Romantics Lecture Notes

Massolit – Romanticism – Dr Ross Wilson

Genre:

• Named after the genre of literature ‘the romance’ – fantastical tale involving a quest, elements of folk-law and magic etc. Romanticism thought as a revival of ‘The Romance’.
• Romanticism – a rejection of conformity, thought that genre doesn’t matter (Bryan W. Proctor), despite being named after a genre.
• Many achievements of the Romantics are of recovering old genres. e.g., reviving the Sonnet.
• Emergence of the autobiography, historical novel, the ballad etc.
• So complex, as both named after a genre, and revival and invention of genre and rejection and suppression of conformality in favour of individuality.

Language:

• John Locke – philosopher – thought language was arbitrary, no natural connection between words and what they mean. Language only arises out of habit and convention.
• Poetic diction – 18^th century, thought poetry should be written with a sense of decorum, elevated, highly selective etc.
• Both ideas above came under pressure in Romantic period.
• Wordsworth – poets have “a greater knowledge of human nature, and a more comprehensive soul, that are supposed to be common among mankind” – thinks poets language and language of ordinary people are the same, only difference between normal language and poetry is metre. Wordsworth trying to rethink the insistence of poetic diction and reject the idea that words are arbitrary – Wordsworth adopts the language of normal people as it arises “out of repeated experience and regular feelings”. ‘arises’ suggests there is a connection between feelings and objects and the words used to represent them.
•  Romantic ideas – that language needs to be rethought and reinvigorated – especially Shelley. He’s more happy with the arbitrariness of words, but thinks habits should be rethought. Thinks language of poets notices relationships between words, therefore rejuvenated and that language needs constant rejuvenating.

Emotion:

• Emotions to the detriment of thoughts? Emotions in qualified thoughts and some rationality.
• ‘for all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings’ – Wordsworth. Statement immediately followed by a qualification: ‘but modified and directed by our thoughts’ – connection between thought and feeling. Emotion via contemplation produces poetry.
• Wdswth: thoughts are representative of past feelings. Emotion via contemplation = poetry. Emotion mediated by thought and returned to. E.g. Tintern Abbey.
• Keats: poetry is like a remembrance. Almost reminding the reader of feelings/ thoughts etc. Keats’ letters. ‘it should strike the Reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts’, appearing ‘almost as a remembrance’. Keats looks at effect of reader a lot. ‘thoughts’ not feelings.

Poetry:

• Being a ‘true poet’ rather than a man of wit and sense – Warton brothers.
• Poets don’t necessarily adhere to moral standards but are the unacknowledged legislators of the world – Shelley.
• William Hazlitt – All are poets, ‘the poet does no more than describe what the others think and act’. Not necessarily morally sound. Decoupling of poetic imagination from morality, also case for those poets that want to claim a political or social position for poetry.

The Sublime

• Astonishment is the main effect of the sublime. All-encompassing can only think of sublime when experiencing it. Magnitude. – Burke
• Beautiful is a more serene experience.
• Kant: Dynamic sublime (power of nature) vs Mathematical sublime (huge sized objects so difficult to take in).
• Emotion and nature not easily understood, awe-inspiring and horrific.
• Contemplation to thoughts of grandeur of nature to thoughts of power of nature.
• Sublime and nature – incomprehensible.

Nature

• Keats- ‘if poetry comes not as naturally as leaves to a tree, it had better not come at all’. Poetry itself is a natural product – not manmade – a paradox.
• Nature not only grandeur – sometimes fleeting and vulnerable, wdswth explores this in poems about flowers. Blake emphasises minute particulars in nature.
• Nature doesn’t always show itself in daylight.
• Blake – doesn’t appreciate wdswths love of nature. Rejection and resisting of wdsworthian nature.

The Supernatural

• Gothic arose with the Romantic movement.
• Is life bestowed by God or scientific – ‘Frankenstein’ by Shelley.
• Lyrical Ballads – wdswth to talk about nature, Coleridge to talk about supernatural.
• Blake – child trying to communicate with adult, songs of innocence/experience. Whether that goes towards to death – like in ‘The Erl-King’ by Goethe
• Byron – comedy to do with ghosts. Gothic.
• Art itself is a ghostly thing – not alive but seems like it may come alive – Byron.

Revolution

• American Revolution 1775-83
• French Revolution 1789-99
• Reign of Terror
• Napoleonic Period
• England at war with revolutionary then Napoleonic France.
• Blake – responds to revolution in some poems – has constant revolutionary spirit. Rethinking of European societies. Wdswth, Coleridge enthusiasts to French Revolution. Wdswth did have revolutionary politics but then he betrayed those principles.
•  Born around French revolution in violent reaction in England to it: Byron, Shelley, Keats.
• Haitian Revolution – 1791 – celebrated by wdswth.
• In England: unrest. Manchester – early industrial town and growing population yet no parliamentary representation – charged event – Peterloo Massacre 1819. Shelley wrote ‘The Mask of Anarchy’ in response.
• Not a lot of political freedom in terms of voting – women couldn’t vote, ballots weren’t anonymous etc.

The Romantic Canon

• The ‘big six’ are all men – there were Romantic female poets.
• Slavery starting to come under pressure. Black poets overlooked also.
• When does Romanticism end? Is it with the death of Wordsworth of does it still appear in current poetry.