The Main Features of Romantic Poetry

Imagination and Emotion: The keyword of Romantic poetry is imagination. The writers generally use imagination in their poems. Imagination is a kind of power of poetry for the writers. There are imaginational and experimental intensity and dense emotional items in the Romantic poems. Especially, the writers use lots of nature imagery in poetry. In Romantic poetry, the poet’s emotions are also important.

We can see that John Keats uses lots of imagery in poetry, especially nature imagery. In Ode On Melancholy, he uses both nature and mythological imagery. For example, “Lethe” refers to a river of forgetfulness in mythology. “Wolf’s-bane” is a kind of poisonous plant like the “nightshade”. “Yew” is also a tree whose fruit is poisonous. In addition to nature imagery, animal symbolism is used in this poetry, such as “the beetle”, “downy owl” and “death-moth”. These animal symbols refer to the darkness of life. Another example of imagination is “like a weeping cloud”. This one refers to melancholy. We can think of that as a crying cloud.

Lord Byron uses visible imagery in She Walks in Beauty, such as “cloudless climes and starry skies” in the first stanza. Another one is “softly lightens o’er her face” and “their dwelling-place” in the second stanza. He uses these to express the beauty strongly. He uses “gaudy”, “so calm, yet eloquent” and also “serenely” to describe his emotion about the woman and her actions.

Imagination is the central of Ode to a Nightingale. There are lot of imagination in this poetry. Almost everything is described with imagination. He describes his desire to escape from the society with imagery. Especially, the nightingale is a clear imagination. It is used as a symbol of death. It is defined as an "immortal bird". Moreover, place, time, and nature are picturized intensely, especially in the 43-46 lines. These imaginations are about the nightingale and its place the most. There is a dense imagination in that poetry.

John Keats reveals his imagination power in Ode on a Grecian Urn. He creates an imaginative world of the urn and believes imagination is a powerful thing. John Keats’s imaginative thought is more intense than imagination. For example, the speaker thinks that imagining the song is more important than hearing it.

Love for Nature: Unlike Neoclassical writers, Romantic writers have an interest in nature. They are like a lover of nature. They use natural portrayals in poetry and nature is an important figure of Romantic poetry for poets. They reflect the beauty of nature in their poems. Nature is a kind of happiness source that comes to the world. We can see many examples of nature in Romantic poetry.

John Keats uses lots of nature imagery in Ode on Melancholy. At the start of the poetry, the nature is used to identify the death and sorrow. As I mentioned above, examples of nature are poisonous plants like “wolf-s bane”, “nightshade”, “and yew-berries”. Moreover, “droop-headed flowers”, “rainbow”, “morning rose”, and “globed peonies”. The second stanza of the poem is almost full of nature.

Lord Byron uses nature to describe the woman in She Walks in Beauty. For instance, “like the night”, “cloudless climes” and “starry skies” in the first stanza are nature imagery. As I understand, he compares the woman’s beauty with nature.

In Ode to a Nightingale, nature consists of animals, plants, forest, night, flowers, etc. The main nature imagery is a nightingale. Especially, its place is used as a natural imagery. There is dense natural imagery in lines 43-46. If we look at the natural elements that the speaker uses, they are flowers, the grass thicket, fruit tree, hawthorn, pastoral eglantine, the forest dim, tender is the night, flora, and the country green.

In Ode on a Grecian Urn, John Keats uses nature as something that lasts forever. John Keats explains this in lines 15-22. The speaker means that trees will never shed their leaves. 

Subjectivity: Subjectivity is also an important feature of Romantic poetry. We can understand it at first reading. Poets show their feelings, emotions, experiences, and thoughts in poetry. We can say that they do not care about the rules in poetry but rather Neoclassical poetry.

John Keats reflects on his feelings in Ode on Melancholy. For example, the poem starts with “no, no”. We can understand that it’s his feeling or his rejection of something. John Keats wants to direct us with “Go not the Lethe”. I mean it is his thought. Besides, he shares his thoughts about “beauty”, “joy” and “pleasure” in lines 21-24.

As I understand from the subjectivity, Lord Byron uses this explaining woman’s appearances and beauty clearly in She Walks in Beauty. Besides, he indicates the measures of a woman’s features such as “how pure, how dear”, “so soft” and “so calm”.

There is subjectivity in Ode to a Nightingale. The speaker reflects his emotions, and thoughts with some words such as “charmed magic casements” (68-70). It is his thought about the nightingale’s song. Another example is “easeful Death” (51-52). He thinks it is easy.

In Ode on a Grecian Urn, I can give this example: “o Attic shape and overwrought”(41-43). The speaker finds nature images too artsy. Moreover, he reflects on his emotions in different ways. 

Melancholy: Most Romantic poems include melancholy in it. It is an important source for poetry. The poet might not be pleased with the life circumstances or something else. The poet reflects it in the poem.

As we understand from the name of the poem, Ode on Melancholy includes melancholy. In the second stanza of the poem, it is said what we ought to do when we are in a melancholy mood; “But when the melancholy fit shall fall / sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud”. This poem tells us the connection between melancholy, beauty, and time. John Keats has wanted to say nothing can last and we should assimilate the “melancholy”.

As melancholy, we can give some examples from Ode to a Nightingale. Until 35-36 lines, the speaker is in a depressed mood. For example; “my heart aches”, “drowsy numbness pains” (1), and “the weariness, the fever, and the fret” (23-24). He wants to escape from this strict world. 

Supernaturalism: The author uses lots of supernatural elements in poetry and shows the beauty of nature and mystery. This supernaturalism is an indispensable feature. As I understand, these supernatural elements reflect the mystery of nature.

In She Walks in Beauty, “heaven” in the first stanza is used as a supernatural element that blocks the daylight.

There is not much supernaturalism in Ode on a Grecian Urn. If I give an example, I can say “spirit ditties”(13-14) and “nor ever bid the spring adieu(21-22).  

Mythology: Mythology is an important feature of Romantic poetry. They are impressed by mythology.

Like most Romantic poems, there are mythological elements in Ode of Melancholy written by John Keats. For example, “Proserpine” is a Greek Goddess of fertility. “Lethe” is also a river of forgetfulness in Greek mythology. 

As mythologic elements, the speaker uses “Lethe”(forgetfulness river), “Dryad”(female spirit), “Hippocrene”, and “Bacchus”(God of wine) in Ode to a Nightingale.

Escape from The Sorrow, Reality, and Society: Some Romantic poets feel the desire to escape from reality and the boring of life and sorrow and they tend to nature.

In contrast to this feature, there is no escape from the sorrow or reality in Ode on Melancholy. John Keats says “Then glut thy sorrow on a morning rose”. So, it is said to grab sorrow beautifully and not to escape from it.

The speaker wants to escape from the intoxicating world. He feds up with the harshness of the world. If we look at this Ode to a Nightingale poem, we can understand that with these words; “I will fly to thee”(31-32), “fade far away”(21-22), “away! away!”(31-32). Furthermore, he comes back to Ancient times; “in ancient days”(63-64).