Romantic Poetry

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Poetry is a varied art form. Poetry is expression with words, using aesthetics and definition. Word choice in poetry is the single most important thing. Devices such as assonance, alliteration and rhythm work in a poem to convey a certain image or to facilitate understanding. Similes and metaphors can take two unlike objects, such as a potato and cinderblock, and if done the correct way use them to describe how Abraham Lincoln dealt with scoundrels. Poetry is beautiful. One of the best genres in poetry, let alone a great literary movement is Romanticism or the post-enlightenment Romantics.

Romanticism was a philosophical and literary movement in the middle to late seventeen hundreds. It surfaced as a reaction to the Enlightenment Ideas of the day, Romanticism favors more emotional and passionate objects, whereas the Enlightenment thinkers were focused on science, and progress politically and economically. More than all, the Enlightenment thinkers were focused on rationality. Romantics have a deep affection for irrationality, and love. Romantics use strong emotion as a source of literary inspiration. Absolute originality was treasured in Romanticism, before this idea copying past works was a crucial step in the creative process. This movement influenced and continues to influence all literary genres today. For example, the Byronic Code, penned by George Gordon Byron, also known as Lord Byron, dictates that a hero in a story must be a genius, gifted and a loner, and the story must follow him as he becomes inspired and brilliant to find the solution. This is very similar to almost all characters on modern television shows. Characters like House, The Mentalists’ Patrick Jane, and Sherlock Holmes penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are ...

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...his as one of my two examples. This is also one of my favorite poems, let alone Romantic poems.

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "O World! O Life! O Time!" The Complete Poetical Works of Percy

Bysshe Shelley. Comp. Thomas Hutchinson. Charleston, SC: BiblioBazaar, 2009. 681.

Print.

This is a poem by Shelley, about leaving youth behind, and lamenting it. Good example of romanticism. Also very brief, so easy to work with in this paper.

"Lord Byron." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 26 Apr. 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.

This is a webcite that has a short backround section and biographical data useful for me in my paper. It also has little tidbits of info I could use.

"Percy Bysshe Shelley." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.

This is a website that has biographical information on Shelley. It also has relevant information on his works, and death.

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