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rebellious, aspiring to freedom
every aspect of nature
is seen as an expression of God:
pantheism
storms
when nature gives men powerful feelings and emotions inspiring awe, fear and when it is perceived as much more powerful than man
rough seas
wild mountains
the sublime
loneliness
it doesn't produce peace and tranquillity, but rather terror and respect
peace and tranquillity
majestic landscapes
Nature
as a source
of inspiration
glaciers
melancholy
dark nights
Romanticism
wonder
the gothic
the gothic novel
when the atmosphere is dark and frightening
includes all the typical gothic elements plus murders and the presence of a villain and a girl in danger
imagination is a ceative power; it can be used to transform something ordinary into something extraordinary or to create a new original world
ghosts and mysterious
presences and events
gothic architectures
interest in what is perceived as exotic, distant either in place or in time
death
A literary revolution
imagination is a special gift
isolation
love for the
supernatural
frightening atmosphere
desolate isolated landscapes
only a few people are endowed
with imagination, for example poets and children
poets often used imagination to personify natural elements
reevaluation of the Middle Ages
when literature dealt with fantastic beings and events
to Romanticism
from the Enlightenment
the revival of the ballad as a literary genre
Childhood
the presence of magic and supernatural events
children are appreciated
as they are imaginative, naïve and pure .
feelings and emotions
reason
imagination
reality is not described in an objective impersonal way, instead personal impressions and feelings are stressed
objectivity
subjectivity
the importance
of the individual
the importance
of society
solitude
poetry is
predominant
prose is predominant
love for the countryside,
hate for the polluted industrial city
society is thought
to be corruptive
respect of rules
aspiration for freedom
rebellion
childhood is pure,
not yet corrupted
the most appropriate genre to express feelings and emotions
the role of the poet
The poet can transform ordinary people, settings and events into something special, poetic and inspiring
Wordsworth
Coleridge
the poet is a prophet: he can see and undestand what is generally unperceived by normal people
The poet is a gifted person who has exceptional sensitivity and imaginative power.
no need for exceptional people and events
the ordinary world is chosen as a favourite setting for poetry.
the poets' senses acquire great importance to describe nature
poetry must be understood by everybody:
the language must be simple, everyday language.
the task of the poet is to convey feelings and emotions to the other people
there is no need of poetic diction and restrictive poetic rules
humble people can become the protagonists of art works.
Many Romantic authors supported the French Revolution, at least at the beginning, for its ideals of freedom and equality
Many Romantic authors' lives can be considered somehow rebellious
the Romantic hero
Percy Bysshe Shelley
sensitive, melancholic
rejected by society, isolated
a dark hero
introspective, misanthropic, solitary
sometimes cruel or even ruthless