The Romantic Period (c. 1798-1837)

The Romantic Period in English literature was a profound artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated as a revolt against the core values of the Neo-Classical Age. It turned away from the Neo-Classical emphasis on reason, order, and society, and instead championed emotion, imagination, and the individual. This movement is also known as the Romantic Revival or Romanticism.

The period’s official beginning is marked by the publication of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads in 1798. It ends with the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1837, which began the Victorian Era.

Context and Influences

The French Revolution (1789): This was the single most important political event shaping the Romantic imagination. The revolution’s ideals of “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” initially inspired the young Romantic poets with a spirit of hope, freedom, and radical change. Though many became disillusioned by the later violence, the revolutionary spirit of individualism remained a core influence.
The Industrial Revolution: The massive shift from a rural, agricultural society to an urban, industrialized one prompted a strong reaction from the Romantics. They were repulsed by the polluted cities, dehumanizing factory work, and the destruction of the natural landscape, which fueled their idealization of Nature.
Reaction Against The Enlightenment: Romanticism was a direct backlash against the cold, mechanical rationalism of the Neo-Classical period. The Romantics believed that reason alone was insufficient and that imagination and emotion were the true sources of wisdom and creativity.

Key Characteristics of Romantic Literature

Emphasis on Emotion and Imagination: The Romantics believed feelings and intuition were truer guides than logic. Imagination was seen as a god-like creative force.

Note: Wordsworth on Poetry

In his famous Preface to Lyrical Ballads (1800/1802), William Wordsworth defined poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity.” This definition became a cornerstone of Romantic theory.
The Glorification of Nature: Nature was not just a scenic backdrop but a living, spiritual force—a teacher, healer, and reflection of the divine. The Romantics sought a deep, mystical connection with the natural world. Many were also pantheists.

Note: What is Pantheism?

Pantheism is the belief that God is identical with the universe and that divinity is present in everything. For the Romantics, this meant that God could be experienced directly through nature, without the need for organized religion. Poets like Wordsworth and Shelley are often associated with this belief.
Focus on the Individual and Subjectivity: The poet’s personal experience, thoughts, and feelings became the central subject of poetry. The poet was often portrayed as a visionary, prophet, or social outcast. This is in sharp contrast to the Neo-Classical focus on man as a social being.
Interest in the Supernatural and the Exotic: In rebellion against “common sense,” Romantics were fascinated by the mysterious, the medieval (Gothic Movement), and distant, exotic lands. This often led to an exploration of the Sublime.
Use of Simple, “Common” Language: In the Preface to Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth advocated for using the “real language of men” and choosing subjects from “humble and rustic life,” rejecting the artificial “poetic diction” of the previous century.

The Romantic Poets

The movement is dominated by poetry. The poets are traditionally divided into two generations.

The First Generation (The “Lake Poets”)

These were the pioneers of the movement. They are called the “Lake Poets” because Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Robert Southey all lived for a time in the scenic Lake District of northern England.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850): The quintessential poet of nature and memory. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1843.
- Key Works: Lyrical Ballads (1798, co-authored with Coleridge), The Prelude (a long, autobiographical epic in blank verse subtitled “Growth of a Poet’s Mind”), “Tintern Abbey,” “Ode: Intimations of Immortality,” “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” “The Solitary Reaper.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834): The poet of the supernatural, the exotic, and the imagination.
- Key Poetic Works: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (a literary ballad), Kubla Khan (a famous visionary poem fragment), “Christabel.”
- Key Prose Work: Biographia Literaria, his major work of literary criticism.
Robert Southey (1774-1843): A prolific writer and Poet Laureate, though his reputation has since faded.

The Second Generation

These poets were more radical in their politics and personal lives. They built upon the ideas of the first generation with a more intense, passionate, and rebellious spirit. All died tragically young.

Lord Byron (1788-1824): The celebrity of the group, famous for creating the Byronic Hero. He is often called a “romantic paradox” for blending Romantic passion with Neo-Classical satire.

Note: What is a Byronic Hero?

The Byronic Hero is a character type who is intelligent, arrogant, cynical, and brooding. He is an outcast, haunted by a secret sin or past trauma, and rebels against societal norms. This figure, largely based on Byron’s own public persona, first appeared in his poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822): The most revolutionary and idealistic of the Romantics. An atheist and radical political thinker, he was expelled from Oxford for co-authoring the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism.
John Keats (1795-1821): The poet of beauty, art, and sensory experience. His work is characterized by sensuous imagery and a dedication to art.

Note: What is Negative Capability?

Keats coined this term in a letter. It describes the ability of a great artist to exist in “uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact & reason.” It means embracing complexity rather than trying to reduce it to a simple system.

Romantic Prose

While poetry dominated, the novel and the essay also flourished.

The Gothic Novel: This genre thrived under the Romantics’ love for the supernatural.
- Mary Shelley: Her novel Frankenstein (1818) is a masterpiece of Gothic fiction that explores key Romantic themes of creation, nature vs. nurture, and the dangers of unchecked ambition.
The Historical Novel:
- Sir Walter Scott: Considered the father of the historical novel. His novels, like Waverley and Ivanhoe, were immensely popular.
The Novel of Manners:
- Jane Austen: Though she wrote during this period, her novels are stylistically closer to the Neo-Classical ideals of reason, order, and social satire.
- Key Works: Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma.
The Essay:
- Charles Lamb: Known as the “prince of English essayists,” famous for his charming, personal Essays of Elia.
- William Hazlitt: A brilliant critic and essayist, known for works like The Spirit of the Age.
- Thomas De Quincey: Famous for his autobiographical Confessions of an English Opium-Eater.

Summary for Quick Revision:

The Romantic Period (1798-1837), or Romanticism, was an artistic and intellectual movement that reacted against Neo-Classical emphasis on reason, favoring emotion, imagination, and the individual. It began with Wordsworth and Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads (1798) and ended with Queen Victoria’s coronation (1837). Influenced by the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution (leading to idealization of nature), and a backlash against Enlightenment rationalism, Romantic literature emphasizes emotion and imagination, glorifies nature (often pantheistic), focuses on the individual, and shows interest in the supernatural and exotic. It also advocated for simple, common language. The movement is dominated by two generations of poets: the First Generation or “Lake Poets” (Wordsworth, Coleridge) and the Second Generation (Byron, Shelley, Keats). Notable prose includes Gothic novels (Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein), historical novels (Sir Walter Scott), and essays (Charles Lamb).