Knowledge organiser – Romanticism Paper 3
Romanticism
Blake
Poetic project: To explore the divinity of the innocent human soul and use the imaginative
power of poetry as rebellion against political tyranny and hypocritical moral institutions.
Holy Thursday (SOI)
Summary: A reminder of the religious obligation to support the poor, through contrasting
the innocent divinity of poor children attending a church service on Holy Thursday, with the
cold spirituality of church leaders.
Ideas:
• The innocence / divinity of children.
• The church as a deadened institution.
• Poetry as giving spiritual insight / revelation.
Holy Thursday (SOE)
Summary: A bitter criticism of the hypocrisy of his supposedly prosperous Christian
society, that nevertheless contains extreme poverty.
Ideas:
• Religious / moral hypocrisy.
• Economic injustice in 18th century Britain.
• Poetry as moral instruction.
The Sick Rose
Summary: A symbolic critique of cultural attitudes to (especially women’s) sexuality
Ideas:
• Patriarchal repressive sexual attitudes / double standards.
• The social / emotional harm of masculine sexuality for women.
, The Tyger
Summary: An exploration of the frightening (but perhaps necessary) dangers of imagination
and creativity, through a meditation on the tiger.
Ideas:
• The potential dangers of the imagination / creativity.
• The possibility that the potential dangers of imagination / creativity are necessary.
London
Summary: A sharp criticism of social / political / institutional repression in British culture,
through symbolic description of scenes on a walk through London.
Ideas:
• Critique of political tyranny.
• Institutional repression and its consequences.
• Poetry / the imagination as social critique.
Wordsworth
Poetic project: To explore the divinity of nature and the human soul as a way of connecting
more deeply to humanity / morality, using the imaginative power of poetry in a way that
revolutionises religious ideas and implicitly critiques human society and politics.
Lines Written in Early Spring
Summary: A melancholy meditation on the misery of society, and the failure to find solace
in the pleasure and beauty of nature.
Ideas:
Romanticism
Blake
Poetic project: To explore the divinity of the innocent human soul and use the imaginative
power of poetry as rebellion against political tyranny and hypocritical moral institutions.
Holy Thursday (SOI)
Summary: A reminder of the religious obligation to support the poor, through contrasting
the innocent divinity of poor children attending a church service on Holy Thursday, with the
cold spirituality of church leaders.
Ideas:
• The innocence / divinity of children.
• The church as a deadened institution.
• Poetry as giving spiritual insight / revelation.
Holy Thursday (SOE)
Summary: A bitter criticism of the hypocrisy of his supposedly prosperous Christian
society, that nevertheless contains extreme poverty.
Ideas:
• Religious / moral hypocrisy.
• Economic injustice in 18th century Britain.
• Poetry as moral instruction.
The Sick Rose
Summary: A symbolic critique of cultural attitudes to (especially women’s) sexuality
Ideas:
• Patriarchal repressive sexual attitudes / double standards.
• The social / emotional harm of masculine sexuality for women.
, The Tyger
Summary: An exploration of the frightening (but perhaps necessary) dangers of imagination
and creativity, through a meditation on the tiger.
Ideas:
• The potential dangers of the imagination / creativity.
• The possibility that the potential dangers of imagination / creativity are necessary.
London
Summary: A sharp criticism of social / political / institutional repression in British culture,
through symbolic description of scenes on a walk through London.
Ideas:
• Critique of political tyranny.
• Institutional repression and its consequences.
• Poetry / the imagination as social critique.
Wordsworth
Poetic project: To explore the divinity of nature and the human soul as a way of connecting
more deeply to humanity / morality, using the imaginative power of poetry in a way that
revolutionises religious ideas and implicitly critiques human society and politics.
Lines Written in Early Spring
Summary: A melancholy meditation on the misery of society, and the failure to find solace
in the pleasure and beauty of nature.
Ideas:
