British Romanticism Flashcards
background and context, Preface William Wordsworth, "I wandered lonely as a cloud", "Mary, A Fiction", "Frankenstein"
How did the term Romanticism develop?
It used to mean simple entertainment, but in the early 19th century, it was coined for the romanticist movement.
- celebrating emotion, imagination and nature over rationalism
What are the enabling catalysts of Romanticism?
-French Revolution -> Political Shift: human rights (life doesn‘t have to be the way it always has been under the crown)-> New sense of Individualism
-Industrial Revolution: Social Shift -> Changes working class, industrialization of society, awareness that the environment can be destroyed (Change from agricultural society to industrialized one-> Landscapes Wordsworth loved so much were being destroyed)
-Culture of Sensibility: Sensibility instead of rationality -> “anything can be rationalized” is what Romanticists fought against
How do we classify Romantic writers?
- geography (emotion, nature, imagination)
- thematic focus
- stylistic approach
We classify them by two main generations:
First Generation: (William and Dorothy) Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey
Second Generation:
Byron, (Percy and Mary) Shelley, Keats
What are the functions of the preface in the Lyrical Ballads of William Wordsworth?
- founding document of British Romaticism
- apology, accusation and explanation (explains poems)
It serves as an apology for his romantic writing style but also as an explanation for his reason to use it as well as criticism towards Neoclassicism/contemporary literature.
His criticism: Neoclassicism/Contemporary literature is dominated by german tragedy, is deluged of idle and extravagant stories in verse, frantic novels and lofty/fake language. It simply took the classics and imitated them. It is cheap entertainment and has nothing intelligent or thought provoking.
What alternative does Wordsworth offer and how does he achieve it?
- alternative to artificial, ornate and formal poetry
–> more natural, sincere and emotionally resonant form of poetry
–> common language, humble subjects, deep emotional sincerity
poet: not distant; communicates universal human experiences, mediator between nature and humanity
IN DETAIL
His alternative is a way of poetry that is a spontaneous overflow of emotion, containing simple language of the ordinary man instead of lofty fake language and focussing on emotions and perception.
-> Ordinary language is his pathway to getting close to real, untainted emotions cause the common man is the closest to “reality”.
Acc. to Wordsworth: Common life is worthy of literary attention. It is untainted by education: Connection to common man‘s feelings and nature (Similar to Rousseau‘s notion of the “noble savage” and their “uncorrupted morals” which prevail in the “state of nature” -> he is untainted by industrialization, culture etc. and is therefore able to feel real emotions/feel what other should feel).
And how does he define the poet?
The poet is a person who feels the world/perceives it on a deeper level -> Their task: To communicate these feelings, perceptions etc. to others and thus free them of depression.
In comparison to American Romanticism, how is nature viewed here?
American Romanticism: Nature is there for nature‘s sake.
≠
British Romanticism (values perception, subjectivity): For many Romanticists nature was there.
–> seen as source of spiritual & emotional inspiration
- power of memory and imagination -> experiences
-melancholic, nostalgic tone
What becomes the defining feature of British Romantic literature?
Perception/subjective experience is core (Wordsworth was at lake district, where nature and simple, urban landscape was).
Give a brief sketch which steps Wordsworth defines for the creative process.
Wordsworth formulates a theory how poetry is created from the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” to the written form of the poem.
6 steps:
-simple, common language -> just telling what you see, not using confusing metaphors etc.
-ordinary life
-emotion and spontaneity
-imagination and creativity
-poetry as a reflection of the own mind -> only a good poet can translate overflow of emotions into poetry
-unity of the poet with nature
1.Spontaneous emotional outpouring from powerful feelings. -> often happens when the poet is united with nature
2.Recollection in tranquility, where the poet reflects on and refines the emotions.
3.Crafting the poem, translating those feelings into structured verse.
4.The poet as a teacher, communicating emotions to evoke a shared understanding with the reader.
Take the poem “I wandered lonely …” and try to identify how the poem reflects these steps.
- Observation: The speaker notices a field of daffodils “beside the lake, beneath the trees.”
- Emotion: The sight of the daffodils fills the speaker with joy and wonder.
- Contemplation: Later, in solitude, the speaker reflects on the memory of the daffodils.
- Recreation: This reflection inspires the poem, allowing the speaker to recreate and share the uplifting experience with readers.
What does Dorothy‘s text (her diary entry) tell us about the writing of the poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud”?
- valuable insight into inspiration and creative process
-Her diary was inspiration for the poem: same events and experiences (the daffodils etc.) –> shared
What movement (from inanimate to animate) can we trace in the poem?
-When he writes the poem, he is in the state of an inanimate object (the clouds) brought alive/moved by the experience
William Wordsworth/the lyrical eye is a cloud that is moved by what he witnesses.
–> reflection: when he is alone, the memory is enough to make him happy again
Why was Rousseau seen as a revolutionary mind?
He created the concept of the noble savage in his works, and therefore created a concept that reflected essence of British Romanticism: He lived a simple life in nature, and was therefore untainted by science and education of our society: He therefore had a perfect connection to his own feelings and the world around him, could feel what others could not feel.
Simple, rustic life and language: The main focus for Wordsworth and in British Romanticism in General: The closest to “real” emotions.
What does Wollstonecraft want to achieve in this text (“Mary, A Fiction”)?
- critique of conventional gender roles
–> advocacy for female independence and education - criticism of marriage as social institution
IN DETAIL
She wanted to criticize female education of the middle class women (not aristocrats, cause they weren’t restricted) at the time, and to write a female character that has not been there before -> The others lacked intellect cause women weren’t thought of as people who can think -> Middle Class education kept women passive, making their minds restrictive to their abilities
What is the difference between Mary and her mother Eliza in (“Mary, A Fiction”)?
Eliza became a victim of middle class education (education by industrialized cities), therefore lacked empathy, intellect and emotion.
Mary went to nature and got into contact with simple people, therefore learned what Eliza did not.
