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Romantic Poetry’s Defining Features

Wordsworth essentially defined five features of English Romanticism in his preface to Lyrical Ballads.

• A New Concept in PoetryWordsworth’s emphasis on personal experience and the glorification of the individual are very different from earlier poets’ emphasis on the greater world of human behavior. To some degree, all Romantic poets wrote about the intricate workings of their own minds and emotions.

• A New Spontaneity and FreedomWordsworth described poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” Critical of the artificiality they saw in much neoclassical literature, the Romantics placed a high value on expressing strong emotion and the free play of imagination: “I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!” imparts Shelley in “Ode to the West Wind”.

• Love of NatureRomantic poetry is often dubbed “nature poetry” because Romantic poems often focus on aspects of the natural world. However, Romantic poets did not simply describe natural settings and images; they used them as a catalyst to explore their own thoughts and feelings. For instance, “a beauteous evening” for Wordsworth is an occasion for spiritual contemplation.

• The Importance of the CommonplaceWordsworth wanted to enlarge the province of poetry to include “incidents and situations from common life.” Romantics often chose humble subjects, such as rustic life, and celebrated ordinary things, such as an early morning stroll or a field of daffodils.

• Fascination with the Supernatural and the ExoticWhile Wordsworth concentrated mostly on ordinary life, Coleridge introduced mystery and magic into English Romantic poetry. From the wonderfully strange journey in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” to the “stately pleasure dome” of “Kubla Khan”, Coleridge opened up to poetry the realm of the supernatural and the exotic.

The following chart lists the main differences between neoclassical and Romantic writers.