romantics 1798 – 1837. romantic revolution romantic age age of poetry

ROMANTICS

1798 – 1837

Romantic Revolution

Romantic Age Age of Poetry

Romantic Revolution


begins with the French Revolution

(Storming of the Bastille – 1789)

Romantic Revolution


In its first phase

nearly all Romantic poets were in favour of it

Romantic Revolution


William Blake – William Wordsworth –

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

were enthusiastic supporters.

Romantic Revolution


The bloody excesses of the “Reign of Terror” + imperialist tendencies of Napoleon cooled down

their enthusiasm, but the belief in the values expressed by the French Revolution remained.

REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT


Sense that a new era had begun:


Sense that a new era had begun: Connection between Poetry &

Revolution


Sense that a new era had begun: Connection between Poetry &

Revolution Democratic poems on simple people

using simple language

(no poetic diction)

Revolutionary Spirit

It took various forms:•

Revolutionary Spirit

It took various forms:

• Political social revolution in America & France

Revolutionary SpiritIt took various forms:

•

• Ideological revolution against all forms of authority neglecting

human dignity & free choice

Criticism of the social results of the Industrial Revolution


•

• Revolt against traditional Churches


•

• Revolt against classical restraints (liberation of the

subconscious)


•

• Artistic revolution against neo-classical rules free expression of personal feelings

Neo-classical vs. Romantic

Static vision Dynamic vision


Static vision Conservatism

Dynamic vision Revolution


Static vision Conservatism Uniformity

Dynamic vision Revolution Diversity


Static vision Conservatism Uniformity Rationality

Dynamic vision Revolution Diversity Feeling


Static vision Conservatism Uniformity Rationality

Dynamic vision Revolution Diversity Sentiment

God is in Nature – not above Nature Pantheistic view

Augustan vs Romantic writers:


Stressed man’s rational side (reason)

Emphasized imagination & emotion (heart)


Were concerned with the general / universal in experience

(objectivity)

Were concerned with the subjective and particular

(subjectivity)


Asserted the values of society

(Conservatism

- static vision)

Championed the value of the individual

Strove for freedom (Revolutionarism

- dynamic vision)


Took inspiration from classical Greek/Romans

Took interest in medieval subjects + contemporary issues


Used artificial language (poetic diction)

Used ordinary language

Reason vs. Heart

Reason vs. Heart

Supremacy of reason Rationalism

/Enlightenment

Emotions Sensibility

Reason vs. Heart


/Enlightenment Balance with nature Suppression of

feelings – self-control

Emotions Sensibility Introspection –

“Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”

Reason vs. Heart


/Enlightenment Balance with nature Suppression of

feelings – self-control Belief in Knowledge &

Progress Objectivity - Realism

Emotions Sensibility Introspection Growing interest in

humble & everyday life Escape - Countryside vs.

City Subjectivity - Imagination

Romanticism

Emphasis on Feelings versus Intellect

Romanticism

Feelings versus IntellectFeelings such as loneliness & melancholy

capable of stirring man’s best emotions

German Origins

Sturm und Drang (Goethe – Schiller)

German Origins

Sturm und Drang (Goethe – Schiller)

Open revolt against Classicism

Two Generations of Romantics

1st Generation

2nd Generation


1st Generation

William Blake

2nd Generation


1st Generation

William Blake William Wordsworth

2nd Generation


1st Generation

William Blake William Wordsworth Samuel Taylor

Coleridge

2nd Generation


1st Generation


Coleridge

2nd Generation

George Gordon Byron


1st Generation


Coleridge

2nd Generation

George Gordon Byron Percy Bysshe Shelley


1st Generation


Coleridge

2nd Generation

George Gordon Byron Percy Bysshe Shelley John Keats

Poetic Form

Poetry to express personal feelings Introspection

Poetic Form


Romantics discovered reality/truth to be subjective

Poetic Form



1st-person lyric (formerly reguarded as a minor genre)

Poetic Form



1st-person lyric (formerly reguarded as a minor genre)

Individualism in the I-form

Romantics failed in social / political / economic life

They felt isolated from the rest of society and chose:



RETIREMENT in nature

(Wordsworth – Coleridge “The

Lake Poets”)




(Wordsworth – Coleridge “The Lake Poets”)

EXILE

Byron was banished because

of sexual scandals; Shelley for atheism

& socialism




(Wordsworth – Coleridge “The Lake Poets”)

EXILE

Byron was banished because of sexual scandals; Shelley

for atheism & socialism

REVOLT

against the establishment

(Blake suffered

imprisonment)

Romantics looked for escape


in Nature


in Nature in exotic lands



In history & folklore (Middle Ages – Scotland)



In history & folklore (Middle Ages – Scotland)Beyond reality (supernatural – magic –

hallucinated states of mind induced by drugs)

Romantic myths

Desire to reach for the infinitive

Romantic myths

Desire to reach for the infinitive To exceed human limits

Romantic myths

Desire to reach for the infinitive To exceed human limits The Myth of the Outlaw:

Satan, Cain, Prometheus, Faustus, Napoleon as a tyrant

Poet as a Prophet

Poet as a Prophet

Romantic poets felt they were striving for something unattainable

Poet as a Prophet


They knew they were destined to fail

Poet as a Prophet


They were destined to fail Their task was to talk to other men

about what they could see

Poet as a Prophet


They were destined to fail Their task was to talk to other men about

what they could see To awaken the common man from

his death-like existence

Poet as a Prophet


They were destined to fail Their task was to talk to other men about what they

could see To awaken the common man from his death-like

existence To help realize the potential of human

mind through the healing qualities of Nature

Role of Imaginationas opposed to fantasy/fancy

Connected to the universe


Connected to the universe Central point of the creating process


Connected to the universe Central point of the creating process Interaction between physical world &

human mind



human mind Human/divine – mortality/eternity



human mind Human/divine – mortality/eternity Emotions felt Poetry written

“Whole Nature is Imagination”

William Blake

Man should learn to see:“A World in a Grain of Sand,

a Heaven in a Wild FlowerHold Infinity in the palm of his hand

Eternity in an Hour”

William Blake

Romantic Themes:

Romantic Themes:

Love for Nature

Romantic Themes:

Love for Nature

Feeling higher than

reason

Romantic Themes:

Love for Nature

Feeling higher than

reason

Glorification of

commonplace

Romantic Themes:

Love for Nature

Feeling higher than

reason

Glorification of

commonplace

Interest in the supernatural /

magic

Romantic Themes:

Love for Nature

Feeling higher than

reason

Glorification of

commonplace

Interest in the supernatural /

magic

“Dark”

satanic hero

Concept of NATURE

NATURE

Not simply a description of physical nature

NATURE


Nature is endowed with life, passion

NATURE


Nature is endowed with life, passion Nature is talked of as if God were a

dearest friend

NATURE


Nature is endowed with life, passion Nature is talked of as if God were a

dearest friend Romantic description of places

thoughts about man & universe

Love for the countryside

The desolate, ruins, graveyards, ancient castles, abbeys

NATURE as opposed to industrial towns

Love for the countryside

The desolate, ruins, graveyards, ancient castles, abbeys

NATURE as opposed to industrial towns

Ideal place for meditation

MELANCHOLY associated with MEDITATION on the suffering of the POOR and DEATH

COMMONPLACE

COMMONPLACE

Simple scenes to reveal the “ordinary” in its splendour

COMMONPLACE


To make us see familiar things as they are

COMMONPLACE



To see with the eyes of a child

COMMONPLACE



To see with the eyes of a child Use of simple language

New aesthetic theory


Nature is perceived as a real living being


Nature is perceived as a real living being Value of sensibility


Nature is perceived as a real living being Value of sensibility Variety of individual RESPONSES to

SENSATIONS


Nature is perceived as a real living being Value of sensibility Variety of individual RESPONSES to

SENSATIONS Individual consciousness

SUBJECTIVITY (David Hume: Subjective Beauty – Edmund Burke: Supremacy of the SUBLIME over the BEAUTIFUL

CONCEPT of the SUBLIMEEdmund Burke

What is beauty?

CONCEPT of the SUBLIMEE. Burke

What is sublime?


Flowerbeds are beautiful…


Daylight is beautiful …


Daylight is beautiful because it can be contemplated


The eruption of a volcano is sublime


The eruption of a volcano is sublime A storm is sublime


The eruption of a volcano is sublime A storm at sea is sublime An abyss is sublime


The eruption of a volcano is sublime A storm at sea is sublime An abyss is sublime The obscurity of the night is sublime

because…


the sublime arouses emotions such as: Uncertainty Anxiety Anguish Astonishment Admiration, reverence, respect

BURKE’s conclusion is that…


the great and the sublime are more effective than beauty in art because they arouse:


the great and the sublime are more effective than beauty in art because they arouse:

HORROR & FEAR ….by suspending man’s faculty of reason

SUPERNATURAL - MAGIC


Universe could reveal itself to man in apparent (nature) or invisible (supernatural)



Dreams – nightmares – visions – the occult were cultivated by the Romantics



Dreams – nightmares – visions – the occult were cultivated by the Romantics

Coleridge explored distorted states of consciousness brought on by drugs such as opium (Kubla Khan)

SATANIC HERO

Fascination for the negative / the forbidden

Glorious failure haunted by remorse (Faustus)

Solitary heroes / exiles as if they had committed crimes (Byron)

Thank you for your attention.

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