I. Identify the main features of Romantic criticism?

The chief features of the Neo-classical creed may be summarized into:

1-The precept "follow nature" is the very center of the Neo-classic creed, nature is used in a
number of senses.
a) Nature means external reality, which the poet must imitate and hence, follow nature become
realism or verisimilitude. b) Nature means general human nature i.e. qualities which are
common to
all human beings in all ages and countries. Thus, the poet must deal with the universal scenes
and not with the particular.
c) Nature also means the principles or the power that governs the universe. Order, regularity
and harmony were supposed to be the qualities of this power, and so literature also must have
them. d) Lastly, to follow nature also meant to follow the rules of the ancient masters, for they
were based upon nature, and so, to follow those rules was to follow nature herself. The ancient
simply methodized nature and so they must be followed in every respect. Hence it was that
certain general rules were framed for the composition of poetry, and certain other rules for its
particular kinds, and artists were expected to write according to these rules, and writes were
created on these bases.
2- For the neo-classical, emphasis was laid on correctness, reason and good sense. The artist
must follow the rules correctly and any exuberance of fancy or emotion must be controlled by
reason or sense.
3- The poet must deal with the universal truths and general ideas:
4- The function of poetry is to instruct and delight, but the didactic function was considered more
important than the aesthetic one.
5- Much thought was given to the style and diction of poetry. It was supposed that there was a
difference between the language of prose and the poetry which should be noble and elevated.

"Things to be avoided:
a) Common words
b) Gothic words, and gothic absurdities.
c) Technical worth of arts and science.
"Things to be followed:
a) The use of compound words
b) Attention to minor details
c) The use of high-fetched imaginary, and concepts were the 18th poetic diction.
6- The lead of decorum was also emphasized; it was recognized that different kinds of poetry
have different style proper for that. For instance: the diction proper to satiric poetry would be
improper for the epic and a poet must use the style proper to the genre in which he is writing.
7- Much thought was also given to the comparative superiority to rhyme and blank verse.
Finally, it was concluded that rhyme is superior to the blank verse.

The rise of Romantic Criticism:

The awakening of sensibility is the most radical change the comes over the English literary
scene about the middle of the 18th century. Rationalism which had prevailed during the
Augustan era, and the order, discipline and respect for tradition and authority which the
Augustans had inculcated, no longer satisfied. The commonly held assumptions about man,
God and society, were breaking down, and the writers were thrown back on their own reactions
and responses to the facts of life. Reason had failed to answer the fundamental questions about
the mystery of life, and so stress shifted to emotion and imagination as safer guides to truth.
The Neo-classical dogma is felt to be too cramping and narrow, and the writers turn to a freer
mode of self-expression.

Its causes:
1- Love of Liberty is ingrained in the English temperament. Hence it is that the English could not
servilely follow for any length of time the Neo- classical rules. Englishmen are too individualistic
for any slavish imitation. As undercurrent of liberalism is noticeable even at a time when Neo-
classicism was at its height.
Liberalism was fed and nourished by Longinus whose essay, "On The Sublime", had been
translated into French towards the close of the 17th century and was widely read in England.
2- The French Revolution and the American War of Independence fostered the spirit of free
thinking. Love of political independence led to the rise of the spirit of free inquiry. The Pseudo
classical rules were questioned and their limitations exposed. Writers liked to create
unhampered by rules and conventions, and the critics to judge according to their own light.
3- The medevialisation movement about the middle of the 18th century, led to a revival of
interest in old English masters. The reputation of Spenser and Shakespeare increased and that
of Pope and others went down. There was fresh thinking. Under German influence there was
rethinking on the nature of Beauty and aesthetic appeal.
4- The rise of romantic criticism was also helped by the reviews. The reviewers judged works of
literature on the basis of their own likes and dislikes and not on the basis of rules. No doubt,
much of their criticism is prejudiced. But they paved the way for the rise of impressionism which
is the keynote of romantic criticism.
5- Increasingly men of genius, like Wordsworth and Coleridge voiced their protest against Neo-
Classicism and through their critical gave a definite program to the romantic movement.

Romantic Criticism: Its Chief Features

1. Romantic criticism ignores yules whether of Aristotle or Horace or of the French, and
emphasizes that works of literature are to be judged on the basis of the impression they
produce and not with reference of any rules. It is impressionistic, and individualistic, and
freedom of inquiry is its keynote.
2. It is concerned with the fundamentals, such as the nature pf poetry, and its functions, and not
merely with the problems of style, diction or literary genres. It is concerned mainly with the
theory of poetry, and the process of poetic creation.
3. Emphasis is laid on imagination and emotion and not on reason and good sense.
4. New definitions of poetry are attempted. Poetry is no longer considered as mere imitation or
invention but becomes the expression of emotion and imagination. Inspiration and intuition,
rather than adherence to rules, are regarded as the true basis of creation. No earlier English
critic, except Sidney had examined such fundamental questions.
5. Pleasure rather than instruction becomes the end or the function of poetry: "If poetry
instructs, it does so only through pleasure" -
(Coleridge). Poetry should transport and make people 'nobler' and 'better' through such
transport. Its appeal should be to the heart and not to the head.
6. Imagination is emphasized both as the basis of creation and the production of great work of
art. Shakespeare is great because his works are the product of imagination. Pope is not great
as he is
deficient in this respect. The critic also must primarily be gifted with imagination; only then can
he appreciate the beauty of a work of art. He must enter imaginatively into the spirit of a work of
art.
7. Views on poetic diction and versification undergo a radical change. Simplicity is emphasized
both in theme and treatment.
8. Romantic criticism is creative. It is as much the results of imagination as works of literature.
Critics express their views after entering imaginatively into the thoughts and feelings of the
writers whose works they may be examining.
9. The influence of Wordsworth and Coleridge was far reaching. Wordsworth's Preface to The
Lyrical Ballads is an unofficial manifesto of the Romantic movement, for it throws out hints and
makes suggestions which capture the imagination, and which lead to the rise of the romantic
criticism in the early decades of the next century. Wordsworth was the first in many fields. He is
the first theorist of the romantic movement, and the credit of having given a particular shape and
direction to English romantic criticism must go to him.

English criticism-and poetry- could never be the same after Wordsworth had written. To his
influence was added that of Coleridge and other romantic critics, and by the opening decades of
the 19th century the revolution was complete. Neo-Classicism had had its day in England; now
it was a thing of the past. The future lay with the new criticism-the romantic criticism- of
Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley and many others.