The Romantic sonnet holds in its topics the ideals of the time period, concentrating on emotion, nature, and the expression of 'nothing.' The Romantic era was one that focused on the commonality of humankind and, while using emotion and nature, the poets and their works shed light on people's universal natures. In Charlotte Smith's 'Sonnet XII - Written on the Sea Shore,' the speaker of the poem embodies two important aspects of Romantic …showed first 75 words of 1031 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1031 total…boy, Luco. Like Cowper, there is a concentration on the emotion (or lack thereof) when dealing with slavery. For Luco, 'Hope fled his soul ... he resolved to die' (l. 242, 243). Yearsley incorporates another romantic instrument when she presents the audience with Luco who , like them, has things like parents and hardships and emotions. In pointing out that Luco and the reader have much in common, Yearsley places even more attention on the commonality of all humankind.