📘English Literature – 1670 to 1850 Unit 13 – Second-Gen Romantics: Byron, Shelley, Keats

Key Figures and Their Significance

• Lord Byron (1788-1824) was a prominent figure in the Romantic movement known for his flamboyant lifestyle, satirical works, and narrative poems like "Don Juan" and "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage"
• Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was a radical thinker and poet who wrote lyrical poems like "Ode to the West Wind" and "To a Skylark" as well as the political poem "The Masque of Anarchy"
  • Shelley's works often explored themes of beauty, love, and the power of the imagination
• John Keats (1795-1821) was a poet known for his sensuous imagery, odes, and sonnets like "Ode on a Grecian Urn," "Ode to a Nightingale," and "Bright Star"
  • Despite his short life, Keats made significant contributions to the Romantic movement with his emphasis on beauty and the senses
• Mary Shelley (1797-1851), wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley, was a novelist best known for her Gothic novel "Frankenstein" (1818)
  • "Frankenstein" explored themes of ambition, the dangers of unchecked scientific progress, and the human condition
• Leigh Hunt (1784-1859) was a poet, essayist, and critic who played a significant role in promoting and supporting the works of Keats and Shelley

Historical and Literary Context

• The Second Generation of Romantic poets emerged in the early 19th century, following the First Generation that included William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
• The period was marked by political upheaval, including the French Revolution (1789-1799) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815)
  • These events influenced the Romantic poets' interest in individual freedom, social reform, and the power of the imagination
• The Industrial Revolution was transforming British society, leading to rapid urbanization, social dislocation, and a growing middle class
• The Romantic movement emphasized emotion, imagination, and a connection with nature as a reaction against the rationalism and classicism of the Enlightenment
• The Second Generation of Romantic poets were influenced by earlier writers like Wordsworth, Coleridge, and William Blake, as well as philosophers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Edmund Burke

Major Themes and Motifs

• Nature and the sublime: The Romantic poets celebrated the beauty and power of the natural world, often using it as a source of inspiration and a means of exploring the human condition
  • Examples include Shelley's "Mont Blanc" and Keats's "To Autumn"
• Imagination and creativity: The Romantics emphasized the importance of the imagination as a means of transcending the limitations of the physical world and accessing higher truths
• Individualism and personal freedom: The poets celebrated the individual's right to self-expression and personal liberty, often challenging social and political conventions
• Love and beauty: Many of the Second Generation Romantic poets explored themes of love and beauty, both in the physical world and as abstract ideals
  • Examples include Keats's "La Belle Dame sans Merci" and Byron's "She Walks in Beauty"
• Mortality and the transience of life: The poets often grappled with the fleeting nature of human existence and the inevitability of death
  • This is evident in works like Keats's "When I have fears that I may cease to be" and Shelley's "Adonais"

Poetic Styles and Techniques

• Lyrical poetry: The Second Generation Romantics often wrote short, melodic poems that expressed personal emotions and experiences
  • Examples include Shelley's "To a Skylark" and Keats's "Ode to a Nightingale"
• Odes: A lyrical poem addressing a particular subject, often in an elevated style
  • Keats is particularly known for his odes, such as "Ode on a Grecian Urn" and "Ode to Psyche"
• Sonnets: A 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme, often used to explore themes of love and beauty
  • Examples include Keats's "Bright Star" and Shelley's "Ozymandias"
• Blank verse: Unrhymed iambic pentameter, used in longer narrative poems and dramatic works
  • Byron's "Manfred" and Shelley's "Prometheus Unbound" are written in blank verse
• Imagery and sensory detail: The poets used vivid, sensory language to create immersive and evocative descriptions of the natural world and human experiences

Notable Works and Analysis

• Lord Byron's "Don Juan" (1819-1824): A satirical epic poem that follows the adventures of a young man across Europe, critiquing social and political conventions
• Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Prometheus Unbound" (1820): A lyrical drama that retells the Greek myth of Prometheus, exploring themes of revolution, individual freedom, and the power of love
  • The work is considered a masterpiece of Romantic poetry and a reflection of Shelley's radical political views
• John Keats's "Ode on a Grecian Urn" (1819): A meditation on art, beauty, and the nature of truth, inspired by an ancient Greek vase
  • The poem explores the tension between the timelessness of art and the transience of human life
• Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" (1818): A Gothic novel that tells the story of a scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment
  • The novel raises questions about the responsibilities of creation, the nature of humanity, and the dangers of unchecked ambition

Influence on Later Literature

• The Romantic emphasis on emotion, imagination, and individualism had a lasting impact on literature, influencing movements like Transcendentalism and Symbolism
• The Gothic elements in Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" helped shape the development of horror and science fiction genres
• Keats's sensuous imagery and attention to beauty influenced the Aesthetic movement of the late 19th century, including poets like Oscar Wilde and Algernon Charles Swinburne
• Byron's brooding, rebellious hero archetype (the "Byronic hero") can be seen in later literary characters like Heathcliff in Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights" and Rochester in Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre"
• Shelley's radical politics and vision of social reform inspired later political poets like William Morris and W.B. Yeats

Critical Reception and Debates

• During their lifetimes, the Second Generation Romantics faced mixed critical reception, with some critics dismissing their work as immoral or overly emotional
  • Byron and Shelley, in particular, were controversial figures due to their unconventional lifestyles and radical political views
• In the Victorian era, the Romantics were often criticized for their perceived excesses and lack of moral purpose
  • However, some Victorian poets, like Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning, were influenced by the Romantic emphasis on emotion and individual experience
• In the 20th century, critical opinion shifted, with the Romantics increasingly seen as important figures in the development of English literature
  • New Critical approaches emphasized close reading and the aesthetic qualities of their poetry
• Recent criticism has focused on the political and social dimensions of Romantic poetry, exploring issues of gender, class, and imperialism
  • Some critics have also examined the Romantics' engagement with science, technology, and the environment

Legacy and Modern Relevance

• The Romantic emphasis on individualism, emotion, and imagination continues to shape our understanding of art and literature
• The Romantics' celebration of nature and critique of industrialization resonates with modern environmental concerns
  • Their works are often cited in discussions of ecology, sustainability, and the relationship between humans and the natural world
• The Romantic interest in the sublime and the irrational has influenced modern art movements like Surrealism and Expressionism
• Shelley's radical politics and vision of social reform continue to inspire political activists and artists
  • His works are often invoked in discussions of social justice, human rights, and the role of the artist in society
• Keats's idea of "negative capability," or the ability to embrace uncertainty and mystery, has been influential in modern literary criticism and theory
  • His emphasis on the senses and the immediacy of experience has also been seen as anticipating modernist and postmodernist aesthetics