british literature romantic period

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

t h i s p a t t e r n , s t r o n g l y a s s o c i a t e d a s i t i s w i t h a s i g n a l p o l i t i c a l e v e n t , t h e f i r s t major reform of the British Parliament. A diverse range of dates have been i d e n t i f i e d a s m a r k i n g o f f t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e R o m a n t i c p e r i o d , b u r , a l m o s t alwavs, each of these, too, is associated with an event ofiremendous politi- cal and social impacf. As some schiilars tell it, the nerv era begail in 1776, t h e y e a r A m e r i c a n s d e c l a r e d t h e i r i n d e p e n d e n c e ; o t h e r s s i r f g l e o u t 1 7 g 3 , when shattering military defeat at the hands of those Ame.ica.rs dealt a blow to the credibilitv of Britain's ruling elites; and many settle on 17g9, the year that launched democratic revolution in France, ushered in decades of fierce political unrest in Britain in its turn, and laid the ground for a war b e t w e e n t h e B r i t i s h a n d F r e n c h E m p i r e s a n d t h e i r a l l i e s t h a t w o u l d e n v e l o p an entire generation and take almost the whole of the globe as its theater.

Although politics has often provided a frame*ork for the Romantic p e r i o d , a s s u c h a r r a n g e m e n t s f o r p e r i o d i z a t i o n s u g g e s t , t h e f a s c i n a t i o n a n d p r o v o c a t i o n t h a t t h i s m o m e n t o f c u l t u r a l w a t e r s h e d p r e s e n t s f o r s t u d e n t s o f I i t e r a r y h i s t o r y h a v e e q u a l l y t o d o w i t h a n o t h e r p e c u l i a r i t y i n i t s c o n s t r u c - tion: the Romantic is also the sole period that is named afier a literary form, t h e _ r o m a n c e . A g r e a t s c h o l a r l y a c h i e v e m e n t o f t h e l a t e r e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y had been the recovcry from obscurity of the medicval ,o*-rn""., pre'iously i g n o r e d b y l i t e r a r y h i s t o r i a n s m o r e c o n c c r n c d w i t h c l a s s i c a l i n f l u e n c e s , a n d t h e R o m a n t i c p e r i o d w i t n e s s e d a r c - e v a l u a t i o n o f t h o s e w i l c l v e r s e - t a l e s o f aclventure, chivalry, and love. Exactly the traits-their barbarous cleviations f r o m p r o b a b i l i t y a n d r a t i o n a l i t y , t h e i r u n a b a s h e d f i c t i o n a l i t y , t h e f a n t a s i e s t h e y i n d u c e d i n t h e i r r g 2 d c v 5 - 1 h 2 t o n c c j u s t i f i e d m e d i e v a i r o m : r n c e s ' f a l l into oblivion were seen anew, as commentators movecl from lauding the room fbr idealization :rnd visionary imagination that romance hacl afforclecl prem<rdern r,r,riters to proposing that moderm literature shoulcl folkrw suit a n d b e c o m e , i n c l n e s e n s e , m o r e r o m : r n t i c , t o c l . A t a m o m e n t w h e n r e a l p o l i t i c a l e v e n t s t h e m s e l v e s s c e m e d t o e n t a i l i m p r o b a b i l i t i e s a n c l i r n p o s s i b i l i - tie-s (fbr example the comm'n people proclaiming indepenclence from their r u l e r s ) , t h a t r e h a b i l i t a t i o n o f r o m a n c e w a s , i n a d d i t i o n , s p u r r e d b y t h e p e r i - o d ' s p r o b i n g o f t h e r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n w h a t w i l l i a m G o d w l n i n a s u b t i t i e t o his l79zl novel caleb williams called "-I'hings as They Are" ancl thc alterna- t i v c w o r l d s t l r i r t i m i r g i n a t i o n c o u l d s u m m o n i n r . b e i n g . " w h a t i s n o w n r o v e d \ a : 9 n c . l . o n l y i m a g i n ' d , " w i l l i a m B l a k c t l c c l a r c d i n r f i e M a r r i a g e o f I ' l c a v e n a n c l H e l l i n 1 7 9 0 . H i s d e c l a r a t i o n i s i m b u e d w i t h t h e n e w . e n s e o f p o - e . t h a t p o e t s , t h o s e p r o f ' e s s i o n a l i m a g i n e r s , w e r e i n c l i n e d t o c l a i m a t t h i s m o m e n t ' w h e n t h e l i t e r a r y i m a g i n a t i o n a p p e : r r e d i n n e w w a y s b o t h t o s p e a k t o a n d t o g u i d e h i s t o r i c a l c h a n g e , a n d w h e n p o l i t i c a l p h i l o s o p h y g a i n e d a n e w a u t h o r i t y i n a n d t h r o u g h p o e t r y a n d f i c t i o n .

About a hundred years ago, the cambridge rlistory of Englisk Literature segmented the era that this volume of the l,Jorton Anthology covers into two p a r t s , t i d i l y d i v v y i n g o f f t h e " P e r i o d o f t h e F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n " ( 1 7 g 9 - l g l 5 ) f r o m a s u b s e q u e n t p e r i o d o f " R ' m a n c e R e v i v a l " t h a t f i l l e d i n t h e v e a r s b e t w e e n t h e d e f e a t o f N a p o l e o n i c F r a n c e a n d t h e a s c e n t o f e u e e n V i c i o r i a . T h e m e s s i e r o p t i o n o f t r e a t i n g t h e e r a a s a s i n g l e e n t i t y e q u i p s u s b e t t e r t o c l o j u s t i c e t o i t s c o m p l e r m u l t i p l i c i t v . I n r e f r a i n i n g f r o m t h e a t t e m p t t o d i s - e n t a n g l e r o m a n c e f r o m h i s t o r ' a n d l i t e r a r y f r o m p o l i t i c a l c h a n g e , w e c a n b , e t t e r s e e h o n t h i s p e r i o d , i n c o n f r o n t i n g t h e i r e n t a n g l e m e n t , - o r i g i n a t e d t h e q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e r e l a t i o n s o f a r t a n d a c t i v i s m , a e s t h e t i c s a n d p o l i - t i c s , t h a t t r o u b l e u s : r i l l , \ \ - e c a n b e t t e r s e e , t o o , h o w t h e n o t i o n s o f p o e t i c