Romanticism
Romanticism was a reaction to two historical movements (one is a cultural and philosophical movement and the other is a period of transition to a more "advanced" way of life).
What is the Age of Enlightenment/Reason and the Industrial Revolution?
The Victorian ideology that men ruled over the public sphere, while women maintained the private/domestic sphere
The Romantics were optimistic, but the Dark Romantics were this.
What is pessimistic?
The two main types of sonnets.
What are Shakespearean and Italian/Petrarchan? (The sonnet we read was a blend of these two forms.)
The idea that a Monster embodies difference belongs to this set of statements that define what monstrosity can look like.
What are the Seven Theses?
The Romantics value this human ability of the mind over Reason (hint: one of the five Is)
What is Imagination?
This was a trope describing Victorian women who transgressed or challenged Victorian social norms (often through their behavior or their job).
What is the Fallen Woman?
This is still an important part of Dark Romanticism, but it is more powerful and sometimes ominous.
What is Nature?
The material used to strangle Porphyria and is a symbol of romantic involvement (in this poem and in "Her Story").
What is hair?
Imprudence, delusion, or (wild) foolishness resembling
insanity.
What is madness?
The aesthetic sense of greatness and vastness of nature that creates in the viewer a feeling of fear, terror, or wonder -- mainly referred to in nature.
What is the sublime?
The Victorians had an odd fascination with death, which is partially explored in this poem where a man kills his lover.
What is "Porphyria's Lover"?
Dark Romanticism and Gothic Literature share similarities with this genre that tries to mimic life's "What can go wrong, will go wrong" philosophy.
What is Realism?
These lines indicate that this man played a role in his wife's death:
Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt,
Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without
Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped together.
Who is the Duke?
This Romantic writer is said to have kept her husband's calcified heart in a jar.
Who is Mary Shelley?
The Romantics believe that relying on your Intuition meant you placed a greater value on these things (2-3).
What are emotions, feelings, and instincts?
The wife in "Her Story" is an example of this Victorian trope describing the feminine ideal.
What is the Angel of the House?
The narrator in this short story begins the story by saying he is not mad to lend the story credibility--another similarity between Gothic literature and Realism.
What is "The Tell-Tale Heart"?
This type of poetic form modified by Robert Browning is told from the point of view of a speaker that is not the poet.
It explores a speaker's psychology, and the poem is told to an implied listener separate from us (the reader).
What is a dramatic monologue?
The young ward/step-cousin in "Her Story" is an example of this later Victorian woman who was independent, bold, and individualistic.
What is the New Woman?
This literary and philosophical movement emerged out of American Romanticism and is characterized by the belief in self-reliance and nature being tied to a divine spirit.
What is Transcendentalism?
The idea that men could pursue sexual relationships, but it was wrong for women to do so (because they are women/should be focused on their husbands & children).
What is the double standard?
Aylmer believed that Georgiana's birthmark was a symbol of Georgiana's human ability to commit these immoral acts often explored in Dark Romantic literature.
What are sins?
In the poem "Mad Song," this line indicates the grieving speaker's emotions are closely tied to this important trait of Romanticism:
“Make mad the roaring winds/And with tempests play"
What is Nature?
In their first meeting since Victor abandoned the Creature, Victor decides to listen to the Creature's story out of curiosity, even though he is afraid of him. This is an example of this one of the Seven Theses.
(doesn't have to be exact!)
What is #6, The Monster Attracts Us?