Romanticism in English Literature : An Overview

Romanticism, a literary movement, generally believed to begin in 1798 with the publication of Lyrical Ballads. This book was a collection of a new kind of 23 poems composed by Wordsworth and Coleridge. It was a successful joint venture by Wordsworth and Coleridge to establish a new trend in English poetry. It was a successful attempt to break away from the Neo-classical tradition of the previous age. Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley and Byron were the main exponents of this movement. The main features of Romantic poetry are: return to nature, spontaneity, dependence on imagination, love of beauty, mysticism, subjectivity, love of rural common people, use of Greek and Roman myths and use of simple language. This new kind of literary tradition is first seen in the Elizabethan age to some extent, but it revived with much vigour after 1798 as a direct consequence of the French Revolution

Return to Nature: The Core of Romanticism

Return to nature is the most dominant feature of Romantic literature. Nature here means the world of vegetation and the natural qualities of human beings. Wordsworth established a close kinship with Nature. His pantheism forms a wonder in the romantic appreciation of Nature. To him Nature is a mighty and majestic spirit that animates and mobilises every object of the visible world. Similarly Keats idealizes and glorifies Nature in his poetry. One remembers his famous images of natural phenomena in his odes showing his love of Nature.

Return to Nature also refers to the Romantic poets  love for natural qualities of man. It is akin to spontaneity. Wordsworth talked about it time and again in reaction to the artificiality of the Neoclassical age. To him poetry means, Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. His The Solitary Reaper, Michael and Lucy Poems glorify the feelings of the downtrodden people.

Romanticism and the Common People

Love for common people found in the Romantic age is, in fact, glorification of humanism which is a very important aspect of the Revival of Romanticism. Rousseau was the philosopher who popularized it during those years. The Romantic poets temperament was shaped by their love for humanity.

Beauty and Hellenism in Romantic Poetry

Love for beauty or Hellenism is another salient feature of Romanticism. Keats sings in Endymion a "Thing of beauty is joy forever". His belief in the power of beauty has been resounded in many of his poems. In The Eve of St Agnes he has glorified female beauty. In Ode on a Grecian Urn he equalled beauty with truth. Shelley and Byron also wrote poems which show their interest in the appreciation of beauty.

Subjectivity in Romantic Expression

Subjective expression is one more feature of Romanticism. Poets in this period preferred to present their own feelings without hiding themselves. Wordsworth, for example, in Tintern Abbey and Ode on Intimation of Immortality presents his personal belief in the soothing power of Nature and prenatal existence of human soul. Similar personal experiences and beliefs are also found in the poetry of Keats.

Mysticism and Supernaturalism in Romantic Literature

Mysticism is inherent in the literature of Romantic period. In Wordsworth's poems mysticism is seen profusely. His pantheism pervading many of his famous poems is actually a reflection of his mystic bent of mind. Similarly Coleridge's supernaturalism bears the testimony of the mystical novels of romantic poetry. His famous poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is based on his mystic belief. The Mariner's alienation from the forces of Nature after killing the Albatross is indeed mystic because the bird's association with other natural phenomena is a matter of unusual belief. Further, the polar spirit, the Hermit and the Mariner's love for the ugly snakes are all mystical. Shelley's myths are also mystical in nature. The wonder of mysticism is also evident in the fictional and non-fictional prose writings of this period.

Classical Myths and the Romantic Imagination

The Romantic poets often went back to ancient Greek and Roman myths. Their use of Greek and Roman myths shows their love for ancient truths and culture. Keats poems are replete with these mythical elements. For example, his well-known poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn is based on an ancient Greek urn. The images on the body of the urn reflect Keats love for the Greek concept of aesthetic beauty, natural beauty and spiritual beauty ” which are eternal truths of life. Keats other odes are also replete with references to Greek and Roman myths. This nostalgia for the past is also found in the poems of other Romantic poets. 

Conclusion: The Essence of the Romantic Movement

Romanticism, therefore, is a literary movement that includes several trends in literature. The age had very powerful enthusiasm-a unique spirit that drove the poets soar in the higher sphere of reality. It was, for some poets, a revolution against the existing social and literary tradition; for others it was an age of idealising life and society.

Romanticism in English Literature: Origin, Features, and Key Poets

Green Land | June 25, 2025 | 0 comments

Romanticism in English Literature : An Overview

Romanticism, a literary movement, generally believed to begin in 1798 with the publication of Lyrical Ballads. This book was a collection of a new kind of 23 poems composed by Wordsworth and Coleridge. It was a successful joint venture by Wordsworth and Coleridge to establish a new trend in English poetry. It was a successful attempt to break away from the Neo-classical tradition of the previous age. Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley and Byron were the main exponents of this movement. The main features of Romantic poetry are: return to nature, spontaneity, dependence on imagination, love of beauty, mysticism, subjectivity, love of rural common people, use of Greek and Roman myths and use of simple language. This new kind of literary tradition is first seen in the Elizabethan age to some extent, but it revived with much vigour after 1798 as a direct consequence of the French Revolution

Return to Nature: The Core of Romanticism

Return to nature is the most dominant feature of Romantic literature. Nature here means the world of vegetation and the natural qualities of human beings. Wordsworth established a close kinship with Nature. His pantheism forms a wonder in the romantic appreciation of Nature. To him Nature is a mighty and majestic spirit that animates and mobilises every object of the visible world. Similarly Keats idealizes and glorifies Nature in his poetry. One remembers his famous images of natural phenomena in his odes showing his love of Nature.

Return to Nature also refers to the Romantic poets  love for natural qualities of man. It is akin to spontaneity. Wordsworth talked about it time and again in reaction to the artificiality of the Neoclassical age. To him poetry means, Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. His The Solitary Reaper, Michael and Lucy Poems glorify the feelings of the downtrodden people.

Romanticism and the Common People

Love for common people found in the Romantic age is, in fact, glorification of humanism which is a very important aspect of the Revival of Romanticism. Rousseau was the philosopher who popularized it during those years. The Romantic poets temperament was shaped by their love for humanity.

Beauty and Hellenism in Romantic Poetry

Love for beauty or Hellenism is another salient feature of Romanticism. Keats sings in Endymion a "Thing of beauty is joy forever". His belief in the power of beauty has been resounded in many of his poems. In The Eve of St Agnes he has glorified female beauty. In Ode on a Grecian Urn he equalled beauty with truth. Shelley and Byron also wrote poems which show their interest in the appreciation of beauty.

Subjectivity in Romantic Expression

Subjective expression is one more feature of Romanticism. Poets in this period preferred to present their own feelings without hiding themselves. Wordsworth, for example, in Tintern Abbey and Ode on Intimation of Immortality presents his personal belief in the soothing power of Nature and prenatal existence of human soul. Similar personal experiences and beliefs are also found in the poetry of Keats.

Mysticism and Supernaturalism in Romantic Literature

Mysticism is inherent in the literature of Romantic period. In Wordsworth's poems mysticism is seen profusely. His pantheism pervading many of his famous poems is actually a reflection of his mystic bent of mind. Similarly Coleridge's supernaturalism bears the testimony of the mystical novels of romantic poetry. His famous poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is based on his mystic belief. The Mariner's alienation from the forces of Nature after killing the Albatross is indeed mystic because the bird's association with other natural phenomena is a matter of unusual belief. Further, the polar spirit, the Hermit and the Mariner's love for the ugly snakes are all mystical. Shelley's myths are also mystical in nature. The wonder of mysticism is also evident in the fictional and non-fictional prose writings of this period.

Classical Myths and the Romantic Imagination

The Romantic poets often went back to ancient Greek and Roman myths. Their use of Greek and Roman myths shows their love for ancient truths and culture. Keats poems are replete with these mythical elements. For example, his well-known poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn is based on an ancient Greek urn. The images on the body of the urn reflect Keats love for the Greek concept of aesthetic beauty, natural beauty and spiritual beauty ” which are eternal truths of life. Keats other odes are also replete with references to Greek and Roman myths. This nostalgia for the past is also found in the poems of other Romantic poets. 

Conclusion: The Essence of the Romantic Movement

Romanticism, therefore, is a literary movement that includes several trends in literature. The age had very powerful enthusiasm-a unique spirit that drove the poets soar in the higher sphere of reality. It was, for some poets, a revolution against the existing social and literary tradition; for others it was an age of idealising life and society.

The Romantic Period

The thinker, ape and steel are the major symbols of this play. Thinking is a favourite work of Yank. Now and then he tells his fellowmen to let him think. He says, “Lemmetink”. We the readers are introduced to this statue of Rodin several times when Yank needs to think. Yank’s impression of Rodin’s statue, “The Thinker” is symbolic of Yank’s need to think. While he physically embodies the cultural symbol of a “thinker” he cannot think himself. Every time O’Neill’s stage direction calls for the actor to take the position of “The Thinker” Yank has come up against an obstacle that cannot be tackled by any other means but thought—when Yank cannot process the realities before him. After Yank is thrown out of the I.W.W he immediately gets into “The Thinker” pose. 

He is desperate to make sense of his situation and understand why the union would throw him out. Yank’s inability to think not only reveals his regression to a lower animal form, but also renders him unable to adapt to or defend himself in the world beyond the ship. 

The real ape in Scene Eight is the only other character that takes “The Thinker” position. The ape sharing this habitual body position reflects on Yank’s own animalistic state—his mode of thought is no more advanced than the ape’s. 

Apes are everywhere in The Hairy Ape: Yank is called an ape, Yank thinks he is an ape, Mildred thinks she sees an ape, Yank tells people he is an ape, Senator Queen writes that the Wobblies wil degenerate American civilization “back to the ape” and, most importantly, there is a real live ape in Scene 8. The ape symbolizes man in a primitive state before technology, complex language structures, complex thought or money was necessary. The ape represents man that is not only behind in an evolutionary sense, but is free of class, technology and other elements of modern society. The ape is only concerned with survival. 

Steel is both a symbol of power and oppression in The Hairy Ape. While Yank exclaims in Scene One that he is steel, “the muscles and the punch behind it,” he is all the while penned in a virtual cage of steel created by the ship around him. Steel creates other cages in the play~Yank’s jail cell and the cell of the Ape. Steel is also oppressive because it creates jobs like Yank’s, it is symbolic of the technology that force Yank and the Firemen into slave-like jobs. We see Yank at the beginning of the play as an ugly, almost simian figure, the leader of all the firemen on board an unnamed steamship. He glories in his strength and identifies himself with the machinery he serves. He perceives himself as the prime mover of all machinery, the maker of steel. He “belongs,” a favourite word with him. He has found a place for himself, one which satisfied him, in the inferno of the stokehole. This dream is shattered when Mildred Douglas, a jaded young society woman, visits the stokehole in search of a new experience and sees Yank. Steel betrays him, so he starts his search for his identity. 

Write about the symbols of the play The Hairy Ape

Green Land | April 09, 2025 | 0 comments

The thinker, ape and steel are the major symbols of this play. Thinking is a favourite work of Yank. Now and then he tells his fellowmen to let him think. He says, “Lemmetink”. We the readers are introduced to this statue of Rodin several times when Yank needs to think. Yank’s impression of Rodin’s statue, “The Thinker” is symbolic of Yank’s need to think. While he physically embodies the cultural symbol of a “thinker” he cannot think himself. Every time O’Neill’s stage direction calls for the actor to take the position of “The Thinker” Yank has come up against an obstacle that cannot be tackled by any other means but thought—when Yank cannot process the realities before him. After Yank is thrown out of the I.W.W he immediately gets into “The Thinker” pose. 

He is desperate to make sense of his situation and understand why the union would throw him out. Yank’s inability to think not only reveals his regression to a lower animal form, but also renders him unable to adapt to or defend himself in the world beyond the ship. 

The real ape in Scene Eight is the only other character that takes “The Thinker” position. The ape sharing this habitual body position reflects on Yank’s own animalistic state—his mode of thought is no more advanced than the ape’s. 

Apes are everywhere in The Hairy Ape: Yank is called an ape, Yank thinks he is an ape, Mildred thinks she sees an ape, Yank tells people he is an ape, Senator Queen writes that the Wobblies wil degenerate American civilization “back to the ape” and, most importantly, there is a real live ape in Scene 8. The ape symbolizes man in a primitive state before technology, complex language structures, complex thought or money was necessary. The ape represents man that is not only behind in an evolutionary sense, but is free of class, technology and other elements of modern society. The ape is only concerned with survival. 

Steel is both a symbol of power and oppression in The Hairy Ape. While Yank exclaims in Scene One that he is steel, “the muscles and the punch behind it,” he is all the while penned in a virtual cage of steel created by the ship around him. Steel creates other cages in the play~Yank’s jail cell and the cell of the Ape. Steel is also oppressive because it creates jobs like Yank’s, it is symbolic of the technology that force Yank and the Firemen into slave-like jobs. We see Yank at the beginning of the play as an ugly, almost simian figure, the leader of all the firemen on board an unnamed steamship. He glories in his strength and identifies himself with the machinery he serves. He perceives himself as the prime mover of all machinery, the maker of steel. He “belongs,” a favourite word with him. He has found a place for himself, one which satisfied him, in the inferno of the stokehole. This dream is shattered when Mildred Douglas, a jaded young society woman, visits the stokehole in search of a new experience and sees Yank. Steel betrays him, so he starts his search for his identity. 

The Hairy Ape

Taxis represents both the ostentatious wealth of Americans abroad, who, like Jake, are so pampered that they cannot be troubled to walk across the street. 

In addition, taxis.may represent the transitory nature of people, coming and going. They may be representative of the way people in the twentieth century became increasingly disconnected from one another, People are now shying away from making real connections with the people who briefly come into their lives, like the taxi drivers. After the final bullfight, Romero and Brett leave for Madrid together. Cohn has left that morning, so only Bill, Mike, and Jake remain as the fiesta draws to a close. The next day, the three remaining men rent a car and drive out of Spain to Bayonne and then go their separate ways. Jake heads back into Spain to San Sebastian, where he plans to spend several quiet days relaxing. 

He receives a telegram from Brett, however, asking him to come meet her in Madrid. He complies, and boards an overnight train that same day. Jake finds Brett alone in a Madrid hotel room. She has broken with Romero, fearing that she would ruin him and his career. She announces that she now wants to return to Mike. Jake books tickets for them to leave Madrid. As they ride in a taxi through the Spanish capital, Brett laments that she and Jake could have had a wonderful time together. Jake responds, “Yes, isn’t it pretty to think so?” 

Taxis for travel

Green Land | March 27, 2025 | 0 comments

Taxis represents both the ostentatious wealth of Americans abroad, who, like Jake, are so pampered that they cannot be troubled to walk across the street. 

In addition, taxis.may represent the transitory nature of people, coming and going. They may be representative of the way people in the twentieth century became increasingly disconnected from one another, People are now shying away from making real connections with the people who briefly come into their lives, like the taxi drivers. After the final bullfight, Romero and Brett leave for Madrid together. Cohn has left that morning, so only Bill, Mike, and Jake remain as the fiesta draws to a close. The next day, the three remaining men rent a car and drive out of Spain to Bayonne and then go their separate ways. Jake heads back into Spain to San Sebastian, where he plans to spend several quiet days relaxing. 

He receives a telegram from Brett, however, asking him to come meet her in Madrid. He complies, and boards an overnight train that same day. Jake finds Brett alone in a Madrid hotel room. She has broken with Romero, fearing that she would ruin him and his career. She announces that she now wants to return to Mike. Jake books tickets for them to leave Madrid. As they ride in a taxi through the Spanish capital, Brett laments that she and Jake could have had a wonderful time together. Jake responds, “Yes, isn’t it pretty to think so?” 

Ernest Hemingway

Dr. Adler is the father of the protagonist Tommy Wilhelm of the novel ‘Seize the Day’ by Saul Bellow. Dr. Adler is a rich person, but he is stern, proud and heartless. He is always concerned with his style, self-love and social status. His self-love is of greater importance to him, than love and affection for his son. His self-love originates from his accumulating money and his success in the worldly affairs. He loves money above everything. 

In course of his conversation with a friend, Mr. Perls, he praises his son much. He told a lot of lies to Mr. Perls with the intention of impressing him. He did so to maintain his social status and style. Money is holy and beautiful to him. He is a heartless and unemotional and  unaffectionate father. His relationship with his son is one of confrontation, of alienation and of detachment. 

His attitude towards his son, Wilhelm served as a torment to Wilhelm’s mind. Dr. Adler is not satisfied with Wilhelm for his changing his name when he went to Hollywood to try his luck as an actor. He deprives his son of his love and affection. Wilhelm is in a financial crisis, which his father can easily solve. But when Wilhelm approaches his father for financial help, Dr. Adler refuses to extend any help to him; he rather blames him for his failure in life. He spoke to Wilhelm in a cruel, non-chalant, detached and disapproving manner. He did not show any fatherly sympathy for his helpless condition. Dr. Adler actually symbolizes the bad effects of commercialism — selfishness, meanness, loss of love, sympathy, fellow-feeling and benevolence, after the post-war world.

Dr. Adler in seize the day

Green Land | March 23, 2025 | 0 comments

Dr. Adler is the father of the protagonist Tommy Wilhelm of the novel ‘Seize the Day’ by Saul Bellow. Dr. Adler is a rich person, but he is stern, proud and heartless. He is always concerned with his style, self-love and social status. His self-love is of greater importance to him, than love and affection for his son. His self-love originates from his accumulating money and his success in the worldly affairs. He loves money above everything. 

In course of his conversation with a friend, Mr. Perls, he praises his son much. He told a lot of lies to Mr. Perls with the intention of impressing him. He did so to maintain his social status and style. Money is holy and beautiful to him. He is a heartless and unemotional and  unaffectionate father. His relationship with his son is one of confrontation, of alienation and of detachment. 

His attitude towards his son, Wilhelm served as a torment to Wilhelm’s mind. Dr. Adler is not satisfied with Wilhelm for his changing his name when he went to Hollywood to try his luck as an actor. He deprives his son of his love and affection. Wilhelm is in a financial crisis, which his father can easily solve. But when Wilhelm approaches his father for financial help, Dr. Adler refuses to extend any help to him; he rather blames him for his failure in life. He spoke to Wilhelm in a cruel, non-chalant, detached and disapproving manner. He did not show any fatherly sympathy for his helpless condition. Dr. Adler actually symbolizes the bad effects of commercialism — selfishness, meanness, loss of love, sympathy, fellow-feeling and benevolence, after the post-war world.

Seize the Day

Saul Bellow was born in Quebec in 1915 and moved to Chicago with his family when he was nine years old. He grew up in Chicago, went to high school there, and began his college career. He attended the University of Chicago and received his bachelor’s degree from North-western University with honours in Sociology and Anthropology. 

He has written quite a number of books, some of which are: Dangling Man (1944), The Victim (1947) The Adventures of Augie March (1953), Seize the Day (1956), Herzog (1964), A Theft (1989) Something to Remember Me By (1991). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1976. He has also won the Pulitzer Prize, three National Book Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and the 1990 National Book Foundation Medal for distinguished contribution to American letters.

Saul Bellow

Green Land | March 23, 2025 | 0 comments

Saul Bellow was born in Quebec in 1915 and moved to Chicago with his family when he was nine years old. He grew up in Chicago, went to high school there, and began his college career. He attended the University of Chicago and received his bachelor’s degree from North-western University with honours in Sociology and Anthropology. 

He has written quite a number of books, some of which are: Dangling Man (1944), The Victim (1947) The Adventures of Augie March (1953), Seize the Day (1956), Herzog (1964), A Theft (1989) Something to Remember Me By (1991). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1976. He has also won the Pulitzer Prize, three National Book Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and the 1990 National Book Foundation Medal for distinguished contribution to American letters.

Seize the Day