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CHAPTER TWO.PRE-ROMANTICISM AND ROMANTICISM IN ENGLISH LITERATURE
2.1.Pre-romanticism is marked by the appearance of the new kind of novel - the Gothic novel
During the period of Late Enlightenment the writers of the period also expressed the democratic bourgeois tendencies of their time. But unlike their predessessors from previous two periods, they did not value reason so much. And they regarded feelings (or sentiments. Hence the name of the period – Sentimentalism) more important than the force of intellect. The main representatives of the period are Laurence Sterne and Oliver Goldsmith (“The Vicar of Wakefield”) in the gentre of the novel, Richard Sheridan (“School for Scandal”) in drama.
Laurence Sterne is considered to be the father of the European sentimentalism. Besides sometimes Sterne was a parodist on the novels of other enlightenmenters.
- “The life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman” (1760-1767) – this a very eccentric novel with long or short chapters, chapters written in English, French and Latin, with dots instead of words in the chapters, and with the main character only 5 years old at the end of the novel. The book contains many funny personages. The plot of the novel is inconsistent.
- “A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, by Mr. Yorick” (1768) – this was a novel that introduced some novelty into literature: here Mr. Yorick’s feelings and thoughts are dealt with. It was a step towards psychology. And in a way Sterne anticipated the literature of the beginning of the 20th century with its modernism and their stream of conscience technique.
This period is marked by the appearance of the new kind of novel - the Gothic novel (готический роман). Gothic novels are characterized by the interest in the past and in the folklore. This genre is associated with the Middle Ages, religion, some supernatural forces, mystery, etc. The action usually takes place in the Middle Ages, among ruins, cathedrals, etc., with knights as the main characters.
The father of the Gothic novel in English literature is considered to be Horace Walpole (Хорас Уолпол) (1717 - 1797) with his novel "The Castle ofOtranto" ("Замок Отранто"). Mrs. Ann Radcliffe (Энн Рэдклиф) (1764 - 1823) was another writer who followed the tradition of the Gothic novel.
Horace Walpole wrote his novel "The Castle of Otranto" partly as a joke in 1764. This novel is about the 12th and 13th centuries. It contains descriptions of impossible events, such as the destruction of a building by an immense ghost inside it. This "novel of terror" was followed by others.7
Mrs. Ann Radcliffe developed the genre of the Gothic novel with work of better quality. She had a real feeling for nature. She causes interest by describing unusual scenes and sights, such as moving walls and secret passages, and strange events which she explains later. Her greatest novel is "The Mysteries ofUdolpho" ("Удольфские тайны") (1794) is set in the Appenine Mountains. The girl Emily is held in a castle by her aunt's husband, an evil character. The writer keeps up the reader's interest by describing one astonishing event after another. In a locked room Emily sees a dark curtain and wants to look behind it. She is afraid of what may be there, but she bravely puts it aside. On a long seat she sees a dead body, with blood on the floor below. She bends over it, faints, and drops her lamp. Mrs. Radcliffe mixes this kind of writing with fine descriptions of sunlight on the forests, mountains dark in the evening time (the Alps attracted her greatly), and the sweetness of wild flowers. From her descriptions, it is clear that she looked directly at nature, and did not get her ideas from books. Her other novels were "Romance of the Forest" and others.
Both Sentimentalism and Pre-Romanticism paved the way for the new trend which emerged in the late 18th century and was known as Romanticism (1790-1830). This period was quite short but very productive and fruitful in English and Continental literature.
It coincided with a very turbulent and stormy period in English and American history:
— revolutions (especially the French Bourgeois Revolution with its slogan "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"). The French Revolution was prepared by the French Enlightenmenters, but the revolution did not fulfill its promises, though the Republic was set up. But the Revolution ended in misery, exploitation and severe struggle for power among the leaders of the revolution. Finally Napoleon came to power and started his aggressive wars. They led to the wave of national liberation wars;
— Great Britain was involved in war with Napoleon (1805 - Trafalgar Battle);
~ in Great Britain a new liberation war flared up in Ireland (1798 - the rebellion in Ireland which was severely suppressed by England);
— the so called "silent revolution" - the Industrial revolution in Great Britain which lead to the Luddite movement (or the Frame Breakers' Movement). In the end the British government produced the Bill of capital punishment for the frame breaking;
--the British Navy was developing;
~ the policy of enclosures went on, etc.
The new literary trend of Romanticism, according to Karl Marx, was the first reaction against the French Bourgeois Revolution and the Enlightenment connected with it. At first revolutions were greeted very enthusiastically but later on the enthusiasm faded away.
The main representatives of Pre-Romanticism in poetry were Robert Burns (Роберт Берне) (1759 - 1796) and William Blake (Уильям Блейк) (1757 - 1827).
Robert Burns 's literary work can be regarded as a link between the Sentimentalism and the Romanticism.
William Blake is often considered to be the father of the English Romanticism. The most famous collections of his poetry were the cycles "Songs of Innocence" ("Песни невинности") (1789) and "Songs of Experience" ("Песни опыта") (1794).
At the beginning of the 19th century alongside with the new Romantic works there were works that followed the traditions of the realistic novel of the Enlightenment. Among the best-known representatives of this kind of literature was Jane Austen (Джейн Остин) (1775 -1817). Though she wrote her novels in troubled years which included the French Revolution, her novels are calm pictures of society life. She understood the importance of the family in human affairs and, though two of her brothers were in the Navy, she paid little attention to the violence of the nations.8
Jane Austen brought the novel of family life to its highest point of protection. Her works were untouched by the ugliness of the outside world. She kept the action to scenes familiar to her through her own experience. Her first novels were refused by the publishers, and she had to wait 15 or 20 years after beginning to write before any novel was accepted. "Northanger Abbey" was sold to a bookseller in Bath for 10 pounds, but he did not publish it, and later on it was bought back.
She manages her characters with a master's touch. For example, Miss Bate s in "Emma", though herself uninteresting, is not allowed to destroy the reader's interest. In general the least interesting characters in her books are the young men.
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