Spikerdaja: British literature: Romanticism

1. Revolutions

Europe&America- political, economic, social&philosophical rev.
new attitudes crashed across the Old World=ne energy=new literature
the era of liberal rev began in the New World when 13 Am colonies revolted against the UK, on July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence, 1778 treaty of Paris=UK ok with Am
then came the French Rev (more violent, complex, influetial, controversial, loved, hated)
this brought the modern era in politics to Fr
at first great hope for common people (the rev)->then massacres, execution of Louis XVI& Marie Antoinette, Reign of Terror (by Robespierre, 1793-94)
1793 they declared war on UK (the Napoleonic wars lasted until 1815), there were severe domestic problems in UK (GIII declared mad, GIV enemy of liberals)
Industrial Rev- begun 1780s when the Romantic Age had produced drastic social and economic changes technological innovations -> large factories (steam engine- by J Watt, mining for coal to get steam increased)

2. Nature of Romanticism

reaction against the universiality of Fr cultural domination, the Fr Neoclassisim and poets began to seek inspiration in native themes
back to nature, rural scenes, primitive&common feelings&diction expressed spontaneously
the age was hectic, emotional exuberance, tremendeous intensity in text and lives (suicides, duels to death, madnesses, strange illnesses)
The poets lead bohemian lives (long hair, no wigs), they rejected materialism, dirven by a sence of an unlimited univere

3. W. Wordsworth (1770-1850)

First to announce literary ideals of the Eng Rom Age, was peaceful, wrote about nature, serene. Lost mom when young->sent to an excellent grammar school in Hawkshead. Ardent supporter of the Fr Rev, fell in love with a Fr women called Annette, but couldn't marry, Fr rev doomed-> fell in depression

Wrote Lyrical Ballads (1798) jointly with S.T. Coleridge, the preface was a formal announcent of a new literary age (man is depicted as a helpless creature living at the mercy of supernatural forces)

4. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)

Childhood was influenced by Robinson Crusoe and Arabian Nights, he didn't get a degree in Cambridge because he was unhappy & disillusioned with university life. He was an idealist, supporter of the Fr rev- later brought disappointment to him. He was tormented by rheumatism and was an opium addict.

1795 he met Wordsworth who soon moved with his sister Dorothy to Somerset, near Coleridge.

He was influenced by Wordsworth, he wrote of characters & persons supernatural (e.g Kubla Khan)

5. Lord Byron (aka George Gordon) (1788-1824)

He was uncommonly handsome, talented, had a fierce temperament, but also suffered from handicap- a club foot. Yet he became an outstanding athlete, masterful swimmer, horseman, boxer, cricket player and boxer.

He was a decendant of two aristocratic but flamboyant & violent families. Became lord when he was 10. At Cambridge was on known fior a lavish lifestyle. He had bear as a pet there. After university he travelled on horseback from Portugal&Spain on to distant lands. On his return he effortlessly wrote Child Harod's Pilgrimage - he was instantly popular

Then he became center of scandals, he separated from his young and lovely wife. When he was 28, he self-imposed himself to exile, never to return to England. He died shortly after his 36th birthday from exhaustion

Best works: Don Juan (unfinished), Hebrew Melodies, Hours of Idleness. He is the creator of the byronic hero (love and hate mixmatched)

6. Jane Austen (1775-1817)

wrote domestic comedies (humorous, ironical), she valued truth and never idealised her characters

she is known for the lack of events in her own life (never married, although several suitors)

she began writing in her mid-teens, some works: Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, Emma

7. Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)

born in the family of a barrister, became lame for life when 2 years old, sent to his grandparent's farm where he became a strong boy. When older grew fond of reading. He became a lawyer, practised for 14 years. During this time he visited places of famous battles and collected old ballads, folk-songs etc. He wished to record all the historical facts he knew before they were forgotten. He felt that the good days were gone.

When 26, he married and bought a house in Abbotsford. It became sort of museum of Scottish history and culture- it was visited by famous people.

He first published translations of German poetry, then came The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, these poems brought fame. He published several poetic works but when Byron appeared he left the field of poetry to his rival (actually they were friends). This marked a new period in Scott's creative work. In 1814, published a novel, Waverly, but anonymosly, the book was a great success. He published several novels under the name of The Author of Waverly but his secret leaked. He wrote more than 25 novels(+ tales, stories), including Guy Mannering, Rob Roy, Ivanhoe

In 1818 he accepted the offer of baronetcy, it seemed everything was going right but then his publisher John Ballantyne went bankrupt. Scott was in debts, he worked fiercly to pay the debt but his health broke down, he was sent to Italy but had to turn back. On his arrival at Abbotshire he died.

Spikerdaja