English Romanticism Presented by Teodor Zarkov

The Age of Independence

Major Characteristics of Romanticism:

• Abiding trust in nature’s goodness• Emotions and Instincts more important than reason• Glorification of "The Natural Man" – the "noble savage" – the

primitive and untutored personality • Equality of people– social and economic classes disparaged • A premium on detail – detail is the pathway to truth• Ultimate truth• Art served an exalted purpose• Subjectivity

Romantic Theatre Practice

• Poets turned their hand to writing plays

• Romantic Plays tended to appeal to emotions rather than intellect

• Audience size increased

• Many special effects, Natural settings and Details

Actors During the Romantic Period

• John Phillip Kemble , and Mrs. Sarah Siddons, his sister – their acting was idealized – with grace, dignity, a "classical style

• Edmund Kean– considered to have "perfected" the romantic style

• William Charles Macready– a compromise between the Kembles and Kean – careful rehearsals, detailed characterizations

• Tyrone Power– did comic Irish portrayals. – a comic actor• Henry Irving– the first English actor to be knighted • Edwin Booth–famous for interpretations of Shakespearean

roles

George Gordon Byron(1788-1824)

The Byronic Hero• having great talent • exhibiting great passion • having a distaste for society and social institutions • expressing a lack of respect for rank and privilege • thwarted in love by social constraint or death • rebelling • suffering exile • hiding an unsavoury past • ultimately, acting in a self-destructive manner

Major Works

• Manfred (1817)• Cain (1821)• Marino Faliero (1821)• Sardanapalus (1821)• The Two Foscari (1821)• Heaven and Earth (1823)• Don Juan (1819–24)

Manfred and the Alpine Witch

Percy Bysshe Shelley(1792-1822)

Major Works

• Prometheus Unbound, 1820• Hellas (1822)• The Cloud• To a Skylark• Ode to the West Wind• Adonais (1821)• Alastor (1816)• The Indian Serenade• When the Lamp Is Shattered• Ozymandias • The Cenci

References

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Bysshe_Shelley

• http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/romanticism.htm

• http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/rom.html

• http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-200348

• http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-200351