Romanticism
Romanticism originated in Europe at the beginning of the 19th century and was at its peak from 1800-1850. It is seen today as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and as a revolt against aristocratic social and political norms at the Age of Enlightenment and the scientific rationalization, that was replacing traditional values and customs. Romanticism was associated with the ideas of liberty and equality in politics. Romantic poets cultivated individualism, reverence for the natural world, idealism, physical and emotional passion, and an interest in the mystic and supernatural. They set themselves in opposition to the order and rationality of classical and neo-classical artistic precepts to embrace freedom and revolution in their artistic expressions and in politics.
"The Castle on the Mountain" By von Goethe
Poem Analysis
Von Goethe in this poem seems to look back at the time when a destroyed or abandoned castle on the hill used to have a prosperous Golden Age when feasts were held for squires and cellarers would serve wine to many knights. A time when he or a person from the poem married his wife by a priest in the chapel of the castle. He looks back desolately thinking, "And when, as eve descended, The hush grew deep and still, And the setting sun looked upward. On that great castled hill; Then far and wide, like lord and bride,In the radiant light we shone --It sank; and again the ruins Stood desolate and alone." Von Goethe fits in with many other Romanticist poets. It is apparent that he wanted to go back to the older traditions and customs that were in place in society before the Scientific or Industrial Revolution. What is at mind is Von Goethe escaping to a place where a feudal system in Scotland still exists where he can live without the nuisance of modern society. This poem may have very well been a reaction to modern society in the early 19th century. |
Literary Devices
Allusion- The castle that Von Goethe talks about in this poem may be a reference to the Weimar Castle that once housed the Holy Roman Empire ( Germany in the late 18th century) Duke of Saxe-Weimar in which he lived in due to his literary fame. Von Goethe could have also been refering to the Heidelberg castle destroyed by a lightning bolt in 1764 in Germany. He wrote the poem in 1803. Imagery- When Von Goethe was describing the castle at present day after having been abandoned or destroyed, you could see the castle in your mind as burned to the ground, stained of ash, smelling of burned wood or of moist mold or dust. |