Romanticism (2nd half of 18th century)
It starts as a reaction to...
Classicism
the Industrial Revolution
A new language
A new role for the poet: the poet become a prophet (INWARD EYE)
first generation: Wordswroth, Coleridge
The Lyrical Ballads: the Manifesto of Romanticism
Simple language; strong disillusionment with the French Revolution
second generation: Byron, Shelley, Keats
A more complicate language; tendency to escapism; a strong revolutionary attitude
BYRON
LIFE
TWO SIDES OF PERSONALITY
THE ROMANTIC
CHILDE'S HAROLD
NON-ROMANTIC
SATIRICAL ATTITUDE (Don Juan, The Vision of Judgement)
THEMES
nature (a reflection of his soul)
The Byronic hero
Exoticism (Oriental Tales)
Horror, love, separation, revenge (Oriental Tales)
The role of immagination
Romanticism in art
Turner and the sublime
Constable: nostalgia for pre-industrial revolution landscapes