Romanticism

Romanticism around the world
The word Romanticism comes from romance, a French word related to Latin languages.

Romantic poets are usually divided into two generations.

A new sensibility

Poetry
At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, Romanticism saw the prevalence of poetry, which was considered the most suitable form used to express emotional experiences and individual feelings.

In France, Romanticism began with De L'Allemagne by Madame de Staël.

In Italy, the Lettera semiseria di Grisostomo al suo figliolo, by Giovanni Berchet, marked the beginning of the Romantic movement.

In Germany the movement was anticipated by the Sturm und Drang (Storm and Stress), a current of thoughts which developed at the end of the 18th century.

Subjective poetry
While the Augustan poets had dealt with impersonal material, the new poets wrote in a more subjective way, also referring to their personal experiences. Therefore they were less intellectual but more emotional than the past poets.

Melancholy
There was a growing interest in the countryside and in the so-called melancholy, which was a new taste for desolated landscapes, graveyards, castles and ruins.

Nature
There was a revolution in the concept of nature since the Romantic poets considered it as a living force and as the expression of God. It became the main source of inspiration, a stimulus to thoughts, a source of comfort and joy.

The first generation was formed by Wordsworth and Coleridge. Wordsworth had to deal with nature and ordinary things, while Coleridge with supernatural and mistery in the Lyrical Ballads, written in 1798. Instead the second edition contained a "Preface", written by Wordsworth in 1800, which is usually considered as the Manifesto of English Romanticism.

The most representative poets of the second generation are Byron,Shelley and Keats. They wrote about political disillusionment, individualism and escapism and they all died very young and far from England.

The cult of exotic
Rousseau's theories also influenced the cult of exotic, which is the veneration of what is far away both in space and in time.

Poetic diction
The romantic poets employed a new more subjective style, expressed with a language suitable to poetry. In addition, poets did not to follow the poetic diction, which are the rules they should follow when they wrote.

The sublime
The concept of the sublime developed with the philosopher Edmund Burke. For him the sublime was the feeling of fear and pain felt in front of nature.

Imagination
Imagination became essential as regards the process of poetic composition. In fact, thanks to the eye of imagination, poets were able to see beyond reality and discover the hidden truths of the world.

The individual
There was a new emphasis on the importance of the individual. In fact Romantic poets preferred the atypical ones, the outcast and they saw people in a solitary state. What's more, there was a new current of thoughts represented by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He encouraged the concept of the "noble savage" as he claimed that the savage may appear primitive but he actually understands himself better than modern men.

The poet
Romantic poets were regarded as prophets or teachers whose mission was to mediate between mankind and nature.

Childhood
There was also a serious interest about childhood. Children were, in fact, purer than adults since they were unspoilt by civilisation. Therefore they were closer both to God and to nature, so childhood was a state to be admired and well cultivated.

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William Wordsworth

Percy Bysshe Shelley

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