Elements Of English Romanticism

As may be observed, English Romanticism saw a wide variety of authors who produced a flourishing scholarly and popular works. For this reason, it is essential to study it in relation to its main literary forms; namely, novel and poetry. Although it is worth noting that the Romantic Literature is especially regarded as a poetic period, it is also relevant to mention that this period saw the first flowering of English novel.
After having dealt with the historical background of the period as well as with its most salient features, it is time to move on to the second section of this topic: Romantic fiction in Britain. Although, as has already been mentioned, the Romantic period is best known for the work of major Romantic poets, the period also

First of all, it is necessary to mention that the dynamic antagonism in the novel usually tends to subvert, if not to reject literary conventions; often novels verge on turning into something else, like poetry or even drama. The protagonists' wanderings are frequently motivated by flight from previously-chosen goals, so that often there is a pattern of escape and pursuit--focus on the individual. Likewise, the main characters are usually driven by a irresistible passion, ambition, envy. The emphasis is on their desire for transcendence, to overcome the limitations of the body, of society, of the time rather than their moral transgressions --departure from reason. Buildings also play a vital role in Romantic fiction, indeed they are central to meaning; the supernatural, wild nature, dream and madness, physical violence, and perverse sexuality are set off against social conventions and institutions. Finally, regarding endings, it may be said that they are often disquieting and unsatisfactory because writers tend to reject definitive conclusions which accounts for all loose ends and explain away any ambiguities or uncertainties. There is a preference for open-endedness as an effort to resist the limits of both time and place; an effort which helps to explain the importance of dreams and memories of other times and locations.
Nevertheless, although these are the most general features of English Romantic novel, each novelist of this period had in fact his/her own style and preferences. Therefore, in order to have a better knowledge of this genre, it is necessary to talk about the most significant authors and works of this particular period; namely, Sir Walter Scott, Mary Shelley and Jane