Romanticism Texts
Primary and Secondary Resources for all your Romanticism Needs
Primary Resources
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This collection of illustrated poems showcases Blake's rebellious streak. The devil is a good guy here. Need we say more?
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A collection of poems that grapples with many of the big Romantic themes: the sublime, nature, rebellion. And it's illustrated. How cool is that?
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Blake's poem about how miserable everyone is in London during the industrial age.
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Even little kids are miserable during the terrible transition to industrialization. The poor little boy in this poem has to work as a chimney sweeper, for crying out loud.
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The publication of this collection of poetry by the two friends marks the official beginning of British Romanticism as a literary movement. Yes, it's that important.
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Wordsworth's poem "Tables Turned" is all about how wonderful the natural world is.
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Wordsworth goes to visit Tintern Abbey, an old wreck of an abbey in the Welsh country in Britain, and it leads to a bunch of deep reflections on time and nature. Surprise!
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A sailor tells the spooky tale of his travels. Lots of ice, and cold, and death. Brrrr.
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How wonderful is it to sit underneath the shade of a tree? Really wonderful, as Coleridge shows us in this famous poem.
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Coleridge, along with his friend William Wordsworth, revolutionized poetry by making it more "conversational" and simple. We can see Coleridge doing that in this poem about a nightingale.
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Boy those Romantics were emotional. Especially Coleridge, who suffered from depression (the speaker's suffering from something unpleasant in this poem).
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Another famous poem by Wordsworth written in the hallmark Romantic style: simple and conversational.
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Here's a great example of the "Byronic hero." Childe Harold's handsome and rebellious and he likes to party.
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Lots of sublime scenery in this poem about the alps.
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Thank you Mary Shelley for giving us the questionably lovable monster.
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Don Juan was immortalized as the world's greatest lover by Lord Byron in this poem.
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Those romantics loved ancient relics. The speaker of this poem gets all hot and bothered looking at an old Greek urn.
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The speaker of this poem wants to turn into a bird and fly away into the branches. Don't we all?
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Are we tired of odes yet? Nope. Here's a poem praising the wonder of wind and air.
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Shelley's play about the titan who brought fire to humankind by stealing it from the gods. Based on an old Greek myth, it's all about heroism and courage.
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Now we can spy on Keats' personal life in these letters. Ain't that fun?
Secondary Resources
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Loads of super useful essays on all aspects of British Romanticism, including Romantic poetic language and Romanticism's relationship to revolution.
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If you want a less dense, easy-to-read introduction to Romanticism, look no further than this book.
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Nature is a big theme in Romantic literature, and this book untangles just how big it is.