The Romantic period of history, lasting from the late-18th to mid-19th century, affected the perceptions of Europeans and Americans in the areas of music, literature, art and philosophy. Both poems reflect their authors’ keen interest in the aesthetics of the sublime. Romantic poetry and novels are characterized by sentimentality and characters in thrall to powerful emotions and in search of sublime experiences. Romantic artists often contrasted poetry with science, which … The Romantic sensibility: the Sublime The sublime is a feeling associated with the strong emotion we feel in front of intense natural phenomena (storms, hurricanes, waterfalls). As Romantic poetry is often an expression of the Self it can serve as a form of written introspection, and Romantic poets are able to use Sublime surroundings as a tool for deeper thought and understanding of the Self, then turning to the written word to exercise this. Examples of other forms, now less valued: narrative, dramatic, and epic poetry. One of the most important concepts in Romantic poetry. Literature of the Romantic period most often finds The Sublime in nature. There were well-prepared lines of poetic composition. The poetry of the Romantic Revival is in direct contrast to that of Neoclassical. Back From Set Rules . It generates fear but also attraction. Romantic Literature: Poetry Romantic literature usually came in the form of either poetry, short stories, or novels. The Romantic age: a new sensibility. In addition to Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein, two major poems were conceived in the Geneva Canton in Switzerland in the summer of 1816: the third canto of Lord Byron’s romance poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage; and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s ‘Mont Blanc: Lines Written in the Vale of Chamouni’. Though often associated with grandeur, the sublime may also refer to the grotesque or other extraordinary experiences that "take us beyond ourselves.” However, to the Romantic mind, poetry was the highest embodiment of the imagination. The sublime is a moment or description of something deeply transcendent or awe-inspiring in a poem. The sublime The sublime is a feeling associated with the strong emotion we feel in front of intense natural phenomena (storms, hurricanes, waterfalls). In the 18 th century, poetry was governed by set rules and regulations. From A Poet’s Glossary The following definition of the term the sublime is reprinted from A Poet's Glossary by Edward Hirsch. One example of the sublime in poetry is Epithalamion by Edmund Spenser. Origin: the term has Latin origins and refers to any literary or artistic form that expresses noble, elevated feelings. Characteristics of English Romantic poetry The Sublime. The sublime in literature refers to use of language and description that excites thoughts and emotions beyond ordinary experience. And any deviation from the rules was disliked by the teachers of poetic thought. It generates fear but also attraction.