The Romantic Movement is unified by a coherence in ideas which reveal the necessity of man’s symbiotic relationship with the imagination, childhood and the natural world to reconcile, transcend and find meaning in human life. The Romantic writers purposely sought a liberation from the suppression of a world previously driven by logic and reason. This is reflected by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in ‘Kubla Khan’, where the imaginative experience can transcend man’s physical creations, and in Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, where physical creations are flawed compared to the Romantic’s idealised imaginative creation. The Romantics were also unified by their coherent idealisation of the purity of childhood in the natural world which is expressed in Coleridge’s …show more content…
Coleridge’s ‘Khubla Khan’ expresses the Romantics unified vision of the imperfections of man’s creations which the imagination can transcendence to find meaning in human life. Coleridge’s own Biographia Literaria exemplifies his deep belief in “The primary imagination”, the spontaneous and unconscious imagination, which he held as “the living power and prime agent of all human perception”. This is established in the poem through the iambic tetrameter as it evokes a rhythmic chant that is suggestive of the imaginative vision which takes shape. The opening image of, “a stately pleasure-dome decree”, is evocative of an idyllic creation built by man, affirmed by the imagery of a lush landscape in, “gardens bright…sunny spots of greenery”, contained by mans “walls and towers”. Although, …show more content…
Jean Jacques Rousseau in Emile, theorised, “everything is good as it comes from the hands of the Maker of the world but degenerates once…into the hands of man”. Rousseau advocated for children to be nurtured in nature to prevent the “degeneration” of man. Coleridge laments on this idea in ‘Frost at Midnight’, the blank verse and conversational style imparting to the reader his musing on his own childhood, and his child. His musings are symbolised by the “film, which fluttered on the grate”, as the ‘film’ acts a catalysts for his reflection on his own childhood away from nature. This is portrayed through the image of entrapment “in the great city, pent ‘mid cloisters dim”, where, as a, child he “gazed upon the bars” at his school. Rather, he yearned for a childhood where nature is the teacher, suggested by the transformation in his mood as he gazes upon his “dear babe”, who “shalt learn far other lore”. The accumulation of sensory language and images which follows, portrayed through “lakes and sandy shores” and “of ancient mountains”, reveals Coleridge’s want for his child to learn in nature, the “Great universal Teacher”. Coleridge affirms this through his transcendent musing, suggested by the elevated language, ‘great’, and portrays the esteem to which a childhood immersed in nature is
The Enlightenment age encouraged everyone to use reason and science in order to rid the world of barbarism and superstition. In fact, Kant argued that the "public use of one's reason must always be free, and it alone can bring about enlightenment among men" (Kant 3). Enlightenment thinking not only influenced philosophy and the sciences, but also literature (especially in Pope's Essay on Man). In reaction to Enlightenment's strict empiricism, Romanticism was born. In Frankenstein, Shelley argues (1) that Victor Frankenstein's role as an Enlightenment hero, not only pulled him out of nature, but made him a slave to his creation; (2) that Frankenstein's role as a revolting romantic failed, because he didn't take responsibility for his creation; and (3) mankind must find a balance between the Enlightenment and Romantic ideologies.
self-centered. His life is the mirror of a Greed Tragedy. In his case, the flaw
Mary Shelley, with her brilliant tale of mankind's obsession with two opposing forces: creation and science, continues to draw readers with Frankenstein's many meanings and effect on society. Frankenstein has had a major influence across literature and pop culture and was one of the major contributors to a completely new genre of horror. Frankenstein is most famous for being arguably considered the first fully-realized science fiction novel. In Frankenstein, some of the main concepts behind the literary movement of Romanticism can be found. Mary Shelley was a colleague of many Romantic poets such as her husband Percy Shelley, and their friends William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge, even though the themes within Frankenstein are darker than their brighter subjects and poems. Still, she was very influenced by Romantics and the Romantic Period, and readers can find many examples of Romanticism in this book. Some people actually argue that Frankenstein “initiates a rethinking of romantic rhetoric”1, or is a more cultured novel than the writings of other Romantics. Shelley questions and interacts with the classic Romantic tropes, causing this rethink of a novel that goes deeper into societal history than it appears. For example, the introduction of Gothic ideas to Frankenstein challenges the typical stereotyped assumptions of Romanticism, giving new meaning and context to the novel. Mary Shelley challenges Romanticism by highlighting certain aspects of the movement while questioning and interacting with the Romantic movement through her writing.
Frankenstein was written during the 1800’s which is considered the period of Romanticism. During this period, there was an increased focus on ideas in the area of natural history and scientific studies. Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, provides its readers with a scientific discovery using nature creating an ongoing feud between creator, Victor Frankenstein, and his monster. In growing up, Victor began studies in natural philosophy. In opposition to the beliefs of many scientists, Victor’s theory is “to examine the causes of life, we must first have recourse to death” (Shelley 36). Frankenstein‘s monster is a creature with both differences and similarities with that of other human beings. In this published work, it is clear that “Shelley’s
As a response to the Enlightenment movement in 18th century Europe, Romanticism gradually began to undermine the way people thought about human consciousness and nature itself. Appreciation of the natural beauty of the world and pure, human emotion bloomed in Europe as Romanticism’s influence grew ("Topic Page: Romanticism”). Romantics valued Individualism and thought that being close to nature would make them closer to God (Morner and Rausch). People also searched for solace in nature to overcome the adversities and cynicisms that followed the French Revolution ("French Revolution."). Romanticism and Romantic ideals influenced Mary Shelley, and that influence can be seen throughout her novel Frankenstein. The two main characters, Victor Frankenstein
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a gothic science fiction novel written in the romantic era that focuses on the elements of life. The romantic era was sparked by the changing social environment, including the industrial revolution. It was a form of revolt against the scientific revolutions of the era by developing a form of literature that romanticize nature and giving nature godliness. This element of romanticized nature is a recurrent element in Frankenstein and is used to reflect emotions, as a place for relaxation and as foreshadowing. Frankenstein also includes various other elements of romanticism including strong emotions and interest in the common people.
The Romanticism period started in 1789 and lasted till 1830. This time period was a major international movement, shaping modern views of art, literature, music, and other aspects in life. Romanticism was the “reaction against artistic styles of classical antiquity, which was neoclassicism.” Neoclassicists focused on the power of reasoning to discover the truth while Romantics focused on the hope to transform the world through the power of imagination. They had a deep love for nature (Furst 302). The aspects of romanticism are important; they are the beliefs of this period. The first aspect includes nature, which allows them to be free from the artificial aspects of civilization; they were with man’s true setting. Nature was there to reveal and heal individuals. An example of the love for nature in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poetry ‘Frost at Midnight’ is he is describing how happy he is that his baby will be able to see nature instead of living in the city like he did, “But thou, my babe! shalt wander like ...
Frankenstein in a Historical Sense Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was published in 1818 during the Romantic era. Romanticism describes the period of time from the late 18th century to the mid 19th century. This period was seen as a response to the Enlightenment; overall there was an increase in the desire to understand the world in an objective matter (lecture). Though Romanticism is commonly viewed as a literary and artistic movement, Mary Shelley gives evidence on the development of Europe in a historical sense through her novel, Frankenstein. Through the motifs and personal experiences of her characters, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein gives insight on scientific development, emerging roles of women, and how the individual is viewed as the lower class during the early 19th century.
By analyzing the structure, the reader encounters the imagination and individuality prized by the Romantics. In addition, an examination of the literary devices presents the reader with the personal connection Romantic writers longed to have with nature. Lastly, the content of these pieces proved to be intertwined and demonstrated the desire to spread creativity and inspiration to others. As said by Michelle Williams “Everything’s connected, and everything has meaning if you look for it”
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein exhibits many gothic elements, but most would argue that it is more of a Romantic novel considering its idea of true inspiration. Victor Frankenstein takes only his love for knowledge and science, and creates life. Although it ends up disappointing him and becomes the ruin of Victor, this monster came from much creativity. To create something from absolutely nothing is a most inspiring thing, classifying it as a romantic. Frankenstein is composed of many elements of romanticism, such as supernatural being, emotions produced by the characters of the story, and the effect of nature.
In “Kubla Khan,” Coleridge expresses his desire to use the inspirations from nature to create his own “Paradise” of poetry (54, p.1634). In the first stanza, Coleridge creates an exotic oriental garden, where the trees, gardens, hills, and the “Alph” river, together present the beauty of Mother Nature (3, p.1633). Here, the poet carefully observes his surroundings, as the nature will serve as the source of inspiration for his poetry. The “pleasure dome” (2, p.1633) in line two has two functions, one representing the creation of human beings on earth, and the other being the foundation of Coleridge’s poetic paradise. As the clash between nature and humans takes place in the second stanza with a “woman wailing for her demon-lover” (16, p.1633) the poet calls upon nature for his inspiration, represented by the powerful activity of nature. The energy of nature is released in forms of “a might fountain” (19, p.1633), “rebounding hail” (21, p.1633), or “dancing rocks” (23, p.1633) and eventually the natural disasters will accompanied by man-made destruction as “Kubla heard from far Ancestral voices prophesying war” (29-30, p.1634)! Coleridge on one hand reinforces that man and nature are inseparable and one the other uses the energy of nature to represent the spontaneous spurring of emotions in the poet’s mind.
“Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a poem about the creative powers of the poetic mind. Through the use of vivid imagery Coleridge reproduces a paradise-like vision of the landscape and kingdom created by Kubla Khan. The poem changes to the 1st person narrative and the speaker then attempts to recreate a vision he saw. Through the description of the visions of Kubla Khan’s palace and the speaker’s visions the poem tells of the creation of an enchanting beautiful world as the result of power of human imagination. The second part of the poem reveals that although the mind has the ability to create this paradise-like world it is tragically unable to sustain this world.
“Xanadu” is a wonderful “Paradise” of fantasy, but Coleridge draws the readers back to reality with the word “I.” He immediately transitions from describing visionary objects to explaining his own poetic challenge. The “pleasure-dome” mirrors the poem and Kubla Khan mirrors Coleridge. The poem ultimately becomes a “vision in a dream,” where the reader recognizes the images that Coleridge recreates through imagination.
Kubla Khan, however, is predominantly a mosaic of fragments of thoughts and incomplete themes. Most likely, the reader observes that poetic material perpetually escapes Coleridge’s full attention, while the poem simultaneously contains profound gushes of documented creativity. One is led to believe that this continual tension between recorded and unrecorded poetic thought creates the unique narrative sequence and the mysterious, disturbing quality that embodies Coleridge’s story of Kubla Khan.