Representatives of Romanticism

The two concepts that relate to Romanticism is Frederick Douglass-the slave presented himself as a hero and overcoming hard trials. The slave is portrayed as a hero, because he went through many whippings and neglect. In most cases, the slave can teach someone else how to make it out a hole. In the beginning a slave had a hard time coping with society, but eventually they will meet someone to help them to victory. A slave could teach other children to read whenever they learned. A slave would have to overcome hard trials with their master. It was often a wild setting but ended in dreams being fulfilled. A slave went through an emotional rollercoaster while working and trying to make their master satisfied. When a slave learned while on the job, it made the slave become smarter and come up with more ideas to escape. Frederick Douglass and the concept of slavery and Percy Shelley- power in nature are similar but different too. In Frederick Douglass story, he tells how his master, Mr. Auld, thought that he shouldnt learn to read. Even under control, Frederick tries to maintain his strength that is obvious in the comparison of him learning to read to a man that will become unfit and unhappy (250). Frederick Douglass lived in extreme conditions which sparked him to try to become something great outside of being a slave. The master wanted to control and keep Frederick Douglass illiterate. The master also proved that his power is in control of all things and that is all Frederick Douglass knew and thought at the moment. In Percy Shelleyr's story, the power of nature seemed to be the focus. The wind has the power to be in charge over all other nature around it. The wind is like a metaphor to other inspiration in nature. The poet hopes his message gets across by the strong winds sent in all directions. In Ode to the West Wind, the poet speaks to nature and hopes for a significant change. Even in distress, the poet shows he needs support in comparison of lifting him as a wave to that of him falling upon thorns (401). The Life of a Narrative of Frederick Douglass and Ode to the West Wind consider a power to inspire after a rough, emotional setting. There is something or someone in charge to help move past the dark moments. There is also a need to lend a helping hand somewhere because in both stories, there are wild, strange obstacles that interfere often. In both of the stories there is a lust for attention and determination to find the end results of passion. The origin of William Wordsworth- Tintern Abbey is a interesting one. The title is very important and worthy of consideration. According to the Norton Anthology, Wordsworth turned readers away from classical models and Gothic supernatural stories to everyday emotion and imagination, focusing on feeling (345). William compared God/nature in his story. He also incorporates his feelings with nature. Even at his lowest point, the speaker embodies a certain feeling when he compares his hours of weariness to the feeling of the blood and heart (351). William used connections that repeated themselves in his written works. Tintern Abbey was considered one of his Lyrical Ballards. According to Oskar Gruenwald, Human agency with nature is crucial. The unprecedented opportunity we have today is for common interactive relationship in which each discipline retains its integrity and yet is radically open to the discoveries and insights of the other (3). He is referring to the knowledge of God/nature. Wordsworth wants to look deeper at existence and try to distinguish between the old self and the new self. His stories portray just ordinary people. The speaker in Tintern Abbey wants more insight as the story goes on. The speaker starts out with a wild, emotional setting and starts reflecting on pleasures. According to The Norton Anthology, Romanticism has no ending, because writers can be called Romantic if they seem to still fit in the time period (324). All of the Romantic writers during the 1780s and 1830s brought a movement that consisted of traditions, styles, and passions. Writers were embracing nature and showing that science and statistics can be incorporated in the Romantic movement.

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