the romantic period
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The Romantic Period. 1798-1832 “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.” William Wordsworth , Preface to Lyrical Ballads. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
1798-1832“Poetry is the
spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from
emotion recollected in tranquility.”
William Wordsworth , Preface to Lyrical Ballads
Basic Definition-Basic Definition- The Romantic period
was a time of nature-inspired poetry, political questioning and individualism.
This political, artistic and social movement began as a reaction to the “scientific thoughts” of the writers of the Enlightenment and Age of Reason.
William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote the “Lyrical Ballads” in 1798 and most scholars believe this began the movement.
The “Lyrical Ballads” are a set of poems describing the personal and subjective view of nature through connections with beauty and the divine.
In addition to the artists rebelling against the Age of Reason, there was a similar movement happening in Germany called Sturm und Drang
This movement brought about the most important characteristic of Romanticism: the voice of the individual
The “voice” of the speakers in Romantic poetry is a person who rebels against traditional norms, who fights for independent thought and seeks solace with nature and the child’s imagination
Common themes are carpe diem, innocence versus experience, non-conformity, appreciation for beauty in nature – we’ll study themes along with the literature.
Questioning of authority Values individuals who question authority Personal liberty above all else Glorifies the childlike imagination=innocent Nature is omnipresent: rural landscapes and
picturesque settings Non-conformity ; originality Subjective rather than objective – life is more
than observations The ordinary is described extraordinarily
Nature has a transformational powers Poems about nature communicate this power
nature has to alter human perception and perspective
Specific viewpoints 1. Nature does not die ; serves as “agent of death” 2. Nature was created by God and is proof that he
exists 3. Nature affects the human mind 4. Nature provides the concept of “moral freedom” 5. Nature is beautiful and beauty is truth to the
Romantics
The aesthetic movement that began later during the Romantic period is also called “art for art’s sake”
“Art for art’s sake” means Romantics appreciate art for the affects its beauty has on the individual. They enjoy the beauty of art in various forms
Happiness to the Romantics is creating harmony between unlimited will and limited world
Poems search for a symbolic understanding of the world: its beauty, burdens, human instincts, pain and eternal truth
Focus on using art (poetry) to turn chance into design
One topic in particular was a favorite among
the Romantics Nature.
These poems were not quaint, predictable, over-simplified glorifications of
Nature on a purely observational level.
These poems were designed to communicate Nature’s
transformative power. Nature is portrayed as omnipresent and
capable of altering human perception and perspective. The
settings of these poems, therefore, are picturesque and
exotic, a characteristic specific to Romanticism.
Views of Nature:Nature does not die, but serves
as the “agent of death”
Nature is a beautiful, intricate system that must have been
created by God---Nature assures us that God exists
Nature is not hostile, but is a mysterious force that affects the
human mind
‘’Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against’’?
“What’ve you got’?”
Movies such as Marlon Brando’s ‘’Wild One’’ have popularized the ideal of an irresistible bad boy, glamorous in his fatal passion, rivaling society with a hell-bent
glare.
This bad boy stereotype first entered our English culture in the Romantic poetry of Lord Byron.
These ill-fated but beautifully emotional characters are called “Byronic Heroes.”
Another characteristic of Romantic literature
is the inclusion of supernatural
elements.
Perhaps, for the Romantics, Nature was so powerful that it could not
be contained. Nature takes on a mysterious,
sometimes even scary quality in literature of the Romantics. Supernatural elements play a large part
in these works.
First Generation poets:William BlakeWilliam Blake
William WordsworthWilliam WordsworthSamuel Taylor Samuel Taylor
ColeridgeColeridgeThese poets began & lived These poets began & lived
through all or most of the entire through all or most of the entire Romantic movementRomantic movement
Second Generation Poets:Percy Bysshe
ShelleyJohn KeatsLord Byron
-Began their careers in the 2nd decade of the century
but died before 1825
British Romantic poetry most frequently took the form of
lyric poetry. This genre employed rhythm, repetition, and sometimes rhyme to give the poem a lyrical or musical
effect. Lyric poetry emphasizes deep feeling and emotion as opposed to logic,
reason or narrative.
Although poetry was the most expected Romantic genre, Romantic novels
were also written.
A popular novel by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, is
also representative of the period.