Romanticism, an intellectual and cultural movement during the late 18th to 19th century that followed the Age of Enlightenment, could be described as a rebellion against the social and political norms of the aristocratic society. Merriam-Webster defines Romanticism as “a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement originating in the 18th century, characterized chiefly by a reaction against neoclassicism and an emphasis on the imagination and emotions (Romanticism)”. Historians oftentimes have reflected upon the conscious rejection of conventional societal manners as a characteristic of young poets (Spielvogel 657). Contrary to the rationalistic approach to thought that was typical of the Age of Enlightenment, Romantic literature focused upon human emotion, freedom of thought, individualism, self-reflection and the adoration of the ordinary. Romantic poetry also served as a way to express one of the foremost “characteristics of Romanticism: love of nature” (Spielvogel 658.) Intuition, free expression of emotion and thought, a return to the sacramental connection with nature and the belief in the goodness of humankind were all critical elements within much of the literature of this time. Percy Bysshe Shelley, a classic example of a Romantic poet, contributed immensely to the legacy of Romanticism. Critical writer Tel Asiado states, “[h]is poems over flow with intense emotional and radical ideas” (Asiado).
During Shelley’s life, he composed many impressive works of poetry that were characterized by the freedom of thought, human emotion, individualism, reflection on the past, thoughts on humanity and dynamic power of nature. Although Matthew Arnold labeled him an "ineffectual angel," 20th-century critics have taken Shelley s...
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...tions of Literature. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat, 1965. Print.
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Both Percy and Mary Shelley had written a different interpretation of the Prometheus myth; with Percy’s Prometheus Unbound and Mary’s Frankenstein. Both of these works had examples that showed how the characters projected themselves into other beings. It could be interpreted that Mary had the intention to criticize the way a strong feeling of wishing something that is beyond the laws of the natural world to happen is without regard for the consequences that could occur as a result. These outcomes cannot be planned or controlled. Despite the outward appearance or aspect of the emphases on knowledge and creation—traits that are often considered virtues—Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Percy Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound revealed the ways in which humans, in their desire for these virtues, can triumph over the unpredictability of nature. The visually descriptive and figurative language that each author utilized helped to show the advantage of the power of narrative as a means of expressing the characters’ egos which drove them to overreach for the dominance over nature and relate to real people.
Perry, Marvin, et al. Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics and Society. 4th ed. Vol. I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.
...here are similar aspects to each writer's experience. Engaging the imagination, Ramond, Wordsworth and Shelley have experienced a kind of unity; conscious of the self as the soul they are simultaneously aware of 'freedoms of other men'. I suggested in the introduction that the imagination is a transition place wherein words often fail but the experience is intensified, even understood by the traveler. For all three writers the nature of the imagination has, amazingly, been communicable. Ramond and Wordsworth are able to come to an articulate conclusion about the effects imagination has on their perceptions of nature. Shelley, however, remains skeptical about the power of the imaginative process. Nonetheless, Shelley's experience is as real, as intense as that of Ramond and Wordsworth.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, was the daughter of the radical feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft, and the political philosopher, William Godwin, and the wife of the Romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley. Through these familial affiliations, she was also acquainted with Lord Byron, Samuel T. Coleridge, and other literary figures such as Charles and Mary Lamb. Surrounded by such influential literary and political figures of the Romantic Age, it is not surprising that as an adolescent, at the age of 19, she wrote Frankenstein. Though critically a failure, (British Critic,1818 and Monthly Review, 1818) the novel has never been out of print and has been translated into numerous languages. What is surprising, however, is the enormous body of knowledge contained in the novel. The novel contains references to the fields of literature, poetry, science, education, politics, history, and mythology. How did such a young girl, living a life considered morally objectionable to society and harassed by family and financial burdens, acquire such a vast amount of knowledge in all fields of study that encompassed the important issues of her day? Through examination of biographical information and Mary Shelley's journal entries, we will be able to answer this question. Following, I also plan to highlight Mary Shelley's knowledge of literature with primary emphasis on the works studied by the monster in relation to his origins as well as Mary Shelley's.
Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. "CHAPTER 18 PAGES 668-669." Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 16TH ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &, 2008. N. pag. Print.
Coffin, Judith G, et al. Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 17th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 2011. Print.
and irreparable" (86). Valperga, published in 1823, received reviews with modern critics that were not as highly ranked as the others. Shelley first began Valperga in 1817, however, she completed the novella in 1821, during which Shelley went through a marriage crisis with her husband Percy Shelley and mourned over the loss of two children (Walling 52). Walling observes that Shelley’s other novelettes were Matilda, completed in 1819, Perkin Warbeck, published in 1830, Lodore, published in 1835, and Falker, published in 1837. Society also granted fame to Mary Shelley for her intriguing poetry. In 1822, Shelley wrote her first poem, "The Choice". Shelley’s release of Shelley’s Prometheus Poems in 1824 sold more than three hundred copies (10).
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Shelley, Percy Bysshe. Prometheus Unbound. Shelley’s Poetry and Prose. Ed. Donald H. Reiman and Neil Fraistat. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2002. 206-283.
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