Two Generations of Romantic Poets

Some critics say that Romantic English Poetry began in 1798 with the publication of “Lyrical Ballads” by the forefathers of Romanticism; Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. Other people say that this period began in 1789 when the Songs of Innocence was written by Blake. The Romantic poets can be classified into two groups, the first generation, and the second generation. The first generation of poets that created the basis for the later ones included Samuel Coleridge, William Blake, William Wordsworth, Jane Austen, and Sir Walter Scott. Lord Byron, Percy B. Shelley, and John Keats can be counted as the second generation of poets. In this article, I will examine the differences and similarities between the two generations.

First of all, the first generation of Romantic Poets used simple language. The language is simple and addresses ordinary people while in the second-generation poets use more sophisticated language which expresses philosophical ideas. For instance, William Wordsworth uses plain language in works such as “We Are Seven”, and “Tintern Abbey” because he thinks that simple language could convey the message.

"I met a little cottage Girl: She was eight years old, she said; Her hair was thick with many a curl That clustered round her head.” (Wordsworth 5)

Also, “The Garden of Love” by Blake is written in an uncomplicated language. Those works represent purity, innocence, and childhood. Second-generation Romantics were influenced by classical Greek and Roman literature. The language that they used is difficult, elevated, and complex.

“Forlorn! the very word is like a bell To toll me back from thee to my sole self! Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well As she is fam'd to do, deceiving elf.” (Keats 70)

Ode to a Nightingale gives the thoughts of death, immortality, and joy of nature in a philosophical way. Keats also uses literary devices like imagery, metaphors, and personification that make the language more elaborate.

 Secondly, many romantic poets can integrate Romanticism with nature through their expression of love, imagination, and experience in a natural setting. First-generation sees nature as a calming presence that the poet feels at ease and in comfort. Blake and Wordsworth's poetry was characterized by emotional sensitivity and appreciation for nature. Nature was seen as pure and uncorrupted by the Romantics. The majority of Romantics felt that people were born noble and pure, and that civilization ruined them. Blake, Wordsworth, and Coleridge were first-generation Romantics, who wrote after a war. The Industrial Revolution, which caused many people to abandon rural areas and live in cities, is one of the reasons for the creation of this strong relationship between nature and romanticism. For instance, in Jerusalem by Blake, he illustrates that noble savages are people who are not corrupted by society and that mankind is at its best in nature. With terms like "mountains green" and "lovely meadow," Blake gives the imagery of nature's purity. After that, he replaces images of nature's innocence with thoughts of "clouded hills" and "dark satanic mills". He illustrates that because of industrialization, nature's pure beauty has defected, humanity is corrupted and nature is the best place for humans to ease themselves. Second-generation poets have a different perspective on nature. Nature led Keats to his best-known concept “negative capability”. Negative capability is described as “uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact or reason”. In an Ode To A Nightingale, the poet explores the themes of nature. He expresses his idea to “fade away” in nature.  He wants to escape the worries and complications of “reality.

“Was it a vision, or a waking dream? Fled is that music: Do I wake or sleep?” (Keats 88)

There is a dilemma between his vision, and the nightingale flying off. He wonders whether his experience has been a truthful “vision” or a false “dream.” Keats illustrates his attempt to “fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget” the brutalities that are associated with the world surrounding him. The speaker knows that if he were dead his perception of the nightingale’s song would not exist at all. So, he recognizes that death and suffering in the world is inevitable. This poem carries a darker tone than Blake’s.

However, there are also similarities between these two generations of Romantic Poets. The concept of the role of the poet, the cognitive power of the imagination, and individualism are the themes in common between the first and the second generation. All the poets are worshipers of nature, they emphasize individual independence and value morality. While first-generation poets address nature in their poems by referring the innocence, childhood, flowers, and greenery, second-generation poets refer to nature by using animals such as birds in “To A Skylark” and “Ode To A Nightingale”. The animals are used in poems as a representation of different feelings and ideas.

 All in all, this article discussed the differences and similarities between the first and the second generations of poets and how the themes of nature, language, and imagination are displayed by them. While the first-generation poets use a simple language, others’ language is more sophisticated. Also, the second-generation poets include more revolutionary ideas than the first ones. Names like Blake and Wordsworth see nature as a healing and positive thing despite the horrible outcomes of the Revolution, Keats’ theme of nature led to the negative capability that gives a darker tone.