Y8 Romantic Poetry Flashcards
What is Romanticism?
An artistic and cultural revolution that reacted against the Industrial Revolution, science and materialism and instead celebrated nature, creativity, emotion and individual imagination and genius.
When did it happen?
Mainly between 1770 and 1850.
What are the key features of Romantic poetry?
Emphasis on the emotions and the imagination.
An almost religious response to nature, in contrast to the ugliness of machines, factories, pollution.
A capacity for wonder and awe.
Importance of self-expression and feeling: the poet as a visionary.
Celebration of childhood innocence.
Interest in primitive (especially medieval) forms of art: ancient ballads, folk songs, mythology.
Concern for society’s outcasts: tramps, beggars, the poor and disregarded.
Who are the important Romantic writers and poets in English?
William Blake (1757 - 1827) William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850) Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834) Lord Byron (1788 - 1824) Percy Shelley (1792 - 1822) Mary Shelley (1797 - 1851) John Keats (1795 - 1821)
What was the Industrial Revolution?
The rapid shift - from about 1760 - from an economy based on farming and handicraft to an economy dominated by heavy industry and machine manufacturing.
What was the French Revolution?
When the French people overthrew the monarchy and took control of the government. It began in 1789 when revolutionaries stormed the Bastille prison. Soon, however, the revolution descended into the Reign of Terror. Napoleon Bonaparte emerged as emperor.
What is the Sublime?
The feeling of awe, terror and frightening majesty when confronted with the colossal and merciless forms of nature that dwarf us.
