Romanticism was a well-known and highly significant art movement of the 19th century that seriously influenced many literature artists, including poets. Specifically, some aspects of the romantic era can be found in the poems The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats, and “Hope” is the Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson. These literary works reflect romanticism because they have connections to nature and describe different emotions.
Aside from the overall mood and message in the listed poems, each contains particular words or lines that illustrate the presence of romanticism. For instance, Dickinson (2022) equates hope to “the little bird that kept so many warm” (para. 2). Birds are associated with nature, and hope is a strong feeling that can often make people emotional because of their expectancies of a bright future. Both nature and emotion are elements inherent to the romantic era. Furthermore, Ode to a Nightingale starts by describing the author’s emotions – “my heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains my sense” (Keats, 2022, para. 1). The poet uses the poem as an instrument to reveal what lies within his heart and how he feels. Like Dickinson’s poem, Ode to a Nightingale is also associated with a bird, reflecting a significant connection to nature. The final poem, The Raven, also refers to nature describing “a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore” (Poe, 2022, para. 7). The raven probably reminds the poem’s hero of some deep memories of the past, which make them feel sorrowful.
Overall, all of the poems listed are part of romanticism because of their connection to nature and the deep emotions described by the authors. Each of the poems contains an allusion to nature in the form of a bird – Keats’ nightingale, Poe’s raven, and Dickinson’s unnamed bird that represents hope. Three poets utilized these allusions to reflect on their feelings and present their emotional states to readers, making these poems romantic literary works.
References
Dickinson, E. (2022). Hope is the thing with feathers. Poetry Foundation. Web.
Keats, J. (2022). Ode to a nightingale. Poetry Foundation. Web.
Poe, E. A. (2022). The raven. Poetry Foundation. Web.