Essay about British Romanticism - 1831 Words

Even today, man finds himself asking, What is beautiful? Many would point to nature when prompted with such a question; however, few realize that a similar question was posed and a similar answer given back in Romantic Great Britain, but to a whole new degree. British Romanticism was a reaction against technology as well as a cry to turn back to the beauty of nature, and its advocating troops held no more than a pen and paper in hand (Lorcher). Authors of the Romantic era used literature to open the eyes of a society bogged down by the chaos and clutter of everyday life, and the ideas that they promoted still affect man to this very day. The Romantic Movement spans approximately from 1783 to 1832 (Bernbaum). This was a time of†¦show more content†¦a change from a mechanical conception of the world to an enthusiastic religion of nature, from rational virtue to emotional sensibility, from ... egoism to humanitarian benevolence, from realism to optimism, from acceptance of things as they are to faith in progress, from contentment with urban civilization to sentimental primitivism. (Bush 43) Romantics protested strongly to the contemporary evils of their time, such as poverty and warfare (Bernbaum xxvii). They believed that such atrocities existed because there were still men in the world motivated by greed and pride. But they did not let this knowledge force them into a state of despondency; instead, they looked forward to the future, when such things might improve (Bernbaum). Romantics hoped that one day mans imagination would awaken and life could be what it was meant to be: free, natural, beautiful, and humane (Bernbaum xxvii). This desire for a natural life came from the Romantics love and admiration of nature. To him, nature was emotionally expressive and the only real source of peace (Lorcher). Romantics discovered truth, virtue, and beauty not by routine examination, but by moments of inspiration in which they could see something for what it truly was (Bernbaum). They did not experience such inspiration by focusing on the exterior, the everyday affairs of m undane life; instead, they focused on the interior (Bernbaum). This is why mans imaginationShow MoreRelatedDifference Between Romanticism And Transendinlalism In American And British Writers1584 Words   |  7 PagesWhich characterized Transendinlalism very differently from that of Romanticism. 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This collection is widely recognized as the initiation of the shift towards modern poetry and British Romantic literature. Although the poem’s deliberate use of antiquated language differed from romantic poetry’s use of modern language of the time, it is still considered influential within the romanticism movement (Green). The poem’s influence in British Romanticism affected later authors and other works, including Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born