Romanticism in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake

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Romanticism in William Blake's Poem
William Blake was a poet, painter, and a printmaker all during the period in literature known as the Romantic time period. The Romantic time period, also known in Literature as 'Romanticism' began in Europe, mainly France and Britain around the 1800s (Barker) and it was first defined as a tool to in literature and literary criticisms (Galitz). The Romantic period did not just focus on literature, but also on the subjects of art and knowledge which was "fueled by the French Revolution" and was also "a reaction to the scientific rationalism and classicism of the Age of Enlightenment" (Foundations of Romanticism). "Romanticism emerged also as a response to the disillusionment with the Enlightenment values of reason and order after the French Revolution in 1789" (Galitz). Romanticism expressed ideas such as emotion, freedom and imagination (Foundations of Romanticism). To the author, William Blake, the writing style of Romanticism was highly used. Characteristics of Romanticism from the literary perspective include themes such as "interest in the average person and childhood, strong senses, emotions, and feelings, awe or Love of nature, celebration of the individual, and the importance of imagination" (Characteristics of Romanticism), and the theme of the supernatural (Bentley). Also, Romanticism has nothing to do with the actual idea of love, but it does exemplify important concepts such as “emphasis on the activity of the imagination, which was accompanied, by greater emphasis on the importance of intuition, instincts, and feelings” (Romanticism). There was even emphasis on things such as introspection, psychology, melancholy, and sadness in Romantic literature. Romanticism had a lot to do with ...

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