Unit I ROMANTICISM: AN INTRODUCTION The origins of Romanticism go to the distant past back to the very nature of the human

n spirit. When the word Romantic first appeared in English in the mid-seventeenth century, it meant the fabulous, the extravagant, the fictitious, and the unreal. During the next hundred years, the term was applied to the pleasing scenes and situations appearing in romantic fiction and poetry.

The Romantic Movement was prevalent all over Europe. In England it was informal and did not belong to a particular School or theory. It was not merely a matter of technique but rather a reaction to the rigid formalism of the Age of Reason which saw great writers like Dryden and Pope; it was a revolt against literary tradition and social authority. Most Romantic poets were for liberalism of the individual spirit and for hat Schiegel calls liberalism in literature. The Neo classical of the previous age had made much of common sense and reason. Poetry was an intellectual exercise in which with played a dominant role. Thus, Pope defined art as True wit in nature to advantage dressed what was thought but neither so well expressed. The romantics rejected wings. wit as against true poetic inspiration. They believed in transcende1talism; intuition, and mysticism. Philosophy will dip and angels

Wit was replaced by imagination. As Baugh puts it Intense emotion coupled with an intense display of imagery, such is the frame of mind which supports and feeds the new literature. The neo classics had admitted fancy now and then, hut line imagination of the poet, Coleridge mentions, was non-existent. For Keats, imagination led him away from the mundane world of actuality and its overriding problems to magic casements opening on the foam/of perilous seas, in facry lands forlorn. For Coleridge, imagination takes the form of love of the supernatural, and for Scott it is a retreat into the hoary middle Ages. For Wordsworth. Imagination cast a glory and a splendour on all forms of
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nature so much so that even a flower could evoke thoughts too deep for tears.

The Romantic Movement was also a revolt against the traditional political measurees and diction. Legouis observes. To express the fervent passions they sought the more supple and more lyrical from that of Pope. a language, less dulled by convention. metres unlike the pre ailing couplet. They renounced the poetic diction of the eighteenth centur created a fresh set of poetic associations of words, and upon unusual images and varied verse forms for which they found models in the Renaissance and the old English Poetry. Thus Romantic poets broke away from the tyranny of the heoric couplet. They experimented with a number of ancient meters, especially medieval. The ballad fun-n was revived and a variety of lyrical forms including the sonnet and the ode found their way into the romantic scene. In the opinion of Saintsbury, the poets reached the highest point of English verse music. This musical quality abounds in the poetry of Coleridge and Shell.

Most of the romantics ere radical in their political views and supported the cause of emancipation of the individual. The French Revolution affected the poets in different ways. Worldsworth and Coleridge rejoiced cu the fall of the Baslille. After the Reign of Terror, however, worth became more conservative, Shelley Keats and Byron, the later romantics were even more radical. Shelley declared that Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world. However, ever, their interest centred around poetic liberalism and innovativeness rather than in actual political movements.

Features of the English Romantic Movement The Romantic Movement in England ma he said to have started in the Elizabethan Age, because their literature is essentially romantic in spirit. Life in their literature, is portrayed in all its abundant emotion, idealism and musicality. Hence it is that the poets of the time were described as a nest of singing birds. After a temporary lull during the Augustan Age, the romantic
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spirit surfaced again with Gray rind Collins and experienced a lull bloom with poets like Wordsworth. Coleridge. Keats, Shelley and Byron According to a critic. Chutierton and Gray were the early birds. Cow per was the dawn, and Wordsworth the broad daylight of Romanticism.

The romanticist is amorous of the far. He seeks to escape from the familiar experience and from the limitations of actually which is presented to him by his intellect. He strives to live in a world of imagination, beyond the humdrum realities of this present world. Intution takes over where reasons fills Wordsworth described the experience as that screne and blessed mood in which the burden of the mystery being lightened, he sees into the life of things. Blake lives in a state of continual ecstasy and hence his poetry is visionary. Poets become aware of a concept of perfection in this present life and tend to escape from actually to the innermost stronghold of his own spirit.

Many Romantic pets developed a curiosity for the distant past of the Middle Ages or Medieval Ages. For them it stood for chivalry, adventure, action and art. To Water Pater, the Middle Ages are unworked sources of romantic effect, of a strange beauty to he won by strong imagination out of things unlikely or remote. The Medieval Ballad Literature was revived. The simplicity of nature. and its freshness;. adventure and an appeal to supernaturalism attracted writers like Coleridge. Scull and Kats Keats took a fascination for Hellenism and Hellenistic art. Shelley calls him a born Greek. I Ls sensitive nature and extreme sensuousness find expression in terms of Greek extremes rind mythology that find ample space in his poetry.

Escape from actuality meant an escape into the supernatural world for poets like Coleridge. The remote in place and the remote in time are blended by the romantic imagination passing easily to the mysterious visions of the unseen world. Coleridge gained poetic distinction in the region of the fantastic and the supernatural. The supernatural in the Ancient Mariner is an atmosphere pervading the whole poem creating a delicate but deep horror. The enchanted palace of Kublakhan and the vampire hunted caste
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of Christabble are the example of supernatural in Coleridge. Scotts treatment of the supernatural h somewhat rude hut Keats uses the mere finely tinctured shades in his ballad La Bella Dame Sans Merci.

Wordsworth, Natures high priest, points to other universal features of romanticism. Romanticism stood for return to nature in the sense of return to the sights and sounds, of external nature, the world of the sun, moon, stars, trees etc., It also meant a general love of simplicity and distrust for sophistication. Rousseau, the French philosopher who played an important role in bringing about the French Revolution said, God made all things good. Man meddles with them and they become vil His slogan Return to nature found ready acceptance in England. To Wordsworth Nature was a philosopher, guide and a friend Wordsworth thean attitude to nature to a more realistic one, in which nature acquires meaning only in our response to it. In our life alone does nature live. Keats, with his passionate intensity of sensation forever finds nature spreading out before him a rich feast of sensuous beauty.

An inevitable product of the typical romantic approach is to live vacillated between hope and despair, imagination and reality, ideal and actuality. Romantic melancholy, romantic agony as Mario Praz terms it is however different from the pessimistic sadness of Hardy. The feeling arises primarily when there is a fall from the vision of perfection to disillusionment. As samual C. Chew observes the attempt to find some correspondence between actuality and desire results in joy, when for fleeting movement vision is approximated but in despondency and despair, when the realization comer that such recocillation are impossible. Hence wordsworth sad realization that

We poets in our youth begin in gladness But thereof come in the end despondency and madness and of Coleridge in Ode on Dejection in failing to retain the healing power of nature.

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The romanticism itself may defy and exact definition; nevertheless, Romantic poets do share common features that closely define their poetry as romantic.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850) Life and Career Wordsworth was born on April 7, 170 in Cockermouth in the Lake District in England. He had his education at the Hawkshead School and St. John College, Cambridge. He was a healthy boy, fond of sports and outdoor life. After leaving Cambridge in 1790, he spent some time in france, and become enthusiastic over the French Revolution. He wrote Bliss was it I that dawn to be alive. But to be young was very heaven He fell in love with a French girl Annettee Vallon, and had a daughter by her. The impracticability of marrying her, and his disillusionment with the French Revolution unsettled his faith in Mankind and plugged him in pessimism. He bought our Descriptive Sketches. An Evening Walk and The Bordereers at this stage. Later his unceasing love of Nature brought about a moral healing and infused in him a love of humanity.

In 1975, with his devoted sister Dorothy, Wordswoth settled in Dorestshire, prepared for a life of plain living and high thinking, supported by a legacy of $900 left by a friend. They then moved to Alfoxden attracted by the personality of S.T. Coleridge. When the Wordsworths retuned to the Lake District. Coleridge followed, and their friendship continued till Coleridges death. The two poets brought out a remarkable volume of poems. The Lyrical Ballads, in 1798, which consisted of twenty three poems. In 1800 a second edition of The Lyrical Ballads appeared, with a long preface b Wordsworth, explaining why the new poetry must be valued. He had chosen humble life, ordinary men and women, in ordinary situations for his themes, and he had chosen the language of everyday life.

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Wordsworth married Mary Hutchinson in 1802. He travelled for some time in Germany and then settled down in the Lake District. Michael, Resolution and Independence, the Solitary Reaper. Ode to Duty, To a Skylark, the Prelude. Ode on Intimations of Immortality and The Excursior is some of his masterpieces written during this period.

In 1813, he was appointed distributor of stamps. He resigned this office in 1842 and received a civil pension. In 1843, he succeeded Southey as Poet Laureate and died in 1850.

Poet of Nature: Wordsworth is called as the high priest of Nature. Almost all his poems sing praises of Nature. His attitude to Nature is different from that of other poets. He is not content with the external loveliness of Nature. He wants to dig deep into her mystic meaning. Nature is his friend, philosopher and guide. He thinks that Nature has innumerable lessons to teach the world.

One impulse from a vernal wood May teach you more of man. Of moral evil and of good. Than all the sages can. (The Tables Turned)

Wordsworth feels the presence of God colouring all the objects of Nature. He finds God in the shining stars, in the flowering of the fields, in the hills, in the sun and in the other objects of Nature. This leads him to find joy in it. Hearing the song of a Skylark, he writes. There is madness about thee and joy divine In that song of thine: Life me, guide me high and high To thy banqueting-place in the sky.
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Poet of Humble Life: Wordsworths love of Nature led him to the love of man. He deals with the lives of men who live in close contact with nature. So he chooses rustic life for poetic treatment and makes the rustic characters the mouthpiece of humanity. The little cottage girl of We are Seven, the leech gather in Resolution and Independence. The old shepherds in Michael are some cases in point. He .as chosen rustic life, because in that condition. The essential passions of the heart find a better soil which they can attain their maturity: and because in that condition the passions of men are incorporated with the beautiful and permanent forms of nature. Romantic Poet:

Wordsworth and Coleridge are the two great pioneers who made the transition from classicism to romanticism in poetry during the nineteenth century. While Coleridge brings supernatural things down to the level of the natural, Wordsworth gives the charm ofnovcit : things of everyday and throws the colour of imagination upon the common things of life and nature so as to make them appear like supernatural things.

Wordsworths disregard for rules and dogmas, his adoration of nature and simple life and his mysticism are other features of Romanticism. His insistence on the use of simple language makes a break away from the gaudiness and inane phraseology of the eighteenth century. The note of music. Emotional excitement and imaginative supremacy of Wordsworths lyrics, odes and sonnets are the hallmarks of romanticism. Wordsworths contribution to Romanticism is of paramount importance in the history of English poetry

Tintern Abbey Lines Introduction: Lines composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey was written by Wordsworth in July 1798 and published in the same year in The Lyrical Ballads. About this poem Wordsworth writes: No poem of mine was www.onlinecampus.net.in Page 7 of 15 www.msuonline.net.in

composed under circumstances more pleasant for me to remember than this. I began it upon leaving Tintern alter crossing the Wye and concluded it just as I was entering Bristol in the evening after a ramble of four or five days with my sister.

When the poet first visited the river Wye in 1793, he was in an elated state of mind, lie had been influenced by Republican, ideas, and was full of hopes that an era of liberty and happiness had been ushered in. Consequently, every object gave him happiness. However, at the time of his second visit to the river, he was disillusioned with the French Revolution, and was out to seek solace. He found it by reading a deeper meaning in Nature.

Tintern Abbey is in Monmouthshire, England, about four miles north of Chepsiow.. The river Whe flos by and there is also a ruined medieval monastery. The river Why is an important river of England and Wales. It flows into the Severn, and Abbey is only about ten miles from the confluence.

Explanation and Notes: Lines 1-8 The poet visits the place after five years. Looking at the steep cliffs, he realizes that nature here is rugged and lonely. This feeling of seclusion is deepened when the eye goes U from the valley to the calm sky. Summers - the happy time of his life Long winters - unhappy times which appear long and tedious These waters - of the river Wyc Soft inland murmur - the sound of the water does not indicate that the sea is close by.

Lines 9-22 Sitting under a sycamore tree, the poet views the pastures around him and admires the beauty of nature. It is late summer and the clusters of trees
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carrying unripe fruit are lost to view in the uniform green of groves and underwood, The hedgerows which appear like thick lines are not regular or straight, as if they had playfully spread themselves in a cheerful mood. Curling smoke rising out of homesteads which are covered with green foliage appears to be coming out of a gypsy camp or hermits cave, where the hermit sits alone by the fireside.

Dark sycamore Orchard trufis This season Lose themselves copses Sportive wood run wild themselves Some uncerlair notice

- a king of fig tree with dark leaves cluster of fruit trees - the month of July - mingle with underwood the hedgerow s have playfully spread

- doubt as to the source of the smoke.

Lines 23-31: During this interval of five years, the poet never forgot the impression made upon his mind by these beautiful objects of nature. Whether in lonely rooms or in noisy towns, the recollection of the scene refreshed his bodily sense and feelings and made his intellectual powers alert, the experience helped him to overcome depressing moods and regain calmness of mind.

These beauteous forms A long absence Din Felt in the blood Felt along the heart Purer mind Tranquil restoration

- the beautfu1 objects of nature described above - inter al of live years. - noise, hustle - physical experience - feelings - higher intellectual powers - regarding the peace of mind.

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Lines 31-36: The memory of the scene also brought to the poet those pleasurable feelings which had an unconscious influence upon his life. The occasion of these feelings might have been forgotten. But those feelings had influenced him to generous emotions and actions in everyday life, making him a person of sympathising nature

Unremembered pleasure are forgotten. No light or trivial influence

- joyous moments of which the occasions

- leave a great impression upon the mind.

Line 36-42: The poet owes something more to the recollection 01 the scene. He received that blessed state of mind, in which the sense of depression caused by things in the world which. he could not understand, such as the presence of evil and suffering, was relieved. His mind felt relieved of a great burden. Aspect more sublime - of a higher quality The burthen of the mystery - the mysterious nature of the world. Unintelligible - mysterious

Lines 42-50: In that mood, guided by higher emotions, the poet lost the sense of physical existence, and his body became perfectly calm. In his mental vision, she saw harmony all around him. This mystical experience and the bills bliss that he experienced gave him such a spiritual exaltation, that he could understand the real significance of things and felt spiritually enlightened. Serene and blessed mood blissful state of mind Corporeal frame - physical body

Become a living soul - the body loses its physical functions and become spiritual See into the life of things understand the real significance of things. www.onlinecampus.net.in Page 10 of 15 www.msuonline.net.in

Lines 52-59 It cannot he said that the poet is over estimating the influence of nature upon his mind. Whenever the poet felt depressed and unhappy to see people engaged in useless activities or struggling in life led by ambition, he always reacalled the river Wye, and the rural scenery, and sought solace by visaliizing its beauty.

Lint 60-74: Standing amidst the natural surroundings which he had treasured in his mind for five years, the poet realizes the change that has come over him during the ed He has lost the buoyancy of youth. During his first visit, he wildly enjoyed nature in its physical aspect. He roamed about like a wild deer. But his behavior had been like that of a person who tried to escape something that he dreads, not like that of one who was pursuing a dearly loved object. Somewhat of a sad perplexity - the poet is surprised that nature appeals to him in a different Manner now than ho it appealed to him earlier. There is life and load for future - the health influence of nature will continue to exert itself Years compose, poems. Like rue - swift and light like deer. - for a long time to come, inspiring him to

Lines 74-85: In the earlier days. Only the physical aspects of Nature appealed to the poet. The noisy waterfall, the mountain, the dark thick wood and other natural objects had an attraction for him only on account of their forms and colours. He loved them all passionately for their outward beauty. But then came a time, when he perceived a charm in them through his minds eye. The objects of nature acquired a moral and spiritual significance.
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The coarser pleasures Cataract Deep and gloomy wood Appetite Remoter charm

- physical pleasures - waterfall - dark and thick forest - things that he physically longed for - moral and spiritual significance

Unborrowed from the eye - not seen by the physical eye.

Lines 85-95: The poet realizes that nature does not give him the same kind of joy as it used to, when he was young and inexperienced. He is not sorry for that, because he has attained something more valuable. His vision has become broader and he can discover a deeper significance in the scheme of things. His worship of nature has taught him that even human suffering is part of one harmonious whole. This realisation sobers and purifies him. Aching joys Dizzy raptures Murmur The still, sad music of Grating Chasten and subdue - intense happiness - over-whelming feelings of joy - complain - human sorrow and suffering humanity - unpleasant - purify and calm.

Lines 94-104: The poet has felt a presence in Nature that is Universal Spirit, which induces in him noble and exalted thoughts. The spirit is all-pervading. It is in the twilight, the ocean, the air. the sky and also in the mind of man. He feels the presence of one divine spirit working through the whole realm of Nature and man. A presence Disturbs
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- Universal Spirit - moves

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Elevated thoughts Deeply interfused Impels All thinking things

- noble ideas - permeating everything vitalizes - all living creatures.

Lines 104-113: The poets view-point may have changed but he has not lost his love for the objects of nature. He still loves the meadows, the woods the mountains, and all that he perceives with his physical senses. This contemplation of nature has helped him to retain his hold upon the highest and purest thoughts. Nature cherished and nourished his thoughts and directed his feelings. His moral sense too is derived from his contemplation of Nature.

The mighty world of eye and ear - the physical aspect of Nature perceived through the physical senses. What they half create subjective. The anchors of my purest thoughts - that which helped him to retain his - beauty is partly objective and partly

hold on noble thoughts.

Lines 113-137: The last part of the poem is addressed to his sister Dorothy Wordsworth who accompanied the poet on his tour. There was a strong feeling of attachment between the two, and their tastes were alike. Dorothy was as passionate a lover of nature as wordsworth once was. Her passionate love of external nature and her enthusiastic description of what they saw and admired together, often reminded the poet of his earlier attitude towards Nature. The poet assures his sister that Nature never betrayed the hearts that loved her. Nature can shape or mould the mind in such a manner, that her devotees will he led from joy to joy. Nature (fills) the mind with calmness and nourishes it with ennobling ideas. Lincharhable criticism, hasty opinions, derisions
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levelled with selfish motives and insincere relationships cannot shake the joyful faith of mind that is guided by Nature. Perchance Genial spirits Thou Shooting lights of thy Wild eyes Lofty thoughts Evil tongues Rash judgement Sneers if by chance - natural cheerfulness - his sister, Dorothy Wordsworth. - her wild and enthusiastic admiration of - nature. - ennobling ideas - uncharitable criticism - hasty opinions - derision

Lines 137-162: After expressing his optimistic faith in the power of Nature, the poet advises his sister to continue to take enthusiastic delight in the external aspects of nature like the beauty of the moon and the misty mountains. With experience, she will find her raptures changed into sober delight.

Her mind will he able to store lovely Scenes and sounds to he recalled at pleasure. If her mind is filled with such Sweet Sounds and harmonier. She will be able to face all trials and troubles of life. She will then remember with the poets words of ad\ ice, and will be filled with solace and comfort. The poet exhorts his sister not to forget how the\ stood together on the banks of the river Wye. And that the joy of perceiving the beauty of the surrounding landscape was doubled by her presence. Wild ecstasies Matured Sober pleasure Should he the portion
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- rapturous delight - mellowed by experience - thoughtful enjoyment - if it was her lot

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Healing thoughts Tender joy Exhortations Zeal Holier love feelings For thy sake

- comforting thoughts - delicate feeling of delight - earnest preaching - enthusiasm - the influence of nature had spiritualized his own

- because she accompanied him.

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