Romanticism was the era of emotion and against reason; the era of which was the reaction to the revolution and Enlightenment. Though the Romantic era as a whole was believed certain ideals those of different eras have contrasting ones. The contrast was a main reason to how the Romanticism era arose out of conflict. Romanticism derived from the freedom to express, feel and imagine.
The Revolution era had a memorable impact in the Romantic era, which was shown through many of the ideals. It was when people started to favor reason over following the church and king mindlessly. The French revolution started the debate over individualism; many people did not agree about how the monarch ruled. The citizens soon caused uproar; they felt as if they did not have equality or freedom. Poets had works that were influenced by the ideas of the time and soon it led to many authors writing literature with ideas of freedom and individualism. Authors often had writing that portrayed the common man, because that was what the people wanted, equality. The Revolution led to what is known as the “Enlightenment”, which promoted people to think freely. Reason was favored over emotion in the Enlightenment because of the influence of science in the society. Science led the people to question the society they lived in. Soon they were not led by emotion but reasons and facts. The era of thinking lead to many people to criticize many of the ideals in both eras, which was the start of Romanticism.
Romanticism writing had many ideas that were conservative and traditional. The Romantic era was also known as the “Anti Enlightenment era”; the ideas did not mix well with those who were affected by the Enlightenment. There was counter reaction to the Enlightenment...
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"The Culture of Rebellion in the Romantic Era." The Culture of Rebellion in the Romantic Era. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. .
Heath, Shannon. "Romanticism and Revolution." Romanticism and Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. .
Kreis, Steven. "Lecture 16: The Romantic Era." Lecture 16: The Romantic Era. N.p., 4 Aug. 2009. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. .
"LECTURE: THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE ROMANTICERA." LECTURE: THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE ROMANTIC ERA. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. .
Melani, Lilia. "Romanticism." Romanticism. N.p., 12 Feb. 2009. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. .
Romanticism is a revolt against rationalism. The poets and authors of this time wrote about God, religion, and Beauty in nature. The romantics held a conviction that imagination and emotion are superior to reason. One such author is William Cullen Bryant, he wrote the poem Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood. This poem uses many literary devices, and has a strong message to portray to the reader.
In short, it can be seen that while there are some basic similarities between Enlightenment and Romantic thinking -- because of the fact that they do explore nature-- their convergence, ideologically, ends there. In fact, it seems that nature’s ability to be so subjective has led to the two ideologies being exact opposites in almost every regard. The Enlightenment focuses on human’s achievement in regard to nature, while Romanticism focuses on the insignificance of humans in comparison to the immensity of nature. It seems that, in the end, the movements of Enlightenment and Romanticism were just what the description entailed – moving. It can then be wholly concluded that the two movements were far more different than alike based on their ideologies and creations.
The Romantic movement of the nineteenth century in Europe involved those who wished to express their disapproval of industrialism. Romantics focus on individualism as well as images and ideas created by the imagination. Romantics are very centered around a certain beauty and power of nature as opposed to material objects. Romantics stay away from the more realistic part of life, this is greatly expressed in Romantic literature and art. Specifically, in Arthur Rimbaud’s “Ophelia” it is evident to see the fascination with nature as well as the individual. He states, “On the calm black wave where the stars sleep/ Floats white Ophelia like a great lily,/ Floats very slowly, lying in her long veils . . .”(891). Here there is evidence of a Romantic’s
Spiegelman, Willard. "Revolutionary Romanticism." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Aug. 2009. Web. Mar. 2014. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970204119704574236393080650258
... a piece of literature written in the romanticism age than the neo-classicism age. The books are very different from each other, and both use their respective literary definitions to show the reader the relevance to the time frame in which it was written. All in all, both of the conclusions were appropriate and expected, each finding an answer to the long struggle with their problems. Romanticism literature offers more to the reader: more detail, more emotion, and a more clear, concise dilemma that could relate to readers more than neo-classicism.
Kreis, Steven. "Lecture 16: The Romantic Era." The History Guide. Web. 18 Aug. 2010. .
The Enlightenment caused the Romanticism period to come about due to the withdrawal of reason and greater concentration on feelings and emotions. The Enlightenment also greatly influenced the creation of political documents early in the US’s
Griffith University Faculty 1999, Romanticism And Modern Culture Readings Booklet, Griffith University.
The Romantic period was an expressive and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century and peaked in the 1800s-1850s. This movement was defined and given depth by an expulsion of all ideals set by the society of the particular time, in the sense that the Romantics sought something deeper, something greater than the simplistic and structured world that they lived in. They drew their inspiration from that around them. Their surroundings, especially nature and the very fabric of their minds, their imagination. This expulsion of the complexity of the simple human life their world had organised and maintained resulted in a unique revolution in history. Eradication of materialism, organisation and society and
Frye, Northrop. Prometheus: The Romantic Revolutionary. A Study of English Romanticism. New York: Random House, 1968. 87-124.
Robinson, David M. "Romanticism." American History Through Literature 1820-1870. Ed. Janet Gabler-Hover and Robert Sattelmeyer. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006. 1000-1007. Student Resources in Context. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
The Enlightenment was a period of increased literacy and public interest in literature and arts that promoted learning through reason and logic (134). Romantic wr...
Of all the emotions celebrated by the Romantics the most popular was love. However, Romanticism should not be confused with romantic love in a sense of candle lit dinners and receiving love notes, flowers and boxes of candy. Instead, it was about a love for nature and beauty, and a sense of all human beings having a connection, empathy was heightened for others in which brought on feeling the pains of other people in the world. To the Romantics love, in which invokes compassion, was a natural God-given right. Back in the Age of Enlightenment people felt marriage depended more on the basis of survival, they would tolerate unhappiness for the sake of living; however, for the romantics love was the necessary foundati...
The Romantic period has many beginnings and takes different forms; so that in a celebrated essay, On the Discrimination of Romanticism (1924), A.O. Lovejoy argued that the word “Romantic” should no longer be used, since it has come to mean so many things that by itself, it means nothing. On the derivation of the word “Romanticism” we have definite and commonly accepted information which helps us to understand its meaning. Critics and literary historians differ widely and sometimes as violently, about the answer then have differed about love truth and other concepts. Romanticism is concerned with all these concepts and with others with equal importance. It is an attitude toward life and experience older than religion, as permanent as love, and as many-sided as truth. (Watson, J.R. English Poetry of the Romantic Period, Longman Inc. New York)
Romanticism is described as the basis of the fact that reason cannot explain everything. Romantic artists tried to reach their audience through a deeper and an enhanced emotional appeal. The Romantic Era was seen as a rebellion towards the Enlightenment. Romantic thinkers created a different idea to the middle ages than enlightenment thinkers. They used this time as a way to expand their knowledge and become more spiritually adventurous. The Romantic Era was seen as a revolt to the age of Enlightenment. It can sometimes be described as an opposite of “classicism”. Rousseau believed in the goodness and the natural while romanticism is a logic that is not meant to be explained or questioned, because there are no answers. On a larger scale, it was more widespread both in its origins and influence. Romanticism was largely based on self-expression. Not only was there a revolution in Romanticism but there was also a comparable revolution in music. The revolution of romantic music lasted from about 1820 to 1900. Germany largely invested in Musical Romanticism. One respected French reference work defines it entirely in terms of “The role of music in the aesthetics of German romanticism”. Romantic music describes an era of Western classical music. Romantic music took control over the Romantic period in Germany. The characteristics of music that evolved and influenced development during the Romantic Era were the elements of music, acclaimed musicians lifestyles, famous composers, and the events in history that inspired these composers.