A Study Of Romanticism In Edward Young’s Conjectures On Original Composition

Generally speaking,the German Storm and Stress Movement that started in 1765 was the harbinger of the Romantic movement,which lasted for a full thirty years until the rise of Jena Romanticism.At the same time,Romanticism also began to appear in Britain.In 1800,Wordsworth published the "Preface to the Lyrical Ballads",which is regarded as the manifesto of Romanticism.Since then,the Romantic movement has spread throughout literature,painting,music and other fields,and its influence remains undiminished until today.Romanticism’s admiration of genius,nature,and emotion can be traced back to Young’s "Conjectures on original composition" at the earliest.As a literati living in England in the 18 th century,Young has an important position in the history of literature.On the one hand,he is a representative writer of sentimental literature.His lament for the perishability of life and his pursuit of God’s eternity in "Night Thoughts" set the tone for sentimentalism and made him,together with Thomas Gray,a representative poet of the Graveyard School.On the other hand,his article "Conjectures on original composition" puts forward some distinct viewpoints on writing.The article is contrary to the sentimental argument,and is generally full of positive spirit.The questions he raised about genius,nature,and emotion have already possessed the shadow of later Romantic thought.Specifically,his ideas of opposing imitation and pursuing inspiration around genius are a strong counterattack to classical aesthetics.His new attitude towards nature and the idea of using plants as a metaphor for genius are in line with the later Organicism.The practice of judging the quality of literary works by the strength of emotional appeal also coincides with the later romantic view of emotion.These ideas of his were the first to arouse strong repercussions in Germany,which to a certain extent gave birth to the Storm and Stress movement.As a transitional literati from Sentimentalism to Romanticism,Young possesses multiple temperaments and is a figure of great research value.However,Chinese and foreign academic circles have not paid due attention to him at present,and the research on him is only on the surface,such as his life,and the introduction of "Night Thoughts" and "Conjectures on original composition",without in-depth investigation its ideological connotation.Based on this background,this paper attempts to examine the Romanticism in Young’s works in detail,not only trying to justify the name of this long-neglected writer,but also trying to explore the inextricable relationship between Sentimental literature and Romantic literature.While examining in detail the romanticism contained in "Conjectures on original composition",this article also emphasizes the conservatism in it,and combines Young’s life experience to try to restore the transitional thought of a real transitional figure.