Orientalism in the Romantic Poetry with Special Reference to the Poems of William Wordsworth Robert Southey and Lord Byron

Abstract

This thesis explores the Oriental representations within the lines of the English Romantic newlinePoetry. It focuses on the English Romantic poets selected for this study such as William newlineWordsworth, Robert Southey and Lord Byron and how they treat the Orient and Orientals newlinein their selected poems, The Prelude, Thalaba, the Destroyer and The Giaour respectively. newlineThe research traces the diverse ways in which the Romantics depict the Orient. It deals newlinewith the adaptation, reaction and recomposed ideals of Nature, aesthetics and literary newlinecreation of the Romantics. newlineThis study aims to move towards new readings of the Orient in the cultural and literary newlinecontext of the Romantic Poets, in addition to the Romantic ideals, visions, dreams and newlineforms. Furthermore, this research studies how Romanticism awakens the minds of newlineRomantic Poets, aiming to present the refreshing interpretations of the Romantic poetic newlinetradition. newlineThe present study is divided into six chapters. Chapter one relates to the introduction which newlinebriefly outlines the historical and cultural framework of the Romantic Movement and how newlinethe Orient inspires the Romantics. How the Oriental cultures, customs, religions and newlinelandscapes are reflected through their literary productions positively and negatively is as newlinewell the aspect of the chapter. In addition, the objectives, hypotheses, significance, newlinelimitation and methodology of the study also are discussed in the first chapter. newlineChapter two deals with the background study of both Orientalism and Romanticism. It newlinecomprises of two main parts. The first part relates to the discussion of Orientalism, its newlinedevelopment and certain views of the critics on Orientalism. The second part of this chapter newlinetraces the origins of Romanticism as well as its relationship with Orientalism. newlineChapter three deals with the life and literary career of William Wordsworth, his selected newlinepoem, The Prelude (1850) and the Oriental elements present in The Dream of the Arab newlinein Book V of The Prelude. newlineChapter four takes up the life and career of Robert Southey,