Romanticism in Modern Age

 

The term Romanticism does not stem directly from the concept of love, but rather from the French word romaunt (a romantic story told in verse). Romanticism focused on emotions and the inner life of the writer, and often used autobiographical material to inform the work or even provide a template for it, unlike traditional literature at the time.

Romanticism celebrated the primitive and elevated "regular people" as being deserving of celebration, which was an innovation at the time. Romanticism also fixated on nature as a primordial force and encouraged the concept of isolation as necessary for spiritual and artistic development.

Romanticism was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century and lasted until the mid-19th century 12. It was characterized by a deepened appreciation of nature, a general exaltation of emotion over reason, and a focus on the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental 1. Romanticism can be seen as a rejection of the precepts of order, calm, harmony, balance, idealization, and rationality that typified Classicism in general and late 18th-century Neoclassicism in particular 1.

The start period of Romanticism is not precisely defined, but it is generally considered to have begun around 1770 and ended around 1848 23.

In Literature

Romanticism first phase in English literature began in the 1790s with the publication of the Lyrical Ballads of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Wordsworth’s “Preface” to the second edition (1800) of Lyrical Ballads, in which he described poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings,” became the manifesto of the English Romantic movement in poetry.

Romanticism proper was preceded by several related developments from the mid-18th century on that can be termed Pre-Romanticism. Among such trends was a new appreciation of the medieval romance, from which the Romantic movement derives its name. The romance was a tale or ballad of chivalric adventure whose emphasis on individual heroism and on the exotic and the mysterious was in clear contrast to the elegant formality and artificiality of prevailing Classical forms of literature, such as the French Neoclassical tragedy or the English heroic couplet in poetry. This new interest in relatively unsophisticated but overtly emotional literary expressions of the past was to be a dominant note in Romanticism.

The second phase of Romanticism, comprising the period from about 1805 to the 1830s, was marked by a quickening of cultural nationalism and a new attention to national origins, as attested by the collection and imitation of native folklore, folk ballads and poetry, folk dance and music, and even previously ignored medieval and Renaissance works. The revived historical appreciation was translated into imaginative writing by Sir Walter Scott, who is often considered to have invented the historical novel. At about this same time English Romantic poetry had reached its zenith in the works of John Keats, Lord Byron, and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Romanticism was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that emerged in the late 18th century and reached its peak in the first half of the 19th century. However, it is essential to note that Romanticism as a cultural movement was not limited to a specific time period or confined to a particular geographical location. Its influence persisted and evolved over time, leaving a lasting impact on various aspects of society and art.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Romantic spirit found new forms of expression in movements such as Symbolism and Art Nouveau. These movements retained elements of Romanticism but also incorporated new ideas and styles characteristic of the changing times.

As the 20th century progressed, the art world witnessed the rise of various movements like Surrealism, Existentialism, and Abstract Expressionism, each of which had its roots in Romantic ideals but adapted them to address the challenges and complexities of the modern age. For example, Surrealism explored the subconscious mind and dreams, while Existentialism delved into existential angst and the search for meaning.

The end of Romanticism, if we consider it as a distinct historical period, is often associated with the mid-19th century. However, its influence endured and transformed over time, becoming a foundational element in the development of modern and contemporary art, literature, and thought.