Poets of the romantic age
Poets of the romantic age
The poets of the Romantic age can be classified into three groups-
The lake school - (Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey)
The Scott group - (Cambell, Moore)
The younger generation - ( Byron, Shelley and Keats)
The first group (1798-1806) and the third group (1816 - 1824) were a flood of supreme poetry.
The middle eight years were not that creative.
The lake poets - the lake poets formed a ‘school’
These spend their lives mostly in the lake district
Wordsworth was born there. These held many poetic beliefs in common.
The literary revolution was accomplished in 1800
The Lake Group:-
Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey were known as Lake Poets because they lived knew one another in the last few years of the 18 century in the district of the great lakes in Northwestern England.
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
William Wordsworth was the greatest poet of the Romantic period.
The credit of originality the romantic movement goes to him.
William Wordsworth was against the ‘poetic diction’ of the classical school.
He considered it to artificial
William Wordsworth wrote a large number of lyrics.
Here he could stir the deepest emotions by the simplest means.
Language can scarcely be more simple and full of meaning than. We find in William Wordsworth
Besides lyrics, Wordsworth wrote many sonnets.
Ex - ‘Composed upon the Westminster bridge’ ‘The world is too much with us
In his odes, he gives expression to high ideals and philosophy of life.
He believed that childhood intuition is the truest.
That those who even in their mature years keep themselves in touch with childhood are the happiest
William Wordsworth was a poet of a man of nature and of human life.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
The genius of was complementary to that of Wordsworth.
Coleridge dealt with the supernatural.
He held out for the emancipation of the oppressed section of mankind.
In his two best poems are ‘the ancient mariner’ and ‘Christabel’
In these poems, the poet deals with the superb manner emotions of love-hate pain, remorse and pain.
In Kubla Khan, the poet points out a gorgeous ‘oriental’ dream picture.
Robert Southey (1774-1843)
Robert Southey was the third poet of the Lake poets. He wrote a number of ballads and short poems.
His best known is his love for books (my days among the Dead Are Past).
He was a voracious reader.
He was made the poet laureate in 1813.
The Scott Group:-
These poets bridge the gap of eight years between the old generation & the young generation.
Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
Scott was the first to make romantic poetry popular during this period.
His ‘Mermion’ and ‘Lady of the Lake’ gained popularity.
It is the story the narrative power that appeals to the readers.
Most of his poems captured the feature of the middle ages, supernatural and superstition.
But Scott turned to prose and wrote novels.
Thomas Campbell (1774-1844)
Campbell wrote ‘Gertrude of Wyomying’ in the Spenserian stanza.
Thomas Moore (1779-1832)
Moore wrote long series of ‘Irish melodies’
He was a minor poet of the age.
The Young Group
These poets represent the second, flowering of English Romanticism. These poets were against the social and historic ways of England. Incidentally, the poets of the young generation died young.
Lord George Gorden Byron (1788-1824)
He was one of the most popular poets of romantic poets.
Byron was the greatest interpreter of the revolution iconoclasm.
He is called the romantic paradox.
He went against his contemporary poets.
His first two cantos of ‘Childe Harold Pilgrimage’ was very popular.
He wrote a number of romances.
His rhetorical style was admirable
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
Shelley was a revolution idealist a prophet of hope and faith.
He was a visionary who dreamed of the ‘golden age’
Shelly was constructive.
He aimed to build up a new and beautiful edifice of the ruins of old the ugly.
He was a poet of love.
He imagined a world where all errors would be erased.
This was a prophecy of newborn age.
In his work Queen Mab, he condemns kings, churches, property, marriage & Christianity.
In Prometheus Unbound, he wrote the Hymn of human revolt. A triumph over ‘false god’
It is a superb lyric, giving the faith and hope of the poet.
These are many other poems of Shelly namely - Julian and Maddalo, Alaster Achonais etc.
Shelley wrote small lyrics also - Ode to Westwind, cloud, skylark etc.
He was the greatest lyrical poet
John Keats - (1795-1821)
Off all the romantic poets Keats was the ‘pure poet’
He was not only the last but one of the most perfect romanticists.
He was simply devoted to poetry and had no other interest.
He was least interested in the social, and political turmoils.
He wrote poetry that suits his temperament.
After reading Spenser’s ‘the faerie queen’ he comes to experience the vast world of poetry.
a) In his first long poem Endymion he gives us the memorable lines;
b) “ A thing of beauty is a joy forever”
Keats face cruel calamities.
But he remained undaunted.
With his sufferings and pains.
Keats gave to the world his immortal works.
Eve of St. Agnes
The unfinished Hyperion
A number of odes.
In his poems, we have a love for beauty.
There is a touch of pessimism.
We see in his poems, his love for Greek mythology and arts.
Keats died young.
But his achievement in the field of poetry is so great that,
People wonder why he lived longer-
What he would have achieved for him beauty was everything! That beauty and truth are one.
He wanted to become the poet of the human heart.
For him, the role of poetry is “to be a friend to soothe the cares and lift the thought of men.”
It is no exaggeration to say that Keats comes next to Shakespeare.
He is unsurpassable.
The next topic is
Prose writers of the Romantic age.
0 Comments