Romanticism In We Are Seven By William Wordsworth

"The attitudes of the Romantics were a deepened appreciation of the beauties of nature, a general exaltation of emotion over reason and of the senses over intellect" (Romanticism 1). The Romantics took their own feelings and brought them to life in their poetry. Traditional beliefs or formal rules of poetry no longer governed them. The Romantics not only held a greater ability to express themselves but they also possessed a greater sensitivity and a sense of optimism, which is prevalent in their work.

William Wordsworth’s poem, We are Seven, is about a person talking to a young girl about her and her six siblings. Throughout the poem, the narrator gave the young girl a very difficult time when she persisted that simply because not all seven children were home together, or alive, they were still seven. The narrator was giving the young girl a hard time because he wanted her to remember and understand that just because she and her siblings are separated does not make them any less siblings.

Imagine a candle-lit dinner on a starry night in Paris, the Eiffel Tower just in view with dazzling lights shining into the night. This image is probably what you think of when you hear the word “romantic,” correct. However, this image is a stumbling block when people think of the “Romanticism Period” in literature. Where “romantic” means having a lovely time with the person you love the most, “Romanticism” is a piece of literature written with key themes in mind. Those themes tend to be a strong emotion, imagery or worship of nature, and individuality and subjectivity. The peak of inspiration for these pieces was in the years 1800-1850, and there are famous poems that are well loved today from this period. Many of the poets that you enjoy reading and know are, in actuality, Romanticism writers, and instill the themes above in our minds.

Writing about the beauty of nature and the simple life was how romantic artists rebelled against the industrial

Romanticism brought about a new viewpoint on ideas and rejuvenated personal expression. People became more and more interested in imagination rather than reason. The Romantic Era dominated literature by making its mark on anything from poetry, to songs, to fiction. Emotion was expressed in every piece of work during this time period; more than ever before. The themes would convey a message of revealing one’s speculation of the subject. Romanticism was an encouraging tranformation from realism to idealism which excited and influenced many through the following decades.

‘Romantic artists used their art to portray their love and connection with nature. Their painting techniques generally encompass bright, vibrant colors, or paler and darker tones that do not provide contrast within the painting, but are rather blended and create a softer image. Many times, the immediate focus of the eye is drawn to some component of nature rather than the manmade aspects. Many times the painter’s brush strokes do not create precise lines, but are vague and provide a “blurred” perception’ http://britishromanticism.wikispaces.com/Art

What does a freed soul contribute to a person’s life? Does it, let uninhibited actions flow free, corrupting human morals? Or does it free the soul from the clutches of an oppressive society? I thought that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s commentary on uniqueness was compelling. In the Scarlet Letter, he highlights the pros and cons of being yourself. Given that, he correspondingly shows the lack of individualism that can kill a person on the inside. Arthur Dimmesdale was a person who had succumbed to becoming overwhelmingly different than the norm and yet tried to hide it, thus destroying his life at the end of the book. Hester survives the ordeal through showing to the world proof of her romantic notions, thus being

Imagination and creativity is part of the many influences that attribute to the writings in the Romantic Era. It influenced writers and poets to expand their art to a new horizons and veer away from the Enlightenment Era of tradition and logic. The use and significance of memory and dreams in the Romantic Era helped strengthen the inner emotions within writings, present ideas outside of traditional expectancies, and display the authors creativity and individuality throughout their writings. These works have resonated throughout history and British Literature inspiring new and old writers to explore within themselves and inside their imagination to create art that portrays their personalities in their work.

The era of Romanticism began as a rebellious response to the Enlightenment era. Three different authors— Wilhelm Wackenroder, August Schlegel, and Percy Shelley— allude to the Romantic significance of poetry and conceptualize poetry as “the language of the people.” In their documents presented in Breckman’s European Romanticism: a Brief History with Documents, they explore poetry and the impact it has on the people and Romanticism and persuade their readers to connect with nature and art.

Romanticism has a strong connection with nature and the people of Romanticism take lessons from it and learn from nature. “Pearl gathered the violets, and anemones, and columbines, and some twigs of the

Enlightenment and Romanticism are concepts that contradict each other often in history. These both are very similar and also very different when opposed and compared to one another. The most obvious difference is that, in the Enlightenment, there was a stronger belief in mechanical and machinery as opposed to Romanticism where most of the focal point was God and belief. It ties with the concept of reason vs. emotion, in which Enlightenment being the “reason” and Romanticism being the “emotion.” Both of these were to move away from old regime and traditions and look forward to the future traditions.

Lastly, the Romantic Era blended human emotions with nature. The interfacing of emotion and nature was emblematic of Romantic poetry, whether it engrossed the idea of bequeathing human emotions to an innate article like a river or connecting the scenery to the temperament of the writer. (James, 491) This kind of beauty that is

In the poem “We Are Seven”, Williams Wordsworth uses contrasting tones to explain a child’s and adult’s contrasting perspectives on death. The first contrast is the little girls naive perspective of death, Wordsworth highlights the innocent mind of all children as they are sheltered from the misery of death brought to the living. The second contrast is the older man's perpetual view of death, he embodies the way adults overcomplicate and are unaccepting of death. As the conversation between the little girl and the man develops so do the readers through the tone's own development.

Through the late 1700s and early 1800s, the period of Romanticism blossomed. “Romanticism” very loosely describes the era in which modern culture began to take shape. During the Romantic era, many advancements were made in all aspects of people’s lives and cultures. One aspect in particular has held great value even to this day. That aspect being the expansive amount of literature created during the era. The era of Romanticism had its name for a reason. It can be greatly attributed to the romantic style or genre of literature that defined the period. Romantic writers wove many tales of admiration, longing, and aspirations. They were fantastical, in a sense, and almost the antithesis of realism, even. Amidst the great breadth of literature

One of the most popular themes for Romantic poetry in England was nature and an appreciation for natural beauty. The English Romantic poets were generally concerned with the human imagination as a counter to the rise of science. The growing intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries placed scientific thought in the forefront of all knowledge, basing reality in material objects. The Romantics found this form of world view to be restrictive. They felt that imagination was crucial to individual happiness. The imagination also provides a common human bond; a means of sympathy, of identification. However, the absence of imagination, the Romantics felt, would lead