RomaB-British+Poetry+Movements

=British Poetry in the Romantic Era = Joanna Kim

An Overview of Romanticism
 Romanticism was the most significant movement in the artistic world of its time, beginning in the late 18th century and crossing into the 19th century, and it has continued to have a lasting impact throughout art of all media. Contrary to the restraint, logic, and decorum that characterized Neoclassicism, another artistic movement of the time period, Romanticism focused on idealism, having "revolutionary values" which meshed with the historically critical political and economic revolutions that were occurring in the world at that time, such as the American and French revolutions.



Romantics aspired to express emotion with passion and prized the purity of the imagination of the individual. Some of the most important values represented in Romanticism that can be seen in British poetry include the following:  As can be observed from the above list, Romantics placed a high value on artistic and creative ideals.
 * Imagination: Romantic artists considered imagination, rather than reason, as one of the highest functions of the human mind because of its creative potential and ability to take in the outside world while contributing to the mindset.
 * Nature: Throughout art forms of the Romantic era, nature was often portrayed as divinely created, pure, fundamental, and refuge-like.
 * Symbolism: The ability of symbolism to convey multiple messages and also to communicate ideas that cannot be expressed directly was greatly valued by Romantics.
 * Individualism: The value of the mind of the individual as a unique thinker and creator was emphasized over a system as a whole.
 * Ordinary and extraordinary: Romantics found inspiration in both the simplicity of everyday life and objects and in the fascinating potential of the unknown.
 * Religion: The treatment of religion in Romantic works was much distanced from that of previous religious works, often focusing on Biblical themes from an artistic and creative perspective rather than from a strict, pious one.

**British Poetry and Romanticism**

British poetry, among other forms of art, was strongly influenced by the Romantic movement. Wordsworth declared poetry to be "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings," and this statement powerfully and concisely characterizes the ideal that Romantic poetry aspired to.

William Blake is well-known for his intuitive and expressive poetry--although he is one of the earliest Romantic poets, the creativity in the composition of his poetry has set him apart as one of the most important British poets of Romanticism. "The Tyger ," one of his most famous poems, is a prime example of his writing as a Romantic poet. The "tyger" of the poem is not only part of nature and described lyrically as such, but it is also an exotic and mysterious animal. However, the tyger can also be seen as a symbol for the presence of evil in beauty in the poem. The presence in the poem of nature, exoticism, and symbols are all characteristic of Romantic poetry.

 William Wordsworth is another pivotal figure in the Romantic movement, as one of the poets who truly helped to set Romanticism into motion. The Romantic style of writing can beseen throughout his poems, such as in "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud ," in which the speaker thinks back to a pleasant memory of dancing daffodils and sparkling waves. The dreamlike, fanciful nature of the description of ordinary flowers beside a lake shows the creativity and emotion at the root of Romanticism.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Samuel Taylor Coleridge, along with Wordsworth, helped launch Romanticism in the artistic sphere. Although not as well-known as some of the other Romantic poets, his work has been extremely influential, and his poems show his imagination with words. In "Kubla Khan ," Coleridge addresses a very foreign idea--the great Kublai Khan--as the subject of a dream. Detailed and vivid imagery is present throughout the poem, making the poem expressive and story-like.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> John Keats, one of the second generation of Romantic poets, has also been highly influential throughout the ages, even though he was not appreciated greatly during his time. His complex word choice and soft imagery are apparent in "Bright Star, Would I were Steadfast as Thou Art ," a poem through which the speaker tells of his steadfast devotion toward the object of his affection, similar to a star. This poem is also dreamlike and descriptive of nature, typical of Romantic poems.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Lord Byron (George Gordon) was another extremely important poet of the Romantic era, known for having a dramatic personality and a talent for expressing emotions through words. His poem "She Walks in Beauty " is exemplary of this quality, as the speaker deftly uses simple words to build an impressionistic image and the attitude of the speaker towards this image of the subject.

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