ROMANTIC AGE

ROMANTIC AGE

Emotion vs. Reason

The romantic age is developed from 1776 to 1830, in this period we have great revolution: with American Revolution the British colonies became free and with French Revolution these ideas of freedom and equality spread in Europe in cultural and literary aspect of life. This new sensibility was interested to emotions and feelings so against the raison of previous age. The romantic didn't consider the industrial town but gave more importance to country because a man could connection with nature that wasn't abstract or philosophical but something that may be able to control. They rediscovery traditions of middle age that enlightment was obscured. They gave more important to imagination too because expressioned emotional experience. An other thing, they exalt the childhood because child was considered pure, unspoilt by civilisation than to admire. The last thing was the exaltation of individual especially when he was alone, outcast or rebel because the society was an evil force.

Reality and vision

In English Romanticism prevail the poetry because with her the poet can express emotions and feelings. Infact imagination has a primary role, it allowed to exceed reality. The poet was mediate between man and nature, he can give voice to the ideals of beauty, truth and freedom. The nature is venerated too. It was regarded as the expression of God in the Universe and as a force that can calmate man, gives inspiration and comfort. In Britain have two generation of poet: the first generation included Blake, Wordsworth and Coleridge; the second generation included Byron, Shelley and Keats. They were free by rules and used a simple language often recurring to five senses and many symbols. For this there was a return to past with ballads, sonnet and lyric poems. In the first generation Blake was considered independent because he was visionary and expressed in his poems his belief in imagination. Wordsworth and Coleridge were attempt to theorise his poetry. The poet of second generation didn't regard the reality of life but they want to change nature, cosmos, politics and society. They exalt individualism and escapism that found expression in different attitudes. Byron was anticonformist, Shelley and Keats were revolutionary.

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

Life

He was born in 1770 in Cumberland, in the English Lake District that spent his childhood and most of adult life. This is place of inspiration of his most poems. He studied at Trinity College in Cambridge and in 1790 went to France for a walking tour. This travel permit him to enter in contact with spirit of war that filled him his democratic ideal but he consoled himself with the contact of nature. In France he married Annette Vallon that bore him a daughter. When he moved to Somerset meet Coleridge and produced Lyrical Ballads and the second edition of this contain Wordsworth's Preface that is considered the Manifesto of romanticism. In 1799 he returned in Lake District and married Mary Hutchinson who bore him five children. He was a great reputation infact was made Poet Laureate and continued to write poems until his death, so in 1850.

The manifesto of English romanticism

W. thought that the poetry should be free by rules than didn't accept the standard of 18^th-century of poetry. Infact, in his preface we have his ideas of poetry. It should deal with everyday situation and with humble and rural people than with a simple language. The raison is that in this way the poet was more direct, nearer to his passions.

Man and natural world

In his poetry he speaks about the relationship between the world and human consciousness. He says that the nature influences his emotions and sensations, than man couldn't exists without nature. Infact man and nature are connected.

The importance of the senses and of memory

Nature can influence also our perceptions. Infact W. says that we perceive the power of nature with our sense. He was influenced by David Hartley in his belief that there are three stages of the development of human mind that are the stages of man: childhood, youth and adulthood. Childhood is the most important stage because when we are young we see the nature and live in it, so we remember its in future. So the memory is important in growth of man.

The poet's task and his style

The poet become a teacher infact teaches men how to understand his feelings and how find his emotions and truths. W. use a simple form and rhymes with short lines. He writes above all sonnet, odes, ballads and lyrics.

GEORGE BYRON

Byron has a strange life and his poetry and his life were Romantic spirit. He was born in an aristocratic family and became to write to Trinity College in Cambridge, his first poem was "Hours of Idleness" that was criticised so he replied with "English Bards and Scoth Reviewers". He travelled in most place of Europe and did much experience that was told in his poems. His masterpiece was Don Juan a mock epic poem. He died in Missolongi and his heart is buried in Greece instead his body in England, in family tomb.

The "Byronic hero"

B. didn't consider himself a Romantic poet but was the only English poet that influenced other writers. He created a "Byronic hero" a character with specific features: passionate, moody, restless and mysterious man. He was noble but with rough manners, was handsome but looks hard. Men admire him or envy him; woman can't resist him but refuse his love.

Byron individualism

The Byronic hero was a complex and contradictory ure. B. himself was a Byronic hero, he wanted that all men were free. Infact isolated himself to a society and said that the poet has to be free by rules and express his feelings. He sees the nature no as a force that can consulate man but it reflect the poet's feelings.

The poet's task

The poet was a prophet that creates his world with his ideals of freedom, love and beauty that can destroy enemies.

The style

B. controlled 18^th-century poetic diction. He used various metres: the spensieran stanza consisting in eight lines of ten syllables plus one of twelve; the ottava rima consisting eight lines. He used above all a colloquial language