Explore the Romantic Aspects of At Least Four of the Poems That You Have Studied In the Collection

The poems I will be describing date back to the Romanticism period of time. The word “romanticism” originally originates from the Romans. This era started in 1780AD. Previous to this period of time, there was an era of science and fact. This was known as the era of enlightenment. This is the purpose of the romantic era, which still exists today. It was to acquire an escape from the science and realistic way of life. There are many different well known poets of this era. For example there is John Keats, William Blake, William Wordsworth and many more. These poets all had romanticism exposed in a variety of ways. As well as the traditional sense of love, there are many other aspects. These other aspects include beauty, nature, cosmic, glory, religious beliefs and transcendence. The most important purpose for these poems portrayed the escapism that people wanted to experience. The nihilism was the main cause of this entire era as people felt emptiness within them and wanted to escape to a world of imagination and fiction.

The first poem I will analyse for romantic aspects is a poem called The Tyger by William Blake. William Blake was born in 1757 and died in 1827.

In this poem, there is a romantic aspect within the title. As mentioned previously, nature is a part of romanticism. William Blake has used an animal for the title of this poem. This portrays a romantic aspect as animals relate to nature. These poems often have hidden aspects within the text. For example, “what immortal hand or eye” is a reference to god. This is a romantic aspect as it has connection to religion. William Blake also questions God, “Could frame thy fearful symmetry?” this is referring to the power of the tiger. The tiger’s power is fatally dangerous and here the poet is saying that God has created such a powerful beast and to represent his power, the tiger may be another form of God. Transcendence is represented by “wings”. The wings symbolise the uplifting that God can generate. The poet goes on to another romantic aspect. This aspect being cosmic. “When the stars threw down their spears and water’d heaven with their tears” he mentions stars with “spears” which is a form of personification, which draws a picture of stars shining brightly, almost as if they are throwing down the rays of light. there is also a comparison with “tears” and “heavens”. This is an affective compassion because heaven is usually associated with pure souls and is also a religious aspect, however is said to be “water’d” by tears. This seems to be affective to the reader as although the poet is talking about tears, it still feels tranquil. The poem concludes with a repetition which is another reference to God and religion, and also a reference to the tigers beauty.

The second poem that I will analyse is called “So We’ll Go No More A – Roving” by George Byron. George Byron was also well known as Lord Byron. Lord Byron was born in 1788 and died in the year 1824.

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This poem describes a special bond between a couple in love. It is all about affection and ones love for another. The title means that they have to stop and cannot continue roaming around. There are many references to love in this poem. For example “though the heart be still as loving” and “though the night was made for loving”. As I mentioned before, the traditional meaning for romance is love and affection. The two people in the poem are very much in “love” and are showing this by fondness to each other. There is also a mention of cosmic, “And the moon be still as bright” the fatigue they have caused themselves has to recover naturally. This is another hidden aspect as it is not mentioned directly. The poet says this in line 7, “And the heart must pause to breathe”. It seems as if the two people in the poem are using there love to escape the reality of the world. Towards the end of the poem the poets says “And the day returns too soon” which shows the reader that the couple do not want the day to come to an end, almost like a fairy tale or a dream world. This is also an aspect of romanticism.

The next two poems that I will analyse are both written by William Wordsworth. William Wordsworth was born in 1770 and died in the year 1850.

The first poem is called “The world is too much with us”. This gives an indication, before reading the poem that the poet is talking about escapism and is exasperated with a certain situation. The words “too much” show this evidently. Wordsworth mentions “nature” but does not dwell on it. He says “Little we see in nature that is ours”. He is referring more to possessions however, nature is still symbolising the romantic aspect in this part of the first stanza. As the poem progresses, we get to know that the poem is about no appreciation towards nature. “Sea that bares her bosom to the moon”. This is link between a cosmic aspect and a natural aspect. This is an affective technique because it seems as if the sea is reflecting the picturesque moon. He uses the same method of mixing two aspect in one towards the end of the poem. “Triton” was a Greek God. However this Greek God was half fish. This is mixing the aspect of religion and nature in one.

Wordsworth also uses metaphors to do with nature. He says “winds that will be howling” and “ sleeping flowers”

A reference to religion is also made. He states “Great God, id rather be a pagan”. This means that he would much rather be someone that has no particular religion than to see nature be unnoticed.

The second poem, also by William Wordsworth is called “It is a beauteous evening, calm and free”. As in the first poem I analysed of William Wordsworth, in the title, there is romanticism. However, in this poem it is not evident before reading the poem what the title is about. It is about nature and its natural beauty.

There are many references to religion in this poem as well as nature. This is the main similarity between this poem and the previous one. In the second line he states “the holy time is quiet as a nun”. There are two references to religion here, holy being the first and nun the second. Another reference that he makes to religion is “mighty being” which is a reference to God. Although religion is mentioned throughout the poem, the poem is also about nature and how people should recognise its beauty. He also says that god is with us even when we do not realise. He gives us the beauty of nature:

“And worshipp’st at the Temple’s inner shrine,

God being with thee when we know it not”

I think that nature is also said to be a peaceful and enjoyable feature which makes nature seem as if people use it to turn to as an escape from reality. This is also another hidden aspect.

It is vivid that all the poems that I have analysed have shown romanticism in different ways. Some of the ways are religious references, escapism, cosmic, love, nature and natural beauties. These are all topics that people think about when trying to escape from reality and enter a world of their own. This helps to people to relax and relieve stress. This was the main purpose of all these poems. Transcendence is also vivid in all of the poems.

As there is no era after the Romantic era, it is logical to say that this era is still alive today.