Two Generations Apart
Josephine Hong
031 Term Paper
June 6, 2011
Two Generations Apart Throughout time, literature has always been used as an outlet for debate and discussion of structural flaws. Thus, the poets of the Romantic period sought to change society’s neoclassic state of mind by breaking away from reliance on reasoning and instead encouraging individualism, using imagination 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 revolt against the principles of the French Revolution, which originally sparked this movement, a new generation of poets evolved. Rather than only focusing on defying the works of Neoclassic times, these poets strove to attack the established social order of their time. As this generation of poets longed for social and political stability, they began to reach out to artworks of the past to give them hope for a better future. Despite the common, underlying themes of emotion, nature, and imagination in Romantic poetry, two distinct generations arose during this period as the first-generation Romantics strictly focused on establishing a new form of poetry that differed from their Neoclassic counterparts, while the second-generation Romantics used poetry as a vessel to explore the relationship between art and life. During the Romantic Period, poets from both generations challenged man’s reliance on rationality as they began to emphasis emotions over reason. As this shift occurred, the search for a creative force or spirit that lies only within a man’s inner self became apparent in the works of Romantic poets. In one of his poems, William Wordsworth seeks this supreme force as he cries out, “Wisdom and Spirit of the universe!/ Thou Soul, that art the Eternity of thought!” (“Influence of Natural Objects”, lines 1-2, RPO). He personifies the universe
031 Term Paper
June 6, 2011
Two Generations Apart Throughout time, literature has always been used as an outlet for debate and discussion of structural flaws. Thus, the poets of the Romantic period sought to change society’s neoclassic state of mind by breaking away from reliance on reasoning and instead encouraging individualism, using imagination 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 revolt against the principles of the French Revolution, which originally sparked this movement, a new generation of poets evolved. Rather than only focusing on defying the works of Neoclassic times, these poets strove to attack the established social order of their time. As this generation of poets longed for social and political stability, they began to reach out to artworks of the past to give them hope for a better future. Despite the common, underlying themes of emotion, nature, and imagination in Romantic poetry, two distinct generations arose during this period as the first-generation Romantics strictly focused on establishing a new form of poetry that differed from their Neoclassic counterparts, while the second-generation Romantics used poetry as a vessel to explore the relationship between art and life. During the Romantic Period, poets from both generations challenged man’s reliance on rationality as they began to emphasis emotions over reason. As this shift occurred, the search for a creative force or spirit that lies only within a man’s inner self became apparent in the works of Romantic poets. In one of his poems, William Wordsworth seeks this supreme force as he cries out, “Wisdom and Spirit of the universe!/ Thou Soul, that art the Eternity of thought!” (“Influence of Natural Objects”, lines 1-2, RPO). He personifies the universe
Cited: "Wordsworth, William. 1888. Complete Poetical Works. Lines Written in Early Spring." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Bartleby.com. Web. 03 June 2011. <http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww130.html>.