So, for the last month or so of my Spring semester, I've been doing nothing but studying the Romantic movement.
For those of you that are not familiar with it, it's a literary and artistic movement that happened, roughly, in the early 19th century. Poets such as Lord Byron, Samuel Coleridge, William Wordsworth (ew), and writers such as Mary Shelley and (arguably) Jane Austen came out of this movement. It also inspired an American counterpart, that also begat Trancendentalism. Ugh.
(Yes, I know Austen is not traditionally a Romantic, but it was the same era, stuck on the struggle of the institution on women, hella satirical, fuck you, I can make an argument on this with proper MLA citations. Fight me.
@ me hoe).
So I've been overdosed on Romantic poetry, correct? Due to the fact that I am taking three classes that start with Romanticism. Only one is chronological, so I'm not irritated about anything after it. I've just been forced on this literary movement so fucking much that's I'm over it?
Case in point: currently writing three essays that discuss various Romantic poets and I'm already over Blake's poetics, Coleridge's dramatics, Keats's obsession with death, and Queen Shelley's Promethean Hero.
Like.
Y'all.
I don't care.
I'm so over these tragedies. Why is everyone so fucking depressing and dramatic?? Or dramatic about how depressing they're being?? Or depressed about their dramatics??
Ugh. I'm unable to. I've lost my ability to able with them right now.
Like, I get it. As an English major in a Eurocentric field and society I'm going to be dealing with these white people problems on a pretty consistent basis. However, why must I get it from all sides???
I'm okay with the Romantics; I did a whole year of them in high school. I've done them in classes consistently. Kubla Khan is one of my favorite poems. I identify with Keats' urge to live past the age of 25 (on a figurative level), and yes, I love Queen Mary Shelley's discussion of the "other" in Frankenstein. (And I expect no less from the creator of Sci-Fi). I even found Pride and Prejudice funny!! Me!!!
I mean, nothing on this earth will even let me like Wordsworth, that basic bitch, but I like most of the other ones!
Idk. I'm just feeling attacked by the Romantic writers right now. Maybe I identify too much with them? Since I'm hella dramatic and tragic at the same time. Or maybe I just don't understand their white people problems? (@ Austen, das you).
Or maybe it's just overload and I'm hella fucking burned out by this.
Can I just please have some Plath or Dove please?
No more of Shelley's long ass metaphors for the institution or for human libreration. I'm done with him.
(Also, fuck Wordsworth and his white faux-liberal self. How're you gonna be an abolitionist and then quit halfway through? Fuck you. Smh. 🤦🏽♂️).
I'm going back to my essays.
Siiiigh.
These A papers aren't going to write themselves, lmao. #SlayingYourFaves