Romantic criticism

1. Romantic criticism ignores rules whether of Aristotle or Horace or of the French and emphasizes that works of literature are to be judged on the basis of the impression they produce. 2. It is concerned with the fundamentals, such as the nature of poetry, and its functions, and not merely with the problems of style, diction or literary genres. It is neither legislative nor judicial. of Romantic criticism: chief features

3. Emphasis is laid on imagination and emotion and not on reason and good sense. 4. New definitions of poetry are attempted. Poetry is no longer considered as mere imitation or invention but becomes the expression of emotion and imagination..

5. Pleasure not instruction becomes the end or function of poetry. If poetry instructs, it does so only through pleasure. 6. Imagination is emphasized both as the basis of creation and of judgment. It is imagination which leads to the production of great works of art. Shakespeare is great because his works are the production of imagination. Pope is not great as he is deficient in this respect.

7. Views of Poetic diction and versification undergo a radical change. Simplicity is emphasized both in theme and treatment. 8. Romantic criticism is creative. It is as much the result of imagination as works of literature 9. The far reaching influence of Wordsworth and Coleridge.

Wordsworth says, “Poetry sheds no tears, such as angels weep, but natural and human tears.” he defines poetry as: "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, recollected in tranquility.." Definition of poetry

Wordsworth defines the poet a man of more comprehensive soul. The poet is different from other men, because he has a more lively sensibility. The poet is a man speaking to men. The poet has a greater degree of imaginative power than other men. Definition of the poet Definition of

In his "Preface to the Lyrical Ballads," Wordsworth recommends "The language really used by men" in writing poetry. language of poetry according to Wordsworth should be easy simple language of common simple people who are of pure nature. Not the language of sophisticated or educated people but the language of farmers and such kind of people who are close to nature. It's not just the language of everyday language or city people language but specifically those who are close and living close to nature. These simple people use simple language to express themselves and such simple language is not restricted and it is given by them naturally. But city people are restricted with social routines and rules that would make expressions restricted and we would get to avoid some certain parts because of the daily routine and restricted customs which would be an obstacle between what we feel and the language we use. These simple people do not care about such routines and rules because they are simple and open like nature, they have language that directly expresses feelings. Wordsworth believed that the language of poetry should not be different from the language of prose except of the meter and rhymes which differentiate language of poetry and prose otherwise they are the same.Preface to the Lyrical Ballads Language

- Objection of Coleridge to some of Wordsworth’s ideas : As for the language of poetry Coleridge said it's not that of those people because their experiences are very limited and that makes their language limited because they do not have the linguistic ability as a result of their limited experiences. He believed that this was a wrong choice by Wordsworth to think those people had a language which is perfect for poetry. Coleridge believed that the language of poetry has nothing to do with the language of those people. This was all shown in the kind of poetry Coleridge wrote because he used language elevated and high away from the limited language of simple people

“It is the honorable characteristic of poetry that its materials are to be found in every subject which can interest the human mind.” Wordsworth The subject matter of the poetry he was using was nature and describing its beauty expressing emotions. He chose incidents and situation taken from everyday life. The subject matter is related to simple people like rustics, peasants, old people or children. So, it's all about those people who were living near nature and the subject matter tends to be simple all the time, such simple subject matter has a philosophical depth. His main interest was in nature and its effect on people as a subject matter. We do not have a high elevated poem like before with high elevated themes but it's all about nature and people living in nature. Simple people living in nature and their language are the subject matter. He did not use city people but he chose countryside people who are close to the nature and its spiritual comfort. Language Subject matter

"to the truly great poets... there is a reason assignable not only for every word, but for the position of every word”. Coleridge Coleridge wants poetry to be based on genius and originality, and to deal with its subject matter in such a way that its language will be organically linked to it; or rather, that the subject-matter is co-extensive with the poem. The subject of poetry must be within the limitations of the writer’s power. A writer must know his limitations as a writer and make them as subjects in his poetry. Coleridge chose nature and human emotions as subjects in his poem “Work Without Hope”. The persona in the poem can be Coleridge himself and the emotions reflected in the poem may be from his own emotional state and experience. Coleridge gives his definition of Imagination and Fancy Language subject matter

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Rawabi Al-Mutairy Sara Al-Hogail Hajar Al-Marhaby Ala`a AlGhamdi