Features of Romantic Poetry

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BRING OUT THE IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE POETRY OF

THE ROMANTIC PERIOD
Introduction:-
Poetry is the soul of Romantic Period it was the artistic, literary, musical and intellectual
movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century. It involved a reaction
against prevailing Enlightenment ideas of the 18th century, and lasted approximately from 1800
to 1850. In early-19th-century England, the poet William Wordsworth defined his and Samuel
Taylor Coleridge's innovative poetry in his Preface to Lyrical Ballads (1798): "I have said before
that poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin in emotion
recollected in tranquility: the emotion is contemplated till, by a species of reaction, the
tranquility gradually disappears, and an emotion, kindred to that which was before the
subject of contemplation, is gradually produced, and does itself actually exist in the mind."
Features of Romantic Poetry:-
1) REACTION AGAINST NEOCLASSICISM: Romantic poetry contrasts with Neoclassical

poetry, which was the product of intellect and reason, while Romantic poetry is more the
product of emotion. Romantic poetry at the beginning of the nineteenth century was a reaction
against the set standards, conventions of eighteenth-century poetry. According to William J.
Long, "The Romantic movement was marked, and is always marked, by a strong reaction and
protest against the bondage of rule and custom which in science and theology as well as
literature, generally tend to fetter the free human spirit."
2) IMAGINATION: Imagination is a distinctive feature of romantic poets such as John

Keats, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and P. B. Shelley, unlike the neoclassical poets. Keats said, “I am
certain of nothing but of the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of Imagination-
What the imagination seizes as beauty must be truth.” For Wordsworth and William Blake, as
well as Victor Hugo and Alessandro Manzoni, the imagination is a spiritual force, is related to
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morality, and they believed that literature, especially poetry, could improve the world. The
secret of great art, Blake claimed, is the capacity to imagine. To define imagination, in his poem
"Auguries of Innocence", Blake said:
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour."
3) TREATMENT OF THE SUPERNATURAL: The poets treat the supernatural in such

a manner that it becomes convincing and introduces some sort of Gothic element into the
writing.Most of the romantic poets used supernatural elements in their poetry. Samuel Taylor
Coleridge is the leading romantic poet in this regard, and "Kubla Khan" is full of supernatural
elements.
4) SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF: This phrase describes how in the poetry of Romantic

writers we are forced to believe, even what is irrational.
5) REALISM: The poets of Romantic Age exercise an imaginative realism. Realism was not
only in their manner of presentation, but also in the subject matter of their writing.
6) MEDIEVALISM PRESENT: Medievalism is present everywhere in the poems of

Romantic writers. For example, the whole The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is wrought with the
color and glamour of Middle Ages. Romantic poetry was attracted to nostalgia, and
Medievalism is another important characteristic of romantic poetry, especially in the works of
John Keats and Coleridge. They were attracted to exotic, remote and obscure places, and so
they were more attracted to Middle Ages than to their own age.
7)NATURE IMAGERY: Love for nature is another important feature of romantic poetry,
as a source of inspiration. Nature was their guide, friend, philosopher, nurse, playmate, mother
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and what not! She was both beautiful and stern, fearful and sublime, inspirational and also
intimidating to these writers. This is very evident in Prelude by William Wordsworth. Shelley
was another nature poet, who believed that nature is a living thing and there is a union
between nature and man. Wordsworth approaches nature philosophically, while Shelley
emphasises the intellect. John Keats is another a lover of nature, but Coleridge differs from
other romantic poets of his age, in that he has a realistic perspective on nature. He believes
that nature is not the source of joy and pleasure, but rather that people's reactions to it
depends on their mood and disposition. Coleridge believed that joy does not come from
external nature, but that it emanates from the human heart.
8) EMOTIONS AT A PRIORITY: Apart from showing us the role of Nature in the

growth of the individual as in the poem Prelude by Wordsworth, the Romantic poets related
their experiences to bring out the change in perceptions based on emotions.
9) PANTHEISM: It is the belief everything is divine and that all reality composes god
himself.
10) SPIRITUAL OUTLOOK: Nowhere does one talk about religion, but they talk about
spiritualism, which is a step higher than religion.
11) AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL: The poems are indeed autobiographical in nature. They

portray their own self and are individualistic and subjective. Romantic poetry is the poetry of
sentiments, emotions and imagination. Romantic poetry opposed the objectivity of neoclassical
poetry. Neoclassical poets avoided describing their personal emotions in their poetry, unlike
the Romantics
12) MELANCHOLY: Melancholy occupies a prominent place in romantic poetry, and

is an important source of inspiration for the Romantic poets. In '"Ode to a Nightingale", Keats
wrote:
"I have been half in love with easeful Death,

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Call’d him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;
Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
To cease upon the midnight with no pain."
Conclusion:-
All in all, we can conclude by saying that, Romanticism in English poetry has become a new
sensation. Wordsworth, Coleridge, Lord Byron, P.B. Shelley and John Keats are the heroes of
that sensation and thrill. Their poetry enjoys almost all the salient features of Romanticism.
Wordsworth makes natural objects supernatural and Coleridge makes supernatural objects
natural. Byron and Shelley are two great revolutionaries. Keats is the last romantic poet in the
Romantic Movement. His poetry begins with sensuousness but ends in thought. He is a
successful writer of ode. He does, not try to make believable unbelievable or unbelievable
believable. But Wordsworth has represented believable objects unbelievable.
Mangaldip Mukherjee
B.A, sem – 3
Department Of English, Bhasa-bhavana
Visva-bharati.

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1

BRING OUT THE IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE POETRY OF

Features of Romantic Poetry:-

1) REACTION AGAINST NEOCLASSICISM: Romantic poetry contrasts with Neoclassical

2) IMAGINATION: Imagination is a distinctive feature of romantic poets such as John

"To see a world in a grain of sand,

And heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour."

3) TREATMENT OF THE SUPERNATURAL: The poets treat the supernatural in such

4) SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF: This phrase describes how in the poetry of Romantic

6) MEDIEVALISM PRESENT: Medievalism is present everywhere in the poems of

8) EMOTIONS AT A PRIORITY: Apart from showing us the role of Nature in the

11) AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL: The poems are indeed autobiographical in nature. They

12) MELANCHOLY: Melancholy occupies a prominent place in romantic poetry, and

"I have been half in love with easeful Death,

Call’d him soft names in many a mused rhyme,

To take into the air my quiet breath;

Now more than ever seems it rich to die,

To cease upon the midnight with no pain."

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