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.