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U48 - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Romantic writers featured tragic heroes who were doomed by
        their own flaws or by the injustices of the world, emphasising the idea that life is full of suffering & hardship. The most famous example of pessimism is:
        
        Lord Byron's character Childe Harold (Childe Harold's Pilgrimage), who embodies the "Byronic hero", a world-weary, introspective figure, disillusioned with society and his own existence.
        
        William Blake’s poetry, particularly London and The Chimney Sweeper, critiques the dehumanizing effects of industrialization on the poor &vulnerable.
  - - - Coleridge’s poem Kubla Khan (1797) is a prime example of an escape into a fantastical world, the mystical land of Xanadu.
        
        In Keats' poem Ode to a Nightingale (1819), we escape into the bird’s world of perpetual beauty.
  - - - Nature, in its most overwhelming forms (mountains, storms, oceans), evoked the sublime, feelings of awe & terror due to their vastness or beauty.
        
        Wordsworth is the quintessential nature poet. In Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey (1798), he expresses his deep, spiritual connection with nature.
        
        In Coleridge's Frost at Midnight (1798) the poet hailed nature as the 'Great universal Teacher!'
        
        Shelley’s Mont Blanc describes the awe-inspiring, almost terrifying power of the mountain
  - - - Romantics were fascinated by the supernatural, mysterious, unknown, irrational, magical, mystical, gothic, dead... They saw the value of the limits of human understanding, the unconscious mind & dreams, which remained free from the tyranny of the age of reason. Also, the exploration of the Gothic genre, emphasizing dark, mysterious & terrifying elements, and set in eerie, ancient & ruined landscapes.
        
        Wordsworth’s I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (1807), celebrate the emotions that nature can evoke in the human soul.
        
        Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847) focuses on the intense emotions & inner life of its protagonist in her quest for emotional fulfillment.
        
        Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794) reflect his belief in the power of imagination to reveal spiritual truths.
        
        Wordsworth described poetry as the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" in his preface to Lyrical Ballads (1798)
        
        Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) incorporates Gothic elements such as horror, the grotesque, and the supernatural.
  - - - British Romanticism fostered a growing sense of nationalism, expressed through literature that celebrated local traditions, folklore & landscapes. Simultaneously, Romantics elevated the experiences of ordinary people, their struggles & everyday life.
        
        Lyrical Ballads sought to use "language really used by men" and depict the lives of common people, arguing that profound emotional experiences were not limited to the upper classes or great historical figures.
        
        Wordsworth’s The Prelude is a long, autobiographical poem emphasizing his subjective experience.
        
        Sir Walter Scott’s historical novels romanticize British & Scottish history, highlighting key moments of national pride & identity.
  - - - In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, the British philosopher and women's rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft, wife of the philosopher Godwin and mother of Mary Shelley (who married Percy Shelley), argues in favor of women's education & equality.
        
        Mary Shelley's Frankestein reflects the position of women in a patriarchal world by exploring themes of motherhood, creation & social rejection.
        
        Jane Austen's novels featured strong & complex female heroines who challenged traditional gender roles & expectations of a society that limits women's opportunities.
- - - - Frankestein; or, The Modern Prometheus
        
        Science fiction
        
        myth of Prometheus
        
        Ghost story challenge
        
        Name misconception
        
        Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) is probably the most famous Gothic novel from the Romantic era. It is often considered the first true work of science fiction (incorporates elements from emerging scientific knowledge), combined with philosophical & Gothic horror elements. It reflects the Romantic fascination with the sublime & the consequences of transgressing natural boundaries. The novel's famous subtitle links it to the myth of Prometheus, who defied the gods to give fire (& knowledge) to humanity, suffering eternal punishment as a result.
        
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  - - - Despite living during the Romantic period, she was not a Romantic writer. Her novels contain elements from the Enlightenment (reason, order & social critique) as well as certain Romantic features (emotion, individualism & inner life) while maintaining a distinctive style of their own. In fact, she was against Romantic literature which she saw as worthless, since she believed that the true object of literature should be the representation of reality.
        
        The themes she was most interested in were love & marriage, which often reflects Romantic ideals: her heroines typically reject marriages based on financial security or social status, instead seeking relationships founded on respect, affection & understanding, emphasizing authentic personal relationships over social expectations. E.g., in Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet refuses proposals from Mr. Collins & Mr. Darcy, and her eventual union with Darcy is based on love & mutual respect.
        
        Her novels were based on the everyday lives of the middle- & upper-class circles, with a realistic, critical view on the limitations imposed by society. Austen employs satire & wit to critique social structures like marriage, wealth & class. E.g., absurd male characters like Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice or Mr. Elton in Emma, who embody these flaws.
        
        Sense and Sensibility (1811)
        
        Pride and Prejudice (1813)
        
        Mansfield Park (1814)
        
        Emma (1815)
        
        Northanger Abbey (✞1817)
        
        Persuasion (✞1817)
        
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  - - - Born in Edinburgh, and educated there. He was the son of a lawyer and had a legal career before dedicating himself fully to literature, which gave him an understanding of the historical & political conflicts of Scotland & a foundation for his novels. Before becoming famous as novelist, he began successfully as a poet, writing in verse, but he soon gave up this style, because, as he himself put it, Byron had reached the top in this genre.
        
        As he feared a failure in this new genre, he published his early novels anonymously or under pseudonyms. But he became the 1st English-language author with international celebrity status, his works being translated into numerous languages & celebrated worldwide during his lifetime. Today, he is still the best Scottish writer of all time.
        
        He is considered one of the founders of the historical novel, for his groundbreaking ability to blend fictional characters & historical events. His Waverley series, beginning with Waverley (1814), (originally known as "written by the author of Waverley") established the historical fiction genre that later influenced authors like Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo & Leo Tolstoy.
        
        He was the 1st author to take Scotland as a whole country. His romantic portrayals of Scotland’s landscapes, legends & history played a significant role in reviving Scottish indentity, customs & pride both at home & abroad (including the tartan dress as a Scottish symbol & increasing tourism to the Scottish Highlands).
        
        the "Waverley Novels" Series
        
        Waverley (1814)
        
        Rob Roy (1817)
        
        Ivanhoe (1819)
        ...
        
        Waverley's immediate recognition & success in GB is greatly thanks to Scott's sympathetic portrayal of both sides of the conflict, the 1745 Jacobite uprising, by emphasizing its political complexity & not demonizing the British forces.
        
        Rob Roy is based on a real-life historical figure of the same name, a Scottish outlaw and folk hero who represents resistance against English oppression.
        
        Ivanhoe is credited with popularizing the medieval romance genre in literature, as well as contributing to the Victorian fascination with the Middle Ages & its modern conception. As portrayed in Ivanhoe, the legend of Robin Hood as a noble outlaw, a rebel fighting for justice & a protector of the poor persists untill today in popular culture.
- - - - Unappreciated & Visionary
        
        Self-published & the poet-artist
        
        Radical political views & influences
        
        He was the first clear voice of Romanticism even before the movement started as such. Considered a fool & misunderstood by his contemporaries, Blake's works were unappreciated during his lifetime & long after his death for his unconventional ideas. He was a visionary from childhood: he had mystical visions from a very young age, which he recorded in his poetry.
        
        He trained /apprenticed as an engraver or printmaker. Later, Blake often self-published his own works by combining his poetry with his engravings in what he called "illuminated printing", illustrated & hand-colored by him. He is known as the "poet-painter", one of the few artists who fully integrated visual & literary mediums.
        
        He had radical political & religious views for his time. Inspired by the American & French Revolutions (which he saw as part of a broader spiritual awakening) & the revolutionary ideas of Thomas Paine, William Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft, etc., his works often criticized institutional religion & monarchy. At the same time, he was influenced by the Bible & classical mythology, reinterpreting these sources to express his own unique spiritual visions.
        
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      - (1757-1827)
    - - He lived in the Lake District, surrounded by nature, and led a quiet life in pursuit of the joys of nature, which inspired most of his poems. His poetry is therefore calmed and quiet with few outbursts of violence and passion. His ideas of nature and serenity of spirit were a guide for the second generation. He is "the poet of nature", because he gives a lot of importance to the influence of nature on man's feelings and life. Through his descriptions he transcends nature to explain the feelings and sensations that it produces on him. Nature becomes one more character in his poems.
      - (1770-1850)
    - - (1772-1834)
  - - - (1788-1824)
    - - (1792-1822)
    - - (1795-1821)