Unit 48. Romanticism in Great Britain Flashcards
Dates of the Romantic Period
According to J.A. Cuddon, Romantic period in English literature may be said to have appear in 1785 (with the publication of Blake’s poems) and lasted until 1830 (when most authors were dead or no longer productive).
However, other authors suggest that this period lasted from the publication of Lyrical Ballads to Dicken’s death
Changes in England in this period
Politically, the Hanoverian autocratic system was challenged.
In society, American and French revolutions were a stimulus for those who were not happy with the situation.
And economically, there was a change from an agricultural system to a more modern and industrialised one
Romantic Literature main theme
It was the apreciation of nature. Romantics generally identified their moods with the moods of nature, which was a vehicle to portrait the poet’s emotions.
Appearance of the Gothic novel
It was inaugurated by Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto, A Gothic Story and continued by Clara Ravee’s The Champion of Virtue, A Gothic Story
Characteristics of Gothic novel
The term derives from the frequent setting in a gloomy castle from the Middle Ages, though it was extended to novels occurring in the past, exploiting dungeons, secret passages, ghosts and often involving the persecution of a beautiful maiden by an obsessed and haggard villain.
The Novel of Purpose
It was very popular too at the time. It was written to propagate social and politic theories for the age of the French Revolution.
Jane Austen
She remained untouched by the political, intellectual and artistic restrictions of the age, she instead turned to Neoclassical Past. She deliveratedbly decided to work on her own experience, dealing with provincial gentlefolk.
Jane Austen’s works
Sense and Sensibility: there is a balance between impulsiveness and maturity
Northanger Abbey and Pride & Prejudice: first impressions and subjectivity lead to reasonableness and detachment
Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuassion: she obligues the reader to learn to judge
Sir Walter Scott
He wrote historical novels, which was his greatest originality. He frequently altered the order of the events for novelistic purposes but maintaining fidelity and accuracy.
Sir Walter Scott’ Themes
The Relations between the Anglo Saxons and the Normans after the conquest (Ivanhoe)
The Jacobite rebellions (Waverly, Rob Roy)
The antigovernamental riots in 18th Edinburgh (The Heart of Midlothian)
Elizabethean England (Kenilsworth)
General Features of Romantic Poetry
Poetry composition was emerging from impuse, coming from the heart.
Nature poetry, it is a stimulus to thinking, then they are meditative poems.
Content over form, which implied more complex plots and combinations of styles and genres.
Main images in romantic poetry
The sea (as related to passion and dissorder)
The desert
The Island
The voyage to the unknown (search of identity)
A palace (ideal world)
Magic boat (vehicle for imagination)
Early Romantic Poetry
William Blake
The lake poets: William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
William Blake
Dissatisfaction with the reigning poetic tradition and the need to find a new language to express ancient legends
William Blake’s works
Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience
The Lamb and the Tyger
London
The Chimney Sweeper, Infant Joy and A Craddle Song
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
The Four Zoas, Milton and Jerusalem
