The Romanticism blog

Byron, 1819: Had I been a selfish man – had I been a grasping man – had I been in the worldly sense of the word even a prudent man – I should not be where I now am; I should not have taken the step which led to the events which have sunk a gulf between me and mine.

"You see .. the white sails of the boats, relieved by the deep green of the forest, which comes to the water's edge, and the sloping hills covered with bright villas ...Domes and steeples rise on all sides..." 3/3

Inspired by the publication of William Gilpin’s 'picturesque tour’ of the Lake District in 1772, Francis Towne toured Ambleside in Cumbria in 1786 painting a number of versions of the secluded waterfalls of Stock Gill. Two figures on the bottom, far left rock, provide a sense of…

Apologies for the delay. From the evidence and customs at the time it seems that Mary was most certainly not there. Here’s another dramatically “romanticized” illustration of Shelley’s body washing ashore, with Mary running towards him in the waves… nypl.org/events/tours/a…

#OTD 1796, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft become lovers. He writes in his diary 'Chez moi, toute' Pictures Portrait of William Godwin by James Northcote 1802, NPG Portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft by John Opie c1797, NPG

Byron to Mama, 1809: The Vizier received me in a large room paved with marble - His first question was why at so early an age I left my country? (Hobhouse's map from 'Journey through Albania, and other provinces of Turkey in Europe and Asia, during the years 1809 and 1810')

#OTD 1819 Coleridge is in Ramsgate "Finding myself convalescent this morning, I bathed, and ... had a glorious tumble in the waves" "The weather, however, is evidently on the change, and we have now a succession of flying April showers, and needle rains"

Today's picture: Fanny Brawne, around 1850

"Leigh Hunt was brought out here by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Mr. Shelley was lately drowned in going from Leghorn to La Spezzia, and Lord Byron considered Leigh Hunt as a legacy left to him." Hobhouse's diary, 1822

#OTD 1795 Coleridge writes the poem The Eolian Harp, published in 1796 as 'Effusion XXV' bit.ly/1p5l4D6

He goes on "Florence itself... I think is the most beautiful city I have yet seen. It is surrounded with cultivated hills, and from the bridge which crosses the broad channel of the Arno, the view is the most animated and elegant I ever saw...." 2/3

#OTD 1818 Shelley writes to Mary about his journey to Florence "The country was various & exceedingly beautiful... [We] past between high mountains crowned with some of the most majestic Gothic ruins I ever saw.. half seen among the olive copses" 1/3

The Ancient Mariner, from @guardianbooks theguardian.com/books/booksblo…

Today's picture: Chapman's Homer, subject of Keats's famous sonnet, taken at the @britishmuseum Troy exhibition poetryfoundation.org/poems/44481/on…

"No man ever lived who had such devoted friends. His power of attaching those about him to his person was such as no one I ever knew possessed. No human being could approach him without being sensible of this magical influence." Hobhouse on Byron, 1824

Today's #pastpost: Stephen Gill on Wordsworth and 'the self-sustaining power of solitude' wordsworth.org.uk/blog/2020/04/0… Image: @Unsplash

#OTD 1814 Mary Godwin writes of the Alps "They look like those accumulated clouds of dazzling white that arrange themselves on the horizon in summer. This immensity staggers the imagination, and .. surpasses all conception"

Shelley meets 'Monk' Lewis in Geneva, who also "told four other stories - all grim."👻👻👻👻

#OTD 1818 Keats arrives home from his walking tour, "scarcely any shoes left, his jacket all torn at the back, a fur cap, a great plaid and his knapsack". Seated in a comfortable chair, he exclaimed, ‘Bless thee, Bottom, bless thee! Thou art translated!'