1. Writing, continued
The Romantic period sees huge production in political pamphlets, critical reviews, drama (playwriting), and the growth of the novel
Literary critics become valued professionals with significant influence on the national literary taste
Drama focuses on visual spectacle, not literary value: audiences want to see, not listen (rise of pantomime)
The novel grows exponentially in importance during this period: authors increasingly use it to experiment with form, style, and content.
Considered “not quite respectable”: structure is far looser than poetry, and it holds a dangerous appeal with women and the lower classes
Used to develop philosophical and political thought (Frankenstein) and advance prestige of literary criticism (Emma), as well as reawaken Gothic and medieval Romance structures
Moves away from revisiting the historical and toward keeping a contemporary social history (and criticism - Austen)

2. Blake: Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Trained as a painter, printer, and engraver; famous for his illuminated manuscripts.
Work vastly underappreciated in his lifetime; greatly admired today.
Deeply faithful and a great spiritualist; lack of traditional education causes him to prefer imagination and creativity over reason.
The inner spirit/vision is superior to nature in creating the ideal form.
Surprisingly, a great admirer of Paine and Wollstonecraft.
Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul (implied duality)
Songs of Innocence written to evoke children’s poems and lessons; reflects the realities of the world through the eyes of a child, including evil, injustice, and suffering.
Songs of Experience shows the ugly side of the world, depicted as contemporary London.
Poems from Songs of Experience have a less structured, choppier meter.