This period coincided with French Revolution which was carried against oppression. The literature of this period valued emotions, passion and individuality in place of reason and intellect.
Introduction of Romantic Age
The romantic period in English literature begins with the publication of William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads in 1798 and ends with the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. Romantic period coincidence with the revolution in French and American and therefore it is also known as The Age of Revolution. The French Revolution was a battle to achieve equality and remove oppression incurred by opperessive King Louis XVI. People of France were angered by increased taxation to support their country's involvement in the American Revolution, oppressive feudal system, crop failure and other economic difficulties. The French Revolution began in 1798.
The effect of French Revolution did not confine to France only. It started a revolutionary fervour in England. According to David Cody, " The French Revolution was not only a crucial event considered in the context of western history, but was also perhaps the single most crucial influence on British, Intellectual, philosophical and political life in the 19th Century. "
The writers of the Romantic period were inspired by the ideas of the French Revolution and tried to translate these ideas into the realm of literature. The diverse political changes and the triumph of democracy in the period ended with the passage of the Reform Bill in 1832.
Social and Economic background of the Romantic Age
Towards the end of the 18th century major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, transport and technology took place in England. The first phase of Industrial Revolution was from about 1750 to 1850. Industrial Revolution had its own problems and it also led to social unrest among the working class who were left jobless due to advent of machines.
These major technological and sociology economical changes, resulted from the replacement of an economy based on manual labour to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. The first phase of Industrial Revolution was from about 1750 to 1850. Coal and the steam engines were the main driving forces of this phase.
While England was being radically transformed by the Industrial Revolution and turned into the most industrialised nation, it also led to social unrest among the working class. It generated a violent class conflict between employers and workers, most notably in the Luddite Riots of 1811-12, when textile workers in the north of England attacked the new mills and machinery, which had put them out of work.
However, the Romantic movement in literature is characterised by a shift from the structure, intellectual, reason approach of the 1700’s to use of the imagination, freedom of thought and expression and an idealisation of nature. While, Enlightenment thinkers of the 18th century had valued emotion, passion and individuality. They turned from impersonal works to works of more subjective, personal nature.
Literary Background of the Romantic Age
The romantic movement in literature is characterised by a shift from the structured, intellectual and reasoned approach of the 1700s to the use of imagination, freedom of thought and Idealisation of nature.
Romantics valued emotions, passion and individuality in place of logic and reason. Instead of embracing politics as writers of other eras might have done, the Romantics turned to nature for self fulfillment. They were turning away from the values and ideas of the previous era, embracing new ways of expressing their imagination and feelings.
Though Romantic period consists of two generations of poets like...Wordsworth, Coleridge, Blake, Byron, Keats, Shelley. The essence of romanticism was that literature must reflect all that is spontaneous and unaffected in nature and in man and be free to follow it's own fancy in own way. Coleridge and Wordsworth best represent the romantic genius of the age, though Walter Scott had a great literacy reputation and Byron and Shelley had larger audience.
The age produced a new type of novel which seems rather restrained now but which in its own day, delight a large number of audience whose nerves were somewhat excited and who reveled in 'boggey' stories of supernatural terror. These are called Gothic Novels.
Characteristics of the Age.
*Free Expression
Defining the nature of Romanticism may be approached from the starting point of the primary importance of the free expression of the feelings of the artist.
* Emotions
The importance the Romantics placed on emotion is summed up in the remark of the German painter Caspar David Friedrich that “the artist’s feeling is his law”. To William Wordsworth, poetry should begin as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings,” which the poet then “recollect[s] in tranquility,” evoking a new but corresponding emotion the poet can then mould into art.
* Imagination
To express these feelings, it was considered that the content of the art had to come from the imagination of the artist, with as little interference as possible from “artificial” rules that dictated what a work should consist of. Samuel Taylor Coleridge and others believed there were natural laws that the imagination—at least of a good creative artist—would unconsciously follow through artistic inspiration if left alone.
As well as rules, the influence of models from other works was considered to impede the creator’s own imagination, so that originality was essential. The concept of the genius, or artist who was able to produce his own original work through this process of creation from nothingness, is key to Romanticism, and to be derivative was the worst sin. This idea is often called “romantic originality.”
Not essential to Romanticism, but so widespread as to be normative, was a strong belief and interest in the importance of nature. However, this is particularly in the effect of nature upon the artist when he is surrounded by it, preferably alone. In contrast to the usually very social art of the Enlightenment, Romantics were distrustful of the human world, and tended to believe that a close connection with nature was mentally and morally healthy. Romantic art addressed its audiences with what was intended to be felt as the personal voice of the artist. So, in literature, “much of romantic poetry invited the reader to identify the protagonists with the poets themselves”.
To read more click here.
Introduction of Romantic Age
The romantic period in English literature begins with the publication of William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads in 1798 and ends with the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. Romantic period coincidence with the revolution in French and American and therefore it is also known as The Age of Revolution. The French Revolution was a battle to achieve equality and remove oppression incurred by opperessive King Louis XVI. People of France were angered by increased taxation to support their country's involvement in the American Revolution, oppressive feudal system, crop failure and other economic difficulties. The French Revolution began in 1798.
The effect of French Revolution did not confine to France only. It started a revolutionary fervour in England. According to David Cody, " The French Revolution was not only a crucial event considered in the context of western history, but was also perhaps the single most crucial influence on British, Intellectual, philosophical and political life in the 19th Century. "
The writers of the Romantic period were inspired by the ideas of the French Revolution and tried to translate these ideas into the realm of literature. The diverse political changes and the triumph of democracy in the period ended with the passage of the Reform Bill in 1832.
Social and Economic background of the Romantic Age
Towards the end of the 18th century major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, transport and technology took place in England. The first phase of Industrial Revolution was from about 1750 to 1850. Industrial Revolution had its own problems and it also led to social unrest among the working class who were left jobless due to advent of machines.
These major technological and sociology economical changes, resulted from the replacement of an economy based on manual labour to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. The first phase of Industrial Revolution was from about 1750 to 1850. Coal and the steam engines were the main driving forces of this phase.
While England was being radically transformed by the Industrial Revolution and turned into the most industrialised nation, it also led to social unrest among the working class. It generated a violent class conflict between employers and workers, most notably in the Luddite Riots of 1811-12, when textile workers in the north of England attacked the new mills and machinery, which had put them out of work.
However, the Romantic movement in literature is characterised by a shift from the structure, intellectual, reason approach of the 1700’s to use of the imagination, freedom of thought and expression and an idealisation of nature. While, Enlightenment thinkers of the 18th century had valued emotion, passion and individuality. They turned from impersonal works to works of more subjective, personal nature.
Literary Background of the Romantic Age
The romantic movement in literature is characterised by a shift from the structured, intellectual and reasoned approach of the 1700s to the use of imagination, freedom of thought and Idealisation of nature.
Romantics valued emotions, passion and individuality in place of logic and reason. Instead of embracing politics as writers of other eras might have done, the Romantics turned to nature for self fulfillment. They were turning away from the values and ideas of the previous era, embracing new ways of expressing their imagination and feelings.
Though Romantic period consists of two generations of poets like...Wordsworth, Coleridge, Blake, Byron, Keats, Shelley. The essence of romanticism was that literature must reflect all that is spontaneous and unaffected in nature and in man and be free to follow it's own fancy in own way. Coleridge and Wordsworth best represent the romantic genius of the age, though Walter Scott had a great literacy reputation and Byron and Shelley had larger audience.
The age produced a new type of novel which seems rather restrained now but which in its own day, delight a large number of audience whose nerves were somewhat excited and who reveled in 'boggey' stories of supernatural terror. These are called Gothic Novels.
Characteristics of the Age.
*Free Expression
Defining the nature of Romanticism may be approached from the starting point of the primary importance of the free expression of the feelings of the artist.
* Emotions
The importance the Romantics placed on emotion is summed up in the remark of the German painter Caspar David Friedrich that “the artist’s feeling is his law”. To William Wordsworth, poetry should begin as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings,” which the poet then “recollect[s] in tranquility,” evoking a new but corresponding emotion the poet can then mould into art.
* Imagination
To express these feelings, it was considered that the content of the art had to come from the imagination of the artist, with as little interference as possible from “artificial” rules that dictated what a work should consist of. Samuel Taylor Coleridge and others believed there were natural laws that the imagination—at least of a good creative artist—would unconsciously follow through artistic inspiration if left alone.
As well as rules, the influence of models from other works was considered to impede the creator’s own imagination, so that originality was essential. The concept of the genius, or artist who was able to produce his own original work through this process of creation from nothingness, is key to Romanticism, and to be derivative was the worst sin. This idea is often called “romantic originality.”
Not essential to Romanticism, but so widespread as to be normative, was a strong belief and interest in the importance of nature. However, this is particularly in the effect of nature upon the artist when he is surrounded by it, preferably alone. In contrast to the usually very social art of the Enlightenment, Romantics were distrustful of the human world, and tended to believe that a close connection with nature was mentally and morally healthy. Romantic art addressed its audiences with what was intended to be felt as the personal voice of the artist. So, in literature, “much of romantic poetry invited the reader to identify the protagonists with the poets themselves”.
To read more click here.
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