Commentaries I: The Romantic Imaginary

Most often, the Romantic Era is perceived by its critics and readers as a transition phase. The lines of this transition are usually emplotted somewhat around the in-between realms of feudalism and modernity politically, while in the domain of literary criticism its locale is firmly and fixedly rooted betwixt realism and modernism. Alas! With romanticism we are relieved of the realistic tyrannies of feudalism and feudal tyrannies of realism!!! There is a little bit of truth here. But at the same time this harbours innumerable loaves of ironies too. As far as I am concerned, romanticism is a transformational narrative rather than a transitional mode. That is why a romantic poet like Changampuzha Krishna Pillai harbours heterogeneous forms and contents of non-entity in his romantic vessel. On anchorage it sees and appreciates the beauty and terror of stasis and when it is put to motion in the sea we can never predict its wayward journeys.

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