An Overview of British Romanticism and
the English Romantic Poets Unit
British Romanticism and the English Romantic
Poets
Literature
William Blake
The Tyger
The Lamb
The Poisen Tree
The Chimney Sweeper –Innocence
The Chimney Sweeper - Experience
William Wordsworth
The World Is Too Much With Us
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Kubla Kahn
Byron
She Walks in Beauty
Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage
KEATS
When I Have Fears
Ode on a Grecian Urn
Shelly
To A Skylark
Non Fiction
From Evidence Given Before the Sadler Committee
Literary Focus
Alliteration
Allusion
Antagonist
Ballad
Blank Verse
Conflict
Couplet
Diction
Simile
Protagonist
Free Verse
Hyperbole
Metaphor
Meter
Mood
Onomatopoeia
Paradox
Personification
Stanza
Rhythm
Repetition
Style
Structure
Theme
Style
Activites
Introductory Videos
Power Points
In Class Reading
TPCASTT
Class Questions
Annotating Poetry
Writing an Ode
Writing a Slam Poem
ELA Common Core Standards Covered
Teaching British Romanticism and the English Romantic Poets covers the following ELA
Common Core Standards.
1. RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of
what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
2. RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its
development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is
shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the
text.
3. RL.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in
the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative
impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language
evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
4. RL.9-10.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text,
order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing,
flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
Annotated and Analyzing a Poem
Common Core Standards
1.This poetry lesson plan satisfies the following common core standards.
2. RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. W.9-10.1 Write arguments
to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and
relevant and sufficient evidence.
3. RL.9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its
development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and
refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
4. RL.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text,
including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific
word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and
place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
5. RL.9-10.10 By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories,
dramas, and poems, in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with
scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade 10, read and
comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the
grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
6. W.9-10.1a Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or
opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among
claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
7. W.9-10.2b Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts,
extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples
appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic. W.9-10.2a Introduce a topic;
organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and
distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings); grap
8. W.9-10.5 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing,
rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a
specific purpose and audience. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command
of L.9-10.1-3.) hics (e.g., figures, tables); and multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
9. W.9-10.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization,
and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
10. L.9-10.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar
and usage when writing or speaking.
Characteristics and Themes of Romantic Poetry
Beauty of the Supernatural: British Romantics believed something existed beyond the
physical world. The Spirit world, according to Romantics, had unleashed its power and
inspiration to overthrow tyranny in government and in literature. Unlike the American
Romantics who wrote of ghosts, demonic cats, and rope-gnawing rats, British
Romanticism’s treatment of the supernatural excluded horror and the macabre and focused
on supernatural energy and beauty.
Championing of the Individual: Revolution in Europe brought to light the importance of
the individual. Ordinary people now became the subject of lofty language. British
Romanticism attempted to free itself from traditional forms and subjects.
The Importance of Nature: The poet, according to the Romantics, is only at peace when in
nature; moreover, while in nature, the poet intervened with the great Universal Mind.
Romantic poets made frequent use of personification with nature, ascribing human traits to
daffodils, fields, streams, and lakes. Nature, in essence, became emotionally expressive.
The Dangers of Technology: A natural consequence of celebrating nature was a disdain
for technology and industrialism.
Major Early Romantic Poets
William Blake (1757-1827): Blake’s poetry dwelt upon his divine vision and rebelled against
traditional poetic forms and techniques. He created his own mythological world with man as
the central figure. His more famous poems include The Lamb, The Tyger, The Chimney
Sweeper, and The Clod and the Pebble. What makes Blake’s poem especially attractive for
teaching in high school is he often wrote two poems with the same title–one poem negative
and one poem positive, excellent for compare and contrast writing.
William Wordsworth (1770-1850): The most famous of the British Romantics, Wordsworth
is considered the nature poet. He revolutionized poetic subjects, focusing on ordinary
people in rustic settings. He, in addition, wrote about and considered the poet as superior to
all other writers. His most famous poems include I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, We are
Seven, and I Travelled Among Unknown Men. Most high school literature textbooks have at
least one poem by Wordsworth.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834): Coleridge and Wordsworth are often grouped
together as The Lake Poets, and for good reason. Together they are credited as the
founders of the Romantic movement. Coleridge’s most famous poems, Rime of the Ancient
Mariner, Kubla Kahn, and Christabel have a distinct supernatural element and strongly
influenced American Romantics such as Poe and Hawthorne.
Later Romantic Poets
Lord Byron (1788-1824): Lord Byron enjoyed unmatched popularity. Byron’s most famous
creations are his dark heroes, called Byronic heroes, who, in fact, were not heroes at all, but
stood out from ordinary humans as larger than life. The Byronic hero brooded, possessed
insatiable appetites and incredible strength, rebelled against societal norms, and forced
upon himself exile. Byron’s most famous works include Don Juan and Childe Harold’s
Pilgrimage. Lord Byron is generally reserved for university level literature courses and is
rarely found in high school anthologies.
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822): Like all Romantics, Shelley was a radical nonconformist. He campaigned for social justice, even marrying the daughter of Mary
Wollstonecraft, an English leader in the women’s rights movement. His wife would later
write Frankenstein. His most famous poems include Mutability, Ozymandias, and Ode to the
West Wind.
John Keats (1795-1821): Perhaps the most popular Later Romantic poet, Keats
accomplished great things during his short life. His Ode to a Nightingale, Ode on a Grecian
Urn, and Ode on Melancholy find their way into anthologies throughout the English
speaking world. Keats considered contact with poets as a threat to his independence and
therefore shunned his contemporaries.