Romanticism. Romantic Writers

Transcription

1 Romanticism Romantic Writers Valued imagination and emotion Valued the individual human being Strove for freedom from the rules of form dictating writers at the time Used medieval subjects and settings Used themes relating to the particular incident or person rather than the masses or universal Felt artists should be free to explore their imagination Loved the unspoiled, rural world Were concerned for the down-trodden and oppressed Felt they were not understood nor appreciated Used supernaturals subjects Used the natural or commonplace subjects Loved nature

2 Romantic Writers William Blake- The Lamb, The Tyger, A Poison Tree William Wordsworth- Lucy Poems, My Heart Leaps Up, She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways Lord Byron- She Walks in Beauty Samuel Taylor Coleridge- Kubla Khan & The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Percy Bysshe Shelley- Ozymandias & Ode to the West Wind John Keats- Ode on a Grecian Urn & When I Have Fears Gothic Horror Stories- Example: Mary W. Shelley's Frankenstein Contained grotesque images Centered around mystery Used a desolate environment Centered around the macabre Included horrible, multiple murders Were ghostly Aroused fears Used castles and haunted houses for settings Aroused eerie sensations Used supernatural Created a sense of indefiniteness Allowed characters to experience psychic communications and to return to life after being dead

3 Romantic Poetry Study Guide A Poison Tree pg William Blake 1. Who was the speaker angry with first? 2. What did he do with that anger? 3. Who was the speaker angry with second? 4. What did the speaker do with anger? 5. What was the symbol used to describe the answer to #4 6. Explain the metaphor. 7. What grows? What does this symbolize? 8. Who eats it? What happens to this person? 9. How does the speaker feel? 10. Theme of the poem- How would you restate this poem s comment on the effects of anger? 11.How does this theme comment on human nature? 12.Summarize what happens to the speaker s anger with a friend and with a foe. 13.What are soft deceitful wiles (line 8)? 14.What does the speaker use them? 15.What happens to the foe at the end of the poem? Why? 16.What lesson, or moral, do you think Blake might be trying to teach? Explain. She Walks in Beauty - Lord Byron- Handout or pg What is being compared in this poem? What is the simile? Line #? 2. The words dark and bright in line 3 suggest a balance of opposites. How is this idea developed throughout the poem? Line#?

4 3. In line 6, what does the speaker imply about daytime when he calls it gaudy? (Tasteless, flashy, tacky) 4. In stanzas 2 and 3, what conclusions does the speaker draw about the woman s character and personality? Examples from the text: 5. Does Byron emphasize the physical or spiritual aspect of the lady? 6. This poem has been criticized as sentimental and dependent on cliches. Which comparisons or conclusions might such critics have in mind? Do you agree? Why or why not? 7. Do you think that goodness and innocence are traits of beauty? 8. Do you think people today put too much emphasize on physical beauty? Why or why not? In your opinion, are there traits you see in other people, besides physical traits, that make that person beautiful? What are they? What is the main idea expressed here? Ode to the West Wind Percy Bysshe Shelley 1.What season does the poem associate with the west wind? 2.What does the wind do to the leaves, clouds, and ocean? 3.What does the speaker ask of the wind in section V of the poem/ 4.In what sense is the wind both a destroyer and preserver? 5.How, according to section IV, has the speaker changed? 6.What caused the change? 7.What is the meaning of the famous last line? 8.How does this line tie the poem together? Ozymandias - Shelley 1. What is the theme of this poem? 2. Whom does the speaker meet?

5 3. What sight does this person describe? 4. Do you think that the message of this poem is relevant to today s world? Explain 5. Think of the words on the pedestal. Why is it ironic that the statue crumbles? 6. Why is it ironic that the statue is surrounded by desert? 7. What does the traveler describe? What specific details help you visualize what is being described? 8. According to the traveler, what was the sculptor s attitude toward the subject? 9. On what evidence does the traveler base this conclusion? 10.What words appear on the pedestal? 11.What do these words suggest about Ozymandias s personality and character? 12.How does the traveler describe the area where the ruins lie? 13.What does this description seem to suggest about the nature of power and fame? 14.In you opinion, what theme does the poem convey? Give evidence. 15.Why do you think Shelley uses a traveler from an antique land as the story teller within the poem? 16.What is the effect of having both a speaker and a storyteller? 17.Find examples of alliteration. What effect does this have?

6 My Heart Leaps Up p What natural phenomenon does the speaker admire? 2. What qualities are usually associated with this phenomenon? 3. To what three states of life does the speaker refer in the poem? 4. What does the speaker hope these three stages will have in common? Why? The Rime of the Ancient Mariner p To whom does the Mariner address his tale? 2.What is the setting of their meeting? 3.What does the Mariner say he has done? 4.What happens to the ship after this deed? 5.What do the crew members see coming toward them? 6.What happens when this vision reaches their ship? 7.What happens to the Mariner? 8.What comparison does the mariner make between himself, the water snakes, and the dead men in lines 236-9? 9.How does this view of the snakes change in part 4 (lines ) 10.What happens to the Mariner after his ship sinks?

7 11.What message is the Mariner compelled to tell from then on? 12.Do you think the Mariner is responsible for what happens on the ship? 13.Why does this fate befall the crew and the Mariner? 14.What does the Mariner s reaction suggest about his character? 15.What does the Mariner s fate tell you about Coleridge s outlook on life? 16.Do you think Mariner s punishment fits the crime?

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