Romantic-Era Poetry Assignment

Whether you believe it or not, you all have the spark of the Romantic Poet somewhere in your soul. For this assignment, you will tap into this fire and give it room to burn brightly by writing a mock-Keats or a mock-Wordsworth poem.

As you have seen, many of the Romantic writers saw beauty and meaning in the simplest of objects. Keats wrote an ode to an expensive household decoration, and Wordsworth wrote a nostalgic poem about a location he had visited in his past. For this poetry assignment you will need to observe and witness one of the following:

·         A location you once spent time at that would bring forth nostalgic feelings.

·         An item you personally feel has beauty and profound meaning.

·         A natural or pastoral element or setting that exhibits elements of the sublime.

After observing this item or setting, write a 14 line poem that captures not just the emotion you are feeling, but also the Romantic Voice of the early 19^th century. This poem must have a rhyme scheme (which you may choose) and it must have ten syllables in each line. It must be typed and turned in with your poetry portfolio on Friday, February 12^th. 

Remember, while the Canterbury Tales poem assignment had a few requirements, I did not ask you to directly mimic Chaucer’s voice and style. For this poem, however, you will be asked to do exactly that: try to mimic the language, voice, and style of either Wordsworth or Keats (or both). You will need to have a strong understanding of their language and poetic style in order to effectively write your own Romantic poem.