Two Generations Apart

Josephine Hong 031 Term Paper June 6, 2011 Two Generations Apart Throughout time, literature has always been utilise as an outlet for debate and discussion of structural flaws. Thus, the poets of the romanticist period sought to careen orderings neoclassic state of header by breaking away from reliance on ratiocination and instead encouraging individualism, exploitation visual sense and emotion as inspiration. Initially, Romantic poetry became the antithesis of classical poety as the poets soley challenged the established precepts of the Age of Reason by creating their own manifesto of composing poetry.However, as the English began to repulse against the principles of the French Revolution, which originally sparked this movement, a unuse generation of poets evolved. Rather than only focusing on defying the whole kit and boodle of neoclassical times, these poets strove to attack the established social order of their time. As this generation of poets longed for social and poli tical stability, they began to tense out to artworks of the past to give them hope for a better hereafter.Despite the joint, underlying themes of emotion, genius, and imagination in Romantic poetry, two lucid generations arose during this period as the first-generation Romantics strictly focused on establishing a new(a) form of poetry that differed from their classical counterparts, while the second-generation Romantics used poetry as a vessel to search the relationship between art and animateness. During the Romantic Period, poets from both(prenominal) generations challenged mans reliance on reason sufficientness as they began to furiousness emotions over reason.As this shift occurred, the search for a creative force or sprightliness that lies only within a mans inner self became apparent in the works of Romantic poets. In bingle of his poesys, William Wordsworth seeks this supreme force as he cries out, Wisdom and meat of the universe / Thou Soul, that art the Eter nity of judgement (Influence of Natural Objects, lines 1-2, RPO). He aboutoneifies the universe and seeks its agency to draw out this inner whole tone within him, for the universe set up shape and fill his mind with purifying images of natural beauty.Similarly, Samuel Coleridge describes his feeling heart, his searching soul as he dedicates himself to this great, unknown force (Ode to lull, line 26, Columbia Grangers). He hopes to trace/ The greatness of some future race through this spirit within himself rather than scan/? The present works of present man/Too foolish for a tear, too wicked for a smile (Ode to Tranquillity, lines 31-33, Columbia Grangers). As the Romantic poets began to focus on the power of human emotions, they rejected the authoritative precepts of their classical precedents who concentrated greatly on logic and reasoning.Wordsworth rebukes monastic orders reliance on rationality as he says, Enough of Science and of Art/ dummy up up those barren leaves/ Come forth, and bring with you a heart/ That watches and receives (The Tables Turned, lines 29-32, RPO). He strongly urges his patron to turn away from meaningless books and learn through feeling the heart. Thus, the Romantics surpassed uniform reasoning by ballooning their friendship through the use of imagination as a gateway to express their emotions. Personifying a cloud, Percy Shelley uses first person narrative as he imagines a clouds experience in nature.To the cloud, the moon becomes an orbed world-class with white fire laden who glides glimmering oer the clouds fleece-like floor (The Cloud, lines 45-47, RPO). Shelley introduces a new point of view to his readers that allows them to emotionally identify with natural objects around them rather than to analyze. The Romantic poets called for a great attention to the emotions as a necessary supplement to purely logical reason (Flesch 2). As poets began to emphasis the import of emotions during this time, a new focus emerg ed among British poets.Usually overlooked by the secular inn of their time, nature became the key focus for the Romantic poets. These poets sought nature as place to explore ingrained aspects of human nature away from societys hectic atmosphere. In one of his poesys, Wordsworth states that The elements of feeling and of thought can only be purified With life and nature and Not with the mean and vulgar works of gentlemans gentleman (Influence of Natural Objects, lines 8 10-11, RPO). He conveys an aversion to materialistic goods, for he believes that these objects only distract one from truly discovering oneself.Romantics then attempted to show that even simple and insignificant parts of nature, if approached correctly, had the ability to expand ones mind. Thus, Wordsworth depicts how not only did Nature link/ The human soul that through him ran, besides in addition grieve his heart to think/ What man has made of man (Lines Written in earlier Spring, lines 5-8, Bartleby). Wh ile in a grove he sat reclined, Wordsworth was able to see the negative effectuate of industrialism by its contrast to natures beauty (Lines Written in archaeozoic Spring, lines 2, Bartleby).Similarly, Coleridge asks a skylark to Teach him, Sprite or Bird,/ What sweet thoughts are thine (To a Skylark, lines 61-62, RPO). Despite the elegant size of this bird, Coleridge glorifies it as he seeks its guidance to help expand his perspective. As nature became a extraction of inspiration, the Romantics focused on the concept of the sublime to not only instill terror but also elevate admiration for the natural world. In Influence of Natural Objects, Wordsworth asserts natures way of sanctifying by such discipline/ Both pain and fear, until people recognize/ A grandeur in the beatings of the heart (lines 12-14, RPO).He conveys the idea that through natures awe-inspiring power humanity can comprehend the significance of life. Nature became the subject of Romantic poetry as poets sought in its beauty an insight of their soul. The first-generation poets became rebels as they attacked and broke away from the artificial and formal styles of the Age of Reason. These poets established that good poetry should arise from spontaneous flashes of insight, sparked by actual events, which ultimately became the topic of most of their poems.After revisiting a certain location, Wordsworth creates a poem on impulse as he Once again/ beholds these steep and lofty cliffs (Tintern Abbey, lines 4-5, RPO). Likewise, Coleridge produces a poem after a visit from his friends as he laments that they are gone, and here must he remain at home, unable to walk with them through nature (This Lime-tree Bower my Prison, line 1, RPO). By spontaneously creating poetry, both these poets are able to break away from the previous Neoclassic precept of strictly, structured poetry.Furtherto a greater extent, the first-generation poets strayed away from using complex, elaborate expressions like their Neoc lassic counterparts and instead used simple, everyday language. In Lines Written in Early Spring, Wordsworth uses common, sylvan words rather than complicated, lofty language to illustrate nature. He writes that The birds around him hopped and played and The develop twigs spread out their fan, / To catch the breezy air (lines 13 18-19, RPO). By using such diction, Wordsworth knows that his readers can easily visualize and understand his poem, leaving a more permanent impact in their minds.Finally, the first-generation poets used imagination to contrast the dry intellectualism of the Age of Reason. In his poem This Lime-tree Bower my Prison, Coleridge imagines his Friends /On springy heath, along the hill-top edge because he cannot physically join them (lines 6-7, RPO). By visioning this imaginary scene, he emancipates himself from the tyranny of conventions and literary rules of the Neoclassic Era, for his imagination cannot be controlled. The first-generation Romantics ultimate goal was to liberate themselves from the authoritative ways of the previous era.Unlike the Neoclassic poets who greatly focused on the society as a whole, the first-generation poets became more concerned with the individual. Thus, rustic life generally became the topic of these poets, who believed that only in this humble setting could one truly discover fundamental thoughts and feelings. In Influence of Natural Objects, Wordsworth states how By day or star-light, thus from his first dawn/ Of childishness did nature intertwine for him/ The passions that build up the human soul (lines 5-7, RPO).He expresses the idea of nature establishing a club between his emotions and spirit, allowing him to recognize the elemental feelings that engender the human soul. Likewise, Coleridge realizes that nature may well employ/ to each one faculty of sense, and keep the heart/ Awake to Love and Beauty (This Lime-tree Bower my Prison, line 64-66, RPO). As he sits and imagines a walk through natu re, he is reminded of how human senses and feelings come alive in natures environment.The first-generation poets then centered around the common man, who typically lived closer to and interacted more with the unseen spirit of nature that the poets seeked. In one of his poems, Wordsworth apostrophizes a Highland girl and praises her mien, or face,/ In which more manifestly he could trace/ Benignity and home-bred sense/ Ripening in perfect innocence (To a Highland lady friend, lines 24-26, RPO). Moreover, this girls humble upbringing attracts Wordsworth as he wishes here to dwell/ Beside her in some heathy dell and Adopt her homely ways (To a Highland Girl, lines 49-51, RPO).By degrees, the first-generation Romantics appealed not to the logical mind, but to the complete self, in the whole scope of senses, emotions and intellectual abilities. Despite the first-generations initial diversion from the use of artifice, the second-generation Romantics began to value art over nature admist the escalating social conflicts of their time. Rather than finding inspiration in nature, the second-generation poets became moved by literature and artwork from the past. John Keats writes an ode to a urn that expresses A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme (Ode on a Grecian Urn, line 4, RPO).He asserts that the story this urn portrays is far more superior to the poetry of his time. Likewise, he writes a poem about his reaction to reading George Chapmans interpreting of Homer. He describes how he then feltlike some watcher of the skies/ When a new major planet swims into his ken, for Chapmans translation opened up a new perspective for Keats that broadened his intellect. Moreover, the latter poets of the Romantic era sought the art of the past as inspiration for hope amid the chaos of the world contact them.In Ode on a Grecian Urn, Keats concludes that When old age, shall this generation waste,/ the urn shall remain, in midst of other excruciation (lines 46-47, RPO). He pl aces faith in the urn to remain and tell its story despite the decay of his own generation. preceding art becomes crucial for the second-generation poets as it allowed the poets to escape the turmoils of their time. The second-generation Romantics then began to reflect upon the relationship between the real and the ideal. Departing from former methods, these poets did not write about actual experieneces but instead created imagined places in their poetry.In Ode to Psyche, Keats creates a supernatural setting In deepest grass,/ beneath the whispring roof/ Of leaves and trembled blossoms (lines 10-11, RPO). Rather than reiterating a past experience, Keats employs the power of his imagination to create a credible, sylvan scenery. Futhermore, despite being figments of the poets imaginations, the subjects of the poems were usually actual objects in nature, which allowed readers to identify with them. In one of his poems, Shelley uses his imagination to become a cloud.He paints a pictu res for his readers as he personifies the cloud to truss the Suns throne with a burning zone,/ And the Moons with a girdle of driblet (The Cloud, lines 59-60, RPO). Readers are able to visualize this image and connect with nature because they are familiar with these objects. Thus, the second-generation poets were able to escape the disorder of their world by using their imagination to create ideal locations. Despite the common notion of the Romantic Period being a unified, literary movement, there are two distinct generations that arise within this single era.As the first-generation poets focused on defying their classical precedents, the second-generation poets concentrated on analyzing the materialistic world around them and using their imagination to bring their thoughts into reality. However, both generations hoped that their poetry would lead the world to change by enlightening others to strive for a more perfect society. Thus, the poets of the Romantic period established tha t future generations should seek new ideas and not just accept past beliefs, for the goal of poetry is to illustrate a greater picture. Works Cited Flesch, William. Romanticism. The Facts On File Companion to British numbers, 19th Century. New York Facts On File, Inc. , 2009. Blooms literary elongation Online. Facts On File, Inc. . (accessed May 1, 2011). Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Ode to Tranquillity. Columbia Grangers World of Poetry Online. 2011. Columbia University Press. 6 Jun. 2011. . RPO John Keats Ode to Psyche. vox Poetry online mutation 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 01 June 2011. . RPO John Keats On First Looking into Chapmans Homer. Representative Poetry On-line Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 03 June 2011. . RPO Percy Bysshe Shelley The Cloud. Representative Poetry On-line Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 03 June 2011. . RPO Percy Bysshe Shelley To a Skylark. Representative Poetry On-line Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 03 June 2011. . RPO Samuel Taylor Coleridge This Lime-tree Bower My Prison. Representative Poetry On-line Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 04 June 2011. . RPO William Wordsworth Influence of Natural Objects in Calling by and Strengthening the Imagination in Boyhood and Early Youth. Representative Poetry On-line Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 03 June 2011. . RPO William Wordsworth Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour.July 13, 1798. Representative Poetry On-line Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 02 June 2011. . RPO William Wordsworth The Tables Turned. Representative Poetry On-line Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 03 June 2011. . RPO William Wordsworth To a Highland Girl. Representative Poetry On-line Version 3. 0. University of Toronto Libraries. Web. 03 June 2011. . Wordsworth, William. 1888. C omplete poetic Works.Lines Written in Early Spring. Bartleby. com Great Books Online Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Bartleby. com. Web. 03 June 2011. . Works Consulted Oerlemans, Onno. Romantic Poetry, English. Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy. Ed. J. Baird Callicott and Robert Frodeman. Vol. 2. Detroit Macmillan Reference USA, 2009. 212-214. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 02 June 2011. Preface to Lyrical Ballads. William Wordsworth (1800). 1909-14. Famous Prefaces. The Harvard Classics. Bartleby. com Great Books Online Quotes, Poems, Novels,