Final Term Paper;

Miss Sadia Abdul Qayyum;

22101360009;
Nayyab Fatima
English -219 Literary Form and Movement
ROMANTICISM
Q1: Create a collection of poems that embody the theme and characteristics
of Romanticism such as nature, individualism, discussing how your work fits into
the Romantic literary tradition.
Ans; Romanticism; means the state of being romantic. (GOOGLE, 2021)
Romanticism is a literary movement spanning roughly 1790–1850. The movement was
characterized by a celebration of nature and the common man, a focus on individual
experience, an idealization of women, and an embrace of isolation and melancholy.
When a writer writes about intense emotions, about natural things or experiences. It’s
also about Author’s personal thoughts, feelings and emotion. The word romantic produce
by the word expression of love. Mostly people consider romance means to love someone.
In literature Romantic means to praise ant thing in the world living or nonliving which is
inspire the poet with beauty, glance, and happiness. For example, beautiful scene of
nature, some kind of art like painting, picture, and piece of writing too.
Romanticism known as romantic movement that originated in Europe towards the end of
the 18th century was an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement. It was at its
peak in the approximate period from 1800 to 1850. The Romanticism was characterized
by emphasis on emotions and individualism, covert literature, idealization of nature. It
was glorification of the past with the strong preference for the medieval. It devoted folk
art and ancient custom to something noble. The Romanticism highlighted the healing
 power of the imagination because they truly believed that it could enable people to
overcome their troubles and their circumstance.
Robert Burns is considering the pioneer of the romantic movement. He wrote several
poems on romanticism. A Red, Red Rose is the most famous poem of him. The Authors
of Romanticism believed that the savage is noble and childhood is good. Among the
characteristic attitudes of Romanticism were the following; a deepened appreciation of
the beauties of the nature. Characteristics of the literature of romanticism includes
subjectivity and an emphasis on individualism, spontaneity, freedom from rules, solitary
life rather than life in society. They beliefs that imagination is superior to reason and
devotion to beauty, love and worship of nature.
The Romantic era in English literature generated an entire new realm of language, poetry,
and thematic sources for new works and writers. Great writers from this time period
included William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Wordsworth, to name a
few (Baugh). William Wordsworth is still very well known today for his simplistic
language and thematic style of writing, especially that in poetry. The “Father
of Romanticism” as some critics say, creates a Godlike image of nature throughout his
poems “Calm is All Nature as a Resting Wheel,” “Daffodils,” and “The World is Too
Much with Us.”
Although Romanticism is associated with love stories today, this was not the connection
people made with it centuries ago. The of writer romanticism was skillfully explain
romance in his piece of writing and made his verses unremarkable and reader easily found
happiness and love in these verses. It is a natural phenomenon that human is fascinated by
beauty and attracted by love. If someone is happy, he thinks that the whole world is happy
he wants to make his all surrounding happy but on the other hand if someone is sad, he
feels all the things are meaningless and dull. Romanticism has theme of darkness according
to this theme writer focusses on negativity of life. The theme of light focusses on positivity
of life.
We discuss most notable poets of romanticism and their poems. We make sure that how
their work fits into the romantic literary traditions.

1.William Wordsworth (POETYR FOUNDATION)

The Solitary Reaper (1807) (GOOGLE , n.d.)
Behold her, single in the field
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass
William Wordsworth was born in 7 April 1770 and died in 23 April 1850.
 He was an English romantic poet. He helped Samuel Coleridge to launch the romantic
age (Wikipedia)

William Wordsworth is the father of Romanticism. He wrote several poems on romanticism

but we discus the most famous poem The Solitary Reaper. In this poem William
beautifully present the charm of that sight which was he see in his journey at the country
side. He tells the reader about a lovely girl whom was singing and harvesting the crops at
the same time. he did not understand the language but he feels the sorrow of the sad song
sung by girl. Her voice engaged the whole creatures around herself the mountains, field,
and the poet too. She seems to be alone in the field but in reality, all the things with her
and feel the sadness in her voice. The poet come back to the home but whenever he
remembers about the girl her song and that feel the same emotion of love and charm.
!
This master piece of romanticism perfectly fits in the characteristic on this movement.
2, Percy Bysshe Shelley (poetry foundation)

TO A SKYLARK (1820) (spark notes)

Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!
Bird thou never wert,
That from Heaven, or near it,
Pourest thy full heart
In profuse strains of unpremeditated art.
Percy Bysshe Shelly was born in 4 August 1792 and died in 8 July 1822.Shelly was one of
the major English romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and
social views. He did not achieve fame during his lifetime but recognition of his
achievements in poetry grew steadily following his death and he became an important
influence on subsequent generation of poets. One of Percy Bysshe Shelley's most famous
poems, "To a Skylark" describes the powerful grace and beauty of the skylark's song.
Shelley wrote "To a Skylark" in 1820 after hearing the bird's distinctive calls while
walking through the port city of Livorno, Italy. The poem's speaker addresses the bird
directly and praises the purity of its music, later contrasting it with sad, hollow human
communication. As an ode to the unmatched splendors of the natural world, and
especially its spiritual power, "To a Skylark" remains a quintessential example of
Romantic poetry. The poem's unconventional form features a song-like rhyme
scheme and bouncy rhythm that subtly mimics the skylark's calls. (Google. Com) shelly
explain the sounds of skylark in this way the skylark’s skill is greater than the rhythm of
any beautiful sound or any precious piece of information that can be found in the book.
Shelley’s poem is great mixture of Romanticism.
3. JOHN KEATS (31October 1795--- 23 February 1810)
(Wikipedia)
 Now we have another masterpiece or Romanticism by John Keats. Keats was an
English poet of second generation of Romanticism Poets with Lord Byron and Percy
Bysshe Shelley. His poem had been in publication for less than four years when he died
tuberculosis at the age of 25.

Ode on Grecian Urn (1819) (Poetry foundation)

Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
       Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,

Keats directly addresses the urn assume it a pure partner of calm it self as well as the
adopted child of silence and vast of time. Keats observed the whole art which presented
on the Urn. Keats explain all the beautiful work one by one. He wonders about the figures
on the side of the urn and asks what legend they depict and from where they come. Keats
also call the Urn as a historian that can tell a story. Several questions bring in his mind
about the frozen stories which present on the urn. He thinks that when his generation is
long dead, the urn will remain, telling future generations its enigmatic lesson: “Beauty is
truth, truth beauty.” The speaker says that that is the only thing the urn knows and the
only thing it needs to know.

4.William Blake (28 December 1757—12 August 1827)

(Google.com)
William Blake was an English poet, painter and printmaker. Largely unrecognized during in
his life. Now Blake is considering a seminal figure in the history of poetry and the visual
art of the romantic age.

LONDON (1803) (Poetry Foundation)

London is a poem by William Blake, published in Songs of Experience in 1794. It
is one of the few poems in Songs of Experience that does not have a corresponding poem
in Songs of Innocence. Blake lived in London so writes of it as a resident rather than a
visitor. This poem describes a walk-through London, which is presented as pained,
oppressive city in which all the speakers find in misery. He poem is in part a response to
the Industrial Revolution, but more than anything is a fierce critique of humankind's
failure to build a society based on love, joy, freedom, and communion with God.

5.Samuel Taylor Coleridge (21October 1772-25July 1834)

(Wikipedia
 Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a famous English poet literary critic, philosopher
and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth was founder of the romantic
movement in England and the member of lake poetry.

Frost at Midnight (1798) (Spark notes)

he Frost performs its secret ministry,

Unhelped by any wind. The owlet's cry
Came loud—and hark, again! loud as before.
The inmates of my cottage, all at rest,
Have left me to that solitude, which suits
Abstruser musings: save that at my side
My cradled infant slumbers peacefully.

The speaker of “Frost at Midnight” is generally held to be Coleridge himself, and

the poem is a quiet, very personal restatement of the remaining themes of early English
Romanticism. In the poem, the poet, in a moment of solitude, gives voice to his most
intimate feelings and expresses his beliefs about nature and the significant role it plays in
the life of man. In fact, the poem is a very personal restatement of the abiding themes of
English Romanticism. That the poet imposes his own subjectivity and feelings on this
fluttering flame is a typically romantic attitude.

An Essay on the characteristics of Romanticism

To talk about the collections of the poems we have. All of them are the fits in the
characteristics of romanticism. Romanticism is the movement of celebrating nature,
individualism, and emotions of a person. Following the above poem complete mixture of
these features. First of all, we discus nature in these poems.

NATURE
If we find nature in first poem The Solitary Reaper by William Wordsworth. He
presents nature beautifully. In these lines of poem
ehold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
The beauty of girl and her voice all the surrounding around present as element of nature.
P.B. Shelley in his poem To a Skylark he addresses the bird directly and praises the
purity of its music.  As an ode to the unmatched fineries of the natural world, and
especially its spiritual power, "To a Skylark" remains a typical example of Romantic
poetry
each us, Sprite or Bird,
What sweet thoughts are thine?
I have never heard
Praise of love or wine
Next, we find an ample use of natural elements in a romantic poetry we have
Keats poem Ode on Grecian Urn. About love, music and immortal. The speaker
introduces natural imagery in lines 3 to 5 of stanza 1, and expands on it during stanzas 2,
3 and 4. As with the musical activity portrayed on the urn, the natural world is depicted in
a moment of stasis that contrasts with the vitality of nature itself.
And, happy melodist, unwearied,

         For ever piping songs for ever new;

More happy love! more happy, happy love!
      For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd
Frost at Midnight” by S.T. Coleridge believes that people can become closer to God
through nature. Since God created the natural world, the poem implies, it follows that
lakes and forests and mountains are like God’s language communing with nature, then, is
a way of communing with God.

Individualism
Individualism is the most important feature of Romanticism all the authors of my
collection of poems described individualism in great way. Romanticism Means to express
the emotions and feelings of a single person. A person’s thoughts about nature, love, and
life. Being an individualist, you do not want to be bound by what society dictates. For
example, society expects you to be a basketball player if you are a tall black guy.
Society wants you to be a doctor, software engineer, or mathematician if you are Asian.
An autonomous individual breaks away from these stereotypes. This freedom of
expressing our feeling adopting any profession and live our life with honor make us a
good human being. S.T. Coleridge present individualism in his poem London he explains
his personal review on the progress of city London.
All my poems are fit on the Romanticism movement in that time. Romanticism is
praising nature, expressing intense emotions and personal thoughts of writer on anything.
In solitary reaper Wordsworth shares his own experience about his journey. In Ode on
Grecian Urn Keats also addresses personally to the art on the Urn and describe that art in
his own way.