OVERVIEW
Having studied the novel, students now consider why poetry is different from prose. In particular, they examine the power and expressive potential of imagery and other kinds of figurative language. Though this unit emphasizes the poetry from the British Romantic movement, students will also encounter poetry from other cultures, noting the ways in which the poetic form is universal. Finally, as a way of being introduced to literary criticism, students read several authors' reflections on poetry and discuss whether they agree or disagree with their critiques.
Having studied the novel, students now consider why poetry is different from prose. In particular, they examine the power and expressive potential of imagery and other kinds of figurative language. Though this unit emphasizes the poetry from the British Romantic movement, students will also encounter poetry from other cultures, noting the ways in which the poetic form is universal. Finally, as a way of being introduced to literary criticism, students read several authors' reflections on poetry and discuss whether they agree or disagree with their critiques.
WHAT IS ROMANTICISM?
Though Romanticism can be difficult to define as both a genre and a historical literary and artistic movement, there is widespread agreement as to some of its core tenets and conventions. For the purposes of this course, European Romanticism can be defined as a reaction against the order and restraint of classicism and neoclassicism, and a rejection of the rationalism that characterized the Enlightenment. In early nineteenth-century England, Romanticism was a literary and artistic movement in which the values of imagination, intuition, self-expression, emotion, and non-conformity superseded neoclassical values of reason, order, objectivity, and rules. Poets exemplifying the movement include Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Keats, and Percy and Mary Shelley. In music, the period embraces much of the 19th century, with composers including Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, and Wagner. Among Romantic painters are such stylistically diverse artists as William Blake, J. M. W. Turner, Delacroix, and Goya.
Though Romanticism can be difficult to define as both a genre and a historical literary and artistic movement, there is widespread agreement as to some of its core tenets and conventions. For the purposes of this course, European Romanticism can be defined as a reaction against the order and restraint of classicism and neoclassicism, and a rejection of the rationalism that characterized the Enlightenment. In early nineteenth-century England, Romanticism was a literary and artistic movement in which the values of imagination, intuition, self-expression, emotion, and non-conformity superseded neoclassical values of reason, order, objectivity, and rules. Poets exemplifying the movement include Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Keats, and Percy and Mary Shelley. In music, the period embraces much of the 19th century, with composers including Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, and Wagner. Among Romantic painters are such stylistically diverse artists as William Blake, J. M. W. Turner, Delacroix, and Goya.
LLEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Identify the form, rhyme scheme, and meter of poems studied.
- Define and explain poetic devices, such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, and enjambment, and describe the ways in which they help reveal the theme(s) of the poem.
- Recognize and explain the distinguishing characteristics of various kinds of poetry, such as ballads, odes, lyric poetry, blank verse, haiku, and sonnets.
- Describe how poetry differs from prose and explain why authors would choose one form over another for a particular purpose.
- Consider the relationship between art and nature in Romantic works.
- Observe narrative digressions, idiosyncrasies, exaggerations, and digressions.
- Consider the role of the supernatural in the literary works read in this unit.
- Explore and analyze some of the philosophical ideas in Romantic poetry.
- Consider both the common tendencies of works of this period and the contradictions, exceptions, and outliers.
- Participate in a seminar discussion in which a philosophical question is explored in relation to a specific text.
LITERARY TEXTS
William Blake William Wordsworth
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The Titan's Goblet, Thomas Cole (1833)
Aurora Borealis, Edwin Frederic Church
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TERMINOLOGY
Byronic hero
Figurative language Gothic Enlightenment Imagery Lyric |
Negative capability
Neoclassicism Noble savage Ode Romanticism |
Sonnet
Stanza Sublime Willful Suspension of Disbelief |
IMAGE GALLERY
Click on images to enlarge and view captions.
Click on images to enlarge and view captions.
GALLERY OF TINTERN ABBEY
VIDEO GALLERY.
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History of Ideas: ROMANTICISM. A film by School of Ideas.
Romanticism is a historical movement that still hugely colors how we tend to feel and look at the world: it’s responsible for the way we approach love, nature, business and children. This is its history. |
The Art and Philosophy of Romanticism.
In this short video lecture, Phil Hansen of Goodbye-Art Academy explains the history, cultural impacts, and core philosophical tenets of European Romanticism. |
AUDIOBOOK GALLERY.
Provided below are all seven parts of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner. These clips are taken from a 1977 film by Larry Jordan, where Orson Welles exceptionally narrates the poem over the 30 plate engravings crafted by Gustave Doré for an 1875 illustrated version of the poem, with Larry Jordan adding special effects and animations over Doré's original images. It is highly recommended that you read the text of the poem while listening to the audio of this film to hear Welles' fantastically eerie portrayal of the poem's two narrators (the Wedding-Guest and the Ancient Mariner), and for appreciating Coleridge's masterful use of rhythm (particularly iambic meter) and rhyme to animate his Gothic allegory.
Provided below are all seven parts of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner. These clips are taken from a 1977 film by Larry Jordan, where Orson Welles exceptionally narrates the poem over the 30 plate engravings crafted by Gustave Doré for an 1875 illustrated version of the poem, with Larry Jordan adding special effects and animations over Doré's original images. It is highly recommended that you read the text of the poem while listening to the audio of this film to hear Welles' fantastically eerie portrayal of the poem's two narrators (the Wedding-Guest and the Ancient Mariner), and for appreciating Coleridge's masterful use of rhythm (particularly iambic meter) and rhyme to animate his Gothic allegory.
Rime of the Ancient Mariner : PART I
lines 1 - 82 |
Rime of the Ancient Mariner : PART II
lines 83 - 142 |
Rime of the Ancient Mariner : PART III
lines 143 - 223 |
Rime of the Ancient Mariner : PART IV
lines 224 291 Rime of the Ancient Mariner : PART VI
lines 410 - 513 |
Rime of the Ancient Mariner : PART V
lines 292 - 409 Rime of the Ancient Mariner : PART VII
lines 514 - 625 |