How to Be a Romantic Poet
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Adam Goodheart Utne Reader
3. You and Your Muse
Before sitting down to write, get in the proper mood. When Byron
composed Childe Harold, he was ' half mad . between metaphysics,
mountains, lakes, love unextinguishable, thoughts unutterable, and
the nightmare of my own delinquencies.' Imitate the masters: The
best line in all Romantic poetry is Shelley's 'Swiftly walk o'er
the western wave, Spirit of Night!' He socks you right in the gut
with an Unexpected Initial Adverb, then wins points for Use of the
Word O'er, Reference to the West, Maritime Synecdoche, Direct
Address of a Spirit, and Gratuitous Capitalization. In just nine
words, Percy earns a perfect score.
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4. Expiration
A Romantic poet doesn't die, he Expires. This involves ceasing to
breathe amid suitable theatrics. One popular escape route is a
wasting illness like Keats' consumption, which will give you plenty
of time to travel to Italy, compose your epitaph, savor the guilt
of the women who've spurned you, watch your cheek grow wan, and so
on. For a quicker departure, drown in the Gulf of Spezia, as
Shelley did, or perish for the cause of Greek liberty, as Byron
did. Thomas Love Peacock distinguished himself by dying after a
house fire, when he stood among his beloved books shouting, ' By
the immortal gods, I will not move!' That was a grand exit.
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