Romanticism in Great Britain: Poetry and Main Novels, Fuster-saura Notes

Introduction to Romanticism in Great Britain

FUSTER-SAURA www.fustersaura.es 48 FUSTERSAURA ENGLISH LIFE SL Preparación Oposiciones Inglés 1FUSTER-SAURA www.fustersaura.es UNIT 48 ROMANTICISM IN GREAT BRITAIN: POETRY AND MAIN NOVELS

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 0. INTRODUCTION 1. A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 2. LITERARY BACKGROUND 3. POETRY AND NOVELS IN THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 3.1. Poetry 3.1.1. The Older Generation 3.1.2. The Younger Generation 3.2. Novels 4. CONCLUSION 5. BIBLIOGRAPHY 2FUSTER-SAURA www.fustersaura.es 0. INTRODUCTION One objective of the French Revolution (1789-1799) was to destroy older traditions that had come to seem artificial and to assert the liberty, spirit, and heartfelt unity of the human race. To many writers of the Romantic Age, this objective seemed equally appropriate in the field of English letters. In addition, the Romantic Age in English literature was characterised by the subordination of reason to intuition and passion, the cult of nature much as the word is now understood and not as Pope understood it, the primacy of the individual will over social norms of behaviour, the preference for the illusion of immediate experience as opposed to generalised and typical experience, and the interest in what is distant in time and place. In short, Romanticism opposed the Enlightenment period in that imagination prevailed over reason. This unit will, therefore, give a detailed account of the Romantic period in Great Britain, paying special attention to the historical context first. Then, the literary background will be covered with the aim of putting forward the most relevant traits of this movement. Finally, the major exponents of both poetry and the novel will be analysed in the light of the background in which their works emerged. This unit has taken into account the works of chief authors such as A. Burgess, English Literature (1974); Paul Harvey, The Oxford Companion to English Literature (1967); Boris Ford (ed.), The New Pelican Guide to English Literature (1988) or Andrew Sanders, The Short Oxford History of English Literature (1994), for they have outlined the history of British literature along with the most relevant events of each period.

Historical Background of Romanticism

1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Romantic period in England (late 18th to mid-19th century) arose during a time of significant social, political, and economic transformation. The French Revolution (1789-1799) had a profound impact on Romantic writers, inspiring early hopes for liberty, equality, and societal reform. However, the Revolution's violence and eventual authoritarianism under Napoleon led to widespread disillusionment, shaping Romantic themes of individual freedom, human suffering, and the complexities of revolutionary ideals. The Industrial Revolution brought immense technological advancements and economic growth, transforming Britain into a global industrial leader. However, these changes caused urbanisation, environmental damage, and harsh working conditions, creating social unrest. Romantic writers reacted by idealising nature, rural life, and the human spirit, offering a stark contrast to the dehumanising effects of industrialisation. Politically, Romanticism coincided with the reigns of George III (1760-1820), George IV (1820- 1830), and William IV (1830-1837). George III's reign saw Britain's wars against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, the loss of the American colonies, and the onset of the Regency period due to his mental illness. During the Regency and George IV's rule, Britain's global influence grew, driven by the expansion of the British Empire and industrial progress. This era also witnessed calls for political and social reform, including the abolition of slavery and parliamentary changes, which influenced Romantic themes of justice and human rights. 3FUSTER-SAURA www.fustersaura.es The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) heightened nationalistic sentiments and influenced Romantic writers to explore themes of heroism, sacrifice, and the personal and societal costs of war. Culturally, Romanticism opposed the rationalism of the Enlightenment, instead prioritising emotion, imagination, and the sublime. Writers often drew on the Middle Ages for inspiration, reviving medieval themes of chivalry, folklore, and national identity. This medieval revival influenced the Gothic novel and historical romances, reflecting a nostalgia for the past amid rapid modernisation. This multifaceted historical backdrop shaped the works of Romantic poets such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats, as well as novelists like Austen, Scott, and Mary Shelley. Romantic literature reflects the tensions of the age, balancing hope for progress with nostalgia for tradition, and celebrating the emotional and imaginative richness of the human spirit.

Literary Background of Romanticism

2. LITERARY BACKGROUND Romanticism emerged from a period of wider turbulence, euphoria and uncertainty, in which the political and intellectual movement of the late 18th century encouraged individual and national rights, denying legitimacy to kings and kingdoms. This historical context, which raised unexpected feelings of disappointment, disillusion, and a new feeling for nature followed by relevant figures in poetry and the novel, promoted this European movement, Romanticism, which broke with the Enlightenment ideas so characteristic of the 18th century. Besides, the Romantic Period in literature, which also coincided with the French Revolution, was to some extent a political enactment of its ideas, thus, the relevance of the historical context. The Romantic Period emerged in Germany, then in Britain, and later spread to the rest of the Continent. Not only did it see the end of the dominance of the Renaissance tradition, but also the fragmentation of the consciousness away from the cultural authority of classical Rome. One result was the rediscovery of local cultures and the flowering of vernacular pieces of literature. Romanticism was preceded by several related developments from the mid-18th century onwards that can be termed Pre-Romanticism. Among such trends was a new appreciation of the medieval romance, from which the Romantic movement derives its name. The romance was a tale or ballad of chivalric adventure whose emphasis on individual heroism and on the exotic and the mysterious was in clear contrast to the elegant formality and artificiality of prevailing Classical forms of literature, such as the French Neoclassical tragedy or the English heroic couplet in poetry. This new interest in relatively unsophisticated but overtly emotional literary expressions of the past was to be a dominant note in Romanticism. This literary movement is characterised by its imagination and subjectivity, its freedom of thought and expression and its idealisation of nature. As mentioned earlier, by the end of the 18th century, the tastes in literature in countries such as Germany and France shifted progressively away from the classical tendencies, and the Romantic authors found their inspiration source in the work of two European thinkers: the French philosopher Rousseau and the German writer Goethe. Furthermore, the imagination of many Romantic writers was preoccupied with the fact and idea of revolution. The preface to the second edition of The Lyrical Ballads (1800), which was written by the English poets Wordsworth and Coleridge, is considered the literary manifesto of Romanticism. In this book, 4FUSTER-SAURA www.fustersaura.es several aspects are highlighted: the importance of feeling and imagination in the poetic creation and the rejection of literary forms and topics. In this context, imagination prevails over reason, emotion over logic, intuition over science, and all that propitiates the development of a solid literary corpus of remarkable sensibility and passion that prefers content to form. It is also relevant to note the figure of the poet. Fostered by intellectual liberty, the Romantic writers tended to cast themselves as voices crying in the wilderness, dislocated from the social hierarchy. Romantic authors, unlike the socially integrated Augustan writers, were often modern hermits or exiles who granted a special moral value to similar outcast figures in their writings. Moreover, they reacted against rationalism, the view of the physical world increasingly dominated by science. The Romantics differed from their predecessors in their attitude to society since the 18th century had regarded society as a great work of man, ideally holding all ranks together in mutually supporting harmony. For the Romantics, however, society had become an oppressive force moulding its citizens and was regarded as a "dark, repressive cloud, limiting action and obscuring perception". As a result, the Romantic writers fled from the city and envisioned a regenerated city. The growing threat of industrialisation, the slave trade, and the treatment of the poor, among other consequences of the Industrial Revolution are responsible for the Romantic writers' turn to nature. They believed that nature required the care and attention of humanity. For many poets of this period, nature provided their deepest inspiration and experiences. That is why the Romantics described many different kinds of natural scenes. The Romantic period also had a shift in religious ideas since it was the first period in English literature when so many writers failed to find Christianity satisfying. In a period of pronounced rationalistic atheism, the Romantic poets sought a spiritual reality. To achieve this, they relied on two faculties: feelings and imagination.

Poetry and Novels in the Romantic Period

3. POETRY AND NOVELS IN THE ROMANTIC PERIOD Both poetry and prose were dominant forms during the Romantic period, unlike drama which did not really stand out. In general, there were a few dramatic productions and, therefore, little interest on this literary form. In fact, many Romantic poets attempted drama, often in verse, but none were particularly successful, except for Byron. The Romantic period distinguishes two main periods in poetry: the Older Generation (William Blake, William Wordsworth, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge), and the Younger Generation (Byron, Shelley, and Keats). Within prose, the novel experienced the most significant development during this period under Scott (historical novel) and Jane Austen (comedy of manners).

Romantic Poetry in Britain

3.1. Poetry The Romantic period in British poetry marked a dramatic shift from the formalism and rationality of the Enlightenment to a celebration of emotion, imagination, and individualism. Poets of this era explored themes such as nature, the sublime, and the inner workings of the human spirit, often drawing inspiration from personal experiences and revolutionary ideals. Divided into two generations (the elder, including Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Blake, and the younger, represented by Byron, Shelley, and Keats), Romantic poetry remains a cornerstone of English literary tradition, distinguished by its lyrical beauty and profound depth. 5