Romantic Period Flashcards
1
Q
Robbie Burns
A
- 1759-1796
- Cusp of romantic age; symbol of Scottish literature
- Farmer, honored heritage with Scottish dialect
- Collected 300 folk-songs and rewrote, added music
- How people “really are,” common human experiences
- Wrote “Poems: Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect”
2
Q
William Blake
A
- 1757-1827
- Poet and artist; mystic with spiritual world connections
- Born into poverty/no formal education, engraver at 14 and became professional (created new method)
- Married and stayed that way
- Rejected organized religion
- “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience”
3
Q
William Wordsworth–Personal Life
A
- 1770-1850
- Lake District: Romantic poets gathered and wrote poems
- Went to school in NW England, father died 2 uncles guardians
- Degree from Cambridge; traveled in 1781 to France and has affair/child/figures out wants to be poet
- 1793: Returns to England and reunites with Dorothy and leaves family
4
Q
William Wordsworth–Career
A
- Collaborates with Samuel Coleridge
- Known for nature poetry/simple delight; spontaneous overflow of poetry; people should be immersed in nature
- Best poet of age; Poet Laureate in 1843; believes poets of value must be thought over long and deeply
5
Q
Percy Shelley–Career
A
-1792-1822
-Religious, political rebel born into upper class
-Byronic hero; went to Oxford and got expelled for atheist pamphlet
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6
Q
Percy Shelley–Personal Life
A
- Estranged from father, eloped with sister’s best friend Harriet Westbrook to live in Europe
- Meets political radicals William Godwin and Mary Woolenstonecraft; falls in love with Godwin’s daughter
- Elopes with Mary to Switzerland and brings Jane; denied custody of children
- Percy dies after storm on Mediterranean (refused to be rescued), washes up with Sophocles and Keats
7
Q
Percy Shelley-Career
A
- Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein
- Did most famous work in Italy; wrote critical commentaries and “Adonis” and “Promethueus”
8
Q
George Gordon Byron–Personal Life
A
- 1788-1824
- Born in House of Lords with strict Calvinistic parents (father was a sea captain with two wives at same time)
- Byron had club foot, diabetes, prone to obesity; however athletic and determined to prove himself
- Title at age 10; romantic private life, went to Cambridge and had live bear as pet
- Traveled through Europe, Middle East; celebrity in 1812
- Numerous sexual affairs, relationship with 1/2 sister Augusta
- Pro-French Rev., however left England in 1816 because of views and affair
- Moves to Switzerland with Shellleys
- Died fighting with Greek nationalists against the Italians
9
Q
George Gordon Byron–Career
A
- Wrote mostly satire, “Don Juan” (satirical epic)
- Considered Neo-Classics
- Took on Wordsworth and Coleridge
10
Q
John Keats–Personal Life
A
- 1795-1821
- Life plagued with trouble: Father died when 8, mother of TB, family finances unavailable, apprenticed to apothecary and in 1816, decided against it
- Fell in love with Fanny Brawn after death of brother; too sick to marry
- Went for hike in Lake, came back with TB
11
Q
John Keats–Career
A
-Finished apothecary studies in 1816 and quit
-1817: First book of poetry, not received well
Brother Thomas died of TB in 1818
-Determined to become poet, however was hack writer
-Found appt. with artist and died of TB
12
Q
Samuel Coleridge
A
- 1772-1834
- Humble origin; father died and Coleridge sent to boarding school
- 1792: Cambridge, disliked it, wanted utopian community i US
- 1793: Army, discharged
- 1794: Back at Cambridge, no degree
- Supported French Rev.; radical lectures, collaborated with Wordsworth
- Rheumatoid arthritis, marriage collapses, addicted to laudanum and life spirals out of control
- Expert on Shakespeare; Biographia Literaria
- “Rime of Ancient Mariner”
13
Q
Romantic Age
A
- 1798-1837
- Monumental upheaval in political, economic, social, and philosophical systems creating new literature
14
Q
Political Background
A
- 1800s: French situation dominated England’s foreign policy; French Rev. as protest against royal despotism
- 1760-1820: George III King of England
- 1793-1794: Reign of Terror (rev. gov’t. Robespierre)
- 1793-1815: Napoleonic Wars (England v. France)
- 1804: Napoleon emperor of England, defeated 1805 at Trafalgar
- Duke Wellington beat in Spain; Battle of Waterloo
- Absolute monarchies restored
15
Q
England Politics/Government
A
- Severe domestic political problems
- 1760-1820: George III, insane
- 1820-1830: George IV; political repression and Tories
- 1830: William IV; first Reform Bill (allowed well-to-do to vote)
