1 / 18

THE ROMANTIC PERIOD

THE ROMANTIC PERIOD. 1780 -1830. The French Revolution - 1789. English geographically removed from US revolution French tenets of “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” were just across the Channel

neva
Télécharger la présentation

THE ROMANTIC PERIOD

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 1780 -1830

  2. The French Revolution - 1789 • English geographically removed from US revolution • French tenets of “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” were just across the Channel • Disillusionment ensues when the Reign of Terror oppressed become as violent and corrupt as those they overthrew, opening door for Napoleon

  3. Romantic writers tended to be: • Optimists who believed in progress and human reform • Attackers of tyranny and the evils of • Industrialism • Urban blight • Pollution • Alienation of people from nature and each other

  4. Nineteenth century advancements • First Reform Bill (1832) liberalized representation in Parliament, leading to a truly representative body • Industrial Revolution (1750 – 1850) • Move from cottage industries to factories • Slums developed • Child / slave wage labor • Industrial accidents and diseases

  5. Reform Movements • For the children of the poor, religious training, medical care and education were nonexistent. • Reformers force Church and government to assume responsibilities: • Sunday schools • Hospitals • Prison reform • Child labor laws enacted

  6. Literature • Nature is the principal source of: • Inspiration • Spiritual truth • Enlightenment

  7. Poetry • Focused on: • Ordinary people • Common life • Affirmation of worth and dignity of all humans • Repudiation of evils of a class system

  8. Two Groups of Poets • 1786: William Blake and Robert Burns lead the transition in terms of subject matter, themes and style

  9. William Blake • Blake lived in relative obscurity, explored concept of “contraries” pain and joy, success and failure, prudence and excess. • “Songs of Innocence” “Songs of Experience”

  10. Robert Burns • Raised in incessant poverty in Ayrshire, Scotland • Limited formal education, but father inspired in him a love of literature • Mentally composed poems and songs in dialect while doing chores • In and out of love affairs, turns to drink and dissipation; dies at 37 • Remembered for ability to express feelings and concerns of ordinary people in a natural, flowing idiom

  11. Transition between groups • 1798: Wordsworth and Coleridge, bridging the two groups, publish Lyrical Ballads which asserted that: • ordinary life is best subject for poetry • everyday language best conveys feelings • feeling is more important than action • “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings…”

  12. After Wordsworth and Coleridge • Byron, Shelley, Keats • WW and Coleridge become more politically conservative • Byron, Shelley & Keats, once their idols, denounce them as traitors to former ideals

  13. George Gordon, Lord Byron • Reckless, bitter, in constant revolt against society • Epitomized Romanticism by his dedication to the cause of freedom and liberty • Remembered as a satirical poet

  14. Percy Bysshe Shelley • Rebellious, scandalous, charismatic • Revolted against tyranny • Believed that the church, state, and commerce led to superstition, selfishness and corruption • Remembered as a lyric poet

  15. John Keats • Mocked by critics for his Cockney heritage • Influenced by Shakespeare and Milton • Explored relationship between art and life • Believed that poetry should be the creation of concrete sensual images “in the service of profound creative thought.”

  16. Gothicnovel develops • Stories set in medieval time • Ruined castles • Mysterious doors • Supernaturalism of all kinds • Walpole’s Castle of Otranto (1795) sets form for the genre (Stoker’s Dracula @ 1897)

  17. Elsewhere • 1789 – GW becomes President of US • 1804 – Napoleon crowned Emperor of France • 1815 – Battle of Waterloo • 1825 – First railroad built in England • Mozart’s Magic Flute • Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5

  18. Elsewhere • Poe writes Tamerlane and other Poems • Webster’s American Dictionary published • Austen writes Pride and Prejudice • M. Shelley pens Frankenstein • DeQuincey publishes Confessions of an English Opium Eater

More Related