Wordsworth and Coleridge's Romanticism

                                   Romantic Ideals in Poetry 

This blog task is assigned by pro. Megha Ma'am, Department of English,  (MKBU).

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1. Introduction 

• Romanticism 

Romanticism was a major literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that began in Europe in the late 18th century and peaked during the early 19th century. It was a reaction against the Enlightenment and Neoclassicism, which emphasized reason, order, and rationality.

Q.1 What are the characteristics of Romantic poetry? illustrate with examples from Wordsworth and Coleridge. 

Answer :-

Characteristic of Romantic Poetry :-

In Wordsworth and Coleridge's Poetry we can find out this Characteristic which make it as a marvellous work of Art.

1. Emphasis on Emotion and Imagination 

Romantic poets valued feelings, passions, and imagination over logic and reason.

Wordsworth 

– Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey

Wordsworth highlights how emotion and memory connect with nature. He recalls his visits to the River Wye and describes how the beauty of nature not only delighted him in youth but also gave him “tranquil restoration” in moments of sadness later. 

Example:

His imagination transforms the landscape into a source of moral and spiritual guidance, beyond its physical beauty.

Coleridge 

 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Coleridge uses imagination and supernatural elements to intensify human emotions. The tale of the Mariner, cursed after killing the albatross, is full of awe, fear, guilt, and redemption. The ghostly ship, spectral figures, and the curse all emerge from Coleridge’s powerful imagination. 

Example:

The Mariner’s emotional agony and relief at blessing the water-snakes shows how imagination and emotion are fused to deliver a moral truth.

2. Love of Nature – 

Nature was seen as a source of beauty, inspiration, comfort, and moral truth.

Wordsworth presents nature as a source of spiritual inspiration and moral guidance.  Nature, for him, is not passive but an active teacher, shaping the mind and soul. His famous line -

“Nature never did betray / The heart that loved her”

show how deeply he trusts nature as a moral and emotional guide.

Coleridge presents nature as powerful, mysterious, and spiritually binding. When the Mariner kills the albatross, he violates the sacred harmony of nature, leading to suffering and isolation. His redemption comes when he suddenly feels love for the sea-creature.

3. Freedom of Expression – 

Romantic poetry rejected strict classical rules and encouraged creativity and spontaneity.

Wordsworth – “The Solitary Reaper”

Celebrates the simple life of a Highland girl reaping in the fields.

Uses ordinary language and common experiences instead of classical heroic themes.

Shows spontaneous emotion and natural expression, reflecting Romantic freedom of expression.

Coleridge – “Kubla Khan”

Imaginary, dream-like vision of Xanadu.

Breaks conventional structure; poem is fragmentary and mystical.

Emphasizes creativity and imagination, showing complete freedom in poetic expression.

4. Emphasis on personal values 

Wordsworth

Poem: Tintern Abbey

Wordsworth reflects on how nature shapes his personal values, guiding his moral and spiritual growth.

His love of nature is not just aesthetic; it provides ethical insight and inner peace, highlighting the Romantic focus on personal moral and spiritual experience.

Coleridge

Poem: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The Mariner’s personal guilt and moral awakening emphasize the importance of conscience and individual responsibility.

The poem shows that personal reflection and values guide human behaviour, a key Romantic principle.

Q-2 Why does the (1798) mark an important literary epoch? 

Answer :-

The year 1798 is considered an important literary epoch mainly because it marks the publication of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Here are some reasons that why 1798 matter a lot in english literature.

1. Birth of Romanticism :-

The first edition of Lyrical Ballads (1798) is taken as the manifesto of the Romantic Movement in England.

It broke away from the rigid conventions of Neoclassicism (which valued reason, order, formality, and imitation of classical models).

Instead, it emphasized emotion, imagination, and nature.

2. Redefinition of Poetry :-

Wordsworth’s Preface (added in the 1800 edition, but the spirit was present from 1798) declared that poetry should be written in the “language of common men” instead of artificial diction.

Poetry was defined as the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”—a revolutionary idea against earlier formal traditions.

3. Focus on Nature and the Common Life :-

The poems celebrated rural simplicity, ordinary experiences, and the spiritual power of nature.

Example:

Wordsworth’s Lines Written in Early Spring, The Tables Turned, and Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

References :-

https://prowritingaid.com/romanticism-characteristics

https://youtu.be/EWA-R60J2cs?si=MG6fMQoJmKzVnZ0S