Module 6: Examining the World to Discover Truth
As Britain recovered from the political turmoil and warfare of the Restoration period, a new revolution was on the horizon. With the turn of the 18th century came the full blossom of the Age of Enlightenment in Britain, a period in which thinkers emphasized logical reasoning, advocated for individual liberty, and explored new scientific discoveries and innovations. It was during this time that new machines and technologies made work more efficient. By the turn of the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing. People moved from farmlands to growing cities that offered employment in the growing number of factories and mills.
However, leaders and writers in the late 19th century began to realize that science and reasoning could not solve all of society's problems. With more efficient industrialization, the working class seemed to end up poorer, not wealthier. Thinkers began to worry that as knowledge of science increased, understanding of the natural world in which people lived was disappearing. People were losing touch with the simple appreciation of a bird, a leaf from a tree, the change of seasons. In honor of the "common man" and the rights of the working class, rebellion in the name of progress and liberty broke out across Europe. The traditional regimes of authority and power responded with a crackdown on the call for reform.
The era of Romanticism in Britain was a brief one, but the power and influence of its themes continues to reverberate in art, literature, and philosophy even today. In this module, you will explore the literary masterpieces of Romantic writers who sought to examine beauty, nature, emotion, and imagination in quest to discover a deeper truth.
Getting Started
In this module, you will explore literature written by some of the most famous Romantic authors of British literature. Romanticism is a literary and artistic movement that spanned numerous countries across the world. You likely have already studied literary Romanticism in American literature, but how much do you remember? How familiar are you with the following novels, short stories, and poems? Can you identify the authors of the following literary works of American Romanticism?
- The Last of the Mohicans
- Walden
- Moby-Dick
- "Rip Van Winkle"
- "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
- "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer"
- "The Raven"
- "O Captain! My Captain!"
American literature thrived in the era of Romanticism. In this interactivity, check your knowledge of American Romanticism to see how familiar you are with some of its most famous authors. Many of these writers were influenced by the Romantic thinkers of Britain that you will learn about in this module. You can click each of the author portraits to learn more about the author's life and literary contributions. Click the player button to begin.
View a printable version of the interactivity.
Key Vocabulary
To view the definitions for these key vocabulary terms, visit the course glossary.
| Byronic hero | gothic fiction | ode |
| epistolary novel | gothic hero |