Romanticism and Its Literary Example

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.

1. “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.

1. 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.  

1. “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.

1. 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).

1. “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.”

1. 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.

1. 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.”

1. Gaslighting, triangulation, invalidation

Ekphrasis and Romanticism

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.

1. New culture movement

During the late 19^th 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.   

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. “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.

1. 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.  

1. Negritudé

Negritude: A Style of Writing

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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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.  

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

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 20^thcentury 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 20^thcentury 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. 

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.   

Feminism: Rankwana and Wedding at the Cross

“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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. “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.  

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.