“During the Romantic period major transitions took place in society, as dissatisfied intellectuals and artists challenged the Establishment. In England, the Romantic poets were at the very heart of this movement. They were inspired by a desire for liberty, and they denounced the exploitation of the poor. There was an emphasis on the importance of the individual; a conviction that people should follow ideals rather than imposed conventions and rules. The Romantics renounced the rationalism and order associated with the preceding Enlightenment era, stressing the importance of expressing authentic personal feelings. They had a real sense of responsibility to their fellow men: they felt it was their duty to use their poetry to inform and inspire others, and to change society... The Romantics highlighted the healing power of the imagination, because they truly believed that it could enable people to transcend their troubles and their circumstances. Additionally, for the world to be regenerated, the Romantics said that it was necessary to start all over again with a childlike perspective. They believed that children were special because they were innocent and uncorrupted, enjoying a precious affinity with nature. Romantic verse was suffused with reverence for the natural world. (source: Forward, Stephanie. “The Romantics”. 15 May 2014. http://https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-romantics#)
→ As you read each poem, annotate for Romantic elements. Consider the focus of the Romantics as mentioned above. Note how these elements are reflected in each poem as well as the devices/techniques (e.g. figurative language, symbols, images, etc.) the poet uses to convey meaning.
William Wordsworth (1770-1850): a poet who is tributed as one of the key founders of the Romantic movement. Much of his poetry explores the relationship between man and nature (and man’s experiences in nature).
“My Heart Leaps Up” By William Wordsworth (1807)
My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began; So is it now I am a man; So be it when I shall grow old, Or let me die! The Child is father of the Man; And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety.
1 “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” By William Wordsworth (1807)
I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed—and gazed—but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.
2 Excerpt from “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour. July 13, 1798” By William Wordsworth *Tintern Abbey itself is a ruin located on the England/Wales border. Both the Abbey itself and the surrounding countryside were beginning to be popular tourist destinations at the end of the 18th century. Addressing his sister, Wordsworth writes this poem 5 years following his initial visit.
And now, with gleams of half-extinguished thought, With many recognitions dim and faint, And somewhat of a sad perplexity, The picture of the mind revives again: 40 While here I stand, not only with the sense Of present pleasure, but with pleasing thoughts That in this moment there is life and food For future years. And so I dare to hope, Though changed, no doubt, from what I was when first I came among these hills; when like a roe I bounded o'er the mountains, by the sides Of the deep rivers, and the lonely streams, Wherever nature led: more like a man Flying from something that he dreads, than one 50 Who sought the thing he loved. For nature then (The coarser pleasures of my boyish days These beauteous forms, And their glad animal movements all gone by) Through a long absence, have not been to me To me was all in all.—I cannot paint As is a landscape to a blind man's eye: What then I was. The sounding cataract But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din Haunted me like a passion: the tall rock, Of towns and cities, I have owed to them, The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood, In hours of weariness, sensations sweet, Their colours and their forms, were then to me Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart; An appetite; a feeling and a love, And passing even into my purer mind That had no need of a remoter charm, 60 With tranquil restoration:—feelings too By thought supplied, not any interest Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps, 10 Unborrowed from the eye.—That time is past, As have no slight or trivial influence And all its aching joys are now no more, On that best portion of a good man's life, And all its dizzy raptures. Not for this His little, nameless, unremembered, acts Faint I, nor mourn nor murmur; other gifts Of kindness and of love. Nor less, I trust, Have followed; for such loss, I would believe, To them I may have owed another gift, Abundant recompense. For I have learned Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood, To look on nature, not as in the hour In which the burthen of the mystery, Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes In which the heavy and the weary weight The still sad music of humanity, 70 Of all this unintelligible world, Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power Is lightened:—that serene and blessed mood, 20 To chasten and subdue.—And I have felt In which the affections gently lead us on,— A presence that disturbs me with the joy Until, the breath of this corporeal frame Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime And even the motion of our human blood Of something far more deeply interfused, Almost suspended, we are laid asleep Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, In body, and become a living soul: And the round ocean and the living air, While with an eye made quiet by the power And the blue sky, and in the mind of man: Of harmony, and the deep power of joy, A motion and a spirit, that impels We see into the life of things. All thinking things, all objects of all thought, 80 And rolls through all things. Therefore am I still If this A lover of the meadows and the woods Be but a vain belief, yet, oh! how oft— And mountains; and of all that we behold In darkness and amid the many shapes 30 From this green earth; of all the mighty world Of joyless daylight; when the fretful stir Of eye, and ear,—both what they half create, Unprofitable, and the fever of the world, And what perceive; well pleased to recognise Have hung upon the beatings of my heart— In nature and the language of the sense How oft, in spirit, have I turned to thee, The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, O sylvan Wye! thou wanderer thro' the woods, The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul How often has my spirit turned to thee! Of all my moral being. 90
3 William Blake is the author and illustrator of a collection of lyrical poetry titled, Songs of Innocence and Experience (1789-1794). Blake believed that innocence and experience were "the two contrary states of the human soul." Songs of Innocence contains poems either written from the perspective of children or written about them. In addition, his collection explores the different ways children and adults perceive the world around them. Blake’s poetry reveals that he was a staunch critic of many societal and political injustices of the day. He confronts issues such as industrialization and institutionalized religion in his poetry. The Chimney Sweeper poems specifically address the 18th & early 19th century practice of employing young children to sweep chimneys that were an average of seven square inches in size.
“The Chimney Sweeper: When my mother died I was very young” By William Blake (from Songs of Innocence, 1789)
When my mother died I was very young, And my father sold me while yet my tongue Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!" So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.
There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved, so I said, "Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare, You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."
And so he was quiet, & that very night, As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight! That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, & Jack, Were all of them locked up in coffins of black;
And by came an Angel who had a bright key, And he opened the coffins & set them all free; Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run, And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.
Then naked & white, all their bags left behind, They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind. And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy, He'd have God for his father & never want joy.
And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark And got with our bags & our brushes to work. Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm; So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.
4 “The Chimney Sweeper: A little black thing among the snow” By William Blake (from Songs of Experience, 1794)
A little black thing among the snow, Crying "weep! 'weep!" in notes of woe! "Where are thy father and mother? say?" "They are both gone up to the church to pray.
Because I was happy upon the heath, And smil'd among the winter's snow, They clothed me in the clothes of death, And taught me to sing the notes of woe.
And because I am happy and dance and sing, They think they have done me no injury, And are gone to praise God and his Priest and King, Who make up a heaven of our misery."
5 Sonnet—To Science By Edgar Allan Poe (1830)
Science! true daughter of Old Time thou art! Who alterest all things with thy peering eyes. Why preyest thou thus upon the poet’s heart, Vulture, whose wings are dull realities? How should he love thee? or how deem thee wise, Who wouldst not leave him in his wandering To seek for treasure in the jewelled skies, Albeit he soared with an undaunted wing? Hast thou not dragged Diana from her car, And driven the Hamadryad from the wood To seek a shelter in some happier star? Hast thou not torn the Naiad from her flood, The Elfin from the green grass, and from me The summer dream beneath the tamarind tree?
6 Romantic Poetry Jigsaw: Guided Questions
Group #1: “My Heart Leaps Up” and “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” “My Heart…” 1. What does the rainbow symbolize to the speaker? 2. What aspect of nature does the speaker highlight in lines 3-5? 3. In the seemingly paradoxical statement, “The Child is the father of the Man”, Wordsworth explores the relationship between childhood and adulthood. What is he attempting to convey about childhood and adulthood? 4. What “natural piety” might Wordsworth be referring to? 5. What is the speaker’s overall attitude toward nature? Make sure you can support your response with evidence from the poem.
“Cloud” 1. Based on the poem, what can be inferred about the speaker’s view of man’s solitude? His view of man’s connection/relationship to nature? 2. What primary device is used to characterize the daffodils in the poem? Why might Wordsworth choose this device? How does his choice enhance the meaning of the poem? 3. What other literary elements do you notice? What is their effect? 4. The daffodils ultimately take on a symbolic meaning in the poem? What do they seem to represent? How is this supported in the poem? 5. What is a thematic message/lesson that can be derived from the poem?
Group #2: “Tintern Abbey” excerpt 1. What details in the title help to contextualize the poem? What is important to understand prior to reading? 2. According to the speaker, how has Tintern Abbey influenced him, even in his absence? (see 1st stanza) 3. According to the speaker (in the last 3 lines of the first stanza), why is introspection/reflection important? What is the connection of this argument to Tintern Abbey? 4. How does the speaker characterize the world away from Tintern Abbey? Find 2-3 supporting examples. 5. In lines 40-44, what metaphor does the speaker employ? What point is he attempting to make with this metaphor? 6. The speaker explores the relationship between youth and age. How does he characterize his youth? How has his view of nature changed as he has aged? (find evidence to support) 7. What figurative language does the speaker use in the final ~5 lines of the excerpt? What is the effect? 8. This poem is often cited to as the quintessential Romantic poem. Overall, how does it reflect the ideals of the time period?
Group #3: “The Chimney Sweeper: When my mother died when I was very young” & “The Chimney Sweeper: A little black thing among the snow” “My mother died…” (from Songs of Innocence) 1. How does the first stanza highlight the conditions of young children working as chimney sweeps? 2. Based on the first and second stanzas, what is the speaker’s attitude toward his position/employment? How is this evident in his comment to Tom Dacre (a new recruit)? 3. From whose perspective is the poem told? To whom is he speaking? Why might Blake have chosen this perspective?
7 4. What details stand out about Tom Dacre’s “dream”? How can his dream be characterized? Do you think his dream compares with the reality of child chimney sweepers? 5. What larger point do you think Blake is trying to make through the details of Tom Dacre’s dream? Whose perspective does Tom’s dream represent?
“Black thing among the snow” (from Songs of Experience) 1. How does the tone of this poem compare with the previous one? 2. What is the effect of the color imagery/details in the first line? How does this detail help characterize the chimney sweeper? 3. What might the “clothes of death” represent in the second stanza? (consider his job). 4. How do the sweeper’s experiences in this poem contrast with the sweepers in Tom Dacre’s dream in the first poem? 5. How/where is it evident that the sweeper (speaker) in this poem understands his oppression? 6. Blake is more clearly condemnatory in this poem. What is he criticizing? Who is his criticism directed to? Where is this evident?
Group #4: “Sonnet-To Science” Given the sonnet form, it might be helpful to analyze the respective quatrains. Consider the punctuation and/or units of thought that build or progress to his conclusion. 1. How does the speaker characterize Science in the first quatrain (4 lines) of the poem? What literary devices does Poe employ to do this? Cite examples and explain their effect. 2. From whose perspective is the poem told? What qualities are associations are made with such individuals? → Make sure to note the pronouns and who they refer to 3. What allusions (and what kind of allusions) does the speaker make? How do the allusions help him continue to characterize Science? 4. The final two lines of a sonnet generally mark a shift. What shift occurs, especially in the final line? 5. What is the overall tone of the poem? (Consider the main subject and the speaker’s attitude toward that subject) 6. In this poem, Poe explores the conflict of science and myth. What larger point is he attempting to make about science (i.e. theme)? [→ Consider what science and myth are grounded in, respectively]
8