Wellek described romanticism as ‘Imagination for the view of poetry, nature for the view of the world, and symbol and myth for poetic style’ (Wellek qtd. in McGann, 735). Both Wellek and George spoke of Romanticism predominantly revolving around nature and imagination, two of the elements that are clearly evident in Wordsworth’s poem, ‘‘I wandered lonely as a Cloud’’. The poem can be argued to be typically a Romantic poem; this provided that you agree with the points made by Wellek and George. If however, you agree more with McGann and Day, the poem can be argued as not a romantic poem but merely a literary piece from the ‘Romantic period’.
Though this may be the case, however, in discussing poetry as literature, we should avoid overtly biographizing or psychologizing these works. Also, we should be cautious that the creative persona “I” may not be necessarily recognized as the poet herself. Northrop Frye once suggests that “we shall find Emily Dickinson most rewarding if we look in her poems for what her imagination has created, nor for what event may have suggested it.” (qtd. in Kher: 3) There are many poems to do with her feelings of being bereaved such as “I never lost as much but twice” (J 49), “After great pain, a formal feeling comes –” (J 341), “My Life closed twice before its close” (J 1732). In these poems, the lost object is never identified but only the feeling of lost is implied in the
Americans yearned to break free from the narrow-mindedness of the Provincial era, and embraced this period of time to the fullest extent. The Romantic Movement emphasized emotions over reason; feelings and intuition were more prevalent than intellectual ideas or thoughts. Note how different this is from the previous period, the Age of Reason. Emotions, even passions and sexual attractions, were addressed in literature written during the Romantic Period. Writers during the Romantic Period wrote from their imaginations rather than presenting life realistically.
‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a description of love and also the consequence of love. The romantic qualities the
Both texts revel the tension between idealism and reality. Analyse and compare how this shared idea is represented in the texts and evaluate the extent to which it is impacted by the composers’ context. When does our attainable dream of love, become an idealised fantasy? The universal conceptualization of love is a subject explored throughout history and literature. Elizabeth Barrett-Browning’s sonnet sequence Sonnets from the Portugeuse, explores the experence of idealised love in the patriarchal confines of the Victorian era, juxtaposed against F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, which comments on the unatanability of idealised love due to the corruption of the American dream.
Thus, through comparing 'The Great Gatsby' and Barrett-Browning's poems, we are able to identify how differing contexts can shape meaning and alter perspectives. Both texts deal with the themes and concepts of ideal and pure love, but having been written in different times produces contrasting contexts, and hence differing perspectives. Barrett-Browning's poems take on the Petrarchan form to challenge courtly love and the idea of pure love, as opposed to Gatsby's infinite hunger for platonic love which is unattainable in a materialistic world; a world that lacked strong moral grounding taints the purity of love. Barrett-Browning's initial response to love is realistic, unsure and being cautious in her approach, "Lest one touch of his heart convey its grief". Throughout the sonnet it is evident that she prefers pure love more than any other, "If thou must love me let it be for nought, but for love's sake only".
The "Romantic Period" refers to literary and cultural movements in England, Europe, and America roughly from 1770 to 1860. Romanticism does not appear in the U.S. until Irving and Emerson are writing; so, somewhat confusingly, the Romantic Period in the U.S. (1830-1860) overlaps with the period in which U.S. culture may also be said to be "Victorian" (1830-1880). One consequence of the latter: a writer such as Hawthorne is both Romantic and Victorian. Other works of the period--such as Harriet Beecher Stowe's best-seller Uncle Tom's Cabin--are not "Romantic," but are rather much closer to the realistic fiction of Victorian Britain's George Eliot. American Romantics tend to respect Nature as a sacred holy place of non-artificiality, where the Self can fulfill its potential.
“Daniel Hoffman observes that ‘the theme [of The Bridal Ballad] was one Poe had early tried to use in poetry [when Poe was starting to become a writer], producing only the bathetic Bridal Ballad.’ (Hoffman). Sova mentions that “Poe experienced greater success in developing the theme in what critics have termed the "Marriage Group" of stories, which include Eleonora, Ligeia, and Morella” (Sova). Although this may have been so, The Bridal Ballad can still be analyzed as a building block that would lead to better written stories and poems based on the Romanticist and Dark Romanticist principles. What readers find in The Bridal Ballad by Edgar Allan Poe is a story told in a bride’s point of view. What the bride tells readers about is the fact that she cannot fully accept her newlywed husband.
In his stories, Poe clearly uses a variety of themes and literary devices that let us observe him as a Dark Romantic, rather than a Romantic. First of all, it is important to present a historical background, which explains the link between Romanticism and Dark Romanticism. When Romanticism arrived to the United States it brought the belief that emotion, imagination and intuition meant more than logical reasoning. The Romantics emphasized sensibility and beauty, as the things, which lead people towards the truth. Wikipedia defines Romanticism as “a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe (...).
His sense of longing for his partner is clearly depicted via the enjambment used between stanzas three and four, perhaps to prolong the memory of his wife. In contrast in “All Legendary Obstacles” it is unknown whether the relationship is based on fact or fiction. The four-six lined stanzas tell of the narrator waiting for the arrival of his lover. However there do seem to be some flaws in this relationship as the full stops between each stanza not only break the continuity of the poem, but also makes the relationship seem disjointed. Throughout Montague’s poem the tone is quite pessimistic and nervous as he awaits and it causes the reader to wonder whether Montague