Romanticism and Romantic poets in England
Note in lingua inglese sui poeti romantici e la loro produzione letteraria nel periodo 1776 - 1837 (2 pagine formato doc)
The
Romantic period developed from the last years of the 1700 and the
early decades of 1800.
The word "romantic" derived from "romance"
a word of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance which dealt with art -
forms which included the ballad, the lay and the Ariostan and
Spenserian epic. The poets of the Romantic age didn't call
themselves with this term, which was attributed them only in the
1860s.
This period was not characterised by a school or a movement, but every poet distincts himself and had his own style, but they had some ideas or themes in common. The most important concepts of Romanticism were those. 1) The great importance given to imagination. 2) The figure of poet as an original creator frees from any neo - classical control by models and rules. 3) The notion of nature as a living organic structure and has a medium for conveying fundamental spiritual truths as well as the importance attached to natural scenery. 4) Distinctive literature styles which included wide spread use of imagery, symbolism and myth.
Imagination is a theme developed by every poet. For Blake it is the ability to see more deeply into the life of things. For Wordsworth it is the power that makes more beautiful and elegant the incidents and emotions of every day life, that with imagination become unique, memorable, almost supernatural. We can see that in "I wandered lonely as a cloud", "The solitary reaper" and in every poem by Wordsworth. For Coleridge imagination is the ability to find out the supernatural in everyday life and make it true, real as we can see in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". For Keats it is the capacity to perceive the beauty and the harmony of nature through the senses as we can see in "To Autumn" or in the work of classical art ("Ode on a Grecian Urn"). For Shelley it is the capacity to capture and record in poetry the most beautiful and the best moments in life.
This period was not characterised by a school or a movement, but every poet distincts himself and had his own style, but they had some ideas or themes in common. The most important concepts of Romanticism were those. 1) The great importance given to imagination. 2) The figure of poet as an original creator frees from any neo - classical control by models and rules. 3) The notion of nature as a living organic structure and has a medium for conveying fundamental spiritual truths as well as the importance attached to natural scenery. 4) Distinctive literature styles which included wide spread use of imagery, symbolism and myth.
Imagination is a theme developed by every poet. For Blake it is the ability to see more deeply into the life of things. For Wordsworth it is the power that makes more beautiful and elegant the incidents and emotions of every day life, that with imagination become unique, memorable, almost supernatural. We can see that in "I wandered lonely as a cloud", "The solitary reaper" and in every poem by Wordsworth. For Coleridge imagination is the ability to find out the supernatural in everyday life and make it true, real as we can see in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". For Keats it is the capacity to perceive the beauty and the harmony of nature through the senses as we can see in "To Autumn" or in the work of classical art ("Ode on a Grecian Urn"). For Shelley it is the capacity to capture and record in poetry the most beautiful and the best moments in life.