What is Eagleton’s attitude to Romanticism?

Answer

What is Eagleton’s attitude to Romanticism? [NU: 2017, 21] ★★★

Romanticism is an 18th–19th century European movement (late 1700s–early 1800s) which emphasizes emotion, nature, individualism, and imagination, rejecting strict rules and industrialization. Terry Eagleton (1943 – Present), in his critical essay “The Rise of English” (1983), shows how Romanticism changed English literature. He explains that Romantic writers brought a new idea. They gave more value to imagination than to fact. For them, feelings were more important than reason. Eagleton links this with history. He gives a clear view of how Romanticism shaped modern English studies.

New Meaning of Literature: Eagleton says Romanticism gave a new idea. Before this, literature meant any good writing. But Romantic writers changed it. He writes, 

“The modern sense of the word ‘literature’ only really gets under way in the nineteenth century.” 

Now, only creative and poetic writing has become ‘literature’. This change gave more value to imagination. Facts were less important. Eagleton shows that this shift in meaning helped English grow. Romanticism made English studies more focused on poetry and feeling.

Imagination over Fact: Eagleton shows that imagination became central. Romantic writers sought to escape the hardships of life. They lived in a world of machines and rules. The author says, 

“…To write about what did not exist was somehow more soul-stirring.” 

Fiction became more powerful than facts. Poets wrote about dreams and nature. They wanted to feel free. For them, the real world was too harsh. So, they used imagination to create beauty and truth. Eagleton links this to social problems of the time.

Symbol and Deep Meaning: In Romanticism, symbols were very important. Eagleton writes followingly about the use of symbol in literature, 

“The symbol fused together motion and stillness, turbulent content and organic form.” 

The poets used symbols to show big truths. A flower could mean hope. A river could mean time. Symbols joined the heart and the world. This made the poems deep and powerful. Eagleton says