British Romanticism English 12 2010-2011
British Romanticism Began with the publication of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1798) Ended in the mid-1800’s with the rise of the Realism movement
Important Writers William Blake William Wordsworth Samuel Taylor Coleridge John Keats Percy Bysshe Shelley George Gordon, Lord Byron Mary Shelley Most of these writers were close friends and collaborated on literary projects.
Influences on Romanticism French Revolution Social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment Industrial Revolution
Characteristics of Romanticism Emphasis on intuition, imagination, and emotion over reason and empirical data. Divinity of all things (pantheism) Emphasis on spiritual and supernatural Nature is a place of refuge, beauty, and restoration “Carpe Diem” attitude
Phases of Life Innocence: childhood; naïveté Experience: corrupted and jaded by the world Higher Innocence: regain the purity of childhood (only attained by very few)
Romantic Literature Experimentation with (and rebellion against) classical poetic forms Mimic Medieval styles and themes Beauty found in the ordinary Emotive language Emphasis on darker emotions (fear, awe)
Works we will read: “Songs of Innocence and Experience” “Tintern Abbey” “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” “Ode on a Grecian Urn” Frankenstein