My creative piece, Solace is a chapter of a Romantic anthology of short stories and tales of the experience of living through the War of 1812, and reflects on the tragedy of war as scarring on the psyches of young, innocent children. In using a short story style for my extract, I was able to vividly portray an individual's experience, and in doing so I could effectively write romantically, as I was able to include figurative devices and prevalent ideas of the Romantic era more freely within my text. The language of my piece draws heavy inspiration from the core themes of Romanticism, specifically its admiration of nature, and use of the supernatural. Furthermore, I use imagery frequently to immerse the reader, such as in the opening line "Tears of dew silently fell from the azure clouds, gently carried by the dance of zephyrs." This use of language is common in Romantic pieces, such as in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. I intended for my overall anthology to be read by students of the Romantic era. My intention was that my story would give audiences fresh insight into the experience of individuals who fall victim to war. I hoped to present war as a tragedy of the human experience, and to portray those affected by war as deserving of more sympathy. I based my extract on the context of the Romantic era, a turbulent time in history that suffered through a plethora of wars. While I have not use specific texts as inspiration, I have chosen to discuss my own personal opinions towards war, a theme prevalent throughout the Romantic era, in a style expected of the Romantic era.
