british literature romantic period

I 8 T H E R O M A N T I C P E R I O D

and Gothic novels-supplied Coleridge in poems such as Rime of the Amciemt

Mariner, Christabel, and "Kubla Khan" u'ith tl-re nteans of impressing upon

readers a sense of occult po\lrers and unknou'n modes of being.

P o e m s l i k e t h e s e , a s ' C o l e r i d g e ' s e p i t h e t " r o m a n t i c " s u g g e s t s ' r v e r e o f t e n

g r o u p e d t o g e t h e r b y ' c o n t e m p o r a r l ' b s u n d e r t h e m e d i e v a l i z i n g r u b r i c

"romance." On the one hand romances were rvritings that turfted, in their

q u e s t f o r s e t t i n g s c o n d u c i v e t o s u p e r n a t u r a l h a p p e n i n g s , t o d i s t a n t P a s t s ' farau'ay, exotic places, or both-Keats's "perilous seas' in f'aery lands for-

l o r n " o r t h e C h i n a o f " K u b l a l ( h a n . " O n t h e o t h e r h a n d r o m a n c e a l s o n a m e d

a homegrorvn, native tradition of literature, made unfamiliar and alien by

the passage of time. For many authors, starting u,ith Horace Walpole, whose

Castle of Otranto (1764) began the tradition of Gothic liction, u'riting under

t h e b a n n e r o f r o m a n c e m e a n t r e c l a i m i n g t h e i r n a t i o n a l b i r t h r i g h t : a l i t e r a -

t u r e o f i m a g i n a t i o n - a s s o c i a t e d , a b o v e a l l , w i t h S p c n s e r a n d t h e S h a k e -

speare of fairv magic and witchcraft-that hacl been f<rrced underground by

t h e E n l i g h t e n m e n t ' s e m p h a s i s o n r e i , l s o n . B y r o n n e g o t i a t e d b e t u ' e e n

r o n r a n c e ' s t $ r o s e t s o f a s s o c i a t i o r : . s i n C h i k l e H a r o l t l , h a v i n g h i s h e r o t r a v c l i n

l a r - o t f A l b a n i a e r n c l b e c o m e e n t r a u c e c l b i t h e i n h a b i t a n t s ' s a v a g e s o n g s ,

b u t a l s o g i v i n g t h e p o e m t h e s u b t i t l e " A R o m : t u n t " ( a n a r c h a i c s p e l l i n g o f

r o m a n c c ) a n d w r i t i n g i t i n S p e n s e r i i t n s t a n z : t s . T h i s r v a s t h e s a m e s t a n z a i c

f'rrrm, neglectecl for mrrch of the cighteenth centurv, that l(cats drevv on fbr 'l-he

Ete of St. Agnes, the pocrn in which hc provcd hirnself a mastcr of that

R o m e r n t i c m o d e t h a t e s t a b l i s h c s a n r c d i e v a t l s e t t i n g f o r e v e n t s v i o l a t i n g o u r

s e n s e o f r e a l i s t i c p r o b a b i l i t y . T h c R o m a n t i c p e r i o d ' s " m e d i e r v t t l r e v i v a l " w : r s

a l s o p r o m o t c c l b v w o m e n : R o b i n s o n , f r r r i n s t a n c e ( a u t l - r o r o f " O l d E n g l i s h , "

" M o n k i s h , " a n c l " G o t h i c " T a l e s ) , i ' t s w e l l a s L c t i t i a L a n c l o n , F c l i c i a l l e m a n s ,

a n d o t h e r s . \ 4 / o r n c n u ' h o o f t e r - r m a t c h c d t h e a r c h - m e c l i e v a l i s t S i r W a l t e r S c o t t

i n t h e h i s t o r i c a l l c a r n i n g t h e y b r o r r g h t t o t h c i r c o m p o s i t i o t ' r s .

f ' h c " a d d i t i o n o { ' s t r e t n g e n e s s t o b e a u t v " t h a t W i l l t e r r P a t e r n e i t r t h e e n d o f

t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y u ' o u l c l i d e n t i f y a s a k c v R o m a n t i c t e n c l e n c y i s s e e n n o t

o n l y i n t h i s c o n c e r n u ' i t h t h e e x o t i c a t n c l a r c h a i c l : r n c l s c a p e s o f t r o m a r n c e , b u t

a l s o i n a n i n t e r e s t i n t h c m y s t c r i e s o f m c n t a l l i f ' e a n c l c l c t e r m i n a t i o n t o i n v e s -

t i g a t c p s v c h o k r g i c a l c x t r c m e s . C i o l e r i c l g c a r r c l ' I ' h o r n a s

D e Q u i n c e y s h t r r c d a n

i n t e r e s t i n c l r c a m s a n c l n i g l - r t m a r e s a n d i n t h e a l t e r e c l c o n s c i o u s n e s s t h c y

e x p e r i e n c e c l u r r d e r t h e i r a c l c l i c t i o n t o o p i u m . l n h i s o d e s , a s i n t h e q u a s i -

m e c l i e v a l " b z r l l a c l " " L a B e l l e D z r m e s a n s M e r c i , " I ( c a t s r e c o r d e c l s t r a n g c

m i x t u r e s o f p l e a s u r e a n d p a i n r l , i t h e x t r z l o r c l i n a r y s e r n s i t i v i t v , p o n c l e r i n g t h c :

d e s t r u c t i v e a s p e c t s o f s e , x u a l i t y a n d t h c e r o t i c c l r r : r l i t y o f t h e l o n g i n g f o r

d e a t h . A n d B y r o n m a d e r e p e a t c d u s e o | t h e f i r s c i n a t i o n o f t h e f ' o r b i d c l e n a n c l

t h e a p p c a l o f t h e t e r r i f y i n g y e t s e d u c t i v e S a t a n i c h e r o .

T h e r e w e r e , o f c o u r s c , n r i t e r s w h o r e s i s t e d t h c s e p o e t i c e n g a g e m e n t s

w i t h f a n t a s i z e d l a n d s c a p e s a n d s t r a n g e p a t s s i o n s . S i g n i f i c a n t d i s s e n t c a m e

f r o m s o m e \ { r o m e n r v r i t e r s , u 4 r o , g i v e n : r c c o u n t s o f t h e i r s e r a s c s p e c i a l l v

s u s c e p t i b l e t o t h e d e l u s i o n s o r r o m a n t i c l o v e , h a d p a r t i c u l a r r e a s o n t o c o n -

t i n u c t h e E n l i g h t e n m e n t p r o g r a m a n d p r o m o t e t h e r a t i o n a l r e g u l a t i o n o f

emotion. Barbauld $'rote :i poem gently zrdvising the young Coleridge r-rot to

p r o l o n g h i s s t a y i n t h e " f a i r y b o w e r " o f r o m a n c e b u t t o e n g a g e a c t i v e l y u ' i t h

t h e w o r l c l a s i t i s . O f t e n s a t i r i c a l u ' h e n s h e a s s e s s e s c h a r a c t e r s w h o i m a g i n e

t h e m s e l v e s t h e p i t i a b l e v i c t i m s o f t h e i r o w n p o r . r ' e r f ' u l f e e l i n g s , J a n e A u s t e n

had her heroirre in Persttasiom, while conversing r'vith a melancholy, Byron-

r e a d i n g y o u n g m a n . c a u t i o n h i m a g a i n s t o v e r i n d u l g e n c e i n B y r o n ' s " i m p a s -

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