An Introduction to Romanticism

Compare and contrast the treatment of nature as a theme in the poems "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard'' by Thomas Gray and "Tintern Abbey" by William Wordsworth. Use examples from each poem to support your opinion.

Gray was a transitional poet, one of the first to write on a romantic theme and break away from neoclassical themes, along with William Blake. However, his other poems never gained the critical acclaim of ''Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.'' William Wordsworth was influenced by Gray's style and theme, especially the pastoral scenes. In his poem, Gray deals with the broad theme of death. He uses his descriptions of the English countryside and the natural world to establish a melancholy tone. His descriptions also draw parallels between the evening (the end of the day and a time of rest) and death (end of life and a time of eternal rest). However, Gray spends more time describing the lives of the farming community than he does on descriptions of nature. In Wordsworth's works, such as "Tintern Abbey," nature is not only a backdrop or a poetic device, but the subject and the theme. In "Tintern Abbey," Wordsworth speaks of nature as "The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, / The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul / Of all my moral being." In this and other poems, Wordsworth speaks of nature as an invigorating force that not only inspires him, but gives him life and heals him, even when it's not present. In contrast, Gray believes that everything, even nature, perishes in death and that nature's beauty is often "wasted." He expresses that idea when his speaker states, "Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, / And waste its sweetness on the desert air." In Gray's poetry nature remains in the background and is not the main theme, whereas in Wordsworth's poetry, nature is a driving force.

Describe how literary devices such as alliteration and internal rhyme or frame stories and narrative interruption contribute to the overall effect of Coleridge's poem. Cite specific lines of the poem to support your answer.

In contrast to Wordsworth's lofty language and complex rhythm, in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," Coleridge uses alliteration to create lyrical rhythm and mood. For example, the speaker repeats sounds to describe the perils faced by the ship in Antarctic waters: "The ice was here, the ice was there, / The ice was all around: / It cracked and growled, and roared and howled." Coleridge also uses internal rhyme, or rhyming words within the same line, such as "The ice did split with a thunder-fit;" and repetition ("And round and round it flew"). This literary device lends the poem a singsong quality, which gives it the flavor of an old "sailor's song" and contributes to the seafaring theme of the poem. Much like a lively sailor's song, the poem can be read aloud and enjoyed. The frame story and narrative interruption techniques add to the suspense of the poem. The reader discovers the mariner's real identity along with the guest. Every time the guest interrupts the mariner, a new facet of the seaman's identity is revealed. That keeps the story interesting.

In your own words describe the tone created by Coleridge in these lines from "Kubla Khan." Use textual evidence to support your response. But O, that deep romantic chasm which slanted Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover! A savage place! as holy and enchanted As e'er beneath a waning moon was hunted By woman wailing for her demon-lover! And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething, As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing, A mighty fountain momently was forced;

In these lines, Coleridge creates a frightening and supernatural scene. He describes a wild and desolate place, which he calls "A savage place! As holy and enchanted" that nonetheless excites him. Unlike Kubla Khan's human-made palace, this place is a miracle of nature, which is free of human restraints. This lack of human control is reflected in images such as the woman crying out for her demon lover, and the mighty, gushing fountain. Coleridge makes use of phrases such as "was forced," "ceaseless turmoil seething," and "fast thick pants" to build up the frantic and restless tone of the poem. In addition he describes a waning moon that indicates a place that is gradually entering darkness. Using such imagery Coleridge is able to build a dark and wild picture of nature that is beyond human control.

William Wordsworth

Published collected poems in 1798 called Lyrical Ballads. Lyrical Ballads established romanticism as the leading literary movement. Considered himself a romantic writer. Rejected enlightenment ideals as well as the style and structure of neoclassical literature. Focused his writing on emotions, folk traditions, rural settings, and daily life.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Published collected poems in 1798 called Lyrical Ballads. Lyrical Ballads established romanticism as the leading literary movement. Considered himself a romantic writer. Rejected enlightenment ideals as well as the style and structure of neoclassical literature. Focused his writing on emotions, folk traditions, rural settings and daily life.

Vocabulary of Romantic Poetry

Romantic poets moved away form highbrow language of earlier writers, preferring to use the "real language of men."

Blake uses repetition to create mood in "The Lamb." What words are repeated? What tone do these words create?

Sample Answer: Blake creates a gentle mood through repetition of words such as little, lamb, and child, as well as phrases such as "who made thee?" and "dost thou know who made thee?" By using such questions, Blake creates a childlike tone that reflects a feeling of wonder at creation and innocence.

Compare the two representations of God as a creator mentioned in "The Lamb" and "The Tyger." Find at least three words or phrases from each poem to support your opinion.

Sample Answer: Both of William Blake's poems "The Lamb" and "The Tyger" deal with the concept God as a creator. In "The Lamb," Blake describes a kindly creator who loves all his creatures, especially children. The poet says God himself is a child. "The Lamb" also refers explicitly to the Christian god. Through the use of words such as lamb, which is a reference to Jesus Christ, and phrases such as "Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God," "meek and mild," and "feed,'' Blake describes a gentle and loving Christian god who cares for all his creatures. In comparison, the God that Blake describes in "The Tyger" is less obviously Christian. Blake describes a fearsome and powerful God who is also an artist. He portrays God as a tiger and uses words such as hammer, furnace, and chains, which conjure up images of the power of a blacksmith. So the God of "The Tyger" is powerful and awe-inspiring, unlike the tender God of "The Lamb."

In your own words, describe how "Tintern Abbey" reflects the characteristics of romanticism.

Sample Answer: In his poem "Tintern Abbey," Wordsworth describes the natural beauty of the abbey and the ability of its surroundings to give him peace. Like most romantic poems, it emphasizes the power of nature to heal. The poet also refers to his sister in the poem, introducing a personal detail from his own life. This practice of referring to incidents or people in the poet's life became a mainstay in romantic poetry. Mourning the loss of nature due to industrialization, and the taking over of woods and streams by cities, was also a common theme in many romantic poems. In "Tintern Abbey," the poet mourns the loss of the mountains and gloomy woods he loved as a boy, but suggests that the moments he spent with nature have the power to console him even in the din of the crowded city.

How do the feelings of the crew members change throughout "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"?

Sample Answer: In the beginning, the crew condemned the mariner for shooting the bird. However, when the weather warmed up and the mist cleared, they changed their minds and agreed with him that killing the bird was wise. When they were tormented with heat and thirst, they again changed their minds and cursed the mariner, forcing him to wear the albatross around his neck as punishment. The ship was then chased by supernatural beings, after which Death took the crew members and Life-in-Death took the mariner. The crew members were inconstant in their morality, and they were punished for it.

Find five examples of Blake's use of questions in the poems "The Lamb" and "The Tyger," and compare their tone.

Sample Answer: Little Lamb who made thee? (from "The Lamb") Dost thou know who made thee? (from "The Lamb") What immortal hand or eye,/ Could frame thy fearful symmetry? (from "The Tyger") In what distant deeps or skies,/ Burnt the fire of thine eyes? (from "The Tyger") On what wings dare he aspire?/ What the hand, dare seize the fire? (from "The Tyger") The tone of the questions in "The Lamb" is more innocent and shows a sense of wonder. Blake maintains this innocent tone by using words like little and Lamb and by repeatedly asking the lamb if it knows the identity of its maker. These questions and words suggest the smallness and helplessness of both the subject and the speaker. In "The Tyger," Blake creates a more forceful tone through use of words such as fearful, fire, dare, and seize. In "The Tyger" the poet uses rhetorical questions to create a sense of wonder but also a sense of fear and awe.

What does the speaker in "My Heart Leaps Up" mean by the phrase "natural piety"? Use textual evidence to support your response.

Sample Answer: The speaker in the poem compares nature to a god by using the word piety, which brings up the image of something sacred. He states that he has felt a deep connection to and reverence for nature ever since childhood. The phrase "natural piety" implies that the poet sees his contemplation of nature as a kind of religion or sacred devotion.

Neoclassicism

The dominant artistic movement during the enlightenment and the age of reason. Writers favored structure, balance order, and topics deemed appropriate, such as social and political issues. The primary literary form was prose. Romantics challenged the Enlightenment's devotion to logic and science, and questioned neoclassicism's emphasis on order and social harmony. Romantics were interested in the dark and irrational side of human nature. Poetry resurfaced as the popular method of artistic expression. Writers began experimenting with form, structure, and subject matter. Neoclassical literature focused on society, romantic literature championed social misfits- characters alienated, either physically or socially, from their roles in places or society.

In your own words, explain how the poet's description of trees, beetles, flowers, pastures, and a sunset affects the tone and conveys the central theme of the poem "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard."

The poem "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" explores many themes, the chief of which is the inevitability of death. Death comes to all human beings, rich or poor, high or low. The poet describes a typical evening scene in the countryside. All the creatures of the woods are making their way to their shelters as the lone farmer walks home with his herd. The poet describes the call of a solitary owl, and the ancient elms and yew trees under which the long-dead country folk are buried. This setting gives the poem a somber tone. By setting his poem at the hour of sunset, Thomas Gray invokes a melancholy mood, which is fitting for a poem that deals with the theme of death. By invoking the image of living beings returning to their rest at sunset and connecting it to the image of the village dead "resting" in the churchyard, Gray shows that death is part of the cycle of nature. In the last stanza he uses the image of the flower that blooms and withers away unseen to show that the farmers' lives are just as worthy as those of the rich and famous, though they live and die unknown and unpraised.

Rephrasing a poem can help you pinpoint its main themes and ideas. Paraphrase "My Heart Leaps Up" by William Wordsworth in simple, everyday language. How does summarizing the poem in this way aid your comprehension of the major themes and central idea?

The poet says that his heart is filled with joy whenever he looks at a rainbow. He says he has felt this way about nature ever since he was a child, and claims he still feels the same. He believes that he will still love the rainbow when he grows old. He says he would rather die than lose his childlike adoration of nature. He states that childhood has a strong effect on a person's adult personality. At the end of the poem, he expresses his wish that this "natural piety," or reverence for nature, will be present in all the stages of his life ("And I could wish my days to be / Bound each to each by natural piety."). Writing the poem in simple language makes the themes of the poem clearer and easier to understand. For example, the connection between the idea of "natural piety" at the end of the poem and the childhood mentioned in the first and second paragraphs, is made clearer when we paraphrase the poem.

Some poems about death mention God or religion, but Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" does not. Knowing that this poem is a romantic poem, why might Gray have chosen not to bring formal religion into it? Your response should be three or four paragraphs long.

Thomas Gray's poem ''Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,'' is written in the romantic style. He describes the beauty of the English countryside and its people. He portrays English subjects such as farmers, housewives, and cowherds, and the natural world. He writes of death and its effect on all beings. Because he explores the certainty and finality of death, mentioning religion, with its ideal of the afterlife, would take away from the point of the poem. Instead, Gray wants to emphasize that death comes to all in the natural world, and only the names and deeds of people live on. For this reason, he uses the image of the dead lying in their graves ("each in his narrow cell for ever laid," "Can storied urn or animated bust / Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath?") to show that death is not only unavoidable but also final. In the poem, the speaker states that the lives and "toil" of humble villagers who are dead and forgotten is equal to that of famous people such as John Milton and Thomas Cromwell. The poet mourns the lost potential of the village folk, who died with their talents hidden and unpraised due to a lack of education and poverty. God is mentioned in the epitaph at the end of the poem. But Gray does not mention God in his poem because his themes of lost potential, and the inevitable but natural cycle of life and death, go against the religious ideal of eternal life after death.

"Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"

"Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" is considered Gray's masterpiece. Written in 1751. Combines romantic and neoclassical elements. Written in iambic pentameter, it follows a traditional structure with the typical abab rhyme scheme. This creates a predictable rhythm and pattern. The structure of the poem is typical of neoclassical literature, the content is more romantic. The poem focuses on the emotions of the speaker, who is physically isolated from society. The speaker describes the natural scenery in the churchyard at the close of the day and finds comfort in his solitude. As an elegy, the poem is concerned with the themes of loss, death and the passage of time .

Characteristics of Romanticism:

1. Emphasis of originality, individuality, and creativity 2. Experimentation with form and content 3. Emphasis on feelings, thoughts, intuition, and imagination 4. Emphasis on mysticism and the supernatural, with nature as a tool for introspection 5. Belief in the natural goodness of people and that their highest aspirations are positive in nature rather than self-absorbing 6. Elements of nationalism

What major characteristic of romanticism is evident in the first 20 lines of the poem "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." A. An emphasis on individuality B. An emphasis on nature C. An emphasis on imagination D. An emphasis on spirituality

B. An emphasis on nature Explanation:The first 20 lines of "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" show the romantic characteristic of an emphasis on nature. Thomas Gray describes a typical evening scene in a farming community. He also describes the creatures of the countryside, such as the beetles and swallows. However, he does not talk of spirituality, imagination, or individuality, which are also romantic themes.

William Blake

Considered himself a "son" of the Enlightenment. Considered himself a Neoclassical writer. Wasn't a successful poet during his lifetime. Several of his shorter poems appear in children's poetry anthologies. His work includes many characteristics of romanticism. His poems emphasize the importance of imagination and creativity and include supernatural elements. Blakes vision was broader than neoclassicism and romanticism. He was concerned with ideas and themes that fell outside the scope of mainstream thought. Blake created parallel works. He wrote Pais of poems on the same theme, one from the perspective of innocence and the other from that of experience. He then divided the poems into two separate collections, Songs of innocence and songs of

Thomas Gray

Considered himself a "son" of the Enlightenment. Considered himself a neoclassical writer. Was a transitional poet. Began his career as a professor of modern history at Cambridge university in 1742. In 1742 he began writing poetry. Gray only published 14 poems during his lifetime, and was well know for his contemporaries. Gray received (and rejected) many rewards, including the position of England's poet laureate in 1757. Gray died in 1771 and is buried where he is believed to have written his famous poem "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard."

Roots of Romanticism (1785-1830)

Driven by social, historical, and philosophical change. Three most important influences: the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, and the perceived shortcomings of Enlightenment thinking. Romanticism was a reaction to the negative effects of the Industrial Revolution. The emerging romantic school of thought favored nature and rural areas. Romantics saw the countryside as an escape from their perceived as depressing reality of city living. Romantics were also inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution. The revolutionary idea of equality was appealing and were inspired by some of the French revolutionaries' emphasis on the common person. Romanticism was a backlash against the Enlightenment philosophy. Enlightenment thinkers believed that order and structure would create a peaceful and just world. In their view humans were logical and social creatures. Through the use of science and reason, humans could create an ideal society. Romantics questioned this outlook. They saw social injustice as evidence that Enlightenment philosophy and science were flawed and that a person's natural, emotional and creative state was superior.

Romantic Literature

First emerged during the late eighteenth century. Two of the most inventive writers of the period were Thomas Gray and Willian Blake, whose poetry blended characteristics of neoclassicism and romanticism.