The document discusses the key characteristics of Romanticism in English literature. It notes that Romanticism began in the late 18th century with poets like Wordsworth and Coleridge, and was influenced by earlier "Transition Poets". The movement emphasized nature, emotion, medievalism, folk culture, and the supernatural. It highlighted the individual artistic spirit and moved away from rigid Neoclassical conventions. Some hallmarks included an appreciation of nature, a focus on strong personal feelings, and the incorporation of simpler language and folk forms of expression. While definitions varied, Romanticism tended to prize emotion and imagination over reason.

1. Umm-e-Rooman Yaqoob
Roll # 3
B.S (English) 5th
Semester
“ Characteristics of Romantic age ”
Literarycriticsconsider1798, the year whenWordsworthandColeridge publishedtheir"Lyrical Ballads,"
to mark the beginningof the EnglishRomanticMovement.However,itsactual beginningsdate backto
the poetryof Gray, Collins,BlakeandBurnswhoare regadedas'TransitionPoets'wholivedandwrote
at the endof the Neo-Classical Age.Critical opinionisdividedastowhenthe RomanticMovement
actuallycame to an end;infact,some criticsconsiderthe Victorianage tobe a continuationof the
RomanticAge and that the EnglishRomanticAge extendedtill the beginningof the ModernAge in
the twentiethcentury.The characteristicfeaturesof EnglishRomanticpoetryare:
1. Love and worshipof Nature anddislike forthe urbanlife.
2. Love for the Medieval Age.
3. Love for the supernatural andthe mystical.
4. Poetrycame to be regardedas the spontaneousexpressionof the poet'sownsubjective feelings
and didnot conformto the poeticconventionsof classical doctrines.
1. 5.Completelyabandonedthe 'Heroic Couplet'andsubstituteditwithsimplerverse formslike
the balladswhichbelongedtothe Englishrural Folk.Infact the 'BalladRevival'issaidtohave
sparkedoff the EnglishRomanticMovememnt.
5. The 'poeticdiction'of the Neo-Classical Age wascompletely done awaywithandthe language
of the ordinarypeople became the language of Romanticpoetry.
6. The subjectsof Romanticpoetrywere oftenordinarypeople:"The IdiotBoy."
The RomanticmovementinEnglishpoetryisoftenassociatedwithanumberof typical characteristics,
and manyof these characteristicsappearin WilliamWordsworth’s ThePreludeand inSamuel Taylor
Coleridge’s“KublaKhan”andDejection:AnOde.”Amongthe typical Romantictraitsthatappearin all
three poemsare the following:
1. An emphasisonhumanity’srelationshipwithnature.
2. A emphasisonthe frequent beautyof nature.
3. An emphasisonnature’sbeneficentinfluence onhumanity.
4. An emphasisonstrong personal emotion.

2. The openinglines of BookIof Wordsworth’s ThePreludereveal anumberof these commonfeaturesof
EnglishRomanticism:
O there is a blessing in the gentle breeze,
A visitantthat,while he fansmy cheek,
Dothseem half-consciousof thejoy hebrings
Fromthe green fields, and fromyon azuresky.
Features of Romanticism:
Literature wasthe firstbranch of art to be influencedbythe wavesof Romanticism, althoughthe
conceptsremainthe same inall the art forms.Letus lookat some of the characteristicswhich
influencedthe Romantics.
Love of Nature:
The Romanticsgreatlyemphasizedthe importance of nature andthe primal feelingsof awe,
apprehensionandhorrorfeltbyman on approachingthe sublimenessof it.Thiswasmainlybecause of
the industrial revolution,whichhadshiftedlife fromthe peaceful,serene countryside towardsthe
chaoticcities,transformingman'snatural order.Nature wasnotonlyappreciatedforitsvisual beauty,
but alsoreveredforitsabilitytohelpthe urbanmanfindhistrue identity.
Emotions Vs. Rationality:
Unlike the age of Enlightenment,whichfocusedonrationalityandintellect,Romanticismplacedhuman
emotions,feelings,instinctandintuitionabove everythingelse.While the poetsinthe eraof rationality
adheredtothe prevalentrulesandregulationswhile selectingasubject andwritingaboutit,the
Romanticwriterstrustedtheiremotionsandfeelingstocreate poetry.Thisbeliefcanbe confirmedfrom
the definitionof poetrybyWilliamWordsworth,wherehe saysthatpoetryisthe spontaneousoverflow
of powerful feelings. The emphasisonemotionsalsospreadtothe musiccreatedinthat period,andcan
be observedinthe compositionsmade bymusicianslikeWeber,Beethoven,Schumann,etc.Beethoven
playedanimportantrole inthe transitionof Westernmusicfromthe classical tothe Romanticage.
Artist, the Creator:
As the Romanticperiodemphasizedonhumanemotions,the positionof the artistorthe poetalso
gainedsupremacy.Inthe earliertimes,the artistwasseenasa personwhoimitatedthe external world
throughhisart. However,thisdefinitionwasmootedinthe Romanticeraandthe poetor the painter
was seenasa creator of somethingwhichreflectedhisindividualityandemotions.The Romantic
perceptionof the artistas the creator isbestencapsulatedbyCasparDavidFriedrich,whoremarked
that "the artist'sfeelingishislaw".Itwasalsothe firsttime that the poemswritteninthe firstperson
were beingaccepted,asthe poeticpersonabecame one withthe voice of the poet.

3. Nationalism:
The Romanticsborrowedheavilyfromthe folkloreandthe popularlocal art.Duringthe earliereras,
literature andart were consideredtobelongtothe high-classeducatedpeople,andthe lowerclasses
were notconsideredfittoenjoythem.Also,the languageusedinthese worksusedtobe highlylyrical,
whichwastotallydifferentfromwhatwasspokenbypeople.However,Romanticartiststooknoshame
frombeinginfluencedbythe folklore thathadbeencreatedbythe massesorthe commonpeople,and
not bythe literary worksthatwere popularonlyamongthe higherechelonsof the society.Apartfrom
poetry,adoptingfolktunesandballadswasone of the veryimportantcharacteristicsof Romanticmusic.
As the Romanticsbecame interestedandfocusedupondevelopingthe folklore,culture,language,
customsand traditionsof theirowncountry,theydevelopedasense of Nationalismwhichreflectedin
theirworks.Also,the language usedinRomanticpoemswassimple andeasytounderstandbythe
masses.
Exoticism:
Alongwith Nationalism, the Romanticsdevelopedthe loveof the exotic.Hence,faroff andmysterious
locationswere depictedinmanyof the artisticworksfromthat period.Thoughthiswasnot exactly
apposite tothe Romanticideal of Nationalism, separate factions were neverformed.Exoticismisalso
one of the mostprominentcharacteristicsinart,alongwithsentimentalityandspirituality.
Supernatural:
Anothercharacteristicof thismovementisthe belief inthe supernatural.The Romanticswere
interestedinthe supernatural andincludeditintheirworks.Gothicfictionemergedasabranch of
RomanticismafterHorace Walpole's1764 novel The Castle of Otranto.Thisfascinationforthe
mysteriousandthe unreal alsoledtothe developmentof Gothicromance,whichbecame popular
duringthisperiod.Supernatural elementscanalsobe seeninColeridge'sKublaKhan',The Rime of the
AncientMarinerandKeats'La Belle Dame SansMerci.
As noRomanticartist followedanystrictsetof rulesor regulations,itisdifficulttodefine the
characteristicsof thismovementaccurately.Nevertheless,someof these characteristicsare reflectedin
the worksof that period.Thoughmanywritersandcriticshave calledthismovement"irrational",it
cannot be deniedthatitwasan honestattemptto portraythe world,especiallythe intricaciesof the
humannature,ina paradigm-shiftingway.