Similarities And Differences Between The Romantic Essay, Research Paper
Similarities and differencesbetween the Romantic Ageand the Victorian Period. Similarities and Differences Between the Romantic Ageand the Victorian Period What were the similarities and differences between the Romantic Age and theVictorian Period? The Romantic Age and Victorian Period had many similarities, butthey had far more differences. They first differed in rule: the Romantic Age didn’thave a king or queen, but the Victorian Period did. They were similar and differentin writing styles, and beliefs. The Industrial Revolution also had an effect on bothtime periods. The Romantic Period was from 1784 until 1832. The Romantics brought amore brave, individual, and imaginative approach to both literature and life. Duringthe Romantic Age the individual became more important than society. Individualismbecame the center of the Romantic vision (Pfordresher, 423). The Romantic Age inEngland was a movement that effected all the countries of western Europe. Romanticism represents an attempt to rediscover the mystery and wonder of theworld (Pfordresher, 424). The French Revolution, 1793-1815, gave life and breath to the dreams of someRomantic writers. They wanted liberty and equality for all individuals (Pfordresher,423). The Industrial Revolution was changing England from a rural society to anation of factories (Fuller, 280). England changed from an agricultural society to anindustrial society, and from home manufacturing to factory production. WhenNapoleon came into power, people became as violent and corrupt as their formerrulers. This was known as the Reign of Terror. “England emerged from theeighteenth century a parliamentary state in which the Almeida 2 monarchy was largely a figurehead,” according to Pfordresher. (Pfordresher, 423). The Victorian Period was from 1832 until 1901. It marked the climax ofEngland’s rise to economic and military dominance (Pfordresher, 543). TheRomantic spirit didn’t disappear, but it wasn’t the leading influence. “The RomanticPeriod shaded gradually into the Victorian Age, which gets its name from QueenVictoria,” said by Fuller in The New Book of Knowledge (Fuller, 284). QueenVictoria reigned for 63 years, 1837-1901, the longest in English history (Pfordresher,543). Victorian England was mighty, and it’s empire circled the globe (Fuller, 284). During her reign, Britain emerged as the world’s foremost industrial nation. Manypeople were critical of the society in which they lived (Fuller, 284). Nine-teenthcentury England became the first modern and industrial nation (Pfordresher, 543). During Victoria’s reign great economic, social, and political changes occurred inBritain (Merritt, 320). Pfordresher said that “It ruled the most widespread empire inworld history, embracing all of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, andmany smaller countries in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.” (Pfordresher, 543). England then started to become unstable and survival seemed doubtful(Pfordresher, 543). An English version of the French Revolution seemed dangerouslyclose. The number of people doubled in England between 1801 and 1850. Like theRomantic Age, the population shifted from rural areas to the newly industrializedcities (Pfordresher, 544). “The Victorian years did bring increasing efforts to achievepolitical , social, and economic reforms to meet the changes created byindustrialization,” said by Pfordresher (Pfordresher, 545). Almeida 3 The 1840’s were the worst of the century for employment, hunger, and disease(Pfordresher, 545). Another difference between the Romantic Age and the Victorian Period is theway that the writers wrote and in what they believed. Romantic writers wereoptimists, they believed in the possibility of progress, social and human reform. Theysaw mankind as generally good, but were corrupted by society (Pfordresher, 423). Romantic writers broke with the eighteenth century belief in the power of reason,instead they believed in imagination and emotion (Fuller, 280). The preromantics
were a group of poets who represented a bridge between classicism and romanticism. They signaled the awareness of social problems and the love of nature that becametypical of English romanticism. William Blake was the leading preromantic poet.(Merritt, 319). Romantic poets believed that nature was the principle source ofinspiration, spiritual truth, and enlightenment. “Poets of the Romantic Age focusedon the ordinary person and common life in order to affirm the worth and dignity of allhuman beings, and to repudiate to evils of a class system that artificially designated afew select people as more important than others because of wealth, position, orname,” said Pfordresher (Pfordresher, 424). From 1786 to 1830 a few major poetsemerged who permanently affects the nature of English language and literature(Pfordresher, 426). Robert Burns was a Scottish writer who wrote about characters,sometimes with a Scottish dialect (Pfordresher, 319) Another writer of the RomanticAge was Percy Bysshe Shelley, and idealist and social reformer. John Keats wroteintense and vivid poems. Many deal with beauty and it’s inevitable passing(Pfordresher, 320). William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were the firstimportant English romantic poets (Merritt, 320). In 1798 Almeida 4 Wordsworth and Coleridge wrote a volume of poems called Lyrical Ballads. It hassometimes been called romantic poetry’s declaration of independence (Fuller, 281). Victorian poets thought and wrote differently that the Romantic poets. Victorian poets dealt with the contrast between the prosperity of the middle andupper classes and the miserable conditions of the poor (Merritt, 320). In the lateryears of the period there were modern kinds of realistic writing. Some authorsshowed a new, deeper understanding of character. Lord Tennyson has been called thevoice of Victorian England. Lord Tennyson reflects the Victorian concern withmoral codes in the retelling of King Author’s legends, “The Idylls of the King.” PeterBrowning was another good writer, but her was more admired than understood(Merritt, 284). The Industrial Revolution took place in England from 1750 until 1850. Duringthe Romantic Age, towns became cities and more and more villagers, forced byeconomic necessity to seek work in the growing factories, huddled together in filthyslums. Men, women and children worked from sunrise to sunset. For children of thepoor, religious training, medical care, and education were practically nonexistent(Pfordresher, 423). Through the efforts of reformers, the church and governmentassumed responsibilities. Sunday schools were organized; hospitals were built;movements were begun to reform the prisons and regulate the conditions of childlabor (Pfordresher, 424). Gradually English society began to awake to its obligationsto the helpless (Pfordresher, 423). In the Victorian Period the Industrial Revolution had started in the 18th centurywith the invention of the steam engine and machines for spinning and weaving. Innorthern England the “newly mechanized” textile industry expanded Almeida 5 rapidly. Industrialization destroyed old jobs as it provided new ones. During thepopulation shifting there was bad water, no sanitation and little food (Pfordresher,543). Men, women and children worked up to 16 hours a day, 6 days a week, infactories without safety regulations (Pfordresher, 545). Industry became a majorinfluence on English life. In Europe it produced revolutionary unrest (Fuller, 284). Industry and trade expanded rapidly, and railroads and canals crisscrossed the country(Merritt, 320). The Romantic Age and the Victorian Period had many similarities in the effectof industry on society and poetry. They had a lot more differences in the backgroundand the writing styles and beliefs of the poets of both times. So in conclusion, theRomantic Age and the Victorian Period had many similarities and differences.
Fuller, Edmond. “English Literature.” The New Book of Knowledge. volume 5. Danbury, Connecticut: 1995. Merritt, James Douglas. “English Literature.” World Book Encyclopedia. volume 6. Chicago: 1996. Pfordresher, John. England in Literature. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company; 1991.