Enlightenment And Romanticism: Key Differences Between Romanticism And Enlightenment Thinkers

969 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effects of enlightenment in the modern period

Firstly , the Enlightenment is the period in history of distinctive thoughts and cultures, stretching roughly from the mid-decades of the seventeenth century through the eighteenth century. It was portrayed by dramatic revolutions in science, philosophy, society and politics; these revolutions swept away the ancient into the modern world .European politics, philosophy, science and communications were thoroughly reestablished during the course of the 18th century as part of a movement attributed to the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers in Britain, France and Europe questioned traditional authority and embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through enlightened change. The Enlightenment produced numerous books, essays, inventions, …show more content…

The philosophers did not give that much importance to intense feelings in their works. Instead, they valued tradition the most. This is the compelling difference between Enlightenment and Romanticism. As a matter of fact, you can see that Romanticism is weighted down with works wherein aspects were overdone. On the other hand, enlightenment thinkers never overdid the characteristics. This is another key difference between Enlightenment and Romanticism. One of the most prominent differences between the two schools of thought is that while Enlightenment thinkers showed more importance and concern towards reason in their writings and speeches, the Romantic thinkers showed a lot of concern and significance to imagination. It can be said that Romantics valued imagination more than anything else. Hence they depended more on enjoyment in their works. Researchers on the two schools of thought firmly believed that Romanticism was nothing but a reaction against Enlightenment. It is said that romantics depended heavily on the creativity of individuals, and as a consequence, they did not follow any other rule. On the other hand, the enlightenment thinkers followed so many rules regarding life and for that reason they paid a lot of attention to reason. Finally, it can be said with authority that most fine arts were influenced deeply only during the Romantic period. Painting, music, and poetry were all influenced by the Romantic period. On the other hand, philosophical thinking was influenced by the enlightenment

Show More
Related

  • How Did The Great Awakening Influence American Society

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Enlightenment was a great upheaval in the culture of the colonies- an intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries which emphasized logic and reason over tradition. Enlightenment thinkers believed that men and women could move civilization to ever greater heights through the power of their own reason. The Enlightenment encouraged men and women to look to themselves, instead of God, for guidance as to how to live their lives and shape society. It also evoked a new appreciation and

    Read More

  • Dbq The Enlightenment

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Enlightenment was the time period that followed the Scientific Revolution and was characterized as the "Age of Reason". This was the time when man began to use his reason to discover the world around him rather than blindly follow what the previous authority, such as the Church and Classical Philosophers, stated to be true. The Enlightenment was a tremendously broad movement that dominated much of the European thinking during the 18th century, however, several core themes that epitomized the movement were the idea of progress, skepticism against the Church, and individualism.

    Read More

  • Western Civilization: The French Revolution

    1633 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Enlightenment itself ignited the changes in perspective that were needed to provoke improvement in society and set new standards for our future. These standards spread rather rapidly across Europe and eventually to America and challenged the old order. These ideas of rational thinking over religion and authority delivered a vast political change throughout the world which can still be felt today. These revolutionary thoughts of rationalism brought on freedom of speech and the demand for equality in society. This was not only the igniter to the French revolution but was also, how many governments including the United States based their modern

    Read More

  • Rebirth of Hellenism during the Enlightenment

    1344 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Enlightenment was the highlight of the eighteenth century because it brought about dramatic change that was a rebirth of the classical ideas of Greece and Rome. This philosophical, cultural, and social movement spread through England, France, Germany, and other parts of Europe as a result of the unsuccessful ways of feudalism. It resulted in an intelligent and more aware society due to the revival of government, philosophy, and morals.

    Read More

  • The Impact Of The Enlightenment On The Colonies

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    Enlightenment had an enormous impact on educated, well to do people in Europe and America. It supplied them with a common vocabulary and a unified view of the world, one that insisted that the enlightened 18th century was better, and wiser, than all previous ages. It joined them in a common endeavor, the effort to make sense of God's orderly creation. Thus

    Read More

  • The Enlightenment Essay

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Enlightenment is a unique time in European history characterized by revolutions in science, philosophy, society, and politics. These revolutions put Europe in a transition from the medieval world-view to the modern western world. The traditional hierarchical political and social orders from the French monarchy and Catholic Church were destroyed and replaced by a political and social order from the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and equality(Bristow, 1). Many historians, such as Henry Steele Commager, Peter Gay, have studied the Enlightenment over the years and created their own views and opinions.

    Read More

  • Comparing Voltaire's Candide And Mary Shelley

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Enlightenment had its roots in the scientific and philosophical movements of the 17th century. It was, in large part, a rejection of the faith-based medieval world view for a way of thought based on structured inquiry and scientific understanding. It stressed individualism, and it rejected the church's control of the secular activities of men. Among the movement's luminaries were Descartes, Newton, and Locke. They, among others, stressed the individual's use of reason to explain and understand the world about himself in all of its aspects. Important principles of the Enlightenment included the use of science to examine all aspects of life (this was labeled "reason"),...

    Read More

  • Indentured Servitude: A Journey to the New World

    1331 Words  | 3 Pages

    Historically, the Enlightenment helped create an increase in concerns with political values, the government and education within the colonies. It brought ideals that helped improve the government and documents like The Constitution and The Declaration of The Rights of Man. In the end it helped create more of a division between The colonies of America and Britain and the change of Europe without the religious aspects. Rising the the religious tolerance with the help of individual freedoms after the decline of traditional

    Read More

  • European Enlightenment

    627 Words  | 2 Pages

    The enlightenment was the growth of thought of European thinkers in the 1600’s. The spread of enlightenment was a result of the Scientific Revolution during the 1500’s and 1600’s. It resulted as a need to use reason to distribute human laws. It also came about from a need to solve social, political and economic problems.

    Read More

  • Romanticism and Realism: Examples of Mark Twain and Herman Melville Novels

    1408 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Italian Baroque Characteristics

    498 Words  | 1 Pages

    Enlightenment deals with the use of human reason to combat ignorance and enhance political, religious and educational achievements. The enlightenment period enhanced art and revolutionized the themes and topics that relate to this area of study. The subjects and topics that used to be discussed in arts have now been altered and turned into political and economic issues.

    Read More

  • Classicism and Romanticism

    393 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Did The Enlightenment Influence Western Society

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Enlightenment was a period in European culture and thought characterized as the “Age of Reason” and marked by very significant revolutions in the fields of philosophy, science, politics, and society (Bristow; The Age of Enlightenment). Roughly covering the mid 17th century throughout the 18th century, the period was actually fueled by an intellectual movement of the same name to which many thinkers subscribed to during the 1700s and 1800s. The Enlightenment's influences on Western society, as reflected in the arts, were in accordance with its major themes of rationalism, empiricism, natural rights and natural law or their implications of freedom and social justice.

    Read More

  • Romanticism as a Reaction to the Enlightenment

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    The epoch known as the Age of Reason, or the Enlightenment, was a secular intellectual movement that looked to reason as an explanation of the world. The Enlightenment began in 1687 with the publishing of Sir Isaac Newton’s Principia and ended in 1789 with the French Revolution (Fiero 134). The epoch of Romanticism was a reaction to the rationalism of the Enlightenment. The movement of Romanticism began in 1760 and ended in 1871. Romanticism as a movement was a reaction to the Enlightenment as a cultural movement, an aesthetic style, and an attitude of mind (210).

    Read More

  • The Impact of the Scientific Revolution Upon the Enlightenment

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    The age of Enlightenment was a progression of the cultural and intellectual changes in Europe that had resulted from the scientific revolution during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. The scientific revolution and the discoveries made about the natural world would ultimately challenge the way people perceived the world around them. Scientist found real answers, by questioning flawed ancient beliefs that were widely held and maintained by the church. Ultimately, these discoveries and scientific advancements would evolve and effect social, cultural, and political developments in Europe over the course of time. The scientific revolution had provided certainty about the natural world that had long been questioned. With these new developments came the progression and influence of thought, rationality, and individualism. These new ideas would be the hallmark for the Enlightenment movement that would shape most of Europe in the eighteenth century.

    Read More

More about Enlightenment And Romanticism: Key Differences Between Romanticism And Enlightenment Thinkers

Open Document