Literature of The Romantic Period Paper

Samantha Rowe Mrs.
Terrian English 11B 25 March 2013 Literature of the Romantic Period Several years ago, in a land just across the pond, a famous poet said, Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility ("William Wordsworth Quotes"). The time period inspiring this quote was well known as the Romantic Period more specifically, the Romantic Period of Literature. During this time period of dedication and devotion to nature, individuals used their personal emotions to express their innermost feelings. These individuals were known as Romantics. Romantics had a rather interesting aspect of life they were more heartfelt than people in modern society. Yet today, Romantics roam the Earth, writing beautiful poetry and standing up for what they believe in. If you keep out a keen eye, you will notice that Romantics do not particularly stand above societys standards of people. However, from 1798 to 1830, Romantics skyrocketed above and beyond those standards. They were seen as intelligent individuals who chose to have their voice heard through literature. Romantics expressed themselves, not only through emotion as mentioned before, but through the beautiful poems they wrote. In their poems, they idealized the past, especially the Middle Ages, and the time of the Greeks and Romans. The Romantics ached for perfection and were quite idealistic. Their writing serves to prove that they are a group of individuals who deserve to be recognized for their efforts and outstanding work.
Rowe 2 One of the main inspirations that influence the literature during the Romantic period was nature. Nature was seen as a beautiful creation. The Romantics believed that nature was flawless, and felt it needed to be left unharmed and pure. During this time period, famous poet William Wordsworth stated, Nature is a new religion, ("William Wordsworth Quotes") to which all Romantics and individuals would eventually abide by. Romantic artists viewed nature as the representation of God in the natural universe, their source of inspiration and the most beautiful state of man. The Romantic views on nature can be best demonstrated in the poetry of Wordsworth and Shelley. William Wordsworth was an English poet who wrote mainly lyric poetry, which focuses on human emotion. Wordsworth described his work as, "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings," from "emotion collected in tranquility." One of his best-known poems is Lines Composed Few Miles Above Tinturn Abbey. This was a lyric poem where he celebrated the restorative, inspirational and divine qualities of nature. The poem describes a visit to a medieval abbey, which was in ruins and overrun by nature. In lines 89-97 of this poem, Wordsworth writes, "To look on nature, not as in the hour of thoughtless youth, but hearing of ten times the still sad music of humanity, not harsh nor grating, though of ample power to chasten and subdue. And I have felt a presence that disturbs me with the joy of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime, of something far more deeply infused. In these lines, there are several demonstrations of nature as divine inspiration. In the second sentence, he was saying that just as the element of divine is present in nature, it can also be found in the nature of man. Wordsworth extolled that through nature, essentially we can find God. Throughout the poem, he relays the importance of the relationship between man and nature, and refers to the essence of nature as "the anchor of his purest thoughts," and "the
Rowe 3 guardian of his heart and soul" ("William Wordsworth Quotes"). In the middle of this poem is a celebration and tribute to nature, for its divine qualities for being the inspiration to his poetry. Percy Shelley, another famous poet of the Romantic Period, demonstrated his feelings for nature as divine and a source of sublime inspiration in his work, Ode to the West Wind. In the first stanza of this he wrote, "O wild west wind, thou breath of Autumns being, The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low, each like a corpse within its grave until thin azure sister of the spring shall blow, her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air with living hues and odors plain and hill." This shows powerful imagery; he compared human creativity to seeds, lying cold and low, like a corpse in the grave. The inspirational qualities of nature take those seeds, and blow them over the dreaming earth, transforming them into living odors. In the fifth stanza, Shelley pleads nature to "Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is: What if my leaves are falling like its own? Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth, ashes and sparks, my words among mankind! Be through my lips to unawakened earth the trumpet of a prophecy!" The imagery is a powerful tribute to nature as divine inspiration to human creativity. The images of Shelleys words are scattered, but especially effective. The connection between nature and the divine is further implied with the lines, "Be through my lips to unawakened earth the trumpet of a prophecy!" Through this image, he has made a clear statement about the qualities of nature. The final line of the poem reads, "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" This line serves as a comparison of nature to the power of poetry. Just as winter cycles into spring, Shelley is saying the world will be transformed by poetry. He made this clear throughout this poem by drawing its most powerful inspiration from nature. This message also relays his feelings on the
Rowe 4 significance and importance of human creativity, especially poetry. This is consistent with his opinions on the power of poetry. While these two poets messages are clearly similar, their style of writing is hugely different. Wordsworth was more of a thoughtful poet, reflecting upon the uplifting power of nature. Shelley and his bold, and stunning visual imagery, created a powerful tribute to the influence that nature has on human creativity. Through their outstanding and beautiful work, Wordsworth and Shelley demonstrated such quality that they are still being studied, discussed, and appreciated today. The Romantic period and the artists who influenced it moved away from the orderly thinking of the Enlightenment. Their use of nature as a subject, and godlike inspiration marked not only a new style of art and poetry, but a new way of thinking.
Rowe 5
Works Cited Anonymous. "Beauty Comes From the Heart Quotes."Search Quotes. N.p., 2 Feb 2013. Web. 24 Mar 2013. < http://www.searchquotes.com/search/Beauty_Comes_From_The_Heart/2/>. Anonymous. "Romanticism." Academic.com. N.p., 03 Jan 2013. Web. 25 Mar 2013. <http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/rom.html>. Anonymous. "William Wordsworth Quotes." Search Quotes. N.p., 2 Feb 2013. Web. 24 Mar 2013. <http://www.searchquotes.com/search/william wordsworth quotes/>. Kinsella, Kate. Prentice Hall Literature. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.

Literature of The Romantic Period Paper

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Literature of The Romantic Period Paper

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Literature of The Romantic Period Paper

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Samantha Rowe Mrs.

You might also like