Letteratura inglese del XVIII secolo - L'età romantica (1776-1837), Dispense di Inglese

Scarica Letteratura inglese del XVIII secolo - L'età romantica (1776-1837) e più Dispense in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! English literature 18th CENTURY – THE ROMANTIC AGE (1776- 1837) The Industrial Revolution, Second Industrial Revolution, cultural background, William Wordsworth, Daffodils. Coleridge The Romantic period was related with social and historical context in which it developed. Defined the Age of Revolutions because of the changes which took place in Britain during this time - Agricultural and Transport Revolution (Britain, 1760-1820) - Revolution of the American colonies (1776) led to the War of Secession; the American Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia - Industrial Revolution (Britain, 1780). Industry and economy flourished, and Adam Smith’s theory of laissez-faire developed - French Revolution broke out (1789). It destroyed the old social order in the name of liberty, equality and fraternity, beginning of the rise of the middle class. Why the industrial revolution began in britain - Britain had colonized India, Canada and other territories, using raw materials from these countries and starting the markets for British manufactured goods - Increased population meant growing request for goods from abroad - Scientists and inventors were free in their work, unlike in countries like France and Spain - Banks were channels for investments - Goods and raw materials could be transported easily to where they were needed INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION – AGRICULTURAL AND TRANSPORT Describes the change from agrarian/maritime economy to industrialized economy. 1 Term Industrial Revolution suggests a sudden and violent event but, on the contrary, changes developed over a number of decades and as a continuing peaceful process Technological innovations Steam-power. Coal used as fuel for steam engines (coal mines, great number of workers) Factory system Use of iron instead of wood. Factory is the new unit of the system, production in one place. Positive consequences - more food was being produced - cheaper production methods - more people were becoming literate - better roads and new networks of canals Negative consequences - very bad and dangerous conditions in coal mines - pollution - monotonous life, alienation SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION – TECHNOLOGY - building of railroads - use of machinery in manufacturing - increased use of steam power - electrical communications Social background Approval of what was happening in France, so event greeted with enthusiasm. Poets like Wordsworth and Coleridge had the sense of being present at some apocalyptic positive event of history. Response to the french revolution Edmund Burk: thinker and great prose writer, he described the French Revolution as a return into savagery and advocated reform rather than revolution. Tom Paine: Anglo-American radical, he saw the established institutions as corrupt and malign. He hoped that a democratic movement might soon affect Europe The working classes Workers began to form associations, to improve working conditions and higher wages. The ruling classes forced Parliament to declare these associations illegal in 1799-1800. They continued to exist, often in secret, and were finally legalized in 1824 CULTURAL BACKGROUND – THE PRE-ROMANTIC PERIOD 2 3. Goddess which manifests herself in the wild countryside: pantheistic view of the world. CHILDHOOD Most important period in life because it is closer to the ideal state of nature and God, he can feel glorious beauty of the natural world around him. The celestial light During childhood, we can see beauty in the elements of the nature. Natural world was lighted by a ‘celestial light’, but it faded away with time, replaced by the ‘light of the common day’. THE LYRICAL BALLADS The two words in the title originate from different traditions in the history of poetry, and have different characteristics. By combining them in the title, Wordsworth and Coleridge indicated that they were involved in a fresh interpretation of old traditions. Poetry and the poet – The preface Most important document of literary criticism of this period, it represents the Manifesto of English Romanticism, Wordsworth explained their intentions and aims. Themes: - Subject of poetry. The power of poetry presents ordinary things in an unusual way, common things more interesting. The preference for rustic life follows from the belief that men are better when closer to nature. - Language of poetry. Simple language, the language of men in the middle and lower classes. - Identity of the poet. Man speaking to other men, has deep awareness of physical sensations, deep understanding of human nature, powerful imagination, capacity to articulate sensations and thoughts. He shows men how to understand their feelings and improve their moral being. - Poetry and the creative act of the poet. Creative process starts from an emotion, recollected in tranquillity, recreated and enjoyed by the poet and then shared by the reader. The emotion is subjective, deeply rooted in personal experience. Poetry is based on experience, it depends on the spontaneous expression of the poet’s feelings and sensations. The emotion is reproduced in a purified and poetic form. COMPOSED UPON WESTMINSTER BRIDGE The poem has its origin in Wordsworth personal experience: he was crossing Westminster Bridge early in the morning of a sunny day. He was with his sister Dorothy, but he said he was alone to make the experience more personal. The poem records the meaning of nature of the countryside as opposed to town. 5 Lond is described differently from the London we’re familiar with (polluted, grey, full of smog). Elements of the town are merged in natural landscape. Language: quite simple, direct, colloquial, with some archaisms. DAFFODILS The poem has its origin in Wordsworth personal experience: he as walking with his sister Dorothy near their home in Lake District. He said he was alone to be more personal and intimate. Nature as a source of joy, alive and happy. Daffodils are personified. Man is a part of nature. Landscape: is rural and solitary. Probably Ullswater lake near Dove Cottage. MY HEART LEAPS UP The poem has its origin in Wordsworth personal experience: he sees a rainbow (source of joy). Short but dense poem. Adult man’s emotional being is mainly determined by childhood esperience, this gift of the child is called “celestial light”, it slowly fades away with adulthood. Presence of the natural piety: love and devotion to nature. From the latin pietas, presence of God in all the natural elements. SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE Life - Born in Devon in 1772. - Disappointed by the French Revolution . - Became friend with W. Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy - Unsatisfied love affected his health, he turned to opium and alcohol. - 1800, he settled in the Lake District with Wordsworth and Dorothy. IMAGINATION Imagination is divided into two types: - Primary imagination: faculty by which we perceive the world around us, through senses, common to all human beings - Secondary imagination: faculty that a poet has “to idealize and unify” in a state of ecstasy THE SUPERNATURAL Metaphor for human experiences which the material world cannot represent. 6 Coleridge’s interest in the supernatural derived from nature, but its contemplation was always accompanied by the awareness of the presence of the ideal in the real. NATURE Christian faith, nature not identified with a form of pantheism. Natural images representing the abstract, source for his philosophical meditations. Nature reflected man’s inner condition, mind and soul. Unlike Wordsworth, Coleridge did not find happiness and consolation in it. COLERIDGE VS WORDSWORTH They both despised Fancy: inferior to imagination, mechanical and logical faculty which places images side by side. While imagination fuses them into something new and harmonious. - Wordsworth: imagination modifies the data of experience through recollection in tranquillity. - Coleridge: imagination transcends the data of experience and “creates” from zero. THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER – BALLAD Traditional elements - the diction - theme of the supernatrual - form: four-line stanza + several stanzas with five or more lines - narrative technique: mixture of dialogue and narration, use of concrete graphic details - archaic language, intention of making credible the experience of the supernatural New elements - length of the story - moral drawn at the end - lengthy description of the natural landscape The theme of journey Physical journey becomes allegorical journey, allegory for spiritual evolution, from the original sin to the salvation of the soul. The Mariner is punished for killing an Albatross. The shooting of a bird may seem a matter of little importance but it becomes significant for two reasons: - lack of motives for the act which suggests the irrationality of the crime - fact that this action is against nature and breaks a holy law of life The mariner 7