1. Introduction to the 9-step Analysis Process
Romantic Poetry
Introduction to the 9-step Analysis Process

2. Prior Knowledge Discussion
What do you think Romantic literature is about? What would make a piece of literature Romantic?
What prior knowledge do you have about Romantic literature? Think about your experiences last year with American Gothic and Transcendentalism.
What do you know about history during the late 1700s and early 1800s? What big historical events happened prior to this period?

3. The Romantic Literary Movement
Started in England in the early 1800s
Expressed in poetry, short stories, novels, and plays
Was a reaction to the “Age of Reason” of the 1700s- that is the science, laws, and logic of the revolutionary period
There were different branches of the movement: Gothic and transcendentalism (especially in America)

4. Themes in Romanticism
Love, relationships, hardships of romance, unrequited love
Beauty of the human form (often comparing women’s beauty to nature)
The beauty and amazement of nature, appreciation of the earth
Emotions, feelings, thinking with the “heart” instead of the “head”
The darkness of human nature
Old stuff like Shakespeare and King Arthur

5. Major Contributors Percy Shelley
Mary Shelley (Percy’s wife, wrote Frankenstein when they were stuck in a castle one night with other writers- they were having a competition as to who write the scariest story. She was just a teenager!)
William Wordsworth
Samuel Taylor Colerige
John Keats
William Blake

6. Major Contributors Lord Byron (the baddest of all)
wrote beautiful poetry and was exceedingly handsome
seduced many women
built a giant memorial for his dog
was angry that his college wouldn’t let him bring his dog to school so he brought a bear instead because it didn’t explicitly say in the rules that he couldn’t
the bear was allowed to stay and he even joked about having the bear apply for a fellowship

7. Lord Byron Himself

8. Poetry Terms Speaker: The person or thing narrating the poem.
Repetition: Repeating an important point for emphasis.
Alliteration: Two or more words close together that begin with the same sounds.
End Rhyme: When the ends of words have the same sounds.

9. Poetry Terms Continued
Simile: A comparison using like or as
Metaphor: Calling one thing something else to add to the description
Theme: The overall message or point of a literary work. The general topic it discusses (Example: The poet is trying to show that life is worth savoring and living).

10. Poetry Terms Continued
Tone: The author’s attitude that comes across in writing
Mood: The climate of feeling in the poem. The choice of setting, language, details, images and words create a feeling for the reader.
Figurative Language: When something is described in detail to create a mental picture.
Symbol: When one thing stands for another.

11. 9-Step Poetry Analysis
The 9-step process handout you received will help you to read and understand any poem.
Read along with the William Wordsworth poem provided and think about the analysis steps we went over. We will brainstorm ideas and responses for each of the 9 steps together as a class to prepare for your next assignment.

12. 9-Step Poetry Analysis 1. Title/Predictions: 2. Paraphrase:
3. Connotations:
4. Techniques/Devices:
5. Tone of poet/speaker: 
6. Shifts:
7. Meaning of Title:
8. Context: 
9. Theme: