Introduction of The Romantic Age.
Prepared by: Dhaval Diyora
Roll No: 05
Paper – 5: The Romantic Literature
M.A (English): Sem -2
Enrollment No: 2069108420190013
Batch: 2018-20
Email: d.d.diyora@gmail.com
Submitted to: Smt .S. B Gardi, Department of English,
MK Bhavnagar University.
Topic: Introduction of The Romantic Age.
The Romantic Age
Introduction:
It is generally believed that the English Romantic Movement began in 1798, with the publication of the Lyrical Ballads. However, it is a mistake to assign any definite date to it. It was not a sudden outburst but the result of long and gradual growth and development. The poets of the romantic school like Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, and others were not the first romantics of England because the Elizabethan literature is essentially romantic in spirit It was also full of wonderful mystery. love of adventure, curiosity. and restlessness which we associate with the poets of the early 19th century
The Romantic Revival or Romanticism:
The Romantic Revival or Romanticism is a name given to a movement in European literature that spread in the last quarter of the 18th century. It was a revolt against classicism. It was a revolt that produced the romance of Scott and the poems of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, and Byron.
Definition of the term 'Romanticism':
The term 'Romanticism' is a kind of expression in terms of art imaginative feeling. Here are some definitions of Romanticism.
Victor Hugo says, "Romanticism is the opposite, not of classicism but of realism in literature."
Rousseau says, "Romanticism means tic return to nature."
George says, "Romanticism emphasizes on emotion rather than reason, the heart opposed to head."
Walter says, "Romanticism means the renaissance of wonder.
The Birth and Development of Romanticism :
The English Influence of Romanticism traveled via Thomson's Seasons (1726 1730) Young's Night Thoughts (1742-5). Harveys Meditations among the Tombs (1748), and Percy's Reliques (1765). Most of these works and especially Young's Night Thought displays a sorrowful melancholy, a mournful philosophical of self tolerant sentimentality.
Thus, Romanticism had started actually in the 15th century. The romantic activities had started with the changes in the discovery of new geography. In earlier it was slow but speedy development materialized finally in the 18th century.
The Romantic Movement began as a reaction against the artificiality of the Pseudo-classics. Return to Nature' played a very prominent part in the revival of romanticism. People were suffocated with restricted rules and regulations. They were in search of the freshness of Nature. They wanted to return to the free and refreshing life of the world of leaves and flowers After Renaissance, for the first time, Nature came in The Seasons (1730) of James Thomson. This is the first really important poem in which nature is the central theme.
A long step forward in the history of romanticism was taken with the publication of the Lyrical Ballads in 1798. Before that, the movement had no unity, and no aim, It was not a conscious movement at all. For the first time. Wordsworth and Coleridge, the two friends stressed the aims and objectives of the new poetry. Coleridge pointed out that he would treat the objects and incidents with supernatural element but he would do in such a way that it will look real and believable. Wordsworth, on the other hand, decided to deal with subjects taken from ordinary and commonplace life but he gave the magic power of his imagination. Thus, Coleridge would make the unfamiliar, look familiar, and Wordsworth would make the familiar look unfamiliar. In this way, they declared the theory and methods of the new poetry. They gave a new consciousness to the Romantic Movement. Thus, they opened a new chapter in the history of English Literature and that is English Romanticism.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor (1772-1834) was one of the founders of the Romantic Movement. He was a bosom friend of William Wordsworth. He collaborated with him on Lyrical Ballads (1798). His poems include "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 'Christabel', and Kubla Khan'.
The Romantic Revival In England:
The Great Romantic Movement in English literature began towards the end of the 18th century No one can say with surety when the Romantic Revival started in English Literature exactly. However, most of the critics are agreed that it was started in 1798 when the Lyrical Ballad of Wordsworth and Coleridge appeared.
The Chief Characteristics/ Salient Features of The Romantic revival. OR Romantic Age OR Romanticism All romantic literature is subjective.
It is an expression of the inner urges of the soul of the artist. The poet does not care for rules and regulations, but gives free expression to his emotions Emphasis is laid on inspiration and intuition rather than on the observance of set rules. The poet writes according to his own fancy. Romantic poetry is fanciful and thoughtful. As the poet is free to write on any theme, and in any form he likes, we have an immense variety of romantic poetry. For example,
Spontaneous Overflow of Powerful Feelings: Romantic poetry is a spontaneous overflow of powerful passions. The romantic poet is gifted with a strong "organic sensibility, he feels more than there is to feel and sees more than there is to see. Since the poet is carried away by his powerful passions and excited imagination, he does not care for the perfection of form or clarity of expression, As a result, there is much vagueness and
obscurity in romantic poetry. For the romantic poets, the substance is more important than the form.
obscurity in romantic poetry. For the romantic poets, the substance is more important than the form.
Wordsworth's The Prelude is a long autobiographical poem on the development of his mind. The early part of The Prelude describes his childhood and shows some of Wordsworth's best poetry. He also revised The Prelude in his later life which was posthumously published in 1850).
Mysticism and beauty of Universe:
The romantic poets love the wonderful mystery and beauty of the universe The poet feels the presence of unseen powers in nature. This unseen world is more real for him than the world of the senses. The supernatural has a special charm for him; he is attracted by the stories of fairies, ghosts, and witchcraft. His poetry is an expression of his wonder at the magic and mystery of the universe Supernaturalism is an important element in romantic inspiration. We find all these characteristics in the odes of Keats.
Pessimism in tone:
The romantic poet is a frustrated individual. The poet may be dissatisfied with the circumstances of his own life, with his age, with literary conventions and with the traditions of the day, or with the general fate of humanity, Therefore, Romantic poetry is often pessimistic in tone. A romantic revolted against the existing conditions and tried to escape into an imaginative world of his own. The Middle Age has a special fascination for the romantic poet. The Middle Age provides an escape from the distasteful realities of the present It also delights the heart of the poets by its magic. Therefore in Romantic Poetry, we find the remote, the distant and the unknown delight. We find he dreams of a better and happier world a kind of "Utopia" in Romantic Poetry Zest for the beauties: Another characteristic of romantic poetry.
Zest for the beauties:
Another characteristic of romantic poetry is a zest for the beauties of the external world Romantic poetry carries us into the fresh company of the out of. doors world. It sings of the sensuous beauty of nature, and sees into the heart of things and reveals the soul that lies behind.
Love of Nature leads to the love of those who live in her lap. Their overflow with sympathy for the poor and the oppressed. They glorified the innocence and simplicity of the common man. They try to see into the heart of man and understand human nature. They find the divine in man. They plead for equal rights. Thus, romantic poetry is democratic.
Shelley, Percy Bysshe (1792 1822), an English lyric poet, was a leading figure in the Romantic Movement. His memorable lyric poems are Prometheus Unbound, Ode to the West Win', "The Cloud', and 'The Skylark'.
Wordsworth was a great leader of the Romantic Movement. He is best known as the poet of nature In his poems, we find the beauty of nature, the emotions, and sensitive insights. He was in favor of simple feelings and language in the poems. These qualities are demonstrated in the To the cuckoo' and I wandered lonely as a cloud'. At a deeper level, he was a philosophical poet.
Unique Language:
The Romantics use their own individual language for their purposes Accordingly Wordsworth raised his voice against the artificial diction of the 18th-century classics, and he advocated the use of the language of the common man for purposes of poetry. Indeed, he went to the extent of remarking that there is no essential difference between the language of poetry and that of prose.
The romantics made experiments with old meters and poetic forms. The 18th century used only Heroic Couplet. With the coming of the romantics, there is a revival of a number of ancient meters. The Spenserian stanza the ballad meter, the blank verse, the lyric, the ode, and the sonnet are all revived and soon attained wide popularity.
Thus, English Romanticism or what we say Romantic Revival is both a revolt and a revival; it is a revolt against 18th-century traditions and conventions; it is a revival of old English meters and old English masters of poetry. The main figures associated with Romanticism are primarily. S.T. Coleridge, William Wordsworth, P. B. Shelley, John Keats, Lord Byron, and Sir Walter Scott.
Accordingly, The Literature of romanticism is in direct contrast to the characteristics of the poetry of neo-classical poets. The romantics discovered a new beauty, charm, and wonder in the world of nature. The romantics took a great interest in humanity. Supernaturalism is another outstanding quality of romantic poetry. The poet believed that poetry was the expression of their personal feeling and emotions. In romantic poetry lyricism predominates. Thus, this movement .gave us nature, love, sympathy. inspiration and heartbeats. Everyman heard his breath continuing in the heart of another. The man found his existence hidden in the heart of others. The man went to nature to take rest and sang the love songs of nature.
