Topic 48: Romanticism in Great Britain. Novel and Poetry

Introduction

• Spanning from the late 18th to the mid 19th century

• Emerged as a reaction against the rationality of the Enlightenment

• Celebrated emotion, individualism and a deep connection with nature

• Seen particularly in novel and poetry

• Historical context

  • Industrial Revolution

  • Aftermath of the French Revolution

Historical and Literary Background

• 1790s-1830s encompasses the Romantic era in Great Britain

• Time of profound social, political and cultural transformation, laying the foundation for the Romantic Movement

General characteristics of Romanticism

• Emerged in the late 18th c., peaks in the first half of the 19th c.

• Characterised by a profound shift in sensibilities and a departure from the rationalism of the Enlightenment

• In literature it focused on novel and poetry, both centred around individualism, nature and emotion

  • Novel: societal critique, Gothic elements

  • Poetry: the sublime, imagination, revival of Medievalism

Characteristics of Romanticism in Novels

• Emphasis on individualism: individual’s experiences, emotions and personal development. Protagonists were frequently depicted as unique and complex individuals, navigating both internal and external challenge

• Exploration of nature and the sublime: emphasis on the sublime and awe-insipiring aspects of nature. Nature as a backdrop for characters’ reflections and metaphor for emotional and spiritual states

• Critique of society: questioning of the established hierarchies and challenging the impact of industrialisation and urbanisation

• Use of Gothic elements: mysterious settings, supernatural occurrences, heightened emotions

Characteristics of Romanticism in poetry

• Subjectivity and emotion: celebration of the individual’s emotions, intuition and subjective experience. Range of emotions from intense joy to profound melancholy

• Love for Nature: deep appreciation for the beauty of the natural world. It symbolised freedom, spirituality and the sublime

• Imagination and Fantasy: fantastical elements into their works (myths, legends, etc.)

• Revival of Medievalism: themes, folklore, traditions, etc. It reflected a desire for a more organic and authentic connection to the past

Romantic authors (poetry)

• William Wordsworth

• Samuel Taylor Colerdige

• Lord Byron

• Percy Bysshe Shelley

Romantic authors (novel)

• Mary Shelley

• Jane Austen

William Wordsworth

• (1770-1850)

• Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, son of an attorney at law. Studied at St. John College and was an admirer of the French Revolution. In 1843 he was named as the Poet Laureate. Considered himself a Pantheist, highlighting the importance of Nature and Man’s role to join with it and learn from it. Ideologically, he saw Nature as a guiding principle for human beings.

• Wordsworth was particularly interested in language (or rather the lack of it), he had an styleless style, lacking obvious literary artifice and using the language of the everyday man so that his works could be understood by everybody

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

• (1772-1834)

• Coleridge was born in Devon, the youngest son of a clergyman. Educated at religious school, he left without a degree. In 1801 he suffered a breakdown in health and became an opium addict. As a poet and critic/philosopher he believed in the unconscious workings of the mind for poetry. Much like Wordsworth, he was a Pantheist, though later he rejected it, as well as the theory of the mind. He declared that the source of all evil is located in the submission to the senses

• Coleridge used an intense power. He explored the weird, supernatural and obscure. Like Wordsworth, he presents a fine simplicity of diction

Lord Byron

• (1788-1824)

• Born in London. His first years were spent in poverty, but as he inherited lordship from his great-uncle he went to prestigious schools, where he lived a dissipated life. Early work was received poorly by the critics, to whom he responded satirically in English Bards and Scotch Reviewers. After this he left writing to tour Europe, and subsequently published the popular Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. From this period arises the concept of the “Byronic Hero”. Although he married Annabella Milbanke, he was suspected to have an incestuous love for his half-sister Augusta Leigh, for which he was ostracised. This forced him to go abroad, where he met Shelley and spent two years in Venice. Some of his best works were written in this period, including Don Juan

• He had a reputation as “mad, bad and dangerous to know”, as he was described by contemporaries

• However, there is a subtlety to some of his works, and many of his shorter ones are described as sublime

• He focused on heroic acts and deeds.

• His poetry was denounced on moral grounds, attacked by critics, yet it was extremely popular

Percy Bysshe Shelley

• (1792-1822)

• Shelley was born in Sussex, son of a rich landowner. Studied at prestigious colleges. Some of a rebel in the world. He saw established institutions and codified morality as the cause of social evil and as an obstacle for happiness and progress.

• Simple, flexible and passionate. Unique mixture of abstractions and visual images. Symbolism to convey suggestions of ideas. Symbols include the scorpion that stings itself to death, the veils that hides injustice and selfishness, and the moon.

Mary Shelley

• (1797-1851)

• Born to Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, faced early tragedy with her mother’s death. Frankenstein was conceived during a summer with Lord Byron, explores scientific and moral themes. Her life was riddled with struggles and personal hardships.

• In Frankenstein there are many different levels that could reflect her way of thinking (surface level: a mad scientist creating human life, deeper: reaction to the Industrial Revolution, man destroyed by its mechanical creations)

Jane Austen

• (1775-1817)

• Born in Hampshire, raised in a close-knit family with a clergyman father. She developed keen observational skills that shaped her novels’ detailed depictions of early 19th century English society. Her major works (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma) explore themes of love, marriage and social class with wit and irony. Despite not achieving widespread recognition during her lifetime, Austen’s works have become literary classics

• Austen began writing when most of the population were involved in agricultural work, but within 20 years there had been a shift into the cities and away from the traditional rural lifestyle. This meant a lot of discontent amongst the lower classes, who found that the conditions of the city made them live in even greater squalor. Austen was well aware of these issues, and wove them into her narrative. She also includes social changes brought forth by the French Revolution. However, her main theme was romance, and the morals that govern society.

Relevance of topic in the classroom

Curriculum Element	Topic 48 Contribution
Specific Competences	1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Key Competences	CCL, CP, CPSAA, CC, CD, CCEC (especially CCEC)
Operating Descriptors	Comprehension strategies, literary production, turn-taking, mediation, plurilingual awareness
End-of-Stage Profile	Effective communication in diverse contexts; cultural appreciation; critical thinking
Basic Knowledge	Conceptual (Romanticism, the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution), Procedural (analysis, interpretation), Attitudinal (respect for cultural diversity and nature)
21st Century Challenges	Globalisation, Digital Transformation, Education, Inequalities, Sustainability, Gender Equality
SDGs	4, 5, 10, 16