Recently in World Literature II, we have been discussing the Romantic period and reading romantic poetry. The Romantic period lasted from 1780 to 1850. This period emphasized the common man, nature, and subjective, private experiences. Most of the poems that have been read in class emphasized emotion, feelings, and longing for the ideal. John Keats “Bright Star” and Gerard de Nerval “A Lane in the Luxembourg” are both romantic poems that emphasizes these themes. Although these two pieces are based on the same themes, both writers address them in a different approach.
First of all, the type of love that is expressed in “Bright Star” differs from the type of love that is illustrated in “A Lane in Luxembourg.” The romantic period is the quest after the ideal. This quest either ends in a failure to achieve the ideal at all or the achievement of the ideal but only for a moment. In “Bright Star,” the narrator is actually is experiencing his ideal love, while the narrator of “A Lane in Luxembourg” never attain his ideal. The narrator of “A Lane in Luxembourg is only observing
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Both ideal views involve the concept of youth. In “Bright Star,” the narrator’s ideal love is a woman who is young, innocent, and beautiful. He refers to this concept in the quote, “…pillowed upon my fair love’s ripening breast.” The word “fair” refers to the lady’s beauty, innocence, and youth. The word “ripening” also refers to the lady’s youth. This term indicates that her breast are still developing, and more is yet to come. In “A Lane in the Luxembourg,” the girl that the narrator is watching is young. He directly calls her a “young girl” in the poem, and the reason he never approaches the girl is because she is young. The narrator is an older guy and feels like his youth is gone. He thinks the girl will be disturbed if he pursue her. He is dealing with a negative experience with
In using this allusion, Frost not only continues the "poetic tradition" but adds all the depth of meaning of Keats' poem to his own. The star doesn't want much of us -- only to stay above us. He says that "when the mob is swayed" or when social, political, or moral upheaval takes place and the norm is to be radical, the star likes being above it all, condescendingly regarding the earth. When this happens, we should "choose something like a star" and concentrate on it.
Keats, John. “The Eve of St. Agnes”. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Romantic
...tion of both methods can be used to show France’s idea of what love is. Patrick John Ireland argued that France’s idea of love “is a human force controlled by man with great difficulty; it is a spontaneous, natural, and all-consuming power, the experience of which leads to an almost blind passion at times” (133). To be in love, one must be entirely devoted and passionate to one another to the point of blind passion. This is so for Yonec (the Princess jumps out of the tower) and Lanval (Lanval’s complete rejection of the human world until he is brought into the world of his lover). Not only does France portray love as natural and all-consuming, but also shows the private and unearthly nature of love that cannot be contained to the realm of the human world. Rather, love transcends the boundaries of the human world and enters into a world where love reigns supreme.
Murray, Christopher John (2004). Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850. Taylor & Francis. p. 319. ISBN 1-57958-422-5
The poets integrated ?metaphysical conceits? as focal parts of these poems. Along with these, they used effective language as a basis for their convincing arguments, they included subjects of periodical importance (e.g. ?courtship? and ?religion?), and use very clever structures that are manipulated in order to make the poem read in the desired way. The very clear indication of the theme in question was strongly aided by the way in which the personas portrayed the emotions they felt and the way they showed their attitudes towards the subject. Considering all these factors, the poets made critical arguments to the mistresses in order to alter their views, thus changing their minds, on denying the poets the sex that they desired so strongly.
In Bright Star, Keats utilises a mixture of the Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnet forms to vividly portray his thoughts on the conflict between his longing to be immortal like the steadfast star, and his longing to be together with his love. The contrast between the loneliness of forever and the intenseness of the temporary are presented in the rich natural imagery and sensuous descriptions of his true wishes with Fanny Brawne.
Wolfson, Susan and Peter Manning (eds.). The Longman Anthology of British Literature: The Romantics and Their Contemporaries. Volume 2A. New York: Longman, 1999.
The Romantic period at its height extended over just a bit more than a century, from the latter half of the eighteenth century through to nearly the end of the nineteenth century. During this period, a new school of poetry was forged, and with it, a new moral philosophy. But, as the nineteenth century wound down, the Romantic movement seemed to be proving itself far more dependent on the specific cultural events it spanned than many believed; that is, the movement was beginning to wind down in time with the ebbing of the industrial and urban boom in much the same way that the movement grew out of the initial period of industrial and urban growth. Thus, it would be easy to classify the Romantic movement as inherently tied to its cultural context. The difficulty, then, comes when poets and authors outside of this time period-and indeed in contexts quite different then those of the original Romantic poets-begin to label themselves as Romantics.
White, Keith D. John Keats And The Loss Of Romantic Innocence.(Costerus NS 107). Minneapolis: Rodopi BV Editions, 1996. Print.
Blake, Wordsworth, and Keats all represent the Romantic style of literature with their unorthodox themes of nature, art, and life; and how those three points can be tied together and used for creative purposes among humankind. Art and life are counterparts; one is lacking without the other. The Romantic period was about passion; finding inspiration and beauty in things people see every day. Wordsworth found childhood memories in a familiar landscape, Blake found himself captivated by the mysteries of how the majestic tiger was created, and Keats’ urn triggered him to put his inquiries of it into poetry. Each man expressed his individual view within their works; and like many of their Romantic contemporaries, their ideas ran against the flow of their time’s societal beliefs.
The prior incantation of this analysis took the form of a Traditional Literary Critique. Such a critique is the most felicitous fashion for forming an informed opinion of a literary piece. However, that is only to shed innocence of the time period, and to gather more experience as to what it was like for those occupying that space in time. That said, it was absolutely integral to put oneself into the mindset of someone in the Romantic Period to understand what higher purpose drove them. The major events and ideologies of the period cannot be
The political, ideological, and economic climate of the late 18th and early 19th centuries was ideal for allowing the Romantic Revolution to take hold and flourish. It began primarily in England and France, but soon spread to much of Europe and to the United States. This essay will focus on the Romantic’s relationship with the natural world, their distaste for the Industrial Revolution, and how the Romantic poets valued imagination and emotional connections. The Romantics had a lasting impact on European and American society, political ideals, and the regard we hold for ideals and values such as nature and childhood. The Romantic’s ideas ran counter to much of the thinking of the intellectual community and to the values of industry and government of the time. By changing and challenging the minds of the masses to think differently they created a revolution in literature.
The importance of this book is that it contains some of the works of poetry which were carried out by William Yeats. Arguably, the most salient feature in the book is the attempt at portraying the shift that characterized Yeats in his work, so that his works are arranged almost chronologically to underscore this standpoint. Works that depict him as a bard of the Celtic Twilight, reviving Rosicrucian symbols and legends are the most frontal. These are followed up by works which show the shift away from plush romanticism. The same are exhibited by the heavy presence of incantatory rhythms such as “I will arise and go… and go to Innisfree”. The same is seen in the lyrics, “as passionate and cold as the dawn”.
During the mid 1800’s was a remarkable era called the Romanticism. Some political and social milestones of this era included The American Revolution, The French Revolution, and The Industrial Revolution. During these events, the “theme” more or less was a type of laissez faire which means, “let the people do as they please.” WIlliam Blake was a famous poet in this time period, as well as Samuel Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and George Gordon. Novels and poems were written in this time to express the ways Romanticism was shown and how melancholy was trending.
The references regarding time of day serve as symbol of the budding relationship. In stanza one it is only “sunrise” and the author is yet unsure of what turn the relationship will take. By stanza three the sun had already climbed “toward noon,” the hottest time of the day. As the day, or the relationship progressed, his uncertainty and apprehension grew into a hot blazing passionate love. In line eleven a historical allusion to Caesar makes the speakers desired love seem unattainable. Mentioning Caesar, a powerful man who had what he wanted proposes that someone already has this woman and will not let her go.