8. Pre-Romanticism (mid 18th century)

Who was the key influence in pre-romanticism?

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (stressed emotions, free expression over rules).

What were the new notions introduced in pre-romanticism?

• Interest in the individual,

• Freedom of expression,

• Feeling and sentiment,

• Spontaneity, and sensibility.

Influenced by the American and French Revolutions.

What is the "graveyard school"?

Poems characterized by gloomy meditations on death and bereavement, reflective and melancholic, with an intensely personal and subjective overtone.

Example: Edward Young's The Complaint: or Night Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality, influenced Romantic writers across Europe.

What was the the antiquarian movement about?

Reacted against classical inspirations by focusing on folklore (primitive ballads, tales) and the national past.

Key figures include:

• James Macpherson (The Works of Ossian),

• Thomas Percy (Reliques of Ancient English Poetry),

• Robert Burns (Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect) was instrumental in redefining "Scottishness" and reviving Scottish tradition.

What do Songs of Innocence and Experience (William Blake) explore?

Contrasting viewpoints of human nature (child-like innocence vs. grown-up awareness), aiming for "organized innocence".

What is gothic romance/novel about?

Tales of mystery and horror with fantastic/supernatural elements.

What is considered to be the first true gothic romance?

Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto.

Who wrote The Mysteries of Udolpho?

Anne Radcliffe.

Who wrote The Monk?

Matthew Gregory Lewis.