Definition
Romanticism is a literary and artistic movement that emerged in Europe in the late 18th century and lasted till the mid-19th century. It emphasizes emotion, imagination, individual experience, and a reverence for nature. Romanticism in literature often embraces the irrational, emotional, and untamed aspects of human experience.
Origin
The origins of Romanticism can be traced back to Europe in the late 1700s, particularly as a response to the Enlightenment. Romanticism as a literary movement emerged with the publication of Lyrical Ballads (written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth) in 1798. Romanticism arose as a counter-movement, prioritizing emotional experience and intuition over reason, and it had a significant impact on literature, art, and music. Romantic writers and artists sought to connect with nature and explore the depths of human experience. This period gave rise to some of the most celebrated works in the history of literature and art.
Historical Context
Romanticism developed in a period marked by significant social, political, and religious upheavals. The French Revolution (1789–1799) initially inspired many writers with its ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity, but as the revolution spiraled into chaos and violence, the darker aspects of human nature became central themes in Romantic literature. The Industrial Revolution also transformed Europe, bringing rapid urbanization and mechanization. In response, Romantic writers sought refuge in nature, valuing its spiritual and emotional renewal over the alienation of industrial life.
This period also saw disillusionment with the Church of England, which had lost touch with much of the population. Some parsons neglected their parishes, while others prioritized their own pleasures, leaving many urban laborers spiritually unserved. Alternative religious movements, like Methodism, which emphasized emotional conversion and redemption, resonated with Romantics. Influences from Unitarianism and Swedenborgianism also shaped their views, as they explored new spiritual expressions outside the confines of the established church.
Characteristics
Romanticism in literature is defined by several key characteristics, which include:
- Emotion over Reason: Romanticism prioritizes emotion and passion over logic and reason.
- Reverence for Nature: Nature was viewed as a powerful force, representing purity in contrast to the industrialized world.
- The Supernatural and Mysterious: Romantic literature often explored the supernatural, as well as the mysteries of life and death, with a fascination for the unknown.
- The Sublime: Romantic writers focused on the moments of awe and terror, particularly in nature, which evoked a sense of the sublime (an overwhelming blend of beauty and fear).
- Five I’s: The Five I’s—Idealism, Imagination, Individualism, Inspiration, and Intuition, are the key components of Romantic literature.
Key Forms and Genres
Several literary forms gained prominence during Romanticism, including:
1. Poetry
During Romanticism poetry was believed to be the highest form of literature. The following types of poetry were popular at that time:
- Ode: A formal and often elevated style of lyric poem used to address particular subjects.
- Ballad: A narrative poem that tells a dramatic or emotional story.
2. Novel
Another literary form of Romantic literature is the novel. Most novels of the time were written by women and therefore novels were regarded as a lower form, often as sensationalistic by the Romantics. The types of novels written during Romanticism are:
- Gothic Novel: An important subgenre, that dealt with supernatural elements, mystery, and dark settings, often exploring the psychological depths of characters. Writers like Mary Shelley and Ann Radcliffe were pioneers of this form.
- Bildungsroman: The genre of novel which focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood, became popular in the Romantic period.
- Historical Novel: Writers like Sir Walter Scott revolutionized the historical novel by blending historical events with fictional characters.
3. Essay
Romantic writers also wrote essays that often reflected on personal experience, philosophy, and nature, aligning with the Romantic ideal of subjectivity and individual perception. Charles Lamb, William Hazlitt, and Thomas De Quincey were significant essayists who explored literary criticism and politics with an emotional and reflective tone.
4. Drama
Although Romanticism was not as dominant in drama as in poetry and prose, writers like Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron wrote some plays like “The Cenci”, “Prometheus Unbound”, “Manfred”, and others that explored themes of rebellion, personal anguish, and the supernatural.
Representative Authors
Several authors defined the Romantic movement across different countries. Romanticism saw the flowering of some of the greatest poets in the English language which are divided into two generations. The first generation of Romantic poets include the following:
William Blake
William Blake was a visionary poet, engraver, and painter whose work played a key role in shaping Romanticism. He is known for his mystical and symbolic poetry that explores themes of imagination, nature, and individual freedom, often critiquing industrialization and institutional oppression. Some of his famous works are “Songs of Innocence and of Experience”, “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell”, “Jerusalem”, and “Milton”. Blake’s emphasis on personal expression and the sublime had a profound influence on later Romantic poets, making him a cornerstone of the movement.
William Wordsworth
He was an English poet laureate and one of the founders of English Romanticism, who is famous for his deep love of nature and his belief in the power of the human imagination. Wordsworth is renowned for his ability to see the sublime, or the divine, in ordinary people and places. “Lyrical Ballads”, “Poems in Two Volumes”, “Lines Composed A Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”, “The Solitary Reaper”, “My Heart Leaps Up”, and “Daffodils” are a few of his well-known compositions.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
He was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who co-founded English Romanticism by writing “Lyrical Ballads” along with William Wordsworth. Coleridge’s work often explored the mystical, supernatural, and psychological aspects of human experience. He is best remembered for his iconic poems “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, “Frost at Midnight”, and “Kubla Khan”, which showcase his mastery of lyrical language and dreamlike imagery.
The second generation of Romantic poets include the following:
Lord Byron
Lord Byron, born George Gordon Byron, was one of the most flamboyant and influential poets of the English Romantic movement. Byron’s emphasis on freedom, overtly sexual themes, pessimism, and exploration of the flawed, brooding “Byronic hero,” a character archetype he popularized made his writing notable in his day. Some of his well-known works are “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage”, “Don Juan”, and “She Walks in Beauty”.
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was a leading figure of the English Romantic movement, known for his radical ideas and lyrical, visionary poetry. His work often challenged authority and championed ideals of freedom, justice, and the power of human imagination. His most famous poems, such as “Ode to the West Wind”, “To a Skylark”, and “Ozymandias”, reflect his deep connection to nature and his belief in the potential for societal change. Shelley’s intense idealism and revolutionary spirit made him a controversial figure in his time, but his poetry’s emotional depth and lyrical beauty have cemented his legacy as one of the greatest Romantic poets.
John Keats
John Keats was the youngest of the major romantic poets. He was a well-known English Romantic poet, popular for his deep examination of beauty and mortality, rich emotional depth, and vivid imagery. In spite of his untimely death, Keats left behind some of the most enduring poetry in the English language. His major works, including “Ode to a Nightingale”, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, and “To Autumn”, reflect his fascination with the fleeting nature of life and the eternal nature of art. Keats’ poetry is known for its sensuous language and profound meditations on human experience.
Despite novels being considered a lower form of literature, some of the most famous British novelists wrote during this period, including names like:
Jane Austen
She was an English novelist who is known for her sharp wit, mastery of irony, and social commentary. The common themes of Austen’s works are love, marriage, and the social constraints of her time. Her characters, often strong, independent women, navigate the complexities of relationships within the confines of early 19th-century England. Jane Austen became an enduring and popular personality in English literature because of her ability to combine romance with a critique of societal norms. Moreover, she helped to raise the novel to a more esteemed art form and paved the way for other women to pursue writing careers despite their lack of access to the elite education that was formerly reserved for men.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
She was an English novelist and is best known as the author of “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus”, often regarded as the first science fiction novel. “Frankenstein” explores themes of creation, ambition, and the consequences of playing God, reflecting the anxieties of the Industrial Revolution and the Romantic era. She wrote a number of additional novels, essays, and biographical works besides Frankenstein, establishing her reputation as a pioneering author who explored the darkest sides of human nature and questioned the norms of society.
Representative Works
The literary works of Romanticism embody the movement’s departure from rigid structures and its celebration of human creativity and the natural world. The following are a few well-known Romantic literary works:
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
“Songs of Innocence and of Experience” is a collection of poems by William Blake. Initially, he wrote “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience” separately, but later he combined these two collections in 1794. The work is divided into two contrasting sections: “Songs of Innocence”, which presents childhood hopes and fears expressed from the viewpoint of someone with limited life experience. As Blake believed that children are closer to the divine than adults, some of these poems celebrate the joyous potential of childhood.
In contrast, “Songs of Experience” explores the darker aspects of life, such as suffering, oppression, and the loss of innocence. Furthermore, he associates innocence with the purity of the countryside and experience with the depravity of city life. Together, the poems reflect Blake’s belief in the duality of human nature, capturing the tension between innocence and experience in a world filled with both beauty and harshness.
Lines Composed A Few Miles above Tintern Abbey
“Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey” is a reflective poem by William Wordsworth, written in 1798. This meditative work recounts Wordsworth’s revisit to the banks of the River Wye, near Tintern Abbey, after five years. The poem explores the transformative power of nature, as he reflects on how his relationship with nature has deepened over time. He compares his immature, intense love of the natural world during his childhood and his more experienced, spiritual relationship with it after growing up. Ultimately, the poem highlights how nature has a sustaining and healing effect on the human soul, offering solace throughout the challenges of life.
Prometheus Unbound
“Prometheus Unbound” is a lyrical drama by Percy Bysshe Shelley, first published in 1820. It reimagines the myth of Prometheus the Titan who challenged Zeus by giving fire to humanity, symbolizing rebellion against tyranny. Unlike the original story, Shelley’s Prometheus is eventually freed from his punishment by the power of love and forgiveness. The work is considered one of the most complex and ambitious works of Romantic literature and reflects Shelley’s ideals of freedom, justice, and human potential.
Ode to a Nightingale
“Ode to a Nightingale” is a poem by John Keats, written in 1819. In this poem, Keats explores themes of nature, transience, and mortality, by contrasting the eternal beauty of the nightingales’ song and the fleeting nature of human life. The bird’s song transports the speaker (most probably the poet himself) into a realm of imagination and escape, where he longs to transcend the sorrows of mortality. However, in the end, the poem acknowledges that this escape is temporary, as reality inevitably pulls him back.
Frankenstein
“Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus”, is written by Mary Shelley and published in 1818, is one of the earliest examples of science fiction. The story of this novel is based on an arrogant scientist Victor Frankenstein who creates a man using dead bodies, only to be horrified by the creature he brings to life. It emphasizes emotions over reason and the dangers of relying exclusively on intellect and science, the awe-inspiring nature of the sublime, and the human ability to corrupt what should be naturally good, which reflects the basic ideals of romanticism.
Pride and Prejudice
“Pride and Prejudice” is a “novel of manners” written by Jane Austen, which she originally published anonymously in 1813. The story of this novel revolves around a young woman named Elizabeth Bennet, who deals with the issues of marriage, societal expectations, and her evolving relationship with Mr. Darcy. Austen critiques the strict class divisions and gender roles of her time while celebrating the importance of self-awareness and emotional maturity, by using witty dialogue throughout the novel.
Major Themes
The main themes of Romanticism literature are:
1. Emotion and Passion
Literature composed during Romanticism profoundly emphasizes emotion and passion. The Romantics valued emotion, intuition, and feeling over logic. Poets and writers of this era believed that true knowledge comes from emotional depth and personal experience. This theme is vividly reflected in the works of William Wordsworth, particularly in poems like “Lines Composed A Few Miles above Tintern Abbey” where he expresses the transformative power of nature and the deep emotional resonance it evokes in the human spirit.
2. Individualism
Another major theme of the Romantic literature is individualism. Writers of previous eras or movements had focused on other subjects like politics, business, trade, and the lives of famous people, while ordinary people were considered unworthy of general interest. However, the Romantic writers believed that each individual had the same rights and worth as any leader or famous personality. This theme is evident in many literary works of romanticism such as Blake’s “The Tyger”, Byron’s “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage”, and Shelley’s “Ozymandias”.
3. Dreams and Visions
Romantic poets often viewed dreams as a means to access deeper truths and transcend mundane existence. The exotic imagery and fantastical elements found in works like “Kubla Khan” composed by Samuel Taylor Coleridge illustrate how dreams have the power to arouse deep thoughts and access the subconscious. This theme emphasizes the idea that human imagination holds the power to transform reality, suggesting that one’s inner visions can illuminate the path to understanding and enlightenment.
4. Pantheism
The notion of Pantheism (the belief that there is no difference between the creator and creation) was popular among the Romantics. Due to the Industrial Revolution, the countryside was viewed as a place of recreation and an escape from the ever-increasing filth and disorder that industry brought to towns and cities. Poems like Wordsworth’s “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey” and Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” demonstrate how romantic poets saw nature as a place of spiritual purity and a way to communicate with the divine.
Conclusion
In short, Romanticism is a literary movement that celebrates individualism, emotions, and the beauty of nature. It was a period of artistic expression that embraced the power of emotions and imagination, rejecting the rationalism of the Enlightenment. By focusing on personal experience, the sublime, and nature, Romantic writers sought to explore the depths of the human spirit and creativity. This movement reshaped literature, art, and culture, leaving a lasting legacy of emotional depth, and a profound appreciation for the natural world.