NAME 1 PER DIRECTIONS: Read and annotate the following article on the historical context and literary style of the Romantic Movement. Then use your notes to complete the assignments for Part 2 and 3 on the following pages. PART 1. An Introduction to British Romanticism The Romantic Movement was, to a great extent, a rebellion against the social and artistic values of the eighteenth century, which itself began with a complacency toward the achievements of the seventeenth century. The people of the eighteenth century believed in a stable social order, and extolled reason and common sense as the guiding principles in conducting their lives. Upperclass elegance in manners, dress, and architecture dominated. In this age of reason, arguments and ideas presented through carefully constructed essays prevailed over passion and rebellion. The coffeehouses of London ruled English fashion and thought. Never before, the English believed, had civilization come so close to perfection. Many early eighteenth-century English writers turned to authors of classical antiquity as authorities on literary art and as models for imitation. As a result, the first half of the eighteenth century came to be known as the Augustan Age, after the supposed cultural resemblance between the Rome of Emperor Augustus and the London of Queen Anne. By the late eighteenth century, a cry for freedom and individuality shattered Neoclassic regard for rules and conformity. Political revolutions exploded in the American colonies and in France. The aristocrats in power tried to maintain their wealth and political control, but the middle classes developed a sense of independence and became more powerful. A growing democratic spirit in England began to take the form of social conscience. English people yearned to see universal cooperation. Many English poets supported the French Revolution until the bloody Reign of Terror disillusioned them. With such lofty aspirations, it is not surprising that many of the poets of the Romantic period felt the frustration of not being able to achieve their high ideals. Many of the most ambitious projects of the Romantics were left unfinished. With concern for personal liberty came a new emphasis on the individual. The Romantics were attentive to, and sometimes obsessed with, their own feelings. Their creed was to trust one s instincts and act as the heart dictated. Reason was considered a negative quality. Their individualism, however, sometimes became extreme and led to isolation. The Neoclassicists had thrived on town life one could hardly imagine Samuel Johnson without his London. The Romantics reacted against that ultrasophisticated society and praised the simplicity of country life. Often the Romantics sought comfort and solitude in nature. Nature became a respite from social pressures, a backdrop for their own feelings, and a symbol of freedom. Desire for freedom took the Romantics in a variety of directions. Not content with the present, they took great interest in the past. They loved picturesque old ruins. The historical novel was introduced in this period, and old ballads and folktales were collected and preserved throughout England and Europe.
ENG 10 Mr. Wheeler British Romanticism 2 The Romantics were tourists. Some took long walks through the solitary places of England; others spent years wandering the Continent. They were fascinated by exotic, faraway places. Their love of the past, combined with this taste for the strange and mysterious, led to the creation of the Gothic novel. Notes on the Style of Romantic Literature In their writing, the Romantics no longer observed the restrictions of the Neoclassicists. The heroic couplet of Pope and Johnson was rejected in favor of more expansive forms. The ode was reintroduced, and the sonnet, abandoned by the Neoclassicists, made something of a comeback. No one form dominated the period. The Romantics believed that a work of literature grew from within the writer, and that no artificial conventions should restrict their creativity. They valued innovation rather than adherence to models, and they often experimented with new forms. Whereas the Neoclassicists had sought to view the world objectively, the Romantics created intensely personal, subjective poetry. A vocabulary of simplicity replaced the personified abstractions and artificial poetic diction of the Neoclassicists. As the Romantics turned to nature and explorations of their own feelings as poetic subjects, their work became increasingly lyrical. Although our contemporary way of viewing literary history by periods invites us to imagine that one year English writers were Neoclassicists and the next they were Romantics, the transition occurred much more slowly as transitions in a culture s dominant philosophy almost always do. Throughout the eighteenth century, some poets expressed ideas that in hindsight might be called Romantic. Sometimes literary historians like to refer to these poets as pre-romantic. Some, like Thomas Gray, kept the classical poetic forms, but expressed Romantic attitudes in the subject matter of their poetry. Others, like Edward Young and Christopher Smart, departed further from both classical forms and themes. As the eighteenth century ended, Burns and Blake began to use the lyric, a verse form that was to become popular with the Romantics. Burns, speaking in the voice of the common Scots people, and Blake, writing poetry of unfettered imagination, stand out in form and content from other poets of the eighteenth century. These poets anticipate the Romantic Period in English literature, which is often bracketed by the publication of Wordsworth and Coleridge s Lyrical Ballads in 1798 and the death of Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1834. The coronation of Queen Victoria in 1837 began a new era. The values and literary practices of this period have influenced British literature even up to the present day.
ENG 10 Mr. Wheeler British Romanticism 3 PART 2. Poles Apart DIRECTIONS: The garden on the left reflects Neoclassicism; the one on the right reflects Romanticism. Referring to the lists of characteristics, write a paragraph on the following page that contrasts the two gardens and the movements they represent. Refer to specific details in each garden. Neoclassical Characteristics 1. emphasis upon objective reason and forethought 2. love of classical literature and literary forms 3. controlled, restrained writing dealing with expected, typical, and familiar topics 4. objects arranged in a balanced and symmetrical pattern 5. love of the city and industry Romantic Characteristics 1. emphasis upon subjective emotion and spontaneity 2. love of one s own national literature and literary forms 3. wild, exuberant writing dealing with unexpected, exotic, and foreign topics 4. objects contrasted with each other and arranged asymmetrically 5. love of the country and nature
ENG 10 Mr. Wheeler British Romanticism 4
ENG 10 Mr. Wheeler British Romanticism 5 PART 3. Comparing Artistic Philosophies DIRECTIONS: Different philosophies emphasize different values and artistic strategies. Decide whether each of the following terms reflects Neoclassicism or Romanticism, and put it into the correct column of the chart. Refer to the information in Part A of this handout, and use a dictionary as needed. Literature Government People Places and Things epigram democracy aristocrats formal portraits formal essay discipline commoners jungles history book freedom conservatives landscapes lyrical poem law even-tempered rock gardens mythological story liberty liberals stately houses ode oligarchy melancholic Versailles rhyming couplet revolution outspoken Gardens supernatural tale tradition reserved Wild outdoors zoos Neoclassical Elements Romantic Elements