1. The Romantic Age

2. From the Augustan Age to the Romantic Age
The Augustan Age emphasised the Reason as the supreme faculty by which all things were knowable  man, endowed with reason, was in the position to know his environment perceived as functioning mechanistically;
The Romantic Age emphasised the subjective experience and invidivual perception man, thanks to an intimate perception of reality, was capable of grasping the truth, the mysterious essence of the universe.

3. The Augustan Age: the literary production
The favourite genre was the novel
Comedy of Manners = a critical and clear observation of the society with a moralizing aim through a mocking tone;
Realistic novel= a matter-of-fact style and a nonintrusive narrator (Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver’s Travels…)  critical description of society (Swift’s satire); a celebration of the emerging middle class (Defoe’s works).
Epistolary novel or sentimental novel= an exploration of the inner world of the characters in a epistolary form (Pamela…) description of the ordinary middle-class people with a moralizing aim

4. The Romantic Age The favourite genre was the poetry
The Romantic poetry
expression of the inner world of the poet (emotions, feelings and sensations)
IMAGINATION= the creative power of human perception
the mean through which feelings and emotions
are translated into POETRY
The poet is able to make the best use of this faculty and therefore -among men- he is the best to unlock the mysteries of life and experience the truth (Poet= PROPHET)

5. NATURE= had the power of inspiring strong emotions and putting the artist in touch with the infinite and the divine Nature = expression of the immanet presence of God in the world (PANTHEISM)

6. The great Revolutions and the Romantic Age
The great revolutions which took place during the 18° century influenced the birth of this new literary movement ( from the late 18° century to the coronation of Queen Victoria 1837).
The escape into Nature
The Industrial Revolution created a new environment where man ‘s place was completely different . The progressive mass-organization of society generated an ever growing feeling of estrangement.

7. The new idea of Freedom
Thanks to the French Revolution a new idea of Freedom began to circulate. It led man to break the old patterns. In the social field it meant the push to demand more right and democracy (Reforms).
In the private field, it represented the relaxation of the limits on the free expression of the self, and the emerge of the spontaneous and genuine emotions of the soul.

8. Romantic Poets
They were inspired by a desire for freedom and they emphasized the importance of the individual: people should follow ideals rather than imposed conventions and rules (Self- determination).
They denounced the exploitation of the poor (dissatisfaction with the Industrial Revolution).
The Romantics renounced the rationalism and order associated with Enlightenment era, stressing the importance of expressing authentic personal feelings (Celebration of spontaneous feelings)
They had a real sense of responsibility to their fellow men: they felt it was their duty to use their poetry to inform and inspire others, and to change society (the social role of the arts and the task of the poet)