THE EARLY ROMANTICS

1. The 19th Century

a. Skepticism questioned long held Juedo-Christian view of the world.

b. Writers sought to establish order in their inner world through imagination.

c. Writers committed to honor, liberty, and the desire to make a better world.

2. Basic beliefs

a. Reacted against strict rules of the neo-classicists.

1) Freed meter and rhyme.

2) Saw the source of poetry in a personal emotion.

3) Sang of the common man.

4) Expressed loneliness and melancholy.

5) Rebelled against tyrannical authority.

6) Prized imagination and intuition as sources of truth.

b. Credo stated in the "Preface" to the Lyrical Ballads (1798)

1) Poetry should be written in language of the common person.

2) Poetry should reflect incidents of everyday life.

3) But the poet should color these situations with imagination so they appear unordinary.