Romanticism in Western Literature

1. Romanticism in Western Literature Steve Wood TCCC

2. Etymology of “Romantic” • The word “romantic” comes from the Latin “romanicus.” This word referred to the lingua romanica, also known as Vulgar Latin. The lingua romanica was the Latin spoken in the street, as opposed to the more formal Latin of scholars and politicians.

3. Etymology of “Romantic” • Thus, “romance” referred to anything written in the common public tongue. • In the Middle Ages, the term “romance” was used to refer to popular stories of knights, love, and magic.

4. Etymology of “Romantic” • For a Neoclassical writer, the term “romantic” was a put-down. To call a work a romance was to dismiss it as being common, popular, or vulgar. • As is often the case, the dismissive term was taken up as a rallying cry by those to whom it was applied. • By the 1790s in England and Germany, and the 1820s in the rest of Europe, Romanticism had become a full-fledged movement.

5. The Problem of Definition • Because of its emphasis on individuality and freedom, it is much more difficult to generalize about Romanticism than Neoclassicism. • However, there are several important ideas that occur over and over in Romantic literature.

6. Characteristics of Romanticism • The breakdown of traditional authority • An emphasis on liberty and freedom • The rise of the individual • The rise of non-reason (emotion and imagination) • A reaction against Neoclassicism

7. Characteristics of Romanticism • A focus on Nature • A belief in the innate goodness of mankind • An interest in exoticism • An interest in mysticism

8. The Breakdown of Traditional Authority • By the time Romanticism was in full swing, there had been a number of important events marked by the questioning of the traditional authorities of king and church. • Protestant Reformation (beginning in 1517) • British commonwealth (1649-1660) • American revolution (1776) • French revolution (1789) The fall of the Bastille 1789

9. An Emphasis on Liberty and Freedom • Directly related to the questioning of traditional authority was an emphasis on liberty and freedom. Liberty Leading the People By Edward Delacroix

10. The Rise of the Individual • “I am not made like anyone I have seen; I dare believe that I am not made like anyone else in existence. If I am not better, at least I am different.” • Rousseau’s statement in the opening of his Confessions was a radical statement of the importance of the individual human spirit. J.J. Rousseau

11. The Rise of the Individual • Types of literature that reflected an individual, personal vision of the universe (lyric poetry, autobiography, and the novel) took precedence for the first time over the more impersonal and social genres (epic poetry and most types of drama). Signature of John Keats, one of the most famous English Romantic poets

12. The Rise of Non-reason (Emotion and Imagination) • Instead of Reason, Imagination, Passion, and Emotion became the most important parts of the human psyche for the Romantics. • In particular, Imagination came to be regarded as a divine characteristic. • In other words, God imagined the universe into existence, instead of having “reasoned” it into being. Artists who use imagination for creation are simply following God’s example. From Vico's Scienza Nuova

13. A Reaction Against Neoclassicism • In addition to the displacement of reason, Romantics turned against many of the conventions of Neoclassical thinking.

14. A Reaction Against Neoclassicism

15. A Focus on Nature • The Romantics were also interested in nature (the natural world as opposed to the man-made). • There was a general belief in the goodness of nature. • This belief sometimes took the form of a kind of nature worship, or a kind of pantheism. Gainesborough, c. 1795

16. A Belief in the Innate Goodness of Mankind • Following the views of men like Rousseau, many Romantics believed that people were born basically good. • Civilization and education were corrupting forces that spoiled the ‘natural man.’ Potthast

17. A Belief in the Innate Goodness of Mankind • Primitivism in art was in fashion. • There was also the belief in the “Noble Savage,” humans unspoiled by Western civilization. • There was also “the Cult of the Child,” in which childhood was seen as a divine, unspoiled state. Catlin

18. An Interest in Exoticism • Temporal exoticism – the interest in far away times, especially the medieval period • Spatial exoticism – the interest in far away places, the more primitive the better • Internal exoticism – the interest in new mental experiences ( in other words, mind-altering experience via the opium trade)

19. An Interest in Mysticism • Mysticism is the belief that a knowledge of God or of a higher reality is attainable through a non-rational means. • For example, this age saw the rise of the Pentecostal religious movement, which believes that one gets closer to God when one is in a heightened emotional state.