The Age of Romanticism Response 

The Broadview Anthology characterizes the Romantic Era as historically and culturally complex, with apposing views of revolution and conservatism at the heart, and influenced by The French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. The French Revolution had a major influence on both the mindset of the people and politics, and became a metaphor for the Romantic movement. Politically, the French Revolution fostered a newfound sense of unity between British citizens and what made up Great Britain. Poets helped to foster that sense of pride with their literary work glorifying the nation. The Industrial Revolution provided a shift in social structure starting in the 17th century, allowing for the lines between the classes to gradually become more blurred. Social status started to become something that could be gained based on merit rather than strictly by bloodline  The reign of George IV, somewhat of a patron of the arts, led to an increase in paintings, architecture, and literature. 

As a literary movement Romanticism embodied individual freedom, in regards primarily to the mind and soul, and also the question of what it means to be an individual. Connection between self and the natural world was also a topic popular in the Romantic era, with writers like Blake referencing growth from the Industrial Revolution as "dark satanic mills". While admiring earlier works, particularly Milton and Shakespeare, Romantic writers were above all focused on originality and aesthetic freedom, which became a criterion for poetic achievement.The "Imagination", which considered the creative power that enabled someone to make art from the physical world, was common-ground between male and female Romantic writers.         

Acknowledging the fact that women had little to no rights during the Romantic era, women still had influence in the arena of literature. Their subjects mainly focused on education, most notably Mary Wollestonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Woman and also Thoughts on the Education of Daughters. The anthology notes that women wrote not just of education and religion, but of many issues plaguing their world and sought to make a real difference, only to be shot down by a society that still viewed women as property and saw intellectual engagement as a sign of prudishness and deemed it unnatural. 

The literary works discussed consisted primarily of Jane Austen, who dominated the courtship genre with all six of her major novels. Sense and Sensibility incorporated an opposition that played a big role in Romanticism, strong emotional response versus reason. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein embodied the Gothic novel, which was the greatest influence on the Romantic era in terms of the romance genre. Shelley managed to bring together most of the era's themes in her novel, such as freedom and oppression, or nature and science. Charlotte Smith's Emmeline explored women's social status and many other concerns of the time through the Gothic setting of the novel. Joanna Baillie's plays were discussed as failures on stage but popular as printed literature, the fate of many serious plays or "closet dramas", which were a staple of the Romantic period. 

From reading this overview on Romanticism, my perception is that women writers during the Romantic era were extremely productive but also tragically underrated, especially even today. As I read through the sections addressing women authors I realized I did not recognize a lot of the names. Felicia Hemans apparently might have surpassed Byron in popularity in her day, and yet I've only read Byron. And while I know somewhat of Joanna Baillie, I've never studied her work in a class, even though Walter Scott considered her to be the best dramatic writer since Shakespeare. Overall I think that it is assumed that women writers were either not numerously present during Romanticism, or not very good, but from reading this overview, it appears that they are simply not represented.