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Subject: ENGLISH
Class: B.A. Part 1 English Hons., Paper-1, Group B
Topic: Romantic Poets
Lecture No: 12
By: Prof. Sunita Sinha
Head, Department of English
Women’s College Samastipur
L.N.M.U., Darbhanga
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.sunitasinha.com
Mob No: 9934917117
ROMANTIC POETS
Romanticism was a poetic movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries that
turned towards Nature and the interior world of feeling, in contrast to the mannered
formalism and disciplined scientific inquiry of the Neo-classical Age that preceded
it. William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, Percy Bysshe
Shelley, William Blake, and Lord Byron were the chief Romantic poets who
produced work that expressed spontaneous feelings, found parallels to their own
emotional lives in the natural world, and celebrated creativity rather than logic.
Critics normally divide the Romantic poets into two generations; the first
generation includes Wordsworth and Coleridge, while the second includes Byron,
Shelley and Keats, as indicated below.
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English Romantic Poets
First Generation of Romantics Second Generation of Romantics
William Wordsworth Percy Bysshe Shelley
S.T. Coleridge Lord Byron
John Keats
First Generation Romantic Poets:
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH (1770-1850)
William Wordsworth was at once the oldest, the greatest, and the most long-lived
among the romantic poets. Written in 1798, Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads is
considered to be the ‘manifesto of English Romanticism’, as Eliot’s essay on
Tradition and Individual Talent is considered to be a ‘manifesto of English
Classicism’. The publication of the Lyrical Ballads marks the beginning of the
romantic period in English literature. It was a combined work produced together by
Wordsworth and Coleridge. Wordsworth was Britain's poet laureate from 1843 until
his death from pleurisy on 23 April 1850.
Important Works
Wordsworth's magnum opus is generally considered to be The Prelude, a semi-
autobiographical poem of his early years that he revised and expanded a number of
times. The Prelude, an autobiographical poem is the spiritual record of his mind,
honestly recording its own intimate experiences, and endowed with a rare capacity
for making the record intelligible. It is an idealized version of his spiritual growth in
which he escapes into the higher reality of his imagination. In 1807, Wordsworth
published Poems, in Two Volumes, including "Ode: Intimations of Immortality
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from Recollections of Early Childhood". In Immortality ode, he recorded a
mystical intuition of a life before birth which can be recovered in a few fortunate
moments in the presence of nature. Wordsworth also wrote some of the finest
sonnets in which he wanted to awaken England from lethargy, to condemn
Napoleon and to record many of his own moods Wordsworth also wrote some
famous sonnets. Wordsworth’s sonnets have been termed by Frances Meyers as
‘Sugared Sonnets.’ He wrote the sonnets to arouse England to a sense of her
responsibility in international affairs, and to express memorable moment in his own
experience.
Wordsworth’s Poetry
Language of Poetry is the language of Common People
During the Neo-classical Age, the language of poetry was decorated and figurative.
Wordsworth considered the elevated language used by neo-classical poets, pompous
and artificial. Consequently, the language Wordsworth advocated was the one used
in everyday speech, simple and clear, which would be more easily understood on a
universal scale. So, Wordsworth gave preference to the language of everyday speech
in poetry rather than follow the ‘poetic diction’ of the Neo-classical poets. For
Wordsworth, poetry, which should be written in “the real language of men,” is
nevertheless “the spontaneous overflow of feelings: it takes its origin from
emotion recollected in tranquility.” To Wordsworth, the language of poetry is the
language of common people.
Incidents and Situations from Humble and Rustic Life
Wordsworth has chosen the incidents and situations from humble and rustic life. He
also asserts to adopt the language of the people in rural life. The common people
hourly communicate with the best objects from which the best part of language is
originally derived. Wordsworth thinks that people in rural life convey their feelings
and notions through simple and unelaborated expressions. These people are less
under the influence of social vanity than the people live in cities. Such a simple and
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common language is permanent and philosophical. It is greater than the language
generally employed by poets. Hence, Wordsworth drew poetic inspiration from
incidents and episodes taken from everyday life, from the common country people
who lived in close contact to nature whose observation brought solace and
consolation to Wordsworth.
Emphasis on ‘Imagination’ rather than on Wit
Wordsworth puts much emphasis on ‘Imagination’ in contrast to the neoclassical
poets who put much emphasis on ‘Wit’. He imagination so that the common things
could be made to look strange and beautiful through the play of imagination. In his
famous “Intimation Ode", he says that as a child he felt that "the earth, and every
common sight" seemed "apparelled in celestial light".
Worshipper of Nature
Wordsworth is especially regarded as a poet of nature. In most of the poems of
Wordsworth nature is constructed as both a healing entity and a teacher or moral
guardian. Nature is considered in his poems as a living personality. He is a true
worshipper of nature: nature's devotee or high priest. The critic Cazamian says, "to
Wordsworth, nature appears is a formative influence superior to any other, the
educator of senses or mind alike, the shower in our hearts of the deep laden seeds of
our feelings and beliefs".
Subjectivity
Subjectivity is the key note of Wordsworth’s poetry. He expresses his personal
thoughts, feelings through his poems. In “Ode: Intimation of Immortality” the poet
expresses his own/personal feelings. Here he says that he can't see the celestial light
anymore which he used to see in his childhood. He says, "It is not now as it hath
been of yore; -Turn wheresoever I may, by night or day, the things which I have seen
I now can see on more."
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Pantheism and Mysticism
Pantheism and mysticism are almost interrelated factors in the Nature poetry of the
Romantic period. Wordsworth conceives of a spiritual power running through all-
natural objects- the " presence that disturbs me with the low of elevated thoughts"
whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, the rolling ocean. the living air, the blue
sky, and the mind of man (“Tintern Abbey”)
Humanism
The romantic poets had sincere love for man or rather the spirit of man. Wordsworth
had a superabundant enthusiasm for humanity. He was deeply interested in the
simple village folk and the peasant who live in contact with nature. Wordsworth
showed admiration for the ideals that inspired the French Revolution. Emphasis in
individual freedom is another semantic characteristic. Wordsworth laments for the
loss of power, freedom and virtue of human soul.
Lyricism
Wordsworth is famous for simple fiction, bereft of artificialities and falsity of
emotion. In the “Ode: Intimation of Immortality”, we see his lyricism. He writes,
"Earth fills her lap with pleasures of her own: Yearnings she hath in her own natural
kind, And, even, with something of a Mother's mind, And, on unworthy aim, The
homely Nurse doth all she can To make her Foster-child, her Innate Man, Forget the
glories he hath known, And that imperial palace whence he came."
In the conclusion, it can be said that Wordsworth was a protagonist in the Romantic
Movement which was at once a revolt and a revival. He shows the positive aspects
of Romanticism with its emphasis on imagination, feeling, emotion, human dignity
and significance of Nature. Thus, Wordsworth stands apart as the pioneer of
Romantic movement by his great contribution in English literature.
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SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE (1772 –1834)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge happens to possess the most vigorous mind amongst the
English Romantics. During the 19th century he produced some of the most stirring
and eloquent verse that no other poets of his generation could able to replicate. His
poetry is, indeed, the supreme embodiment of all that is purest and the most ethereal
in romantic spirit. One of England’s many magnificent gifts to English literature,
this rather unproductive poet wrote poems that have become the priceless assets of
romantic literature.
Important works
He wrote the much acclaimed poems The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner and Kubla Khan, as well as the major prose work Biographia Literaria.
His critical work, especially on William Shakespeare, was highly influential, and he
helped introduce German idealist philosophy to English-speaking culture.
Coleridge’s Poetry
Supernaturalism
Coleridge’s contribution to romantic poetry reached its apex through his treatment
of the supernatural. He is a master poet of the supernatural. He attempts to draw the
supernatural in a convincing way, where the reader is compelled to take it for real or
natural by willingly suspending disbeliefs. This environment has been created most
convincingly in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Element of Mystery
Coleridge’s poetry is noted mostly for its elements of mystery. Coleridge displays
painstaking mastery in creating some characters and events that evoke a sense of
curiosity or suspense because of an unknown, obscure or enigmatic quality. In his
seminal work The Ancient Mariner, Coleridge creates a mysterious character by
portraying him as a man of glittering eyes and long grey beard.
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Vivid & Convincing Imagery
Coleridge has the most imaginative mind amongst the romantic poets. Coleridge is
essentially good at portraying vivid imagery. He has the power to transport the
audience in his realm of imagination by convincing the reader to accept no-existent
as real. And this is the very quality which enables Coleridge to incorporate
convincing/effective elements of mystery. For example, his description of Kubla
Khan’s palace forces the reader to believe in its existence:
Dream
The major poems of Coleridge have a dreamlike quality. His poems were inspired
by reveries. He saw them in his dreams and visualized in the poetry. For instance,
Kubla Khan is a superb example of his dream poetry. In this poem he recounts in
poetic form what he saw in a vision.
Medievalism
Coleridge had a strong devotion to the spirit of the Middle Ages. Coleridge’s love
for the supernatural was engendered by romance and legends of the Middle Ages.
Medievalism provides him the opportunity to create the sense of remoteness and a
mysterious setting.
Nature
Coleridge’s initial attitude towards nature was pantheistic. During this stage, he
treated nature as a moral teacher. Later on, he changed his attitude towards nature.
He believed that it depends on our mood and temperament how we would interpret
nature.
Humanism
Coleridge always cared for the wellbeing of the humanity. His love for the humanity
is revealed through his strong support for the French revolution. He supported the
upheaval assuming that it would free the masses from the oppression of the dictators.
But subsequently, Coleridge windrowed his support as the revolutionists deviated
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from their principles. His love for the humanity is seen best in The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner.
Second Generation Romantic Poets:
LORD BYRON (1788 –1824)
Lord Byron was an English poet, peer and politician who became
a revolutionary in the Greek War of Independence, and is considered one of the
leading figures of the Romantic movement. He is regarded as one of the greatest
English poets whose poetry and personality captured the imagination of Europe.
His multifaceted personality found expression in satire, verse narrative, ode, lyric,
speculative drama, historical tragedy, confessional poetry, dramatic monologue,
seriocomic epic, and voluminous correspondence, written in Spenserian
stanzas, heroic couplets, blank verse, terza rima, ottava rima, and vigorous prose.
Lord Byron, despite his writing being quite classical, is considered one of the most
important Romantic poets, along with William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge.
His works, however, differ in many aspects with the thematic that Wordsworth and
Coleridge focused on in their poems, making himself distinct and easily recognized.
Besides being famous for his longer, epic and nowadays canonical works, such as
Manfred, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage or Don Juan, he also earned his fame with his
good looks, character and controversial life. It is said that he wrote his poems using
the poems persona to express his thoughts and beliefs and making the readers think
that the speaker was actually a personification of himself, even if it was not the case,
creating with this the Byronic Hero.
Lord Byron’s unique literary ideas brought new perspectives for English literature.
His distinctive writing approach and experimentation with epics and lyrics made him
stand out even among the best poets.
His narrative and lyrical works are regarded as masterpieces and had had significant
impacts on generations. He successfully documented his ideas and feelings about
historical tragedies and romanticism in his writings that even today, writers try to
imitate his unique style, considering him a beacon for writing plays and poetry.
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Important works
Among his best-known works are the lengthy narrative poems Don Juan and Childe
Harold's Pilgrimage; many of his shorter lyrics in Hebrew Melodies also became
popular. His popular poems include: “She Walks in Beauty”, “Darkness”, “There Be
None of Beauty’s Daughter”, “The Eve of Waterloo”, “When We Two Parted” and
“And Thou Art Dead, As Young and Fair.”
Byron’s Poetry
Talking of Byron, Leslie A. Marchand observes, “The core of his thinking and the
basis of his poetry is romantic aspiration,” and he evidences a “romantic zest for
life and experience.” Lord Byron was a leading figure of the Romantic Movement.
His specific ideas about life and nature benefitted the world of literature. Marked by
Hudibrastic verse, blank verse, allusive imagery, heroic couplets, and complex
structures, his diverse literary pieces won global acclaim. However, his early
work, Fugitive Pieces, brought him to the center of criticism, but his later works
made inroads into the literary world. He successfully used blank verse and satire in
his pieces to explore the ideas of love and nature.
Although he is known as a romantic poet, his poems, “The Prisoner of Chillon” and
“Darkness” where attempts to discuss reality as it is without adding fictional
elements.
The recurring themes in most of his pieces are nature, the folly of love, realism in
literature, liberty and the power of art.
Philosophically and stylistically, Byron stands apart from the other major
Romantics. He was the most cosmopolitan of them. Poetic imagination was not for
him, as for them, the medium of revelation of ultimate truth. He wished that
Coleridge would “explain his Explanation” of his thought. He did not much fancy
Wordsworth’s belief in the benevolence of nature, Shelley’s faith in human
perfectibility or Keats’s private vision.
In narrative skill, Byron has no superior in English poetry, except Geoffrey Chaucer.
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He was not inhibited like his contemporaries, and created verse that is exuberant,
spontaneous, expansive, digressive, concrete, lucid, colloquial—in celebration of
“unadorned reality.”
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY (1792 –1822)
Percy Bysshe Shelley was a famous English romantic poet whose poetry reflects
passion, beauty, imagination, love, creativity, political liberty and affinity with
Nature. Being very sensitive and possessing distinctive qualities of hope, love, joy
and imagination, Shelley strongly believed in realization of human happiness.
Widely regarded as one of the finest lyrics and philosophical poets in the English
language. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley
did not see fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achievements in poetry
grew steadily following his death. Shelley became a key member of a close circle of
visionary poets and writers that included Lord Byron, John Keats, Leigh
Hunt, Thomas Love Peacock and his own second wife, Mary Shelley.
Important Works
Shelley is perhaps best known for classic poems such as "Ozymandias", "Ode to the
West Wind", "To a Skylark", "Music, When Soft Voices Die", "The Cloud" and The
Masque of Anarchy. His other major works include a groundbreaking verse
drama, The Cenci (1819), and long, visionary, philosophical poems such as Queen
Mab (later reworked as The Daemon of the World), Alastor, The Revolt of
Islam, Adonais, Prometheus Unbound (1820) – widely considered his
masterpiece, Hellas: A Lyrical Drama (1821) and his final, unfinished work, The
Triumph of Life (1822).
Shelley’s Poetry
Romanticism’s major themes—restlessness and brooding, rebellion against
authority, interchange with nature, the power of the visionary imagination and of
poetry, the pursuit of ideal love, and the untamed spirit ever in search of freedom—
all of these were evident in Shelley’s poetry.
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Shelley is considered by critics and readers to be among the greatest of the second
generation of English Romantic poets. Unlike Lord Byron though Shelley did not
receive full critical and popular recognition until after his death.
Shelley is also much admired for his lyrical and psychologically powerful poetry
which offers a striking visceral style as well as strong messages on behalf of
social justice, liberty, and non-violence.
Shelley is one of the greatest successful melancholic in his age. It is this unsatisfied
desire, this almost painful yearning with its recurring disappointment and
disillusionment which is at the root of Shelley's melancholy. His most famous and
powerful lines which reveal the melancholic strain are in Ode to the West Wind. His melancholy is thus vital to his poetry. It may be said that his music is the product
of his genius and his melancholy. His melancholy is what the world seems to like
best as, “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts.”
The themes of imagination, and emotion are unmistakably evident throughout
Shelley’s poetry. Imagination, in particular, is perhaps the most prevalent of these
themes in regards to Ode to the West Wind. Shelley perceives imagination as an
ability to free oneself from the constraints of the human condition. Moreover,
imagination is also exposed as a source of poetic inspiration, allowing the speaker
to fully express his poetic capacity. This poetic capacity, throughout the poem, is
metaphorically linked to the changing of seasons, likening the annual changes in
climate, to that of our creative expression. Thus, poetry, in Shelley's opinion, is the
expression of imagination; it is considered by the poet as a revolutionary creativity,
seriously meant to change reality. The poet is bound to suffer and isolates himself
from the rest of the world, projecting himself into a better future and hiding beneath
a mask stubborn hope.
Shelley's idealism is also reflected in all his works. Shelley's rejection of
conventional modes of thinking led him to a search for new ideals, and he embraced
the theories of Godwin and neo Platonism. From Plato he derived his mystical and
intellectual belief in a society ruled by ethics and wisdom; moreover, he absorbed
the idea of reality as an illusory image of the true reality of the eternity, and of an
idealistic pantheism.
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Like all Romantics, Shelley shows his great love for Nature. His apprehension of
the natural world passes through the appreciation of its beauty; it is with the most
intellectual part of himself that he aspires to an identification with nature. His
approach to nature is also instrumental, providing him with the images and symbols
for the creation of the myths and cosmic schemes. Finally, nature is the privileged
refuge from the disappointment and injustice of the ordinary world.
JOHN KEATS (1795-1821)
John Keats was the last born of Romantics but the first one to die. One of the greatest
Romantic poets, Keats has received much critical recognition in the academic
circles. Edmund Wilson counted him as ‘one of the half dozen greatest English
writers,’ and T. S. Eliot has paid tribute to the Shakespearean quality of Keats’s
greatness. The poetry of Keats is characterized by sensual imagery, most notably in
the series of odes. Today his poems and letters are some of the most popular and
most analyzed in English literature. Talking about Keats’s style, we may say that
Keats’s diction is highly connotative.
His writing style is characterized by sensual imagery and contains many poetic
devices such as alliteration, personification, assonance, metaphors, and consonance.
All of these devices work together to create rhythm and music in his poems. The
themes of Keats’s works were love, beauty, joy, nature, music, and the mortality
of human life. Keats's claim to greatness also rests upon his letters, which are
among the most entertaining and perceptive of any literary figure's, and contain
numerous insights into the nature of the creative process.
Important Works
His most popular poems include “Ode on Melancholy,” “Ode on a Grecian
Urn,” “Ode to Autumn,” “Ode to a Nightingale,” “La Belle Dame Sans Mercy,”
“Imitation of Spenser,” “Hyperion,” and “Isabella.” Among his sonnets, the most
popular are “Bright Stars! Would I were steadfast as Thou Art,” “When I have Fears
that I may Cease to be,” “Endymion,” “The Eve of St. Agnes,” and “Lamia.” Keats
published his first collections of poems in March 1817, in which he used a bold and
daring writing style. This early collection earned him severe criticism from
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England’s prestigious publications “Quarterly Review” and “Blackwood’s
Magazine.” Keats duly took note of this criticism and developed his famous doctrine
known as “Negative Capability.” This idea was a romantic ideal that permitted
human beings to go beyond the contemporary social and intellectual constraints and
rise above the existing norms. In 1818, he published his second volume of poems
“Endymion.” He soon followed that volume up with “Isabella,” “Lamia,” and “The
Eve of St Agnes,” which was published in 1820. These collections included his great
odes, and also his ambitious Romantic piece “Hyperion,” that gained its inspiration
from a Greek myth. The Odes, constitute the highest poetic achievement of John
Keats.
Keats’ Poetry
Keats’ sensuousness is the most striking characteristic of his entire poetry. All his
poems including his great odes contain rich sensuous appeal. The Odes, which
represent the highest poetic achievement of Keats, are replete with sensuous
pictures. Now, we will discuss his sensuousness with examples of his various Odes
and poems in detail.
“Ode to Nightingale” is one of the most remarkable poems describing Keats’
sensuousness. In the second stanza of this ode, there is a description of the gustatory
sensation of drinking wine. There are references to the visual and auditory senses
too. The poet also paints the picture of a drunken whose mouth is purple stained
because of the red wine he has drunk:
“With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,
And purple-stained mouth,”
“Ode to autumn” is considered to be the perfect embodiment of concrete sensuous
experience. The poem gives a graphic description of the season with all its variety
and richness. The whole atmosphere and the mood of the season are presented
through sensuous imagery and descriptions:
“with fruits the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples and moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruits with ripeness to the core.”
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The Ode to Psyche contains a lovely picture of Cupid and Psyche lying in an
embrace in the deep grass, in the midst of flowers of varied colors:
“Mid hush’d, cool-rooted flowers, fragrant-eyed.”
In his eyes, the world is cruel and the only option we have is escapism. Through his
poetry, he wants to prove that pains of life cannot be competed, therefore, escapism
is the only choice. The world is barren and colorless, whereas imagination is full of
colors. In imagination he forgets worries of life and can do anything that he wants;
even such things which are impossible in real life. Escapism is the most important
ingredient of romantic poetry. It is available in the poetry of John Keats and makes
him the best romantic poet. When he fails to face harsh realities of life, he seeks
refuge in his imagination, where he creates a world of his own. He enjoys the
company of birds, flowers, landscapes, mountains and rivers in his imagination. For
example, in “Ode to Nightingale”, he creates his imaginative world where he enjoys
sweet eternal song of nightingale which provides peace to his mind and harmony to
his soul.
Where youth grows pale and specter-thin an dies,
Where but to think if to be full of sorrows,
And leaden-eyed despairs.”
Thus, Keats always selects the objects of his description and imagery with a keen
eye on their sensuous appeal. This sensuousness is the principal charm of his poetry.
Keats’ imagination increases the importance of beauty and in his imagination, he
goes beyond the senses. He talks about those things, which he has never experienced
in his life. In one of his poems, he writes: “Heard melodies are sweet, but those
unheard are sweeter”. Further, he declares beauty a truth when he writes: “Beauty
is truth and truth beauty, –that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to
know.” Thus, undoubtedly, he is a great lover of beauty and avails every opportunity
to praise it. Quests for beauty also helps John Keats to stand apart from his rival
romantic poet.
Love for Ancient Greeks and medieval literature is apparent in John Keats His
love for Greeks is highly appreciated by many other poets of his era. In many of his
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poems, he talks about Greeks’ spirits and culture. Viewing the love of John Keats
for Greeks, Shelley said: “Keats was a Greek”. He reads Greek classics due to which
his interest in their culture increases. Besides, he also loves their art. “Ode to Grecian
Urn” is a naked example of his love for Greeks. He compares art with mortality in
this ode. He calls art immortal and humans mortals. Art, he says, will remain forever,
whereas humans will fade and pale one day.
Like all Romantic poets, Keats also loves nature and elements related to it. He
converts natural objects into beauty. An ordinary thing becomes extraordinary when
it passes from the eyes of John Keats. He has an unbelievable power to create words
from natural elements.
***
By: Prof. Sunita Sinha
Head, Department of English
Women’s College Samastipur
L.N.M.U., Darbhanga
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.sunitasinha.com