Romanticism celebrated illusion, fancy, passion and the variety of spontaneity of life as well as attempting to find suitable stimulus

material for realising the ideal and idealising the real. H Fairchild The spirit of Romanticismmust constantly re-invent, rediscover and re-assert itself asserts David Stevens. The essence of Romanticism continued to be a shifting notion which encapsulated elements such as imagination, nature, spontaneity and idealism, as well as individualism and religion. These elements are intimately interlinked in texts such as The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe, the poetic works of Coleridge and Keats and also in Danish philosopher Kierkegaards Fear and Trembling. Despite the wide range of social contexts, Romantic concepts spanned many decades and continued to be developing and ever-changing movements whose elements were given varying degrees of emphasis in different works. The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) finds inspiration for idealism in pantheism and individualism while exploring passion and imagination. Radcliffe most emphasises the individuals development through the characterisation of her enduring heroine, Emily St Aubert, who discovered in her early years an uncommon delicacy of mind, warm affections and ready benevolence. Spontaneity is developed through exclamations such as Till I sink into my cell again for terror of the sound! and the frequent interspersion of poetry through the narrative gives opportunity to show a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings. Emilys poetry is an opportunity for character development, such as her The First Hour of Morning, reflecting her pantheistic attitude. Radcliffes religious personification of nature [breathing] a sacred charm over the world ascribes power to nature and this is developed through Emilys association of nature with God. Radcliffe idealises reality in descriptions of majestic summits exhibiting tremendous crags of marble and uses strong verbs to give nature power through the stalking, dashing, torrent, swept, towering descriptions of sublime scenes. Radcliffe explores imagination through gothic elements but this is countered in her convenient coincidences concluding the novel; and she rarely attempts to realise the ideal. Coleridges This Lime Tree Bower my Prison (1797) focuses on nature as a stimulus for idealism, while exploring imagination, passion, individualism and religion. Coleridge idealises reality through his idolisation of the pastoral and demonization of the city where he hungerd after naturein that great city pent. Coleridges conversational tone laments Well, they are gone, yet at the poems end he concludes that sometimes/Tis well that we be bereft of a promisd good as through this imaginative opportunity, he realises the ideal and his perception of reality is altered. Religious allusions highlight pantheistic themes, speaking of the many steepled tractNature neer deserts the wise and pure. Apostrophe to thou glorious sun personifies nature as immediate, and vivid imagery of the roaring, narrow, deep dell combined with present tense increases natures power. Coleridge explores passion through exclamation such as Fannd by the waterfall!, developing the notion of the individuals limited perception. The poet is imaginatively transported from this lime tree bower my

prison! to thou blue Ocean as [though] I myself were there! enabling him to idealise the outside reality. Frost At Midnight (1798) finds stimulation for idealism in the Romantic concepts of nature and individualism through which imagination and passion are explored. First person emphasises the individual, supplementing the reflective tone seen in the poets abstruser musingsmeditation amid the Romantic preoccupation with solitude deep calm. Coleridge develops spontaneity and passion with hyperboles such as extreme silentness and exclamations such as calm indeed!. Emphasis on nature is developed through Coleridges imagery of tufts of snow on the mossy branch and his archaic language which speaks of the ancient mountain gives the poem beauty and majesty. Nature is personified through the frosts secret ministry, showing underlying pantheistic themes. The sea, hill and wood transports the poet to his imagination, and he finds stimulus material in the individual and nature. Keats Ode to Autumn (1919) finds inspiration primarily in nature, enabling him to explore idealism, imagination, individualism and passion. Keats personifies autumn as a woman, with hair soft-lifted ascribing power and beauty to nature, complimented by Keats use of fertility imagery, describing the bosom-friend, maturing, load and bless, fruit, ripeness, budding autumn, and idealising reality as he personifies autumn sittingdrowsed with the fume of poppies. Keats exclamation about seasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness! shows passion for nature, while the alliteration in the line adds to the laden richness of the language. Keats imagery of death is seen where he speaks of the soft-dying day, rosy hue, wailful, mourn, sinking, exploring the individual through his resigned attitude to death. Keats places comparatively less emphasis on imposing his ideals on reality he does not address Christianity in this work. Keats Ode on a Grecian Urn (1919) celebrates imagination through an individuals perspective as stimulus for idealism, while exploring nature and passion. Keats elevates pagan beliefs to a level commensurate with traditional Christianity, meditating about imagined scenes. Imaginative pagan allusions to Tempte and Arcady give notions of rural beauty, innocence and perfection. His use of alliteration in descriptions of marble men and maidens compliment the pagan allusions seen in the mysterious priest and continues to feed the poets imagination. Passionate exclamations in present tense which speak of the happy, happy boughs! ascribes immediacy to nature and the series of rhetorical questions which ask what men or gods are these?...what wild ecstasy? develop passion. The repetition of happy shows that imagination is the source for the poets idealism of reality, which is continued by his use of apostrophe when he directly addresses thou still unravishd bride of quietness. Keats uses strong pagan allusions, in contrast to earlier Romantic works which tend to uphold the JudeoChristian tradition. Kierkegaards Fear and Trembling (1843) expounds his quandary over faith and is tightly linked to religion and individualism, utilising these Romantic concepts to illustrate Kierkegaards beliefs. Kierkegaard explores passion and spontaneity and his aim as an existential thinker is to realise the ideal through unity of life and thought. Kierkegaard uses religious language and allusions such as his mention of biblical paradoxes including great by that power whose strength is powerlessness and

language such as fruit sanctified prayed battle increases his philosophys connection with biblical beliefs and traditions, using passion as inspiration for his quest for the ideal. Strong verbs such as wild, fermenting power writhing in dark passions and terrifying battleraging elementsforces of creation tell of the supreme passion that Kierkegaards Fear and Trembling wishes to explore. Rhetorical questions such as Is there no sympathy for the venerable old man, none for the innocent child? and exclamations of All was lost! show Kierkegaards emphasis on passion in his philosophy and his idolisation of childrens pious simplicity. Kierkegaards overarching intention is to communicate his emphasis on individualism and his desire to achieve idealism. The Romantic elements of nature, spontaneity, imagination, individualism and religion have each been focal points of inspiration for idealism by different authors and poets through the Romantic period. While emphases varied, these were core elements which reappeared in various strengths in different texts of the period. Radcliffes Mysteries of Udolpho, Coleridges poetry, the work of Keats and Kierkegaards dialectical philosophy all drew inspiration for idealism from different elements of Romanticism, yet all of these texts remain distinctly Romantic in nature.