Writing Inspiration - Poets from the "Romantic" Era

Sir Walter Scott

In the late 18^th, early 19^th Century "romanticism" swept across Europe. It was an artistic and philosophical movement that stressed individualism, subjectivity, and emotion. Generally, romantic era poetry praised the individual, giving voice to the common man, his life, and nature. Nature, in fact, proves to be a very prevalent theme in romantic era poetry.

The style the poetry stressed was everyday language, along with a free form presentation.

While romance and love can be a subject of poetry during this time, the "romanticism" movement has little in common with what we consider romantic today. These poets tended to distrust the human world and invited the reader to believe in the poet.

Several romantic era poets include:

William Wadsworth

Percy Bysshe Shelley

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Edgar Allen Poe

Mary Shelley

Emily Dickinson

Sir Walter Scott.

Enjoy this poem from Sir Walter Scott:

An Hour With Thee

An hour with thee! When earliest day 


Dapples with gold the eastern gray, 


Oh, what can frame my mind to bear 


The toil and turmoil, cark and care, 


New griefs, which coming hours unfold, 


And sad remembrance of the old? 


One hour with thee.



One hour with thee! When burning June 


Waves his red flag at pitch of noon; 


What shall repay the faithful swain, 


His labor on the sultry plain; 


And, more than cave or sheltering bough, 


Cool feverish blood and throbbing brow?


One hour with thee.



One hour with thee! When sun is set, 


Oh, what can teach me to forget


The thankless labors of the day; 


The hopes, the wishes, flung away; 


The increasing wants, and lessening gains, 


The master's pride, who scorns my pains? 


One hour with thee.

Question: Do you have a favorite Romantic Era Poet? I hope you and your muse find inspiration for the  poet in you.  If you'd like to share a "romantic" poem, I'd love to read it. Just put in your comments.

Smiles

Steph

Romantic Poetry

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

One of the best ways to express our romantic feelings is through poetry, and one of the most romantic poems of all times was written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

In the mid to late 18th Century (1700's) a literary movement known as Romanticism came about. Romanticism favors more natural, emotional, and artistic themes. Indeed, good romantic poetry captures a spontaneous flow of powerful feelings. Romantic poets of the time, Wordsworth, Lord Byron, and Percy Bysshe Shelley captured the dominate romantic theme in much of their poetry: taking natural emotion and turning it into written art.

For me, no poet was as successful as Elizabeth Barrett Browning. She was born in England in 1806 to a wealthy family. At an early age she was reading and writing. Her father encouraged her poetry.

At 15, Elizabeth grew sick from an illness the doctors at the time weren't able to identify. To deal with the pain, she began taking opiates (laudanum and morphine). These medicines were commonly used at the time.

Elizabeth met talented contemporaries including William Wordsworth, Lord Tennyson and Thomas Carlye. In 1837, she grew sick again, this time possibly from tuberculosis. During these years, Elizabeth published her poetry and became very successful. Her published work up to this time, generally did not have a romantic theme, focusing more on social issues of the day.

In 1845 she met Robert Browning. Their courtship was heartbreakingly romantic. When Elizabeth married Robert, her father disinherited her, but by then she had saved up a little of her own money. Elizabeth and Robert went to live in Italy. Their romance inspired her most romantic work: Sonnets from the Portuguese.

My favorite Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem is "How Do I Love Thee?" It embodied the dominant theme of romantic poetry by capturing strong natural emotion and making it art. I thought I'd share it with you today.

How Do I Love Thee
By: Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breath and height
my soul can reach when feeling out of sight.
for the ends of the being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's most quiet need,
by sun and candle light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use.
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose with my lost saints.
I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life;
And if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

I'd love to hear who some of your favorite romantic poets are.

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Barrett_Browning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_poetry