1. The Romantic Period Emotion and Experimentation

2. World Events King Louis XVI of France is beheaded
Thomas Jefferson is elected U.S. president
Workday of pauper children limited to 12 hour days
The Napoleonic Wars
Antarctica is discovered
Rosetta stone is deciphered
Charles Darwin begins his expedition
Slavery abolished in British Empire

3. The Rise of Romanticism
Unquestionably one of the greatest cultural influences on Europe and the entire world
Romanticism was strongest in Germany (where it is believed to have started)and England, and slightly less powerful in France, Spain, and Italy.

4. What Brought About Romanticism
Unrest caused by the French Revolution in 1789
Liberty, equality and fraternity were French revolutionary values admired by many English, excluding those in power.
The excesses of the Industrial Revolution
Widespread poverty and oppression of workers

5. The Industrial Revolution
Little to nothing was done to solve the problems of the impoverished/lower classes
Laissez Faire
Let the people do what they want, no government involvement
Deplorable working conditions
No child labor laws
Low wages and unsafe conditions

6. What is Romanticism
In England, writers revolted against the order, propriety and traditionalism of the Age of Reason
Lyrical Ballads launched this period in England
Emotion was more important than reason
Relationship with nature was a primary concern

7. Isolationism/Individualism
Strong feelings of being alone in the world
Always searching but never finding satisfaction or comfort
Feeling that you alone have experienced a great emotional drain
Feeling that no one can ever understand your thoughts or situation.

8. Worship of Nature
Enormous re-interest in nature
No interest to understand, rationalize, reason, or explain nature
Desire to merely experience, enjoy, relax in, be a part of, relate to it.

9. Key Poets The Late Romantics William Wordsworth
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Together they published Lyrical Ballads
Considered the fathers of the Romantic Movement
William Blake *
The Late Romantics
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Lord Byron
John Keats

10. The Romantic Poets
Rather than form, structure, language purity, and didacticism (poetry intended to teach a lesson) Romantics sought/experimented with:
Pure Inspiration & emotional expression
Individualistic expression
Originality
Free play of imagination
Disregard of social constraints

11. Important Authors Walter Scott Jane Austen Mary Shelley
Scottish author
Ivanhoe and Rob Roy
Jane Austen
Did not really follow the Romantic traditions. She maintained a neoclassical style
Novels of manners, characters almost always become reserved at the end
Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein

12. The Gothic Gothic Stories
Feature a mysterious mansion, a brooding hero,
and a poor but plucky
heroine who saves the day
Dealt with the eerie and supernatural
Anne Radcliffe, Mary Shelley
Modern Gothic
Ann Rice, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz

13. The Common Man There are no longer any “great” heroes.
ALL MEN are heroes, especially those who live closest to nature/the earth/their emotions.
People from small villages, simple farmers, sailors, shepherds, are more important than others.

14. Focus Questions
What were the three main influences that brought about the Romantic Period?
The Industrial Revolution
The French Revolution
Widespread poverty and poor working conditions

15. Focus Questions
2. What does Laissez Faire mean and what were some of the results of this policy in England? Let the people do as they please No government involvement Poor working conditions Low wages No child labor Laws Long work hours Economic fluctuations

16. Focus Questions
3. What were some of the key aspects to the idea of Romanticism?
Closeness to nature
Individualism
Revolt against order, propriety and traditionalism
Feelings of being alone and not understood
Emotion is more important that reason

17. Focus Questions
4. Who were the key poets of this time period? William Blake William Wordsworth Samuel Taylor Coleridge Lord Byron Percy Bysshe Shelley John Keats

18. Focus Questions
5. Who were some of the key authors of the time and what did they write? Sir Walter Scott- Ivanhoe Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice Mary Shelley - Frankenstein