The Romantic Era
in British Literature
1798-1832
Let’s take a step back to the Age
of Reason to better understand
the Romantic Era
Age of Reason vs. Romantic Era
In the Age of Reason,
Writers stressed:
• Reason and Judgment
• Concern with the
universal experience
• The value of society as a
whole
• The value of rules
In the Romantic Era, Writers
stressed:
• Imagination and Emotion
• Concern with the particular
experience
• The value of the individual
human being
• The value of freedom
What does it mean to call
something Romantic?
For each statement, write down
“A” if you agree or “D” if you disagree
1. The answers to life’s most puzzling questions can be found
through discussions with a simple person who lives in the
country close to nature—not with a sophisticated, welleducated person from the city.
2. The answer to life’s most puzzling questions can be found
through a connection with nature.
3. The use of one’s imagination is more important than
rational (based on reason or fact) thought.
4. Subjectivity (personally biased) is more important than
objectivity (unbiased).
5. Knowledge is gained through gut reactions and subjective
hunches rather than level-headed, objective, rational
thought.
6. Nature is more important than art.
7. Experimental trial and error is a better process than the
conventional scientific method.
8. Poetry should be spontaneous and full of emotion, not
planned and straightforward.
9. Sensitivity, feelings, and spontaneity are more important
than intellectualism.
10. “Dare to be” is a better motto than “dare to know.”
Are you Romantic?
Tally up your number of As:
3 or fewer As = not romantic
4 or 5 As = sort of romantic
6 or 7 As = highly romantic
8-10 As = extremely romantic
Has your idea of the word Romantic changed in
any way? If so, how?
Romanticism
• The words Romantic or Romance originally
referred to Medieval tales of knights written in the
original Roman language - Latin. These tales often
included love stories between a knight and his
lady - resulting in the modern meaning of
romance.
• When talking about the Romantic Era in literature,
we are actually referring to romantic as “freely
imaginative fiction” and not romantic as in
“romantic love”
Definition
• Contrary to what you may think, the term
Romanticism is not just about romantic love
(although love is sometimes the subject of
romantic art).
• Romanticism is an international artistic
movement that re-defined the ways in
which humans in Western civilization
thought about themselves and their
world.
Historical Considerations
• Dates:
• Romantic period officially beings in 1798,
with the publication of Lyrical Ballads by
Wordsworth and Coleridge
• Ends in 1832 with the deaths of Sir Walter
Scott and the German Romantic poet,
Goethe.
• Affected all of the arts (literature, music,
painting, and philosophy)
“The Age of Revolutions”
• Since the early
Romantic period
includes the American
(1776) and the French
(1789) revolutions, it
has been called the
“age of revolutions”
(changes.
• It was a time of
massive energy
(intellectual, social,
artistic).
The Role of Imagination
• Imagination now replaced
reason as the supreme
faculty of the mind—hence
the flowering of creative
activity in this period
• For Romantic thinkers, the
imagination was the
ultimate “shaping,” or
creative power, the
approximate human
equivalent to divine
creative powers.
• The imagination enables
humans to “read” nature as
a system of symbols.
Celebration of Nature
• A healing power
• A refuge from
civilization
• Viewed as “organic,”
(alive) rather than
“mechanical” or
“rationalist”
• A source of
refreshment and
meditation
The Everyday and the Exotic
• Romantic writers embraced everyday
realism (poetry of Wordsworth)
• Promoted exotic ideas suggested by
technology and the imagination (a beautiful
soul in an ugly body, as in Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein or Victor Hugo’s The
Hunchback of Notre Dame).
Characteristics of the
Romantic Era
1. Common Man and Childhood over Urban
Sophistication
Romantics believed in the natural goodness of humans,
which is hindered by the urban life of civilization. They
believed that the savage is noble, childhood is good and the
emotions inspired by both beliefs causes the heart to soar.
2. Emotions over Reason
Romantics believed that knowledge is gained through
intuition rather than deduction. This is best summed up by
Wordsworth who stated that “all good poetry is the
spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.”
3. Nature over Artificial
Romantics stressed the awe of nature in art and language
and the experience of sublimity through a connection with
nature. Romantics rejected the ideas of the industrial
revolution .
4. The Individual over Society
Romantics often elevated the achievements of the
misunderstood, heroic individual outcast.
5. Imagination over Logic
Romantics legitimized the individual imagination as a
critical authority.
Which characteristics of the Romantic Era
does this painting evoke?
William Turner. Arundel Castle, with Rainbow, 1824
Which
characteristics
of the
Romantic Era
does this
painting
evoke?
William Blake, Jacob’s Ladder,
1799-1806 (English)
Which characteristics of the Romantic
Era does this painting evoke?
John Constable, The White Horse, 1819 (English)
To the Romantics, nature provided the pattern
on which to base their creative lives.
The Romantics watched as cities grew, industry prospered and
farming life declined. In an effort to reclaim nature, the Romantics
made it a central force in their lives and their literature. Nature was
celebrated as a source of delight, an image of love, and a model of
moral perfection.
What Romantic Era themes does this painting evoke?
John Constable, Dedham Church and Vale, 1800
Five Major Romantic Era Poets
William Wordsworth
William Blake
Byron
Percy Shelley
John Keats
Lord
William Blake
• Started writing poetry
when he was twelve
• Blake was a
nonconformist who
associated with some
of the leading radical
thinkers of his day
• He rebelled against
traditional poetic
forms and techniques
• He valued imagination
over reason
Archetypes
• Blake claimed that he had mystical visions
which were the source of his inspiration
• These visions were based on archetypes:
plot patterns, character types, or ideas
with emotional power and widespread
appeal.
• Archetypes reveal in symbolic form
universal truths about humanity.
William Wordsworth
• Considered the “Father of Romanticism”
• Helped to launch the Romantic Age
• His most famous work is The Prelude
chronicles the spiritual life of the poet
• Has an interest and sympathy for the life
and troubles of the “common man”
• He is considered the nature poet by focusing
ordinary people in country settings
Journal
• Write about a place that brings you comfort
in times of disappointment or despair.
• How does this location impact your mood?
• What elements are around you there?
• How do those elements provide a soothing
atmosphere?
• Provide an example of a time when you
found solace there.
Romantic Elements
Fascination/ Awe of
Nature
Intuition/ Emotion
superior to Intellect
Use of direct, everyday
language & Intensely
personal experiences
Celebration of Innocence,
especially in childhood
Disdain for industrialism
and technology
Direct quote and
citation from textbook
Paraphrase the
speaker’s feelings in
your own words
Lord Byron
• He indulged in excesses and had huge debts
and many love affairs
• His 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
Percy Shelley
• Born into the British upper class and
attended the finest schools
• Was a terrible student and spent most of his
time wandering the countryside and
performing his own scientific experiments
• Published The Necessity of Atheism at
college and was expelled
• To avoid his father’s rage, Shelley went to
London instead of going home
Percy Shelley
• In London he met an unhappy schoolgirl
named Harriet Westbrook who persuaded
him to elope
• The marriage was troubled and Percy ended
up meeting and falling in love with Mary
Wollstonecraft Godwin
• When Harriet tragically died in 1816,
Shelley married Mary
Percy Shelley
• His radical politics, tract about atheism, and
separation from his first wife, made him an
outcast in England
• He and Mary settled in Italy along with
another famous outcast Lord Byron
• He died in a boating accident at the age of
29
• He was not famous until after his death
Types of Odes
• Ode: lyric poem that pays respect to a
person or thing, usually directly addressed
by the speaker
• Pindaric Ode: uses groups of 3 stanzas,
one of which differs from the other two
• Horatian Ode: contains only one type of
stanza
• Irregular Ode: has no set pattern
John Keats
• During his life, his poems did not receive
favorable reviews by the critics
• The poetry of Keats is characterized by
sensual imagery, most notably in his odes