WHEN

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WHEN?
Dating the Romantic Period in British Literature
is easy. Scholars attribute the onset of the
period to a poet named William Wordsworth who co-
published a new kind of poetry with his friend
Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Their work entitled
Lyrical Ballads was published in 1798. Thats
the beginning of the Romantic Period according to
some scholars. Dating a literary period is only
useful in the sense that it reminds us of the
historical context and world view of its authors.
We cant really consider 1797, for example, as a
time completely without Romantic poetry!
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The Romantic Period
In British Lit.
The Romantic Period in British Literature was a
time of nature-inspired poetry, political
questioning, and individualism. To understand the
power of the poetry, the inclination of the
poets, and the world to which it was responding,
you could read hundreds of poems, historical
essays, and literary criticisms. You could take
an entire course called Romantic poetry. Or,
you can just get the basics. If youre interested
in the basics, then read on!
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Its roots?
A German literary movement called Sturm und Drang
(click for more info.) had already popularized
the concept of a suffering main character or
poetic voice- one who was a martyr, a rebel,
an iconoclast going against the assumptions and
expectations of a society. The Romantic movement
in British literary history shares this ideal we
may call it the first of a few characteristics we
will name - Romantic literature questions
authority and values individuals who question
authority. Anything that infringes on personal
liberty is suspect in this tradition.
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Byronic Hero
Hey, Johnny, What are you rebelling
against? Whatve you got? - Movies such
as Marlon Brandos Wild One have popularized
the ideal of an irresistible bad boy, glamorous
in his fatal passion, rivaling society with a
hell-bent glare. This bad boy stereotype first
entered our English culture in the Romantic
poetry of Lord Byron. These ill-fated but
beautifully emotional characters are called
Byronic Heroes.
Marlon Brando in The Wild One
Special thanks to Filmsites Wild One page
for the image provided above. Click here for more
information about the movie. http//www.filmsite
.org/wild.html
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NATURE
The poets who chose the Romantic style at this
time investigated many topics. They wrote of
time, love, death, art, and religion among other
topics. But one topic in particular was a
favorite among the Romantics - nature. As long as
there have been poets, there have been poems
about nature, but these nature poems were somehow
different from the ones that had come before.
These poems were not quaint, predictable,
over-simplified glorifications of Nature on a
purely observational level. These poems were
designed to communicate Natures transformative
power. Nature is portrayed as omnipresent and
capable of altering human perception and
perspective. The settings of these poems,
therefore, are picturesque and exotic.
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ORDINARY EXTRAORDINARY
The personal experiences documented in the
Romantic literature of this time are epiphanies
that alter the life of the speaker. But the
catalysts for such events may have been ordinary,
mundane, or less than remarkable. This ability to
describe ordinary events as extraordinary is a
characteristic of Romantic literature.
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EMOTIONS RULE
Because the Romantic poetry valued individual
experience, the rationalism previously admired
was replaced by a trust in ones emotions. The
literature in England prior to this movement was
witty, intellectual, and social. Romanticism
rejects the social us and embraces the me!
Intuitions, feelings, and emotions ruled. Mans
heart was a more valued guide than his head. So,
another characteristic of Romantic poetry is this
enlightenment by emotion.
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Simple Language
The Romantics searched for personal experiences
and strove to communicate their power in
meaningful ways. To achieve this, the Romantic
writers employed simple and direct language. This
was another way to reject the Neoclassical
movement that hoped to emulate the ancient
writers in lofty styles and language. Think of it
this way our most personal conversations, our
most private, do not need elevated language to
impress or ring true. This simple language is
another Romantic characteristic.
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Another characteristic of Romantic literature is
the inclusion of supernatural elements.
Perhaps, for the Romantics, Nature was so
powerful that it could not be contained. Nature
takes on a mysterious, sometimes even scary
quality in literature of the Romantics.
Supernatural elements play a large part in these
works.
Supernatural
Natural
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The Romantic Period of British literature
flourished for a short time, but its influence
was felt in America and globally. By 1832,
Victorianism was the new kid in town.
British Romantic poetry most frequently took the
form of lyric poetry. This genre employed rhythm,
repetition, and sometimes rhyme to give the poem
a lyrical or musical effect. Sometimes the
speaker was a narrator of sorts, or in other
instances, the speaker is the voice of the poet.
A study of the most popular and important
Romantic poets would include Lord Byron,
William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
Percy Bysshe Shelley, Keats, and Alfred Lord
Tennyson. Although poetry was the most expected
Romantic genre, Romantic novels were also
written. A popular novel by Mary Shelley -
Frankenstein - is also representative of the
period.