The romantic era has a significant place in literary history. Running its course from 1780 to 1850, novelists and poets alike flocked to this genre as a form of expression. It was a bold and daring way to define one’s self. Conflicting with the current trend of enlightenment, it went beyond the single-minded philosophy enlightenment had adopted, allowing novelists and poets to transcend everything they and their readers believed writing and reading to be. Human nature was unvarying, and free in its emotion. The church had long since attempted to block this humanity from the world, but romanticism attempted to join the world and this part of humanity as one, through methods such as metaphor and comparison. Poets such as John Keats, William Blake, and William Wordsworth are only a few examples of poets who used romanticism in their poems during this time.
John Keats exemplified romanticism in a famous poem entitled, “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” Within the first four lines he compares his poem to, “a flowery tale,” with a “leaf’d fringe .” According to, “Legacies of Romanticism: Literature, Culture, Aesthetics,” romanticism is characterized by drawing one’s emotions back to nature . A trademark of Keats’ poems is emotion; each of his works is embued with human emotion and the comparison to nature is, therefore, a trademark of romanticism. While the poem is filled with many tributes to romanticism, perhaps the greatest is its seemingly primary message, which is Keats’ desire to escape from societal suppression. For example, at the beginning of the second stanza the poem says, “Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu; And, happy melodist, unwearied, For ever piping songs for ever new .” The poem continues on in this fashion, suggesting Keats has found a natural, wonderful, and happy place where spring and happiness never fade, emotions run free, and societal stigmas never intrude. Romanticism is free to run amuck in its truest and purest form.
William Blake, also part of the romantic age, had many poems exhibiting romanticism. One such poem was called, “A Poison Tree.” Immediately we see Blake compare the anger in the poem to a poison tree, once again bring humanity back to nature. Blake goes so far as to state he waters his anger, “in fears, Night and morning with my tears . His anger grows, and his foe is able to old it like an apple. The simile could be a suggestion of society’s tendency to suppress the imagination, though regardless if it is or not, it is still emotions returning to nature. At the end of the poem, we see Blake compares his feelings to a garden and his, “foe outstretched beneath the tree,” on which his anger had grown. According to, “The Rhetoric of Romanticism,” the representation made by Blake’s foe being strangled by his own emotions is an example of championing his own personal freedom, something society often suppressed but romanticism sought to take back . For instance, anger is typically considered a negative emotion, as is fear. At the time romanticism was at its height, these emotions were often discouraged in those who displayed them. However, Blake’s poem highlights the suggestible outcome that can occur if one nurtures their negative emotions, or simply acts human. He was angry. He nurtured his anger so profusely, with more anger and fear, which it grew into a tree that sprouted apples. The individual who he was angry at ate the apple, or his anger, and died. The metaphor, as well as the representation of society is very powerful in terms of romanticism and what it was trying to achieve. Blake clearly wanted to break away.
Another romantic poet was William Wordsworth, who displayed his romanticism in, “Tintern Abby .” Wordsworth speaks highly of nature throughout the first stanza, returning to it for comfort and, “repose, under this dark sycamore .” He does not retreat to a heavily populated area, but rather back to nature, a recurring theme throughout romantic poetry. He even describes his home in the city and the city itself negatively, forcing society to assume a negative role in the poem, as well as his life. In the city, he is just another cog, but in nature, he is an individual who can feel and be at peace. Individuality and the desire to seek it was another recurring theme throughout romanticism. Wordsworth goes on in the poem to seek a sort of moral cleansing in nature. He does not compare nature to emotion, or draw upon the two metaphorically, but instead compares nature to religion or god. He uses phrases such as, “worshipper of nature,” “holier love,” and, “anchor of my purest thoughts .” It was common for nature to be similar to god throughout poems and novels during the romantic age. During this time, nature took on a new meaning; it was akin to worshipping as writers found freedom in the boundlessness that was nature. This was primarily because the church, which promised boundlessness for humanity, was actually the most suppressant force on the planet, and writers began to weary of it and the enlightenment movement that stifled humankind’s creativity, as well as its humanity . Wordsworth seeks nature in this manner, for comfort, solace, and freedom, because he detests what society has become and knows he will not find comfort such as this anywhere else.
In sum, the romantic age was an awakening for the literary community, but also for the world. Novelists and poets began to understand what society was becoming, as well as the church was becoming, and through their writing, they spoke out. Poets such as Keats, Blake, and Wordsworth, proclaimed the beauty of nature and human emotion while protesting the suffocating feeling society forced upon the population. Using metaphors, comparisons, and clever word choices, they were able to not only send a message, but also create a new genre.
Works Cited
Casaliggi, Carmen and Paul March-Russel. Legacies of Romanticism: Literature, Culture, Aesthetics. London: Routledge, 2012. Book.
Man, Paul de. The Rhetoric of Romanticism. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. Book.
Watson, J.R. English Poetry of the Romantic Period 1789-1830. London: Routledge, 2014. Book.
