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The Romantic Period Was A Movement That Originated In Europe

Decent Essays

The Romantic period was a movement that originated in Europe in the late 18th century. It was characterized by an emphasis on individualization and emotion. This period glorified the past, especially the mid-evil period. It also glorified nature and the natural world. The Romantic period was a response to the hyper rationalization of the Enlightenment period.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a popular poet of the Romantic Period and was considered to be one of the founders of the Romantic Period. He was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian. Him and his friend William Wordsworth kicked off the Romantic Period by publishing a book of poems called Lyrical Ballads in 1798. Coleridge had an interesting and difficult …show more content…

Coleridge criticizes the hyper rationalization of the Enlightenment by writing about suffering which cannot be rationalized. In section two line 135-139, Coleridge writes, “And every tongue, / through utter drought, was withered at the root;/ We could not speak, no more than if/ We had been choked with soot.” In this stanza the Mariner is describing the suffering he was going through after he killed the albatross. He shares this punishment with the crew. The albatross may be a symbol of Christ and the senseless murder of the Albatross can be paralleled to his crucifixion. This cannot be rationalized because the crew did nothing wrong and therefore they shouldn’t have suffered. Another line when Coleridge describes suffering is in section three line 162 through 166. He writes, “With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, / we could nor laugh nor wail;/ through utter drought all dumb we stood! / I bit my arm, I suck’d the blood,/ and cried, A sail! A sail!” These lines also speak of the suffering that the mariner and his crew are going through specifically the intense thirst. He speaks about how he was so thirsty that he drank his own blood and their lips were so chapped they were black. At the end of this quote, the mariner believes that he sees a ship which may rescue him and his crew but unfortunately they do not. This continues the criticism that the crew is suffering for the mariner continues but there is also the added suffering

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