1. BRITISH ROMANTICISM 1798-1832

2. Two main contributing factors  1. French Revolution  2. Industrial Revolution

3. French Revolution Influences  1. July 14, 1789 – storming of Bastille  2. Assertion of basic right of man opposed to rights of monarchy.  Many romantic poets saw this as a turning point in history that would lead to a more civilized society.  3. Society becomes more violent  Reign of terror  4. Napoleon becomes Emperor  Many feared that Britain would come under French control.  Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo in 1815

4. French Revolution Influences (cont)  Many British liberals supported the French Revolution.  William Wordsworth  Percy Shelley Called King George III an “old, mad, blind, despised, and dying king.”  William Blake Was bitterly opposed to the social, political, and spiritual abuses of the time

5. Industrial Revolution  Economic Effects:  Shift from agricultural society to industrial society  Previously open fields and communally worked farms are now privately owned

6. Industrial Revolution  Political Effects:  Shift in power from landholding aristocracy to workers and factory owners  New landless class Corn law – taxed imported grain  Laissez-faire – “allow to do” – argues that an economy works best without government interaction.

7. Industrial Revolution  Oppositions:  Capital vs labor  Owner vs worker  Rich vs poor  Labor Unions were illegal  Peterloo massacre – the government tried to suppress workers from assembling. 11 workers were killed for having a company meeting.

8. Characteristics of Romanticism  Technical characteristics:  Use of lyric poetry  Simple, unadorned language  Use of first-person

9. Characteristics of Romanticism  Subject matter:  Nature  The supernatural  The past  Individuality  Rural, country life

10. Characteristics of Romanticism  Philosophy:  Emphasis on the power of imagination  Poetry as a way to express feelings and self-reflection  Poetry speaks of personal experiences and emotions

11. Romantic writers  Revolted against:  Traditionalism  neoclassicism

12. Romantic writers  Influenced by:  Revolutionary ideals  Agitation for change

13. Romantic writers  Valued:  Emotion  Nature  The commonplace

14. Major British Romantic Authors  William Wordsworth  Samuel Taylor Coleridge  William Blake  Percy Shelley  John Keats  Lord Byron  Byronic hero – dark, brooding, handsome, restless, and a bit diabolical.  Robert Burns – Scottish (used the dialect of his people in his writing)

15. Lyrical Ballads w/ a few other poems  William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge composed a book of poems together.

16. Lake Poets  William Hazlitt  Robert Southey  Dorothy Wordsworth  Named the “Lake Poets” because they lived near a lake.

17. Romantic Prose  Jane Austin – focuses most of her characters on everyday life  Mary Shelley – Frankenstein – gothic take that expresses societies fears and anxieties.

18. Gothicism  Genre developed during the Romantic Period  Evokes terror in people  Shows the darker side of human nature  Considered the forerunner of modern mysteries or science fiction

19. Elements of the Gothic Novel  An atmosphere of mystery and suspense  Omens and visions  Supernatural or unexplained events  High emotion  Women in distress