Romantic Poetry: March 23, 24

Journal: "Romantic" – Write a paragraph response to the question "What does it mean to call something Romantic?"

Romanticism Notes: coincides with the "age of revolutions" – American, French, Industrial

• Definition: Romanticism refers to a movement in art, literature, and music during the 19th century.
• Romanticism is characterized by the 5 "I"s
  Imagination
  Intuition
  Idealism
  Inspiration
  Individuality
• Imagination was emphasized over "reason."
  This was a backlash against the rationalism characterized by the Neoclassical period or "Age of Reason."
  Imagination was considered necessary for creating all art.
  British writer Samuel Taylor Coleridge called it "intellectual intuition."
• Intuition
  Romantics placed value on "intuition," or feeling and instincts, over reason.
  Emotions were important in Romantic art.
  British Romantic William Wordsworth described poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings."
• Idealism is the concept that we can make the world a better place.
  Idealism refers to any theory that emphasizes the spirit, the mind, or language over matter – thought has a crucial role in making the world the way it is.
  Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, held that the mind forces the world we perceive to take the shape of space-and-time.
• Inspiration
  The Romantic artist, musician, or writer, is an "inspired creator" rather than a "technical master."
  What this means is "going with the moment" or being spontaneous, rather than "getting it precise."
• Individuality
  Romantics celebrated the individual.
  During this time period, Women’s Rights and Abolitionism were taking root as major movements.
  Walt Whitman, a later Romantic writer, would write a poem entitled "Song of Myself": it begins, "I celebrate myself…"
• Origins
  Romanticism began to take root as a movement following the French Revolution.
  The publication of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1792 is considered the beginning of literary Romanticism.
• Basic Concepts of Romanticism
  1.The connection of poetry to the poet
  2.Poetic spontaneity and freedom
  3.The glorification of the commonplace
  4.The supernatural, “strangeness of beauty”Poetic spontaneity and freedom
• 1. Poetry and the Poet
  The poem is completely self-originating, flowing from the poet’s experience
  Poet’s feelings and emotions are of the utmost importance, not subject or audience.
  The poem is an attempt to express the inner-self of the poet, not to critique the outside world.
• 2. Poetic Freedom
  The poem is not something to be crafted over much time.
  "The spontaneous flow of emotions"
  More structural freedom than in the past (however, sonnets and standardized forms are still common)
  Inspiration and capture of a single moment
• 3. Glorification of the Common
  Many of the themes of the romantics are rural, rustic, everyday life
  The common man is lifted up, the simple life is revered.
  This move affirms the individual, who in all urban parts of England was being exploited and mistreated.
• 4. Strangeness in Beauty
  The supernatural or imaginative is often involved (Coleridge)
  Different concepts of beauty
• General Features of Romantic Poetry
  References to nature
  Intimate self-revelations of the poets
  Direct expressions of emotions
  Imagery reflects a careful attention to concrete particulars
  Setting is often the remote past
• Romantics often use visionary images
  Ancient legends
  Dream visions
  Imagined scenes
  Elemental images like fire, water, clouds, forests
• Wordsworth’s theory of poetry:
  Poetry should be about common people and events and should be written in the language of ordinary men and women.
• Historical Context of Romantic Poets
  Remember the context in which they wrote in order to understand their disdain for the new fast-paced modern world. Answer these:
  (A) How might they have been disillusioned by the industrial revolution?
  (B) Why would this cause them to romanticize the past?
  (C) Make a comparison with today. Do you know people who are fed up with the fast-paced life we follow, with the ever-changing technology, etc? Explain.
• "Kubla Khan"by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1st period only, March 24)
  Read Coleridge’s note. Below, write a few sentences summarizing this note.
  (anodyne: pain reliever, opiate or narcotic)
  Close your eyes and listen to the poem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK5EcMxuQzk
  Now draw images from the poem, continue listening http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSNpOk7JZAk
  Now read along with the poem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fhhrGCMxm0
  Which of these versions do you prefer? Why?
• Imagery: language that appeals to the senses
  Analyzing Literature Worksheet
  "Xanadu" by Rush – identify imagery in song
  If you work in groups, you still have to complete the work on your own handout.
  Turn in when finished.
• Romantic Poets (4th period only, March 23) (page 621)Take a look at these poets (biographies, poems) and think about which you would like to study closely.
  William Blake (p. 606, we will consider him a Romantic poet)
  William Wordsworth
  Samuel Taylor Coleridge
  Lord Byron (George Gordon)
  Percy Bysshe Shelley
  John Keats