The Romantic Period 1798-1832

During this time period Mary Shelley published Frankenstein Romantic Period During this time period Mary Shelley published Frankenstein (Published in 1818)

Romantic Period REMEMBER… This period starts 732 years after the end of the Anglo-Saxon time period in England.

Romantic Period Thus, we are jumping ahead in English history and literature -The Anglo Saxons 449-1066 -The Middle Ages 1066-1485 -The Renaissance 1485-1660 -The Restoration and 18th Century 1660-1800 -The ROMANTIC PERIOD 1798-1832

Romantic Period The actual period is said to begin with the FRENCH REVOLUTION The period is said to end with the PARLIAMENTARY REFORMS OF 1832 that laid the political foundations for modern Britain

Romantic Period You may be wondering: What does the word “ ROMANTIC ” mean in the context of this period?

Romantic Period The word “romantic’” comes from the term “ROMANCE,” and romance was one of the most popular genres of medieval literature.

Romantic Period Medieval Connection: Romantic writers self-consciously used the elements of romance in an attempt to go back beyond the refinements of neoclassical literature to older types of writing that they saw as more “genuine”

Romantic Period The romance genre allowed writers to explore new, more PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MYSTERIOUS aspects of human experience.

Romantic Period The writers of the Romantic period lived in England during a time of SOCIAL UPHEAVAL. The INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION in England changed the way people lived, where people lived, and how business was done. (England changed from an agricultural society to an industrial nation w/ almost everyone living in the city)

Romantic Period Writers before this time period tended to rely on SCIENCE and REASON to base their writings on…(Remember, the Restoration was often called the “Age of Reason”) Writers soon after this time period, such as the Victorian era, wrote to AFFECT CHANGE in society.

Romantic Period In contrast, the Romantic writers focused on PERSONAL EXPERIENCE and IMAGINATION in their work. (This change in thinking was thought to be NEEDED b/c of all the political, economic, and social changes taking place…remember… INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION) Thus, they were not as concerned with “REASON”… Imagination was superior!

Romantic Period Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein calls into QUESTION THE AIMS and METHODS OF SCIENCE…we’ll explore this more while we study the novel…..Muah Ha HA HAAA You experienced this questioning in the FOREWORD of the novel

Frankenstein is a Gothic Novel Romantic Period Romantic literature that included the elements of mystery, horror, and the supernatural is known as GOTHIC Frankenstein is a Gothic Novel

No trench coats in class please :) Just Kidding

Gothic Literature Gothic novels tended to feature TROUBLESOME TONES REMOTE SETTINGS MYSTERIOUS EVENTS

Gothic Literature The characters’ INNER EMOTIONAL LIVES receive a lot of attention.

The struggle between GOOD vs. EVIL is prominent Gothic Literature The struggle between GOOD vs. EVIL is prominent

Pause… Any Questions?

We will continue these notes at a later time We will continue these notes at a later time. Let’s move on to Frankenstein!

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Daughter of two of England’s leading intellectual radicals. Her father, William Godwin, was an influential political philosopher and novelist. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, the author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, was a pioneer in promoting women’s rights and education. Her future husband, the admired poet Percy Shelley, was one of her father’s frequent visitors. When she was sixteen, she and Percy eloped to France. She gave birth to four children in five years, three of whom died as infants. Percy died eight years later, due to a boating accident.

The “Birth” of Frankenstein When Mary was nine, she hid under a sofa to hear Samuel Taylor Coleridge recite his poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, which later influenced her as she developed her ideas for Frankenstein. Due to the loss of her children, many critics have pointed out that thoughts of birth and death were much on Shelley’s mind at the time she wrote Frankenstein. Summer of 1816 Mary and Percy Shelley were living near the poet Lord Byron and his doctor-friend John Polidori on Lake Geneva in the Swiss Alps. During a period of incessant rain, the four of them were reading ghost stories to each other when Byron proposed that they each try to write one. For days Shelley could not think of an idea. Then, while she was listening to Lord Byron and Percy discussing the probability of using electricity to create life artificially, according to a theory called galvanism, an idea began to grow in her mind: Perhaps a corpse would be re-animated; galvanism had given token of such things: perhaps the component parts of a creature might be manufactured, brought together, and [endued] with vital warmth. The next day she started work on Frankenstein. A year later, she had completed her novel. It was published in 1818, when Shelley was nineteen years old.

Elements of the Gothic Novel Setting in a castle An atmosphere of mystery and suspense An ancient prophecy Omens, portents, visions Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events High, even overwrought emotion Women in distress Women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male Metonymy of gloom and horror Vocabulary of the gothic

“The Modern Prometheus” In Greek mythology, he was a titan who created man in the image of the gods Stole the gift of fire from Mt. Olympus and gave it to man Punished by Zeus and chained to a rock on a mountain. Every day for 30 years, Zeus’ eagle would eat his liver

Romanticism 1798-1832 Movement contrary to Enlightenment and Industrialization which emphasized how man’s reason and logic can improve society Emphasized the importance of the individual, subjectivity, imagination, and expression of emotions

Romantic Quest During the Romantic period, a journey to find one’s self through nature, isolation, and meditation Natural science should lead to discovery Could be a physical journey or a mental, psychological, or spiritual one

Epistolary A story told by means of a series of letters Purpose is to suspend disbelief

Frame Story

Frankenstein time!

Romantic Poets/Poetry The Romantic period could be argued to start with the selling of Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems

Romantic Poets/Poetry Lyrical Ballads was written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. Included Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Wordsworth’s Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey.

Romantic Poets/Poetry The era has been most identified with with six poets: William Blake William Wordsworth Samuel Taylor Coleridge Percy Bysshe Shelley John Keats George Gordon “Lord Byron”

Romantic Poets/Poetry Remember, before this time the American Revolution had taken place and the French Revolution was taking place.

Romantic Poets/Poetry The American Rev. not only cost England economically, but it was also a loss of prestige and confidence.

Romantic Poets/Poetry The French Rev. was a prime example of an anointed king being OVERTHROWN by a democratic mob. French Rev. meant the triumph of radical principles…the English worried this would spread.

Romantic Poets/Poetry The French called for a worldwide revolution In 1793 England declared war on France In 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte declared himself dictator of France. (Napoleon just as bad as executed king, associated w/ “tyrant”)

Romantic Poets/Poetry As a result of all the changes in western Europe, especially in France, conservatives in England institute severe repressive measures It outlawed collective bargaining and kept suspected spies in prison w/out a trial

Romantic Poets/Poetry However, many Romantics (including poets) supported the idea of revolution/change, and clung to their hopes for the “DAWN OF A NEW ERA” through peaceful change Hopes provoked and shaped by upheavals in English life brought about by the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Romantic Poets/Poetry Remember, Industrial Revolution brought many people to the city to work in factories where machines replaced handmade articles. City populations greatly increased and resulted in very POOR LIVING CONDITIONS.

Romantic Poets/Poetry Industrial Revolution also caused land to no longer be communally owned. This resulted in MANY LANDLESS PEOPLE Thus, these landless people MIGRATED TO THE CITY in search of work or charity.

Romantic Poets/Poetry The economic cause of all this misery was called “LAISSEZ FAIRE” Translated means “let (people) do (as they please)” Meaning economic forces were out of the government’s control Result = rich grew richer and the poor got poorer. (children also suffered b/c they were often times forced to work)

Romantic Poets/Poetry As a result… Frustrated by England’s resistance to political and social change during this age of revolution around the globe, the ROMANTIC POETS became dedicated to bringing about change.

Romantic Poets/Poetry These poets believed in the force of literature. They turned from the formal, public verse of the 18th century Augustans to a more private, spontaneous, lyric poetry. These lyrics expressed the belief that IMAGINATION, rather than reason, was the best response to the forces of change.

Romantic Poets/Poetry The term “Romantic” has at least THREE useful meanings relevant to the Romantic poets.

Romantic Poets/Poetry #1: A Child’s Sense of Wonder: “Romantic” signifies a fascination with youth and innocence…particularly the freshness and wonder of a child’s perception of the world. This perception seemed to resemble the age’s sense of a “new dawn”…like what Wordsworth saw in his first experience in France as “human nature being born again.”

Romantic Poets/Poetry #2: Social Idealism: The term “Romantic”refers to a view of cyclical development of human societies. This is the stage when people need to question tradition and authority in order to imagine better - that is, happier, fairer, and healthier - ways to live. Romantic in this sense is associated with idealism.

Romantic Poets/Poetry #3: Adaptation to Change: The term “Romantic”suggests an ability to change- an acceptance of change rather than a rigid rejection of it. In the so-called Romantic period of the first half of the 19th century (up to the Civil War in America), Western societies met the conditions necessary for industrialization. This demanded that people acquire a stronger and stronger awareness of change, and that they try to find a way to adapt to it.

Romantic Poets/Poetry Overall, the term “romantic” signifies a fascination with youth and innocence, a questioning of authority and tradition for idealistic purposes, and an adaptation to change.

More in depth following… ANY QUESTIONS?

Romantic Poets/Poetry In Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth declared that he was writing a new kind of poetry that he hoped would be “well adapted to the interest of mankind permanently…”

Romantic Poets/Poetry In Lyrical Ballads, the subject matter would be different form that of earlier giants of poetry - like Alexander Pope - who used poetry to satirize, or to persuade the reader with argumentative techniques.

Romantic Poets/Poetry For Wordsworth, good poetry was “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” Such poetry would use simple, unadorned language to deal with commonplace subjects.

Romantic Poets/Poetry It is a mistake to think of the Romantics as “nature poets.” Rather, these poets were “mind poets” who sought a deeper understanding of the bond between human beings and the world of the senses.

Romantic Poets/Poetry Their search led them to a third, more mysterious element present in both the mind and nature….this element is a creative power that makes things happen…this power is the IMAGINATION. The Romantics thought this superior to human reasoning.

Romantic Poets/Poetry Each of the Romantics had his or her own special view of the imagination. However, all of them believed that the imagination could be stimulated by both nature and the mind itself. These poets had a strong sense of nature’s mysterious forces, which both inspire the poet and hint at the causes of great changes taking place in the world.

Romantic Poets/Poetry Romantic poems usually present imaginative experiences as very powerful or moving. This suggests that the human imagination is also a kind of desire - a motive that drives the mind to discover things that it cannot learn by rational or logical thinking.

Romantic Poets/Poetry In the Preface to Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth makes it clear that the poet is special: the poet is “endowed with more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness…a greater knowledge of human nature, and a more comprehensive soul, than are supposed to be common among mankind.” All Romantic poets described the ‘poet’ in such lofty terms.

Romantic Poets/Poetry For example: (differing poets views of the poet) William Blake held the poet to be the bard, an inspired revealer and teacher. Coleridge thought the poet “brings the whole soul of man into activity” by employing “that synthetic and magical power…that imagination.” Shelley called poets “the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” Keats wrote that a poet is a “physician” to all humanity and “pours out a balm upon the world.”

Romantic Poets/Poetry Thus, the Romantics saw the poet as someone human beings and society cannot do without. Romantics saw a very special place for the poet or the artist in society…they saw poets in a role similar to that of a priest, teacher, or master. In the Romantic view, the poet functions as a sort of spiritual guide to the inner realms of intuition.

Romantic Poets/Poetry Overall, in the Romantic period, poetry was no longer used to make complex arguments in a witty, polished style. Romantic poets used unadorned language to explore the significance of commonplace subjects, the beauty of nature, and the power of human imagination.