The Lakers and Cockneys: A Critique of Romantic Ideologies

Abstract

Generally, when an author produces a literary text, he must write, whether consciously or unconsciously, in the views of an ideology and counter-ideology, one that he proposes and another that he opposes. Similarly, the romantics, who were divided into sub-schools: the Lakers and Cockneys, suffered from identity crisis. So the Lakers defined themselves in relation to a new liberal democratic ideology working against the philosophical background of Locke and Hume, and the perfection of neoclassical poetry while the Cockneys sought a more liberal ways of expression and defined themselves in the context of a critical reading of the Lakers themselves. The new English rebels were stirred and inspired to revolt against the tyranny of incompetent regimes and gain an absolute independence. They intensified the self-sufficient resources of both man and society to have a natural aptness to create. Their impact was tremendous in the consciousness of Europe, stimulating a revolutionary movement in literature not less than in politics. Unlike pre-romantics, like Burns and Blake, the Lakers and Cockneys were not half-educated poets who followed their intuition and individual talent in their reaction against the sovereignty of Alexander Pope and his followers. Rather they were highly educated poets and critics who were well-aware of what they were doing. They maintained definite programs and contradictory ideologies in their poetry.

Keywords: Ideology, Historicism, Romanticism, Lakers, Cockneys.