The Romantic Period 1785 1830 The Romantic Period

The Romantic Period 1785 -1830

The Romantic Period • Began in 1785, the year Blake and Burns published their first poems. • Ended in 1830, by which time the major writers of the preceding century were either dead or no longer productive. • It was a turbulent time period, when England changed from a primarily agricultural society to a modern industrial nation. • Wealth and power shifted from the landholding aristocracy to large-scale employers, who found themselves against a large working class.

Revolution • American and French Revolutions were very important. • They posed a threat to the current way of life at that time. Viaduct across the Great Northern Railway, 1851

The Industrial Revolution • • Landscape became subdivided. Factories spewed pollution. People lived in slum areas. Two classes—rich and poor. Low wages Long work hours Women and small children work.

Themes in Literature • • • Nature Humble, rustic subjects Isolationism, exile Supernatural, mystery, magic Love of distant places Interest in bygone eras Focus on individualism Creative imagination Importance of symbolism Freedom England’s Lake District

Romantic Period vs. Neoclassic Period ● ➔ ➔ Neoclassic Stessed reason and judgment Valued society Followed authority Interested in science ● ➔ ➔ Romantic Stressed imagination and emotion Valued individuals Strove for freedom Interested in Supernatural

Romantic Period Art Work

John Constable