REGENTS ENGLISH 10
Organic Background: Romanticism vs. Neoclassicism
I. The Romantic and the Neoclassical
We don’t need exact dates for these two periods in history. We could use 1798-1832 for the Romantic Era, which is
the range dictated by the publication of Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth at one end and the death of Sir Walter Scott
and the German writer Goethe at the other. We could use 1770-1870 for that same Romantic Era, which is a broader
range that incorporates writers like William Blake. The date range that is most widely accepted for our first era of
study – the Neoclassical Period, also known as the Restoration, also known as the Enlightenment – is 1660-1798.
The date range most widely accepted for our second era – the Romantic Period – is the one first mention above, or
1798-1832.
But it’s a little too convenient to believe that these periods, defined by unique zeitgeists, started uniformly and
ended totally, as if on cue. They didn’t. The cultural, moral, and intellectual values that defined the Romantic
zeitgeist didn’t swell in 1798 and fade in 1832, and the Enlightenment didn’t transform its cultural, moral, and
intellectual values into those of its successor in one year. Romantic ideals bled into the late 19 th century (and
beyond); likewise, the Age of Reason still had its adherents in the early 19th century.
Our goal is to understand how the writers and other creative minds in both eras functioned and interacted with each
other. We want to juxtapose the elements of each zeitgeist, comparing and contrasting authors to see what that
juxtaposition reveals. This will teach us something about human nature, and it lets us interact more organically with
the art, music and thought of a bygone era.
II. The framework and its framing questions
To the above ends, I’ve chosen emblematic pieces from the Romantic and Neoclassical Periods. I haven’t limited
myself by date, but the dates are still important. You must do a certain amount of memorization and regurgitation
here, as in any unit of study; learn the names, dates, and biographical data you are instructed to learn, and then turn
your focus to the meaning we care most deeply about: the pendulum shift between eras of literature and art, how we
can best define the zeitgeist of these eras, and what is further revealed by the juxtaposition within and between our
examples. The questions that frame our study are these:
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What defines the zeitgeist of an era?
How do examples of the creative output in that era – the art, music, and literature – reflect that definition?
What is the connection between emotion and reason, and are the two mutually exclusive?
What does it mean to be innocent or to be experienced?
How can we define our relationship with society? Does it conflict with the natural world?
How does each discernible “era” react to the era that precedes it?
Is it human nature to follow the arc of a pendulum in shifting our cultural, moral, and intellectual values?
We started with Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal, an example of satire from the Neoclassical Era. Having
discussed the general ideas through a series of handouts, we will look at paintings and orchestral music from both
eras. Then we will study Romantic poetry by a man named William Blake.
The same ideas and ideals inform everything we will do. It’s simply a matter of understanding those basics. To do
that, we could use one of the guides that delineate the differences between Romantic and Neoclassical thought (and,
in fact, variations of these guides will be given with this overview), and we will make sure that what we divine on
MR. EURE | 2009-2010
REGENTS ENGLISH 10
our own roughly matches what others have gleaned from juxtaposing these two eras. There’s no substitute,
however, for figuring it out ourselves, and that means that we follow these steps:
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Observe and record specific details
Extrapolate patterns and identify useful meanings (e.g., contrasting themes, shifting beliefs)
Explore conclusions regarding the zeitgeist of the era
Identify and explicate juxtaposition within and between the texts
The first two steps happen at once, most of the time, but the list of details is critical. As you look at a painting, you
make notes on every detail you see; as you look at the next, you make notes in the same way, noticing how the
patterns contrast and compare. When you read Romantic poetry, you will contrast it with Swift’s essay using the
same process.
III. Adversarial
To help us focus, you will sit in your rows and participate in a lecture-based adversarial. We will start with a review
of important terms and concepts (e.g., pendulum shifts and zeitgeists) and move into an organic study of the
Romantic and Neoclassical styles of art and music. Once we understand more clearly the cultural, intellectual, and
moral values we have in front of us, we will begin our specific study of Romantic literature. First, however, we will
nail down the skill of using and analyzing juxtaposition by watching a Terry Tate commercial. After that, we’ll segue
into William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, in order to explore how a few aspects of the Romantic
zeitgeist were expressed.
MR. EURE | 2009-2010