5V Romantic Poetry (Literary History)

5V Romantic Poetry (Literary History)

1. Introduction

This quest contains all the information you need for studying the Romantic Poetry of English literary history. It is a compulsory part of your English curriculum. It will also return in your Literary History SE which you will sit in 6V.

2. Literary History SE

Overview

In the Literary History SE, you will be tested on your knowledge of the main events and works of English literary history, starting with the Middle Ages and up to the modern day. You will study the following eras and disciplines:

  • Literary eras
    • Middle Ages (4V)
    • Renaissance (5V 4V)
    • Romantic Poetry (5V)
    • Victorian Age (5V)
    • Early 20th Century (6V)
  • Disciplines
    • poetry
    • theatre
    • novels

Organisation & SE

Organisation

We will study literary history at various points in your school career, so it is important that you organise your materials properly. I urge you to start a Literary History File, either in paper in a new notebook or digitally in a Pages document. I also advise you to create a separate Literary History File tile in Egodact where you can keep track of what you are doing over the years.

SE

In 6-vwo, you will sit an SE on Literary History. In it, you will answer questions about literary terms and eras, and you will analyse fragments of literature using the knowledge you have gained over the years.

This SE is a written test lasting 100 minutes and counts for 10% towards your final PTA mark.

3. Historical background

➜ Start this part of your Literary History File with a title page: Romantic Poetry. Find an appropriate illustration here.
➜ Study the links and videos below to get an idea of the historical background of the Renaissance in England.
➜ Write a summary in your Literary History File of what you've learned. Be sure to include the following key words / people in your summary:
key words: Industrial Revolution, French Revolution, emphasis on feelings, nature & history, 'Lyrical Ballads'.
➜ Upload your summary to Seesaw/Egodact.

 

Useful websites

Alquin Literature Magazine - Romantic Period

English Heritage - Georgians

Wikipedia - Romantic Literature in English

BBC History - Why the Industrial Revolution Happened Here

Useful videos

1. Romanticism & English Literature An 9-minute crash-course on the most essential concepts to understand Romanticism in English Literature.

https://youtu.be/AsX7sQbPv8g

 

2. History Short - The Romantic Era. A broader look at the Romantic Era, also including architecture, music and literature from other countries.

https://youtu.be/k9Ebl_MxbYw

4. Romantic Poetry

Focus

For the Romantic Period, we are only focusing on poetry. This was by far the most popular form of literature, and the Romantic Period has produced some of England's finest poets.  

Theatre was not very popular in the Romantic Period, or at least, not a lot of theatre was written. 

Prose was beginning to be of interest, with Jane Austen and Mary Shelley as notable novelists, but the novel as a major literary art form only took off later in the Victorian Age, which is where we'll discuss more of it. 

Organisation

Each section is presented as follows:

  • Introduction: a basic introduction to the genre and why it is relevant to our studies. You will find key terms and phrases to remember in bold. These terms and phrases should find their way into your Literary History File.
  • Literary fragment(s): one or more fragments, translated to a more modern English to make it easier to understand. Often paired with comprehension questions.
  • Study questions: one or more assignments that analyse the work on a deeper level. The answers to these should be included in your Literary History File.  

4a. Poetry: The first generation

4a. Introduction

The publication of 'Lyrical Ballads', a compilation of poetry by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge published in 1798, is widely seen as the start of the Romantic Period. It follows the Age of Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution is a counterreaction to its focus on science, rationality and technological progress (and its accompanying effects on the country). Below you will find the main characteristics of the age and a peek at the three most important poets.

Characteristics (or Ideals) of Romantic Poetry

  • To counter the filth and pollution the Industrial Revolution had brought to their lives, the Romantic Poets glorified Nature.
  • The Romantic Poets are called thus because they put emotion over reason. To feel was the only way to live; Science, they felt, had only brought misery.
  • The superiority of imagination over logic.
  • Popular subjects were mysteries and monsters.
  • There was also great interest in history, especially that of the Middle Ages. It was seen as a glorious period in which England hadn't yet become spoilt by industrialisation.
  • Due to the many 'discoveries' of exotic countries, there was also a great interest in the exotic (especially oriental) and unfamiliar.
  • Inspired by the French Revolution, much of Romantic literature was anti-establishment / anti-authoritarian.
  • Common people, such as farmers, labourers, but also natives of exotic lands, were seen as superior to the elite, deriving from their closeness to nature. This gave rise to the idea of noble workman / noble savage.
  • Children were glorified as being naive and innocent, unspoiled by schooling and industry, and close to Nature and to God.

Poets: Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was a poet and philosopher, best known for his poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Together with his friend William Wordsworth, he is seen as the founder of the Romantic Movement. Other notable works of his are Kubla Khan and Christobel, but he also made a name for himself as a literary critic, writing influential work on Shakespeare and German poets. Coleridge and his friends and colleagues were collectively known as the Lake Poets.

 

 

 

 

Poets: William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was probably the best known and most productive of the early Romantic poets. At the end of his life he served as Poet Laureate, a poet appointed by the government to write poems for official occasions. Although his best work is considered to be The Prelude, it is his shorter poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud which is often named as the nation's favourite poem. Wordsworth also belongs to the group of Lake Poets mentioned above.

 

 

 

 

Poets: William Blake

William Blake (1757-1827) is a bit of the odd one out in the circle of Romantic poets. He was not part of their circle and actually most of his contemporaries thought he was mad. His work is also hard to classify, some calling it pre-Romantic rather than Romantic; in some ways it is so original that it is almost a category of its own. He was not only a poet, but also a painter and printmaker. During his life, Blake's work was unsuccessful and not recognised at all. Now, he is seen as one of the best and most talented artists of Britain of all times. He often combined his poetry with his artwork into a unified product, sort of like an illuminated manuscript from the Middle Ages, but since he was trained as a printer, he wrote and drew his work in reverse so it could be multiplied. Among his best-known works are the poetry collections Songs of Innocence and its sequel Songs of Experience.

 

 

Analysing poetry

A poet has a wide range of literary techniques to enhance the message and heighten the emotional impact of the poem. When analysing poetry, it helps to be aware of these techniques. Below, you will find an overview of the techniques you'll need to be able to recognise and describe. We have discussed these terms in class last year and will briefly revisit them.

  • alliteration

The repetition of an initial consonant sound in words that are close together, such as within a single sentence or line of poetry.​

  • assonance

Repetition of similar vowel sounds within words and phrases, commonly used for a lyrical effect in poetry and other literary forms.​

  • enjambment

In poetry or verse, the technique of breaking a line of verse in the middle of a phrase so that the phrase continues on the next line without a natural pause between lines.​

  • hyperbole

An extreme exaggeration used to make a point, often humorously.​

  • metaphor

A figure of speech that features a comparison between two disparate things that are not literally the same. Unlike similes, metaphors do not use the words “like” or “as.”​

  • personification

A type of metaphor in which human attributes are assigned to inanimate objects or abstract ideas.​

  • simile

A figure of speech in which two objects are directly compared, usually including either “like” or “as” in the comparison.​

Useful material

How to analyse a poem in 6 steps

Shmoop Study Guide: British Romanticism

 

 

4a. Literary Fragment(s)

➜ Below you will find three poems or fragments of poems by Coleridge, Wordsworth and Blake.
➜ Read each work a couple of times; don't forget to read it out loud. This will help you understand them better.
➜ Do the exercise you will find after each work.
➜ Upload screenshots of your results to Seesaw, and copy the link to your Literary History File in Egodact.

 

fragment from Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is much too long to be included in full, here, so we'll only look at a fragment. This ballad tells the story of a nightmare voyage to the South Pole told by the sole survivor, the bright-eyed ancient mariner whose wanton killing of an albatross, a bird of good omen, brought misfortune on the ship and all its crew.

This fragment comes after the Mariner has shot the albatross that had been visiting them. The wind dies and the ship is stuck in the middle of the ocean, leaving the crew to die of thirst and starvation.

 

Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,

'Twas sad as sad could be;

And we did speak only to break

The silence of the sea!

 

All in a hot and copper sky,

The bloody Sun, at noon,

Right up above the mast did stand,

No bigger than the Moon.

 

Day after day, day after day,

We stuck, nor breath nor motion;

As idle as a painted ship

Upon a painted ocean.

 

Water, water, every where,

And all the boards did shrink;

Water, water, every where,

Nor any drop to drink.

 

The very deep did rot: O Christ!

That ever this should be!

Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs

Upon the slimy sea.

 

About, about, in reel and rout

The death-fires danced at night;

The water, like a witch's oils,

Burnt green, and blue and white.

 

And some in dreams assurèd were

Of the Spirit that plagued us so;

Nine fathom deep he had followed us

From the land of mist and snow.

 

And every tongue, through utter drought,

Was withered at the root;

We could not speak, no more than if

We had been choked with soot.

 

Ah! well a-day! what evil looks

Had I from old and young!

Instead of the cross, the Albatross

About my neck was hung.

 

Rime of the Ancient Mariner in pop culture: Iron Maiden's 1984 rock version

I wandered lonely as a cloud - William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

 

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

 

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

 

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

The Tyger - William Blake

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,

In the forests of the night;

What immortal hand or eye,

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

 

In what distant deeps or skies.

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand, dare seize the fire?

 

And what shoulder, & what art,

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat.

What dread hand? & what dread feet?

 

What the hammer? what the chain,

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? what dread grasp.

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

 

When the stars threw down their spears

And water'd heaven with their tears:

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

 

Tyger Tyger burning bright,

In the forests of the night:

What immortal hand or eye,

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Oefening: The Tyger

Start

4b. Poetry: the second generation

4b. Introduction

The second generation of British Romantic poets, also known as the "Younger Romantics," emerged in the early 19th century and played a significant role in the Romantic literary movement. This group of poets included Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats. While both first and second-generation Romantic poets shared a love for nature, a fascination with the human imagination, and a rejection of Enlightenment rationalism, the second generation was characterized by a more rebellious and politically engaged spirit, a greater emphasis on individualism, and a willingness to explore darker and more introspective themes in their poetry.Tragically, all three poets died at a young age, leaving behind a remarkable body of work that continues to influence literature and thought to this day.

The Poets: Byron, Shelley and Keats

1. Lord Byron (1788-1824): Byron was a flamboyant and controversial figure known for his passionate and rebellious poetry. His works often explored themes of individualism, freedom, and the dark side of human nature. Some of his most famous works include "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" and "Don Juan."

 

 

 

 

2. Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822): Shelley was a radical thinker and poet whose writing reflected his progressive ideals. He addressed themes like social justice, political reform, and the power of the imagination. Notable works include "Ozymandias," "Prometheus Unbound," and "To a Skylark."

 

 

 

 

3. John Keats (1795-1821): Keats is renowned for his lyrical and sensuous poetry, which often celebrated the beauty of nature and the intensity of human emotions. His poems, such as "Ode to a Nightingale," "Ode on a Grecian Urn," and "To Autumn," are considered some of the finest in the English language.

 

4b. Literary Fragment(s)

➜ Below you will find three poems or fragments of poems by Byron, Shelley and Keats.
➜ Read each work a couple of times; don't forget to read it out loud. This will help you understand them better.
➜ Do the exercise you will find after each work.
➜ Upload screenshots of your results to Seesaw, and copy the link to your Literary History File in Egodact.

Lord Byron - She Walks in Beauty Like The Night

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

 

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

Or softly lightens o’er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express,

How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

 

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent!

 

Percy Bysshe Shelley - Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

John Keats - La Belle Dame Sans Merci

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,

      Alone and palely loitering?

The sedge has withered from the lake,

      And no birds sing.

 

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,

      So haggard and so woe-begone?

The squirrel’s granary is full,

      And the harvest’s done.

 

I see a lily on thy brow,

      With anguish moist and fever-dew,

And on thy cheeks a fading rose

      Fast withereth too.

 

I met a lady in the meads,

      Full beautiful—a faery’s child,

Her hair was long, her foot was light,

      And her eyes were wild.

 

I made a garland for her head,

      And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;

She looked at me as she did love,

      And made sweet moan

 

I set her on my pacing steed,

      And nothing else saw all day long,

For sidelong would she bend, and sing

      A faery’s song.

 

She found me roots of relish sweet,

      And honey wild, and manna-dew,

And sure in language strange she said—

      ‘I love thee true’.

 

She took me to her Elfin grot,

      And there she wept and sighed full sore,

And there I shut her wild wild eyes

      With kisses four.

 

And there she lullèd me asleep,

      And there I dreamed—Ah! woe betide!—

The latest dream I ever dreamt

      On the cold hill side.

 

I saw pale kings and princes too,

      Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;

They cried—‘La Belle Dame sans Merci

      Thee hath in thrall!’

 

I saw their starved lips in the gloam,

      With horrid warning gapèd wide,

And I awoke and found me here,

      On the cold hill’s side.

 

And this is why I sojourn here,

      Alone and palely loitering,

Though the sedge is withered from the lake,

      And no birds sing.

5. Assessment

5a. Checklist

Want to check whether you've done all the assignments that go with this quest? Use this checklist!

  • Historical Background
    • summary
  • First Generation
    • Literary fragments: 3 screenshots for comprehension exercises
  • Second Generation
    • Literary fragments: 2 screenshots for comprehension exercises
    • Study question: one poetical poster

5b. Rubric

Your work for the Literary History File is part of your Language Portfolio.
Below, you will find how your work will be assessed. 

  Good Pass Insufficient
Assignments
  • Your work is complete;
  • You've paid attention to the lay-out and design of your work, adding images where necessary;
  • You've made an effort in your study questions, showing your literary insight.
  • Your work is complete.
  • Your work is incomplete.
Class participation & interaction
  • You've attended all classes (Deo volente);
  • You've taken notes during classes;
  • You've shown an interest in participating in class discussions and/or asked questions to further your understanding and insight.
  • You've attended all classes (Deo volente);
  • You've answered questions during class discussions if prompted.
  • You've skipped classes;
  • You've been mentally absent during classes and often didn't know what was being discussed.

 

5c. Study Help

Concepts & terms to remember

Check your Literary History file whether you've taken notes on all these concepts/terms.

General historical background

  • Industrial Revolution
  • French Revolution
  • emphasis on feelings, nature & history
  • Lyrical Ballads

First Generation

  • characteristics of Romantic Poetry
    • glorifying nature
    • emotion over reason
    • imagination over logic
    • mysteries and monsters
    • historical interest
    • interest in the exotic and unfamiliar
    • anti-establishment & anti-authoritarian
    • noble workman / noble savage
    • glorifying children and childhood
  • Lake Poets
  • Poet Laureate
  • technical terms (repeated from 4V): 
    • sonnet
    • rhyme scheme
    • iambic pentameter
    • stanzas: quatrains, tercets, couplets
    • techniques: alliteration, assonance, personification, simile, metaphor, hyperbole

Second Generation

[under construction]

  • Het arrangement 5V Romantic Poetry (Literary History) is gemaakt met Wikiwijs van Kennisnet. Wikiwijs is hét onderwijsplatform waar je leermiddelen zoekt, maakt en deelt.

    Auteur
    Herbert Vissers eXplore
    Laatst gewijzigd
    2023-09-30 13:01:37
    Licentie

    Dit lesmateriaal is gepubliceerd onder de Creative Commons Naamsvermelding 4.0 Internationale licentie. Dit houdt in dat je onder de voorwaarde van naamsvermelding vrij bent om:

    • het werk te delen - te kopiëren, te verspreiden en door te geven via elk medium of bestandsformaat
    • het werk te bewerken - te remixen, te veranderen en afgeleide werken te maken
    • voor alle doeleinden, inclusief commerciële doeleinden.

    Meer informatie over de CC Naamsvermelding 4.0 Internationale licentie.

    Aanvullende informatie over dit lesmateriaal

    Van dit lesmateriaal is de volgende aanvullende informatie beschikbaar:

    Toelichting
    An introduction to English literary history: Romantic Age
    Eindgebruiker
    leerling/student
    Moeilijkheidsgraad
    gemiddeld
    Studiebelasting
    4 uur 0 minuten

    Gebruikte Wikiwijs Arrangementen

    Herbert Vissers eXplore. (2022).

    4V Renaissance (Literary History)

    https://maken.wikiwijs.nl/187237/4V_Renaissance__Literary_History_

  • Downloaden

    Het volledige arrangement is in de onderstaande formaten te downloaden.

    Metadata

    LTI

    Leeromgevingen die gebruik maken van LTI kunnen Wikiwijs arrangementen en toetsen afspelen en resultaten terugkoppelen. Hiervoor moet de leeromgeving wel bij Wikiwijs aangemeld zijn. Wil je gebruik maken van de LTI koppeling? Meld je aan via info@wikiwijs.nl met het verzoek om een LTI koppeling aan te gaan.

    Maak je al gebruik van LTI? Gebruik dan de onderstaande Launch URL’s.

    Arrangement

    Oefeningen en toetsen

    Rime of the Ancient Mariner

    I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

    The Tyger

    IMSCC package

    Wil je de Launch URL’s niet los kopiëren, maar in één keer downloaden? Download dan de IMSCC package.

    QTI

    Oefeningen en toetsen van dit arrangement kun je ook downloaden als QTI. Dit bestaat uit een ZIP bestand dat alle informatie bevat over de specifieke oefening of toets; volgorde van de vragen, afbeeldingen, te behalen punten, etc. Omgevingen met een QTI player kunnen QTI afspelen.

    Versie 2.1 (NL)

    Versie 3.0 bèta

    Voor developers

    Wikiwijs lesmateriaal kan worden gebruikt in een externe leeromgeving. Er kunnen koppelingen worden gemaakt en het lesmateriaal kan op verschillende manieren worden geëxporteerd. Meer informatie hierover kun je vinden op onze Developers Wiki.

  • Gebruik
    Weergave
  • Wikiwijs is een dienst van