Romantic, Victorian, and Modernist literature, while addressing various concerns in their different ways, are inseparable. Romantic literature is, on paper, concerned with the expression of human emotion while the Victorian Era represents an interim period where much is experimental and hard to pin down, and Modernist literature experimented with various new techniques and concepts, and they all represent the inevitable circle of mankind that revolves around the pure understanding of nature, the advent of belief, the rejection of said belief for reason, and the lamenting of what has been lost, and at last a revival of the first component aforementioned.

After the Enlightenment period which prioritized reason and logic over what is supernatural, and affected literature in a way which made writers incorporate realistic and factual elements into their works, and use satire and wit to challenge the highly skepticized religious and political institutions, there occurred a series of events that made literature change its shape to fit the new needs of the society. This age of literature was called Romantic literature, derived from the Medieval Era equivalent of the word describing tales of adventure, heroism, and courtly/idealized love, and was inextricably related to its historical background.

Moving onto a more detailed analysis of the aforementioned historical context, it must be asserted that the Enlightenment Period’s ideological and social conventions led to drastically detrimental results which can be summarized as the establishment of absolute monarchies and the advent of widespread revolutions. There existed a need for greater freedom in both thought and speech but also expression which was far from being answered due to the social structure of the time. With the introduction of machine tools, much was changed in how the economy was operated, and as a direct and tangible result power and wealth were taken away from the aristocracy and bestowed to middle-class industrialists. The Industrial Revolution, after the trade market settled into this new order, served only to create a stark disparity between the rich and poor in the eyes of the common people. In this predicament, the only solution was to fight for “equality, liberty, and fraternity”.

As to why this period of Romanticism took place during this specific time span, indeed the bloody ramification in human lives stemming from how differently the French Revolution in 1789 was conducted, in comparison to the “clean” Glorious Revolution, is to blame. Seeing how absolute monarchy invited by Enlightenment tenets led to these horrific results, the writers and poets of England took a much more recessed stance in being argumentative and objectively truthful in their works, instead focusing on turning inwards and expressing intense emotions. In turn, Romantic literature was characterized by the celebration of individual emotions, imagination, and nature.

Involved with the subjective experiences of the authors and poets, the works of this time portrayed intense feelings of love, longing, and awe, and often drew inspiration from what is supernatural and mystical, though this by no means meant that this period was devoid of any form of logic. To give out a few examples that come to mind in this period of the “real language of man”, William Blake’s The Tyger and The Lamb comes to mind. Written in two separate books called the Books of Innocence and Experience, Blake questions the creation of good and evil on the same plane of existence and the rationality behind it, constituting a sceptical look towards God. These works are also interpreted as representative of how, in their origins, all things created by God are equal and pure but in time they get to sin and gain experience, linking controversial concepts together to form even bigger dilemmas. Another example is in William Wordsworth’s The World Is Too Much With Us, as he seeks a better connection with nature and laments for the essence of humanity that has now been lost.

Modernist literature on the other hand was derived from a rejection of the limitations caused by the same understandings of expression the Romantics came to love and hold to a high regard. Characterized as a movement that set out to contradict the traditional conventions of literature, Modernists aimed to push beyond the boundaries of artistic expression that was set before them. Fragmentation of time and space, stream-of-consciousness, and the reflection of the human condition were all but a few of the ideas that were implemented and/or experimented with.

The main difference between Romanticism and Modernism lying in better artistic freedom, one example of this period is Franz Kafka’s much revered Metamorphosis, in which he describes the deplorable situation of a man named Gregor Samsa who one day turns into an insect and has to accommodate his new faculties to a lifestyle he has never imagined before. This work represents perfectly the concerns of narrative experimentation, critique of social conformity, and especially alienation and isolation. Another example of this period, James Joyce’s Ulysses, employs a stream-of-consciousness narrative and delves into the complexities of human consciousness, themes of identity and sexuality, all the while depicting a day in the lives of its characters.

In conclusion, Romantic, Victorian, and Modernist literature form an interconnected cycle of human understanding. Romantic literature expresses intense emotions, imagination, and a connection to nature. Works like William Blake’s “The Tyger” and Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much With Us” question the nature of good and evil and lament the loss of human essence. In contrast, Modernist literature rebels against traditional conventions and explores new artistic possibilities. Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” exemplifies narrative experimentation, critique of social conformity, and themes of alienation. James Joyce’s “Ulysses” delves into human consciousness and identity. Both periods reflect the ever-evolving exploration of human experience and the artistic freedom to express it, and in the end they all serve as the parts of an greater ever revolving chamber of change.