Romanticism and British Literature

The 18th century had been a time of enlightenment, of a belief in reason, tradition, society, and science. Then, in the words of one critic, the French Revolution and Napoleon made a clean sweep. After them, it was no longer possible to think, act, or write as if the old forms still had life. Out of the smoke of the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution emerged a new approach to In this Romantic Age, the individual person was valued over society, imagination was valued over logic, and the natural was valued over the artificial. Romantics found inspiration in nature, folk art, the past, and their own passions. William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were two of the most important Romantic poets. Wordsworth created simple poems about common people in ordinary settings. Coleridge, on the other hand, explored exotic and supernatural themes. The Romantics watched as cities grew, industry prospered, and farming life declined. In an effort to reclaim nature, the Romantics made it a central force in their lives and their literature. Nature was celebrated as a source of delight, an image of love, and a model of moral perfection. To the Romantics, nature provided the pattern on which to base their creative lives. At the same time, libertarianism, or an emphasis on individual rights, became popular. The Romantics rejected the authoritarian themes of the previous period and asserted individual freedoms in their writings. To them, nature and libertarianism went hand in hand. George III ruled Britain for more than 50 years. The first monarch from the House of Hanover to be born in Great Britain, King George showed great concern for his subjects, if not great prowess as a ruler. During the course of his long reign, King George lost the American colonies and suffered from bouts of dementia. Still, he was a kind, frugal family man whose sense of private duty and public morality made him popular with his subjects. In 1783, George III named the youthful William Pitt Prime Minister of Britain. His nomination came at a good time, for Britain was on the brink of war with France, and Pitt was prepared with strategies. Over the years, as the French Revolution turned into a full-scale war, Pitt organized several coalitions of countries against France, leading eventually to the defeat of France's leader Napoleon in 1814. In 1811, George III was officially declared insane at the age of 73. His son was made regent, or stand-in ruler. In place of a mentally incompetent monarch, Britain now had an extravagant and thoughtless ruler. In 1820, his father died and the prince regent became King George IV, a man who lived lavishly and paid little attention to his suffering subjects for the duration of his reign. George IV died in 1830 and was succeeded by his more liberal brother, William IV. William's major contribution to his reign was his passage of the Reform Bill in 1832, which extended the right to vote to members of the middle class and some artisans. The bill encouraged political party organization and began to weaken the monarchy's grip on politics. During the Industrial Revolution, workers faced a grim life of long hours, harsh treatment, and low wages. In August of 1819, workers gathered in St. Peter's Fields in Manchester to protest these unfair working conditions. The demonstration turned violent when the cavalry arrived and charged the crowd. Nearly 600 people were injured and at least 11 people were killed. The incident came to be known as the Peterloo Massacre. Fearful of the violation of their personal freedoms, English citizens resisted forming an organized police force, despite the fact that crime was escalating in the highly populated towns. When it became clear that housebreaking and robbery were increasing daily, however, the people demanded protection. In 1829, Robert Peel organized the London Metropolitan Police. A thousand officers wearing top hats and blue frock coats and carrying no weapons other than their batons became the first policemen. They were nicknamed Bobbies after the man who established the organization. The word dandy became popular to define a man who was very conscious of style and dressed elegantly. George Beau Brummel, a dandy who was considered an authority on fashion, popularized elaborate cravats, or neckties, as well as the color black for evening wear. Women abandoned tight bodices and stiff corsets in favor of high-waisted, low-necked gowns. The popular writing of the time continued to be satirical works as well as essays. Many writers expressed their opinions, feelings, and personalities in informal essays. William Hazlett, Charles Lim, and others voiced their thoughts on politics, philosophy, literature, and popular culture, while reformers exposed society's ills and proposed remedies. Magazines also took center stage. Editors and publishers catered to the growing middle class, tailoring publications to suit the public's taste. The Edinburgh Review, providing critical essays and literary pieces, became one of the most popular periodicals of the time, and the contributors, such as Thomas Bavington Macaulay, gained literary fame through the journal. The Gentleman's Magazine was the first periodical to contain the word magazine. Each edition included a wide variety of entertaining material, from political debates to poems. The magazine served as a model for later American periodicals. In addition to poetry, novelists also wrote in the romantic vein. Despite initial criticism, the novel became widely accepted, inspiring a dramatic increase of fiction writing in the 1800s. Though authors used a wide range of styles, including gothic, historical, and romantic, the basis of the novel was reality. Some of the best-known novels of time include Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, and Emma by Jane Austen.