Course : ENG 7310 Literary Theory
Due date: 2019/12/20
Subject: A Study of Romanticism in English Literature
Introduction
The romantic period in English literature is taken to begin with the publication of Wordsworth and Coleridge’s “Lyrical Ballads” and end with the death of Walter Scott(Day, p1). Romanticism can be understood as a literary movement which promotes a profound shift in sensibility in the British history. Politically, it was inspired by the revolution in the U.S, France and other popular wars of independence in countries such as Poland, Greece, etc(Zimmerman, p3). Socially, it championed a progressive cause in social transformation. When people were frustrated, the Romantic movement created a rather gloomy and despairing outlook. Emotionally, romanticism expressed a very strong assertion of the self and the value of egotistical sublime. It also created a sense of the infinite and transcendental. In this term paper, romanticism in English literature will be comprehensively discussed. Moreover, some of the representative writers and their works in this period will be analyzed in details.
History of Romanticism
Romanticism is a movement in art and literature in the 18th and 19th centuries in the revolt against the neo-classicism(Day, p13). The German poet, Friedrich Schleggel was among the first who described the new form of literature as “depicting emotional matter in an imaginative form”. The word “romanticism” has a very interesting history. In the Middle Ages, “romance” was a word produced and popularized in Latin Language. In Latin, “romance” is written as “romanz”, “roman”, “romanzo”, etc(Copeland, p215). At that time, romance more depicted an imaginative work or something new and divergent. Before the 18th century, novelists and writers in the U.K and France tended to confuse “romance” with “derogatory”. In other words, conventional scholars believed that romanticism had a derogatory connotations of fanciful and bizarre contents(Ferber, p1). In the beginning of the 18th century, British artists and writers identified the difference between romanticism and derogatory. They tended to describe “romanticism” as tender, sentimental and gentle. “Romantic” has in fact been used and promoted since the Renaissance period to depict free expressions of the imagination in arts and literature. When “romanticism” was popularized across the European continent and the New World, the negative and false connotations were gradually vanishing. Instead of being “improbable”, “derogatory” or expressing false sensibility, romanticism was praised for depicting authenticity and spontaneity(Nemoianu and virgil, p4). Writers and artists who embraced “romanticism” were able to describe their individual experiences beyond logic but in a heartfelt way.
Five “I”s in characterizing Romanticism
Romanticism can be characterized by five “I”s, including imagination, intuition, idealism, inspiration and individuality(Izenberg, p1). Imagination is more emphasized in romanticism instead of logic, reason or rationality. As a matter of fact, the romantic period is largely a reaction against the rationalism ideology in the Enlightenment. Enlighten thinkers boasted the importance of logic, reason and rationality in arts and literature. Baldick (2001, p105) points out that romantic writers and artists started to reject the “ordered rationality” of the Enlightenment. Instead, they turned to add the “emotional directness of personal experience” and “boundless imagination” in their works. Pyle (1995, p3) considers that imagination is necessary for any forms of arts or literary works. Moreover, romantics also placed value on “Intuition” or personal feelings over “reason”. To be more specific, romanticists believed that emotional expressions instead of rationality should be emphasized in arts and literature. For instance, Wordsworth described poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”. Furthermore, “Idealism” is the human belief of making the world a better place. It refers to the concepts or theories which emphasizes on human’s mind and spirit in artistic works. Romanticists believed that thought plays a critical role in shaping the world. “Inspiration” means that romanticists are “inspired creators” rather than “technical masters” of the Enlightenment. So to speak, the major task of the romanticists is to make their works spontaneous instead of focusing on high accuracy or precision. “Individuality” is the last dimension. It shows that romanticists celebrated the concept of “individualism”. They emphasized on individual thoughts, emotions and feelings. During this period, women’s rights and abolitionism were gradually taking root in the movement(Mellor, p127). Walt Whitman, a very famous romantic writer, wrote a poem called “Song of myself”(Whitman, 2001, p1). It shows that writers started to think very serious about their own self or ego and moved away from collectivism.
Romanticism in English Literature - A comparative study on Wordsworth and Shelly
Romanticism is a historical movement and has a very huge influence on English literature. It can be observed that individualism, personal feelings, imaginations, nature and many other elements are more emphasized over “reason” or “rationality” of the Enlightenment(Day, p1). William Wordsworth and Percy Shelly are two iconic romantic writers during this period. Both of them believe that arts and literature works should be created upon mind’s power, intuition, imagination and inspired by nature. Therefore, they share a lot of commonality in romantic writing.
In terms of imaginative power, Percy Shelley writes in his poem entitled “Ode to a skylark”, “Hail to thee, blithe spirit! Bird thou never wert”(Shelley,1894, line 5). Here the writer dreams of singing with as much joy and freedom as the bird or the skylark. He imagines that all human songs are sad but bird’s is filled with joy. “Blithe” is an old fashioned term to describe a “carefree” status. In this part, Shelley tries to bring abstract or imaginative ideas to life so that he can connect his abstract emotions with the surroundings nearby. Very similarly, William Wordsmith in his poem, “Daffodils”, writes “They [Daffodils] flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude.”(Wordsworth, 2005, line 13). The whole poem is created upon the writer’s pure imagination. Daffodils, the major symbol of this poem, are personified and given human qualities such as “solitude”. The daffodils are “fluttering and dancing in the breeze”. Wordsmith successfully connects his strong feelings with the imaginative power.
Besides, both writers are also inspired by Nature. Wordsworth’s “Daffodils” is certainly one of such examples. His solitude, internal tranquility and other feelings are expressed through describe the life of daffodils. The writer is describing what he sees or imagines of nature. In the last stanza of the poem, Wordsworth recalls his memory about daffodils. The smile of the daffodils is very like “'Stars that shine” and “Twinkle on the milky way” (Wordsworth, 2005, line 10). It shows that the poet is heavily inspired by elements of the nature in his writing. In fact, the heavens and the nature is always always fascinated by Victorian romantic poets. Shelly is also very much inspired by nature in most of his works. In “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty”, he writes, “As summer winds that creep from flower to flower. Like Moon beams that behind some tiny mountain shower.”(Shelley, 1816, p93, line7). It depicts very strong imagery of nature, along with the personified “unseen power” which is being compared with the summer winds and moonbeams. It jointly creates a sense of ambiguity and an uncertain atmosphere.
However, with respect to nature, Wordsworth and Shelly seem to have a totally different attitude. Wordsworth perceives the nature as a healer. In his “T intern Abbey”, Wordsworth writes, “while here I stand, not only with the sense of present pleasure, but with pleasing thoughts. That in this moment there is life and food. For future years.”(Wordsworth, 1975, line 5) The writer believes that the nature has healing power to provide the idea “life and food” in both the short and long terms. Shelly, on the other hand, portrays both the positive and destructive powers of nature. The poem, “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty”, the unseen power of the nature is rather positive. He believes that philosophy, logic or rationality can describe such a beauty. Its unseen power can only be felt and discovered in nature. He also addresses on the beauty of the simplicity in nature. However, in another poem, “Ode to a west wind”, he writes, “Wild spirit, which art moving everywhere. Destroyer and preserver. Hear, O hear.”(Shelley, 1987, line15). Shelly actually means that the nature also has a destructing power like the west wind which destroys human’s life.
Moreover, both Wordsworth and Shelly also offer their own critiques on the social structure and political power through their romantic works. Wordsworth portrays the critical flaws in the political structure of England. For instance, he writes in the “London 1802”, “she is a fen of stagnant waters. Altar, sword and pen”(Wordsworth, 1965, p27, line9). What the author actually means is that the Englishmen of his day were getting too selfish. He calls out to Milton and wishes that he was still alive in the present day. Wordsworth discovers that religion (altar), military power (sword) and English literature (pen) are no longer connected with people’s “inner happiness” so there must be something wrong in the England’s political structure. On the contrary, Shelly’s focus is more on criticizing the insensitive political leaders and attacking the dictatorship of the kings. For instance, Shelly writes in the “England in 1819”, “Rulers who neither see nor feel nor know”(Shelley, 1998, line 18). It implies that the ruling class are no longer caring about the underclass or the bottom of society. They care more about their own self-interests.
Besides, Shelly’s romanticism is more optimistic than Wordsworth. In the “Ode to West Wind”, Shelly writes, “If winter comes can spring be far behind?”(Sherry, 1987, line28). Perhaps it is one of the most famous quotes ever in human history. It shows that the poet does not really fear “darkness” or evil things because he has a strong hope in the near future. Wordsworth, on the opposite, is rather pessimistic. For instance, he writes in “the world is too much with us”, “the world is too much with us; late or soon. Getting and spending, we lay waste our power”(Wordsworth, 1980, line7). He is extremely worried about the fact that human beings are too obsessed with commercialism or materialism but it will distract us from our relationship with nature. It is understandable because Wordsworth witnessed how England was transformed from an agricultural to an industrialized nation. Wealth and power were shifted from the aristocracy to large-scale employers who employed workforce with very low salaries. He also discovered that the beautiful open fields were also privatized and owned by business owners. His love of nature and tranquility is destroyed by such transformation.
Conclusion
Generally speaking, romanticism can be understood as a social movement against the age of Enlightenment. Romantic poets, artists and writers start to emphasize on the power of imagination, intuition, personal feelings, inspiration from nature, etc, over rationality and reason. Individuality or individualism becomes a leitmotif in their arts and literature works. In English literature, Wordsworth and Shelly are two representative writers who are famous for their romantic poems and literature works. From their poems, it is not difficult to discover that both poets manage to express very strong personal emotions embedded with imaginative power and inspiration from the nature in their poems. Besides, both of them also express their concerns about social and political changes at that time. Even though they have distinctive attitudes toward social and political transformation, readers even from nowadays can still resonate with the poets’ emotions in their works.
Reference
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