Romantic Poetry

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Romantic Poetry

Why do we read and write poetry? 

From: Dead Poets Society

What do you think the characteristics of Romantic Poetry are?

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Judging from the descriptions of the two revolutions, can you explain why people felt the need to react to them?

Songs of Innocence and Experience

William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794) juxtapose the innocent, pastoral world of childhood against an adult world of corruption and repression.  Poems as “The Lamb” represent a meek virtue, poems like “The Tyger” exhibit opposing, darker forces. Thus the collection as a whole explores two different perspectives on the world.Many of the poems fall into pairs, so that the same situation or problem is seen through the lens of innocence first and then experience.

Little Lamb who made thee

Dost thou know who made thee

Gave thee life & bid thee feed.

By the stream & o’er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing wooly bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice!

Little Lamb who made thee

Dost thou know who made thee

Little Lamb I’ll tell thee,

Little Lamb I’ll tell thee!

He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb:

He is meek & he is mild,

He became a little child:

I a child & thou a lamb,

We are called by his name.

Little Lamb God bless thee.

Little Lamb God bless thee.

Which of the following statements best summarizes how Blake describes the tiger?

1. Blake depicts the tiger as a fearsome, dangerous animal that should be avoided.
2. Blake describes the tiger in terms of its light and dark elements.
3. Blake depicts the tiger as an awe-inspiring creature made artfully with powerful elements.
4. Blake describes the tiger as a peaceful part of nature that is unchallenged by its own origins.

How does the line “Did He who make the Lamb make thee?” contribute to the the development of the poem?

1. It implies that the tiger is actually a gentle creature like the lamb’s namesake, Jesus Christ.
2. It implies that God is cruel for making a dangerous tiger that can tear an innocent lamb to pieces.
3. It questions the judgment of a creator that would create such vastly different animals with such different components.
4. It reveals the creator’s incomprehensible motivation to create both a powerful creature like the tiger and a weak creature like the lamb.

Which of the following statements best describes the author’s purpose in this poem?

1. The author aims to explore the question of existence and how things came to be as they are.
2. The author aims to talk about biology and evolution by posing questions in a spiritual way.
3. The author aims to reveal a gap in human knowledge regarding where life came from.
4. The author aims to prove that only a higher power could create such a magnificent creature as the tiger.

How is the tiger described in stanzas 2, 3 and 4?

Which characteristics of Romantic poetry can you find in this poem?

Which two similes can you find in this poem?

What is the form of this poem?

Name an example of an enjambment from this poem.

01:01

What is Dorothy Wordsworth known for?

02:21

What are some of the themes the Romantic poets wrote about?

02:57

What should poetry be about according to William Wordsworth?

Which of the following identifies the theme of the poem?

1. The beauty of nature brings people pleasure.
2. Nature reflects the variety of emotions that humans feel.
3. Humans rarely appreciate the beauty of nature that surrounds them.
4. Nature is the best inspiration for hopeful artists.

Which detail from the text best shows the theme of the poem?

1. “I wandered lonely as a cloud / That floats on high o'er vales and hills,” (Lines 1-2)
2. “A poet could not but be gay, / In such a jocund company:” (Lines 15-16)
3. “I gazed — and gazed — but little thought / What wealth the show to me had brought:” (Lines 17-18)
4. “In vacant or in pensive mood, / They flash upon that inward eye” (Lines 20-21)

How does the poet’s use of sound influence the mood of the poem?

1. The poet uses a predictable rhyme scheme to create a cheerful mood.
2. The poet uses free verse to create a serious mood.
3. The poet uses repetition to develop the feeling that nature is constant.
4. The poet emphasizes the pleasures of nature through alliteration.

Find an example of a simile in the poem.

What is 'inward eye' a metaphor for?

John Keats

Elgin Marbles

How does Keats describe his own physical state?

What poetic device can you find in the phrase 'like a sick eagle looking at the sky'?

Derwentwater

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Why would the Romantics have such a problem with a man like Joseph Pocklington?

1. Find an example of alliteration
2. Find an example of a simile

Having read all the information about the Romantic Movement and the Lake District, can you explain why all those poets and painters were drawn to the Lake District?

Taylor Swift - The Lakes