Romantic poetry in context by Discovering Literature – British Library

Explore more Discovering Literature articles

discovering_literature — 2025-02-05 16:46:43 UTC

Explore 100 of our best loved articles, perfect for teachers of Years 10–13.

William Blake's printing process

BL_Learning_7 — 2025-02-18 16:19:16 UTC

William Blake's radicalism

BL_Learning_7 — 2025-02-18 16:20:31 UTC

William Blake's spiritual visions

BL_Learning_7 — 2025-02-18 16:21:37 UTC

Romantic literature in context: teacher's resource pack. Part 1

discovering_literature — 2025-03-05 09:20:10 UTC

Introducing Romanticism

Romantic literature in context: teacher's resource pack. Part 2

discovering_literature — 2025-03-05 09:20:20 UTC

The role of the imagination

Romantic literature in context: teacher's resource pack. Part 3

discovering_literature — 2025-03-05 09:20:29 UTC

The sublime

Romantic literature in context: teacher's resource pack. Part 4

discovering_literature — 2025-03-05 09:20:35 UTC

Radical politics in the age of revolution

The Romantics

discovering_literature — 2025-03-06 15:41:21 UTC

Dr Stephanie Forward explains the key ideas and influences of Romanticism, and considers their place in the work of writers including Wordsworth, Blake, P B Shelley and Keats.

John Keats and ‘negative capability’

discovering_literature — 2025-03-06 15:41:28 UTC

Stephen Hebron explores Keats’s understanding of negative capability, a concept which prizes intuition and uncertainty above reason and knowledge.

Wordsworth and the sublime

discovering_literature — 2025-03-06 15:41:35 UTC

Professor Philip Shaw explores the role of the sublime in William Wordsworth's autobiographical Prelude, explaining how the poet uses the concept to investigate nature, imagination and the divine.

Landscape and the sublime

discovering_literature — 2025-03-06 15:41:42 UTC

Professor Philip Shaw considers how Romantic writers thought about the grandest and most terrifying aspects of nature, and the ways in which their writing responded to and influenced theories of the sublime.

An introduction to 'Kubla Khan: or A Vision in a Dream'

discovering_literature — 2025-03-06 15:41:47 UTC

Dr Seamus Perry considers the composition and publication history of 'Kubla Khan', and explores how Coleridge transforms language into both image and music.

An introduction to 'Ozymandias'

discovering_literature — 2025-03-06 15:41:53 UTC

Stephen Hebron looks at P B Shelley’s 'Ozymandias', showing how his use of form and vocabulary produce a poem that transcends its sources.

Blake's two chimney sweepers

discovering_literature — 2025-03-06 15:42:03 UTC

Songs of Innocence and of Experience contains two poems about young chimney sweepers: one in 'Innocence' and one in 'Experience'. Dr Linda Freedman considers how this allows for a complex, subtle engagement with the figure of the sweep.

Looking at the manuscript of William Blake’s ‘London’

discovering_literature — 2025-03-06 15:42:08 UTC

In his poem ‘London’ William Blake explores poverty, revolution and the power of the imagination. Dr Linda Freedman examines the original draft manuscript, to discover the meanings behind this iconic poem.

Poetry by Heart 14+ Timeline anthology

BL_Learning_7 — 2025-03-09 18:29:27 UTC

This free resource includes every poem set for examination at GCSE by the AQA, Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas awarding bodies. It features recordings of the poems, mini biographies of the poets, notes for pupils, and extra resources for teachers.

Poetry by Heart 16+ Timeline anthology

BL_Learning_7 — 2025-03-09 18:30:34 UTC

This free resource includes poems set for examination at post-16, in a timeline format. It features recordings of the poems, mini biographies of the poets, notes for pupils, and extra resources for teachers.

Explore more articles on 18th- and 19th-century literature

discovering_literature — 2025-03-10 10:50:09 UTC

'Grasmere Oak' by Helen Mort

discovering_literature — 2025-04-07 10:03:43 UTC

Read the poem 'Grasmere Oak'.

Writing climate change: a challenge from Helen Mort for the Young Poets Network

BL_Learning_7 — 2025-04-09 08:41:22 UTC

Poet and adventurer Helen Mort draws on the legacy of the Romantic poets and asks you to write your way through the world’s increasingly shifting landscapes.