Question

Select the correct answer.

Which of the following statements describes the relationship of William Blake and Thomas Gray to William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge?
A.
The first pair were the first to identify themselves as romantics. The second pair critiqued the first and ushered in a new form of romanticism.
B.
The first pair were the first to identify themselves as Enlightenment authors. The second pair were the first to identify themselves as romantics.
C.
The first pair were transitional authors with romantic and neoclasssical characteristics. The second pair were the first to identify themselves as romantics.
D.
The first pair were the first to identify themselves as romantics. The second pair compiled the works of the first pair.

Answer 1

William Blake and Thomas Gray were transitional figures with romantic and neoclassical characteristics, while William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were pioneers of the Romantic movement, thus option C is correct.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer that describes the relationship of William Blake and Thomas Gray to William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge is C. William Blake and Thomas Gray were transitional authors who exhibited both romantic and neoclassical characteristics in their work. On the other hand, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were among the first to actively identify themselves as romantics, pioneering the Romantic movement with their collaborative publication of 'Lyrical Ballads' in 1789.

Wordsworth and Coleridge's work significantly contributed to the shaping of Romantic poetry with a focus on personal experience, freedom of expression, and the glorification of nature. Contrarily, Blake and Gray's work, while containing elements presaging Romantic ideals, was still rooted in the tail end of neoclassicism.