I suddenly remembered Shelley and this followed...

Romanticism and Objectivism are two poles of life. The former glorifies ideals, feelings and sentiments; the latter upholds factual propositions and pragmatism.

From what I have heard and to an extent experienced, life is full of contradictions. Although “converted” to Objectivism and “swept off my feet” by Rationalism (normal consequences post Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead), I cannot help appreciating the nuances of English poetry and I absolutely dote on the works of “The Big Six” of Romantic poetry. I get my much required break from my daily routine and get sort of geared up to face what is to come with a straight, objective, rational simplicity similar to that of a math equation.

Quoting Rekha Rai, my English lecturer at MES College, John Milton was the true precursor of the Romantic Movement characterized by the Six Bards who revived the true spirit of English poetry by pursuing the "romance" and the sublime, lost since the times of Milton himself. So "The Big Six" comprise of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Lord Byron, Shelley, Keats and Blake.

Lyrical Ballads, the joint anthology of Wordsworth and Coleridge emphasized the signature of Romantic Poetry namely –
1. Depicting the beauty of nature
2. Usage of simple English to convey poetic thoughts
3. Abandon the so called posh, high-society linguistics
This was religiously followed by John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Byron in their works, which even incorporated metaphysical issues. Although chronologically the earliest, William Blake was a relatively late addition to the list that was initially called “The Big Five”.

Wordsworth defined poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” and went on to assert that nonetheless any poem of value must still be composed by a man “possessed of more than usual organic sensibility [who has] also thought long and deeply” The theme of romantic poetry therefore is “the filtering of natural emotion through the human mind in order to create art, coupled with an awareness of the duality created by such a process”. The entire movement was greatly concerned with the pain of composition, of translating these emotive responses into the form of Poetry.

My all time favorites include “Tiger” by Blake, “Daffodils” by Wordsworth and “Ozymandias” by Shelley. While “Daffodils” takes me to this beautiful English countryside where peace and calm is the essence of life, “Ozymandias” reminds me of the original purpose of life; “to become immortal” in the true sense of the word unlike Ozymandias himself.

Talking of immortality, I’m reminded of MS Subbalakshmi every time I read Ozymandias. The blessed lady now at His abode, truly is immoral through her music. And to end it all, here goes “Ozymandias” by PB Shelley.

Ozymandias

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley