Paper 5 Assignment General estimate of The Romantic Age

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Name : Dharma J. Gohel

MA : Sem-2

Roll No : 08

Enrollment No : 2069108420180014

BATCH : 2017-19

Email ID : dharmagohel71@gmail.com

Submitted : Smt. S.B. Gardi Department of English, MKBU

Paper-5 : The Romantic Literature

Topic : General estimate of The Romantic Age

⧬  Romantic age:- (1800-1850) :

Features of romantic age:- the romantic movement was a strong reaction against the Neo-classical rules and customs. A basic impulse of the romantics was to escape from 18nth century. The Neo-classicists were champions of common sense and reason. They rigorously suppressed whims and eccentricities of individual genius. They valued good sense, intellect, reason, and dry logicism, restraint, harmony and proportion. On the other hand romantic poet recognized the claims of passion, emotion and the sense of mystery in life. They replaced the critical by creative spirit and wit by humor and pathos. The attitude of the most of the romantics was against the intellectualism of the neo classical poets. The romantic poetry was revolt against the traditional poetic measure ‘heroic couplet’ and the 18nth century poetic diction. They made use of several meters such as Spenserian stanza and the blank verse instead of using the closed couplet loose and flowing. They also wrote lyrics, odes, sonnets, elegy etc.

Romanticism is the expression in terms of art of sharpened sensibilities and heightened imaginative feelings. Emotions and imagination are bedrock of romanticism. The romantics take us to far off place in the middle ages and introduce the readers a world of strangeness and beauty. Further qualities of romanticism are a subtle sense of mystery, an exuberant intellectual curiosity and instinct for the elemental simplicities of life. The beauty loved by classists is based on order and symmetry in everyday life, whereas the haunt of the romantic beauty generally comprises old ruins, the relics of the past, the gothic palace or castle with mysterious corridor arouse thrill of horror (Keats’s Hellenism) romanticism stands for freedom and liberty, and has therefore designated as ‘ liberalism in literature’ freedom from all kinds of bondage of rules and regulations, and leaves its pursuers in free delights, of their romantic fancy.

Poetry in the 18nth century was essentially poetry of town life concerned with clubs and coffee houses. in the poetry of romantic revival, the interest of poet was transferred from town to country life and from the artificial drawing rooms to the natural beauty and loveliness of nature. Romantic poet started taking interest in the lives of the common people the shepherds and the cottagers. A feeling of humanitarianism covered poetry words worth, Shelley and Byron. In romantic poetry emphasis laid on liberty and freedom of the individual. In the poetry of his age we have a note of rebellion and a crusade against effete conventions and worn out traditions. Freedom is the breath in which the romantic poets breathed freely.

In many ways romantic poetry proved to be the poetry of escape from the sorrow and suffering of mundane life of their times to the middle ages where they found enough beauty and joy to feed the waning flame of their souls. Supernaturalism is another outstanding quality of romantic age. Subjectivity can be also marked in the poetry of this age. The poets of this period were in favor of giving subjective interpretation to the objective realities of life.

Difference between classicism and romanticism :

Ø Formalism liberalism



Ø Age of reason age of imagination



Ø Court life country life



Ø Human nature nature/pastoral



Ø Upheld tradition/classic individual inspiration

→ Influence of French revolution:—

The French revolution began in 1789 and lasted until 1799. There are many social and political reasons behind it. Financial crises, economical disparity and persecution of the rulers are some causes of the French revolution, which was a revolt against feudal dynasty. French revolution brings liberty, equality and fraternity and greatly inspired people all over Europe . The poets like William Black, William Wordsworth, P.B. Shelley, Lord Byron and other romantic poets are highly influenced by French revolution. The ideals that were proclaimed and practiced by revolutionists were the ideals in which Wordsworth has been reared and brought up. Wordsworth heartily hailed the French revolution and wrote eulogistically about it in “Prelude”:

“Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive but to be young was heaven”

revolution after his first visit to France. But in his second visit in 1791, he was deeply moved by the sight of misery and suffering among the French people. The poet was enraged when England declared war on France . Nature gave him comfort . Bloodsheds and Violence of later half of revolution changed mind and philosophy of many poets .William Black has described his feeling in his poem “London”.

ӿ Poet of Romantic age was also influenced by the philosophy and political theories described in the book “Political Justice” by William Godbin.

ӿ Some magazines are much popular in those days. They are the Edinburgh review, The quarterly , review, Blackwood’s magazine, The London magazine…..

→Romantic Poetry:—

ӿ William Wordsworth: (1770––1850)

He was mayor English romantic poet who with Samuel Taylor Coleridge helped to launch the Romantic Age in English Literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads . He is famous as nature poet , his poems about childhood and philosophical ideas made him genius of the Century . He was among the lake poets and poet lauriate.

• Works:

→ Lyrical Ballads



→ The Prelude



→ The Excursion

• Famous poems:

Ode on Intimation and Immortality,

Resolution and Independence,

The solitary reaper etc…….

ӿ S. T. Coleridge: (1792–1822) :

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was one of the Major English romantic poets. Coleridge had crippling bouts of anxiety and depression; it has been speculated that he had bipolar disorder, which had not been defined during his lifetime. He was treated for these conditions with laudanum, which fostered a lifelong opium addiction.

• Works:-

-  Biographia literaria

- The Rime of Ancient Mariner

- Kubla Khan

- Christabel

ӿ John Keats : (1795– 1821) :

Was an English Romantic poet. He was one of main figures of the second generation of romantic poets along with Lord Byron and P. B. Shelley. The poetry of keats is characterized by sensual imagery, most notably in the series of odes.

• Works:

– Emdymion



– Isabella or the pot of Basil



– Hyperion



– Lamia and many odes…..

ӿ Robert Southey :( 1774 – 1843) :

Was an English poet of the romantic school .one of the so-called “Lake poets “. Southey was also a prolific letter writer, literary scholar, essay writer, historian and biographer. His biographies include the life and works of John Bungan, John Nelson.

• Works:

– Joan of Arc



– The karse of kehama Roadrick



– The last of the Goths



– Thalaba



→ Prose Writers / Essayist:—



• Charles Lamb:



He was known as prince of English essayist.



Works: 

Jale from Shakespeare


The adventures of Ulysses


Essays of Elia.



• William Hazlitt :



Table 


Talk 


Round table 


The Indian Jugglers



• Thomas De Quincey :



– Autobiographical Sketches



– Confessions of an English opium eater



– On Murder considered as one of the fine arts.



– Suspiria De profundie









→ Novelists:



ӿ Jane Austen: (1775 – 1817) :

Was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels which interpret , critique and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18nth Century Austen’ s plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favorable social standing and economic security.

• Works:

– Sense and Sensibility

– Pride and prejudice

– Northanger Abbey

– Mansfield park

– Emma

– Persuation


• Walter Scott:

Talisman, The heart of Midlothian old Mortality, Waverly……

Historical novels his novels are famous as ‘Waverly’ from the name of his first novel.