELVES AS

PROPHETS IN A TIME OF CRISIS, REVIS-

ING THE PROMISE OF DIVINE REDEMP-

TION IN TERMS OF A “HEAVEN” ON

EARTH.
POETIC SPONTANEITY, FREEDOM

 INITIAL ACT OF POETIC COMPOSITION

MUST ARISE FROM IMPULSE; BE FREE

FROM THE RULES INHERITED FROM

THE PAST; AND RELY ON INSTINCT,

INTUITION, & FEELING.

NATURE

 IMPORTANCE OF ACCURATE OBSERVA-

TION & DESCRIPTION OF WILD NATURE,

WHICH SERVES AS A STIMULUS TO

THINKING & TO THE RESOLUTION OF

PERSONAL PROBLEMS & CRISES.

NATURE (cont.)
 LANDSCAPE WAS OFTEN GIVEN HU-
MAN QUALITIES OR SEEN AS A SYS-
TEM OF SYMBOLS REVEALING THE
NATURE OF GOD.
 CLOSENESS W/ NATURE WAS SEEN AS
BRINGING OUT HUMANITY’S INNATE
GOODNESS.
GLORIFICATION OF THE COMMON-
PLACE

 HUMBLE, RUSTIC SUBJECT MATTER &

PLAIN STYLE BECAME THE PRINCIPAL

SUBJECT & MEDIUM OF POETRY.

THE COMMONPLACE (cont.)

 POETS SOUGHT TO REFRESH READERS’

SENSE OF WONDER ABOUT THE ORDI-

NARY THINGS OF EXISTENCE, TO MAKE

THE “OLD” WORLD SEEM NEW.

THE SUPERNATURAL & STRANGE

 MANY ROMANTIC POEMS EXPLORE

THE REALM OF MYSTERY & MAGIC;
INCORPORATE MATERIALS FROM
FOLKLORE, SUPERSTITION, ETC.; &
ARE OFTEN SET IN DISTANT OR
FARAWAY PLACES.
THE STRANGE (cont.)

 RELATED TO THIS WAS A RENEWED

INTEREST IN THE MIDDLE AGES (AND

THE BALLAD FORM) AS A BEAUTIFUL,

EXOTIC, MYSTERIOUS BYGONE ERA.

THE STRANGE (cont.)

 THERE WAS ALSO GREAT INTEREST IN

UNUSUAL MODES OF EXPERIENCE, SUCH

AS VISIONARY STATES OF CONSCIOUS-

NESS, HYPNOTISM, DREAMS, DRUG-

INDUCED STATES, AND SO FORTH.

INDIVIDUALISM & STRIVING

 HUMAN BEINGS WERE SEEN AS ESSEN-

TIALLY NOBLE & GOOD (THOUGH COR-
RUPTED BY SOCIETY), AND AS POSSESS-
ING GREAT POWER & POTENTIAL THAT
HAD FORMERLY BEEN ASCRIBED ONLY TO
GOD.
 INDIVIDUALISM (cont.)

 THERE WAS A GREAT BELIEF IN DEMO-

CRATIC IDEALS, CONCERN FOR HUMAN

LIBERTY, & A GREAT OUTCRY AGAINST

VARIOUS FORMS OF TYRANNY.

INDIVIDUALISM (cont.)

 THE HUMAN MIND WAS SEEN AS CRE-

ATING (AT LEAST IN PART) THE WORLD

AROUND IT, AND AS HAVING ACCESS TO

THE INFINITE VIA THE FACULTY OF

IMAGINATION.
INDIVIDUALISM (cont.)

 REFUSING TO ACCEPT LIMITATIONS,

HUMAN BEINGS SET INFINITE, INAC-

CESSIBLE GOALS, THUS MAKING FAIL-

URE & IMPERFECTION GLORIOUS AC-

COMPLISHMENTS.
INDIVIDUALISM (cont.)

 THIS REFUSAL TO ACCEPT LIMITA-

TIONS FOUND EXPRESSION IN BOLD

POETIC EXPERIMENTATION.
INDIVIDUALISM (cont.)
 MANY WRITERS DELIBERATELY ISO-
LATED THEMSELVES FROM SOCIETY
TO FOCUS ON THEIR INDIVIDUAL
VISION.
 THEME OF EXILE WAS COMMON, W/ THE
ROMANTIC NON-CONFORMIST OFTEN
SEEN AS A GREAT SINNER OR OUTLAW.