Romantic and Victorian Poetry are two distinct types of poetry that originated during two distinct periods in history. Romantic poetry blossomed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, while Victorian poetry emerged during the mid-19th century. In the following lines, the major differences between Romantic and Victorian Poetry will be discussed.
Romantic Poetry
Romantic poets sought to explore the emotions of love, loss, and life as broadly as possible. They usually wrote about nature, emotion, and the concept of man’s inner spiritual journey. They expressed their feelings through poetic images and metaphors.
Romantic poets were often concerned with the beauty of nature and its power to evoke emotion. They believed that nature was both a source of inspiration and a source of wisdom. Their poetry was often characterized by an emphasis on the unity of the human spirit with nature.
Romantic poets often expressed their philosophical views through their poetry. They explored the idea of transcendence, or the idea of surpassing earthly experience, and the power of love to make individuals happy.
Victorian Poetry
Victorian poets focused less on emotional exploration, meanings of life and transcendence, but more on issues such as morality and values. They embraced realism, and believed that issues of mortality and sin could be addressed in poetry. They often wrote about the struggles and problems of the common people. Their poetry was often dark and pessimistic, and sometimes satiric.
Victorian poets often wrote in a formal, structured style, with rhyme and other poetic techniques used to express the specific emotions of the subject. Issues such as morality and morality were often explored in their poetry, as were themes of loyalty and patriotism.
Victorian poets focused less on understanding the connection between man and nature. Instead, they focused more on the individual, exploring issues such as mortality, responsibility and morality.
Themes
The themes found in Romantic poetry are often about nature, beauty, love, and spiritual exploration. Themes in Romantic poetry often emphasize the unity of the human spirit with nature, and transcendence, or the idea of surpassing earthly experience. On the other hand, themes in Victorian poetry emphasize morality, values, and the struggle of the common people.
Structure and Style
Romantic poetry usually took the form of free verse and used poetic images and metaphors to evoke emotion. However, Victorian poetry was usually written in a formal, structured style, with specific rhyme and meter patterns used to reflect the emotions of the subject.
Tone and Perspective
Romantic poets showed a great deal of optimism in their works. They emphasized the idea of joy, love and understanding. On the other hand, Victorian poets were often pessimistic and skeptical. They often wrote about the struggle and suffering of the common people as well as issues of mortality and sin.
Conclusion
Romantic and Victorian poetry had distinct origins and voices. While romantic poetry emphasizes beauty and the human spirit, and often focuses on themes of love and loss, Victorian poetry emphasizes moral issues and the struggles of the common people, taking a more pessimistic and formal tone.
