The Romantic period is a movement that was influential in literature, art, and music in Europe between the 18th and 19th centuries. Poets of this period produced works that emphasized emotional intensity, love of nature, personal freedom, and the importance of imagination. The Romantic period in English Literature is divided into two: the first generation and the second generation. While the first generation includes poets such as William Blake, William Wordsworth, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the second generation includes poets such as Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats. Here is brief information about the first generation Romantic period poets in English literature.
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth (1770-1850) (photo: static.javatpoint.com)
William Wordsworth is one of the most important Romantic poets in English literature. He was born in 1770 and died in 1850. Wordsworth is known for his works on nature, emotion, and the human soul.
Wordsworth became famous for his deep love for nature and his poems that emphasize the power of nature to affect the human soul. In his poems, nature reflects human spiritual and emotional experiences and functions as a tool for inner transformation.
Wordsworth wrote “Lyrical Ballads” with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. “Lyrical Ballads” is an important work that highlights the nature and emotional themes of Romanticism. This work is considered one of the masterpieces of the Romantic period and a turning point in English poetry. The work contains poems describing the daily lives of ordinary people and their relationships with nature.
Some of Wordsworth's most famous works are “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils)”, and “The Prelude”.
William Blake
William Blake (1757-1827) (photo: images.jacobinmag.com)
William Blake is one of the important figures of English literature and art. He was born in 1757 and died in 1827. Blake was not only a poet, but also a painter, engraver, and mystical philosopher. Blake is considered one of the leading figures of the Romanticism period and is known for his distinctive style.
Blake often looks critically at the social and political problems of the period. In his works, themes such as social inequality created by the Industrial Revolution, human damage to nature, and slavery as well as social injustice are frequently discussed.
Examples of Blake’s most famous works are the poems “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience”, which deal with the contrast between childhood innocence and the bitter experiences of adulthood, and “The Tyger” and “The Lamb”, which deal with man’s relationship with the good and evil forces in nature.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) (photo: emilyspoetryblog.com)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in 1772 and died in 1834 and is one of the important Romantic period poets of English literature. His works deal with broad topics such as nature, imagination, mysticism, and human experience.
Coleridge is known for exploring the relationship between nature and human emotions. In his poems, he describes the effects of natural landscapes on people's inner world and their emotional experiences.
Coleridge wrote “Lyrical Ballads” with William Wordsworth. This work deals with Romanticism’s themes regarding nature and human emotions. Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is also included in this collection. One of Coleridge’s most famous poems, “Kubla Khan”, is a work born of a dream or imagination. The poet says that he had a dream and started writing this dream as soon as he woke up. However, before he could complete the poem, it was left unfinished because another work intervened.
Comments