Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The Contemporary Romantic

I would love to see contemporary Romantic poetry. While I am sure contemporary poets have learned all about this school of thought, and include certain aspects and ideas from it into their work, I wonder how a completely romantic poem would sound today. I think it would be possible to do this, because the concepts of romantic poetry can be addressed in more simple ways then say, metaphysical poetry. For example, the whole concept of the sublime has become so common I didn't even realize this was an invented idea. It can easily be referred to in simple words as opposed to the complexity of metaphor or other literary devices. Because of this, contemporary readers would be able to easily understand and relate to Romantic poetry. Take this poem by John Keats as a point of reference:



When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high piled books, in charact'ry,
Hold like rich garners the full-ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour!
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;—then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think,
Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.

It has clear elements of Romanticism within it. Keats discusses a pre-nastalgia he is having for experiences he would not have were he to die. He is upset by the idea of not being able to see the person he loves again, and the last few lines when discussing this fear are particularly Romantic. The idea is so painful to him that he must stand alone, "on the shore/Of the wide world," and, "think,/Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink." This idea of being alone in the world, pondering his sorrow and misfortune, watching his love and fame sink in water, is as Romantic as it gets. But, I really think a contemporary audience would relate to and enjoy these ideas. This specific poem by Keats would not be written today; the language and style is too old. But, I think ideas such as these would be great in a contemporary poem written in more common language and style. I could also see these ideas go well with Confessionalism, which feels extremely personal. I think the two would balance each other well, and I think this would be a type of poetry I would really enjoy. 

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