The Period Called Romanticism: Representations of Terror in Literature

2058 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Industrial revolution in literature

The period called Romanticism appeared as a reaction against the fixed standards of neoclassicism which emphasized reason and logic, and in this way, Wordsworth, in the preface of his Lyrical Balads claimed for a imaginative approach to nature and the overflow of feelings. Thus, English writers of the Romantic period believed individualism as being the most important feature; they valued subjectivity, imagination, and the expression of emotions over rational thought as a true source of aesthetic experience. Before the 18th Century, few writers were concerned with discovering their own individual identities and feelings but the changing economy of the industrial revolution helped to widespread the interest for individualism, creating a deep shift in the attitudes to art and human creativity, transforming not only the theory and practice of writing but the way to perceive the world. This authentic concern for individualism led some author to explore that inner part of human minds which is not strictly rational and they introduced themes and topics which readers cannot solve using merely their rational minds; following the romantic ideal, these authors aimed to stimulate emotions within the readers by using certain imagery, to such a degree to evocate strong, irrational emotions and create a terror reaction . In the human history, fear is a distressing negative emotion, which has been playing a very important role in the personal and social life, through the centuries and becoming a substantial part of the psychological background of the man. The emotion of fear is not a stranger to the majority of people and it would not be an exaggeration to say that every person is afraid of something. As H.P. Lovecraft stated ... ... middle of paper ... ...om an ideal tormentor, committed that act for which, according to the tenets he embraced, there was no remission” , we certainly know he is harried to perdition, no matter he is victim of a psychotic illness or tempted by the Devil. Conclusion Wth this essay I have tried to show the different representations of terror within the Romantic movement. We have seen three of the several approaches to this emotion: the disturbing and shocking point of view of James Lamb, the irrational and unusual phenomena showed by Mary Shelley, and that of the split personality used by James Hogg to show the eternal conflict of good and evil. They show how human beings can be frightened of uncanny supernatural elements as well as of the obscure part of our minds which confronts us with something uncomfortable, and sinister, weaking our intellectual certainty and developing into terror.

Show More
Related

  • Influence of Romanticism in the Contemporary Shows True Blood, American Horror Story, and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine a life in the 18th century when a revolution is taking place that exercises freedom, emotional liberty and importance of oneself. When the Romantic Era hit many individuals were becoming aware of a movement of intense emotion and became interested in unfamiliar and exotic experiences. Many of these experiences in which, brought to light a whole new world of darkness and strong emotions such as apprehension and terror. Romanticism in the 18th century sparked imagination; Imagination that was perceived as the “ultimate power” (see reference). Fast forwarding to contemporary culture, many of these examples of romanticism are seen in shows such as True Blood, American Horror Story, and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.

    Read More

  • Synthesis Essay On Fear

    2084 Words  | 5 Pages

    One of the most complex emotions in existence, fear is the primary emotion that triggers any kind of change, as it is capable of linking with any existing emotion to create entirely different lives upon lives. For any change that happens, fear is always present to turn the tide whichever way it pleases.

    Read More

  • Fear in Macbeth

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fear motivates many people to act upon matters, right or wrong. This emotion has been important in many events in both works of literature, and in the real world. It has forced military geniuses into retreat, and influenced them to plan another method of attack. Fear can be both a positive and a negative acting force in one’s life, a quality that can motivate one to success as well as to downfall.

    Read More

  • Misguided Gothic Authors

    1788 Words  | 4 Pages

    In many ways the fascination with the gothic style of art, represented by music, literature, film, and others, is nothing more than a way for the observer to escape from real life and its many responsibilities. Gothic art claims to be profound and contain great esoteric meaning with life changing impact, yet the characters and the message are more often weak, unproductive, crippled, or even mad. Examples of this flaw in the argument in favor of the gothic imagination are given in the works by Beethoven, Goethe, Rice, and Gilman. It will be revealed that these authors have been misguided often by their own escapist nature to create a false reality and promote it as meaningful. In truth, the gothic imagination is the imagination of those who are looking for an excuse for their laziness and purpose behind their protective depression.

    Read More

  • Fear Prompts Teens To Act Impulsively Analysis

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever had something ever get to you or make you you scared? That is called fear and tons an tons of people have different fears. Fear is an emotion that makes you feel afraid or something is frighten. Some fears many include spiders, clowns and even death. ‘’Fear Prompts Teens To Act Impulsively’’ by Laura Sanders, ‘’Stress for Success’’ by Alison Pearce, and ‘’And Uncomfortable Bed’’ By Guy Maupassant all explain the idea of fear.

    Read More

  • Harmfulness Of Fear Essay

    1535 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the words of Bertrand Russell, “Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom” (Russell). Fear causes many problems in our lives. Fear influences many of a person’s actions and decisions. However, people usually regret the decisions or actions they made out of fear. Also, these actions and decisions can cause problems for those people in their future. Fear is a harmful emotion, for it clouds people’s judgement, disables them from taking action, and causes them to make decisions that they will regret later.

    Read More

  • The Raft of the 'Medusa' by Theodore Gericault

    573 Words  | 2 Pages

    A major theme in Romantic works was the horrors humans face against natures amazing strength. Often they favored the hero, heroism, and nationalists struggle for indepe...

    Read More

  • Goblin Market

    1544 Words  | 4 Pages

    There were two principle views concerning imagination, the Victorians and the Romantics, who didn’t accept each other’s ideas about imagination. But, despite their clashes on the status and views of imagination, the Romantics and Victorians share similar ideas through different angles of perspective, which we could assume are linked in part to their era. The long poem, named Goblin Market, written by Christina Rossetti shows the contrast between the ideas of Romanticism and the Victorian image of imagination while utilizing the same motifs. Goblin Market centralizes its theme on the Victorian approach towards Imagination as being a destructive, alien force that leads to grave and fatal consequences. Nature is seen as a demonic force that leads to death, as well as the clear distinction of the imaginative creatures, consisting of the goblins, being portrayed as satanic and evil. In addition, throughout this tale we see how the imagination is constantly blamed for leading to unfortunate situations, while the Romantics would consider the imagination to be doing the person good even if it leads the person astray on a path of death and destruction. Thus, Rossetti’s text demonstrates the Imagination having satanic nature, which portrays imagination as intoxicating and deadly. Also, the author displays her disapproval of nature by demonstrating Laura’s rejection of nature as her enlightenment, whereas the Romantics would do otherwise. The Romantics have different views of the imagination than the Victorians. They consider imagination as a divine force and a pathway to a higher experience and spiritual truth in any form. The Romantics consider that their perc...

    Read More

  • Perspectives on Human Nature in ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Moby-Dick’

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    Romantic literature, at its very essence, attempts to deal with the subject of human nature (Wang, 2011). Both Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ and Herman Melville’s ‘Moby-Dick,’ being Romantic texts, each offer their own perspective on the true essence of humanity. While their perspectives are largely similar due to the era they originated in, with both reasoning that humanity possesses an excessive pride in the desire to exceed its limits that is capable of immense devastation and corruption of others (Penguin Group, 2011; Ross, 2001), they are also somewhat different when it comes to the ability characters possess to recognise the damage they cause (eNotes.com, 2010; Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 2010), a separating factor that differentiates just how destructive each author believes human nature can be (Kim, 2011).

    Read More

  • The Concept Of Romanticism In Faust By Johann Wolfgang Von Faust

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Romanticism period is marked by changes in societal beliefs as a rejection of the values and scientific thought pursued during the Age of Enlightenment. During this period, art, music, and literature are seen as high achievement, rather than the science and logic previously held in esteem. Nature is a profound subject in the art and literature and is viewed as a powerful force. Searching for the meaning of self becomes a noble quest to undertake. In the dramatic tragedy of “Faust” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, we find a masterpiece of Romanticism writing that includes the concepts that man is essentially good, the snare of pride, and dealing with the supernatural.

    Read More

  • Romantic Connections between Nature and Humanity

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Romantic Period is known as a transformative era that brought forth fresh perspectives and unique ways of thinking, flourishing through the 1800s. As a reaction to the Age of Enlightenment that hailed scientific reason and logic in Europe, Romanticism instead celebrated man’s ability to feel and express various emotions, praising aesthetics over rationality. In the preface of The Penguin Book of Romantic Poetry, this period’s focus is defined as the “valuing of emotion, of imagination, a belief in human potential taken beyond its ordinary limits” (xxiii). The artists of this period often explored their imaginations, depicting new ways of perceiving the world around them through their various forms of art. Romantic poets were famous for sharing common themes throughout their poetry. Many of these poems drew parallels regarding extensive outdoor landscapes and the individuals that inhabited these settings. The Romantic poets used vivid imagery and imagination to describe certain elements of nature and the impact these elements had on the human mind.

    Read More

  • Human Literature: The Dark Side Of Human Nature

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    Writers during the ‘Dark Romantics’ period took a close, in-depth look at the flaw in human nature. Authors such as Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville, use feelings, imagination, and nature to show a different vision of the individual than that of the Transcendentalists. The work produced by the ‘Dark Romantics’ suggests that human beings are not divine. Poe’s ‘The Tell-Tale Heart,’ Hawthorne’s ‘The Birthmark,’ and Melville’s ‘Benito Cereno’ all support this idea by showing the dark side of humanity through their characters’ evil doings.

    Read More

  • Why Is Lord Byron An Byronic Hero?

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    Romantic literature breaks the boundaries of reality, gives a way for the mysterious and the supernatural, obscure characters and extreme situations. Romantic artists seek to awaken in the reader or viewer's emotions and strong feelings, for it uses resources such as questions and exclamations, exaggerations, metaphors, violent antithesis emphatic language in which adjectives and typical expressions as dream, fantasy, doom and gloom.

    Read More

  • Essay On Neo Romanticism

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main reason for the rise of neo-romanticism was to oppose realism which had dominated the minds of many writers. By rejecting realism, it means that the literary scholars would no longer have to do the following. In the first place, they would not be compelled to incorporate the element of emotionalism in their works. This is one of the techniques which had been upheld by the realists (Hopkins 97). Since they had abandoned the use of romantic conventions, the rea...

    Read More

  • William Wordsworth: Nature vs. Humanity

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wordsworth has been considered to be one of the most significant romantic writers in history. The romantic period was one of the most influential time periods of British literature and was referred to as incidents of life. Romanticism followed little of the same old boring rules and left authors free to write as they felt. Most literature from this period was based on love, fascinations, obsessions, myths, and nature, these and other such emotions or areas of interest are what changed the eighteenth-century ideas of poetry forever. Wordsworth is considered a romantic poet, because his writings were very imaginative, emotional, and visionary. A majority of Wordsworth’s literature expressed his obsession with nature. He had many literary works, some on nature and some on humanist topics. Although Wordsworth considered himself to be a humanist writer, most of his readers still consider him to be more of a writer on nature. Once a reader has begun to read some of Wordsworth’s poetry they soon realized he is a naturalist romantic.

    Read More

More about The Period Called Romanticism: Representations of Terror in Literature

Open Document