Romanticism

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Romanticism

• (1776-1861)
• this is what wars are good for

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Factors leading to Rise of Romanticism

• Proliferation of Protestant denominations
• independence in religion and politics
• egalitarianism
• rise of representative government
• expansion in the new world
• evil of industrialism and urbanization
• significant rise in literacy
• and . . .

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confusion generated by science

• Darwins Origin of Species stated humanitys mean
  origins
• Marxs Das Kapital predicted capitalisms decay
  and a triumphant working class

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Traits of Romanticism

• 1. Individualism
• Emphasis moved from the stability of the
• community to the fulfillment of the
• individual.
• Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
• was a new ideal in the world.
• Emphasis moved from the universal to the
• particular, for humankind to nations
• and ethnic groups.

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2. Rejection of Traditional Authority

• Government hierarchies, notions of sovereignty
  and aristocracy, and systems of distinction all
  fell.
• Romantics believed that authority derives from
  the self, not from authority.
• Newness itself was a value.

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3. Emotionalism

• There was a new emphasis on imagination and
  feeling.
• Feeling, not reason, became the test of
  authenticity.
• Romantic love became a subject of poetry and
  drama.
• Poetry is a form of emotional communication.
• Painful and pleasurable emotions are equally
  valid to Romantic poets.

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The Raft of the Medusa

• Theodore Gericault

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Death of Sardanapalus

• Eugene Delacroix

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4. Natural Mysticism

• Romantics loved and were spiritually involved
  with nature.

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5. Primitivism (noble savage

• Enlightenment society is good, curbing violent
  impulses

• Romanticism civilization corrupts institutions
  have rippling effects

• The child raised with the greatest possible
  freedom will develop in more admirable ways.
• Youth and infancy are valued above wisdom of old
  age holy wisdom is lost as we age.
• Innocence is more valued than experience.
• Humans are born into innocence, not innately
  depraved.

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Consequences of Romanticism

• The era was obsessed with the fact of violent
  change.
• American Revolution--1775
• French Revolution--storming of the Bastille in
  1789
• The French Revolution derived from and
  generated Romantic ideas.
• Both revolutions developed from strong
  convictions about the innate rights of
  individuals.

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There was a move to city for industry and a
corresponding romanticizing of the country.

• Cities were often filled with congestion,
  poverty, and misery.
• Educated men and women expressed a nostalgia for
  rural landscapes.

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The Course of Empire the Arcadian or Pastoral
State

• Thomas Cole