The poetry of the Romanticism era shares quite a few characteristics defined by the time in which it was produced, yet each author also left their own unique imprint on the poems created at the time. Three of the most prolific Romantic poets of the time, namely, Byron, Keats, and Shelley, are best known for their equally famous pieces, “When We Two Parted,” “La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” and “Ozymandias” represent similar ideas. In all of the poems above, their respective authors reflect rather painful experiences, portray or refer to a rather idealized image of a woman, and incorporate the theme of abandonment.
Belonging to the same era of Romanticism and focusing on the same notion of liberation, Byron, Keats, and Shelley shared a range of similarities. Their emotional turmoil is one of the most prominent features that unified them and their writing. As seen in “When We Two Parted,” the problem of losing a loved one becomes the crux of Byron’s artistic expression: “When the two parted/In silence and tears” (Byron). Likewise, Keats focuses on the painful experiences of love, even though with slightly different literary means: “And there she wept and sighed full sore” (Keats). Finally, Shelley conveys the same sentiment in his poem: “Nothing beside remains. Round the decay/ Of that colossal wreck” (Shelley). Thus, despite having completely different themes and addressing different notions, the three poems touch upon the feeling of emotional turmoil, depicting the state of suffering vividly.
Similarly, the poems under analysis create an idealized image of a woman as one of the key elements of their narrative. Although the specified characteristic remains implicit in one of the poems, the other two expand the description of the idealized image of a woman, addressing minor details and creating a description that resonates with the audience emotionally on multiple levels. Thus, Keats’s poem is the only one that does not contain the specified element, thus, creating a stark contrast with the other two. Indeed, the poem in question represents only the sculptor and his work, addressing the issue of hubris rather than the turmoil of love. However, defined as “passion” and marked with the same fleeting nature as Keats characterized love in his other poems, “Ozymandias” can also be considered as containing a hint to romantic passion.
Nonetheless, there are noticeable differences between the poems under analysis. Despite sharing similar characteristics as the poems written in the Romanticism era, they also prove to represent quite different ideas. The notion of hubris as an empty feeling of an extraordinarily fleeting nature is the most obvious difference that Shelley’s work demonstrates. In addition, the presence of multiple epithets such as “fragrant zone” and “horrid warning” is unique to Keats’s “La Belle Dame sans Merci” (Keats). Finally, Byron’s “When We Two Parted” is uniquely structured, with short and abrupt lines designed to convey precisely the amount of information that the reader needs to get the idea of their intended meaning.
Representing the era of Romanticism rather accurately, “When We Two Parted,” “La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” and “Ozymandias” as some of the most famous works by Byron, Keats, and Shelley share form but not ideas. Apart from Shelley’s “Ozymandias,” which focuses on the nature of hubris as opposed to creating an image of an idealized woman, the poems share every aspect of Romanticism poetry. However, each of the poems also has its unique flair created by the authors’ inimitable personalities. Therefore, the three poets and their works need to be studied together to develop a clear and multifaceted experience of the epoch of Romanticism.
Works Cited
Byron, George Gordon. “When We Two Parted.” Poets.org, Web.
Keats, John. “La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad.” PoetryFoundation.org, 1819, Web.
Shelley, Percy Bysshe. “Ozymandias.” Poets.org, 1818, Web.