Enlightenment Vs Romanticism

Throughout the course of history there have been several ideological movements created in response to the ideas prevailing at the time. One such pair is the schools of thought of the Enlightenment and Romanticism. The Enlightenment had spread across Europe in the eighteenth century and brought along ideas such as a focus on science or rationalizing everyday life. A rejection of these notions came about in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century in the form of Romanticism. Much like its American counterpart Transcendentalism, Romanticism focuses more on the irrational or emotional and stays away from the cut and dry thinking of the Enlightenment. The Romantic period had basic tenets that included a reverence for nature and childhood,

He informs the reader of his religious side, referring to it as both his “Spectre” (1) and “Emanation” (3). Spectre is a synonym for ghost or spirit that reinforces the idea that his entity is not a separate human for the speaker but a part of him. This notion is further enforced by the fact that the possessive “MY” is completely capitalized to make known that this is a personal account (1). According to the OED, the word emanation means, “The process of flowing forth … from anything as a source. Often applied to the origination of created beings from God ….” This introduces the fact that these feelings are religious in nature and also has religious imagery, as the spectre can be interpreted as the Holy Spirit and the OED states the theological usage of emanation, “denote[s] the ‘generation’ of the Son…”. This calls the reader’s attention to the Holy Trinity composed of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The last line of the stanza in which the speaker’s emanation, “Weeps incessantly for [his] sin” (4) confirms to the reader the impact that this inner conflict has on the subject before transitioning into the main portion of the

By now he seems to accept the spectre’s wishes and decides to give up on love and, “root up the Infernal Grove” (54). The phrase root up is a gardening term that means to remove something entirely from the ground, roots and all. As found in the OED, infernal means, “of the character, or having some of the attributes of hell” so, the Infernal Grove could is a metaphor for sins that need to be removed from the speaker’s life. Not until this is done will the speaker, “worthy be/To step into Eternity’ (55-56). In other words, until he purges sin from his life, Heaven will not be an option for him. The speaker appears to now be on amicable terms with the spectre and agrees to reunite with it in Heaven where both will be happy. In some final words to his other half, the speaker says, “And throughout all Eternity/I forgive you, you forgive me” (65-66), further stating that the two halves will embrace one another once love is out of the picture. The final two lines refer to the Last Supper where Jesus said goodbye to his Apostles before being crucified. It was then that Heaven was opened up to all people on Earth. This could be a reference to giving something up for the greater good of all. Just like how the speaker is giving up love both for the benefit of the spirit and his emotions as he will now no longer be tormented in every relationship he faces. Thus, the poem ends on a