Group No 5

Jasia Nisar (bsf1704131)

Maryam Ali (bsf1704259)
M. Irfan (bsf1603838)
Mirza Zeeshan Baig (bsf1603854)
Shahid Ali (bsf1704089)
Shahzaib Zafar (bsf1704106)

Semester: VI

Course: English Poetry 18th - 19th Century

Assignment Topic: Romantics and Their Sources of Inspiration

Date of Submission: 29th June 2020

Submitted to: Ma’am Hira Kazmi
 ROMANTICS AND THEIR SOURCES OF INSPIRATION

Romanticism was a broad movement in European and American history. This was the
movement that rebelled against the eighteenth century and the European Enlightenment.
It is also a broad term for the larger number of tendencies towards change observable in
European literature in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The movement was
embedded in the German Sturm and Drang movement. It was embodied strongly in
image, music, and literature, and was related to liberalism and radicalism. It was an
intellectual, artistic, and literary movement, a reaction to the industrial revolution.
Romanticism happened at the same time as the revolution in France and America.
The Romantic Movement is started in around 1780. However, the term Romantic period
more closely denotes the duration between the year 1798, the time in which William
Wordsworth and S.T. Coleridge published the collection of poems ‘Lyrical Ballads’, and
1832, the days in which the novelist Sir Walter Scott died, and the first Reform Bill
passed in Parliament. Romantic Movement begins in 1798 and it ends with the accession
of Queen Victoria in 1837
This movement causes major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and
technology. Industries and machines are started in England and dominated the whole
economical departments. French revolution started in 1789 with the meeting of the
Estates Generals. There was a harsh feudal system, crop failure, and other economic
difficulties that led to the eruption of the French revolution. People start reacting against
Monarchist, the dictatorship of the catholic king Louis XVI. It was a combat to achieve
equality and remove all types of oppression.
Revolution and its ideas were supported by poets like Black, Wordsworth, and Coleridge.
The ideas of the French revolution inspired the writers of Romantic age and they tried to
translate these ideas into the realm of literature.
“At the beginning of every revolution man hope, for they think of all that mankind may
gain in a new world; in its next phase they fear, for they think of what mankind may lose”
(Edward Albert, 289)

As Romantic age was a new period against “Neoclassicism”, so there were also different
characteristics followed by Romantics in contrast to Neoclassicism. The following are
characteristics followed by Romantics.

Due to industrial revolution the Romantics gave importance to nature, as they believed
that nature is healer. They believed that nature was not only a symbol of beauty but it was
also a key to find the true identity of a man. Romantics with their deep observations,
portrayed everyday familiar objects which were hardly noticeable, in such a way that the
readers generate a new meaning in them.
Romantics broke the chain of scientific facts. Through their unique and mystic ideas they
gave birth to imagination. They believed that observation, imagination and instinctive
creativity were all requirements for writing a good poetry. Romantics believed that
imagination was a power of growth.
Individualism could be seen in Romantic literature, where they welcomed
experimentations to the strict traditional rules of composition, genre and decorum. It
preferred suggestions rather than neoclassicism ideal of clarity. They induced artist as a
“maker” rather than an “inspired” creator.
Romantics through colloquial language were able to easily convey their ideas to the
readers. Colloquial language having simplicity and naturalness of its diction did not fail
to give delight to the readers. Romantics believed that artificial diction was not able to
convey proper delight to the readers.
Romantic literature showed interest in supernatural elements and it led to the birth of
gothic fiction. Supernatural elements were presented in such a way that the reader
absorbed in it believed them to be true.
Fearless to take on the challenge of new methods, the Romantics challenged the artificial
expression and brought naturalness in their expression. Freedom of expression was seen
in the Romantics, as they broke the traditional rules of expression. The artist made a
connection by conveying their feelings through art. Romantics believed that knowledge
is gained through intuition instead of deduction. This is often best summed up by
Wordsworth who stated that “all good poetry is that the spontaneous overflow of
powerful feelings.”
Originality was an absolute essentiality of romanticism because the movement
suggested that, the influence of the models of other works may impede the artist’s
imagination; to be derivative was considered as a sin in romanticism.
The ability of an individual to supply an ingenious run through the method ‘creation
from nothingness’ was considered vital and such people were considered genius.
This was considered as a key skill to possess, to become a romantic artist.

Key themes of romanticism are importance of nature, spirituality and the divine,
inspiration from the supernatural, inner self and individual, non-conformity and
imagination and inner experience.
The Romantic viewed nature as an idealized, magical and even divine world. Valued the
duality of nature. Both a source of tranquility and overwhelming demonic power. Writers
of 19th century rejected human society and preferred natural lifestyle. Seeing nature as
way to become close to the God.
Artists - painted the sea
Writers-commented on the power of nature and its endless magical events of the
world.
Musicians - duplicated the mood of nature both (stormy and peaceful).
The Romantics saw beauty in the supernatural and believes something existing beyond
the natural world. The spirit world unleashed the power to overthrow the tyranny of
civilization and government. British romantic focused on the beauty and power of natural
world. Whereas Americans romantic used images, ghosts, demonic cats.
In 19th century the inner self, self - reliance and individualism are highly valued in the
romantic period. British Romanticism attempted to free itself from traditional forms and
subjects by the inner soul of the individual. Known for their nonconformity and freedom
of thought.
The Romantic period is characterized by imagination and inner experience. Emotion or
feeling is more important than logic or rationalism. Civilization, technology and science
and science was considered dangerous and demonic. Imagination is valued over the hard
facts of experience.
In general romantic era rejected traditional ways and religious beliefs. Wordsworth
emphasis on the life of nature and he called himself to be "a worshiper of nature” in his
poem lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abby.
But without a God and eternal truths upon which you rely how does one claim authority
of such qualities, liberty and fraternity. Nature taught the humble woods moral truths and
nature tells the real satisfaction that is only achieved from the natural phenomenon.

Romanticism and Realism are both different literary movements but are closely related
in time and history. Romanticism is best characterised as a movement of art, literature,
and way of thought in the middle of the 18th century. Romanticism was started by the
Industrial Revolution. Romanticism was in essence a protest of the Enlightenment period.
Many people did not approve of the fact that scientific discoveries were being made
about nature, many wanted nature to stay as a pure, and work of God, not scientific
discovery. The Romanticism era tried to revolt from the Enlightenment and science by
focusing time and effort on literature, music, art, natural history, and education .As the
middle 19th century approached, many were hesitant to trust this romantic brain of
thought. People wanted to find peace in knowing why things happened and to separate
from supernatural explanations. Having an explanation in science made many feel more
confident and liked that events could be explained scientifically, rather than an idea they
could not prove. Many can tell the difference between Romanticism and Realism easiest
by the plot and characterization. Throughout these literary movements, many authors
made their claim to fame by writing terrific literature that fit their style of writing and the
literary movement in which they were a part of it.

 Romanticism and Realism

Romanticism Realism
  1820-1865 1865 - 1914
Characters may be larger than life -- e.g. Characters resemble ordinary people --
Rip Van Winkle, Ichabod Crane, Brom e.g. Huck Finn, Editha, Frederick
Bones, Natty Bumppo, Ralph Hepdurn, Winterbourne, Daisy Miller, Sylvia,
Bartleby Louisa, Edna Pontellier
Plot contains unusual events, mystery, or Plot is developed with ordinary
high adventure -- e.g. Poe's stories, events and circumstances
Melville’s Type
Ending is often happy Ending might be unhappy

the language is often “literary” Writer uses ordinary speech and dialect --
common vernacular (the everyday
language spoken by a people)
Settings often made up; if actual settings Settings actually exist or have actual
are used, the focus is on the exotic, prototypes
strange, mysterious -- e.g. Melville’s
Marquesas islands. Cooper’s woods and
frontier, Poe's gothic chambers
Writer is interested in history or legend -- Writer is interested in recent or
e.g. Irving, Poe contemporary life

Overall, the Romanticism and Realism era has produced some of the greatest works of
art, music, literature, and theories. As you inspect both eras, you can easily see how they
play off each other. Romanticism was the product of resisting the Enlightenment and
taking a stance for the arts.

Romantic poets are classified in terms of two generations, early romantics or the first-
generation of poets including William Wordsworth, S.T. Coleridge, often regarded as
Lake poets because of the Lake District where they used to live.
The poetry of first-generation poets is characterized by colloquial language and the
display of supernatural themes. The first-generation poets paid focus on the natural
objects and included socio-political aspects of their time in their work. Their works were
the embodiment of simplicity. Coleridge ideas were very much confined on the basis that
one should refrain from artificial elements in any poetic form. Wordsworth believed that
language should be of a layman. Wordsworth loved the nature for its truthfulness and
presented simple ideas in a way that they seemed new to the mankind as in Daffodils, he
has portrayed the view in a way that it seems new to us. For those of us who have seen
daffodils might never have thought what beauty they hold. Together these two poets
presented to us the ‘Lyrical Ballads’.
The second-generation of Romantic poets include John Keats, Lord Byron, and Bysshe
Shelley. The second-generation poets adopted the ideas contrary to first-generation poets,
unlike them, they involved revolutionary ideas. They all died at a young age. The second-
generation poets wrote in a complex manner and used imagination to explore.
John Keats was a well-achieved poet at such an early age. His ideas were completely
synchronizing with his era and he once quoted in his letter to his friend, “If Poetry comes
not as naturally as the leaves to a tree it had better not come at all.” He talked about the
beauty of things around while Byron and Shelley were of a rebellious nature and
preferred to write on the subjects related to freedom. Byron pursued the theme of
individualism and versatility is observable in his works. ‘As a universal outsider, Byron
self-consciously employed Academic or Pyrrhonist skepticism to distance himself from
the creeds that competed for his allegiance.’ Bysshe Shelley is also regarded as a
revolutionary poet and one of the most influential people of his era. He frantically wanted
to see the autonomy of social justice and his poetry speaks for his aspirations. He
considered poetry to be a source of creating an impact on a massive scale. ‘For him,
poetry should awaken feelings and emotions in the reader: cool reflection on the causes
of evil and good must give way to a vivid representation of miseries and vices, virtues
and heroic actions, in order to inspire various feelings of sympathy, antipathy, indignation
and love.’
REFERENCES:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Europe/The-age-of-revolution
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/english-literature/romanticism-and-realism-
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http://webs.anokaramsey.edu/stankey/eng2230/docs2230/romantic/romretbl.h
tm
http://www.john-keats.com/briefe/270218.htm
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