Millennialism and Apocalypse Thought in S. T. Coleridge and William Wordsworth's Poetics

Over time, poetry has changed and evolved in its sense of the word nature. In its beginnings the idea of nature or natural was seen as negative and evil. However, in more recent times due to the era of Romanticism, nature in poetry is viewed in a positive and even beautiful light. William Wordsworth was a poet who wrote his poetry with a romantic attitude. Furthermore Wordsworth wrote specifically the poems “We Are Seven” (WAS) and “Three Years She Grew” (TYSG) in a style that showcased the superiority of nature over society. “We Are Seven” and “Three Years She Grew” portray a romantic attitude in their works, additionally the values placed on the natural world over the societal world

The French Revolution was a period of far-reaching social and political change in France that lasted from 1789 to 1799. Before the revolution there was a period of time called the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement in which followers considered that human reason brought a move from theory to practice and criticism to reforming education, household administration, social reactions and politics. Voltaire, a French philosopher and contributor to the Age of Enlightenment, expressed these ideas utilizing his intelligence, wit and style to mark his name as one of France’s greatest writers. The Enlightenment influenced the French Revolution to a great extent by introducing new ideas that encouraged questioning of authority and religion, advancing people’s outlook on commodities, and forcing citizens to compare their need with the Republic’s needs. This further brought an uprising of people wanting more such as equality and civil rights. In the process to do so there were 250,000 casualties in the Reign of Terror followed the Thermidorian Reaction which implemented an oligarchy government called the Directory. Royalist riots prompted the Coup d’etat of Fructidor which brought Napoleon into Directory which he later overthrows and creates an Authoritarian Republic.

The French Revolution of 1789 was inarguably a significant turning point in the history of Europe. However, there have been historical debates over the major contributing factor that had caused the French Revolution. Many historians have argued that the French Revolution was sparked by the emerging new age ideas of Enlightenment in the 18th century, which encouraged people to think logically and critically about their society. Many notable writers such as Diderot and Voltaire began to publicly criticise the social structure and the governance of France. (Darlington et al., 2004, p.25) But other historians argue that ideas affected the way people saw

The Age of the Enlightenment during the beginning of the 18th century was a revolution that vanquished the suffocating darkness of superstition that shrouded the Middle Ages. Revolutionary thinkers of the Enlightenment, such as Denis Diderot, René Descartes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, led western civilization out of the darkness of ignorance with a small flame generated by the power of scientific and intellectual reason. For a while, it seemed as though the reason and rationality of Enlightenment thinking would be the harbinger of peace. However, this idea of peace was merely a conjectured fantasy that disregarded the rising discontentment of a newly oppressed people. This is displayed through the perversion of the French Revolution into an irrational and passion driven bloodbath. Towards the end of the 18th century, people felt that the rigidity of scientific reason instilled by the Enlightenment was bleeding the spirit, morality, and especially the passion out of existence. The small flame of the Enlightenment was ignited into a raging fire of oppressed passion generated through the power individualistic thinking. Rather than focusing on a unified peace, revolutionaries, such as Thomas Paine, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann von Goethe and Jane Austen, of the late 18th and 19th century emphasized the passion of self-expression within the individual.

(3) In addition to some other pieces of poetry, the Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge are known to have initiated the English Romantic Movement. Published originally in 1798, the initial plan for the book was for two sections, the first with two plays, but later it was rearranged with an anonymous print beginning with ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’.

France during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, was a time of intolerance, abuse and misrepresentation. During this time, a very select few writers, and philosophers voiced their enlightened ideas regarding the oppression of the French government and Catholic church. Voltaire was among the most influential French thinkers of his time and would use his bold and progressive nature to challenge the traditional constructs of society, religion and government.

Charles Dickens, author of A tale of Two Cities, is very unsympathetic to the French Revolution. Through his novel, he portrays his revulsion toward the revolution, and essentially war itself. His characters show how war turns humanity animalistic, and the suffering leaves people pitiless. The French revolution was the French middle class and peasantry revolting against the oppressive aristocracy; however they are never freed from oppression, leaving the French Revolution not effective. In addition to the ineffectiveness and desensitization, war causes innocents to suffer.

Frenchmen felt enslaved by their current authorities and tried to overthrow them through the improvement of literacy, anonymous tracts and social exploration. As the focus of Enlightenment was on the natural law and order of the world, religious beliefs and especially Christian theology were a central topic. People of this age were trying to simplify common day human laws back to nature as it provided ‘the basic metaphor’ for how mankind should live.

The French Revolution was an influential period of social and political upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799, and was partially carried forward by Napoleon during the later expansion of the French Empire. The Revolution overthrew the monarchy, established a republic, experienced violent periods of political turmoil, and finally culminated in a dictatorship by Napoleon that rapidly brought many of its principles to Western Europe and beyond. Inspired by liberal and radical ideas, the Revolution profoundly altered the course of modern history, triggering the global decline of absolute monarchies while replacing them with republics. Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history.

The Enlightenment was a time of rapid changes that took place during the eighteenth century, for the most part. This period was marked by new ideas of politics and monarchs, religion, and social ideas. During this era of vast changes, literature was also influenced. Many writers were either for the new philosophies or against them. Molière and Voltaire were writers that were against the changes of the Enlightenment. They showcased this in their works Tartuffe and Candide. These works focused on the Enlightenment changes in society by religion and politics.

The French revolution is one of the most influential events that took place in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century and it inspired a new literary movement called Romanticism. The French revolution ended the absolute monarch that has been in France for centuries and that affected a lot of people gave them hope and promised them of a better future including some of the the Romantic authors like William Blake, William Wordsworth, Edmund Burke and Percy Shelley.

The French Revolution transformed the monarch?s, religion, and political and social values. Some prominent figures in revolution of France, in particular, were Maximilian Robespierre, read the writing of the great philosopher?s like Francois Marie Arouet who wrote as Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and they changed the way society thought. ?The most radical departure from the "enlightened" point of view was?that made by Jean Jacques Rousseau, who viewed civilization as?essentially corrupting. This is a direct contradiction to the optimism of the Enlightenment and introduces a challenge to the very foundations of?the movement. The concept of the divine right of kings, for instance, underwent the scrutiny by the writings of?philosophers. Which

The French Revolution was the catalyst for the Enlightenment and was the first of its kind. It had a great impact on society because it changed its’ structure when the power shifted from religion and the feudal system into the hands of the people. “This was the first time people were seen as citizens and not servants” (Lectures). It was a time that challenged the traditional ideologies that were deeply rooted and controlled by religion and carved a new framework of society and the roles that humans played in it. The previous social structure left little to no room for people to exercise their intellect because the

Throughout history Literature has always played a unique part in shaping society and symbolizing the beliefs of its people. King Louis XIV served after a time in which there was great conflict amongst Catholics and Huguenots. This conflict brought many uncharacteristic thoughts in to society. This religious conflict would lead to a new view of the world in the eyes of those who believed in the enlightenment. Moliere and Voltaire were both influential writers who strongly represented the enlightenment beliefs in their works Tartuffe and Candide. The enlightenment brought up a rather youthful philosophy in the early seventeenth century. This philosophy focused on reason and good sense more so than common knowledge. The upper class believed they were the only group that could obtain knowledge; the enlightenment questioned this belief. This new idea helped progress the belief and hope that the middle class could become scholars themselves. In the works Tartuffe and Candide, both authors reveal an unseasoned satirical writing technique in an attempt to attack the societies and in particular the religious communities logical approach.

This period allowed those who lived during it to reflect on what they believed to be true. The conflict between creative thinkers and religion didn’t necessary force those to pick a side, but there were many creative minds who held strongly to their religious beliefs. It was believed that the existence of God established social order. "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him." (Voltaire, 1768). This was a period of great importance that allowed science and creative minds to grow