The Romantic Movement from 1798-1837 was a reaction against social and economic changes brought by the Industrial Revolution. Writers depicted strong individuals with passions and emotion as the main force, rather than reason. The movement included Passive and Revolutionary Romanticists. Passive Romanticists like William Wordsworth idealized the past and nature, believing religion connected man to nature and God. Revolutionary Romanticists like Byron and Shelley brought revolution to poetry, looking to the future and advocating for new social classes, though their works expressed pessimism. Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads used everyday language and situations to arouse imagination, and he wrote nature as a metaphor for the human soul in works like The P

1. The RomanticThe Romantic
MovementMovement
(1798 - 1837)(1798 - 1837)

2. a movement caused bya movement caused by
great social andgreat social and
economic changeseconomic changes
against the progress ofagainst the progress of
bourgeois civilization,bourgeois civilization,
an effort to do awayan effort to do away
with the injusticewith the injustice

3. • new themes: writersnew themes: writers
depicted strong individualsdepicted strong individuals
with grand passions;with grand passions;
• emotion, not reason, theemotion, not reason, the
main force of the worksmain force of the works

4. The Passive RomanticistsThe Passive Romanticists
(the Lake Poets)(the Lake Poets)
• the desire to get away from thethe desire to get away from the
present, wished to call backpresent, wished to call back
"the good old days“;"the good old days“;
• spoke for the English farmersspoke for the English farmers
and Scottish peasants;and Scottish peasants;
• idealized the patriarchal wayidealized the patriarchal way
of life during the Middle Ages;of life during the Middle Ages;

5. • the motto was: "Close tothe motto was: "Close to
Nature and from Nature toNature and from Nature to
God“;God“;
• believed that religion put manbelieved that religion put man
at peace with the worldat peace with the world
W.W.
WordsworthWordsworth

6. The Revolutionary RomanticistsThe Revolutionary Romanticists
• brought a revolutionary spiritbrought a revolutionary spirit
into poetry;into poetry;
• tried to look ahead and seetried to look ahead and see
the future;the future;
• spoke up for the new workingspoke up for the new working
class;class;
• believed in their right to activebelieved in their right to active
struggle for liberty;struggle for liberty;

7. • kept an eye on all politicalkept an eye on all political
events;events;
• believed that the peoples ofbelieved that the peoples of
the world would gain freedom;the world would gain freedom;
• imagined that the states of theimagined that the states of the
future would be somewhat likefuture would be somewhat like
the republics of ancientthe republics of ancient
Greece and Rome;Greece and Rome;
• nevertheless, great pessimismnevertheless, great pessimism
is felt in their worksis felt in their works

8. G. G. ByronG. G. Byron
P. B. ShelleyP. B. Shelley

9. William WordsworthWilliam Wordsworth
(1770 - 1850)(1770 - 1850)

10. • fame is based on thefame is based on the
verses dedicated toverses dedicated to
nature (makes it thenature (makes it the
metaphor of a humanmetaphor of a human
soul);soul);
• wrote ballads, sonnetswrote ballads, sonnets
and odesand odes

11. "Lyrical Ballads" (1798)"Lyrical Ballads" (1798)
the first collection of poetry, anthe first collection of poetry, an
experimental work; poemsexperimental work; poems
seemed to be strange andseemed to be strange and
unusual; the language of poetryunusual; the language of poetry
should be close to the everydayshould be close to the everyday
language of people; proposed tolanguage of people; proposed to
describe "situations from commondescribe "situations from common
life"; arouse the importance oflife"; arouse the importance of
imagination in the poet'simagination in the poet's
creativity; the task of the poet iscreativity; the task of the poet is
to show other men the essence ofto show other men the essence of
thingsthings

12. Prose worksProse works
• political essays;political essays;
• a guidebook to the Lakea guidebook to the Lake
DistrictDistrict

13. "The Prelude""The Prelude"
anan
autobiographicalautobiographical
poem publishedpoem published
after his deathafter his death

15. Both as a meditation ofBoth as a meditation of
his own feelings ofhis own feelings of
loneliness and loss,loneliness and loss,
and as an ode to theand as an ode to the
beauty and dignity ofbeauty and dignity of
an idealized womanan idealized woman
who lived unnoticed bywho lived unnoticed by
all others except theall others except the
poet himself.poet himself.