William Blake and William Wordsworth’s Reactions to the Industrial Revolution

The Romantic Period in literature roughly between the years 1780 and 1830 was an age of war, upheaval, and in particular, an age of revolutions. With the French Revolution, there appeared new ideals based on ‘Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity’, which affected the European societies in several aspects including the political, social, and cultural dynamics of the countries. William Blake was hopeful for the outcomes of the revolution. During the first phase of the French Revolution, he wrote a long epic called The French Revolution (1790-1791) whose subject matter is the revolution itself and his radical political views. He was in favor of the abolition of the corrupted monarchy and the decaying feudal system. Similar to Blake, William Wordsworth believed in the necessity of changes not only in the political system but also in the social structure of his country. He praised the French Revolution in his long autobiographical poem, The Prelude: “France was standing on top of the golden hours / And human nature seeming born again.”1 Nevertheless, both Blake and Wordsworth were dissapointed due to the violent acts, riots, and particularly September Massacres, which caused a growing disillusionment with the ideals of the French Revolution.

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William Blake, William Wordsworth, Industrial Revolution

William Blake and William Wordsworth’s Reactions to the Industrial Revolution

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William Blake, William Wordsworth, the Industrial Revolution,

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