Essay on Common Issues in Romanticism - 1475 Words

The key figures in Romanticism addressed many of the same issues. Such connectivity is marked in William Blake’s poems â€Å"Infant Sorrow† and â€Å"On Another’s Sorrow†, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Shelley, like Blake, argues for continual development of innocence to experience, and through the character of Victor Frankenstein’s creation, Mary Shelley suggests the equilibrium of innocence and experience offers insight into the human condition. The shift is distinguished by what Blake states in plate 3, stanza 2 of â€Å"The Marriage of Heaven and Hell†: â€Å"Without contraries is no progression† (112). Any event, idea, or emotion that is contrary to the innocent human conscience is a progression to experience. In Frankenstein, the balance and shift of†¦show more content†¦They are malleable and in Blake’s world of experience, subjected to face the world and its inhabitants. The creature himself remarks ab out the significance of his first human contact apart from his creator: â€Å"Perhaps, if my first introduction to humanity had been made by a young soldier, burning for glory and slaughter, I should have been imbued with different sensations† (116). The sensations felt by the creature can certainly be considered benevolent. He continues: â€Å"I felt the greatest ardor for virtue rise within me, and abhorrence for vice, as far as I understood the significance of those terms, relative as they were, as I applied them, to pleasure and pain alone†¦ the patriarchal lives of my protectors caused these impressions to take a firm hold on my mind† (116). The De Lacey’s offered Frankenstein’s creation with an education in speech and human society. They also unknowingly left the creature with so many unanswered questions. Left to his own devices, brooding and pensive, the creature began to realize his naà ¯vetà © with a bold proclamation of â€Å"I was absolutely ignorant† (109). No longer in the blissful state of child-like ignorance, the creature experienced events so contrary to his being it caused immense turmoil. Each negative experience brought the creature closer to a human condition capable of murder. The creature saw the kind interaction of the De Laceys, did good deeds as their â€Å"spirit of the forest†, and longed for the love of another, evenShow MoreRelatedRomanticism1649 Words   |  7 PagesRomanticism in the Nineteenth Century The Romantic period followed the era of logical, philosophical, and social movement in the 17th to 18th century. However, as the 19th century began, Romanticism came into the light with a new perspective that intrigued the people. It stressed emphasis on emotions and imagination while also helping to realize the importance of self-expression. 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