Romanticism gained impetus as an artistic and literary movement predominantly in Britain, from the late eighteenth century until

around the mid nineteenth century. With an emphasis on the imagination and emotion of the individual, Romanticism emerged as a response, perhaps even rebellion, to the Enlightenment values of reason and order, in the aftermath of the French revolution. Both periods, however, defied simple categorisation. As the poet and critic Charles Baudelaire wrote in 1846, Romanticism is precisely situated neither in choice of subject, nor in the exact truth, but in a way of feeling. The Age of Enlightenment emphasised reason as the core of human identity, essentially oppressing individual emotional expression. The Romantics challenged this, with a focus on the individuals consciousness, not only exploring emotion and the imagination, but also the concept of a Romantic creator or hero. According to Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the poetic image must have the effect of reducing the multitude to unity, or succession to an instant. In essence, the Age of Enlightenment saw a move away from the authorities of institutes such as the Church, as a result of developing scientific and technological knowledge. Romanticism, on the other hand, as a result of the effects of the industrial revolution, sought to move back towards the very basics of the universe, particularly nature. When looking at Coleridges poems Frost at Midnight and Kubla Khan, we experience the movement of his mind. His self-expression contrasts the logic inherent in the world of Enlightenment thinkers, such as Alexander Pope and Baruch Spinoza. Frost at Midnight traces he movement of Coleridges mind, over the subject of the unity between man, nature and God. The growing movement of the film and frost [which] performs its secret ministry lead to the movement of thought. The ambiguity of the words secret ministry reflects the sublimating of nature, which was a predominant Romantic sentiment. Similarly, in Kubla Khan, Xanadu is both demonic and peaceful. The sibilance of enfolding sunny spots of greenery adds energy and brightness to the visual image of a vivid, ancient paradise, where nature abounds majestically. Juxtaposing this, is a much more sinister image, for example, By woman wailing for her demon-lover. The onomatopoeic word wailing evokes fear and unexplainable interest for readers, despite the demonic tone. While Coleridge claimed that Kubla Khan was an unconscious production of poetry. Modern critic Elizabeth Schneider, on the other hand, suggests that Coleridge consciously made the so-called second part of the poem more arty, commenting on the incompleteness of the poem of his associative imagination and consciousness. As Richard Fogle discusses in his essay A note on Romantic Oppositions and Reconciliations (date unknown), the conflation of the dark and light sublime evident in the above two poems, convey a synthesis of both the usual and unusual, to encompass all conceivable issues. Coleridge believed that the organic formis innate and shapes the outward form of the poem. From this, it can be inferred that the literal shape of the poems are mean to reflect the shape of Coleridges consciousness. The lines, in both Frost at

Midnight and Kubla Khan mirror the expansion and contraction of Coleridges thoughts, as he wanders through his imagination, and focuses on single moment, or the immediate. Moreover, the visions in Kubla Khan melt in hypnotic rhythms. Contrastingly, the poems written during the age of Enlightenment, often referred to as Neo-Classicism, such as The Dunciad by Alexander Pope (1728) we see very traditional and static poetic structures, such as the AABB rhyming scheme. In addition, communication was seen to need to express logic, whilst the Romantics valued self-expression. Numerous critics refer to the Age of Enlightenment as a culmination of the move away from the authority and dogmatism of the Medieval ages. As already noted, the developments in areas such as science and technology showed that man was capable of obtaining the larger truth about everything, including nature. Rationalist philosopher Baruch Spinozas philosophies could possibly be seen as the epitome of this ideology. Although he did perceive nature as infinite, in his letter number twelve to Lodewijk Meyer (1663), that nature can be determined as we pleaseand [divided] into parts. From this, we see the immense value and importance placed on reason, and the perception that reason is at the core of the human identity. Undoubtedly, Coleridge also expresses nature as infinite, but also deifies it, reflecting his early pantheistic beliefs. Interestingly, in The lovely shapes and sounds intelligible/ Of that eternal language thy God/ Utters, the use of the word intelligible may raise questions. Meaning understandable, the quote is ostensibly the opposite of Coleridges philosophies. The quote, however, is actually in reference to his son, Hartleys, abilities to relate to nature, and to grow as a child of nature, because he was raised amongst its beauties, and not the cloisters dim of the cities. This echoes the Romantic idea of a unity between man, God and nature, as well as being the ultimate delight to Coleridge and his conscious. Also, the enjambment between God and Utters forces a slight, but pleasurable pause. Thus, when compared to Spinozas letter, however, readers are able to recognise stark differences in approaches to nature, and obtaining truth. Evidently, in Spinozas letter number twelve, there is incredible precision of thought, such as in I would like to note that the more recent Peripatetics havemisunderstood the demonstration by which ancients tried to prove Gods existence On the other hand, Coleridges poems, and in fact, those of other iconic Romantic writers, such as Wordsworth or Keats, as well as their letters, are intensely emotional, which may possibly be seen as unmatched by writers of the Enlightenment era. Spinozas mechanical interpretation of nature is unlike the conflating and sublimating contemplation of Coleridge, such as That deep romantic chasm which slanted We see here the emergence of the idea of the poet as a Romantic creator, perhaps even hero, and also an emphasis on an organic perception of nature. As it can be seen, logic and reason were clearly seen by Enlightenment thinkers as the core of human identity, with logic outweighing emotion and self-analysis. In

contrast, the Romantics saw that what [their] imagination seizes as beauty must be truth, as Wordsworth claimed. As a response to the Age of Enlightenment, Romanticism challenged varying aspects of thoughts and way of life. Although both periods in art and literature defied simple categorisation, and have maintained this, there is no doubt that one particular challenge to the way of thinking of the Age of Enlightenment, brought about by the Romantics was the emphasis on the individuals consciousness