Chapter One

Romanticism(1798-1832)
Definition:
Romanticism is a movement in art and literature in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in revolt against the
Neoclassicism of the previous centuries.
Romantic movement is said to have emerged in Germany, which soon
spread to England as well as France.
The Beginning of the Romantic Period:
-It was the publication of ‘Lyrical Ballads’ by William Wordsworth
and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798 that marked the beginning of
the Romantic period.
-Poets such as William Wordsworth were actively engaged in trying
to create a new kind of poetry that emphasized intuition over reason
and the pastoral over the urban.
-An early exponent who is generally classified as a photo-Romantic
poet was Robert Burns. This poet influenced Wordsworth and Samuel
Taylor.
Definition of ‘Poet’ and ‘Poetry’ by William Wordsworth in Lyrical
Ballads:
Poetry:
Is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, it takes its
origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.
Poet:
‘’Poet is a man speaking to men: a man, it is true, endured with
more lively sensibility, more enthusiasm and tenderness, who
has a greater knowledge of human nature, and a more
comprehensive soul, than supposed to be common among
mankind; a man pleased with his own passions and volitions,
that is in And who rejoices more than other men in the spirit of life
him; delighting to contemplate similar volitions and passions as
manifested in the goings-on of the universe, and
habitually impelled to create them where he doesn’t find
them’’.
Characteristics of poet in Lyrical Ballads:
1-Has a great knowledge of human nature and human society because
his main study is the man society.
Has a more comprehensive soul than other mankind. 2
His emotions and passions are more enthusiastic, tenderer and more powerful. 3
4-Has a greater degree of imaginative power.
5-His insight is higher than other people.That is why, a poet can create new
symbols.ideas and present them to us with images and
6-The poet’s soul is very powerful and creative this is due to the diversity of his
sense perception.
7-The poet’s main purpose is to give pleasure by painting out the different
branches of knowledge of this vast universe.
 Thus Wordsworth elaborately describes the function of poetry and of poet in
his critical essay Preface to Lyrical Ballads. In both cases he avoids classical
tendencies and adopts romantic attitude.
Characteristics of Romanticism:
Some of Romanticism characteristics which influenced all artistic fields of that
period including:
1-Imagination:
a-Imagination is the primary faculty for creating all art, it also helps
humans understand and form a perception of reality.
b-Wordsworth suggests we ’’not only perceive the world around us, but also,
in part, create it.’’
c-Paradox and brining opposite ideas into a unifying whole was a central
idea for Romantics.
d-It ties other concepts together, because imagination enables us to ‘’read’’
nature as a system of symbols.
2-Love of Nature:
a-Nature was often presented as a work of art, created
through divine imagination
b-Nature was seen as a symbolic language.
c-Nature was seen as: a healing power, a source of subject and image, a
refuge from artificial constructs of civilization.
d-Everything was seen as organic, replacing the rationalist fascinating with
the machine.
3-Symbolism and Myth:
a-Symbolism and myth were extremely important in the
Romantic’s understanding of art.
b-Symbols were the way of understanding the aesthetic portrayal
of nature’s language
c-Symbols were valuable because they could suggest many
things and were superior to one-to-one comparisons.
d-Symbols express ‘inexpressible’ through the available
resources of language.
4-Emotion and Lyric Poetry:
a-Romantics called for greater attention to the emotions instead
of logical reason.This caused a very important shift when focused
on poetry.
b-According to the Romantics, arts main purpose was not to
mirror the external world, but to illuminate the world within
reconciler of nature and man. Such an attitude reflects what
might be called the dominant theme of Romantic Poetry.
5-Individualism: The Romantic Hero:
a-Romantics asserted the importance of the individual and oppose
the character typology of neoclassical drama.
b-Romantics prefer boldness over restraint.
c-Romantics preferred suggestiveness over clarity.
d-Romantics preferred experimentation over the ‘’rules’’ of literature.
e-Romantics promoted the idea of the artist as ‘inspired’.
Romantic Hero:
Is a literary archetype referring to a character that rejects established
norms and conventions, has been rejected by society,and has the self
as the center of his or her own existence.
The Romantic hero is often the protagonist in the literary work and
there is a primary focus on the character ’s thoughts rather than his
or her actions..
Historical Considerations:
The strongholds of the Romantic Movement were Germany and
England.
Thus, it is from the historians of English and German literature that
we inherit the convenient set of terminal dates for the Romantic
period, beginning in 1798, the year of the first edition of Lyrical
Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge and of the composition of
‘Humans to the Night’ by Novalis, and ending in 1832, the year
which marked the death of Sir Walter Scott and Goethe.
As an international movement affecting all arts, Romanticism begins
at least in 1770s and continues into the second half of the nineteenth
century.
The early Romantic period thus coincides with what is called the ‘’age of
revolutions’’ including, of course the American (1776) and the French
(1789) revolutions- an age of upheavals in political, economic, and social
traditions, the age which witnessed the initial transformations of the
Industrial Revolution.
A revolutionary energy was also at the core of Romanticism, which
quite consciously set out to transform not only the theory and practice
of poetry(and all art), but the very way we perceive the world.
English Romantic poets:
The famous English poets are: William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, William Blake, Gorge Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats
 Symbolism
Definition:
Symbolism from Cambridge Guide to Literature in English:

A term specifically applied to the work of late-19- century French writers who reacted against the descriptive
precision and objectivity of realism.
Symbolism:
Is the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea. An action, person, place, word
or object can all have a symbolic meaning. When an author wants to suggest a certain mood or emotion, he can
also use symbolism to hint at it, rather than just saying it.

A symbol:
It is something such as an object, picture, written word, sound, or mark that represents something else by
association, resemblance or convention. For example, a red octagon indicates ‘stop’. On maps, crossed sabers
may indicate a battlefield. Numerals are symbols for numbers. All languages consist of symbols. Personal
names are symbols representing individuals.
Why is symbolism used in literature:
Symbolism is often used by writers to enhance their writing. Symbolism can give a literary work more richness
and color and can make the meaning of the work deeper. An author may repeatedly use the same object to
convey deeper meaning. Symbolism is often used to support a literary theme in a subtle manner.
In literature, symbolism can take many forms including:
1- A figure of speech where an object, person, or situation has another meaning other than its literal meaning.
2- The actions of a character, word, action, or event that have a deeper meaning in the context of the whole story.
Metaphors as Symbolism:
A metaphor is a figure of speech that uses symbolism.
*It compares two things that are not similar and shows that they actually do have something in common.
*In a metaphor, there is an additional meaning to a word. This makes it an example of symbolism.
Examples of symbolism that take the form of metaphors include:

1- Life is a roller coaster:

A roller coaster is symbolic of life’s good and bad, and the awareness that you will have huge highs and deep lows but in the
end you will always be relieved that you did it because it gives you knowledge, and experience.
Also, it means that in life, there are high points and there are low points (successes and failures). Sometimes it can be scary,
sometimes it can be fun. The most important thing is trying to enjoy the ride.

2- He is a rock:
This is symbolic because it signifies that he is strong and dependable.

3- Love is a jewel:
This is symbolic because it suggests that love is rare and precious.
Symbolism in poetry:
Many poets used symbolism to deepen the meaning of their poems. Here is an excerpt from William Blake’s ‘Ah Sunflower’.
In it, Blake refers to life cycle and uses sunflower to represent humankind and that they desire everlasting life.

Symbolism is found in color:

1- Black: is used to represents death or evil.
2- White: stands for life and purity.
3- Red: symbolizes blood, passion, danger, or immoral character.
4- Purple: is a royal color.
5- Yellow: stands for violence or decay.
6- Blue: represents peacefulness and calm.
Symbolic objects:
Objects are often used to symbolize something else:
1-A chain: symbolizes the coming together of two things.
2-A ladder: represents the relationship between heaven and earth or ascension.
3-A mirror: can denote the sun, but when it is broken, it can represent an unhappy union or separation.
Flowers as symbols:
Roses: stand for romance
Violets: represent shyness
Lilies: stand for beauty and temptation.
Symbolism, as you see can be found almost anywhere. Anytime, there is something that represents more than its literal
meaning, this can be an example of symbolism.
 Naturalism (1880-1910)
Definition of Naturalism:
Naturalism is a literary genre that started as a literary movement in the late nineteenth century in literature,
film, theatre and art. It is a type of extreme realism. It is an outgrowth (extension) of realism.

This movement suggested the role of family background, social conditions and environment in shaping human character. Thus,
naturalistic writers write stories based on the idea that environment determines and governs human character. We also see the use
of some of the scientific principles in naturalistic works, and humans struggling for survival in hostile and alien society. Infact,
naturalism took its cue from Darwin’s theory of evolution that says life is like a struggle and only fittest ones can survive.

Comparison Chart Between Realism and Naturalism

Similarities Differences

1-Both are basic views of life and humanity, stripping away the 1-Realism sought to be a faithful representation of life, while
layers of Romanticism to present a natural or real outlook of the naturalism can be seen as an exaggerated form of realism.
work.
 2- Both of these pessimistic views came to be in time 2- In Realism, the main focus was on the middle class and its
around the 19th century, a period known for its trails and
turmoil. problems, whereas naturalism focuses on the ill- educated or
low class for its characters, and violence& taboo for its
3- God is absent from most of the writings in either category, themes.
with writers opting for a focus on the real world. 3- Faithful representation of reality is important in realism
movement, whereas in naturalism, nature is depicted as an
indifferent force.

Characteristics of Naturalism

a- Characteristics of Naturalism in Theatre:

1- Sprang largely from scientific determinism.
2- Darwinism influenced the naturalists to perceive a person’s fate as the product of biological forces, mainly hereditary
and environmental.
3- Naturalism, as was interpreted, almost removed the distinction between life and art.

b- Characteristics of Naturalism in Fiction:

1. Naturalism is sometimes claimed to be an even more accurate picture of life than realism.
2. It is a mode of fiction that was developed by a school of writers in accordance with the post Darwinian theory which believes
that a human being is merely a higher order animal whose character and fortune are determined by two kinds of forces:
heredity and environment.
..
 Characteristics of Naturalism in Literature:

1. The “brute within”: The “brute within” means, each individual is composed of strong and often warring (disturbing or negative)
emotions like passions, lust, greed, or the desire for dominance or pleasure, and the fight for survival in an amoral, indifferent
universe.
2. Nature as an indifferent force: Nature as an indifferent force acts on the lives of human beings. It has no roles in human lives.
3. The forces of heredity and environment: The forces of heredity and environment affect-and afflict the individual lives.
4. Characters: Low class or uneducated characters who cannot stand up against their circumstances. The Naturalist texts often
describe the futile attempts of human beings to exercise free will. Exercising free will is just an illusion.
Themes:
Survival, determinism, violence and taboos are the key themes.
Major Figures:
Americans: Frank Norris, Stephen Crane, Theodore Dreiser and James Farrell
French: Emile Zola

Characters: Lower middle class and lower class

Setting: Urban
 Realism
(1865-1890)
Definition of Realism:
1.Realism defined as ‘’the faithful representation of reality’’ or ‘verisimilitude’. Realism is often cited as
a technique of writing that some authors use, but it also is a subject of matter that includes topics such
as the middle-class life and it opposes to the Romanticism.

2.Realism is a way of seeing, accepting, and dealing with situations as they really are without influenced
by your emotions or false hopes.
 Activity

what does the term gloomy mean?

Definition of Realism by Sir P. Harvey:
‘’a loosely used term meaning truth to the observed facts of life (especially
when they are gloomy)’’. Realism has been concerned with the common
places of everyday life among the middle and lower classes, where
character is a product of social factors and environment is the integral in
the dramatic complications.
William Harmon explained Realism by the following words:
‘’Where romanticists transcend the immediate to find ideal, and naturalists
plumb the actual or superficial to find scientific laws that control its
actions, realists center their attention to a remarkable degree on the
immediate, the here and now, the specific action, and verifiable
consequence’’.
- Features of Realism in Fiction:
The realists prefer the average, the common place, and the
everyday over the rare aspects of the social scene to give the
illusion that reflects life.
The characters, therefore, are usually of the middle class or working
class-people who live through ordinary experiences of childhood,
love, marriage, parenthood, and death.
The subject is represented in such away as to give the reader the
illusion of actual and ordinary experiences.
 Famous Novelists:
-English Novelists :
Henry Fielding, jane Austen, and Gorge Eliot.
-Russian Novelists :Lee Tolstoy, and Ivan Turgenev
-French Novelists: Flaubert and Honore de Balzac
-German Novelists:
-The 19th –century realism developed under the name of ‘Poetic
Realism’, and major figures include: Theodor Fontane, Custav
Freitage, and Theodor Storm.
-Gorge Eliot introduced realism into England, and William Dean Howells
introduced it into the United States, and Honore de Balzac introduced it
in France .
2- Features of Realism in Theatre:
1-Realism laid too much emphasis on external reality.
2.Psychological realism closely examined the complex workings of the
mind (stream of conscious).
3.It is where people move and talk as if we would in our everyday life.
4.It holds the idea of the stage as an environment, rather than as an acting
platform.
Zenith:
Honore de Balzac is often credited with pioneering a systematic
realism in French literature, through specific details and recurring
characters.
Lee Tolstoy,Ivan Turgenev, Flaubert, and some other novelists regarded
by many critics as representing the zenith of the realist style with their simple
prose and attention to the details of everyday life.
 Characteristics of Realism:

1.Renders reality closely and in comprehensive detail, selective presentation

of reality with an emphasis on verisimilitude, even at the expense of a well-
made plot.
2.Character is more important than action and plot.
3.Characters appear in their real complexity of temperament and motive; they
are in relation to nature, to their social class, to their own past.
4.Class is important; the novel served the interests aspirations of an insurgent
middle class.
5.Events will usually be plausible. Realistic novels avoid the dramatic
elements of naturalistic novels and romances.
6.Diction is natural vernacular, not heighten or poetic; tone may be comic,
satiric.
*In ‘Black and White Strangers’ Kenneth Warren suggests that a basic
difference between realism and sentimentalism is that in:
Realism, ‘the redemption of the individual lay within the social
world’’, but in sentimentalism fiction, ‘’the redemption of the social
world lay with the individual’’.

Rejection of Romanticism, depiction of ordinary people in ordinary

situations.