The Characteristics of Romantic Poetry

The Romantic Movement lasted from about 1750 to about 1870, is often defined as
second Renaissance. Romanticism cannot be identified with a single style, technique,
or attitude, but romantic writing is generally characterized by a highly imaginative
and subjective approach, emotional intensity, freedom of thought and expression, an
idealization of nature, and a dreamlike or visionary quality.
The Romantic Movement is both a revolt and revival .This movement in literature
and the revolutionary idealism in European politics are both generated by the same
human craving for freedom from traditions and tyranny. The Romantic Movement
revives the poetic ideals of love, beauty, emotion, imagination, romance and beauty
of Nature. Keats celebrates beauty, Shelley adores love, Wordsworth glorifies nature
Byron idealizes humanism, Scott revives the medieval lore and Coleridge amalgamates
supernatural. As a result, the Romantic Movement revolts against the ideals,
principles, intellectualism, aristocracy and technicality of Augustan period and
smoothed the run of broad emotional gallery of substance relinquishing the rigidity of
form.
From sociological and political perspective it is not unfair to say that Romanticism
and French Revolution are synonymous. In fact, Rousseaus social theory roughly
embodies in the familiar phrase of the return to nature while the battle cry of
French Revolution liberty, equality and Fraternity are influential on the youthful
imagination of Romantic poets. Rousseau establishes the cult of the individual and
championed the freedom of the human spirit. Rousseaus sentimental influence
touches Blake, Wordsworth and Coleridge; his intellectual influence Godwin, and
through Godwin Shelly. Byron and Shelley also share the champion of liberty and
revolutionary idealism. A wonderful humanitarian enthusiasm and gorgeous dream of
progress and perfection are thus kindled in ardent young souls. This is the central
creed of Romantic poetry. Here is the prophecy of a new day, forwarding immediately
into an era of realized democratic ideals
The trumpet of a prophecy! O wind,
If winter comes, can spring be far behind?
(Ode To The West Wind Shelley)
The other most important feature of Romantic poetry is emotionalism. Here is
effusion of feelings, emotions and heartfelt appreciation of beauty in all form
human or natural. It springs from the heart and makes an appeal to the heart. It is
spontaneous and natural, and no laboured exercise. The preface to the second edition
of Lyrical Ballads (1800), by English poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, the prime importance as a manifesto of literary romanticism, affirms the
importance of feeling and imagination to poetic creation and disclaimed conventional

literary forms and subjects. Thus imagination, emotions ,intuition rolls over to the
literary output of sensibility and passion.
Lyricism, rather than intellectual or satirical, is the basic preoccupation of
Romantic poetry. Here is the full expression of ones own personal feelings and
sentiments towards an object. As such there is an abundance of lyrics, songs, sonnets,
odes, and egotistical poems in Romantic poetry. Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley,
Keats and Byron are all famous lyrical poets. All these lyrics favour subjectivity,
emotionalism, impulse and free play of imagination. Such intensity of feeling can be
read in Shelleys To A Skylark:
We look before and after,
And pine for what is not;
Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is fraught
Our sweetest songs are those that tells of saddest thought.
In their choice of subject matter, the romantics showed an affinity for nature,
especially its wild and mysterious aspects, and for exotic, melancholic, and
melodramatic subjects likely to evoke awe or passion. Nature comes to the new light
in Romantic poetry. It takes the widest possible connotation. Nature, for the Romantic
poets, includes landscape, trees, plants, hills, rivers, mountains as well as rural folks
together with their cottages, sheep, goats and rural festivals. Keats visualizes its
nature; Shelley intellectualizes; Wordsworth mystifies and Byron revolutionizes it.
Wordsworth, the worshiper and high priest of Nature, thus says
.. and that I, so long
A worshipper of Nature, hither come
Unwearied in that service; rather say
With warmer love Oh! With far deeper zeal
Of holier love ..
( Tintern Abbey- William Wordsworth )
The medieval age the magic of distance, spirit of adventure, knight errant,
duels, battles and tournaments and voyages over unchartared seas offer a store-house
of fascination for Romantic poets. Coleridge creates a make believe world on the
doctrine of willing suspension of disbelief. Keats explores Hellenism as if a Greek born
in England. This lure of exotic is everywhere in their text.
Apart from these the pictorial quality, the subtle harmony of phrase, extensive
use of poetic imagery and simplicity of diction are the other characteristics of
Romantic poetry.
Thus both in manner and matter Romantic poetry are far different from
Augustan Age. Though the Romantic age and literature stops with the accession of

Queen Victoria to the throne of England in 1837, its spirit is still relevant in present
day literary production.