n influence "which arises out of a combination of circumstances belonging to the time in which they live, though each is in a degree the author of the very influence by which his being is thus perva

inst religion. The philosophers of the French Revolution are hailed as the saviors of society and their theories put forth as a panacea for all human ills. Shelley is the high water mark of the waves o

II, we shall confine our attention to Wordsworth and Coleridge. "One word in candor," Shelley writes, "on the manner in which the study of contemporary writing may have modified my composition. I am intimately persuaded that the peculiar style of intensive and comprehensive imagery in poetry which distinguishes modern writers has not been as a general power the product of the imitat

extended both to the form and the matter of poetry. Byron characte

. In the early part of the century agriculture and commerce flourished and with this advance in material prosperity came the decline of romanticism. "Correctness" in form and thought is the guiding light of prince and peasant, of poet and philosopher. Imagination is concerned almost entirely with soc

r ancient rule

ture is to

horde of imitators whose only claim on the muse of poetry was ability to turn out heroic couplets. As a consequence poetry bec

to direct his attention to romantic and supernatural characters and to enshroud these with a human interest and a semblance of truth sufficient to engage our interest and attention. Wordsworth, on the other hand, was to produce the same effect by giving the charm of novelty to objects chosen from ordinary life. It seemed to them that the beauty of a landscape often depended on the accidents of light and shade; that moonlight or sunset sometimes transformed an uninviting scene into one of entrancing beauty; and so they believed that they could diffuse the glow of their imagination over any object and make it attractive. As might be expected the publication of the Ballads did not meet with success. The change from the stereotyped verse of the age to these carelessly formed effusions was too much for the critics. Some scoffed at them; others thought they were being hoaxed. The subjects dealt with in these poems were long considered as unfit for poetry; and of course the conservative felt it his bounden duty to protest against the innovation. In the second edition of the Ballads, which was entirely Wordsworth's own work, an attempt is made to justify this rad

6] Wordsworth contends, too, that the proper language of poetry is the ordinary language of the rustic. The excellence of poetry depends not so much on the dignity of the words used as on their capacity to arouse emotions. "The language of poets," Shelley writes, "is vitally metaphorical; that is, it marks th

to philosophical reflection; they exchanged the ancient method, consisting in the ideal imitation of external objects, for an introspective analysis of the impressions of the individual mind.[178]

his autobiography; and The Excursion supplements what is lacking to a thorough revelation of the workings of his mind. He begins The Prelude by telling about his childhood and schooltime, his residence at Cambrid

thus e

riot; and my

ple, and my love

ral Beaupis, who inoculated him with enthusiasm for the cause of the Revolution. In The Revolt of Islam Shelley describes Dr. Lind, who taught him to curse the king. Hatred of abs

th ardor here

cious c

, however, deprived him of some of the hopes that he placed in it. At that time his "day thoughts" were most melancholy. When n

exercise of

the auxiliars

us who were s

in that daw

ung was very

sors and oppressed are persuaded to forego revenge. Love has c

e, to live, wa

ean

triking similarity between the spirit of parts of The Excursion and that of many

eeds were mine, dea

wrapt me from th

well the hou

eep. A fresh M

orth upon the g

ow not why; un

schoolroom voi

echo from a w

ting strife of ty

ped my hands an

ear to mock my

eir drops upon

me I spoke: "I

free, and mild

for I grow w

d the strong s

reproach

t of all which they themselves had struggled for, he became "vexed with anger and sore with disappointment." About the year 1793 he fell under the influence of Godwin, and it is to his doctrines that he now turned for solace. Godwin, as we have seen, makes reason

anding fo

it in everyt

f conviction,

d out with c

moral questions

ism to its lowest dept

roo

essed reason o

wanted

ments of supreme inspiration, and had taken vows binding

the

ull, I made no

r me; bond u

I should be, els

cated

helley in

his unfatho

emn song! fo

r and th

stery are seen in Alastor and these a

his rejection of Godwinism. Marmaduke loves Idonea, Herbert's daughter, and is told that she is about to be sacrificed by her father to the lust of a neighboring noble. Oswald, the Godwinian, persuades Marmaduke, by dint of

oof was presse

as seemed, by

olds enwrapped

it is the height of folly to ignore instinct and

ger is

mercy gives m

nacknowleged legislators of the world."[184] His Revolt of Islam and other poems attempt to inculcate "a liberal and comprehensive morality." What particularly distinguishes Wordsworth and Shelley from preceding poets is that they moralize and draw lessons from their own experiences. The two principal characters in The Excursion-the Solitary and the Wanderer-represent Wordsworth the radical and Wordsworth the conservative.

my

d-to examine

are composed;

n, long and p

report that the dread Bastile has fallen; a

ed seat of

d pater

he blind m

be

nd all glor

ley has a somewha

aming through th

re in life; and joins in the choru

hall

ar that conqu

ring forth choice

of Libe

entire sympathy with the plans and aspirations of the revolutionists, and he feels that a progeny of golden years is about to descend and bless mankind. All the hopes of the Solitary, though, are blast

eople mighty

d the oceans

th rudest rites,

rshipp

says, is sure if we strive to yield entire submission to the law of conscience. He compares the force of gravity, which constrains the stars in their motions, to the principle of duty in the life of man. In Act IV of Prometheus Unbound Shelley compares the force of gravi

emes are equ

rea

which one man riots in luxury whilst another famishes for want of bread? Can he who the day before was a trampled slave suddenly become liberal-minded? This is the consequence of the habits of a state of society to be produced by resolute perseverance and indefatigable hope, and long-suffering and long-believing courage, and the systematic efforts of generations of men of intellect and virtue." The Wanderer exhorts the Solitary to engage

ed to t

rmity, and

point, attai

lves and union

litary in Nature. He sees that there is a Living Spirit in Nature; a spirit which animates all things, from "the meanest flower that blows" t

rm of being

ve prin

m link

he soul of all

aks about "the soul of the Universe, the intellige

anifestations of one life sacred, great, and all-pervading. "This life of nature is felt more when man is alone with her and hence the love of solitude which marks the Wordsworthian habit of mind."[189] Other characteristics of Wordsworth besides the love for Nature's seclusion are "the reverence which sees in her a revelation of infinity a

The magnificence and beauty of the external world sinks profoundly into the frame of his conceptions and affords to their modifications a variety not to be exhausted." In the introductory stanzas, Shelley asks this great parent, Nature, to

never d

loved her; 'tis

years of this

joy; for she

t is within

ss and beaut

ghts, that neit

nor the sneers

where no kindn

ntercourse o

evail against

aith, that all

of ble

th speaks of the influen

spirit of t

art the etern

o forms and i

ting motion

-light thus fr

didst thou in

hat build up o

mmortality remind us of the f

Universe! et

eath, of happ

hequers the p

ore our eyes in

t on the darkne

ins and m

but can

ing sweet music, all in harmony. Furthermore, he feels that all l

faith that

e air it

tten in ea

with the spirit of love, a spirit that knit

a univer

to heart

o man, from

y sis

f Shelley's poems. In The Sensitive

mbled and pan

the field, or

noontide, with l

nionless sen

do us more good "than all the sages can."

helley for animals, and notes the similarity between the two foll

and

ish that glanc

reptile coili

loved t

cknowledging h

y in Alast

ird, insect, o

have injured,

hed these

ursion and Shelley the Alast

o. Coleridge, on the other hand, was without ambition and steadiness of purpose. He drifted on through life in a listless manner, "sometimes committing a golden thought to the blank leaf of a book, or to a private letter, but generally content with oral communication."[191] At an early age he had accomplished great things and it was felt that these were but "the morning giving promise of a glorious day." He was s

n of the Bastile, written in 1789. In it he rejoices at the overthrow of tyranny and the

he soul of lif

ry pulse, shall fl

r and wider until every land shall boast "one in

worship I hav

of divine

d this in mind when

opes of div

he most de

he first part he lashes his countrymen for joining the coalition against France under pretence of defending religion. Further on he gives his views on society, its origin and progress. It is to private property that we must attribute all the sor

thus, from lu

science; and fro

en now (1796) the storm begins which will cast to earth the rich, the great, and all the mighty men of the world.

hepherd on

fog creeps timoro

earnest eyes

road, all else

d. But lo! the

enchantment of

ack vapor melte

er gems each

, on every bl

the landscape st

is a blind suicide; that no one injures and is not uninjured. This change will be brought about by a return to pure Faith and meek Piety. He differs from Shelley in this, that he

inds one of the following passage from S

all mean passio

res, its tremb

o guide, but m

st-winged shi

e r

stanza run

all passions

tirs this

ut minist

is sacred

more than a transposition of Coleri

aby! for thine

s, that faintly

rame, so elo

rnest heart of

'er thy fitful

ds thee to her

pity, in her g

assive eyes ca

me feeble lin

ight beneath he

ove I read thy

hou, O fair and

ost thy tender

hy mother's lo

's runs a

w heart was onl

at face of f

my thoughtful

, and all my c

aw it on its

t her bosom (

eatures with a

lled and melted

ther's kiss; a

brance and pr

ee an angel's

hine, belove

her's sake the

s the mother

uired in their early years; and on them ground their political and religious views. Poe