ROMANTICISM

Albarico, Cambaya, Gaid, Ibale, Ladera, Lagarde

12 - RESPECT
DEFINITION
Romanticism is an artistic, literary, and
intellectual movement that originated in
Europe toward the end of the 18th
century and was at its peak in the
approximate period from 1800 to 1850.
It is characterized by its emphasis on
emotion and individualism as well as
glorification of all the past and nature,
preferring the medieval rather than the
classical.
17th CENTURY
“Romantic" meant imaginative or
fictitious due to the birth of a new
literary genre : the novel.
Were written in vernacular or romantic
languages
18th Century
In the 18th century, romanticism is
eclipsed by the Age of Enlightenment,
where everything is perceived through
the prism of science and reason.
19th Century
In the 19th century, "romantic" means
sentimental : lyricism and the expression
of personal emotions are emphasized.
Feelings and sentiments are very much
present in romantic works.
The Romantic movement in literature
was preceded by the Enlightenment and
succeeded by Realism.
LITERARY CRITICISM
William Wordsworth: Lyrical Ballads
(1800)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Biographia
Literaria (1817)
Modern critics disagree on whether the
work of Wordsworth and Coleridge
constituted a major break with the
criticism of their predecessors.
Or if it should more properly be
characterized as a continuation of the
aesthetic theories of seventeenth- and
eighteenth-century German and English
writers.
In 1800, in the Preface to Lyrical
Ballads, Wordsworth issued his famous
proclamation about the nature of poetry
as “the spontaneous overflow of
powerful feelings.”
It shifted the center of attention from
the work as a reflection or imitation of
reality to the artist, and the artist's
relationship to the work.
Poetry would henceforth be considered
an expressive rather than a mimetic art.
M. H. Abrams: “Early Romantics reflect
the poet's state of mind, rather than
outward to reflect external reality.”
William Hazlitt: “On Poetry in General”
(1818) “by combining the mirror with a
lamp, in order to demonstrate that a poet
reflects a world already bathed in an
emotional light he has himself projected”
by Abrams.
The Romantic poet/critic thus began to
produce criticism that explained and
justified not only creativity itself, but
also his own creative practices, even his
own poetry.
Events leading to Romantic Criticism

Paul A. Cantor
Romantic literary critics were poets
themselves.
Coleridge Vs Wordsworth
CHIEF FEATURES
•ignores rules whether of Aristotle or
Horace or of the French and emphasises
that works of literature are to be judged on
the basis of the impression they produce,
and not with reference to any rules.
CHIEF FEATURES
•It is impressionistic and individualistic, and
freedom of inquiry is its keynote.
•It is concerned with the fundamentals, such
as the nature of poetry, and its functions, and
not merely with the problems of style, diction
or literary genres.
CHIEF FEATURES
•It is neither legislative nor judicial.
•It is concerned mainly with the theory of
poetry, and the process of poetic creation.
•Emphasis is laid on imagination and
emotion and not on reason and good sense.
CHIEF FEATURES
•Poetic enthusiasm is no longer looked down
upon, as by the Neo-classicists.
•New definitions of poetry are attempted,
Poetry is no longer considered as mere
imitation or invention but becomes the
expression of emotion and imagination.
CHIEF FEATURES
•Inspiration and intuition rather than
adherence to rules are regarded as the true
bases of creation.
• Pleasure than instruction becomes the end or
function of poetry. If poetry instructs, it does
so only through pleasure.
CHIEF FEATURES
•Poetry should transport and make
people 'nobler' and 'better' through such
transport.
•Its appeal should be to the heart and
not to the head.
CHIEF FEATURES
•Imagination is emphasised both as the basis
of creation and of judgement, which leads to
the production of great works of art.
•The critic also must primarily be gifted with
imagination; only then can be appreciate the
beauty of work of art.
CHIEF FEATURES
•Views of Poetic diction and versification
undergo a radical change. Simplicity is
emphasised both in theme and treatment.
•Romantic criticism is creative. It is as much
the result of imagination as works of
literature.
CHIEF FEATURES
•Critics express their views after entering
imaginatively into the thoughts and feelings
of the writers whose works they may be
examining.
•The far reaching influence of Wordsworth
and Coleridge.
Thank You!
OCTOBER 11, 2019