The romantic age
The
romantic age is an important period in the literary, philosophical and
political history of Europe, a period that
goes from the end of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th
century (a period of about forty years). Romanticism represent
a reaction against the neo-classical and rationalistic ideal of the 18th
century and a movement towards a
realization of emotional experience and individual feelings of the life of man.
Romanticism as a rediscovery of the magical power of the imagination which
gains a primary role in the process of poetic composition, instead of the faith
in reason that had characterized the preceding age. The romantic poets regard
poetry as the centre of all knowledge and the main function of poetry is to
discover the inner reality of things. The typical romantic poet becomes a
dreamer and an individualist, a visionary prophet and a teacher whose task was
to mediate between man and nature, to point out the evils of society, to give
voice to ideals of beauty, truth, freedom and mysticism. But these poets don't
disregard reality: indeed they
appreciated the natural world and
their works were rich in descriptions of natural elements and landscapes. The
romantic poets also regarded nature "as
a living force" and as the expression of God in the universe. Nature became
the main source of inspiration, a source of comfort and joy.
About poetic technique,
the romantic poets used a new and individual style a different poetic diction
that means more vivid and familiar words and not the artificial circumlocutions
of the early 18th century diction, for example: symbols and images
lost their decorative functions to assume a vital role.
About verse forms there was a return to the
past forms such as "the ballad" modified into the literary ballad; "the sonnet", the "lyric poems" achieved more
flexibility and intensity.
The great English romantic poets are usually grouped into two
generations: the first one, often called "the lake poets" included: William
Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge; the second one included: Byron, Shelly and Keats.
The
poets of the first generation wanted to theorise about poetry. Wordsworth, in
his "Lyrical ballads", speaks about the beauty of nature and ordinary things.
Coleridge, with visionary topics, speaks about the supernatural and mystery.
About social problems. The first generation of poets was interested in politic and social
problems; they supported the French Revolution with its ideals of freedom and
equality. But after the Napoleonic wars and because of the appalling social
conditions in England
caused by the Industrial Revolution, both Wordsworth and Coleridge experienced
deep disillusionment and they adopted conservative views in the last period of
their lives. The poets of the second generation all died very young. They also
experienced political disillusionment which is reflected in their poetry. So,
we can say that the writers of this period tend to revolt against this society
and the result of the writers' rejection of society was the individualist vision. These writers
considered the external world as alien and unfriendly and so they tend more and
more to escape into their inner experience. Individualism and escapism as
well as the alienation of the artist
from society, were very strong in this generation. These poets became mystical,
visionary and prophets.
