📖British Literature II Unit 2 – Romantic Poetry: Wordsworth & Co.

Key Figures and Their Works

• William Wordsworth (1770-1850) considered one of the pioneers of English Romantic poetry known for works such as "Tintern Abbey," "Ode: Intimations of Immortality," and "The Prelude"
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) collaborated with Wordsworth on the groundbreaking collection "Lyrical Ballads" and authored poems like "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "Kubla Khan"
• Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) known for his lyrical poetry and political activism wrote "Ode to the West Wind," "To a Skylark," and the epic "Prometheus Unbound"
• John Keats (1795-1821) despite his short life produced enduring works such as "Ode to a Nightingale," "Ode on a Grecian Urn," and "To Autumn"
  • Keats' poetry is characterized by sensuous imagery, vivid descriptions of nature, and a preoccupation with beauty and mortality
• William Blake (1757-1827) an artist and poet who created illuminated books like "Songs of Innocence and of Experience" and "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell"
• Lord Byron (1788-1824) known for his flamboyant lifestyle and works such as "Don Juan," "She Walks in Beauty," and "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage"
• Mary Shelley (1797-1851) authored the gothic novel "Frankenstein" which explores themes of ambition, science, and the human condition

Historical and Literary Context

• The Romantic era in English literature roughly spanned from the late 18th century to the mid-19th century (1780s-1830s)
• Romanticism emerged as a reaction against the Age of Enlightenment's emphasis on reason, order, and scientific rationality
• The French Revolution (1789-1799) and its ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity influenced many Romantic writers
• The Industrial Revolution led to rapid urbanization, social upheaval, and a growing sense of alienation from nature
• Romantic poets sought to celebrate the individual imagination, emotions, and the beauty of the natural world
• The Romantic movement valued subjectivity, spontaneity, and the exploration of the self
• Romanticism coincided with the rise of the novel as a literary form, exemplified by works like Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" (1813) and Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" (1818)

Themes and Motifs

• Nature as a source of inspiration, solace, and spiritual renewal
  • Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey" reflects on the restorative power of nature and its ability to evoke memories and emotions
• The individual imagination as a creative force capable of transcending reality
• The celebration of childhood innocence and the idea of the "noble savage" uncorrupted by society
• The exploration of the sublime, or the awe-inspiring and sometimes terrifying aspects of nature (vast oceans, towering mountains)
• The quest for personal freedom and liberation from social and political constraints
• The glorification of the poet as a visionary and prophet-like figure
• The use of mythology, folklore, and the supernatural to explore deeper truths and universal human experiences
• The tension between the real and the ideal, the physical and the spiritual

Poetic Techniques and Style

• The use of vivid sensory imagery to convey emotions and experiences
  • Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale" employs lush descriptions of the natural world to evoke a sense of beauty and melancholy
• The incorporation of natural speech patterns and a more accessible, vernacular language
• The use of blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) to create a sense of fluidity and naturalness
• The employment of enjambment (the continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break) to create a sense of forward momentum
• The use of personification to imbue natural elements with human qualities and emotions
• The incorporation of symbols and metaphors to convey complex ideas and emotions
• The experimentation with poetic forms, such as the ode, sonnet, and lyrical ballad
• The use of sound devices, such as alliteration, assonance, and onomatopoeia, to create musical and evocative language

Nature and the Sublime

• Nature is a central theme in Romantic poetry, often portrayed as a source of beauty, inspiration, and spiritual truth
• Romantic poets sought to convey the sublime, or the sense of awe and terror inspired by the vastness and power of nature
  • Shelley's "Mont Blanc" captures the sublime majesty of the Swiss Alps and the poet's own sense of insignificance in the face of nature's grandeur
• The natural world is often depicted as a refuge from the corrupting influences of society and a means of achieving spiritual transcendence
• Romantic poets celebrated the beauty and simplicity of rural life, in contrast to the grit and chaos of the rapidly industrializing cities
• The changing seasons and the cycle of life and death in nature were used as metaphors for human experience and the passage of time
• The Romantic fascination with the sublime extended to other awe-inspiring phenomena, such as violent storms, erupting volcanoes, and the vastness of the ocean
• The Romantic view of nature as a living, sentient force capable of shaping human emotions and experiences

Influence on Later Literature

• The Romantic emphasis on individualism, emotion, and the imagination had a profound impact on later literary movements, such as Transcendentalism and Symbolism
• The Romantic celebration of nature and the sublime influenced the work of American writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman
• The Romantic fascination with the gothic and the supernatural paved the way for the development of horror and fantasy literature in the 19th and 20th centuries
• The Romantic ideal of the poet as a visionary and prophet-like figure influenced the work of later poets, such as William Butler Yeats and T.S. Eliot
• The Romantic emphasis on subjectivity and the exploration of the self-anticipated the modernist focus on stream-of-consciousness narratives and the interior lives of characters
• The Romantic interest in folklore, mythology, and the medieval past inspired the works of fantasy writers like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis
• The Romantic critique of industrialization and the celebration of nature anticipated the environmental and ecological concerns of later writers

Critical Reception and Interpretation

• Romantic poetry initially faced criticism for its departure from the formal rules and conventions of 18th-century neoclassical poetry
• Some critics viewed Romantic poetry as overly emotional, self-indulgent, and lacking in structure and discipline
• The Romantic emphasis on individualism and subjectivity was seen by some as a threat to social order and stability
• Later critics have praised Romantic poetry for its originality, its emotional depth, and its exploration of the human condition
• Feminist critics have examined the ways in which Romantic poets both reinforced and challenged traditional gender roles and stereotypes
• Psychoanalytic critics have explored the psychological dimensions of Romantic poetry, focusing on themes of desire, repression, and the unconscious
• Ecocritics have studied the Romantic view of nature and its relevance to contemporary environmental concerns
• Postcolonial critics have examined the ways in which Romantic poetry both reflected and challenged the colonial ideologies of its time

Recommended Readings and Resources

• "The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Romantic Period," edited by Stephen Greenblatt, provides a comprehensive collection of Romantic poetry and prose
• "Romanticism: An Anthology," edited by Duncan Wu, offers a wide-ranging selection of Romantic literature, including lesser-known works and authors
• "The Cambridge Companion to British Romantic Poetry," edited by James Chandler and Maureen N. McLane, provides a series of essays on key themes, authors, and contexts of Romantic poetry
• "Romantic Poetry: An Annotated Anthology," edited by Michael O'Neill and Charles Mahoney, includes detailed annotations and contextual information for major Romantic poems
• "The Romantic Imagination," by Maurice Bowra, is a classic study of the Romantic conception of the imagination and its role in poetic creation
• "Romanticism and the Self-Conscious Poem," by Michael O'Neill, explores the ways in which Romantic poets reflected on the nature and purpose of their own art
• "The Romantic Sublime," by Thomas Weiskel, is a influential study of the Romantic fascination with the sublime and its psychological and philosophical implications
• "Romanticism: A Very Short Introduction," by Michael Ferber, provides a concise and accessible overview of the key themes and figures of the Romantic movement