18th and 19th Century Literature Unit 7 Review: 18th and 19th Centuries

Key Poets and Movements

• Romanticism emerged in the late 18th century emphasizing emotion, imagination, and individualism (William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
• Victorian poetry reflected the values and concerns of the era, including social issues, religion, and nature (Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning)
  • Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of poets and artists, sought to revive the simplicity and beauty of medieval art (Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Rossetti)
• Transcendentalism, an American literary movement, focused on the inherent goodness of nature and individuals (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau)
• Realism and Naturalism aimed to depict life accurately without idealization (Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson)
• Symbolist poets used symbols and metaphors to evoke emotions and ideas (Charles Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud)

Historical Context

• The French Revolution (1789-1799) and its aftermath influenced Romantic poets' focus on individual freedom and social change
• The Industrial Revolution led to rapid urbanization, social upheaval, and a growing middle class, reflected in Victorian literature
• The American Civil War (1861-1865) and its consequences shaped the works of American poets like Whitman and Dickinson
  • Slavery, abolition, and the struggle for equality were prominent themes in 19th-century American poetry
• Scientific advancements, such as Darwin's theory of evolution, challenged traditional religious beliefs and sparked debates
• The expansion of the British Empire and colonialism influenced poets' perspectives on race, culture, and identity
• Women's rights movements and the fight for suffrage gained momentum, with female poets addressing gender roles and inequality

Poetic Forms and Styles

• Lyric poetry, which expresses personal emotions and thoughts, became increasingly popular (Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud")
• Narrative poetry tells stories through verse, often drawing on mythology, folklore, and history (Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott")
• Dramatic monologues feature a speaker addressing an implied audience, revealing their character and situation (Browning's "My Last Duchess")
• Free verse, which lacks regular meter and rhyme, gained prominence in the late 19th century (Whitman's "Song of Myself")
  • Blank verse, unrhymed iambic pentameter, was used in longer works and dramatic poetry (Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Aurora Leigh")
• Sonnets, 14-line poems with a specific rhyme scheme, were adapted and experimented with by various poets (Keats' "Bright Star")
• Odes, formal poems addressing a subject or dedicatee, often celebrated nature, love, or art (Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn")

Themes and Motifs

• Nature as a source of inspiration, beauty, and spiritual truth (Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey")
  • The sublime, a sense of awe and terror in the face of nature's power, was a key concept in Romantic poetry
• The individual's inner world, emotions, and imagination (Coleridge's "Kubla Khan")
• Social and political issues, such as poverty, industrialization, and women's rights (Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "The Cry of the Children")
• The search for meaning and purpose in life, often through a connection with the divine or transcendent (Tennyson's "In Memoriam A.H.H.")
• Love, desire, and the complexities of human relationships (Robert Browning's "Love Among the Ruins")
• Death, mortality, and the afterlife (Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death")
• The role of the poet as a visionary, prophet, or social commentator (Whitman's "Leaves of Grass")

Literary Devices and Techniques

• Imagery, vivid descriptions that appeal to the senses, to create a strong visual impact (Keats' "To Autumn")
• Metaphors and similes to draw comparisons and convey deeper meanings (Dickinson's "Hope is the thing with feathers")
  • Extended metaphors, sustained throughout a poem, to develop complex ideas and themes
• Personification, giving human qualities to non-human entities, to evoke emotions or convey abstract concepts (Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind")
• Allusions to classical literature, mythology, and the Bible to enrich the meaning and context of the poem (Tennyson's "Ulysses")
• Repetition and refrain to create rhythm, emphasize ideas, and evoke emotions (Poe's "The Raven")
• Irony and satire to criticize society, politics, or human nature (Byron's "Don Juan")
• Sound devices, such as alliteration, assonance, and onomatopoeia, to create musical and rhythmic effects (Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner")

Notable Works and Analysis

• William Wordsworth's "Lyrical Ballads" (1798), co-authored with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, marked the beginning of the Romantic movement in English poetry
  • "Tintern Abbey" reflects on the poet's spiritual connection to nature and the power of memory
• John Keats' "Odes" (1819), including "Ode to a Nightingale" and "Ode on a Grecian Urn," explore themes of beauty, art, and mortality
• Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "In Memoriam A.H.H." (1849) is an elegy for his friend Arthur Henry Hallam, contemplating love, loss, and faith
• Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" (1855) celebrates the individual, democracy, and the interconnectedness of all life
  • "Song of Myself" is an epic poem that explores the poet's identity and his relationship with the world
• Emily Dickinson's collected poems, published posthumously, feature unique style, punctuation, and insights into the human experience
  • "Hope is the thing with feathers" uses an extended metaphor to explore the resilience of hope in the face of adversity
• Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market" (1862) is a narrative poem that can be read as an allegory for temptation, sin, and redemption

Influence on Later Literature

• The Romantic emphasis on emotion, imagination, and individualism influenced later movements such as Symbolism and Surrealism
• Victorian poetry's engagement with social issues and moral concerns paved the way for the realism and naturalism of the early 20th century
• Whitman's free verse and celebration of the self inspired later American poets, such as the Beat Generation and confessional poets
  • Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" (1956) echoes Whitman's style and themes of individual expression and social critique
• Dickinson's unique style, with her unconventional punctuation and compact language, influenced modernist poets like E.E. Cummings and Marianne Moore
• The Pre-Raphaelites' focus on beauty, nature, and medievalism influenced the Aesthetic Movement and the Arts and Crafts Movement
• The dramatic monologue, perfected by Robert Browning, became a popular form for exploring character psychology in the 20th century (T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock")

Critical Reception and Debates

• The Romantic poets were initially criticized for their departure from classical forms and conventions, but their work eventually gained widespread acclaim
• Victorian poetry was often praised for its moral and social commentary, but some critics found it overly didactic or sentimental
  • The "art for art's sake" movement, led by Aestheticists like Oscar Wilde, rejected the idea that poetry should serve a moral or social purpose
• Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" was controversial for its frank depictions of sexuality and its unconventional style, but it is now considered a groundbreaking work of American literature
• Dickinson's poetry was largely unknown during her lifetime, but her unique style and insight have since earned her recognition as one of America's greatest poets
  • Debates have arisen over the editing and publication of her work, as her original manuscripts featured unconventional punctuation and capitalization
• The Pre-Raphaelites faced criticism for their rejection of contemporary artistic standards and their perceived escapism, but their work had a lasting impact on the visual arts and literature
• Feminist literary criticism has re-evaluated the work of female poets like Christina Rossetti and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, examining their contributions and the gender-based challenges they faced