Romantic Period

1. (1798-1870) Romantic Period Teacher: Mrs. Elliott Students: Lina, Sienna, & Anjali Course: ENG4U

2. The Romantic Period • - The romantic period is often referred to as • romanticism. • - Romanticism has very little to do with things • popularly thought as “romantic.” • - No other period in English literature displays more • variety in style, theme, and content than the • Romantic Movement. • - Romanticism can best be described as a large • network of sometimes competing philosophies, • agendas, and points of interest. • - Romanticism is soul searching and truth seeking by • way of feeling and vision.

3. Romanticism: a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement

4. Introduction • The Romantic Movement in literature began around the end of the 18th century in Western Europe and flourished in the first half of the 19th century.

5. Romanticism SKIP • Romanticism “is not exactly [found] in the choice of subjects nor in the exact truth, it is in the way of feeling […]If you say Romanticism, you say modern art – that is to say intimacy, spirituality, color, aspiration towards infinity expressed by all means that contain the arts”. – Charles Baudelaire

6. What Defines the Romantic Period? • The four basic elements that define Romanticism. • 1. The acknowledgment imagination and intuition as equal to reason. • 2. The belief that there are significant moments of experience, which cannot be comprehended by reason. • 3. The extreme importance of the individual, the subjective, and one’s personal truth. • 4. Rejects every rule that might inhibit the full expression of self, in a non-violent way. • Revolt of ideas and beliefs.

7. The Beginning • originated in the 18th century in Western Europe • was an intellectual movement that influenced many works of literature, music, painting, architecture etc. • was prepared by a literary transitional movement from Enlightenment, called pre-romanticism • it passed through different stages that were specific for the diverse regions of Europe

8. Principles of Romanticism: • Romanticism … • was a reaction against convention. • asserted the power of the individual. • reflected a deep appreciation of the beauties of nature. • emphasized the importance of the subjective experience. • was idealistic.

9. Emergence of Romanticism Romanticism brought on the feelings of “fulfillment.” Focused on emotion and individualism. Nature had a new found meaning it wasn’t just to define the environment, but used as metaphors for topics like love. French Revolution and the beginning of the attention on individuals and their quest for self fulfillment and human possibility.

10. Why this movement? • The Romantic Movement was partly a rebellion against the Enlightenment of the previous century and its focus on scientific and rational thought.

11. In order to fully address the Romantic period and its effect, it is essential to first identify its tie with the French Revolution. The French Revolution was all about the people vs. the monarchy. Again, with the introduction to knowledge – information provided by enlightened thinkers to the civilians on their impoverished situation (as well as the inefficient rule of King Louis the 16th) – caused an uprise, which would drastically change the face of Europe (later positioning it as a supreme power under the rule of Napoléon Bonaparte, a military turned Emperor).

12. Just as the Scientific Revolution paved the way for the Enlightenment … …Enlightenment ideas paved the way for the French Revolution.

13. Basically, it is simply a chain of reaction which could also be viewed as a ‘domino effect’“for every force reaction there is an equal in the opposite direction” – Issac Newton (part of the Scientific Revolution).

14. In response, the romantic vision had taken forms other than political – developing apace. • For example, in Lyrical Ballads, which was a watershed in literary history (1798 and 1800) – presented and illustrated a liberating aesthetic: William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge claimed that “poetry should express, in genuine language, experience as filtered through personal emotion and imagination; the truest experience was to be found in nature.” Wordsworth's romanticism is probably most fully realized in his great autobiographical poem, "The Prelude" (1805–50).

15. Romantic poets • In Prometheus Unbound (1820), Percy Bysshe Shelley combines soaring lyricism with an apocalyptic political vision producing extreme effects. His wife, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, wrote the greatest of the Gothic romances, Frankenstein (1818) – which is widely mentioned even in this day and era. • Lord Byron designed his romantic lyric with a rationalist irony and was also often associated with his own characters – particularly the ‘rebellious, irreverent, erotically’ inclined Don Juan.  • Moreover, this era also included poets such as Robert Southey—best-remembered today for his story "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"—Leigh Hunt, Thomas Moore, and Walter Savage Landor.

16. Expansion of Romancism • Romantic literature has touched many areas of Europe, beginning with Germany, followed by Britain, the United States, France, as well as, parts of Eastern Europe; involving Russia and Poland.

17. The American and French Revolutions in the late 18th century added to the popularity of such romantic ideals as freedom, liberty, and national pride. • Germany is where some of the earliest examples of Romantic literature emerged. In fact, the most important literary figure of the period was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Goethe used myth and local folklore as subjects for his poetry and helped inspire a sense of German nationalism in the decades before a unified Germany.

18. Romanticism dominated English literature throughout the 19th century and amongst these notable Romantic poets from Britain, includes: William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Blake, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats. Some well known Romantic novels examples popular in 19th century Britain are Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights (1847), and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre (1847) – which exploited such emotions as fear and romantic love.

19. Romanticism also influenced the literature of other countries, such as in France. The novels of Victor Hugo and Stendhal showed some Romantic influence, but they are more often characterized as part of the Realist movement. • In Eastern Europe, Russian writers Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov, as well as Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz, were among the practitioners of the Romantic Movement.

20. Although there are many styles and genres of the Romantic Period, the ones that I found were very prominent while researching were Individualism, Nature and Imagination. The poets of this era often used these 3 themes throughout their writing.

21. Individualism – the concern focused on the individual rather than society. Romantics see the individual as important and unique. • Nature – The Romantics are often called nature poets. The Romantics praise experiences of the beauty and majesty of nature. • Imagination – Romantic poets had their own special view of the creative power of the imagination and of the ways in which the human mind is adapted to nature. A majority of romantic novels favor imagination over rational, real story telling.

22. Different types of Romanticism Historical Considerations Imagination Nature Symbolism and Myth Emotion, Lyric Poetry, and the Self Contrasts With Neoclassicism Individualism: The Romantic Hero The Everyday and the Exotic

23. Romanticism

24. Origins • According to sources, the Romantic Period was a direct reaction to the French Revolution. [Personal Opinion] • Historically speaking, the Romantic Period (1798-1870) actually emanated from the Reformation period (a movement which shortly followed the Renaissance period). Why? Because, if it would not have been for the Reformation period … Baroque style would have never been born. As well, Key individuals (ranging from scientists to renown philosophers) would have never brought this much impact in history. • The Renaissance was an evolution (which ‘recaptured’ the essence of Ancient Greece and Romans in order to ‘improve’ or attempt to perfect certain concepts). Whilst, the Reformation on the other hand, was a true Revolution (“it exploded on the scene” – Mr.Panneta, Grade 12 History teacher) and created new ideals in terms of life-style.

25. Romanticism & Art Liberty Guiding the People, 1830 (Sample of Romantic Era ART)

26. The place of the individual in the Romantic world view is one of the chief elements that distinguish romanticism from neo-classicism. It is portraying the break away from classicism, the philosophical revolt against realism. • (Ideas of time……)

27. The Industrial Revolution • The industrial Revolution was a period of time where the agriculture, textile and metal manufacture, transportation, economic policies and the social structure of England developed rapidly. • (Historical Context) • The Industrial Revolution in England wasbased on the rapid development of science during the scientific revolution in the 18th century, which led to new technologies such as steam engines; railways and iron working that became the basis of the industrial revolution. • (Historical Context)

28. Historical Context of the time period: • - Direct reaction against a variety of ideas and historical happenings in the 1700s • - The revolutions were at the very core of Romanticism • - Newfound feelings of liberty, expression of oneself, and freedom • - Escape from modern realities

29. How did ideas of the time shape the writing? How did the writing influence people? • - Romanticism was preceded by the philosophy of neo-classicism • - Focusing on individualism, imagination, etc.. • - Philosophical revolt against rationalism • - Pulled away from industrialization • - Injection of their emotions and feelings and passions.

30. “True change takes place in the imagination.”– Thomas Moore

31. Romanticism & Art [Dido Building Carthage; or The Rise of the Carthaginian Empire, 1815] Sample of Romantic Era ART

32. “True change takes place in the imagination.”– Thomas Moore

33. Values and Beliefs "a journey away from the corruption of civilization and the limits of rational thought and toward the integrity of nature and the freedom of the imagination."– the American Romanticism period "Science is a vulture, with wings of dull realities." -Edgar Allan Poe

34. Romantic Literature • Romantic literature is characterized by an emphasis on emotion, passion, and the natural world.

35. Romantic Period Authors To name a few: • Edmund Burke (1729-1797), • Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), • George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824), • William Blake (1757-1827), • Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), • Thomas Paine(1737-1809), • William Wordsworth(1770-1850), • John Keats (1795-1821), • Dorothy Wordsworth (1771-1855), • and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

36. FIRST GENERATION • WILLIAM WORDSWORTH • SAMUEL T. COLERIDGE • WILLIAM BLAKE Romantic Poets

37. William Blake Blake’s life was spent in rebellion and the restrictive influences of institutions such as government and the church. Blake was aware of the negative effects of the rapidly developing industrial and commercial society.

38. “To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour.” • Auguries of Innocence • William Blake

39. The Lamb and The Tyger Blake wrote two books: “ Songs of Innocence”and “Songs of Experience”. In “The Lamb” from the Songs of Innocence Blake presented with an image of a gentle, benevolent, loving God. In “The Tyger” from Songs of Experience, God is vindictive and terrifying.

40. William Wordsworth • William Wordsworth publication of Lyrical Ballads and a Few Other Poems(1798) were identified as the beginning of the English Romantic Movement.

41. The dominant theme of Lyrical Ballads was Nature, specifically the power of Nature to create strong impressions in the mind and imagination. The voice in Wordsworth’s poetry is observant, meditative and aware of the connection between living things and objects. There is the sense that past, present, and future all mix together in the human consciousness.

42. William Wordsworth William Wordsworth’s poetry emphasies the value of childhood experience an the celebration of nature. He glorifies the spirit of man, living in armony with his natural environment, far from the spiritually bankrupt city. Him being pantheistic identified the nature with god.

43. About William Wordsworth Was born in 1770 , in Cockermouth, Cumbria Wordsworth's earliest poetry was published in 1793 in the collections An Evening Walk and Descriptive Sketches. Wordsworth's most famous work, The Prelude (1850), . Other Poems & Stories By William An Evening Walk (1793)Descriptive Sketches (1793)Borders (1795)Lines Written Above Tintern Abbey (1798)Lyrical Ballads (1798)Upon Westminster Bridge (1801)Intimations of Immortality (1806)Miscellaneous Sonnets (1807)Poems I-II (1807)The Excursion (1814)The White Doe of Rylstone (1815)

44. Wordsworth is best known as a nature poet who found beauty, comfort and moral strength in the natural world. If he were alive today he would probably be a member of an organisation that campaigns to protect the evironment. For him the World of nature is free from corruption and stress, and offers man a means of escape from industrialised society.

45. For Wordsworth, good poetry was “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” And such poetry should use simple, unadorned language to deal with commonplace subjectsfor a particular purpose. The form is often a lyric that lends itself to spontaneity, immediacy, a quick burst of emotion, and self-revelation.

46. An excerpt of The Mad Mother by William Wordsworth • “Her eyes are wild, her head is bare,The sun has burnt her coal-black hair,Her eye-brows have a rusty stain,And she came far from over the main.She has a baby on her arm,Or else she were alone;And underneath the hay-stack warm,And on the green-wood stone,She talked and sung the woods among;And it was in the English tongue. • "Sweet babe! they say that I am mad,But nay, my heart is far too glad;And I am happy when I singFull many a sad and doleful thing:Then, lovely baby, do not fear!I pray thee have no fear of me,But, safe as in a cradle, hereMy lovely baby! thou shalt be,To thee I know too much I owe;I cannot work thee any woe.....”

47. Samuel T. Coleridge Coleridge’s poetry often deals with the mysterious, the supernatural and the extraordinary. While Wordsworth looked for the spiritual in everyday subjects, Coleridge wanted to give the supernatural a colouring of everyday reality.

48. SECOND GENERATION • PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY • GEORGE BYRON • JOHN KEATS Romantic Poets

49. George Byron Byron was the prototype of the Romantic poet. He was heavily involved with contemporary social issues. He like the heroes of his long narrative poems, was a melancholy and solitary figure whose actions often defiend social convections.

50. Percy Bysshe Shelley Shelley was the most revoluctionary and non-conformist of the Romantic poet. He was an individualist and idealist who rejected the istitutions of, family,church, marriage and the Christian faith and rebelled against all forms of tyranny.