Concetti Chiave
- Lyrical ballads emphasize everyday situations in poetry, using purified common language and emotions recollected in tranquility to express powerful feelings.
- Romantic poetry explores the unity of man and nature, emphasizing nature's pantheistic role as a guide, and the importance of childhood, memory, and sensory perception.
- The theory of imagination distinguishes between primary perception and secondary creative imagination, allowing poets to suspend disbelief and explore supernatural themes.
- The Byronic hero embodies proud individualism, societal rejection, and a mysterious, restless nature, often reflected in sublime natural settings and themes of exile.
- Historical novels blend fictional and historical events, focusing on Scottish history and social history, with detailed descriptions and an omniscient narrator.
Introduction to lyrical ballads
Preface to Lyrical Ballads: The Manifesto of English Romanticism
-everyday situations as the subject of poetry
-use of the language of common people purified by the poet
-poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings
-poetry has its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity
-the poet is a man speaking to men but he has a greater sensibility
Themes of romantic poetry
Themes
-the relationship between man and nature, they are one entity
-pantheistic view of nature
-nature as guide and consolation
-importance of childhood and memory
-importance of the senses, in particular sight and hearing
-the poet moves from the perception of nature to develop a philosophical reflection
-didactic role of poetry
Theory of imagination
Theory of imagination
-primary imagination: power of perception
-secondary imagination: recreates or creates new worlds (the poet has it)
-fancy: a mode of memory
Themes
-suspension of disbelief: the supernatural made real
-pantheistic nature
-the crisis of the human will (The Rime)
-the exotic (Kubla Khan)
-didactic role of poetry
The Byronic hero
The Byronic hero (Child Harold, Manfred)
-proud individualism
-rejection of the conventional rules of society
-wild in manners
-restless and mysterious
Classical and Romantic
-use of irony and satire (Don Juan)
-use of classical forms (Spensieran stanza, ottava rima)
-sublime nature
-nature as the reflection of poet's feelings and mood
-theme of the journey and exile
Themes of social and political change
Themes
-refusal of social and political conventions (England in 1819)
-faith in a better future
-principles of freedom and love (To a Skylark)
-poetic imagination as revolutionary creativity meant to change reality
-poetry redeems from decay
-pantheistic nature as the reflection of poet's moood
Themes
-the clash between the ideal and the real
-the classical world as a source of inspiration (Greece, The Middle Ages)
-the cult of beauty as a way to truth
-the relationship between life, time/eternity, art
-art as consolation
-the poet has the power of negative capability
-importance given to all the senses
Historical novel characteristics
Historical novel
-combination of fictional and historical events
-scottish history
-concept of social history
-regret for the past values of heroism and loyalty
-importance of description
-use of omniscient narrator
The tales
-great influence on the detective story (tales of Detection)
-importance of the deductive method
-gothic elements from outside and inside the self (tales of Imagination)
-theme of cruelty, perverseness and madness
-fusion of beauty and death, creation and destruction
-theme of the double
-first person narrator
Coleridge's poetic influence
The poems
-Coleridge's influence
-themes of loss, decadence and supernatural
-extensive use of symbols
-poet's aim: to create an emotional effect on the reader
Novel of Manners
-master of irony
-characters belonging mainly to the country gentry
-no interest in contemporary historical events
-classical themes of decorum,, propriety, marriage
-relationship between character's desires and social conventions (Sense and Sensibility)
-importance of psychological insight: round characters (Darcy, Elizabeth, Elinor, Marianne)
-long passages of dialogue without the mediation of the narrator
-omniscient, unobtrusive narrator.
Domande da interrogazione
- What is the significance of everyday situations in the context of Lyrical Ballads?
- How does Romantic poetry view the relationship between man and nature?
- What role does imagination play in Romantic poetry according to the theory of imagination?
- How is the Byronic hero characterized in Romantic literature?
The Lyrical Ballads emphasize everyday situations as the subject of poetry, using the language of common people purified by the poet. This approach highlights the Romantic belief that poetry should reflect the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings and originate from emotions recollected in tranquility.
Romantic poetry sees man and nature as one entity, often adopting a pantheistic view where nature serves as a guide and consolation. The poet transitions from perceiving nature to developing philosophical reflections, underscoring the didactic role of poetry.
The theory of imagination in Romantic poetry distinguishes between primary imagination, which is the power of perception, and secondary imagination, which allows poets to recreate or create new worlds. This theory also introduces the concept of "fancy" as a mode of memory and emphasizes the suspension of disbelief to make the supernatural real.
The Byronic hero, exemplified by characters like Child Harold and Manfred, is characterized by proud individualism, rejection of societal conventions, wild manners, and a restless, mysterious nature. This archetype reflects the Romantic emphasis on personal freedom and emotional depth.
Accedi a tutti gli appunti
Tutor AI: studia meglio e in meno tempo
