The Romantic Movement
The Romantic Period was a literary movement in Europe and America during the late 1700s through the middle 1800s. Romanticism was characterized by five basic systems of beliefs. It should not be surprising that these were completely different from the characteristics of the Enlightenment. Romanticism was an intentional revolt against the rational, formal, reasonable period of the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was too scientific and did not focus on romanticism.
The Romantic Movement emphasized emotions over reason; feelings and intuition were more prevalent than intellectual ideas or thoughts. Note how different this is from the previous period, the Age of Reason. Emotions, even passions and sexual attractions, were addressed in literature written during the Romantic Period.
Writers during the Romantic Period wrote from their imaginations rather than presenting life realistically. So, in contrast to the realistic literature written during the Enlightenment, literature written during the Romantic Period was imaginative and unrealistic. Romantic literature was also a break with classicism, which creates its own themes and forms. They understood that the human mind believed beyond reason.
Another difference between the Romantics and the writers of the Enlightenment was a focus on individual concerns rather than on society's. No longer was public life more important than private life nor did the concerns of society take preference over the problems of individuals.
Two other characteristics of the Romantics concerned the characters who were featured in their literature. These writers felt a reverence for nature and the common man. Rural life was considered ideal, and heroes of the literature during this period were usually from humble origins. A revolutionary difference from literature of the past was the Romantics' use of normal everyday language in their poetry--the language of the common man. Also, there was an increasing importance of children and women. Children, especially, were esteemed in literature of the Romantic Period, and females were much more likely than in the past to be significant characters. Rousseau, who was a French thinker, apposed many aspects in the Enlightenment. He believed that material aspects of life corrupted nature and that society corrupts humans. Rousseau also believes that children grow like plants, which means they are very organic. He wanted children to explore and learn on their own. He said that if you educate people in that matter, society would be organic.
Rather than the nonfiction of the Enlightenment, most literature written during the Romantic Period was fiction.
Romanticism, on the other hand, rejected the whole idea of the universe that could clearly not be explained by humankind’s intellect, and science. Romantics felt that a scientific worldview was absolutely cold and sterile. Romanticism felt that science and human law would rob people of their humanity. Both of these movements shatter the establishment norms and authority. Both of these movements encouraged society to take a different perspective.
Romanticism was a literary movement that occurred in the late eighteenth century to the mid nineteenth century which shifted the focus of literature from puritan works, to works which revolved around imagination, the beauty of nature, the individual, and the value of emotion over intellect. The ideas of the movement were quite revolutionary as earlier literature was inhibited by the need to focus on society and the rational world it effected. Romanticism allowed writers to be more creative with there stories and to explore an irrational world which before, would have been at the very least frowned upon if not outright rejected. The short story, “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is an example of a romantic work because it showcases the individual over society, exalts emotion and intuition over reason, and keeps a strong focus on nature throughout the story.
Romanticism The Romantics and the Rationalist are in debate about whether the Romantics really challenge the “norms” of their society or if they truly did not. While others might say that arent or were not, some might agree differently saying that the evidence leads to them believing differently. Seeing that is why I believe that the romantic writers greatly challenged their traditional society and hierarchical (high ranking or popular) figures with individual thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Because of all that they contribute to the change of their society they stood up for their beliefs in order to get the benefits for themselves through their writing.
A time in literary history, where one writes with the mindset that consists of augmenting the truth and creating an ideal world through literature, is known as the Romantic period. The Romantic period started in the early 1800s and continued throughout the 1860s. Throughout this era, the efforts of great writers are seen and admired. Nathaniel Hawthorne is a well known writer during the period. He is an example of a writer who understood the idea of Romanticism and incorporated it in his works of literature. Through his writing he embodies romanticism by putting an emphasis on the sinful nature of humans and how it affects the sinner and the people around them, and this is done through symbolism. Symbolism is an important element in the writing
When many hear “Romanticism” they think of love, but Romanticism isn’t mainly about love. Yes, it may have some love, but it’s also about reasoning, nature, imaginations, and individualism. Like American Romanticism, that occurred from 1830 – 1865. It was actually caused by Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper. For Americans, “it was a time of excitement over human possibilities, and of individual ego. American writers didn’t know what “America” could possibly mean in terms of literature, which was American and not British. It questioned their identity and place in society, creatively” (Woodlief). It was characterized by an interest in nature, and the significance of the individual’s expression on emotion and imagination; good literature should have heart, not rules. Some of the most famous authors who wrote during American Romanticism were Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. American Romanticism is important because it was the “historical period of literature in which modern readers most began to see their selves and their own conflicts and desires”. Romanticism was a literary revolution.
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
Romanticism first came about in the 18th century and it was mostly used for art and literature. The actual word “romanticism” was created in Britain in the 1840s. People like Victor Hugo, William Wordsworth, and Percy Bysshe Shelley had big impacts on this style of art. Romanticism is an art in which people express their emotion. Whatever they believed is put into a picture, painting, poem, or book. Romanticism goes deep into a mind. It is very deep thinking and it’s expressing yourself through that deep thinking. Romanticism is the reaction to the Enlightenment and the enlightenment aka the “Age of Reason” took place during the 1700s to 1800s. The enlightenment emphasized being rational and using your mind; on the other hand, romanticism focuses on emotion and imagination. It says don’t just focus on rationality and reason.
Toward the end of the eiteenth-century, Romanticism emerged as a response to Classicism. Even though this change was gradual, it transformed everything from art and philosophy to education and science. While the Classicsts thought of the world as having a rigid and stern structure, the romanticists thought of the world as a place to express their ideas and believes. The Romaniticists and Classicsts differed in their views of the relationship between an individual and society, their views of nature and the relationship between reason and imagination.
Despite its name, the Romantic literary period has little to nothing to do with love and romance that often comes with love; instead it focuses on the expression of feelings and imagination. Romanticism originally started in Europe, first seen in Germany in the eighteenth century, and began influencing American writers in the 1800s. The movement lasts for sixty years and is a rejection of a rationalist period of logic and reason. Gary Arpin, author of multiple selections in Elements of Literature: Fifth Course, Literature of The United States, presents the idea that, “To the Romantic sensibility, the imagination, spontaneity, individual feelings and wild nature were of greater value than reason, logic, planning and cultivation” (143). The Romantic author rejects logic and writes wild, spontaneous stories and poems inspired by myths, folk tales, and even the supernatural. Not only do the Romantics reject logic and reasoning, they praise innocence, youthfulness and creativity as well as the beauty and refuge that they so often find in nature.
When many hear “Romanticism” they think of love, but Romanticism isn’t mainly about love. Yes, it may have some love, but it’s also about reasoning, nature, imaginations, and individualism. Like American Romanticism, that occurred from 1830 – 1865. It was caused by authors like Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and James Fenimore Cooper. For Americans, “it was a time of excitement over human possibilities, and of individual ego.
Romanticism was a reaction to the Enlightenment as a cultural movement, an aesthetic style, and an attitude of mind (210). Culturally, Romanticism freed people from the limitations and rules of the Enlightenment. The music of the Enlightenment was orderly and restrained, while the music of the Romantic period was emotional. As an aesthetic style, Romanticism was very imaginative while the art of the Enlightenment was realistic and ornate. The Romanticism as an attitude of mind was characterized by transcendental idealism, where experience was obtained through the gathering and processing of information. The idealism of the Enlightenment defined experience as something that was just gathered.
The Industrial Revolution during the late 1700's was a time of great change. People were moving into cities, and watching the rural countryside evolve into a great monstrosity. This happened so fast that the city couldn’t keep up with the growth and the conditions within the city were atrocious. This change made them rethink city life, the all in one location scenario wasn’t appealing anymore. They saw the countryside rural and beautiful, which made it very powerful and surreal. Literature was very pre-defined and boring, but now writers use everything happening around them to create inspirations and to let their imaginations run deep. This change during this time period was known as Romanticism or the Romantic Movement. The Romantic Movement is by far the most important literary period. It empowered writers to act on their emotions and tell the story as it was not as it needed to be. This new form of writing encouraged men and women of all classes to explore novels. Everyone felt involved, like they were a part of the novel, they understood emotion and nature.
... It was all about progress, political correctness and it was very controlling in the area of how people lived their lives concerning many matters. By embracing the ordinary and unknown of human existence, the romantics overthrew the limitations that were seen in the Enlightenment. Defining Romanticism is not easy as there was not a particular dominate set of beliefs nor were the styles in literature and art the same. It was a time to be yourself, to let out whatever type of personality that was within. The modern world has Romanticism to thank for much of the way we live today concerning ideas, values, love, dreams and beliefs. It’s worthwhile to mention that both era’s consisted of varieties of thought, much like it is today. We are better off today because of men like Isaac Newton during the Enlightenment and for the Romantics teaching us how to be free thinkers.
Romanticism was an artistic and literary movement that began in the late 18th century Europe that stressed the individual’s expression of emotion and imagination, glorification of the past and nature, and departure from forms of classicism. The movement emerged as a reaction against the ideas
The Dream of American Romanticism The Romantic Movement seized America from 1800 to 1860. A romantic is the name given to those who value feeling and intuition over reason (Arpin 162). During this time period, Americans were migrating westward to explore the land of America. Moving towards the countryside, they pursued beauty and tried evading their daily troubles. Romantics argued that art rather than science could best express universal truth (The Romantic Period, 1820-1860: Essayists and Poets). The romantics took a less rational approach with their beliefs. Rationalists and romantics had a very different look on cities. Rationalists looked at them as a place for success. Romantics ran from these cities viewing them as a place of poverty and death. During this time Americans felt a sense of freedom from English rule. Frontier promised opportunity for expansion, growth, freedom; Europe lacked this element (American Romanticism Overview). Americans felt the need to explore science and the land of North America. This movement brought literature of fireside poetry to the American Hero. Over the course of the American Romantic Period, focusing on emotions, changed the way Americans comprehended upward mobility in the American dream, which in turn changed the way authors wrote and lived their lives. The numerous characteristics of the romantic period helped shape the era. Romantics obsessed over the idea of individuality. They felt the need to have self-expression. They felt that they could do anything with self-reliance. “One could live without fear not because it was possible to control events but because it was possible to achieve self-control” (Cullen 71). Henry David Thoreau expressed himself by getting away from everybody and ...