Lesson video

Romanticism.

Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

I'm so glad that you've chosen to join me once again on another lesson in this poetry sequence.

So in today's lesson, we are going to be looking at something very interesting indeed, that can really enhance our understanding of the poems in the anthology, and that is romanticism.

So shall we get started? So today's lesson has a very clear learning outcome.

So let's take a look at what it is.

So by the end of today's lesson, everybody should be able to explain how poets reflect the tropes of romanticism.

And just as in any lesson, we have some very important words, our keywords, which we will be looking at again and again in this lesson.

Let's take a look at what they are.

So firstly, romanticism, a cultural movement of the 18th and 19th centuries emphasising emotion, nature, and individualism.

And some of the poems in the anthology are romantic poems. A trope, a common theme or device used repeatedly in literature or art.

Affinity, a natural liking or connection to something or someone.

So the romantic poets, we could say, have an affinity for nature.

A convention, a traditional or widely accepted way of doing something.

And finally, revolution.

A significant change or overthrow of a system, often in politics or society.

So today's lesson has two very clear learning cycles.

So really excited for that first learning cycle today where we are going to explore this wonderful literary tradition, this tradition of romanticism, and really kind of unpick it and learn exactly what it is.

And then we are going to start applying that knowledge from learning cycle one in learning cycle two by exploring the specific romantic poems in the anthology.

So let's get started with learning cycle one.

So Izzy made the following comment about romanticism in relation to the anthology poems. So let's see what Izzy said.

Izzy said, "I've heard it said many times that some of the poems are romantic poems. However, I'm not really sure what that means or how I can apply it to my analysis of them." So really, really good comment there from Izzy, kind of identifying something, but maybe asking for a little bit more help about how it can be applied specifically to her work.

So understanding romanticism and how it relates to some of the poems is a key skill that we are going to focus on today that is very much the focus of our learning today.

So in particular, we are going to focus on how some of the poems in the anthology reflect tropes of romanticism.

So typical things you may find in romantic pieces of work.

So romanticism, what is it? Well, romanticism can be considered a literary genre, and this means it is a particular style or category of literature.

So it's crucial to remember at this stage.

It has nothing to do with kind of romantic love or romance as it is sometime depicted in films, movies, books.

It is a separate list for every genre with its own conventions and tropes.

I'm gonna take a little look at those in a bit more detail now.

So romanticism refers to a movement that emerged in literature, art and music, during the late 18th and 19th centuries.

And it was characterised by an emphasis on the following thing.

So the power of nature, the imagination, revolutionary ideals, the innocence and perspective of children and the experiences of marginalised individuals in society.

So sometimes reflecting the work of people that hadn't been heard up until that point.

So quick discussion question for me then please, now that you can see some of these conventions, can you link any of these things to poems in the anthology? So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion or jot down some ideas if you're working independently, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, fantastic discussion to kick us off in our learning today, I'm really, really enjoying the ideas passing across the class there.

And you are absolutely right.

There are definitely lots of different ways that we can interpret romanticism across the anthology and we're gonna unpick those specific poems as we move through today's lesson.

So let's explore these details in a bit more detail ideas around romanticism.

So firstly, it occurred during the 1700s and the 1800s, which was a very conflicted time for society.

Lots of revolutions and wars.

It was influenced by the revolutionary ideas, particularly those coming from the French Revolution.

So a very momentous event that kind of really influenced a lot of the ideas that were taking place in the romantic movement.

Again, it often critiqued society at the time.

It suggested a better way of doing things and it also focused on individual experiences.

It kind of really celebrated the joy and perspective of the individual person over perhaps a kind of cultural or collective national identity.

And finally, it emphasised the affinity for the beauty of nature.

Lots of romantic poems really celebrated the natural world and wrote loads of poems about the natural world as well.

And we may even have something in the anthology.

So let's have a look at that in a bit more detail.

So romanticism was heavily influenced by the French revolution's focus on individual freedom, emotional expression, and a rejection of traditional authority.

And then the bottom ones we could collectively say they believe technology and globalisation hindered individual human experience and they encouraged engagement with the natural world, something we see time and time again in the romantic poems. So after learning more about the origins of romanticism, Izzy had the following comment.

"So okay, so I understand the origins of romanticism, but what makes a poem romantic? Is there anything I should be looking out for?" So this is a really great comment from Izzy here, really insightful comment.

So it's one thing to know a kind of context or a literary genre in a detailed way, but it is another, isn't it, to be able to spot those kind of tropes and conventions that indicate to us that a poem is in the romantic genre.

So what should Izzy be looking for? Well, romantic poems will contain romantic tropes, and these are features of a literary text, typical of that genre.

So let's take a look at what we mean.

So we would say the following tropes are very typical of romantic poems. So if you see any of these things then you are likely to be reading a romantic poem.

So things like prioritising the imagination and self-expression over regulation and institutional power, an affinity from the natural world, breaking conventions and in particular, a rejection of traditional religious beliefs, dramatic and passionate emotions and drawing on philosophy, spirituality, and the sublime.

All of these things are really kind of classic hallmarks that we would expect to see in a romantic poem.

And I think some of you are already probably starting to think about which poems in the anthology we might be considering as romantic.

So Izzy says, I think I'm already starting to think of poems in the anthology that contain some of these tropes, and I hope you are too.

Okay, check for understanding for me then, please.

Which of the below can be considered romantic tropes? Is it A an affinity for the natural world? Is it B, dramatic and passionate emotions? Is it C, happy endings or is it D, a celebration of traditional power? So hit that pause button, complete the task.

Really excited to see how you get on with this one and how you can apply your knowledge of learning cycle one to the correct answer.

So do push play when you'd like to proceed.

Okay, really well done.

To everybody who identified A and B as the correct answers, an affinity for the natural world and dramatic and passionate emotions, we would not necessarily say happy endings are a feature of romantic poems and nor is a celebration of traditional power.

It is typically a celebration of individuality that is a hallmark of romantic poems. So really well done for picking up on that in your own discussions.

Okay, we have reached our first practise task of today's lesson.

So let's make this one count.

So what I would like you to do is to write a summary of romanticism in 75 words or less to a very specific amount there.

And in particular, I would like you to try and include the following.

So can you include contextual information about the movement? Can you in include information about its influences? And can you include key romantic ideas, as well as the tropes of romantic literature? So I'm really excited to see how you get on with this one.

It is a really challenging task to kind of restrict yourself to just 75 words, but that has been done deliberately, so that you try and include what are called the most salient pieces of information, the most important bits.

So really excited to see how you get on with this one.

Hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see a little bit of feedback.

Okay, fantastic work on that task, is really, really great skill in English to develop our contextual understanding, particularly of movements like the romantics.

And this will be really, really beneficial.

Really, really useful when you come to write about these poems. So let's see how we could have approached this task.

Well, you could have summarised romanticism in the following ways.

The romantic movement in literature emerging in the late 18th and early 19th centuries emphasised nature's power, imagination, and revolutionary ideals amidst societal upheaval from the French Revolution.

It nature's beauty, individual experiences and children's innocence critiquing contemporary society.

Romanticism valued dramatic emotions, self-expression over institutional control and often broke religious conventions.

Key themes included the sublime, spirituality and a profound appreciation for the natural world.

So do you remember, that is not the exact correct answer.

That is just a way you could have approached it.

You may have picked up on some different ideas in your own work.

So I would like to finish this learning cycle with a little bit of a feedback task.

So discuss, imagine your new word count is 100 words.

What would you now add to your summary? So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you like to move into learning cycle two.

Okay, fantastic work in this lesson today.

Let's keep that going in learning cycle two.

So learning cycle one, we really developed our knowledge of romanticism, didn't we? And I was super impressed by all of your hard work developing your knowledge on this literary movement.

But what we really need to do now is start applying it to some of the poems in the anthology.

So we are gonna take this learning cycle to explore the poems in the anthology that could be considered romantic.

So let's get started.

So here are all of your anthology poems. These are all of the poems that can be found in the love and relationships anthology.

Let's take a look at them.

So there's quite a lot there isn't there? And they really range in age and time periods.

Some are from the 1800s, some all the way to kind of the present day.

So we've got a real selection there of poems. So firstly, not all of these poems will be considered romantic poems. So my question for you is, there are four romantic poems in the anthology.

Which ones do you think they are? So I'll give you a clue.

The dates may be able to help you work these out.

So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see the correct answer.

Okay, really well done if you're able to identify the first four as romantic poems. So we will be saying "When We Two Parted" by Lord Byron, "Loves Philosophy" by Percy Shelley, "Porphyria's Lover" by Robert Browning, and "Sonnet 29" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning are all romantic poems that can all be considered as part of the romantic genre.

And there was a real clue there wasn't there in the years, the years that these poems were written and published is kind of slap bang in the middle of the romantic period, isn't it? So 1817, 1819, 1836 and 1850.

So well done if you picked up on that in your own discussions.

So the anthology is entitled "Love and Relationships." So we know that the poems are going to be affiliated with love and relationships in some way.

So how could romantic ideas or tropes link to the idea of "Love and Relationships?" So we're gonna start linking our knowledge of the romantic context into the specifics of the anthology.

So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion, and then do push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, really great work on that.

That is quite a challenging question, isn't it, to kind of start linking this context to anthology.

But there's a couple of things we could have said.

We could have potentially said that romantic literature often focuses on the emotional response of the individual.

Something that comes across in several of the poems in the anthology or potentially several of the poems in the anthology celebrates and reference the beauty or power of the natural world, which again, is a common romantic trope.

Or finally, perhaps we could even said romantic literature was also known for its ability to challenge traditional conventions, something that presents itself in a number of different ways across the anthology.

Well done if you picked up on anything similar in your own discussions across the class.

So let's take a look at specifically at one of the poems that can be considered a romantic poem.

Let's take a look at Lord Byron's poem.

And in particular, we're going to look at his use of romantic tropes, particularly in the poem, "When We Two Parted." So let's reacquaint ourselves with the poem.

It goes as follows, When we two parted in silence and tears, half broken-hearted to sever for years.

Pale grew thy cheek and cold, colder thy kiss, truly that hour foretold sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning sunk chill on my brow, it felt like the warning of what's I feel now.

Thy vows are all broken and light is thy fame, I hear thy name spoken and share in its shame.

It's a really fantastic piece of writing there from Byron.

So what we are going to concern ourselves then is how Byron is using romantic tropes.

My discussion question for you is as follows, how could we interpret When We Two Parted as a romantic poem? So just looking at that kind of snapshot on the board, what is going on here in that poem that could be considered part of the romantic movement.

So hit that pause button, have a quick discussion or jot down some ideas if you're working independently and then do push play when you'd like to see a little bit of feedback.

Okay, fantastic work on that.

It is lovely to see you linking your contextual knowledge to a real life poem and kind of drawing out those romantic things within it.

And I totally agree, there is a lot we could say here, isn't there? That Byron is doing that is really kind of responding to that romantic movement.

So things that really stood out to me are as follows.

So firstly, we could talk about this idea of tears and broken-hearted and sorrow, which is a focus on dramatic and profound emotional responses within the poem.

So the speaker of the poem clearly feels a deep seated emotion, this kind of sorrowful presentation is absolutely in keeping with the romantic movement.

Again, we could focus on the idea of the beauty of nature.

So he speaks about the dew of the morning sunk chill on my brow.

This is quite a beautiful description of the morning.

So again, we could say the focus on the beauty of nature and the link to the emotional turmoil at the end of the relationship are once again, totally in keeping with the romantic movement.

Again, we could also focus personal experiences.

So romanticism draws on personal experiences of the individual.

And again, something that clearly comes across in this poem, indeed, Byron, literally says of what I feel now.

So again, really, really in keeping with the romantic movement.

And finally throughout the poem, there is a focus on the value of individual relationships and no focus on institutions or traditions of any kind.

So again, this idea of real celebration of the individual of an individual's own personal experiences and not really any link to kind of any institutional power of any kind.

Absolutely, a clear trope of romanticism and great job if you picked up on anything similar in your own work.

Okay, quick check for understanding for me then, please.

So which of these anthology poems are examples of romantic literature? Is it "When We Two Parted" by Lord Byron? Is it "Love's Philosophy" by Percy Shelly? Is it "Singh Song!" By Daljit Nagra or is it "Neutral Tones" by Thomas Hardy? So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see which are correct.

Okay, very well done to everybody who selected A and B as the romantic poems, that is absolutely correct.

So When We Two Parted and Loves Philosophy are absolutely within the romantic movement.

And once again, we get that clue, don't we, from the years in which they're published.

Singh Song! By Daljit Nagra, although that is a technically a romantic poem that it is about romantic love, it does not really have the hallmarks or conventions of the romantic genre.

So we would not say that that is part of the romantic movement.

Okay, we have reached our final practise task of today's lesson.

So let's really make this one count.

So what I would like you to do is to choose one of the other romantic poems in the anthology and explore how it uses romantic conventions.

So to remind ourselves those poems are "Love's Philosophy" by Percy Shelley, "Porphyria's Lover" by Robert Browning and "Sonnet 29" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

And I would like you to make notes on which conventions you've identified in the poem and to support your ideas with evidence from the poem itself.

So in particular, we are looking for these things.

We are looking for these particular tropes.

So let's just remind ourselves what they are.

So prioritising the imagination and self-expression over regulation and institutional power.

An affinity for the natural world.

Breaking conventions in particular are rejection of traditional religious beliefs.

Dramatic and passionate emotions, and finally, drawing on philosophy, spirituality, and the sublime.

So pick your poem and try and identify these romantic tropes within it.

So really excited to see how you got on this one.

So hit that pause button, complete the task, and then do push play when you'd like to see a little bit of feedback.

Okay, fantastic effort on this task today, is absolutely fantastic to see you applying this knowledge to the poems. So we started the lesson perhaps not really knowing a huge amount about romanticism, and by the lessons end, we are applying that great knowledge to our own analysis of the poem.

So really well done for all your hard work today.

But let's take a look and see how we can have approached that task.

So which of the following romantic conventions did you identify in your chosen poem? Did you identify prioritising imagination and self-expression? Did you identify an affinity for the natural world? Did you identify the breaking of any conventions? Did you identify dramatic and passionate emotions? And did you draw on philosophy and spirituality and the sublime? So a quick little bit of self-review, self-assessment to see which one of those you included.

So I would like you to self-assess your work and answer the following question, did you identify evidence as part of your annotation? Did you consider the poet's influences? Did you consider the wider context of the poem in your interpretations? So if you did all of those things, my goodness, that must be a fantastic piece of work.

But if you did not, please don't worry because that could be a really nice target for next time.

Okay, then we have reached the end of today's lesson.

It's been an absolute pleasure to teach you today all about romanticism and how we can link it to the anthology.

So let's just recap those things that we have learned about today.

So firstly, romanticism arose from a conflicted time for society.

Romanticism prioritised ideas of revolution, inspired by France.

Romanticism focuses on subjective individual experiences.

And finally, romanticism displays affinity with or appreciation of nature.

So it's been a great pleasure to teach you today and I really look forward to teaching you on another lesson in this poetry sequence.

So thank you very much and goodbye.