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Characteristics of Romantic Age in the Major Romantic Poets.

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Romanticism, also known as the Romantic Era, was an inventive literary intellectual movement that originated in Europe in the late 18th century. The duration of the age was from 1798 to 1832. Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, and Byron symbolize Romanticism in England. In France, a poet like Victor Hugo led the movement.

The Note will cover the following questions:

  • Discuss the salient features/important characteristics of Romanticism in the works of the major romantic poets. 
  • Characteristics of the Romantic Age in the Major Romantic Poets.

Features of Romantic Poetry: This age’s poetry has enraged the common readers’ thirst. The above poets of England put some magical forces in their poems and made them exceptional. The striking features of Romantic Poetry are drawn below:

High Imagination: In Romantic Poetry, high imagination, emotion, and passion have been pressed a lot. The lifeless world is renovated through imagination into a real and living one. Poetry’s powerful conception of imagination is so high that it includes and manifests ideas of beauty and truth. ‘Kubla Khan,’ ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,’ ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn,’ and ‘Ode to a Nightingale’ are some of the finest examples of high imagination. In ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn,’ Keats says,

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard

       Are sweeter.

Subjectivity: Subjectivity has its own exact identity in the poetry of this age. The poets link the external world with the inner world through subjective realization. ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn,’ ‘She Walks in Beauty,’ and ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ are some examples of Subjectivity. In his iconic poem “Daffodils,” Wordsworth reveals his subjective feelings,

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills.

Love for Nature: Romanticism is the reaction against Neo-classicism (1660-1785). Urban life and beauty cannot get any chance to be the poem’s vital feature because nature is starkly absent in Neo-classical poetry. The poets of the Romantic Period deeply felt frustration because of the absence of nature in poetry. But nature is the source of life and productivity. No poet of this age is devoid of having a strong passion for nature, and Wordsworth’s philosophy is that nature is a true friend of human beings. Wordsworth says in Tintern Abbey,

Nature never did betray

The heart that loved her;

Supernaturalism: The use of supernatural elements in poetry is another key feature of Romantic Poetry. Poets like Coleridge and Scott have drawn a thumping image of wonder and mystery in poetry. Supernatural objects create a romantic atmosphere with the rage of wonder, horror, suspense, and remoteness.

Simplicity in Style: Romantics use the language of common people in their poetry. Instead of using an artificial style, they tried to use iambic pentameter or blank verse to avoid the complexity of composing poetry. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is one of Coleridge’s famous poems, written simply. And Wordsworth must be called the master of simplicity.

Escapism: Some poets felt annoyed with the oppression and horror of the materialistic world of their time. To avoid this chaos, they often tried to escape from the greedy and chaotic world to a world of ideal beauty and joy described in their poems. ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’, ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, and ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ in these poems, poets have always wanted to flee from the practical world to an ideal world. In ‘Ode to a Nightingale, ’ Keats depicts the world of Nightingale as ideal. Keats wishes to go there through his poetic imagination,

Away! away! for I will fly to thee,

         Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,

But on the viewless wings of Poesy,

Love for Medievalism: In Romantic Poetry, the presence of medievalism is everywhere. Romantic poets showed their love for medieval literature. A nostalgic tone of the past is one of the important features of romantic poetry. ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ is a perfect example of this feature. The affection and charm of middle age are presented here in this poem.

Religious Outlook: The Romantics thought that nature should not be justified scientifically but as a living force. Nature is either made by a creator or a thing of divinity. Many romantic poems sketch nature’s beauty, glorify God, or criticize the materialistic world and corrupt human beings.

Rural or Common Life: Romantic poetry’s most significant characteristic is injecting common or rural life stories. Neo-classical poetry did not include any practical use of nature. But in the Romantic era, poets’ interests changed from town to rural life, and the beauty of nature got the utmost priority. In the poems of Wordsworth, Shelley, and Byron, nature is used a lot and the common life of human beings is discussed.

To conclude, Romantic poetry emerges as a new kind of poetry in English literature. The poets give us a musical journey from the corrupted society to the heart of nature. Romantic poetry reveals the bosom love for nature to human beings. To put it differently, a group of poetic geniuses praised and romanticized nature in English romantic poetry.

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