ROMANTIC PERIOD IN ENGLISH LITERATURE: 1785-1830

1. ROMANTIC PERIOD IN ENGLISH LITERATURE: 1785-1830 A BRIEF OVERVIEW

2. SOCIAL & POLITICAL CONTEXT • PERIOD OF GREAT CHANGE IN ENGLAND: • AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY W/ POWERFUL LANDHOLDING ARISTOCRACY WAS GIV-ING WAY TO MODERN INDUSTRIAL NA-TION OF LARGE-SCALE EMPLOYERS & A GROWING, RESTLESS MIDDLE CLASS.

3. PERIOD OF CHANGE (cont.) • AMERICAN & FRENCH REVOLUTIONS WERE HUGELY IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE. • THREATS TO EXISTING SOCIAL STRUC-TURE WERE BEING POSED BY NEW, REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS.

4. PERIOD OF CHANGE (cont.) • A TIME OF HARSH POLITICAL REPRES-SION IN ENGLAND, IN SPITE OF NEED FOR CHANGES BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

5. PERIOD OF CHANGE (cont.) • MILL TOWNS GREW, THE LANDSCAPE WAS INCREASINGLY SUBDIVIDED, FACTORIES SPEWED POLLUTION OVER SLUMS, & THE POPULATION WAS IN-CREASINGLY DIVIDED INTO RICH & POOR.

6. PERIOD OF CHANGE (cont.) • REFORMS DID NOT OCCUR BECAUSE THE PHILOSOPHY OF LAISSEZ-FAIRE (“LET ALONE”) PREVAILED.

7. LACK OF REFORM (cont.) • CONSEQUENCES WERE LOW WAGES, HORRIBLE WORKING CONDITIONS, LARGE-SCALE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN & CHILDREN IN BRUTALLY HARD OCCUPATIONS (SUCH AS COAL MINING).

8. LACK OF REFORM (cont.) • IN THE FACE OF TECHNOLOGICAL UN-EMPLOYMENT & POVERTY, WORK-ERS—WHO COULD NOT VOTE—HAD TO RESORT TO PROTESTS & RIOTS, INCURRING FURTHER REPRESSION. • BUT WHILE THE POOR SUFFERED, THE LEISURE CLASS PROSPERED.

9. PLIGHT OF WOMEN • WOMEN OF ALL CLASSES WERE RE-GARDED AS INFERIOR TO MEN, WERE UNDEREDUCATED, HAD LIMITED VO-CATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, WERE SUB-JECT TO A STRICT CODE OF SEXUAL BE-HAVIOR, AND HAD ALMOST NO LEGAL RIGHTS.

10. PLIGHT OF WOMEN (cont.) • IN SPITE OF THE ABOVE, THE CAUSE OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS WAS LARGELY IGNORED.

11. ROMANTICISM • TERM “ROMANTICISM” IS DIFFICULT TO DEFINE B/C OF THE VARIETY OF LITERARY ACHIEVEMENTS, AND WRITERS OF THE PERIOD WERE ONLY LATER LABELLED “ROMANTIC.”

12. ROMANTICISM (cont.) • BUT MANY HAD A SENSE OF “THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE”—THAT A GREAT RELEASE OF CREATIVE ENERGY WAS OCCURING AS ACCOMPANIMENT TO POLITICAL & SOCIAL REVOLUTION. IT WAS SEEN AS AN AGE OF NEW BEGIN-INGS & LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES.

13. POETIC THEORY & PRACTICE • WORDSWORTH TRIED TO ARTICULATE THE SPIRIT OF THE NEW POETRY IN THE PREFACE TO LYRICAL BALLADS (1800, 1802).

14. CONCEPT OF POETRY, THE POET • POETRY WAS SEEN AS THE “SPONTA-NEOUS OVERFLOW OF POWERFUL FEELINGS”; THE ESSENCE OF POETRY WAS THE MIND, EMOTIONS, & IMAGI-NATION OF THE POET (NOT THE OUTER WORLD).

15. POETRY & THE POET (cont.) • FIRST-PERSON LYRIC POEM BECAME THE MAJOR ROMANTIC LITERARY FORM, WITH “I” OFTEN REFERRING DIRECTLY TO THE POET. • THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF BE-CAME A MAJOR TOPIC OF ROMANTIC POETRY.

16. POETRY & THE POET (cont.) • POETS OFTEN SAW THEMSELVES AS PROPHETS IN A TIME OF CRISIS, REVIS-ING THE PROMISE OF DIVINE REDEMP-TION IN TERMS OF A “HEAVEN” ON EARTH.

17. POETIC SPONTANEITY, FREEDOM • INITIAL ACT OF POETIC COMPOSITION MUST ARISE FROM IMPULSE; BE FREE FROM THE RULES INHERITED FROM THE PAST; AND RELY ON INSTINCT, INTUITION, & FEELING.

18. NATURE • IMPORTANCE OF ACCURATE OBSERVA-TION & DESCRIPTION OF WILD NATURE, WHICH SERVES AS A STIMULUS TO THINKING & TO THE RESOLUTION OF PERSONAL PROBLEMS & CRISES.

19. NATURE (cont.) • LANDSCAPE WAS OFTEN GIVEN HU-MAN QUALITIES OR SEEN AS A SYS-TEM OF SYMBOLS REVEALING THE NATURE OF GOD. • CLOSENESS W/ NATURE WAS SEEN AS BRINGING OUT HUMANITY’S INNATE GOODNESS.

20. GLORIFICATION OF THE COMMON- PLACE • HUMBLE, RUSTIC SUBJECT MATTER & PLAIN STYLE BECAME THE PRINCIPAL SUBJECT & MEDIUM OF POETRY.

21. THE COMMONPLACE (cont.) • POETS SOUGHT TO REFRESH READERS’ SENSE OF WONDER ABOUT THE ORDI-NARY THINGS OF EXISTENCE, TO MAKE THE “OLD” WORLD SEEM NEW.

22. THE SUPERNATURAL & STRANGE • MANY ROMANTIC POEMS EXPLORE THE REALM OF MYSTERY & MAGIC; INCORPORATE MATERIALS FROM FOLKLORE, SUPERSTITION, ETC.; & ARE OFTEN SET IN DISTANT OR FARAWAY PLACES.

23. THE STRANGE (cont.) • RELATED TO THIS WAS A RENEWED INTEREST IN THE MIDDLE AGES (AND THE BALLAD FORM) AS A BEAUTIFUL, EXOTIC, MYSTERIOUS BYGONE ERA.

24. THE STRANGE (cont.) • THERE WAS ALSO GREAT INTEREST IN UNUSUAL MODES OF EXPERIENCE, SUCH AS VISIONARY STATES OF CONSCIOUS-NESS, HYPNOTISM, DREAMS, DRUG-INDUCED STATES, AND SO FORTH.

25. INDIVIDUALISM & STRIVING • HUMAN BEINGS WERE SEEN AS ESSEN-TIALLY NOBLE & GOOD (THOUGH COR-RUPTED BY SOCIETY), AND AS POSSESS-ING GREAT POWER & POTENTIAL THAT HAD FORMERLY BEEN ASCRIBED ONLY TO GOD.

26. INDIVIDUALISM (cont.) • THERE WAS A GREAT BELIEF IN DEMO- CRATIC IDEALS, CONCERN FOR HUMAN LIBERTY, & A GREAT OUTCRY AGAINST VARIOUS FORMS OF TYRANNY.

27. INDIVIDUALISM (cont.) • THE HUMAN MIND WAS SEEN AS CRE-ATING (AT LEAST IN PART) THE WORLD AROUND IT, AND AS HAVING ACCESS TO THE INFINITE VIA THE FACULTY OF IMAGINATION.

28. INDIVIDUALISM (cont.) • REFUSING TO ACCEPT LIMITATIONS, HUMAN BEINGS SET INFINITE, INAC-CESSIBLE GOALS, THUS MAKING FAIL-URE & IMPERFECTION GLORIOUS AC-COMPLISHMENTS.

29. INDIVIDUALISM (cont.) • THIS REFUSAL TO ACCEPT LIMITA-TIONS FOUND EXPRESSION IN BOLD POETIC EXPERIMENTATION.

30. INDIVIDUALISM (cont.) • MANY WRITERS DELIBERATELY ISO-LATED THEMSELVES FROM SOCIETY TO FOCUS ON THEIR INDIVIDUAL VISION. • THEME OF EXILE WAS COMMON, W/ THE ROMANTIC NON-CONFORMIST OFTEN SEEN AS A GREAT SINNER OR OUTLAW.