The Eighteenth Century

The Romantic Period was a reaction to the neoclassical ideals characterizing especially the first third of the eighteenth century. In order to appreciate the nature of that reaction, we must, first, remind ourselves of just what those ideals were. Below is a partial list of the qualities and attributes central to English thought during this period. (The ability to supply the romantic opposite, or antithesis, to each of these is a good test of one's understanding of what happened between the first third of the century and its end.)

perfection
order
uniformity
universality
changelessness
stability
belief in absolutes
rationality
mechanism
moderation
balance
restraint
decorum
wit
generalization
predilection for the satirical mode (see satire)
predilection for poetic diction (see periphrasis)
predilection for rhymed couplets (see heroic couplet)
distrust of originality
social emphasis on literature
imitation of established models
disapproval or disdain for primitive and exotic societies
preference for present civilization in contrast to the past
desire for adjustment to the world as it is

The Augustan idea of the poet was as a maker of objects, not as a prophet, visionary, or seer. Poets used their wit to enliven their art, but they focused upon the world around them, creating representational images easily understood by a shared, common perception. These images, drawn from the life, provided examples for teaching, for bettering the world in which they lived.