What context should I include in an essay on the Romantic poets?

Context for the Romantic poets can be quite straightforward as you can often reuse information for different poets. This is because they all lived in similar locations and at similar times, so the events that were going on around them happened to be the same. These 'events' are things like the Industrial Revolution, urbanisation, the French Revolution, and the Enlightenment. These are more processes than they are events. The Romantics were a group of people who lived through these times (late 1700s-1800s) and whose art was inspired by the things that they saw. For example, the general Romantic opposition to industrialisation is very clear to see in Blake's 'The Chimney Sweeper'. It is also easy to argue that any poem that talks about the beauty of nature (a great proportion of Romantic poems) is criticising the processes of industrialisation and urbanisation by lamenting the increasing distance between man and nature (for example, Shelley’s ‘Ode to the West Wind’) . As well as the general historical context that should be included, it is also important to understand the poets as individuals as well. It doesn't need to be an extensive knowledge of their biography, but things like their stance on religion; their family lives; and their mental health are important to know. For example, that Byron was a serial womaniser, or that Keats lost members of his family to Tuberculosis and eventually died at 25 from the same disease. Arguably the most significant piece of context when writing about the Romantics is the Enlightenment. The Romantic movement can be described as a critical response to the Enlightenment way of thinking and the modern world to which it gave rise. The Enlightenment was a period of rapid scientific discoveries and technological advances which changed the priorities and philosophies of society. There was a huge emphasis placed on reason, individualism, and scepticism, forcing a move away from spirituality, nature and emotions. The Romantics arose in order to combat this new way of thinking by encouraging freedom of thought and a deeper appreciation of nature, among other things. In practically every essay that you write on the Romantic poets, you can talk extensively about the Enlightenment. As long as you make sure to link it to something specific in the poem in question, you will meet the context criteria.