“On Seeing a Lock of Milton’s Hair” by John Keats (1818)

John Keats (1795-1821) belonged to the “second generation” of Romantics and, like Wordsworth before him, he too was enchanted by the towering figure of Milton. In this poem, “On Seeing a Lock of Milton’s Hair,” Keats chooses to focus on praising Milton’s poetic talents, hailing him as a genius and inspiration. The poem is a good example of Milton’s continuing influence on the English Romantic movement even as younger writers like Keats came to the fore.

“The Masque of Anarchy” by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1819)

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) is one of the most famous members of the “second generation” of English Romantics who, alongside contemporaries such as John Keats and Lord Byron, followed in the footsteps of Wordsworth and Coleridge. Like many other Romantics, Shelley professed to have radical political beliefs, claiming to reject traditional social and political values and hierarchies. The Masque of Anarchy (sometimes written as The Mask of Anarchy) is one of his major works, which he wrote in response to the Peterloo Massacre. Like Wordsworth in “London, 1802,” Shelley deplores the current state of England, urging Englishmen to “Rise like Lions after slumber / In unvanquishable number—/ Shake your chains to earth like dew” (368-370).

“The Prelude” by William Wordsworth (1850)

Although “The Prelude” did not appear in print until the year of Wordsworth’s death, he began writing it in 1799 and completed the original draft in 1805. The Prelude is an openly autobiographical work, in which Wordsworth reflects upon his upbringing, his formative experiences, and his ideas about poetry. In Books IX-XI of the poem, Wordsworth details his time in France and his exposure to revolutionary ideas as a young man.