Romantic Poetry

Definition: It is an international and philosophical movement that redefined the fundamental

ways in which people in Western cultures thought about themselves , their world the role of

spirit, soul instinct emotion , rebellion against established social rules and the scientific approach

to most human dilemmas. It is generally supposed that the English Romantic Movement began in

1798 with the publication of the "Lyrical Ballads" but it is not a sudden outburst but the result of

long and gradual growth and development. The term 'Romanticism' (the Romantic Movement) is

a literary movement which took place in Britain and throughout Europe roughly between 1770

and 1848. Politically, it was inspired by the revolutions in America and France.

It has very little to do with things popularly thought of as “romantic” although may occasionally

be the subject of the literature. Emotionally, romantic poetry expressed an extreme assertion of

the self and the value of the individual experience together with the sense of the infinite and the

transcendental. The stylistic keyword of ‘Romanticism’ is intensity and its watchword is

‘Imagination’.

However , Romanticism may be understood not as a movement only but as a mind-set too. The

artists and poets of the Romantic period were united by their determination to use their art to

convey emotion or provoke an emotional response from audiences.

Features /characteristics:

Romanticism does not mean any one thing or one characteristic. It is, in fact, a collective term to

mean certain features and characteristics, such as mysticism, humanism, supernaturalism,

escapism, love of beauty, love of nature, love of equality, alienation, fanciful, melancholy,

wonder, emotional intensity, rich imagination, subjectivism, simple diction, sensuousness, love
for medievalism, etc. It wanted to free literature from tyranny of the rules of the ancients.

English romanticism is both a revolt and a revival. It is a revolt against 18th century traditions

and conventions; it is a revival of medievalism and old English meters and masters of poetry.

The chief characteristics of romantic poetry are as follows:

subjectivity: All romantic literature is subjective. It is an expression of the inner urges of the

soul of the artist. The poet gives free expression to his feelings, emotions, experiences, thoughts

and ideas and does not care for rules and regulations. The emphasis is laid on inspiration and

intuition.

Love of Nature: Zest for the beauties of the external world characterizes all romantic poetry.

Romantic poetry carries us away from the suffocating atmosphere of cities into the fresh and

invigorating company of the out of door world. All poets were lovers of nature and looked at the

beautiful aspects of nature. To them, nature was a friend, a lover, a mother, sister and a teacher.

To one famous poet known by Wordsworth, nature was both mother and sister. He spiritualizes

nature, Shelley intellectualizes nature and was another nature poet, who believed that nature is a

living thing and there is a union between nature and man.

Spontaneity: Romantic poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. Poetry to

romantic poets is not a craft but inspiration. The poet does not care for the perfection of form or

clarity of expression.

Melancholy: which means in other words, sadness and gloominess. Most of the romantic poets

in English are full of melancholy and pessimism. A romantic is dissatisfied individual. He may

be dissatisfied with the circumstances of his own, with his age, with literary conventions and

traditions of the day, or with the general fate of humanity.

Romanticism was a revival of medievalism. The romantic is extraordinarily alive to the wonder,

mystery and beauty of the universe. The unseen world is more real for him than the world of the

senses. Romantic poetry is mystical and is removed from the everyday experiences of life.

A Revolt: Romantic Movement in literature is a revolt. It was a revolt against the 18th century

poetic style of artificiality.

Imagination and Emotion: The romantic poets laid emphasis on imagination and emotion. The

18th century neo-classical poets had emphasized on reason and intellect.  

Key themes of the Romantic Period

political preoccupation of the Romantic Period. While some conservative voices (most notably,

Edmund Burke [1729-1797]) defended the ancient prerogatives of hereditary power (aristocracy

and monarchy), the decadence and luxury of the European aristocracy had convinced many that

the truest basis for political power was the consent of the governed. Writers like William Godwin

(1756-1836), Thomas Paine (1737-1809), and Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) were fierce

apologists for democratic government and the various social changes necessary to creating an

informed and involved citizenry.

The Sublime and Transcendence

 The sublime is a meeting of the subjective-internal (emotional) and the objective-external

(natural world): we allow our emotions to overwhelm our rationality as we experience the

wonder of creation. ... Because the sublime is emotional, it is traditionally considered

something one must experience alone. Many artists during the Romantic period became fascinated
with the notion of the “sublime,” a state that such Classical authors as Plato defined as physical, moral,

intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual, or artistic “greatness.” This greatness has such great

magnified that it cannot be calculated, measured, or imitated. Sublimity is usually associated with the

power it has on the perceiver’s senses, mind, and imagination. Classical writers tended to imagine that the

sublime was a quality of great beauty. Enlightenment philosophers such as Edmund Burke, however,

insisted that sublimity and beauty were mutually exclusive qualities. The emphasis here was on the

mixture of ecstacy (meaning delight , joy , happiness ) and terror (meaning anxiety and panic ) that an

encounter with the sublime generates. An encounter with beauty, by contrast, generates feelings of

pleasure, not terror or ecstasy. This is why seeing a tornado or a tsunami—or standing on the edge of a

cliff or having a vision of God—are sublime experiences. They create in us complex feelings that mix

terror with ecstasy.

Many artists and intellectuals during this time sought out sublime experiences which, in part, explains the

fascination with travel literature, mountain climbing, powerful storms, and other sensational experience.

The power of the imagination, genius, and the source of inspiration

It was a given during the Romantic period that one had a personal genius or personality which

constituted the individual’s personality. Writers of this time not only sought to transmit this

unique “genius” into art, but were also fascinated by the nature of genius. The Latin origin of the

word genius involves belief in tutelary spirits. If someone were particularly talented, the ancient

Romans would have considered his genius to be a particularly powerful spirit working through

that individual. This quasi-spiritual explanation for particularly creative and capable individuals

pervades Romantic-era thinking about the human mind and the individual, particularly the “man

of genius.”

Many writers including Blake, Wordsworth, Shelley, and Keats—among others—wrote about the nature

and power of the human imagination and speculated about the source(s) of the artist’s inspiration. We can
appreciate their fascination. If the imagination is a mental faculty, what distinguishes it from, say, reason

or simple perception? Why are some people more imaginative than others? Can the imagination be

cultivated and improved—or is it a special gift that one either does or does not possess? And what,

exactly, is inspiration and where does it come from? 

Below are five of the greatest and most emblematic poems of the eighteenth century and are

written in the English language for those interested :

1-Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock

In conclusion , Romanticism is a philosophical movement during the Age of Enlightenment

which emphasizes emotional self-awareness as a necessary pre-condition to improving society

and bettering the human condition. Romanticism in general was a reaction against the scientific

rationalization of Nature during the Age of Reason, which left little room for the freedom and

creativity of the human spirit, and it stressed strong emotion as a source of aesthetic experience.

However, Romantic poetry is the poetry of the Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and

intellectual movement and it has several specific characteristics or features and Romantic poetry is

known for its specific themes. In the end of the day , emotions are the best tools for a great

connection with our souls and other things around us and romantic poetry can definitely help with

that. Thank You !

http://saleonard.people.ysu.edu/Romantic%20notes.html

https://www.bachelorandmaster.com/literaryterms/romantic-poetry.html#.XvcVYW0zbIW

https://interestingliterature.com/2019/11/the-best-eighteenth-century-poems-everyone-should-read/