The Influence of French Revolution on Romanticism
Name:
divya parmar
Paper:
105 History of English Literature
Roll no: 05
Enrollment no:
4069206420210024
Email id:
divyaparmar07012@gmail.com
Batch:
2021-2023(M. A sem 1)
Submitted to:
S. B. Gardi Department of English, maharaja krishnakumarsinhji bhavnagar University.
The Historical Background of The Romanticism:
Romanticism is the 19th century movement that developed in Europe in response to the Industrial revolution and the disillusionment of the Enlightenment values of reason. Romanticism emerged after 1789, the year of the French Revolution that caused a relevant social change in Europe. Based on the same ideals of liberty, fraternity and legality this new movement was born, aiming to highlight the emotions and the irrational world of the artist and of nature as opposed to the prevalence of Reason and Rationality during Neoclassicism.
In England Romanticism was introduced by the first generation of British artists, active in Europe between 1760 and 1780, including James Barry, Henry Fuseli and John Hamilton Mortimer, who liked to paint subjects that departed from the rigid decorum and the historical or classical mythology of those years. The influence of some English poets, such as William Blake, and their visionary images led romantic artists to favour bizarre, pathetic or extravagant themes. A few years later the Romantics were represented by the English painters J.M.W. Turner and John Constable who excelled in picturesque landscapes and portraying the dynamic the sublime natural world evokes in the artist. In France, the main early Romantic painters were Eugène Delacroix and Théodore Géricault, who inaugurated the movement in the country around 1820 with their paintings of the individual heroism and suffering of the French Revolution. In Germany, the romantic painters sought for more symbolic and allegorical meanings. The greatest German Romantic artist was Caspar David Friedrich.
Romanticism spread throughout Europe in the 19th century and developed as an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that embraced various arts such as literature, painting, music and history. Romanticism was also expressed in architecture through the imitation of older architectural styles. In Germany and England the mediaeval Gothic architecture was also influenced by the fantasy and style of the movement and this renewed interest led to the Gothic Revival.
The Influence of French Revolution on Romanticism:
The French Revolution is one of the remarkable events in the history of the world. It started in 1789 in France and continued till 1799. Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau taught individualism. They inspired revolution for more freedom and equality During the reign of Louis-XVI of France, there were several social inequalities among the people. The king and the nobility were enjoying all the good things of the country. But the common people were deprived of their due shares. The law of the country was not equal for all classes of people.The existing social injustices prompted the great revolution known as the French Revolution. The slogan of the revolution was "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity." The king along with his queen was overthrown by the common people. This revolution was able to create a tremendous effect on the life and literature of the people of England. Many contemporary writers went to France and joined the French Revolution. William Blake, William Wordsworth, S. T Coleridge and P. B Shelley were influenced by it to a great extent.
The French Revolution has several aspects and phases. One of the main ideas of the revolution was equality . The marks of the Revolution conceive of mankind as one brotherhood. The essential oneness of man in all countries and climates was realised and stressed .
Another idea of the revolution was that of liberty. The Revolution itself was a protest against oppression and exploitation. The old fortress of Bastille was regarded as a symbol of oppression by the Revolutionaries. It was long used by French kings as a prison. The Paris mob rose on July, 14, 1789. The fortress was their first target of attack. That was the beginning of the end of the Old Regime based on suppression of liberty. Wordsworth and Coleridge heard the crash of its towers. Both of them recorded their joy and welcomed it at the dawn of a new era. Before the Revolution, the rich and the powerful had enjoyed all the rights and privileges. They enjoyed them so long and considered them to be divine. They thought that it was their divine right to exploit the poor for their own good. After the Revolution, such thought came to be regarded as the vilest wrong. It was condemned seriously.
The Revolutionaries were also visionaries. They saw the vision of the universal regeneration of mankind. They thought of a Golden Age to come in the not too distant future. The philosophers proclaimed the right of all mankind to happiness and perfection in the Golden Age to come. Shelley's imagination caught the idea. He flung aside all social and political limitations with the true revolutionary zeal and fiery wrath. He lost himself in a song of welcome to the new era. The Fourth Act of "Prometheus Unbound" is the choral song of the universal regeneration of all mankind in love, peace and joy.
"Ode to the West Wind" is one of the greatest poems. In this ode, he represents a rebel poet. His revolutionary zeal is expressed through a series of symbols and images. He wants to destroy oldness, tyranny, suppression, oppression, orthodoxy and corruption from the world. On the contrary, he wants to preserve newness in the society. He would like to bring about a golden millennium. He is a dreamer and an idealist. He is a prophet and thinker. He makes a prophecy at the end of the poem-
"If Winter comes,Can Spring be far behind?
His optimism consoles the human breasts with courage. It dreams of their golden and bright future. According to Matthew Arnold, "Shelley is pessimist about the present, but optimist about the future." In fact, Shelley talks about equality, liberty and fraternity in his poems.
Wordsworth is one of those poets who greeted the French Revolution with much enthusiasm. In the prime of his life, he went to France to join the Revolution. The French Revolution excited his blood, stimulated his revolutionary spirit and throbbed his heart. Returning to England, he expressed his experience in many of his poems. He has written "French Revolution". "It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free" and other poems whose themes are the Revolution.
The French Revolution has its permanent impact upon Romantic poetry. The Romantic Period and its literary ideals are hued with the colour of the spirit of the Revolution. As a result of the stimulus provided by these powerful ideas concerning man and his rights, a great development of individuality took place. The Revolutionary ideals kindled human intellect and passion. Wealth, birth, and rank lost their age-old prestige. "A man is a man for all that."it is his right to say what is in him. The English poets, all from common stock with one exception (Keats) , caught these ideas and proclaimed them in impassioned language. Each of the great romantic poets reacted in a different way to the call of the Revolution.
Characteristics of The Romantic era:
Imagination and Creativity:
Romantic-period writers stress the imaginative and subjective side of human nature, according to Carol Scheidenhelm, English professor at Loyola University Chicago. Characters' thoughts, feelings, inner struggles, opinions, dreams, passions and hopes reign supreme. For example, in William Wordsworth's poem "The Prelude," the narrator is disappointed by his experiences crossing the Alps and imagines unlikely natural phenomenon on his journey, such as powerful waterfalls. Romantic authors don't allow facts or truths to inhibit them from expressing imaginative ideas, especially as they relate to nature.
The Beauty of Nature
Romantic literature explores the intense beauty of nature, and Romantic writers invest natural events and objects with a divine presence, suggests Lilia Melani, English professor at Brooklyn College. For example, in Walt Whitman's poem "Song of Myself," the poet refers to the grass as a "hieroglyphic" and "the handkerchief of the Lord." Romantic authors understood progress and the changing tide toward industrialization, but they prioritized and glamorized natural beauty over urbanization, commercialism and materialism.
Individualism and Solitude:
Romanticism appeals to individualism, rather than conventional norms or collectivism. For example, in "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, the monster is a Romantic hero because he symbolizes individuality and nonconformity. Shelley wanted readers to sympathize with the monster's plight, praising him for his simplicity, originality and distinctiveness. Even though Frankenstein lives in solitude and experiences rejection, readers see him as a genuine representation of humankind. Romantic authors valued independent thinking, creativity and self-reliance.
Romantic Love:
Characters in Romantic-era stories and poems experience deep, emotional, passionate love. They don't typically marry out of convenience or involve themselves in stagnant romantic relationships and are extremely unhappy if they choose to do so. Romantic love is intensely wistful and amorous. For example, Healthcliff -- the primary male protagonist in "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte -- tears open his deceased lover's casket so he can lie beside her. This heart-wrenching display of love and devotion, Melani suggest, demonstrates the unbridled passion of Romantic characters.
Word count: 1522
Resources:
https://www.literaturemini.com/2018/08/impact-of-french-revolution-on-english-romantic-poets.html?m=1
https://penandthepad.com/characteristics-romanticism-english-literature-6646393.html
https://useum.org/Romanticism/History-of-Romanticism#:~
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