Romantic Poetry in Britain: Self, Nature, and the Sublime - Prof. Monrós, Apuntes de Literatura del Siglo XIX

¡Descarga Romantic Poetry in Britain: Self, Nature, and the Sublime - Prof. Monrós y más Apuntes en PDF de Literatura del Siglo XIX solo en Docsity! Nineteenth-Century poetry in English Romantic poetry Romanticism developed in the period between the 1780s and the 1830s. British Romantic poetry has been read as the poetry of the self and nature, the poetry of consciousness, of freedom and national identity. Generations: e Early Romantic poets: William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge e Late Romantic poets: Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats e BIGSIX + Key ideas and influences of Romanticism Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains Dissatisfied intellectuals and artists challenged the Establishment, inspired by a desire for liberty and denouncing the exploitation of the poor. There was an emphasis on the importance of the individual. Revolution This was a time of physical confrontation and violent rebellion in parts of Europe and the New World. The early Romantic poets tended to be supporters of the French Revolution, hoping that it would bring about political change. However, the bloody Reign of Terror shocked them profoundly and affected their views. The imagination The Romantics thought that they were prophetic figures who could interpret reality. They highlighted the healing power of imagination because they believed that it could enable people to transcend their troubles and their circumstances. <% A Defence of Poetry (1821), Shelley elevated the status of poets. He declared that “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world” The marginalised and oppressed William Wordsworth was concerned about the elitism of earlier poets, whose highbrow language and subject matters were neither accessible nor particularly relevant to ordinary people. Poetry should be democratic and composed in the language really spoken by men. He tried to give a voice to those who tended to be marginalised and oppressed by society. William Blake was radical in his political views, frequently addressing social issues in his poems and expressing his concerns about the monarchy and the church. <% Lyrical Ballads < Songs of Innocence and of Experience Children, nature and the sublime For the world to be regenerated, the Romantics said it was necessary to start all over again with a childlike perspective. They believed that children were special because they were innocent and uncorrupted, enjoying a previous affinity with nature. The Romantics were inspired by the environment and encouraged people to venture into new territories. In their writings, they made the world seem a place with infinite, unlimited potential. <$ A Walking Tour of Cumbria, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The concept of the sublime conveys the feelings people experience when they see awesome landscapes or find themselves in extreme situations which elicit both fear and admiration. < Mont Blanc (1816), Shelley < A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful Female poets Female poets also contributed to the Romantic movement, but their strategies tended to be more subtle and less controversial. Women were generally limited in their prospects, and many found themselves confined to the domestic sphere; nevertheless, they did manage to express and intimate their concerns. ee The Chimney Sweeper's Complaint by Mary Alcock. < The Birth-Day by Mary Robisons highlights the discrepancy between life for the rich and the poor. < Indian Woman's Death Song by Felicia Hermans talks about gender issues. < 1816 Christabel; Kubla Khan: A Vision; The Pain of Sleep 1817 Sybilline Leaves 4 1828 Poetical Works The second generation of Romantics The second generation of Romantic poets shared the sense of liberty of their Romantic predecessors but responded to their poetry in heterogeneous ways. Poets who reacted against the ideas of the first generation. e Group of writers, summer of 1815, the eruption of a volcano in Indonesia, climate changes, vila Diodati, John Polidori (The vampire), Clairmont, Mary Shelley (Frankenstein), Lord Byron (Childe Harold's Pilgrimage). John Keats (1795-1821) John Keats's poetic achievement in a span of a mere six years can only be described as astonishing. His six odes were all written in 1819 and are considered his highest literary achievement. Another of the great works that Keats wrote in 1819 is La belle dame sans merci, which considers the concept of 'negative capability' in its interpretation. When a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason. The idea is that a person's potential can be defined by what they do not possess, a need to be clever, a determination to work everything out. 'gusto' Great poets had gusto because their personal opinions do not affect the independence and freedom ofthe characters they create. Men of genius Keat recognised the chameleon aspect of his own nature. He told Woodhouse how he would quickly be annihilated by the different identities pressing upon him. But that was the nature of poets, of the men of genius Keats habitually measured himself against. For Keats, Shakespeare was a man of genius who was presiding over him. Lord Byron (1788-1824) He was critical of the earlier Romantics, whom he considered archaic and their lure for nature. Byron was inspired by real people, places, and events, and above all, by his own persona and life experiences. He wanted more modern poetry. Lord Byron was the personification of the Romantic hero. eS + 1806 Fugitive Pieces 1812 Childe Harold's Pilgrimage 1814 The Corsair es e e e e 1819-24 Don Juan A disillusioned young man, a melancholy, solitary, cynical “Byronic hero', who tires of his sinful, pleasure-seeking lifestyle and decides to travel Byron developed this character in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. This genre is used to mock the traditional hero. An example of it is “Don Juan, in which Byron depicts Juan not as a rake and libertine but, rather, as a young innocent who, after being seduced by a married lady, embarks on a series of colourful adventures. The true 'hero' of the piece is actually its cynical, world-weary narrator. Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) Shelley's political thought was much informed by William Godwin's (Mary Shelley's father). He longed for social justice and his intellectual idealism was rooted in a firm rejection of Christianity. He believed in the power of the artist in changing the world. He was a tormented mind. < Queen Mab: A Philosophical Poem + Ozymandias (1817-18): it reflects onthe idea of the perpetuation of art over transient eS tyrannies. eS + A Defence of Poetry (1821): Shelley appeals to the social function of poetry and the role of the poetas a philosopher. + Odeto the West Wind eS Victorian poetry Their poetry was written during the Victorian period (1837-1901) and they continued many of the previous eras main themes (religious scepticism, artist as a genius), but they developed a distinct sensibility. Victorian writers are known for their interest in verbal embellishment, mystical interrogation, brooding scepticism, and whimsical nonsense. Victorian poets used almost every form of verse, came from every social class and gender and engaged in a variety of cultural discourses: political, religious, social, economic and scientific. < Massive printing and consumption. The century ofthe novel. Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) He was one of the great poets of the Victorian era, appointed 'poet laureate' in 1850. The poem "The Lady of Shalott" illustrates his fascination with Arthurian legends, which he shared with the Pre-Raphaelites, who variously responded to the poem in his paintings. The poem lends to numerous interpretations related to topics like reflections on the creativity of the poet and the relation between art and life. e e 1827 Poems by two brothers e e 1830 Poems CHiefly Lyrical e e 1832 Poems by Alfred Tennyson e e 1842 Poems - collection of poetry in which he revised some of the poems that he wrote ten years earlier. He became a more popular poet. e e 1850 In Memoriam - he joined one of the university classes (the apostles) with his friend Arthur Henry Mallam (who died due to an illness). The most beautiful elegy in English literature. He spent many years without writing. e e 1855 Maud; A Monodrama published. e e 1859 Idylls of the King e e 1869 The Holy Grail and Other Poems Elizabeth Barret Browning (1806-61) She was one of the most influential women writers of her time, challenging literary conventions and being politically engaged in various social causes of her time. Elizabeth Barret Browing wrote about industrialisation, slavery, political leadership, religious controversy, the problems faced by women in society, and what it was like to live in the modern world.