Romanticism in the Eighteenth Century. - Although the spirit of classicism, with its emphasis upon reason and common sense, and with its interest in literary form over subject matter, was in control in the eighteenth century, it was not the only influence at work. Side by side with it were other interests, growing in importance through the century, until, in the end, they became the dominant forces, and resulted in the great outburst of romanticism in the early nineteenth century. Influence of Spenser. One of the first of the new influences was a renewed interest in the older English writers, especially Spenser and Milton. The earliest interest was in poetic form merely. Although the prevailing meter was the heroic couplet, still the Spenserian stanza consisting of nine lines, eight iambic pentameter lines supplemented by one iambic hexameter or Alexandrian, riming ababbcbcc - was used to a limited extent from the beginning of the century. At first, however, it was employed only for purposes of satire, with no effort to get the atmosphere of mystery and romance or the rich melody of the verse. The first poet to get the real Spenserian manner was Shenstone. He began a satire called The Schoolmistress in the Spenserian stanza, studying Spenser as he wrote. He soon became genuinely interested, and before his poem was finished, he had changed it into a sincere Spenserian imitation. James Thomson (1700-1748) also imitated Spenser sympathetically in The Castle of Indolence. Compare the following stanza from Thomson with the stanza from Spenser quoted on page 222.· "A pleasing land of drowsy-head it was, Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye; Was far, far off expelled from this delicious nest." The Wartons, by their Observations on the Faerie Queene, increased the appreciation of Spenser. The Influence of Milton. Milton also was imitated both in form and thought. The octosyllabic couplet of Il Penseroso and later the blank verse of Paradise Lost were used by Parnell, Joseph and Thomas Warton, and others; and this mood of "meditative comfortable melancholy"- the Il Penseroso mood · gave rise to an entire school of “ graveyard poetry," of which Robert Blair's The Grave and Edward Young's Night Thoughts are examples, and of which Thomas Gray's An Elegy in a Country Churchyard is the most finished product. Romance. A second tendency away from classicism was a new interest in medieval ideas and customs. Horace Walpole, the model of fashion, started the interest by building a Gothic castle on Strawberry Hill, and gathering together there a collection of antiquities. He also wrote a medieval romance full of mystery and superstition. This romance, The Castle of Otranto, was the forerunner of a long series of stories, of which Clara Reeve's The Old English Baron, Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, and Matthew Gregory Lewis's Monk are rather crude examples, and of which the novels of Sir Walter Scott are the artistic climax. Ballads. The old ballads and romances also came into vogue. As early as 1711 Addison spoke favorably, though conservatively, of Chevy Chace, and Bishop Percy firmly established the ballad interest by the publication of the Reliques of Ancient Poetry in 1765. The old manuscript which formed the basis of Percy's book was found by chance in the house of a friend. Percy discovered it under an old bureau, where it had been carelessly thrown, after some of the leaves had been torn away. He read the manuscript with much interest, and after consultation with his friends, decided to print it along with a number of modern songs. The volume contains a fairly representative selection of the older ballads: heroic ballads like Robin Hood, historical ballads like Chevy Chace and Sir Patrick Spence, romance ballads like Lord Thomas and Fair Annet. The Reliques of Ancient Poetry was followed by the collections of Ritson, Sir Walter Scott, and others. The freshness and simplicity of these old ballads delighted all those who were becoming tired of the conventions and artifices of classicism. Northern Antiquities. - Bishop Percy is responsible for another epoch-making book entitled Northern Antiquities (1770), which was translated from a French work written by Paul H. Mallet, professor at the University of Copenhagen. This book gives an account of the weird northern mythology, and contains translations from the Old Norse literature. Its influence in England is best seen in the poetry of Thomas Gray, especially in The Descent of Odin and The Fatal Sisters. The same interest in the somber, mysterious, and weird is illustrated in James Macpherson's Ossian, a story developed out of scraps of legend which Macpherson had picked up in the highlands of Scotland. To the same general movement belong Robert Evans's Some Specimens of the Poetry of the Ancient Welsh Bards, Collins's Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands of Scotland, and Thomas Chatterton's Rowley Poems, inspired by manuscripts which he found in the old church of St. Mary Redcliffe in Bristol. Renewed Interest in Nature. - A third romantic tendency was the renewed interest in nature and in country life. The classicists loved the city. Their only interest in nature came from classical books, or from artificial gardens mathematically laid out. Gradually, however, there grew up an interest in real English woods and fields and streams. People began to seek relaxation in the country, and came to enjoy nature in her rural state. The most important nature poems of the middle eighteenth century are James Thomson's (1700-1748) Seasons and William Cowper's (1731-1800) The Task. Thomson was reared in the country; Cowper spent most of his life there. Both loved nature sincerely. Thomson had the wider interest; but Cowper was a more accurate observer, and had the advantage of writing with his eye upon the object to be described. Cowper had less, too, of the conventional poetic phraseology of the classical school. Both men, however, show a marked departure from the manner of the classicists. The French Revolution. The French Revolution furnished still another impetus to romanticism. It stimulated Englishmen to throw off the restraint of convention; to become more independent of laws, customs, and traditions; to assert individuality. It created a discontent with the world as it was, and stimulated the imagination to dwell upon the ideal human state. The influence was both doctrinal and emotional. William Godwin's Political Justice introduced into England the doctrines of the French Revolution; the belief in simplicity, the reliance on natural impulse as opposed to reason and common sense, and the faith in the perfectability of the human race, if it could be freed from the restraints of customs and conventions, of religion and laws. This book had a large influence upon the romantic poets, especially upon Shelley, Godwin's son-in-law. But, independent of doctrines, the whole outburst in France in favor of liberty, equality, and fraternity aroused the enthusiasm of young Englishmen, and helped emphasize in literature the imagination and the emotions. It called attention to the poor and lowly; it evoked interest in the simple and fundamental things of life. Robert Burns. By far the most popular of the early romantic poets was Robert Burns (1759-1796), a poor Scotch farmer with an impulsive nature, rich in emotions, and with a remarkable genius for song. He voiced the loves and sorrows of the simple poor with rare truth and intensity. His democratic ideas, his large human sympathy, his love of nature, especially of animals and flowers, his hatred of cant and hypocrisy, his rich humor all united to give him a deservedly wide popularity. His moral fiber, however, was weak. He lived a pathetic life, struggling desperately for daily bread, giving himself over to dissipation, and dying in poverty and bitter neglect. One stanza of his epitaph written by himself should be remembered. "The poor inhabitant below Was quick to learn, and wise to know, And keenly felt the friendly glow and softer flame, But thoughtless follies laid him low And stain'd his name." T |