Romanticism and its Influence on Poetry

This article explores the origins and characteristics of Romanticism in poetry, focusing on its emphasis on individuality and nature. It discusses famous Romantic poets such as John Keats and their notable works. The article also touches on other literary movements and themes, such as magical realism and neocolonialism.

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Final Study Guide

I
1. Romanticism
Originated in the late 18th century, Romanticism is a style of poetic and literary expression
where the individuality of the persona and nature acted as the primary carrier of the message
and entertainment. In the poem, “an ode to the western wind” the mention of summer dreams
is a great example of the Romanticism in the poetry.
2. "Ode on Intimation of Immortality"
This poem is an ode to capture the immortal memories of childhood captured in a maze of
romanticism where similes and metaphors of nature connect a young heart with the sweetest
memories of the life. This poem also captures the journey of a person when materialism takes
over the innocence of a child.
3. Andrés Bello
A multitalented person worked as a diplomat and wrote many poems, as a writer, he was well
versed with romantic and classical school of thoughts. His writings, where he wrote an Ode
to the agriculture was received well in the literary circuits and won him the status of a
celebrity author.
4. "Make me thy lyre…/ Be thou, Spirit fierce,/ My spirit!"
This expression of the poetry is taken from the poem “The ode to the West Wind" where poet
Shelly used a monologue to express his internal conflict with the concept of absolute liberty
leading towards anarchy. In this stanza the author first expresses his utmost desires, however,
contradicts them because of the discipline maintained by the West Wind.

5. John Keats
John Keats is among the latest poets of the second era of romanticism in English literature.
John Keats never received accolades for his poetry during his lifetime. However, his style of
expression and romanticism inspired many authors like Jorge Luis Borges. In the nineteenth
century, critics and poets loved his works and gave him many tributes in their literature
(Turley).
6. "1811, a Poem"
“1811, a poem is a part of “The Island” created by Anna Laetitia Barbauld, this particular part
of the "The Island", is taken from the Bligh's narrative. This poem was affixed to another part
of "The Island" under the title of "Christina, the maid of the South Seas."
7. Ekphrasis
Any poem inspired by any work of art is known as Ekphrasis. "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is a
poem written by John Keats. He wrote this poem when he got inspired by some work of arts
after reading about them in various journals and books.
8. Anna Bunina
She was a Russian poet; she became a leading women poet during her time because of her
timeless expression and unique themes of the poems. Her poems were published under the
title “conversation between me and women.”
9. Gaslighting, triangulation, invalidation

Gaslighting is a term equivalent to the brainwashing of a person with the help of persistent
repetition of a wrong fact. Triangulation is a method by which we prove a point with the help
of two or more equally exact and powerful evidence. Invalidation is the process of discarding
a fact completely.
10. New culture movement
During the late 19th century and the early 20th-century realism made an entry in the writing
style of many poets. It was the time when they started thinking about poetry as a tool to
address certain social and political issues. Rabindranath Tagore in India and Rebecca Harding
Davis are among the few poets who contributed a lot to this new cultural movement. Many
experts also believe that Chinese literature during the first two decades of the twentieth
century played a pivotal role in this movement.
11. Ch'ae Man-Sik
One of the leading creative writers who wrote political satires and other stories to capture the
essence of Korean society during the Japanese rule and post-liberation era, many of his works
were translated from the Korean language to English. The story "My Innocent Uncle" is one
among them.
12. Magical Realism
Magical realism is a genre of writing in which a storyteller weaves in a magical element in a
real setup. “Bartleby, the Scrivener” is an example; in this story, the elusiveness attached
with the protagonist can be explained with the help of magic realism in many parts. Although
there are no direct hints or culminations for that, however, sometimes a reader gets this
impression that some magical elements are present in the universe of the character.
13. "And so I scaled the ladder of the earth"

These lines are taken from the poem "The heights of Macchu Picchu." On a deeper level,
these iconic expressions reflect the mental state of the poet Neruda related to his Latin
American identity. These words symbolize his journey back to his native place.
14. Japanese Empire in Korea, 1910-45
The Japanese empire is Korea has great relevance in the field of the literature because the
stories were written by many authors of that era. It was the time when realism made an entry
into the mainstream. The biggest change in the style of writing came in when the authors
started writing about the feelings of some insignificant characters that were unfit for the
books of the history because they never achieved anything big in life. Satires of Ch'ae Man-
Sik captured this era with great exposure to the day to day life of these individuals.
15. Negritudé
Negritude is a style of writing expressions and critique during the era of the early twentieth
century. Experts of the literature acknowledge it as an important part of the development of
realism. Most of the literature published in this style represents the era of the African
independence movements. Many experts are of the opinion that Negritude represented the
point of the colonized world from an objective point of view.
16. People Are My Clothes”
People Are My Clothes, is a poem written by Niyi Osundare, this poem represents the human
state of mind right after a devastating natural tragedy. In this poem, he captured the aftermath
of the hurricane Katrina.
17. Breton Wood Institutions and International Monetary Fund

The Bretton Woods Institutions is a flagship organization where institutions like the World
Bank and International Monetary Fund came together to support 43 countries of the world
against the economic destruction of the post-war world. This organization also promoted the
concept of economic cooperation among these countries.
18. Mau Mau Revolt
Mau Mau revolt took place in China at the turn of the twentieth century. Many experts
believe that it was the beginning of the “new culture movement" in the history of literature
where realism and interpersonal depiction of an individual or the deep-rooted feelings of an
author became prominent in the storytelling and other forms of the literature.
19. W. Livingstone Jr.
Most of his works won the moniker of the “Christianity v/s Christianity” as an author he
explained the irony of certain customs and practices imbibed in the religion. The narrative of
“Wedding at the cross” is an evident example of this writing style.
20.Rankwana
Rankwana is a landmark character in the portrayal of the females in the South African
literature. One of the protagonists in the narrative of "The deep river" this character
represents the progressive state of the mind of the women during that era. The love story of
Rankwana represents the cultural change in society during a forced migration of the
community.
21. Two Sisters
The narrative of Two Sisters written by “Ama Ata Aidoo” represents the conflict of the
identity among the characters when the society is changing its face because of political

turbulence. This story creates a contrast between the concepts of a stereotypical role allotted
for women versus her materialistic ambitions in the life.
22. No
It is a poem written by Thomas Hood, where he represents the feeling of the isolation and
disorientation while treating the month of the November as the metaphor for it. This poem
captures the ambiguity of the statement with the help of a verbal and literary placement of the
words.
II
1. Ruben Dario also glorified the achievements of the country. He is similar to Anna
Laetitia Barbauld. Anna, in her poem, glorified the thrust of the power that was
roaring in the world at that point in time. However, both the poets were somehow
concerned with the loss of humanity in the process. It was a victory for a country;
however, it was a great loss for humanity. The influence of the school of realism is
evident in both the works of literature as they are capturing the undercurrent of a
historical event from an interpersonal point of view. It can also be termed as a voice
that the books of the history refuse to listen because they only carry feelings and
decline the facts.
2. The depiction of nature in the era of Romanticism inspired the authors of the 20th
century to weave around a make belief world in real-world settings. The poem "Ode
on intimation of Immortality" talks about the sun, clouds and the imaginary color that
an individual can fill in the sky. This visual representation of the sky from the point of
view of a creative human brain has the potential to create a creative thought process in
an artist where instead of imitating the natural colors of the sky, he can paint his own
mood on the skies. The literature of the era of Romanticism is full of such example

where the poets and authors presented the existing world with the help of some out of
these world expressions.
3. Gogol established clerk as a madman in the most glorified fashion when he said that
“he was able to see certain things that others were unable to see.” This makes him an
unreliable narrator or the character, however, his narration of the events presents a
different point of view that possibly all of us can see but often don’t want to express
because it is against the popular culture. In the story of Ch'ae Man-Sik, the narrator
wishes that his uncle should die. It makes him an unreliable narrator, however, when
he expresses that he is a fan of colonialism, he is actually pinpointing towards the
positive points of the regime. He took a license of insanity in describing some positive
points of a practice that was wrong for the masses during that period.
4. Jorge Luis Borges raised some poignant questions about the time and reality, the
garden of the forking paths represents the internal journey of the mind of the
protagonist. It represents the parallel world of a self-absorbed protagonist. A world
which is a magical world for him. The depiction of Luis Borges represents an
Argentinian way of life where the societies are close knitted and have a great
influence on the personal life of an individual. Jorge Luis Borges captured this feeling
very effectively, other readers in the western world often think that characters are
regressive or they are paying too much attention to their vicinity.
5. The censorship of the literature during the 20th century was not very different from the
censorship in the previous centuries in many ways. For instance, the elements of the
British Obscene Publications Act of 1857 were present in the twentieth century to fix
the content of any book. In the similar fashion Espionage act and Sedition amendment
gave rise to political censorship. Formation of an index for the censorship was a very
important technique adopted by the governments to keep a tab on the literature.

6. The concept of the neocolonialism depicts a softer control of a powerful country over
an economically weak country. It represents a state of the affairs where the country in
power uses cultural traits and economic benefits as a weapon to impoverish the
weaker country. Writers like Rabindranath Tagore in India and Rebecca Harding
Davis used the undertones of neocolonialism in their stories where they represented
the traditions of the colonizing powers as the plot point of their stories. Stories like
"My innocent uncle" by Ch'ae Man-Sik present a direct account of neocolonialism.
Many experts believe that the entry of the genre of realism is an output of the
neocolonialism. The period of the cusp when the power changes the hands often
creates a strong conflict among the characters. "Diary of a Madman" and "My
Innocent Uncle" captured this conflict caused by the neocolonialism. The same thing
can be said about the other works of these writers.
III
1. Synaesthesia as a device to enamor the readers is a powerful tool of the era of the
romanticism. Poets like John Keats used this tool with great success to create
moments full of enjoyment for their readers. The expression of " Is but only a bed
without the sense or a sight" in the poem "Ode on intimation of Immorality" refers to
two stages, fist it represents the sleep, second, it refers to Synaesthesia of the organs
and senses as they grow up to the worldly wisdom and enlightenment.
“Forever painting and forever young, all breathing human passion far above” from the
poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn" denotes the passion for art and how it evokes a
Synaesthesia in an individual. The poets in the era of romanticism connected the
aesthetics of nature and other finer creative thoughts with the senses of the readers. It

was more or less like the dimension of the tangible feeling in the words by arranging
them in an aesthetic way.
2. Hedda Gabler is a masterpiece of all times, not only in the field of the literature but
also in the field of psychology as well. Henrik Ibsen captured the irony of
contemporary women in with the help of Hedda Gabler, her portrayal of courage
amidst the difficult situations establishes that she was a strong woman, however, her
tragedy and aftermath also give us an idea of the social conditions at that time. The
story of the Hedda Gabler present the character of Hedda in two lights, first, it is her
internal self where she is strong enough to take on the world and second it is her
interaction with the society where she finds that she is not worthy enough.
As a psychologist, any expert can learn a few lessons from the journey of Hedda
Gabler and understand a few things about the role of the external environment of in
shaping up the psychology of a character. The social needs of Hedda draw her to
isolation and this isolation becomes a mental state that can be defined as a mental
illness and suicide out of guilt (Gjesdal).
It is a journey between the two extremes of the same personality and the author
captured both the ends with great detailing where a reader can enjoy the emotions of
the journey and a psychologist can collect some notes. For instance, a series of events
forces Hedda for the fate that was sealed for her. Brack convinces her that she is
someone who is responsible for the ugliness in the life of the deceased. Later on, both
of them make her realize that she is worthless. Psychologists can study this pattern of
the events and figure out that how the things are rolling for the Hedda and bringing
her closer to a fate which was caused by a negative psychological instigation.

3. The concept of time travel has become a genre in itself. Short story Garden of the
forking paths represents this time travel with the help of a literary labyrinth, this
labyrinth is none but the evolved thought process of the character. This thought
process delves into time travel and allows him to explore various other possibilities
that may occur. A starting point of the labyrinth acted as a ground zero in the life of
the protagonist. The principles of the quantum physics establish the fact that work
done of an atom become zero if it reaches to its initial point. In a scene, the
protagonist visits the library and mentions about his favorite books, with the help of
this mention the author tried to establish the source of the inspiration for the
protagonist that kept him busy in the labyrinth.
Films like Matrix Trilogy and Inception were also based on the labyrinth structure, it
became an interesting point for the protagonist where he can start his journey again
and correct some mistakes that he did in the past. Star Wars depicts two different parts
of this story. Star Wars capture the concept of a different space during a singular time.
Both these concepts form the crux of the Garden of the Forking Paths. It also explores
the possibilities of future and a state where all the suppositions of an individual
become true.
4. "Two Sisters" represents two different sides of a female heart, her duties and her
ambition in life with the help of two different characters. The narrative of this story
presents the hints of feminism in the character of the rebellious sister. In a particular
statement, Connie discards the suggestion that Mercy should dress like other girls and
put on heavy makeup this is an example of the feminism where Connie decided to
break the stereotypical expectations from women.
The character of Rankwana and the announcements related to her marital status gives
us an idea about the changing face of the society. Rankwana has an independent

existence in the story however, she needs the support of various characters from time
to time to convey his thoughts and secure her status during the changing times. For
instance, her lover always wanted to renounce her and gain the power back; however,
he was not able to do it because he was struck by the love. It is an example of
feminism, the status of women in society was in question.
The poem "Wedding at the cross" also talks about feminism when the female
protagonist of the poem decides to overrule her upbringing in the colonial world and
settles for marriage against the norms. Her plans meet with ill fate and draw the irony
of her life. She was rebellious, however, her status as a woman forced her to meet
with a tragic end.
Bibliography
Gjesdal, Kristin. Ibsen's Hedda Gabler: Philosophical Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2018. Print.
Turley, Richard Marggraf. Bright Stars: John Keats, Barry Cornwall, and Romantic Literary Culture.
Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2012.Print.

8. Anna Bunina

9.