Romanticism- Not So Romantic?

Byron, Shelley, and Keats are all considered to be masters of the Romatic form. Yet, it seems like all of these authors were incredibly depressed about their position in life.
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Lord Byrons poem about his failed relationship shows no hope for a perfect one. Instead, he talks about how this relationship hurt him from any form of romantic happiness. This seems like not only an unhealthy way of thinking, but also one that does not help him strive for a more medieval form of love.


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Percy Shelley also shows a depressing version of reality. He finds that "Intellectual Beauty," which is a spiritual being of intangible good feeling, is missing from the world. He says that his life purpose is to search for intellectual beauty. I say that without "Intellectual Beauty" being around him, he would have not been able to write "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty." I say that he feels this torment because he isn't looking at things with the Romantic light that he claims to be doing. Percy Shelley sounds entitled.



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Even thoughts all have felt that we weren't fully appreciated for our talents, Keats still sounds like the type of person that complains about their privileged, first world existence. Keats wants to get closer to the nightingale in order to get away from the worry of his own life. He laments about how he wishes he could be like the nightingale because their song is eternal. But the fact that he focuses on not being appreciated enough instead of focusing on the fact that he obtained a good education and decided on this literary life. The fact that he whines about it just makes me mad. First-World problems much?

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Every single one of these gentlemen seems like they have no serious issues. They are all well-educated, healthy, and come from good familial backgrounds. No one forced them to be cynical or make decisions that they ultimately regret or feel unappreciated for. Every bad decision was their own. I totally get why the Realists hated this movement. The life of someone who struggles was heavily romanticized.

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