Journal: describe a place and time that is meaningful

and that carries emotional significance, particularly a

place in nature.

Romanticism as a Period and a Concept

The Romantic Age: 1798 to 1832

The Start and End of the Romantic Age

•The Romantic Age begins in 1798 with the publication of Lyrical Ballads•Lyrical Ballads is a collection of poetry written by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The Start and End of the Romantic Age

•The Romantic Age closes with two events:•First, the death of Sir Walter Scott•Second, the passage of the First Reform Bill in Parliament

Major Political Events During Romantic Age

•The French Revolution•The Napoleonic Wars•Both hindered the spread of Romanticism

Turbulent TimesDuring the Romantic Age, two MAJOR

revolutions occurred:First, the revolt by the English colonies in

AmericaSecond, the French Revolution started in

1789.Both threatened Britain’s stability.Many important Romantic writers supported

the French Revolution in its early stages.

French Revolution: 1789-1799 Rejection of authority Overthrow of the government of a great

European power from within The Crown and the ruling classes

feared the effects of the French Revolution

English liberals and radicals viewed the early stages of the French Revolution a triumph of popular democracy

Napoleonic Wars Napoleon Bonaparte takes over as

“First Consul” in 1799The Napoleonic Wars were a series

of conflicts declared against Napoleon’s French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815

It was a continuation of wars sparked by the French Revolution

The Industrial RevolutionThis was a major change that occurred

during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries from hand labor to new methods of manufacturing.

The major innovation of the time: the perfection of the development of the steam engine by James Watt.

There were as many positive changes made by this revolution as there were negative ones.

Negative Impacts of the Industrial RevolutionCities often became sprawling, dirty,

industrialized centers.Working and living conditions in these

industrial cities were terrible.Men, women and children all worked

tremendously long hours under terrible conditions that offered up very low salaries.

The gap between rich and poor was widened more than ever before.

The Romantic Age A time of vast and largely unguided

political and economic change Most of the writers of this period

were deeply affected by the French Revolution and by the Industrial Revolution

Many of the main literary concerns of the Romantic writers reflect these historical issues

Cont’d Free from the rules and standards of

eighteenth-century literature Dignity of the individual Interest in the language and

experience of the common people Writers or artists must be free to

explore their own imaginative worlds Love of the unspoiled natural world

In 1832, Parliament passed the First Reform Bill

Extended the vote to more (but by no means to all) citizens and cut the political privileges of the upper classes

Wordsworth and ColeridgeThe work they did together involving Lyrical

Ballads and other works is considered the greatest collaboration in English literature.

These poets relied on and favored “ordinary speech” in their poetry instead of artificial and uniquely “poetic” language.

Wordsworth focused on “incidents and situations from common life.”

Coleridge chose largely to focus on events and characters of the supernatural.

Wordsworth and Coleridge (Continued)Due to similar and yet different styles and

topics of these two poets, Lyrical Ballads covers two of the most important elements of Romantic Poetry:

First, a focus on the natural or commonplace (Wordsworth).

Second, a focus on the supernatural or “romantic” (Coleridge).

Though at times different in content, BOTH writers focus on an intense love of nature.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)

Second Generation Romantic PoetsGeorge Gordon, Lord ByronPercy Bysshe ShelleyJohn KeatsAll three lived tragically short lives.All three respected Wordsworth and

Coleridge, yet at times, disagreed with their ideas.

Famous Novelists of the Romantic AgeJane Austen (1775-1817)Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)Both writers were very different in terms of

content and style.Mary Shelley (1797-1851)Wife of Percy Bysshe ShelleyMost famous for the Gothic Novel,

Frankenstein.

Tintern Abbeyhttp://www.castlewales.com/tintern.htmlhttp://

www.bbc.co.uk/arts/romantics/poems6.shtml