Each may be said to have personified and contributed to the commonly associated attributes of romantic literature, as "refer[ring] to a permanent and recurrent characteristic of the human spirit, a tendency to idealism, imaginative speculation, and emotional indulgence." (612) Thus, while Burns’ realistic satires may fit familiarly to traditional eighteenth century poetry, certain qualities of his works--lyricism, use of common Scottish dialect, and rural life settings--link him strongly to the Romantic …show more content…
Again, the joint emphasis on human imagination was made clear by Shelley’s description of imagination as “the principle of synthesis”, defined in opposition to reason, as imagination affirmatively created whereas reason merely followed from the already existing. (618). A focus on spiritual beauty was a focus was shared by Keats, but who also embraced the natural beauty of nature and humanity, even while distinguishing himself from the rebellious strains present in the writings of Byron or Shelley. Keats, again, also emphasized the power of the human imagination, proclaiming that he was “certain of nothing but of . . . the truth of Imagination.”