Characteristics of Romantic Age

S. B. Gardi DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

M.K.BHAVNAGAR University

Written by: Gohil. Devikaba. J

Roll no.: 05

Course No.:05

Course Name: The Romantic Literature

Enrollment No. : Pg14101015

Characteristics of Romantic Age (1800-1850)

Introduction:

The Romantic Movement is marked by the two great events of this time: i) French Revolution (1789) and ii) the publication of ‘Lyrical Ballad (1798)’ by Wordsworth and Coleridge. That is why many critics think that the Romantic era starts with the publication of Lyrical Ballad. William. J. Long in his book ‘English Literature Its History and Significance for the Life of the English Speaking World’ says that Romantic Age is the second creative period of the English Literature. Romantic age covers the first half of the 19^th century. Just as we understand the tremendous energizing influence of Puritanism in the matter of English liberty by remembering that the common people had begun to read, and that their book was the Bible, so we may understand this age of popular government by remembering that the chief subject of romantic literature was the essential nobleness of common men and the value of the individual. This era starts under the region of King George III and ends with the region of Queen Victoria. During this time Steel was one of the best materials of England. During this time machinery and factories also grow up very well. The one aspect of this time is that during this time the New England tried to be frank with the Old England. Still there was a kind of threat of revolution among England not from outside but within the England. The causes of this threatened revolution were not political but economic. By her invention in steel and machinery, and by her monopoly of the carrying trade, England had become the workshop of the world.

England’s wealth was increasing but the problem was that because of that there was a kind of unequal money distribution among the society. Because of machinery the thousands of hand workers were jobless. And the second thing was that to protect the tax (in those days heavy duty) was imposed upon agriculture field especially wheat and corn and bread rose. The situation was that the common men were not able to pay the heavy duty or tax. While England increased in wealth, and spent vast sums to support her army and subsidize her allies in Europe, and while nobles, landowners, manufacturers, and merchants lived in increasing luxury, a multitude of skilled laborers were clamoring for work. So, to fulfill the needs of the house the father have to send his children and wives in the workhouses were they were paid less than they work. They have to work for 16 hours of the day. Because of this in the metro cities there was the main thing and that was the hunger of men and women. And that is why there was the threat of another revolution in England. The condition of Economy as well as the condition of politics was not good during this time. People were not satisfied with their condition in the society. It is only when we remember these conditions that we can understand two books, Adam Smith's ‘Wealth of Nations’ and Thomas Paine's ‘Rights of Man’, which can hardly be considered as literature, but which exercised an enormous influence in England. Smith was a Scottish thinker who wrote about the rights and the condition of labors in society. He says that labors are the source of the wealth of the nation and they are used to increase the wealth of the nation which is unjust and destructive. Thomas Paine's ‘Rights of Man’ published in London in 1791, was like one of Burns’ lyric outcries against institutions which oppressed humanity. All these dangers, real and imaginary, passed away when England turned from the affairs of France to remedy her own economic conditions. England overcomes all these problems during this half century. Many reforms like the destruction of the African slave trade, the mitigation of horribly unjust laws, which included poor debtors and petty criminals in the same class; the prevention of child labor, the freedom of the press; the extension of manhood suffrage; the abolition of restrictions against Catholics in Parliament, the establishment of hundreds of popular schools, under the leadership of Andrew Bell and Joseph Lancaster these are but a few of the reforms which mark the progress of civilization in a single half century. And that is why many people write this age was again the renaissance time for England.

We can see the repaid changes of the society through the literature or through the art of particular time. And that is why it is said that ‘Literature is the mirror of Society.’ Here also we can see the rapid changes of Romantic age among literature. Here are some basic characteristics of Romantic age:

 

We can say that these are the highlight characteristics of this age. Through this we cannot measure the whole age. Romanticism is just a concept only. There is nothing to do with reality but during this time the writers tried to represent the problem in more romantic way we can say that indirect way that is why this time is marked as Romanticism.

Individualism:

Romanticism emerged as a reaction against 'The Age of Enlightenment', which emphasized on reason and logic. Pioneers of the Romantic period wanted to break away from the conventions of the Age of Enlightenment and make way for individuality and experimentation. This was the time when people start thinking about themselves. That is why this characteristic is one of the important characteristic of this age. As above discussed that during this time people were not satisfied with their position in the society and so they tried to show it in an indirect way. The reflection of the self or the importance of the self was the one of the major characteristics of this time. It was the demand of the people of this time that they must be allowed to think freely or live freely as it was during Elizabethan age. They never think for the criticism of critics or of the society. They start realizing to follow one’s own aura. During this period the main focus of the writers was the common men and women. This was the time when the common men and his problems were at the center. Wordsworth was the pioneer of this idea though he has to face much criticism for this but he was the first who gave the idea of simplicity in poetry. And that is he is known as the ‘Father of English Romanticism’. He says that poetry must be like ‘A Man speaking to Men.’ So, we can say that in a way he was against the highly marked language of the poetry. Because of the highly marked language the common people were not able to understand the poetry. So, this was the first attempt by Wordsworth for the common people. Well, it is also true that many people say that his poems are like childish poem or like nursery rhyme but as the time passes he marked as the best writer of this era. He is also known as the priest of the nature. And the second thing is that this was the time when people think that women also can write. For the first time people thought for the rights of women and children. It was during this period that woman assumed, for the first time, an important place in the literature. Probably the chief reason for this interesting phenomenon lays in the fact that woman was for the first time given some slight chance of education, of entering into the intellectual life of the race; and as is always the case when woman is given anything like a fair opportunity she responded magnificently. In Coleridge we see this independence expressed in "Kubla Khan" and "The Ancient Mariner," two dream pictures, one of the populous Orient, the other of the lonely sea. In Wordsworth this literary independence led him inward to the heart of common things. Following his own instinct, as Shakespeare does, he too finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in everything. So, more than any other writer of the age, he invests the common life of nature, and the souls of common men and women, with glorious significance.  

So, in sort we can say that during this time the writer think about the common people, their rights, and their problems including women and children also. Heroes and heroines of Romantic novels often questioned their roles in society and purposes in life rather than following a formulaic storyline. The idea of the individual's imagination as a way of exploring psychology and philosophy also gained popularity during the Romantic period.

Return to Nature:

Again, this is one of the important characteristic of the Romantic Age. We can also say that the whole age is marked by this characteristic. During this age the writer used the elements of nature to satire on the society. Yes, it is true that most of the people think that this was the time when the writers don’t use satire to reform the society. But that is not true the satire during this time was in an indirect way. The concept of Romanticism becomes quite clear here. We think that romanticism is something related to the physical world. Yes, it is but in a wilder way. Romanticism reflects the nature. Nature is which we see around us like trees, plants, birds, animals, and sea etc. and also the nature of Men. It includes both the meaning at a time. Through using the elements of nature the writers of this time tried to talk about the nature of human beings. Wordsworth’s poem ‘Daffodils’ is the best example.

“I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills”

These are just two lines of the poem. But in these two lines also we can see the natural environment created by the poet. When we look at this poem at the surface level we can understand very easily that this is the language used for the common men. I want to give other illustration here that is the novel ‘Frankenstein’ written by Mary Shelly which is the best example of the Nature. Though at surface level we will not be able to find the Nature in this novel but if we analyze this novel in deep then we will be able to find the Natural elements. The major part of this novel talks about the Nature only, because Victor wanted to go against the Nature. The other example of nature I would like to give of John Keats though when he was living he never considered as a great writer. He got fame after his death. And he also died at a very young age. It was said for Keats that he was the priest of beauty as Wordsworth is the priest of the Nature. Here are some lines from Ode to Psyche.

  

“Yes, I will be thy priest, and build a fane

In some untrodden region of my mind”

These are the two lines in which Keats is praising the beauty of Psyche and says that I will make a temple in my mind so that no one can enter in my mind and I will always worship you in my mind as a goddess. So, here these lines become true that he is the priest of beauty. He uses nature to praise the beauty.

“Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;”

These are other lines from Keats’ another ode ‘Ode to autumn’. He was the poet who celebrates the beauty of autumn. That is why he was so criticized by the other writers of his time and especially by Wordsworth.

Imagination:

‘People don’t want reality, people want fictional world.’ And this is the world which the writer creates for the reader to enjoy the pleasure of art. Imagination is another important characteristic of this age. Like all the other ages during this age also we can see the fight between ‘Art for the Art’s sake’ and ‘Art for the Life’s sake’.  Just because of these different two phases of literature like nature, imagination also played a vital role during this time. The two major poet of this time were favoring two different phases of this time like Plato and Aristotle. Wordsworth was favoring ‘Art for the Life’s sake’ whereas Coleridge was favoring ‘Art for the Art’s sake’. And because of these two different things at a time we can see variety in literature of this period. That is why we will find imagination power played a vital role in all most all the poems of Coleridge. It doesn’t mean that the other writer don’t follow this element. The phenomenon of imagination is the essence or core of romantic poetry. According to romantic poets, it is possible to attain a transcendental experience by means of imagination. It takes us near to the spiritual truth. During this time the writers were the strong believer of imagination in poetic expression. The writer creates an imagine world in which s/he allowed the readers to enter in that world and enjoy the literature. This element shows that how much words have power that it cans also affect the mind of human beings. We can see that how a writer creates an imagined world. The poem ‘Kubla Khan’ written by Coleridge is the best example of this.

“In Xanadu did Kubla Khan

 A stately pleasure-dome decree:

 Where Alph, the sacred river, ran

 Through caverns measureless to man

   Down to a sunless sea.

 So twice five miles of fertile ground

 With walls and towers were girdled round;

 And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,

 Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;

 And here were forests ancient as the hills,

Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.”

This is the first stanza of the poem. The poem is longer one. Here we can see the imagined world of Coleridge. Mr. Kubla Khan is the main character of this poem and the poet himself is the narrator of the poem. The poet also gives the description of the area where Mr. Kubla Khan was living. The land was hilly area and there were valley and forest that surrounded the entire region. The poet talks about the wilderness, the trees, and the darkness of the area. Then the poet visualizes a beautiful woman longing for her lover means Mr. Kubla Khan. In sort, in this poem the poet visualizes the woman playing an instrument at the same time he visualizes a horrible demons giving warning about the future. It is also true that the poem is incomplete because when the poet was visualizing this his dream was broken. But this the best example of both the natural elements and the imagination power of the writer of that time.

Elements of Supernatural Power:

Again this characteristic takes us to the roots of this time and that is the endless debate ‘Art for the Art’s sake’ and ‘Art for the Life’s sake’, because this characteristic is in the favor of ‘Art for the Art’ sake’. This characteristic is also connected with the characteristic of imagination. Supernatural power means something which as a human being we don’t have or if I say in other words then beyond the human capacity. As above said that during this time people were aware about their selves and the center was also the individuality. So, many writers tried to give supernatural elements to their characters. The poets of the neo classical age gave more importance to realistic descriptions of day to day life. The romantic poets like Coleridge however, concentrated on describing the supernatural world. The whole poem describes the supernatural and mystical experience of the "Ancient Mariner" in a mysterious manner:

This seraph band, each waved his hand:
It was a heavenly sight!
They stood as signals to the land,
Each one a lovely light:

Here again if I give the example of ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelly then in this novel she tried to give some supernatural touch. During those days electricity was the new invention by human beings. Accordingly, Frankenstein abused electricity, a natural force, to stimulate ‘the lifeless thing’ (Shelley 34). By artificially and miraculously bringing his inanimate project to life, Frankenstein leaves the ordinary course of nature and produces something abnormal and supernatural.

The Age of Symbols and Myths:

With all these characteristics this age is also marked especially for the myths and symbols used by the writers during this time. Human was the center and the symbols and the myths were of the nature of this time. And the symbols and myths were also taken seriously by the people of that time because it suggests many things. We can say that writers used the sugar coated language to highlight the mistakes of the society of that time. Again I would like to give the example of John Keats and his ode ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’. In this ode he uses many myths. According to Keats urn is like time it knows everything the past as well as the future also. He also depicts some people on this urn that some of them are playing flute pipe and some of them are doing their work. He also depicts a couple. According to Keats the lovers are happy as well as unhappy because they will remain there on that urn always but they can’t touch each other and that is why Keats writes that:

“Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard

 Are sweeter;”

 It is a kind of symbol used by Keats to showcase the reality of the life.

Conclusion:

As no Romantic artist followed any strict set of rules or regulations, it is difficult to define the characteristics of this movement accurately. Nevertheless, some of these characteristics are reflected in the works of that period. Though many writers and critics have called this movement "irrational", it cannot be denied that it was an honest attempt to portray the world, especially the intricacies of the human nature, in a paradigm-shifting way. In short, this was the time of celebration of self as well as the nature. And here I am summing up with Rousseau’s statement that "I am not made like anyone I have seen; I dare believe that I am not made like anyone in existence. If I am not superior, at least I am different."