Paper Summary:

The paper relates that Romantic poetry was a clear demand for social justice, expressing that the past social structure was too rigid and the new social order must allow for individual growth. The paper posits that some of the best examples of Romantic poetry were produced by working class individuals. The paper uses the example of the working class, self-educated poet, Mary Collier, and analyzes two specific examples of Collier's poems. The paper explains that this working class woman was not only not an exception but probably even more committed to the ideals of the period than many of the classic Romantic poets.

From the Paper:

"The term romanticism related to a period of European history associated with the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century. Romantic poetry is an expression of the period, the emphasis of such poetry was frequently nature as well as individual expression of emotions and imagination as a rejection of earlier classicism and strict social rules and conventions that defined life, prior to the time. In a sense romantic poetry, as well as other literary and artistic expressions during the period were a clear demand for social justice, expressing that the past social structure was to rigid and the new social order must allow for individual growth. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Harvey, A.D. "Working-Class Poets and Self-Education." Contemporary Review May 1999: 252.
• Lonsdale, Roger, ed. Eighteenth-Century Women Poets: An Oxford Anthology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
• Read, Herbert. The True Voice of Feeling: Studies in English Romantic Poetry. New York: Patheon Books, 1953.
• Sherwood, Margaret. Undercurrents of Influence in English Romantic Poetry. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1934.

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