ROMANTICISM?
CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT?
Define the Term!
“Twelve Months of
Suffering”….
Romanticism “Is just that
which cannot be defined.”
- 1824 scholars, Depuis and
Cononet
“Romanticism is a term
applied to a European-wide
revolution in literature and
other arts covering
approximately the period
1780 to 1840.”
-Neil King
“Resembling the
tales or romances;
wild, improbable;
false; fanciful; full of
wild scenery.”
- Samuel Johnson
(1709-84)
“A complex artistic,
literary and intellectual
movement…
in reaction to the
Industrial Revolution…
a revolt against
aristocratic social and
political norms of the
Age of Enlightenment…
reaction against the
scientific rationalization
of nature.
-Unknown
“What happened in that
period…was of almost unparalleled
significance…the amazing
resurgence of quality in English
poetry…also in our understanding
of art…Something happened in that
period which has exercised a
decisive influence on how we live.”
-Ian Johnston.
What did Romanticism
explore in literature?
AND
…
The celebration of imaginative
liberation by abandonment of reason,
social restrictions, and traditional
education so to expose the individual
to the creativity of a world of infinite
potential.
‘Texts related to the
[Romantic period]
examines or affirm the
power of the
imagination to inform,
illuminate or transform
human experience’
To INFORM: Romantics began to distance themselves
from the traditional sources, which until then informed them
of all that was in the world. The movement signposted a
change of intellectual source, where one could look to
Nature, who inspired the imagination to inform the
individual of all that is and could be of the world.
To ILLUMINATE: The imagination, for Romantics,
illuminated Human experiences by allowing the individual to
access complete freedom of the mind. Consequently, the
Romantics- by use of their imagination- were able to shed
light (and illuminate) hidden wanders of the world. This often
involved the exploration of the supernatural.
To TRANSFORM: It was common for the Romantics to
transform, or elevate, ordinary human experiences into
something extraordinary and often sublime; awe
inspiring and powerful. This transformation was
encouraged by Natures inspiration of the freedom of the
imagination.
Where in literature do these
ideals occur?
Examples of Romantic literature that examines or affirms the power
and impact of the imagination on human experience.
‘WHEN from the craggy mountain's
pathless steep, Whose flinty brow hangs
o'er the raging sea,
My wand'ring eye beholds the foamy
deep, I mark the restless surge-and
think of THEE.
The curling waves, the passing breezes
move, Changing and treach'rous as the
breath of LOVE;
The "sad similitude" awakes my smart,
And thy dear image twines about my
heart.’
‘Well, they are gone, and here must I remain,
This lime-tree bower my prison! I have lost
Beauties and feelings, such as would have been
Most sweet to my remembrance…
-Melodramatic Tantrum!
‘Where its slim trunk the ash from rock to rock
Flings arching like a bridge; that branchless ash.
Unsunn’d and damp, whose few poor-yellow leaves
Ne’er tremble in the gale, yet tremble still,
Fann’d by the water-fall!’
-Exemplifies the use of the Imagination to transform from where
they are physically alone without the ‘Beauties and feelings’ of
Nature to where they are apart of the human experience amongst
the natural world.
‘Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.
And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.’
-The Protagonist of the poem has already liberated themselves
from the traditional intellectual source and has turned to Nature to
inform them of the wisdom of the world. And now they are on a
mission to inform others to turn to the natural world as a source of
informing intellect.
When the loud gambols of the
village throng,
Drown the lorn murmurs of the
ring-dove's throat;
I think I hear thy fascinating song,
Join the melodious minstrel's
tuneful noteMy list'ning ear soon tells me -'tis
not THEE,
Nor THY lov'd song-nor THY soft
minstrelsy;
In vain I turn away to hide my
smart,
Thy dulcet numbers vibrate in my
heart.
‘And how the storm-blast
came, and he
Was tyrannous and strong:
He struck with his o’ertaking
wings,
And chased us south along.
With slopping masts and
dipping prow,
As who pursued with yell and
blow
Still treads the shadow of his
foe,
And forward bends his head,
The ship drove fast, loud
roar’d the blast,
The southward aye we fled.
-The powerful and horrendous
storm
‘Down dropt the breeze, the
sails dropt down,
T’was sad as sad could be;
And we did speak only only
to break
The silence of the sea
…
The very deep did rot: O
Christ!
That ever this should be!
Yea, slimy things did crawl
with legs
Upon the slimy sea.’
- The motionless silence and
eerie supernatural elements.
Literary Techniques used:
Techniques the Romantics utilised
Characterisation & Juxtaposition
As shown in the previously explored texts
Characterisation is a highly significant
technique used by Robinson to
juxtapose Nature from the village.
NATURE CHARACTERISED
AS;
‘Dear…blissful’ and
powerful- ‘craggy mountain's
pathless steep, Whose flinty
brow hangs o'er the raging
sea’ -Words like flinty and
raging inspire a sense of
power.
VILLAGE CHARACTERISED
AS:
‘Loud gambols’ that drown out
the ‘lorn murmours of Nature’.
The village is characterised as
busy, crowded and unappealing
The Juxtaposition of the City to Nature in ‘This LimeTree Bower my prison’ is pivotal in addressing the
Romantic paradigm of the use of the imagination and
Nature to intellectually inform the individual.
‘In gladness all; but thou,
methinks, most glad,
My gentle-hearted Charles! for
thou hast pined
And hunger’d after Nature,
many a year,
In the great City pent, winning
thy way With sad yet patient
soul, through evil and pain
And strange Calamity
…
Kindle, thou blue Ocean! So
my friend, Struck with deep
joy may stand, as I have
stood,
Silent with swimming sense;
yea, gazing round On the
wide landscape, gaze till all
doth seem
Less gross than bodily; and of
such hues As veil the almighty
Spirit, when yet he makes
Spirits perceive his presence.’
Figurative Language
Personification and Capitalisation
‘scarce a ZEPHYR fans the
drooping ROSE…MAY'S soft
breath…VENUS smiles
serene…thornless ROSES’.
-Capitalisation in ‘Absence’.
‘Heaven…Nature…Almi
ghty Spirit…Life’
-Capitalisation in ‘This
Lime-Tree Bower my
prison’.
‘Storm-blast…Christian…God’s
name…The
Sun…Moon…Christ…Death…The
Nightmare Life-in-Death was
she…Heavens.’
-Capitalisation in ‘The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner’.
‘She has a world of ready
wealth, Our minds and
hearts to bless-Spontaneous wisdom
breathed by health, Truth
breathed by cheerfulness.’
-Personification from ‘The
Tables Turned’
Romanticism!!
Let’s Discuss!!
What Are Your Ideas On…
The Romantics indulgence in
emotionalism and in Nature
to morally improve
themselves.
Consider that the Romantics were very expressive
and they were emotionally and spiritually linked to
Nature, so what are your ideas?