ROMANTICISM

ROMANTICISM

1789-l830 historical background

the house of Hanoverians reigned.

The most important event of this period was French revolution, which broke out in 1789, it was followed by Napoleon's ascent.

The intellectual were in favor of French revolution, considered it as the event that would bring equality and justice to the people. British policy (IL COMPORTAMENTO) aimed at damaging French trade by preventing French ships from moving freely in and out of French sea port. Brittani decided to ht French at sea, the great hero of the British navy was Horazio Nelson, who defeated the French-Spanish fleet off cape Trafalgar. On the Atlantic coast of southern Spain in 1805.

British troops commanded by the first duke of Wellington, landed in Portugal and succeeded in defeating the French in several battles. Napoleon surrounded in 1814, he was defeated by Wellington in the battle of Waterloo. Brittani received Cape Town, Singapore, Ceylon and Malta, but had serious problems: inhuman working conditions in factories and severe unemployment due above all machinery. This situation lends to outbursts of machine-breaking riots culminated in the Luddites-riots (named after Ned Ludd who in 1779, had broken a power loom (TELAIO ELETTRICO) for making stocking) of 1811-l812. Large numbers of troops were despatched and the government made machine-breaking punishable by death, any form of political radicalism were repressed.

The combination acts stated that associations or trade union of workers against their employer were illegal. The British government had to face (AFFRONTARE) rebellion in Ireland whose situation was terrible. With the act of union (1801) the Irish parliament was absorbed into the English one. During the reign of George IV, the associations of workers were legalized and in 1829 the home secretary, sir Robert Peel created the civilian metropolitan police known as "BOBBIES" after their founder; this new unarmed (NON ARMATA) force provide an alternative to the army as a means of maintaining public order.

Social context

The industrial revolution proved (SI DIMOSTRA) a period of restlessness (INQUIETUDINE) for many, especially as the new technology made skilled (ABILITATI) craftsmen superfluous and the end of Napoleonic wars in 1815, increase unemployed (DISOCCUPAZIONE) the first decades of 19^th century were a period of social conflict and political repression, Adam Smith was a very important economist and wrote "The wealth of nations", Smith advocated the ending of all government regulation of internal and external trade.

This doctrine wad called laissez-faire theory and advocated the freedom of individual and necessity of letting commodities circulates freely. To protect the poor, there were built work-houses they were crowed and dirty, with hardly to keep people alive, the inhabitants had to work from early morning till late night, the sexes were to be segregates and the families were divided. This situation was thought to have salutary effects of sale-guarding the poor against the temptations of idleness (PIGRIZIA) and dependence (DIPENDENZA).

The position of women was slowly changing, some become "ladies" of no occupation, other works into fields or in factories, other were entirely devoted to the care of the house, even for middle or upper class women, marriage was the only way to have their own house. Otherwise (ALTRIMENTI) they remained at home under the authority of their fathers or male relatives, since the prospects of employment (IMPIEGO) teachers or governess were very few.

Literary contest

Two generations of poets, poetry was the most suitable genre to express emotional experience and individual feeling. With the romantics the imagination gained a primary role in the processing of composition.

The philosopher Fichte held (SOSTENEVE) that the existence and the shape (FORMA) of the world depended entirely on the vision of the individual imagination. The eye of the imagination allowed (PERMETTEVA) the romantics to see beyond the surfaces of reality  and to apprehend (COMPRENDERE) the truth beyond the power of reason, imagination was an almost divine faculties to recreate and modify the external world of experience, the poet is seen as a visionary poet or a teacher whose task (COMPITO) was to mediate between man and nature, to point out the evils of society to give voice of the ideas of beauty, thought and reason.

Nature was considered as a living-force and as the expression of God in the universe, nature become the main-source of inspiration, a sort of joy and comfort. The language was more familiarly; symbols and images assumed a vital role to render the inner visionary perceptions.

There was a return of such forms as the ballad, the sonnet and the blank verse (VERSO SCIOLTO).

BLANK VERSE: a line in iambic pentameter without any final rhyme.

Childhood

As far as childhood is concerned to the classical age a child was important only in so far as he would became an adult and civilized being. To a romantic, a child was purer than a adult because he was unspoiled (non toccato) by civilization. He was considered closer to God therefore childhood was a state to be admired and cultivated. As regards the individual, the Augustans had seen man as a social animal in his relation with his fellows. The romantics saw him in the solitary state and stressed the special qualities of each individuals mind. They exalted the atypical, the outcast, the rebel. In the literally field, sensucht (eternal restlessness) was opposed to stille (the profound quietness of the soul). The first generation of romantic writers included Wordsworth and Coleridge, the second generation Byron, Keats, Shelley.

The first generation wrote theories about the poetic production. In the preface of the lyrical ballads, the manifesto of English romanticism, the two friends W. and C. decided that W. would write on the beauty of the nature and ordinary thinks with the aim of making them interesting for the reader. While C. should deal with the supernatural and mystery to give the suspension of disbelief (incredulità) that is poetic faith. They supported the French revolution with hi idea of freedom and equality. They were deeply disillusioned because of the negative situation brought about by the industrial revolution. They changed their opinions from revolutionary to conservative.

The poet of the second generation all died very young and away from home in the Mediterranean countries. They experienced political disillusionment. Their poetry coincided with the desire to challenge the cosmos, nature, political and social order. This generation was more inclined to believe in individualism and escapism. In their opinion the artist was alienated from society. They were ant conformist, rebel and cynical confronted with society.

Imagination

In the 18^th century imagination was note a cardinal point in poetical theory. The poet was an interpreter rather than a creator. For a century philosophy had been dominated by Locke's theory. He assumed that in perception the mind is wholly (completamente) passive, a simple recorder of impression from without. Blake and Coleridge above all rejected his conception of the universe and replaced it by an idealist conception of the world, where the mind is its central point and governing factors. They insisted that the most vital activated of the mind is imagination: it is divine and it partakes of the activated of God.

A certain colouring of imagination (d84)

1. Subject of poetry: humble and rustic life / countryside. Why? Because country people are daily in contact with nature; they are freer from external constraints; they understand the beauty of nature because they are accustomed to them.
2. Language: a language really used by men, as far as possible from poetic diction, but purified of any disgusting expressions.
3. Role of the imagination: its role is to 2colour", to modify the objects presented trough the eyes of the mind, so to give an unusual aspect to ordinary things.
4. Poetry as memory: after having considered a landscape, the poet has to recreated it because poetry is emotion recollected in tranquility.
5. Task of the poet: to purify men's emotion to his higher sensibility and enthusiasm.