INTRODUCTION TO
THE ROMANTIC
PERIOD
British Literature
January 26, 2015
CLASS ENTRANCE TO-DO LIST
• Turn in the following:
• Hamlet Literary Elements
• Hamlet Character Chart (extra credit)
• Pick up the following:
• Wuthering Heights Reading Schedule & Annotation
Expectations Bookmark
• Hang up your Hamlet Irony Assignment somewhere in the
room with your name in a visible place ON THE CLOCK
WALL using tape.
• Sign up for your Poetry Research project.
HAMLET IRONY ASSIGNMENT
GALLERY WALK
• Go around the room to admire your classmates’
work. As you walk around the room, you must
post three sticky notes:
• Comment on your classmates’ ideas, artistry,
or quotes. You may also ask questions of your
classmates’ poster.
• You only have 5-7 minutes to complete this
gallery walk.
Influence of the Revolution
History of the Times
• Because the French king has been overthrown
by a democratic mob, the French Revolution is
radical and frightening to English ruling
classes.
• English conservatives worry that revolutionary
fever will cross the Channel to England.
• Until the violence and terror escalate, English
liberals support the French Revolution’s ideals
of “liberty, fraternity, equality.”
Revolution Spreads
Literature of the Times
• In reaction to the ugliness
and turmoil of the times,
writers turn to nature, the
past, and a dream world
of imagination.
• Romantic period begins in 1798 as a
response to the Industrial Revolution.
ROMANTIC POETRY
Literature of the Times
The Romantic poets
• were dedicated to political
and social change
• believed in the power of
literature
• thought imagination—not
reason—was the best
response to forces of change
• created private, spontaneous
lyric poetry
THE ROMANTIC PERIOD
Literature of the Times
• Romantic literature was dominated by poetry.
• Romantics thought poets were extraordinary
people, necessary to humanity and society.
• Keats called poets “physicians,” Blake called
them teachers, and Shelley thought they were
the “unacknowledged legislators of the world.”
• The novel also thrived, however. Key novelists
included Jane Austen, Maria Edgeworth, and
Sir Walter Scott.
INDUSTRIALIZATION
History of the Times
• England is the first nation to experience the
effects of the Industrial Revolution.
• Swelling urban populations
create desperate living
conditions.
• The era’s misery and
poverty are justified by an
economic policy called
laissez faire (business
independent from
government).
THEMES OF ROMANTIC POETRY
Influences on Romantic Poetry
• Spread of democratic ideals through the
American and French Revolutions and
disillusionment after failure of French Revolution
• Reactions against harsh living and working
conditions created for urban poor by the
Industrial Revolution
• Fascination with nature and country life, which
seemed a blissful retreat from city slums
THEMES OF ROMANTIC POETRY
A New Focus in Poetry
• Invited readers to feel power and passion
• Tried to capture personal experience
Restoration Era
Romantic Period
• Society needed social
change.
• Poets wrote about
• Poets celebrated order,
personal feelings,
hierarchy, and enlightened
rule.
individual rights, and
used everyday language.
• Order had just been
restored.
THEMES OF ROMANTIC POETRY
Imagination: The Inspired Guide
The Romantics saw imagination as the link between
mind and nature.
• To them, imaginative experiences were especially moving,
perhaps superior to human
reasoning.
• The mysterious forces of
Nature inspired them.
THEMES OF ROMANTIC POETRY
Nature: The Wise Teacher
The Romantics’ interest in natural images and
themes was reflected in Gothic literature.
Novels such as Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein appealed to the
imagination through
 Eerie settings
 Supernatural events
 Questions about humans’
ability to manipulate nature
THEMES OF ROMANTIC POETRY
Experience: The Worthy Subject
Romantic poets favored idealized rural settings.
However, some celebrated the people who lived in
crowded cities.
They promoted rights to
Healthful living conditions
Relief from political or economic
oppression
Self-expression
THEMES OF ROMANTIC POETRY
Experience: The Worthy Subject
Some Romantics dreamed that poetry could offer
an example of model behavior to improve horrific
social conditions:
 Undemocratic governments
 Dangerous factories
 Child labor
 Laissez-faire economic
policies that left
businesses unregulated
Child workers in coal mine
TP-CASTT
METHOD
Happy Mechanics Monday!
When you read a poem closely,
try this method:
T is for TITLE
•Analyze the title first.
•What do you predict this poem or work will
be about?
•Write down your predictions.
•We will reflect on the title again after we
have read the poem.
•The next step is often omitted, but it is the
most important!
P is for PARAPHRASE
• Paraphrasing is putting something in your own
words.
• After reading the poem, rewrite it in your own
words.
• This may be three sentences or a page, depending
on the particular poem.
C is for CONNOTATION
•Analyze the figures
of speech and sound
effects of the poem.
•Look at the
connotations of
words (connections
and associations)
•Examine any
literary elements
A is for ATTITUDE
Tone is the attitude of the speaker toward the
subject of the poem.
Don’t Confuse Tone & Mood!
• Tone is the author's or the
poet's attitude
towards his or her subject.
• Mood is how the poem makes a
reader feel.
• Therefore, the tone in the Psalm
would be David’s attitude in the
text.
S is for SHIFT
•If there is a change in…
–Time
–Tone
–Mood
–Speaker
This should always
be noted as this will
also affect the
meaning.
T is for TITLE (again)
•At this time, you should reconsider
the title.
•Were you right in your predictions?
•What other meanings might the title
have in light of your analysis?
T is for THEME
•As you already know, theme is the general insight
into life conveyed by the author through his/her
work.
•It merely states something that is true to life and
the human condition.
•Write a thematic statement:
– STEP ONE: Choose an important topic in the poem.
– STEP TWO: Write what the work conveys or says
about that topic.
How do I find the THEME?
•Look at the other
parts of TPCASTT.
•What insight are all
of these working
together to convey?
•What is the poet
trying to say about
life?
ROMANTIC POETRY
RESEARCH, ANALYSIS, AND PRESENTATION
• For this project, you will be assigned a poem from the
Romantic period of British Literature.
• You will research the poet and the poem.
• You will closely read and engage the poem using
several strategies, specifically the TP-CASTT method.
Complete the TP-CASTT chart on the back of the
assignment sheet.
• Then, you will prepare a presentation to the class to
discuss your poem.
PROJECT EVALUATION