The Romantic Age: An Introduction

Presented by: Sarban Bandyopadhyay

The Romantic age in Britain (1798-1837) was a time when imagination was perceived as the
major driving force behind the creation of literature and all other arts. This perception was in
stark contrast to the earlier Neo-classical concept of reason as the chief mental faculty
responsible for creating art, and the conflict between reason and imagination informs much of
contemporary British critical literature.
However, the periodisation process in the history of literature is not absolute. Throughout the
eighteenth century, there was a gradual shift of focus from reason to imagination in British
literature. The year 1798 is chosen as the beginning of the Romantic age because it was on this
year that William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge collaboratively brought out a
collection of their poems entitled Lyrical Ballads, which came to be regarded as a manifesto of
Romanticism. Similarly, the year 1837 marks the ascension of Queen Victoria to the British
throne, officially ending the Romantic age and starting the Victorian age.
Another popular opinion is to mark the date of the French Revolution, i.e. 1789, as the
beginning of the Romantic age.
The term ‘romantic’ is vague. There are, however, certain common characteristics that one
can point out in various works composed in the Romantic age.
1. The expressive theory of art:
Literary criticism in the West up to the eighteenth century regarded art as either imitative or
pragmatic. Art as imitation means that art reflects the world outside, like a mirror. Therefore
there is always an ‘original’ to be found in nature, of which the art is a copy. That is why this
theory prioritises the role of the outside world in the creation of art. Art as a pragmatic project
means that art represents the outside world imbued with lessons the artist wants his audience to
learn. Thus nature is represented as lit with the glow of the artist’s perception, like a lamp. But
with the arrival of the Romantics, art came to be viewed as expressive. This means that art is the
expression of the imagination inside the artist’s mind. It is spontaneous presentation of emotions
and thoughts that the artist wants to communicate with his audience. Apart from this intended
communication, art has no other conscious goal.
The expressive view of art was extolled in poetry and criticism alike in the Romantic age.
Shelley described the mind of the poet with the metaphor of a volcano, unable to contain the
pressure of fire within and releasing it in a spectacular explosion to the world outside. Elsewhere
he also compared it with burning coals, on which the wind of inspiration strikes, reanimating the
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fire within. Coleridge compared it with the Aeolian harp, on which, again, the wind of
inspiration strikes, releasing a spontaneous melody. William Blake expressed a somewhat similar
sentiment when he asserted, "I must create a system, or be enslaved by another's."
2. Return to Nature:
The Romantic age witnessed the initial progress of the Industrial Revolution. England at that
time was transforming from an agrarian economy to an industrial economy. This inevitably
resulted in the destruction of the pristine rural landscape, and its replacement by factories and
their chimneys belching smoke into the sky. The population felt pangs of nostalgia at the loss of
the soothing natural landscape, and hatred towards the 'ugly' mechanical. The Luddites are a
good example of contemporary technophobia. They operated on the justifiable assumption that
technology would snatch away jobs from people.
In the feeling of literature this sentiment manifested as a strong inclination towards a "return
to nature". From William Wordsworth to P. B. Shelley and Sir Walter Scott, poets and writers
alike expressed overt or subtle antagonism towards machines and a love and admiration for
nature untainted by the touch of human civilisation. In 'The Tables Turned', Wordsworth notes:
One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man;
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.
P. B. Shelley drew upon the elements of nature to convey his revolutionary messages.
William Blake's mythical figure of Urizen represented mechanical civilisation in all its cruelty.
John Keats exploited the sensory experience of pure nature and excelled in its depiction. Among
the essayists, Charles Lamb wrote in a nostalgic tone about the bygone days of London when
machines had not corrupted the leisurely spirit of townsfolk.
3. The Romantic Rebellion:
In sync with the affinity with a lost natural existence, the
Romantics developed a strong anti-establishment stance as
establishment came to represent the much-hated mechanical
civilisation. Outwardly, the chief catalyst in the development
of this rebellious world-view was the French Revolution.
Beginning in 1789 and paving the way for the rise of

Figure 1: "Liberty Leading the

Napoleon Bonaparte, the French Revolution shook the foundations of European civilisation and
brought hitherto trivialised political and social theories into the scope of fervent popular
imagination. The older generation of the Romantic poets lived through it and the younger
generation was influenced heavily by it. Every major Romantic poet took this anti-establishment
stance, the most notable among them being William Blake, P. B. Shelley, and Lord Byron.
William Blake portrayed in his personal mythology the character of Urizen, a deity
resembling the Judeo-Christian Jehovah in appearance and closely corresponding with Him in an
absolutely tyrannical oppression of all kinds of spontaneity. The major motif of his mythology is
a rebellion against Urizen and the eventual victory of Los, embodiment of the poetic
imagination, over the tyranny of reason. Besides, he spoke vigorously and at length against the
oppression of the common, deprived people he saw.
P. B. Shelley maintained rebellion against oppression as his chief poetic trope. Sometimes he
calls to the elements of nature to offer him strength to rise above the pettiness of the system and
spread his revolutionary message, as can be seen in 'Ode to the West Wind':
... through the incantation of this verse,
Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth
Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
Elsewhere he adopted the very persona of elements, or ancient heroes or mythological
protagonists. In all these manifestations his poetic voice unwaveringly stuck to the stance of
rebellion.
Lord Byron's treatment of the rebellious voice was of a more personal nature. He focused on
man's struggle against nature and society and treated the figure of the lone protagonist as a hero.
However, even through his personal rebellion he succeeded in attacking the ills of society.
4. Poetic language:
In popular opinion until the arrival of the Romantics, poetry had to have as its subject only
people of high social status or of greater consequence than the lower rungs of society. Therefore
it was only proper that the language of poetry should also be the language of high society.
Particularly during the preceding Neoclassical age, a strict adherence to classical forms and a
strict adherence to aristocratic expressions of poetry were extolled. The contribution of William
Wordsworth is of particular interest here, because he it was who had gone an extra mile to write
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about the lives and feelings cost of do-it-yourself villages who live closer to nature than any
townspeople can ever imagine:
There’s not a house within a mile,
No hand to help them in distress;
Old Susan lies in a bed of pain,
And sorely puzzled are the twain,
For what she ails they cannot guess.
(From 'Lucy Gray')
In popular imagination the most well-known of Wordsworth's characters include Lucy Gray and
the unnamed solitary reaper, both of whom were of humble origins. Moreover, in the ever-
present persona of the narrator Wordsworth always comes across as a solitary spectator of nature
who is more at home in the wild and stops short of openly criticising the upstart mechanical
civilization. The Preface to Lyrical Ballads is largely an elaborate defense of the decision to shift
poetic language from one used by the aristocrats and laden with formality to humble speech
spoken as much like the commonest man as possible.
In terms of poetic form, this focus on common people's language translated into a drive to
oust rhymes and traditional metrical forms in favor of blank verse. Wordsworth's magnum opus
The Prelude is completely written in blank verse, as are the longer poems of Shelly, Keats and
Byron. Prometheus Unbound, the only remarkable dramatic contribution of the Romantic age
and written by P. B. Shelley, is written in blank verse.
5. The Supernatural and the Gothic:
Several Romantics were clearly interested in manifestations of
the supernatural as an exercise in imagination. This interest found
its expression in studies of classical mythology and its
incorporation into their poetry, reintroducing forgotten folklore to
the popular imagination, and general contemplations of visions
and theology. In particular, Samuel Taylor Coleridge was
fascinated by the supernatural and used it as a major theme in his
work.
Figure 2: Cologne Cathedral. Another feature of Romanticism closely related to the interest in
From Wikimedia Commons,
uploaded by user:Velvet under the supernatural is an interest in the Gothic. The term Gothic
CC BY-SA
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derives from the name of an ancient Germanic tribe, who developed a distinct culture during the
middle ages. The popular Romantic representations of this culture, however, was rather
superficial. It was characterised by gothic architecture (represented by the Cologne Cathedral in
photo), a generally dark and foreboding setting, and malicious unnatural presences such as
vampires. Several contemporary horror novels were set in such settings, and the Romantic
interest in the Gothic did much in the development of the modern horror subgenre.
6. Experiences of Intoxication:
As suitable for the exploration of imagination as well as of the supernatural, an interest in the use
of narcotics to transcend the limits of common experience was well-known among the
Romantics. Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the essayist Thomas de Quincey were opium addicts.
The former dedicated some poems to his addiction – the most important being his account of the
origin of the poem Kubla Khan – whereas the magnum opus of the latter is entitled Confessions
of an English Opium Eater. Although not an addict himself, John Keats contemplated at length
about the potential of the intoxicated mind to transcend the miseries of real life and raise one to
an ideal plain of blissful existence.
*
Overall, the Romantics were responsible for giving a new and more democratic direction to
English literature. Ever since, popular poetry has followed more or less in their footsteps. The
modern genres such as speculative fiction and horror owe much to the Romantics.

Necessary links:
● Romanticism in Britannica
● Romanticism in In Plain English blog