classic vs romantic

Classicism versus Romanticism

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William Wordsworth introduces a revolutionary idea when he suggests that poetry might be written in the language of the common man . Until that time , the literary arts (indeed the humanities in all its forms were steeped in the classical tradition . Classicism is defined as showing restraint on the part of the author , unity of design and purpose , clarity , simplicity , logical organization , and respect for tradition (Gale . Among other things , this means close adherence to

the unities of time , space and action , portrayal of great ' men such as kings and statesmen , high speech , balance , structure , and observance of the rules of meter , rhyme , and rhythm . Unlike Wordsworth on the other hand , Samuel Johnson , John Dryden and Alexander Pope may be considered of the classic tradition . In their respective works Preface to Shakespeare ' An Essay of Dramatic Poesy ' and An Essay on Criticism ' each criticizes based on his own standard of good poetry . Despite the differing poetic traditions , however , they have points in which theirs may be shown to agree with Wordsworth 's , who considered it necessary to part with many of the classical rules . These , and others of there type , who preceded Wordsworth had a profound impact upon his views of poetry . Therefore , though Wordsworth displayed a fierce reaction against classicism , he was unable to rid his poetic ideas of all their classical influence . This shows up not only in his similarities of thought with these of the classical tradition with whose work he was familiar , but also in other assumptions he makes that can be uncovered by close attention to the text of the preface to his Lyrical Ballads

Wordsworth seeks to show that he is thoroughly opposed to the spurious nature of the poetry being written in his day . One of the first things to which he objects is gaudiness and inane phraseology (244 . He betrays here , in the initial paragraphs of his preface , that his standards retain some element of the classical . The simplicity that he advocates is a tenet of classicism , which expresses itself in preference for straight lines in art and directness of speech in literature Johnson echoes this sentiment in his criticism of Shakespeare , whom he says affects a disproportionate pomp of diction and a wearisome train of circumlocution (Adelaide . This is a classic viewpoint from a traditional author , and it underscores the fact that Wordsworth , though Romantic in his tastes , is also somewhat tethered to the classicism in which his education was steeped

In contrast to this , Dryden criticizes the poet who writes without betraying any depth of poetic sensibility . He writes : He affects plainness , to cover his want of imagination (Rutgers . According to this view , plainness is undesirable and a more ornate style is required of poetry . This certainly seems at odds with Wordsworth 's argument against gaudiness . Although it would not be entirely accurate to infer that Wordsworth 's view precludes his desire for...