EXTENSION 1 NOTES

THE ROMANTIC ERA (1780-1850)

Romanticism 1780-1850
Romanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated
in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe.
It gained strength through the French Revolution and in reaction to the Industrial
Revolution. It was a revolt against the scientific rationalism of nature in the Age of
Enlightenment.
The Romantic era is often dated from 1760-1840, but Romanticism as a movement
continues to influence artists today.
Rebellion - powerful emotions, taking risks
Against theories of the enlightenment
Presented ideas through poetry, art, music
Inspired through French and industrial revolution
Aimed their works at the commoner, employed simplistic language
Deeply inspired by Shakespeare - rebellion (mixed comedy and tragedy, multiple
plotted, intertwined classes)
Gothic (medieval inspiration)
William Blake - 1st romantic poet
Saw love as a driving force for everything
Introduced the idea that sexuality was essential for marriage
Poets lead reckless lives
Rebelled against growing industrialism
Condemned industrialism through poetry
Industrialisation destroyed nature and many lives.
Neoclassicism: New classic
Dark side of human nature
Background Reading
The romantic period was eminently an age obsessed with the violent fact of change M.H. Abrams.
Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains - Rousseau (grandfather of
romanticism)
Poetry is the image of man or nature - William Wordsworth
Greater romantic lyric M.H. Abrams on conversation poems.
Four paradigms:
Economic
Philosophical
Religious
Scientific
Main ideas in the Rubric:
Transformative ideas, perspectives and ways of thinking
Time of unprecedented change

Ideas about the power of the imagination, the individuals pursuit of meaning and truth
through spontaneous thought, feeling and action
Continuity of human and natural worlds
Ways of thinking about human mind and experience
Individuals place in the wider social and natural worlds
Reveal a sense of purpose and creativity yearning for coherence, unity and meaning.
Individuals place in social and natural worlds

S.T. COLERIDGE POETRY

Coleridge Overview
Grew up in Devonshire England 1772
Age of 9 Meets Charles Lamb
Cambridge University Never graduated.
Two sons and a daughter
Married twice
Opium addiction
Preface to the Lyrical Ballads
Idea of the poems was to engage in situations and incidents from common life
Vernacular language
Present these words through an imaginative lens
Whereby ordinary things should be presented to the mind in an unusual aspect
Adoration of the simplicity of nature
Introspective, accurately contemplated
Sacred relationship between man and nature
Convey feelings and notions in simple and unelaborated expressions
Romantics were critical of previous styles of poetry, categorising them as fickle and
indulgent
Poetry is the image of man and nature
Acknowledgement of the beauty of the universe
Contemplation of introspection
Poetry is a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings
Cyclical
Pantheistic (God through nature)
Controversial (step away from structured religion)
Poetry provides pleasure
Poet as a prophetic figure
Colridgean Style
Poetic Imagination
Supernatural
Beauty
Nature
Awe
Insight

Enlightenment
Creativity
Spirituality
Vivid Descriptions
Contrast
Cyclical structure
Fragmentation
Nature as an inspiration power that elevated the poets thoughts beyond ordinary
perceptions to an enlightened understanding and faith.
Nature as a catalyst for transformation
Dramatic monologue Blank verse
Responders are challenged to contemplate their own upbringing and note the
ramifications There is a didactic quality and inferred potential for growth and insight.

Frost at Midnight - 1798

Stanza 1 Establishes mood and prevailing circumstances, introduces concept of nature
as a catalyst for imagination.
Through the beginning imagery of stillness and silence emphasised through, the
owlets cry
Religious undertones, secret ministry
Confinement within the cottage, romantic view, inmates of my cottage
Assonance creating a somnambulant feel, solitude suits / Abstruser musings
Frost creates a cacoon, tranquillity
Strange / And extreme silentness catalyst for reflection
Highlights paradox between human vs natural worlds
Polysyndeton, Sea, and hill, and wood.
flame / Lies on my low-burnt fire/ Only that film, which fluttered f reflects life
and excitement of the flame, film meaning sooty effusion from fire. (stranger) it
was a superstition in the romantic era that it foreshadowed an impending visit from an
absent friend.
Flickering of the film mimics the poets own mind.
Fire vs frost contrasting images
Echo or mirror seeking of itself, / And makes a toy of thought Epiphany, self
recognition, importance of imagination.
Stanza 2
But O? how oft, / How oft Reverie, call to something, reminiscent, abstract vs
concrete.
Presageful full of intuition, omens.
To watch that fluttering stranger! Link to film omen of a returning friend
School reflects the imagination in captivity (Christs Hospital London)
Unclosed lids- Day dream
church tower / Whose bells, the poor mans only music, rang aural imagery
(memory within another memory)
Most like articulate sounds of things to come Representative of the political
turmoil in the Romantic Period Industrial revolution etc.
Sleep prolonged my dreams Unconsciousness as a creative sphere.

Brooded / stern preceptors face negative description of schooling, captive.

or sister more beloved, / My playmate when we both were clothed alike value in
youth, links to stanza 3
Stanza 3
Dear Babe / Whose gentle breathings Aural imagery, appreciation of primitivism
and childhood.
Paternal pride reflected through the !
I was reared / In the great city, pent mid cloisters dim Condemnation of city
lifestyle.
But thou my babe! Shalt wander like a breeze hopeful anticipation that life will be
different for the child, simile mimics the oneness with nature.
both lakes and shores / And mountain crags polysyndeton emphasises importance.
The lovely shapes and sounds intelligible / Of that eternal language, which thy God /
Utters Pantheistic (god and nature), continuity of the concept of god, nature as
education.
Great universal Teacher! poets as prophetic, visionary teacher conduit to
revelations.
Nature as a catalyst for information.
Stanza 4
Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee reassuring, conclusive tone.
Or if the secret ministry of frost cyclical, satisfactory and contempt (contrasting to
vexed and harsh sounds in the opening)
Quietly shining to the quiet Moon polyptoton (quietly/quiet same root word
repeated)
Visionary image hallucinatory
Nature as: wonderful, domestic, rural and then civilised.
Stanners Reading
Conversational poem.
Confidential tone about the poets musings.
Dramatic monologue provides insight into thoughts and feelings.
Importance of childhood experience.
Idealisation of nature as a teacher.
great city sarcastic resonance.
Blank verse assists in reinforcing the sense of reverie and imaginative
contemplation imitates the natural cadence of speech.
Testifies to the Romantic idealisation of everyday occurrences (both through form and
subject matter.)
Belief that poetry should evolve organically.
Sensory imagery.
Punctuation provides tonal diversity and modality.
Inversion of phrases gives emphasis to words.
Other Reading
Coleridge commented, Poems of this kind and length out to be coiled with its tale
round its head.
Conversation poems aimed to, Cultivate simplicity and banish elaborateness.
Charles Lamb

Lime Tree Bower my Prison - 1797

Overview
Albert Gerard (Critic) - Systolic rhythm to describe movement, inwards and outwards
and Coleridges consciousness
Coleridge as the benevolent guide (shows others the way to joy but is strangely distant
from the immediate experience of it)
Good heart - intrinsic to the romantics
Paradox in title (bower/prison - enforced isolation)
Specifically addressed to Charles Lamb (city dweller, symbol of urbanisation)
Addressed to Charles Lamb
Physical confinement and separation
Denied an experience that could broaden his mind and spirit
Nature as a catalyst for the imaginative process
Nature as an impetus for personal growth
Loses sense of any physical, mental and spiritual restriction
Unseen companion
Through his imagination he is able to share the subjective experiences of his friends
Rich, sensory detail
Visceral vision - enlightenment and contentment
Romantic Elements
Confinement
o my Prison
o Well, they are gone and here I must remain
o Negative tone
o Denied a mind broadening experience
o By the end of the poem, he realizes he is only physically confined
o Imagination casts off physical restraints
o Charles Lamb - City Dweller, my most gentle-hearted Charles
o Uses this contrast between rural and urban environments to highlight natures
beauty
o Sympathetic to those deprived of nature thou hast pined / And hungered after
Nature
o Confinement depends on attitude
o Imagination - source of spiritual release
o Narrow, unsunned, blue clay-stone dell
Freedom and Release
o Melodramatic exaggeration
o Perchance - hesitant to delve into imaginative journey
o High sensory imagery
o Imaginative contemplation of the sublime
o Appreciation of his visualisation of nature, (a most fantastic sight)
o Mood lifts throughout the poem
o the great City evil and pain strange calamity
o Inversion, many-steepled tract magnificent places importance on magnificent
o Link between nature and god, As veil the Almighty Spirit

o Sensuous appreciation
o Binary opposites
Poetic Methods and Techniques
o Blank verse - stresses the processes of reflection and self discovery
o Lyrical qualities, assist in developing the shift from petulance to cheerfulness
o Contrast between restriction and natural expanse.
o Return (cyclical structure)
o Transformation
o Present tense, now time frame changes from late afternoon to night, now a
dim speck, now vanishing in light
o Narrators thoughts, sensations and feelings remain present in the foreground
of the poem. (Stream of consciousness.)
Imagery - Natural and Spiritual Growth
o Nature depicted as mysterious and vital
o Use of superlatives emphasise the movement
o Personifiation and inversion assist to capture natures vitality
o Fragility and delicacy of nature
o Sound enriches the imagery
o Aural dimensions, drip and dripping
o Pantheism
o Enforced isolation fostered meditation, A delight / Comes sudden upon my
arm
o Cathartic insight, Henceforth, I shall know that nature neer deserts the wise
and pure
o Colour imagery represents his mood shift, dark branches gleam a lighter hue.

Kubla Khan 1797

Introduction
Poem written from Coleridges dream, most vivid confidence.
Interrupted half way through recounting his dream and when he returned to his desk
he did find that his memories of the dream had, passed away like the images on the
surface of stream into which a stone has been cast.
Poem
Varying metre
o Relates to the speakers lack of consciousness
o Inconsistency
o 4/5 beats Iambic pent/treptameter
Interior journey alludes to moral development
Highly subjective experience
The poet is represented as an introspective / self reflexive figure
Imagination depicted as a pathway for transformation
Sense of timelessness
Stanza 1
Kubla Khan Upper class Mongolian ruler
A stately pleasure dome decree Exotic, opulent, expansive
Down to a sunless sea Darker side of nature, move into the gothic period of
romanticism.

Allegorical poem about poetry and the process of poetry

A combination of dark contradictions and wildness, and an unreconciled drive for
unity
o Where Alph, the sacred river, ran / through caverns measureless to man
walls and towers were girdled round enclosed, captured
Sinuous rills refers to the winding river
Alludes to the Garden of Eden, blossomd many an incense-bearing tree.
Stanza 2
But O Lamentation of the sublime and awe
Change of tone more negative
A savage place
A waning moon was haunted
Wailing for her demon lover
Night, sunless, passionate, tumultuous
Sexual allusions, A mighty fountain momently was forced
As if in this earth in fast thick pants were breathing
Sexual allusions: Physcological horror, wailing, primal, visceral, procreative earth
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail Violent imagery, quickening pace,
undertones of stress and disorder.
Chaffy grain beneath the threshers flail appeal to the common man Threshing
grains.
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran Repetition (cyclical nature of life,
sexual)
And sank in a tumult to a lifeless ocean: dark condradiction
Ancestral voices prophesising war! Sense of vulnerability
Stanza 3
The shadow of the dome of pleasure / Floated midway on the waves uniting
heaven and hell, upwards and downwards, Plato and shadows.
Mingled measure ^
Disorientating, aimless, unstructured, creates intrigue
It was a miracle of rare device, religious connotation of miracle
A sunny pleasure dome with caves of ice paradoxical imagery dreamlike,
precise.
Stanza 4
Musical imagery:
o A damsel with a dulcimer
o Singing of Mount Abora.
o Her symphony and song// That with music loud and long
Conditional tone triumph of the imagination
Assonance and alliteration
Ambiguity, I would build that dome in air.
Speculatory, creation of the poets own dome, comparison of the poet as a prophet.
That sunny dome! Those caves of ice! Juxtaposition

And all who heard should see them there, / And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
Warning through poem, role of the poet as a holy seer and an imaginative creator.
His flashing eyes, his floating hair! Pagan beliefs (polytheistic religion)
Weave a circle round him thrice gothic, voodoo, thrice the holy trinity (god,
Jesus, holy spirit)
For he on honey-dew hath fed sweet nectar, food of the gods.
And drunk the milk of paradise Procreation, mothers milk
Two domes architectural and musical.

SCIENTIFIC PARADIGM
Scientific paradigm: refers to the set of concepts and practices that define a scientific discipline at
any particular period of time.
Sir Isaac Newton:
Well known for his discovery of Newtons Three Laws of Motion (inertia, F=MA, and
action/reaction)
Sir Isaac Newtons ideal world of symmetry and a lack of mystery is one of the fundamental
ideals that drove the Romantics so violently to their cause
Lunar society:
Pioneers that met on a monthly basis to discuss how science and technology could be
made to serve society, together they brought about the ultimate fusion of science and social
change that would fuel the industrial revolution.
Notable members:
Matthew Boulton (1728 1809). The leading industrialist of his day, he developed modernday industrial practice and introduced the first workers insurance schemes and sick pay.
James Watt (1736 1819), of Boulton and Watt, developed the world beating steam
engines that provided the power for the new factories that were springing up across the
country.
Joseph Priestley (1733 1804), the rebellious cleric and scientist, famous for isolating
oxygen, discovering carbon dioxide and carbonated (fizzy) drinks.
William Withering (1741 99), a doctor and botanist, responsible for discovering the
treatment of heart disease with the extract from the foxglove plant, digitalis.
Romantics reaction:
Romantic poets avowed the importance of wild unspoilt nature as a source of feeling and
insight
Enlightenment:
Started by preeminent philosophers of the time, the Enlightenment era promoted science, reason
and intellectual exchange.
o This was assisted by the introduction of mass printing
o The Encyclopedie (1751-52), edited by Denis Diderot, with contributions from
hundreds of leading philosophers and intellectuals, sought to reform society

through the application and expansion of knowledge

o The Republic of Letters was fostered by the Enlightenment movement, in which
communication through writing was encouraged amongst the intellectuals of
philosophers of the time
o Increasing value of science fueled the establishment of many academies and
societies, as well as publications
The philosophy of the Enlightenment period involved a path to absolute knowledge, which was
necessary in order to build upon the knowledge of the ancients (Ptolemy, etc)
The Industrial Revolution
Factors that combined that contributed to the Industrial Revolution:

The Agricultural Revolution: resulted in increased food production and increased
population

Population Growth: resulting in more people moving in from countryside to work for
better wages in new cities

Financial Innovations

The Scientific Revolution encouraged people to apply new scientific thinking to
mechanical and technological challenges. Science and reason had been incorporated into
the European world view for centuries, making it highly tuned to mechanical changes in
science.

Navigable Rivers and Canals: quickened and cheapened the transportation of raw
materials.

Coal and Iron deposits were essential to the development of new machines made of
steel or iron and powered by coal.
RELIGIOUS PARADIGM
Definition: to provide a rational basis for both science and religion. Both evolution and Divine
Creation are supported.
Theological issues and movements: the church had become institutionalised and the people only
followed Christian tradition out of habit. The Romantics rebelled against this, determined to
rediscover the glory that was the spiritual experience. Christianity became personal, less about idol
worship and more into ones own revelations and epiphanies. Some didnt care much for the
religion, as the idea that we are all inherently sinners conflicted with self-actualisation. The
Romantics were pantheistic, finding god in nature. In this way they were more spiritual than
religious.
Romanticist era:
Lack of religious enthusiasm
Mid 1700s, John Wesley created new religious movement called the methodists
o stresses the life of Christian holiness; Love God with all ones heart, mind and soul
o Separated from The Church of England
o They believe that they are integral parts of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic
church and that their ministers are true ministers of Word and sacrament in the
church of God.
Puritans were extreme Protestants against pleasure and excess. They thought that the
Catholic church had not been purged enough from the Church of England
Enlightenment Era:
Religion in the 17th century
Church of England
o Belief that everyone is corrupt contrasts to romanticists beliefs of purity and
innocence of children
PHILOSOPHICAL PARADIGM
A philosophical movement during the Age of Enlightenment which emphasises emotional selfawareness as a necessary pre-condition to improving society and bettering the human condition.

subjectivity (a strong personal viewpoint, often in a visionary sense) valued highly;

sometimes this was at the expense of the quest for the scientific, rationally ascertained
objectivity (or what is demonstrably true in the real world)

CENTRALITY OF EMOTION
Conventional and time-honoured codes of morality were questioned, especially by more
radical romantics in favour of more individualistic, and personally liberating ethical codes
GERMAN IDEALISM
German idealism and Kantianism based upon the theory that reality is made up of ideas or
thoughts, the only actually certain thing is consciousness and that we can never be sure
that matter or anything in the outside world actually exists. This idealism dates back to
Plato.
THOMAS CHATTERTON - Philosopher and Romantic Poet
suffered a tragic death, committing suicide dying of arsenic poisoning in 1770
He killed himself rather than living in poverty
the best figures of Romanticism felt compelled to write about Chattertons death, making it
part of their tradition which lamented and glorified his death (gothic influences coming
through)
Although relatively unknown during his life, Chattertons death became a well known event
because of the romanticised reaction it provoked. There were poetic responses from the
likes of Shelley, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Keats.
Chattertons dramatic suicide extolled the image of the Romantic individual and reinforced
the cliche of the Romantic social outcast
Romantic writers had so often contemplated the boundary between life and death, valued
Chattertons decision of crossing it to the unknown
I thought of Chatterton, the marvellous boy,
The sleepless soul that perished in his pride;
Of him who walked in glory and in joy
Following his plough, along the mountain side:
By our own spirits are we deified:
We poets in our youth begin in gladness;
But thereof come in the end despondency and madness. - William Wordsworth
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION - Liberty,Equality, Fraternity
The Enlightenment Era was the intellectual and philosophical movement during the 18
Century that encouraged logical reasoning and freedom of thought.
It revolved around a selective group of writers and thinkers, known as the Philosophes, who
encouraged the people to become more engaged in public life.
They rationally criticised the Ancient Regime, empowering the common man and providing
an environment where revolutionary ideas could prosper
Famous Philosophes: Baron de Montesquieu, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Denis
Diderot.
Link to Romantics: Although their rational and logical approaches conflicted with romantic
ideals, they appreciated the rise of the common man against institutions and higher
powers.
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INDIVIDUALISM rise of the middle class

Individualists (prominent end of 19th C e.g. Ralph Emerson) promote the exercise of one's
goals and desires, and value independence and self-reliance while opposing external
interference by society or the government.
Romantic composers wrote primarily for a middle-class audience whose size and prosperity
had increased because of the industrial revolution.
The rise of the urban middle class led to the formation of many orchestras and opera
groups, and the development of regular subscription concerts. Also, the piano became a

fixture in every middle-class home.

CAPABLE OF ORIGINAL IDEAS
believed the mind was capable of new ideas and insights
Immanuel Kant: reconciles two tendencies, as a paradox between, the intellectual, rational
world (the SUBJECT) and the spatiotemporal world (the OBJECT). Believes the mind has
no content until it interacts with the world; however, the mind does have innate formal
structures or templates that order the world that is perceived.
TREATISES ON WOMAN
Neoclassical views:
1. all women if not yet already will marry
2. all women are ought to be economically dependent on a male relative: husband or father
3. Women are housewives, their reproductive capacities specialises them for that function
4. Women are unproductive in the industrial workforce
5. Women are irrational, they are unfit as economic agents, they cannot be trusted to make
the right economic decisions
Mary Wollstonecraft in her vindication of rights for woman loudly demands justice for one
half of the human race (quote from the primary source)
ROMANTIC FEMINISM & FEMININITY:
beginnings of the movement towards female liberation - feminism, through the agency of
particularly strong-minded and intellectually robust women
it became more possible for men to acknowledge and even welcome aspects of femininity,
both in themselves and in social arrangements (romantic emphasis of sensitivity, liberating
feminine aspects of the male psyche)
On the other hand, from a radical feminist view point, such acknowledgments of femininity
in the male may be seen as simply another way of increasing masculine power claiming to
speak with ultimate moral as well as intellectual authority
These ideas were sometimes contradictory, sometimes complementary.
Mary Wollstonecraft - a heroine of Romantic feminism. Author of A Vindication of the Rights
of Woman.
A new wave of women writers. Mary Wollstonecraft took up her pen at the moment when
the great wave of Enlightenment thinking, with its questioning of the institutions of religion,
monarchy, patriarchy,and slavery was moving clearly towards a revised view of the
position of women.
The establishment of the lending library which spread rapidly through England, meant that
books were widely accessible to a new and ever growing audience, composing of upper
and middle class women who preferred to read literature, and novels by women.
Female authored works had focus on very different issues than men: Women
romantic writers tended to celebrate, not the achievements of the imagination nor the
overflow of powerful feelings, but rather the workings of a rational mind.
They insisted upon equality for both men and women.
Endorsed a commitment to a construction of subjectivity, moral systems based on
ethic care (insists on the primacy of family/community/attendant on their practical
responsibilities)
focus on the community as a cooperative rather than a possessive interaction with nature
promoted politics of gradual change rather than violent social change. A social change
that extends the value of domesticity in the public realm
Female authors: Jane Austen, Joanna Baillie, Anna Barbauld, Mary Brunton, Frances
Burney, Mary Shelley, Charlotte Smith, Mary Wollstonecraft and Dorothy Wordsworth to
name a few.
Wollstonecraft wrote of mens absurd expectations of women in her portrait of a house
slave
New stirrings of awareness by women in the patriarchal society of the day needed
influential men to help disseminate the message , such as Joseph Johnson a close friend

of Wollstonecraft and publisher of Coleridge, etc.

1780-1830 females works dominated the novel form (authored by and for women) and by
the end of the 19th century a theoretical distinction saw them deemed as low-brow by
male authors and reviewers. Meanwhile men established themselves as high-brow in their
novels of philosophical enquiry (authored by and for men)
Romantic female writers challenged the masculine feminisation of discourse(perceptions
around females writing of emotions, sensitive, irrational etc.) from another direction by
unmasking the oppression of women within the 18th century bourgeois construction of
femininity

TREATISES ON MEN:
Male writers wrote on the concepts of autonomous and self consciousness that exists
independently of the other, a divine creative power which the poet seeks to possess.
Males endorsed free love
Mary Wollestoncraft Vindication of Rights of Man written against the backdrop French
Revolution attacked the aristocracy and advocates republicanism. Wollstonecraft invokes
an emerging middle-class ethos in opposition to what she views as the vice-ridden
aristocratic code of manners. Driven by an Enlightenment belief in progress, she
challenges Edmund Burke for relying on tradition and custom. She describes an idyllic
country life in which each family has a farm sufficient for its needs.
GENIUS
A man who was a fully intellectual and educated
showcases a shift in thinking
ROUSSEAU
ECONOMIC PARADIGM

Definition: the romanticism movement represented largely a disassociation with this

paradigm as they did not agree with the changes that were being made e.g Industrial
Revolution.
A connection with the economic paradigm was not highly valued as its values were
opposing to those of nature etc
This relationship with nature was developed through the concept of the noble savage
explained by rosseau as an individual living in a pure state of nature uncorrupted by
civilisation. Thus a disconnection to the economy is greatly valued, in favor of a connection
to the natural as Romantics believed that nature offered a refuge from the artificial
constructs of economic civilization.
Romantic period can be seen as a reaction against the radically changing economic
structure of the time which devalued traditional Romantic ideals such as the innocence of
the child.
No longer was the economy based around agriculture and handmade items, but rather
mass produced machine-made items and products. Thus the industrial revolution is looked
down upon by the Romantics, and many of the issues that it caused are clearly addressed
in the literature of the Romantics.
The romantics did not believe that economic considerations were as important as other
elements in life.
POLITICAL PARADIGM

Definition: The Left-Right Paradigm is a concept from political sciences and anthropology
which proposes that societies have a tendency to divide themselves into ideological
opposites.
Contextual Events:
o American Revolution and the War of Independence 1775 - 1783

early every aspect of American life was somehow touched by the

REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT. From slavery to women's rights, from religious
life to voting, American attitudes would be forever changed.
The American Revolution and the ensuing War of Independence, or the
American Revolutionary War, was the first modern revolution
The tightening of control, such as implementing a wide variety of taxes and
laws, on the American colonies by Britain caused tensions to rise. Britain
needed money and its leaders decided to obtain money by taking it from its
various colonies.
Eventually the Americans gained complete independence from Great
Britain in 1783 after forming the United States of America in 1776.
o French Revolution: [Fall of the Bastille 14 July, 1789, Declaration of the Rights of
Man August 1789, Louis XVI executed Jan 1793, increasing violence against
aristocracy Reign of Terror 1793-1794]
Romantic poets and others in England at first embrace the democratic
uprising, but later react against it when the French engage in extreme
violence and try to export their revolution
The French Revolution conducted in the name of liberty, fraternity and
equality for all and was the epitome of the bourgeois revolt and desire to
take political power from the hands of the aristocracy which composed the
ranks of the nobility.
o War between Britain and France 1793-1815 (Britain first inspired to great
radicalism, and increasingly conservative reaction)
o Rise and Fall of Napoleon 1799-1815 (defeat at Waterloo)
o The Reform Bill of 1832 extended the vote to the wealthiest members of the middle
classes, heralding enormous social and political change.
o Chartism (1738-1748)
Influences
o The Romantic Movement received greater momentum after Napoleons invasion of
central Europe, and gave rise to modern nationalism: the uniqueness of the people.

The style and ideas of the Romantic Era were largely influenced by the writings of
Enlightenment scholars such as John Locke, Adam Smith, and Voltaire.

These writers preached the importance of democracy (as well as the evil of
monarchy) and the importance of the individual.

However, much of the Romantic Era was also a backlash to other enlightenment
ideas that seemed to promote totalitarianism.

Because of the principles expressed in the Romantic Era, it contributed to many

revolutions such as:
The French Revolution
The Irish Uprising of 1798

Social reformers in 19 century England championed political liberalism trying to

avoid the mistakes made by French Revolutionaries by applying abstract scientific
rules to the understanding of society.
successful reform came from the application of tangible, practical rules to
society, therefore their adoption of the term utility in judging government
performance and using the term happiness as a measure of evaluating
the success or failure of administration
Liberalism in Literature ~ Victor Hughes; meaning the release of the artist and
writer from restrains and rules and suggesting that individualism is to be marker by
the encouragement of revolutionary political ideas.

th

Socio-political events were widely associated with the emergence of revolutionary

theories of literature the political, intellectual and emotional circumstances in the

Romantic period a revolutionary upheaval that affected the scope, subject-matter,
themes, values and language of literature especially poetry.
o

Political changes occurred with new political innovations corresponding to the

needs of an industrialised society and the growth of cities and development of the
working-class movement and in particular the emergence of new patterns of
authority.

There appeared a political and cultural balance a balance between reason and
passion.

The Romantics were ambivalent towards reality and were often politically and
socially involved, but at the same time they began to distance themselves from the
public; by moving to the countryside. The Romantic poets interpreted things
through their own emotions and included a social and political consciousness as
one would expect in this period of a revolution with their strong reactions to
oppression and injustice in the world - writing with a socially and politically
orientated subject matter.

NB -- The Romantic Era started approximately with the French Revolution in 1789 and ended when
the Great Reform Bill of 1832 was passed.
Before (i.e. in the Enlightenment era)

After (i.e. the Romantic era)

Emphasis on rational thought

through deductive reasoning and
the mathematization of natural
philosophy
In an effort to increase scientific
knowledge, the Romantics
sought a more beneficial
approach to science for both
humankind and nature compared
to the abusing nature the
Enlightenment had undertaken.
Old scientific disciplines, such as
astronomy and botany, were
transformed; new ones, like
craniology and comparative
anatomy, were brought into
being.
In an effort to increase scientific
knowledge, the Romantics
sought a more beneficial
approach to science for both
humankind and nature compared
to the abusing nature the
Enlightenment had undertaken
Throughout the 19 Century,
science shifted away from a
focus on supporting Christian
theories of Genesis, instead
focusing on physical evidence
that provided explanations for
the origin of the universe.
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Religion:
People followed the Church and the practice of
it as a complete way of life, although this did
not change that much in the Romantic periodthe idea that there were other ways of
experiencing religion came into being (such as
having a religious experience in nature)
Enlightenment era thinkers did not agree as
much with religion and wanted to focus on
rational thought
Believed God was just a figure and was uninteractive
In general the scientific beliefs of the
Enlightenment period goes against religion
itself
Rise in atheism as this coincided with the
thinkings of the time
promoted science and intellectual interchange
and opposed superstition
Reason was put before religion
Drew ideas from the Ancient Greeks

Economic:
before industrial revolution, the agricultural
industry provided for substantial economic
growth
Labour was a country's true value -- it was the

It encouraged creativity,
experience, and genius,
emphasising the scientists role
in scientific discovery.
It was understood that acquiring
knowledge of nature meant
understanding man as well.
They saw the enlightenment as
the cold hearted attempt to
extort knowledge from nature
Devoted to the observation of
facts and careful
experimentation a hands off
approach
Unitarianism rose in the
Romantic period
Focused on emotion and the
pure religion, which
contradicted completely the
rational thoughts of the
Enlightenment
Believed that God was a spiritual
force
Middle ages which were
considered as dark ages by
philosophers because of
superstition and fanaticism, was
appreciated by romantic thinkers
because of cultural uniformity
and religious harmony.
Pantheism blossomed in this era
Other religions began to be more
tolerated (of course they were
offshoots of Christianity)
Rejected organised religion and
the political ties that religion had
Religion was once again put
before reason (reason was
disregarded in many senses)
Reawakening of religion and
revival of the core aspects of
religion
Drew ideas from the biblical
Used religion imagery to convey
human emotions
Wanted to re-establish the
connection between religion and
literature
industrial revolution devalued
nature and saw the growth of
automated mass produced
machine-made items and
products

only part of the country that could change the

wealth (not silver or gold)
Government only existed to be there for the
peoples needs
Enlightenment belief in a laissez-faire
economy -- a free economy

Political:
Experiencing Empiricism: The People Drove
the Government
The Monarch Ruled
o France = monarchy
o America = colony of England
Reasoning to Rationalism: there was order in
politics
Expanding to the Encyclopedists: Rising to
Revolution

economy became more urban

base
use of laissez-faire policy
allowed for a free market
economy, resulting in child
labour, famine and
homelessness
fought against this radically
changing economic structure of
Industrialization as it went
against the core values of
Romanticism
rise of middle class

France = French Revolution

Empire (Napoleon Bonaparte):
revolution fails
America = American Revolution
was the first anti-colonial,
democratic revolution in history.
Created a republic (freedom)

AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1776

American Revolution Research:
also called the United States War of Independence or American Revolutionary War
1775-83
The American Revolution was a time when the British colonists in America rebelled against
the rule of Great Britain.
13 of Great Britains North American colonies won political independence and went on to form
the United States of America
The 13 Colonies
Before the American Revolution, there were several British Colonies in the Americas. Not all
of them participated in the revolution. There were 13 colonies which ended up rebelling.
These were Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut,
Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, and
Rhode Island.
Why were the colonies unhappy?
One of the main reasons that the colonists rebelled against Great Britain is that they felt they were
not represented in the British government. The British government was making new laws and
taxes on the colonies, but the colonies had no say. They wanted to have some say in the British
government if they were going to pay high taxes and have to live by British law.
War
War didn't happen right away. First there were protests and arguments. Then some small skirmishes
between the colonists and the local British army. Things just got worse and worse over the course of
years until the colonies and Great Britain were at war.
About 7,200 Americans died in battle during the Revolution. Another 10,000 died from disease or
exposure and about 8,500 died in British prisons.

A quarter of the slaves in South Carolina and Georgia escaped from bondage during the Revolution.
The Northern states outlawed slavery or adopted gradual emancipation plans.
The states adopted written constitutions that guaranteed religious freedom, increased the legislature's
size and powers, made taxation more progressive, and reformed inheritance laws.
ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE TRADE ACT-BRITISH SLAVE TRADING ILLEGAL, 1807

The Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was formed in 1787 by a group of
Evangelical English Protestants allied with Quakers, to unite in their shared opposition to
slavery and the slave trade
members decided to concentrate on a campaign to persuade Parliament to prohibit trading in
slaves (tactical reasons)
felt they were likely to succeed
REVOLUTIONARY AND NAPOLEONIC PERIOD IN FRANCE, 1789 1815

Ranged France against shifting alliances of other European powers and that produced a brief
French hegemony over most of Europe.
The revolutionary wars were originally undertaken to defend and then to spread the effects of
the French Revolution.
With Napoleons rise to absolute power, Frances aims in war reverted to simple
aggrandizement of influence and territory.

Monarchies at war with the French Republic

The overthrow of Louis XVI and the establishment of republican government placed France at
odds with the primarily monarchical and dynastic governments of the rest of Europe.
In the Declaration of Pillnitz (1791) Austria and Prussia issued a provocative general call to
European rulers to assist the French king reestablishing himself in power. France declared
war in April 1792.
On September 20, 1792, French forces under Charles-Franois Dumouriezand FranoisChristophe Kellermann turned back an invading Prussian-Austrian force at Valmy, and by
November the French had occupied all of Belgium.
Early in 1793 Austria, Prussia, Spain, the United Provinces, and Great Britain formed the first
of seven coalitions that would oppose France over the next 23 years.
In response to reverses at the hands of the First Coalition, the Revolutionary government
declared a levy en masse, by which all Frenchmen were placed at the disposal of the army.
By that means unprecedentedly large armies were raised and put in the field during this
period.
Battles on the Continent in the mid-18th century typically had involved armies of about 60,000
to 70,000 troops, but after 1800 Napoleon routinely maneuvered armies of 250,000; and he
invaded Russia in 1812 with some 600,000.
GEORGE III DECLARED INSANE, REGENCY 1811 20

The Regency in the United Kingdom is the period from 1811 to 1820, when King George III
was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as his proxy as Prince
Regent. On the death of his father in 1820, the Prince Regent became George IV.
George III came to power in 1760
Dubbed famer George
Had 15 children with his wife of 50 years
Under George III, the British Agricultural Revolution reached its peak and great advances
were made in fields such as science and industry. There was unprecedented growth in the
rural population, which in turn provided much of the workforce for the concurrent Industrial
Revolution.

George's collection of mathematical and scientific instruments is now housed in the Science
Museum, London; he funded the construction and maintenance of William Herschel's 40-foot
telescope, which was the biggest ever built at the time.
Ruled England during the American Revolution - one of the reasons for the Revolution was
his refusal to allow them representation in England and heavy taxation
Early in his reign England defeated France in the seven years war; making England the
dominant European power
Also ruled while Napoleon rose to power and took large portions of Europe
For the first half of his reign he was healthy and competent
His mental health began deteriorating in the early 1780s
During his periods of insanity his son George IV would act as Regent.
His doctors became concerned when he began to have hallucinations; on one occasion he
buried a piece of meat in his garden thinking it would grow a meat tree, another time his
servants saw him shaking hands with a tree, thinking it was the King of Prussia who had in
reality died several years earlier
His condition worsened in 1788; before he had only brief episodes of insanity and could be
constrained until be became calm again. Now his episodes were regular occurrences and he
would speak for hours and hours non-stop until he was frothing at the mouth and his voice
grew hoarse.
The doctors could not explain his sudden bouts of insanity, but historians now put his
"madness" down to the physical, genetic blood disorder called porphyria. Its symptoms
include aches and pains, as well as blue urine. His mad moments were also similar to manic
states a person with bipolar experiences
However no one can be certain of what caused his madness
He was given many different types of medicine by his doctors; who also used bloodletting,
blistering and sweating to rid him of his illness.
Dr. Francis Willis was employed who used more modern techniques; he talked with the King
and essentially became a therapist.
Between 1789 and 1810 he had five more bouts of insanity, and Willis died in 1807
In 1810 he began to have regular bouts of insanity, and it was impossible to him out of them.
He eventually went blind and developed alzheimer's
He died in 1820, leaving his oldest son George IV to take the throne
GEORGE IV ASCENDS THE THRONE

George IV ascends the throne, January 29 1820

His Coronation was not held until July 19 1821.
King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover
George IV greatly enjoyed planning events. His Coronation would be his grandest. He wished
to outshine Napoleon's coronation
Selected costumes for all the participants that were inspired by Tudor styles.
24,000 pounds on a Coronation robe of crimson velvet with gold stars and ermine trim costing
855 pounds with a train that stretched 27 feet.
He rejected the traditional Coronation crown, St. Edward's Crown, and commissioned a new
crown adorned with 12,314 hired diamonds, rented from Rundell & Bridge at a cost of 6,525,
or a rate of 10% of their actual value (65,250).
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FARADAY DISCOVERS ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION, 1825

GENERAL INFO: Michael Faraday was born on 22 September 1791 in south London. His family was
not well off and Faraday received only a basic formal education.In 1812, Faraday attended four
lectures given by the chemist Humphry Davy at the Royal Institution. Faraday subsequently wrote to
Davy asking for a job as his assistant. Davy turned him down but in 1813 appointed him to the job of
chemical assistant at the Royal Institution.
THE DISCOVERY:In 1831, Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction, the principle behind the
electric transformer and generator. This discovery was crucial in allowing electricity to be transformed
from a curiosity into a powerful new technology. During the remainder of the decade he worked on

developing his ideas about electricity. He was partly responsible for coining many familiar words
including 'electrode', 'cathode' and 'ion'.Michael Faraday had a law and it was the law of induction,
which is a basic law of electromagnetism relating to the operating principles of transformers,
inductors, and many types of electrical motors and generators. His law states that: the induced
electromotive force (EMF) in any closed circuit is equal to the time rate of change of the magnetic flux
through the circuit. Alternatively the EMF generated is proportional to the rate of change of the
magnetic flux.
AFFECT:His inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices formed the foundation of electric motor
technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that electricity became viable for use in technology. it
caused a vast shift from the old ways of thinking, modernising the world and thus catalysing further
changes within society.
REFORM BILL PASSES PARLIAMENT, 1832
The Reform Bill was a long struggle of both in Parliament and in affected mainly the working classes.
Until the start of this reform British elections where neither representative nor balanced and the
factors that determined an individuals right to vote included whether you lived in a county or borough,
if your area could send an MP to parliament, if you owned property and paid taxes. Most men (and
especially women) couldnt vote and even if you could the ballot was not secret and therefore voters
were easily bribed or intimidated. Due to these reasons people began to realise that change was
necessary however the Prime Minister was defiantly against the idea (so he was forced out of office).
Passing through the bill was extremely tough and finally happened June 4 1832. The reforms
included increasing the electorate from 366,000 to 650,000 which was only about 17% of the total
adult male population. Most people where still therefore excluded from the voting and did not include
a secret ballot however the path was paved for a working class movement (Chartism).
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QUEEN VICTORIA ASCENDS THE THRONE, 1837

On William IV's death in 1837, she became Queen at the age of 18.
Queen Victoria is associated with Britain's great age of industrial expansion, economic
progress and, especially, empire.
13 February Rowland Hill's government inquiry into postal reform discusses the idea of
carrying letters in a separate sheet which folded to become an envelope and the idea of "a bit
of paper" which could be affixed to a letter to flag that postage had been paid.
1 March31 May At only 5.63 C (42.13 F) Central England temperature, the coolest
English spring on record.
12 June Cooke and Wheatstone file their patent for the electrical telegraph.
30 June The use of the pillory as a punishment is abolished by act of parliament.
1 July General Register Office begins the practice of registering births, marriages and
deaths in England and Wales.
3 July Wills Act clarifies the procedure for making a valid will.
19 July The Isambard Kingdom Brunel-designed steamship SS Great Western is launched in
Bristol.
The first missionaries sent abroad by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints land
from the United States at Liverpool. On 30 July, apostle Heber C. Kimball baptises the first
English converts (George D. Watt and 8 others) in the River Ribble near Preston, Lancashire.
20 July Euston Station, London's first mainline railway terminus, is opened.
28 August Lea & Perrins begin making Worcestershire sauce.