Aspects of Romanticism

Nature, imagery, and the freedom of thought and expression are key elements of Romanticism as characterized in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, William Wordsworth “We are Seven,” and Percy Shelley’s “Mutability.” These literary works of Jane Austen, Percy Shelley, and William Wordsworth focus on emphasizing their feelings and emotions by using their imagination and their love of nature as key tools for helping readers to comprehend their personal experiences. Each of their works reflects situations that occur in daily life and serves as an approach to help readers gain an understanding of the human mind.

Jane Austen’s use of nature, imagery, and emotion in Sense and Sensibility reflect the morals and principles of her time. She centers attention on Elinor’s sensible nature, such as common sense and reason when she describes Elinor as “This eldest daughter whose advice was so effectual, possessed a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgment, which qualified her, though only nineteen to be the counselor of her mother, and enables her frequently to counteract, to the advantage of them all” (Austen 6). Austen focuses on Marianne’s romantic nature, such as sentiment, impulsiveness, emotion, and the love of the picturesque when she describes Marianne as “sensible and clever; but eager in everything; her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation” (Austen 6). Austen focuses on the different ways that Elinor and Marianne express their emotions. Elinor and Marianne are exact opposites because Elinor listens to her head while Marianne relies on her heart. This is noted with Elinor’s relationship with Edward when she finds out about Lucy. Instead of her showing her emotions, she is able to keep her composure while having conv...

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...f nature, imagery, and emotion is simply to describe the dark and negative sides of life.

Jane Austen, William Wordsworth, and Percy Shelly focus on putting emphasis on the activity of the imagination with an even greater emphasis on the importance of imagery, nature, and feelings. Jane Austen’s use of Romanticism in her literary work, Sense and Sensibility focuses on balancing the needs of society with the needs of the individual. William Wordsworth “We are Seven” is a representation of Romanticism that focuses on nature and imagery as a means of comparison for human emotions. Percy Shelley expresses Romanticism in “Mutability” in a way that portrays the changes that occur in life for which we have no control. These three authors express Romanticism in their literary works, but each of them has a different approach and a different meaning to their story.