The Essence of Romantic Period (1740-1832)

The Romantic Period (1740-1832) was a period when many literary works (poets, dramas,
novels, prose) began to take an interest in the more melancholy aspects of nature such as old
ruins, night, death, church and many more. Romantic period was a period that opposed the
Classic period when the literary works became more impersonal. The Classic Period
concentrated in ratio, logical thinking and reason. In other hand, the romantic period
concentrated in four factors: feeling, emotion, nature and imagination.
The Romantic Period fell into two periods, Pre-Romantic in 1740-1789 and Romantic Movement
in 1789-1832. The changes seemed to be appeared in Pre-Romantic period when English poetry
came to develop a greater sensibility, an exquisite sensitiveness to the beautiful and the good,
which manifested itself in melancholy and a brooding sense of sorrow.
The Pre-Romantic works mostly highlight sentimental and imaginative emotion, and loving
contemplation of all in all its manifestations. They have interest in the charm of nature for its
own sake, in Man, especially in the oppressed. It was revolt against Rationalism and a reaction
against Classicism, and was in accordance with the wave of Humanism. Above all faith in
individual, in the particular got its domination over the general.
The works of James Thomson, Thomas Gray, Edward Young, William Cowper, William Collins,
and Robert Burns in poets reflect the characteristics of Pre-Romantic period. James Thomson
wrote The Seasons (1726-1730) which was the first important 18 th century poem in blank
verse, painting natures beauties in a general way, but looking ahead to the Romantics. Another
Thomsons work that reflects Romanticism is his work on The Castle of Indolence (1748). The
works of William Cowper were also on the same line with James Thomson. He depicted the
beauty of nature, gardening, animals, and domestic happiness in his work entitled The Task
(1785). Grays and Youngs works were mostly contain gentle melancholy and personal element,
such as in Elegy written in a Country Churchyard (1751) by Thomas Gray and Night
Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality by Young in 1745. Collins wrote Ode to the
Evening in 1747 and Persian Eclogues in 1744 which most of his works he fled into the
mystic. The lyrical and emotional quality of Burns and his use of stanza form connect him with

the Romantic Movement. He used rich imagination, real sympathy for poor and humble and a
great love of nature.
The rest of literary works in Pre-Romantic period also having the same characteristics, such as
personal feeling, depict nature, and imagination. Prose, for example, Samuel Johnson wrote short
philosophical novel Rasselas, written in the evenings of one week to defray the expenses of his
mothers funeral. Novel was firstly introduced in this period. Samuel Richardson wrote Pamela,
or Virtue Rewarded (1740) which is his first novel written in letter form. This novel talks about
the struggle of girl servant to defend her virtue. The most brilliant achievement of Samuel is in
his second letter novel Clarissa or The History of a Young Lady (1747 1748). The book deals
with Clarissas tragic affair with Love lace (lace = less), a cruel, unscrupulous rake. Henry
Fielding wrote his masterpiece The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling in 1749 which has not
only a coherent and balanced plot, but also characterization, humor, and satire. Laurence Sterne
and Tobias George Smollet were also two novelists in this period. Sterne wrote his famous work
Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy, Gentleman (1760 1767) which talks about his life and
opinions, though not in a logical or chronological order, and Sentimental Journey (1768) which
talks about his journey on the continent, meanwhile Smollet wrote Roderick Random (1748)
and The Adventure of Peregrine Pickle (1751) which mostly talk about adventure stories. The
Gothic novels were also produced in this period, and often told the stories of violence and
romantic love, set against the background of a spooky ancient castle, supernatural appearances,
and bloody murders. Drama was also well-developed. Jeremy Collier, Sir Richard Steele, Oliver
Goldsmith, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan were four famous playwrights in this period. The
drama was mostly contain sentimental or weeping comedy. The Funeral (1701), The Tender
Husband (1705), The Conscious Lovers (1722) by Richard Steele; The Good Natured Man
(1771) and She Stoops to Conquer (1773) by Goldsmith; and The School for Scandal (1777)
by Sheridan were examples of famous plays in the Pre-Romantic period.
In the beginning of 18th century, important changes happened in the fields of agriculture and
industry. Economic and social changes were also affected literature field. In 1789, Blakes Song
of Innocence was published which contains the first truly romantic Poetry of the age. And 1832
was the year of the death of Scott, the romantic poet and novelist. Gradually this change took the
form of a revolt against Reason and for a rehabilitation of intuition and emotion, which

culminated in what is called the Romantic Movement. There are a number of important
elements in Romanticism:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Imagination instead of Reason

A new communion with nature
Interest in lowly subjects, the humble and oppressed, in children and animals
The particular instead of general, and the shift from social man to individual man
Changing form of poetry

Romanticism in England fell in two generations: the first generation belonged to Blake,
Wordsworth, Coleridge and Scott, which they were the members of middle-classes. The second
generation belonged to Shelley, Byron, and Keats.
The works of Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Scott were the signs of the first generation of
Romantic Movement. Blake wrote his famous Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of
Experience (1794) which show the two contrary states of the human soul: the innocence of
childhood, and the experience of later life, with its frustration, cruelty, cold selfishness, and
hypocrisy. Wordsworth wrote Natures Priest and his long poem Prelude, or Growth of a
Poets Mind (1850) that tell about his youth, lakes and mountains of his rugged native country.
Samuel Coleridge wrote Lyrical Ballads by writing on persons and characters supernatural or
least romantic and Scott wrote The lay of the last Minstrel in 1805. The second generation of
Romantic Movement was begun by Lord Byron works. His work in Childe Harold tells about
melancholy and disillusioned rebel who has been cast out by society. Don Juan was also his
famous work that tells about various love affairs of Don Juan. Percy Bysshe Shelley and John
Keats were also two famous poets in this period. Shelleys works were mostly about nature and
elegy such as in Ode to the West which tells about imagery of the wild autumn wind scattering
the dead leaves and preserving the winged seed, and in Adonais, which is a pastoral elegy on
the death of John Keats. John Keatss works were mostly tell about the beauty. His work in
Endymion; Sleep and Poetry which Keats was convinced that Beauty or Truth could be
discovered not by philosophy, but by imagination; and Ode to a Nightingale which contrasting
his momentary happiness in the timeless beauty of the nightingales song with the lasting
awareness of sorrow.

Novel was also famous in the Romantic Movement. Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott were two
famous novelists in this period. Jane Austens novels were complex realistic novels of manners,

in which there is no place for the sentimentally of the Gothic novel or the Romantic view of life.
Her famous works are Price and Prejudice (1813), Emma (1816), Persuasion (1817).
Scotts novels were glamorous stories of wars and love and wild adventures, full of action and
humour, and skillfully observe detail. The characters on his novels are quaint and uncomplicated.
His plots are often mechanical. Scott is one of the great imperfect novelists. His famous works
are Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (1803), Waverley (1814), The Heart of Midlothian
(1818), Ivan Hoe (1819), Kenilworth (1821).