.sIro 4 pue oJII srq tuoJJ suoperlsnlll r{ll^r palulrdrur seJL|Et
aser.IJrnd sg€gl aql ,{q ppoc crlqnd cllsersnqtrue asoq,4r ,fpelnerrrud
Euqlas-lsaq aql JoJ aser eql se,,!\ srql .sr€ls erloru JoJ e^es sfepem;
pue dlpz(or roJ pe^resar ueaq peq fpeuro; leql rnoueyE e qll,rr
-rrqelac eru€raq sralrrlr^ ̂\eJ V
.J€
l^rns Jo sadoq “rraql ro3 c11qnd sFF qi’zfiSurprocce ‘oq,l p11e suorled dqlpan Jo aJuelsrsse. eql tnoqrp$ op.
-rssod’1r punog oq.n dienprarpur ;o s-raqrunu Bursear5ur Euillorua’ auo
6rq e aurocaq p€q $Joog .pcr8oloqred pue qsqfar; Eulqlauros a1r p
->1etu ,,’cr1qn4 Eqpeag e,, ,,’qlruor8syur,, treql lnoqe {ryep perallnru’sa8ueqc asar{l Jo seouanbasuoc aql Euri(e,trng ,,.g;nd aql,, Jo (l
1l se) Us aqt ‘drgcllqnd perelsetu pprl sraqsqqnd lpezrueqcau ueeq
Jo aJnlreJnueu aql pue
‘saur8ua ueals .(q ualrrp arazra. sassard Eur
aql Jo pue aqr dg
‘sluaudole,tap pcl8olouqcel 01 s{ueqt pue-
plnoc sarunlol arar{^r serrerqfl Eurtrelncrrc;o peerds eqr pue s]1oqi
-urerual
Jo sel€s eler-lnc er{l-3u[leler ur suorlelouur o1 slueqr .ra&e
pgluald eroru eru€ceq ralleu Euypear erurtr erues eql fV .(qooqrs
-atuls pelepeluu Euol leql rood eqt Jo uopecnpa aql roJ selrs FruroJ
depung ur papr,rord suossal :Io tlnsar e sa peor ol peureel psrl
->lro r eql Jo sreqtuetu arou
,sgg41 aql ur EuruurEag ‘pear 1I teq.$
ro a8pnfo1 pegqenb ssal aq plnorvr (uorlytu ueatrnoJJo uorlelndoi r
JIBq rnoqe
‘0€gI fq) ecuorpn€ ra88lq slql leqt
(arye ue rog {1aum,p-
aq ol paseec $looq sB passa.rdxe dlluanbar; ,,{rro,tr aql :uortrreer an
pauorseJJo’erusJC ur uorlnlo^ag eql eI{ (uor1n1oae.r srql .arnleJt1
l i l
I.l
] E
t t
F
J,T
I
I
I :
lili
t n
t {
l q
i q
i F
t q
n
I
F
r l
–
nt
q
il
q
t!
F
q
G
F!
rF
a;
t
fi
rl
fl
, I
nl
q
{ t
F
-t
!
r-l
t f
F
‘ J
T
p^oH tv-uout^or1g 1o”r1r7oj at71 nyld’tedJlrltes s,auoH -:fi|il
suado’,{lraqrl uraporu Jo ra8ulqreq pue oraq.redns
,uro3 ueurq
ur ssa:d Euylurrd e go aEetur s,Iupqs{Inr3 eEroag .ssa.r; tu-rt-rra
2 2 I T H E R O M A N T I C P E R I O D
How such popular acclaim was to be understood and how the new reading
public that bestowed it (and took it away) could possibly be reformed or
monitored when, as Coleridget term “misgrowth” suggests, its limits and
composition seemed unknowable: these were pressing questions for the age.
Opponents of the French Revolutipn and political reform at home pondered
a frightening possibility: if “eventS . . . [had] made us a world of readers” .(as
Coleridge put it, thinking of how newspapers had proliferf,ted in response
to the political upheavals), it might also be true that readers could mahe
events in turn, that the new members of the audience for print would
demand a part in the drama of national politics. Conservatives were well
aware of arguments conjecturing that the Revolution had been the result of
the invention of the printing press three centuries before. They certainly
could not forget that Paine’s Rights of Man-not the reading matter for the
poor the Sunday-school movement had envisioned-had sold an astonish-
ing two hundred thousand copies in a year.
However, the British state had lacked legal provisions for the prepublica-
tion censorship of books since 1695, which was when the last Licensing Act
had lapsed. Throughout the Romantic period therefore the Crown tried out
other methods for policing reading and criminalizing certain practices of
authoring and publishing. Paine was in absentia found guilty of sedition, for
instance, and in l8l7 the radical publisher William Hone narrowly escaped
conviction for blasphemy. Another government strategy was to use taxes to
inflate the prices of printed matter and so keep political information out of
the hands of the poor without exactly violating the freedom of the press. In
the meantime worries about how the nation would fare now that “the people”
read were matched by worries about how to regulate the reading done by
women. In 1807 the bowdlerized edition was born, as the Reverend Thomas
Bowdler and his sister Henrietta produced The Family Shahespeare, concoct-
ing a Bard who, his indelicacies expurgated, could be sanctioned family fare.
Commentators who condemned the publishing industry as a scene of
criminality also cited the frequency with which, during this chaotic time,
best-selling books ended up republished in unauthorized, “pirated” edi-
tions. Novels were the pirates’favorite targets. But the radical underground
of London’s printing industry also appropriated one of the most politically
daring works of Percy Shelley, Queen Mab, and by keeping it in print, and
accessible in cheap editions, thwarted attempts to posthumously sanitize
the poet’s reputation. And in l8l7 Southey, by then a Tory and the King-
dom’s Poet Laureate, was embarrassed to find his insurrectionary drama of
1794, Wat Tyler, published without his permission. There was no chance,
Southey learned, that the publishers who had filched his play and put this
souvenir of his youthful radicalism into circulation would be punished. The
court refused to grant an injunction, citing the precedent that there could
be no protection for publications deemed injurious to the public.
OTHER LITERARY FORTViS
Prose
Although we now know the Romantic period as an age of poetry, centered
on works of imagination, nonfiction prose forms-essays, reviews, political
pamphlets-flourished during the epoch, as writers seized the opportunity
D rpeak to and
pocc. particula
-{ddison and D
rcdi’um of socr
rod unifu tlre 1
ciril discussion
\ rhen manl’
cmld sunir-e d
ffiis age of clas
pocsible. Those
peces of Roma
rfut dreu’ Bur*
dthe l79os. tr
m and lhc
rnr;nzine rrritit
The issue of
frdrd?-nas e
Fnplc defined
d ryecialist rer
cryorrered to t
m t6O2 of the
rr professioo
rlnritl- to n-l
htr-eighte€nd
dl Raiar hea
d Qnficrh
rlectirin’end
cmil as crrhut
iH criticisu
lricrs un&r t
TLa gtern I atir
fficlurfop is o
n fie relatirc
rldcal pr6ca
rnl utilit-r–
ccious\- in
od.t than a 1
LtEruse so mu
lf.din parti
ttudingedita
[.d, and De
& Rmantic I
‘8i”1 often p
h. m an ecl
bcsep. Har
drtes mostir
nF* cmzend
f,ltheir essart
n rrilers nlrc
r&nfrrratic e
&md- Thou
rrrorJ paruelsrunJrrr flluaraJJlp dran arazvr s1s1,(essa asaqr q8noql
a eq plnom unrorap frnluac-q1uaa1q8la ueql saltlclrluaJra
arou peq oqr\ pue sreilal 5o cqqndar aql eroJaq paqslrnol1 orlf,
{req peuolreq reqr a1,!s e pedolanep dacurn$ ec Pue quel sriero
‘r(lrleuosrad srq lnoqe ralorsrp urq sdlaq lI leq \ roJ tnq
.ro5 uosrad leql.serederd 1!
(acuelsur ro; ‘.ttoq JoJ lou luepodun ln
slro^t 01 asuodsa: s.Fnpl^lpud ar{} Jo lunorJe ue pelapow ll-rl-zE{
Jo aruos u1
‘Eulrq8g-azr.rd o1 ryod uror;
‘scrdol
5o a8uer”crlcelJ.r E
alear.rd ,sroqlne aql q sluaplcul fq peldruord JI se peluasard
-uarutuoc 8ur1ea;-aleurrlur :fessa rerlrrueJ eqtr se u.,[ou1 urroJ r;
padola.rap ,(1a,ruce1oc saBed s,uopuoJ ar{l ul orl { ‘facurnfr ag
‘D1pe11 ‘sra1rr.m;o dnor8 e pereqte8 auyzoSoyl uopuoj eqt Jo
eql 0Z8I u1
‘tuaurdolarrap reqtroue u1 dltuelrodur paledrcrud
,.’uleql lnoqe uallrr^r Pue Pres sr qJru –
teedde snyua8 Jo s{ro,tt lear8 ou,, ral{leq.&\ pue a8e lerrlaod c
IBcIlrrJ e lceJ uI lou sB.tt slq reqlar{A uslJIlIJJ uo ,{essa ue u-r i
-JIes parapuo,,r llrlzeH ‘era rllueruog aql urorJ sagceEal are-i
s€ IIe { se enle^ Jrlsrlre eAeI{ uec 1I laqlall^\-aJnleralrl aq ue3
reqleq.{ lnoq€ lqnoP Pue ernlBrelll Pue urslrlllrr uaamlaq
uorsual Eulnurluoc eql ((‘ee{ oB f1ln8 aql ueq,!\ pauuapucr r
se satelsuerl (sraifure1 dq papuno;) qZmqutpg aql Jo onoru ulrrl
‘epel’u eq ol a.Ie,/l\ ,(aql se PalrBrrr aq or d1a111 se ara.4A aar^ar
ar{l Jo suollelnder eql qrrl{,t\ u!
‘eurldrcsrp
3o aceds e se
-nldacuoc osp deql ‘a1ed eql puofeq IIBJ plno.,t\ lel{ { pue
plno.&r leq,&\ lnoqB struauelels e^rsrJaP a{€ru ol uraql paFF
eql ‘enssl rad slooq uaaryg tnoqe ol saalasuaql parrurn
q?mqutpg eql (tulrd ur Euyq!fua,ra lsotule ecllou ot paurre Fl
-?qtC pue &arua1 4r41uo11,tr eql s€ qrns sleclporrad ,fun
seeJaq1A ‘paldse re^au p€q scrlrrc f.rnluac-qruaarqEla qrqr r
I€rntlnc go eer8ap e paturel) ra^terler >looq Jo paerq pezJtcu
e’mataag tyaannfi eql Jo 608I ur pu€ &alaay q?nqutyT q
luauqsrlq€tse eql EuprolloC ‘pear ol l€rl^^ sraqlo aqr IIe firt q
se.u ‘,(lpcrleualqord sdeqrad(oqrrt (crlrtc eql se,!\ srql’rapGar
sarcads ,r{eu e Jo acua8rarua aql .tres
tsrapea.r sB sallesrua(F
a.rou ,(ueru os uaq.n ‘pol.rad slql asneraq ‘l(1c1r1 {lprcadse
ro u€Iurlcle^ se-acualPne ol al€ler Plnoqs relu^r aql .$fl| JD
‘sgzgl ar{l uI {eculn$ aq pue ‘q*e’I salrer1D ‘uglzeg 36
eql ol ‘1s11e1sra,ro.r1uoc paurnl a8ppalo3 tlrrl{/( uI ‘puay7 4
-xlclolt a\I elllil sa1111 arrpsa88ns qllrn (sfesse pcrpor-rad arp q
,(sra,torluoc uollnlo aU aql olul auled pue’gercauots11o,11
Eur.raalalqdued aql uor; seEuer 1eq1 ,fuoEe1ec s-3561d
-Jalseur eql uI eceJJns eqtr tuoJJ JeJ re^eu ale sellureuarm rqJ
uale se1vr eJnllnJ crtqnd paglun e se Eulql e qcns ssauareh!
ul raqlar{^{ pue ,,’eldoad eql,,
(sJap€eJ ,t\eu esoql Jo le^ure xF
sragel go cllqndar € rer{laryr ulelracun arazt s1en1ra11ap i
alurs tela,t.oq ‘pogad Jllu€tuog aql ul arnssard rapun auur
Jo Ieapr ler{I (.’srellal 5o cpqndar,, eql se ulrrourl eceds qrqrl
,{aI^ Jo slurod luareJJlp a1erBa1u1 plnor teql a8ueqcxa ayqrr
aqt se panle ueeq peq’sdessa rleqt uI pale^plnr aurnH plrqg
qdasof se qcns srelrr^A teqt e$1s elqlssecre ‘eueqrn aqr q -i
‘puelEug drnluac-qluaalq8re u1 ‘seJuarpne lneu s(era aqr .rt
e z I N o l r f n c o d r N l
fpn;ro&i
Fclr11od.s
lEJJluaJ
.l
llnor eraql
r[I -Peqsru
{m lnd pur
ExnBqJ ou
p cuerp,ijr
&.q1 aql pr
epes dlsn
pe.1u1rd u
,tltrrurlod rs
pnorErapur
-oe *palerrd
&tl orloeq:
,D eueJs B sr
angdgueS p
-WJuoJ,atoa
Groql Puari
f,q auop Eurpr
.:;doad aql,,ir
q -ssard aqr 3
F |no uorleul.
|| SJrrcl asn ol
;nducsa,(praoe
{‘uoplPasJo
sacrlrerd tn
lD Pelrl uAor,
Eursuacll I
aql
se ue PI
ro3 ralleur I
n-errac daq;
{nsar aql uai
eJa4l SalIJl
lurrd ro3
PJnoc srel
.sraPearJo Pl
atuoq i
aql roJ suolt
slJurlJ slr .sl
PoruJoJar aq l
4\au eqt 1
2 4 I T H E R O M A N T I C P E R I O D
the Romantic poets who were their friends-paid by the page and writing to
a deadline, for a start-their works thus parallel the poetsi in also turning
toward th_e subjective. one conseq,r”n”e of the essayiJts, cultivation of inti-
macy and preference for the- impressionistic over the systematic is that.
when we track the history of prose to the lg20s, we see itl”rra ,p t” ; ;i;;;very different from the one it occupies at the starr of the Romairti” fdri”a.Participants in the Revolution
“ontrou”.ry
of the 1790s had claimed to
speak for all England. By the close of the period the achievement of the
fqryilhl essay was to have brought the medium of prose within ihe
“atego.yof “the literary”-but by distancing it from public life.
Drama
whether the- plays composed during the Romantic period can quarify as lit-
erature has been, by.contrast, more of a puzzle. England th.ougho,rt this
period had a vibrant theatrical culture. Theater criticism, practiceiwith flair
by Hazlitt and Lamb, emerged as a new prose genre; actors like sarah sid-
dons and Edmund Kean numbered the poet.
“-ong
their admirers and
found their way into Romantic poetry; Mary Robinsor, #u, known as an actor
before she was known
“r “n “,rthor.
But there w€re many restrictions limiting
what could- be staged in England and many calls for reform. As places where
crowds gathered, theaters were always cloiely watched by suspicious govern-
ment officials. The English had habitually extolred their theater as a site of
social mixing-a mirror to the political orier in that it supplied all the classes
in the nation (those who, depending on how their tickets *”.. p.i””d, fr”-
quented the box, the pit, or the, gallery) with another sort of rep’resentative
assembly- But during this era disorder seemed the ruler riots b’roke out at
covent Garden in lz92 and 1g09. The link between drama and disorder was
one reason that new dramas had to meet the approval ofa censor before they
could be performed, a rule in place since 1737. Another restriction was that
orrly the Theaters Royal (in London, Drury Lane and covent Garden) had
the legal right to produce “legitimate” (spoken word) drama, leaving the other
stages limited to entertainments-pantomimes and melodramas riainly-in
which dialogue^was by regulation
“l-“ys
combined with music. Ar,
“*rrirrg,,entertainment focused on legitimate drama would not have been so differeit.
The stages and auditoriumi of the two theaters royal were huge spaces,
which encouraged their managers to favor grandiose spectacles o.,’*or” p.”-
cisely, m-ultimedia experiences, involving m-usicians, dirrcers, and artists who
designed_ scenery, besides players and playwrights.
This theatrical culture’s demotion of words might explain why the poets
of the era, however stage-struck, found drama uncongenial.,Nonetheless,
almost all tried their hands. at the form, tempted by the”knowtedge that tt
“plays of certain of their (now less
“rt””-“d;
contemporari”.lH”rr.r”h
cowley and charles Maturin, for example-had met with immense acclaim.
some of-the poets’plays were composed to be read rather than performed:ucloset
dramas,” such as Byron’s Manfred., percy Shelley,ra
‘ero*”tk”u,
unbound., and most of Joanna Baillie s plays on tke passions,plrmitted exper-
imentation with topic and form. others were written
“*pr”rrly
for the stage,
but their authors were hampered by their inexperience and tendency, exacer-
bated by the censorship that errcouraged them to seek safe subject matter in
the past’ to imitate the style of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. There were
exceptions to this discouraging record. coleridge’s tragedy Remorse, for
instance, was a minor hit
ble dramatist among the 1
tragedy The Cenci (182(
daughter and is murdere<
cal rather than artistic ol
tlre Examiner of Plays;
incest, Shelley predicted I
\ovels at the start of the
as far as critics and son
6ensslnsd-not quite resl
ferver skills than other lit
gree claimed by poetry an
undue proportion of read
escapist stories of romant
nise attracted (so some o
rr-ho were women. (By the
men.) Because of its popu
bs about the expansion ol
ture: hence late-eighteentl
described them as massl
instead stamped out auto
sively, however, starting a
historical novels and the
declared a renaissance-i
had its historians, who d,
manner established its p
forms. It was having a ca
Scott compiled and introi
tlre novel began to endang
There had in fact been r
akhough reviewers did not
ofthe eighteenth centurv s
natter-in particular, nev
tor_v. Rather than, as one r
of their own,t’ some novels
Tlre writers now known as
cal theories and represent
Willinms, or, Things as Th
stonecraft, father of Marv
@nstitute an epoch in the
i. shall ever be exactly thr
lmce and entrapment in v
ftrs at the hands of the r
disturbing cat-and-mouse 1
lrter as the conclusion to
things, represents Shelleyi
cnts.) Loyalists attacked thr
mrels their ammunition, r
unal presence.
.
f i , :\. !,r ,i
.illtliilllilill
-lnJ s,JJuaB aql SuIJueI{ue ol uJnl ur polnqrJluoJ ‘uorlruntuu,’ . ;.r” fl]il1,mw1flr
8ur1eu ur ‘pue suodea.tt ul\o Jlaql rllr.nt surqoJef aqr palcert€ s:i : ” uulll&,
-red raq Jo suollr5 lecrqdosoyqd aql ol alnqrJl s,fe11aq5 stuai:-:,;,. ;iil1r11rsL111tl
Jaqlo ,iuerrt Suoue ‘leql 1e,tou e
‘wta|swatluoq ol uolsnlJuor )- ,il ‘ur{ltl
sapeJap o,!\1 uJllrJ,&\er s1a3 o.,n] aql ueeMlaq atu€8 asnoru-PuE-:”‘ lrr r:,*rflil1ilriltllll
aq1) ‘palcarop seq aq ls€d laJces esoq,&\ relsetu eql Jo spur * ii
‘ n1r, , 111;111p
-Jns eq buorlncas;ad eql slunoJeJ luelJas e r{Jrr-1,!\ upluaudr:l-: ‘-‘,’ ,)iTrrltn;,
lle^rns Jo [a,rou Surlpqo e se,tt llnsal ar{] :.{eures Jql f,llJe\J r: -:,,. n||lut, fl11
peer peq eq Ja{e ‘euo ou ieql ‘Jepear aql Jo puru aqt ur qrod” -: -1
– .:1::11nlrilluuuir
II€r{s leql
‘a1e1 e a1rt,tt,, o1 ‘p1es eq
(lno
las (,{alyeqg fre6 go rau:;- , i…-: ilirrlruurrri11rl
-11or11 ,{re6;o pueqsnq) uIMpoC urellll,,1A ‘aty [.at17 szr s8tfir1 r – ]i{i{rrflflilrr11lllllilr111tl
qaIUD ur snql ‘a8e eql Jo sle^poqdn lecrrrlod aqt tuaserdai p-: i.:r..,r,,,iiinLrit rilor
-llllod lsal ol tuJoJ orlt pJSn slsllalou urqocef oqt se u,{\ou] r’. – -*.rr.,1,1.. ft {5r{f,
‘plJo,{{
IBor eql uo suSrsap Surneq 3o suSrs pe,&\oqs sla^ou aur(ls – rr ri”iiiiflril||l1t fr
uor8ar,, e ur Bururetuar flpalualuoc ’11 lnd raMaIAoJ euo se
‘ur-: -;.ymtr, ro,r!1
-srq pue ,{qdosopqd qtr.&{ uollrg Euqurl 3o s,,{e,tt ^\eu
‘rE[nJ.]:;: – – iillurtnnrr
1ca[qns pue ruJoJ .slelou t{]l^{ sluaulJadxa ploq .tres ,{rnluar q: – :: :. r,:tr;iii” ;{ril11llrir*1.
aPeJaP lsel aql ‘tuaql Jo a>[€Lu ol leq,t\ ^{ou{ uaq] lou PIP s:a t., ;.” ::lllrilIlilillilHtn
‘a.rua8 aql roJ Suorlrque A\au Jsar{l So suErs JJIIr€a uaaq lJpt -: tr” r “..iiiu i[
a8rlsard,{reralr1 uo flodouoru plaq-8uo1 s,.,(r1aod ra8uepua ol. -;i,ir tr,illrlllllllll {lll
‘adrJsaJo AJeralrl uo Alooouoru Plaq-duol sr^.lJaoo raduEPuJ oi -;i,ir
‘ p e d d r n b a o q ‘ s l a l o u l s a q a q t J o s u o l l r a l l o J p a r n p o r t u r p u p : . : , r ‘ r L ‘ illtljlll
pue pln€qr€g a1r1 sarn8g 1oo1 ’11 roJ palearr uoueJ € Surrf – .” ,,
{re.ra1r1 alqelnder aroul eql lsure8e .,{1ue1ncrlred stl prr..{s”:’:r-“.
s1r Surur-rsuoc ,{q ‘oq,.n pue ‘uatuo,tt aJaM or{./K sJepeJr -Jo – -.- ‘-
u e ( p J J t z l . r r p s r o l J r ? r l . r p o s r o ) p J l J B r l l e l [
‘ e t u p J p p u e i r l a r ‘ ; ]
– r p o d c r s s e l c a r { t p a { r e l a r u a B s r q l ‘ s a r u a B , ( r e r a 1 r 1 r a r . { l o ‘ J ? –
a r r n b a r o l p e u e a s . { a q l ‘ a r n l c n r l s u I a s o o ‘ I ‘ a l q e l o a d s a r a l r n L ‘ , – . – –
o l a , l t s J a u o r l r l r e r d p a u e q s e – J l e q s ( u r r o J a q l J o e u o s p u E i r . –
– 1 n q r e l n d o d . , ( l e s u a u r u r a r a , u p o r r a d c l l u e r u o g a q l J o t r ? : r : , r
P^oN aql
‘Sur.rosuac u,{Ao sILl palJlp)ji
1o rrdol alqeleadsun aqt Sulzlletuaqt .{q
‘paapur :s.(e16 :
dq Eurlla8 Jo arueqJ ou peq 11
‘spunor8
Ierluqral ro rrtsrl.r; *
-ltllod uo alqea8elsun pauaep se.,lt ‘utn1 ur req ,,(q pareprnr’ .
srq sader oq,!\ .raqtp,J snousuoru e go ,{ro1s aql ‘(0281 :::”.
1ntrra,uod srg
‘r(a11aqg ,{cra4 ‘,,{lSurstrdrns ‘se,tt slaod aqt bu’ * ”
-edeo tsoru lll_’€I8I ur slq8ru,(1ua.tr1 roJ uer pue JIq rour” :
. riiilllJtltryl
,diiiiltLLllilulllnl
s r r { l u l P u e o s r r p u e s u r E r r o s , l a ^ o u a q l P e l e a u l l a P o q . \ \ ‘ \ l – i ; –
, , { t m l | |
arue8 aql ‘ool ‘aurrl slt{l ,{g ,.’lalou 3o a1.{rs,$ou e,,-aJup\s:: * i-
1 :iii,”,1llriiitftnrl
o l u u r . g s u a l s n v l o a l o J ^ \ l l o J s l e q l , t \ a I A o J € u a q l P U P i ‘ :
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2 6 T H E R O A , ‘ I A N T I C P E R I O D
‘ l ‘ h e
N o v e l . I l l u s t r a t i o r r l ‘ r o m l 7 t l 7 b v J a r n c s
\ o r t l r c o t c o l a s c c n c i n W i l l i a r r U a y l c y ‘ s c l i c l a c t i c
lli ::;::l;i:, l’ill1li:i{,,,:,;”‘Ji.i Ii J;i[Hru:’
r r o v c l u n r l s c i z c c l t h c b o o h a s ” l i l t h v t r a s h ” – r v l r i l c
s c c r c t l v i n t c n d i n g t o k c c p i t l b r h c r s c l f ‘ .
A n o t h e r i n r r o v a t i o n i n n o v c l – l l ‘ r i t i n g t o o k s h a p e , s t r a n g e l y e n o u g h , a s a
r c c o v c r v o f r v h a t r , r ‘ a s o l c l . W r i t c r s w h o m w e n o w c l e s c r i b e a s t h e G o t h i c
n o v c l i s t s r e v i s i t c d t h c r o m a n c e , t h e g e n r c i c l e n t i f i e c l a s t h e p r i m i t i v e f o r e –
r L u r n c r o l t t h e r n o r l e r n n o v e l , l o o l i i n g t o a m e d i c v e r l ( i . c . , ” G o t h i c ” ) E u r o p e
t h r r t t h e v p i c t r r r c c l a s a p l a c c o l ‘ g l o o m v c a s t l e s , c l e v i o u s C a t h o l i c m o n k s ,
a n c l s t c a l t l . r v g l ‘ r o s t s . T l ‘ r c s c a u t h o r q – f i 1 s f W a l p o l e , f o l l o v y e d b v C l a r a R e c v e ,
S o p l ‘ r i a l , c c , N ‘ l a t t h c r l ‘ L c n , i s , a n c l t h c h u g e l y p o p u l a r A n n R a d c l i f f e –
c l c v c l o P c c l l i r r t l ‘ r c n o v c l u r e p e r t o r y o l ‘ s c t t i n g s a n c l s t o r y l i n e s m e a n t t < r
p L t r v c y t o r c a c l c r s t h e p l e a s r - r r a b l e t c r r o r o l ' r e g r e s s i o n t o a p r e m o c l e r n , p r e -
r a t i o n i r l s t a t c .
‘ l ‘ h i s
C i o t h i c [ L r r n w a s a r – x r t h c r i n s t a n c e o f t h e o e r i o d ‘ s
” r o n r l u ‘ l c c r e y i v a l . ” a n o t h c r r . , a r i a t i o n o n t h e c l f b r t t o r e n e w t h e l i t c r i t t u r e o f
t l ‘ r c p r c s c r r t b v r e r . v o r l i i n g t h e p a s t . C l o t h i c f i c t i o n w a s t h u s p r o m o t e c l i n
t c r r – n s r r r r r n i n g p a r a l l c l t o t h o s e i n a c c o u n t s o f t h c p o w e r s o f i p o e t r y : w h e r – r
n o v c l s l r r c a l < r v i t h h u r n c l r r - r r l r e a l i t y , B a r b a u l d e x p l a i n e d , " o u r i m a g i n a t i o n ,
c l a r t i n g l i r r t h , c r p l o r c s r , r , , i t h r a p t u r c t h e n e w w o r l d w h i c h i s l a i d o p e n t o i t s
v i c u ' , u n c l r r j o i c c s i n t h e e x p a n s i o r r o l i l s p o r v e r s . "
Possiblv this “ner,r’ u’orlc[” tr.tts nteitnt to sr-rpply Romantic-period readers
u ‘ i t h a n e s c l r p c r o u t c I ‘ r o n r t h e p r c s c n t a n d f r o m w h a t G o d w i n c a l l e d ” t h i n g s
a s t h e v a r c . ” ( l c r t i t i r r l y , t h e p a s t s t l – r a t G o t h i c n o v e l i s t s c o n j u r e u p a r e c o n –
c c i r ‘ e r l o f i n l a n c i l ‘ u l , I ‘ r c c n h e e l i r r g w a y s ; i t i s c o m i c a l j u s t h o w o f t e n a R e r d –
c l i f f i : h c r o i n e r , r ‘ h o i s s r r p p o s e c l t o i n h a b i t s i x t e e n t h – c c n t u r y F r a n c e c a n a c t
l i l i e a p r o p e r E n g l i s h g i r l o n t h c m a r r i a g e m a r k c t i n t h e 1 7 9 0 s . B u t e v e n t h a t
e r a r r p l c o f a n a c f r l o n i s r n m i g h t s l l g g e s t t h a t s o m e G o t h i c n o v e l i s t s w e r e i n v i t –
i n g r c a c l e r s t o a s s c s s t h c i r s t o r i e s a s e n g a g i n g t h e q u e s t i o n s o f t h e d a y . G o t h i c
h o r r o r s g i l v c r n i r r \ r r r i t e . r s a l a n g u a g e i n r , l ‘ h i c h t o e x a r m i n e t h e n a t u r e o f
D o l v c r – t h e c l c n r t n t s o 1 ‘ s a d i s m a n d m z r s o c h i s m i n t h e r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n m c n
‘ r \ \ o m e n , f o r i n s r
– – r s o f h i s t o r i c a l . r ,
– C i t a t e o n r , n h o i s .
T h e a s c e n d a n c r ‘
. ‘ , s a f u n c t i o n r , f
: r t o v y o r k s o f h r .
, , 1 – r o t h e r ‘ s t e r r i t r r
: l t h c e n t u r v n o r c
. l i s m ( a l t h o u g h . i
‘ . e l i s t s , m a n \ : \ r e f , .
– r b e i n g r e i n v e n t r
. , r n p u b l i c a f f a j r .
l i c i s , c u s t o m s , c , r .
. t o r r ‘ . N o v e l i s t s l . i
i . , r i a E c l g c v r , o r t h . r
t h c u , a y o f l i l e t , t
. ( l
l l l l l U e n t l i t l l r l t , l
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r s o f ‘ s c e i n g a r c , r
, r n c c l f r o r n h c r . i r –
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: c o t t a n c l F , c l g c r r ,
‘ r t u r v n o v e l : t h e c l r .
: h l a r g c r s o c i u l s t .
– l h o r , r ‘ f ‘ u r i t i s r r r ,
‘ L i r e c l a s s O I ‘ t e n l . r – ,
. t o r a t i o n a n c l c i l :
. t l r e n r e t o t h e l i r r . t
– t l . r c ‘ r e l a t i o n s h i y r I
h i s t o r v o f ‘ s o c i e t r .
‘ o r g c t t a l ) l e h e r o i n ,
. . . \ u s t c n ‘ s t o p i c r r
n t i n h e r { i c t i o n s .
t ‘ r t r a o r c l i n : r r v i n
. . i b i l i t v o f l o r . c . ( ,
. r n c L r , S c o t t \ 4 / r o t ( ,
: r t s a n c l f ‘ e c l i n g s i r r .
i d e r l t u l I e v e r u r t
, n t W a u e r l e ) ‘ s c r i e ;
r o v e l – r , r ‘ r i t i n g . H c , .
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Samrel Ta-vlor Colei
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Srsatisl Bonds
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1808 Goethe- Fr
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The Romantic Period
t
1775 American War of Independence
11775-83)
1 7 8 0 G o r d o n R i o t s i n L o n d o n
f 783 William Pitt becomes prime
minister (serving until 1801 and again in
1 8 0 4 – 6 )
1 7 8 4 D e a t h o f S a m u e l J o h n s o n
1787 W. A. Mozart, Don Giovanni. Society
for the Aboljtion of the Slave Trade founded
1789 Fall of the Bastille (beginning of
the French Revolution)
1790 J. M. W. Turner first exhibits at the
Royal Academy
179l Revolution in Santo Domingo
(modern Haiti)
1792 September Massacres in Paris.
First gas lights in
Britain
1793 Execution of Louis XVI and Marie
Antoinette. France declares war against
Britain (and then Britain against France).
The Reign of Terror
1794 The fall ofRobespierre. Trials for
high treason of members of the London
Corresponding Society
1795 Pitt’s Gagging Acts suppress
freedom of speech and assembly in
Britain
1797 Mary Wollstonecraft dies from
complications of childbirth
1773 Anna Letitia Aikin (later Barbauld),
Poems
1774 J.W. von Goethe] The Sonows of
/
YoungWerther
1776 Adam Smith, Tr?e Wealth of Nations
1778 Frances Burney’ Etelina
1779 Samuel Johnson, Lives of the
English Po ets (17 7 9 -81)
l78l Immanuel Kant, Citique of Pure
Bereon. Jean-Jac1ues Rousseau, Confessions’
J. C. Friedrich Schiller,The Robbers
1784 Charlotte Smith, Elegiac Sonnets
1785 William Cowper, The Taslt
1786 William Beckford, Vqthek. Robert
Burns, Poems, Chiefl.y in the Scottish Dialect
1789 Jeremy Bentham, Principles of
Morals and. Legislction. William Blake,
Songs of Innocence
1790 Joanna Baillie, Poems. Blake, The
Maniage of Hemn anA. Hell, Edmund Burke,
Reflections on the Reuolution in France
l79I William Gilpin, Obsenations on the
River Wya Thomas Paine, Rights of Man,
Ann Radcliffe, The Romance of the Forest
1792 Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication
of the Rights of Wonan
1793 William Godwin, Political Justice
1794 Blake, Songs ofExperience.
Godwin, Caleb Willians. Radcliffe, The
Mysteries oJ Udolpho
1796 Matthew Gregory Lewis’ The Monh
z a
iUn
Samrel Ta-vlor Colei
lStX) llaria Edge
llr-r’Robinmn. LY
It02-3 \lalter Scr
Srsatisl Bonds
t805 Scott. Tle
t807 \l-sdsswt
CGarlotte Smith. I
1808 Goethe- Fr
lEll fam.{ula
r8l2 Lond Blm
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llcorns, Ttt Dd
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For},arslci
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Ftlr StELc!- fl
Ifi2O John Cb
fimt L4- liatr
{5a- fgla-nJ
*dhr-F6td
The Romantic Period
t
1775 American War of Independence
11775-83)
1 7 8 0 G o r d o n R i o t s i n L o n d o n
f 783 William Pitt becomes prime
minister (serving until 1801 and again in
1 8 0 4 – 6 )
1 7 8 4 D e a t h o f S a m u e l J o h n s o n
1787 W. A. Mozart, Don Giovanni. Society
for the Aboljtion of the Slave Trade founded
1789 Fall of the Bastille (beginning of
the French Revolution)
1790 J. M. W. Turner first exhibits at the
Royal Academy
179l Revolution in Santo Domingo
(modern Haiti)
1792 September Massacres in Paris.
First gas lights in Britain
1793 Execution of Louis XVI and Marie
Antoinette. France declares war against
Britain (and then Britain against France).
The Reign of Terror
1794 The fall ofRobespierre. Trials for
high treason of members of the London
Corresponding Society
1795 Pitt’s Gagging Acts suppress
freedom of speech and assembly in
Britain
1797 Mary Wollstonecraft dies from
complications of childbirth
1773 Anna Letitia Aikin (later Barbauld),
Poems
1774 J.W. von Goethe] The Sonows of
/
YoungWerther
1776 Adam Smith, Tr?e Wealth of Nations
1778 Frances Burney’ Etelina
1779 Samuel Johnson, Lives of the
English Po ets (17 7 9 -81)
l78l Immanuel Kant, Citique of Pure
Bereon. Jean-Jac1ues Rousseau, Confessions’
J. C. Friedrich Schiller,The Robbers
1784 Charlotte Smith, Elegiac Sonnets
1785 William Cowper, The Taslt
1786 William Beckford, Vqthek. Robert
Burns, Poems, Chiefl.y in the Scottish Dialect
1789 Jeremy Bentham, Principles of
Morals and. Legislction. William Blake,
Songs of Innocence
1790 Joanna Baillie, Poems. Blake, The
Maniage of Hemn anA. Hell, Edmund Burke,
Reflections on the Reuolution in France
l79I William Gilpin, Obsenations on the
River Wya Thomas Paine, Rights of Man,
Ann Radcliffe, The Romance of the Forest
1792 Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication
of the Rights of Wonan
1793 William Godwin, Political Justice
1794 Blake, Songs ofExperience.
Godwin, Caleb Willians. Radcliffe, The
Mysteries oJ Udolpho
1796 Matthew Gregory Lewis’ The Monh
z a
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l82l Thomas De Quincey, Aonfessions’oJ
an English Opium-Earen Percy Shelley,
Ailonais :
1823 Charles Lamb, Essays of Elia
1824 Letitia Landon,The lmprovisatrice
1826 Mary Shelley, The Last Man
1827 Clare, The Shepherd’s Calenilar
1828 Hemans, Aecords dWoman
l83O Charles Lyell, Pineiples of Geology
(1830-33). Alfred Tennyson, Poeus,
Chiefly Lyrical
l82l Deaths ofKeats inRome and
Napoleon at St. Helena
1822 Franz Scluiert, IJnf.nish4d.
Synphotry. Debth of Percy Shelliy in the
Bay of Spezia, near Lerici; Italy
1824 Death of Byron in Missolonghi
1828 Parliamentary repeal of the Test
and Corporation Acts excluding Dissenters
from state offices
1829 CatholicEmancipation
l83O Death ofGeorge IV; accession of
William IV. Revolution in France
lE32 First Reform Bil l
{hrough the eiglrr
I Spcntor essays o
rtbt not hold its owt
crh as “The Childrel
dms and scholars i
Ecd itinerant ballad 3
fte songs; huntingfr
*o headed to r€rrd
hrcen the Scottish I
rryecially. They ma&
Eds to the tunes and
rfry culture began to
rcd with sensational g
s) and with illiteratc
GTnnt women, for inl
.ilcction The Minslq’d
Through popular bd
lrd elegance that were
*people who renrcml
ar da lost past, clca
lnird ballad scholarshi
&c scene at the nincta
Fdcssor of Rhetoric r
lEvwas “mostglorrii
rilal energies that po
E|L the standardi?ti
Sellads are tricky to
h a complicated rG
Lnriably change, evo
EPatrick Spens,o @
ryin different wor,&
*ins of the Norto;t
hto medieval literatu
* one that Thomas
Wt Poetry 0765),tl
l&crs actually represc
Eildle Ages. Ballads, F
llt minstrels who en
&iively predated the
lrlmlogy. Scholars nq
h the seventeenth c
;:! in the transmission
dry collectors were
trranging for ballads
qrtoacknowledge hov
bcst that many Rom
poetry to the li
that Wordswortl
frreled the primitivr