ROMANTICISM

Aspects of the self and the imagination are the main concern of Romanticism. How are these ideas given significance in Romantic texts? Texts of the Romantic period were distinctly concerned with individualistic perceptions of the self and with the power of the imagination. The two are intrinsically linked; for imagination is purely individual, and the self is enriched by the imagination. This is clear in the poetry of Samuel Coleridge, in particular his poems This Lime Tree Bower My Prison and Frost at Midnight, as well as John Keats poem Fancy and Ode on a Grecian Urn. Hans Gude, too, in his painting From Hardanger supports the significance of the individual and the importance the imagination; and Johann Goethe the proto-Romanticist heralded this concept at the very beginnings of the period itself. Coleridge's poetry promote the significance of the individual due to the personal nature of imaginative experience. He rejects the Neoclassical idea of patriotism and the collective worth of society rather than the individual, with Neoclassical literature favouring generalised depictions of characters- the everyman- as opposed to individualistic figures. Furthermore, Neoclassical society was governed by strict rules so as to have individuals conform to a norm. Coleridge rejects these ideas, as is evident in This Lime Tree Bower My Prison. The conversation poem form that it is written in is indicative of his rejection of the strict classical conventions of Neoclassical literature. Furthermore, the poem does not revolve around one of the generalised figureheads of Neoclassicism, but Coleridge's own personal experience, highlighting the importance of the individual's perceptions due to the power vested in them by their imagination. This is made clear by the use of a diastolic and systolic 'expansion and contraction' structure, with the 'roaring dell, narrow, deep' shifting to 'wide wide Heaven' and then to a 'solitary bumble-bee.' This 'expansion and contraction' highlights Coleridge's imaginative power- by applying his imagination to the bower, he transcends its physicality and becomes able to experience nature in its entirety. By depicting this internal experience and the role of imagination in helping him gain it, Coleridge promotes the value of the self and of the imagination. Coleridge's poem _Frost at Midnight_ also advocates the worth of the individual and the significance of the imagination. Like _Lime Tree_, Coleridge highlights the value of individualism by taking an introspective, personal stance; the conversation poem form is a rejection of Neoclassical conventions, and the intimate scenes of the poem are derived from Coleridge's own experiences. He argues that the worth of the individual is derived from their imaginative capacity, which can not only transcend reality as he demonstrated in _Lime Tree_, but facilitate communion with God. This is made clear by his shift to a future tense as he imagines the future of his son, as expressed in visual imagery: 'thou shalt wander beneath the clouds...and see and hear...God's eternal language.' Coleridge hence argues that the imagination, triggered by an individual and internal experience of nature, allows for the individual to achieve communion with God. Therefore Coleridge, like many of his peers, was a poet committed to promoting how individuals are valuable due to the power of their imagination.

Percy Bysshe Shelleys play Prometheus Unbound is a strongly individualist text that also promotes the value of the imagination. Shelleys sentiments reflect the disillusionment that occurred in the wake of Napoleons dictatorship, in which individualism was downtrodden in favour of collective patriotism. Shelley chose to write the play as a closet drama; it was to be read privately, not performed. Hence the experience of reading is individualised and the reader is empowered, receiving the text from the author as equals. This reflects Shelleys dual promotion of the value of the imagination and the individual. Furthermore, Shelleys allusions to Roman mythology indicate his belief in the power of the imagination; only through the imagination can figures such as Prometheus and Jupiter exist. In addition to this, Shelley uses an allegory of the Golden Age to promote an ideal world of political equality, where each man is king of himself, free, equal, nationless. The listing of these characteristics emphasises Shelleys commitment to individualism. The use of allegory reflects the value he held for imaginative ideals as objectives; the imagination represents potential and possibility.

Goethe in his novel _The Sorrows of Young Werther_ also highlights the importance of the individual and the imagination; for the imagination has the capacity to lift the individual above the constraints of society and its class system. This is clearly evident in the plot of _Young Werther_, in which Werther escapes from the society to the countryside, where his imagination is stimulated by sublime experiences of nature. In doing so, Werther is freed from the 'narrow limits' of society. Elements of the German 'Sturm and Drang' (storm and stress) movement are evident in Goethe's criticism of class society full of 'glittery misery' and 'greed for rank.' With equal force, Goethe promotes the power of the imagination and its ability to lift the individual above the constraints of society. Indeed, as Werther gazes at 'nature budding and bursting', his imagination is stimulated by this sublime experience and he becomes empowered, elevating him beyond the issues of class. Indeed, he is uplifted to a divine level, experiencing an imaginative world where 'abysses yawned at his feet' and 'impetuous rivers rolled across the plain.' The passionate tone in this intimate, epistolary form is in itself a rejection of cold, clinical society and a promotion of the individual, emotional experience of the imaginary. This text hence represents Goethe's engagement with how individuals are each valuable due to their imaginative capabilities.

Keats' poems Fancy and Ode on a Grecian Urn, like Young Werther, represent an appreciation for individual worth, for individual imagination can create a transcendental world that is superior to reality. John Locke, the 'father of the Enlightenment', had believed that the mind was merely a 'looker-on on the external world.' Keats disagreed, believing that the poet's role was to transcend the world of appearances by actively using their imagination. He does so in Ode on a Grecian Urn, transcending the physicality of the urn by having his imagination build a bridge between the persona and the figures depicted on the urn. The power of his imagination is demonstrated in the passionate engagement of the persona with the figures, as revealed by the frequent rhetorical questions and the use of repetition for emphasis such as 'more, happy, happy love!' and 'never, never canst thou kiss.' Indeed, this is a paradox; the persona's passionate engagement with this imaginary world is at odds with the silent, motionless urn. This reveals the power of the imagination, which extrapolated from reality to create a personal world that is superior. Keats argues that 'heard melodies are sweet, but unheard melodies are sweeter.' The comparative 'sweeter' indicates that songs that can be heard by any 'sensual ear' are inferior to 'ditties' sung directly to an individual's 'spirit.' Hence it is clear that the great power of the imagination is extolled by Keats, in that it has the capacity to uplift the individual into an transcendental world.

Keats in Fancy argues a similar case. He rejects the physicality of reality in favour of transcendental experience. This reflects the Romantic notion that reality is experienced indiscriminately by all people, but the experience is entirely individual and beyond the physical. In Fancy, Keats rejects the principles of Isaac Newton- who like many of his peers in the Scientific Revolution- argued that time was absolute, unceasing and ongoing. Keats echoes the artist Gude as he proposes that the mysteries of the universe do not have to be understood, as the rationalists desired- it is more rewarding to experience them. Hence in Fancy, he subverts the concept of 'absolute time' by presenting the notion that the imagination can lift the individual above these physical constraints, into a transcendental world where time can be experienced at will. This is delineated in Keats' use of imperatives in an advisory tone, telling the audience to 'sit thee there' on the 'ingle' and metaphorically 'send (themselves) abroad' with the power of their mind. Just as Coleridge had experienced the delights of nature whilst remaining in his bower, Keats demonstrates that one's imagination can allow them to transcend time, experiencing 'summer's joys' and 'autumn's red lipp'd fruitage' despite remaining on the ingle on a winter's night. Keats goes on to emphasise that the imagination can allow the individual to experience time omnipresently as God does, a divine experience. He lists flowers such as 'daisy and the marigold...primrose...hyacinth', which bloom in different seasons. This represents the power of the imagination in elevating the individual to divine status; they are able to experience all seasons at once. Hence Keats reveals his appreciation for the individual, who is vested with the great power of the imagination.

Thus the Romanticists harboured an intense concern for the value of the self and of the imagination. The imagination, they perceived, was valuable because it could be wielded by the individual to lift them above the constraints of reality. As it was believed that the use of the imagination was a divine experience, the Neoclassical and Enlightenment idea of collective, societal worth is undermined in favour of the individual worth of humans.