Although many great names are associated with Romantic literature, two poets who stand out as immensely influential figures are William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. ... In the Preface of this volume, titled Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, Wordsworth describes the key elements that constitute Romantic literature, among them the role of the Imagination. ... This emphasis on the human minds capability "of excitement without the application of gross and violent stimulants" is Wordsworths reaction to the growing number of city-dwellers who incessantly crave awesome and abominabl...

• Word Count: 3484
• Approx Pages: 14
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

For my theory on the relationship between literature and society, I am using Plato, Wordsworth, Marx, Bakhtin, Fitzgerald, Mitchell, and Althusser. ... To support my claim, I am using the reference of Wordsworth in his Preface to Lyrical Ballads when he states, "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings; it takes its origin from emotions recollected in tranquillity" (Wordsworth 34). Wordsworth's poetry is not based on imitations but on past memories. ...

• Word Count: 2612
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Anthropologists have theorized that the first spoken words were made [merely] because of the musical quality or lyrical quality(Sherriffs, Poetry Discussion). ... The lyrical style allowed for the populous of illiterate people to be able to memorize the religious teachings. ... During the 19th century a movement began that ultimately would change the syntax and them of poetry. in his 1802 preface to the Lyrical Ballads, William Wordsworth railed against the artificial poetic diction found in the sonnets and declared his intentions to write "in a selection of language really used by men"(qtd ...

• Word Count: 4095
• Approx Pages: 16
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

William Blake, one of the greatest Romantic poets, was born in London and lived there most of his life. During his life he witnessed many things that affected him. He acknowledged the power of his country but the poverty prevalent there worried him. He did not go to school but he was taught at home using references from the Holy Bible. Blake was highly critical of the church the government and God because he thought that they could do more to end poverty. ...

• Word Count: 2556
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School