What does it mean to call something Romantic?

Romantic Period

Statements that Embody or Suggest Romanticism

1. The answers to life’s most puzzling questions can be found through discussions with a simple person who lives in the country close to nature—not with a sophisticated, well-educated person from the city.

2. The answer to life’s most puzzling questions can be found through a connection with nature.

Portrait of Insane Woman, 1822

Statements that Embody or Suggest Romanticism

3. The use of one’s imagination is more important than rational thought.

4. Subjectivity is more important than objectivity.

5. Knowledge is gained through gut reactions and subjective hunches rather than level-headed, objective, deductive thought. The Clothed Maja 1800-03.

The Nude Maja 1800-03.

Statements that Embody or Suggest Romanticism

6. Nature is more important than art.

7. Experimental trial and error is a better process than the conventional scientific method.

8. Poetry should be spontaneous and full of emotion, not planned and straightforward.

The Leaping Horse 1825

Statements that Embody or Suggest Romanticism

9. Sensitivity, feelings, and spontaneity are more important than intellectualism.

10. “Dare to be” is a better battle-cry than “dare to know.”

The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons,

16th October, 1834, 1835

Characteristics of Romanticism

Interest in the common man and childhood• Romantics believed in the

natural goodness of humans which is hindered by the urban life of civilization. They believed that the savage is noble, childhood is good and the emotions inspired by both beliefs causes the heart to soar.

The Voyage of Life: Youth begun 1839

Characteristics of Romanticism

Strong senses, emotions, feelings• Romantics believed that

knowledge is gained through intuition rather than deduction. This is best summed up by Wordsworth who stated that “all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.”

The Voyage of Life: Childhood begun 1839

Characteristics of Romanticism

Awe of Nature• Romantics stressed the awe

of nature in art and language and the experience of sublimity through a connection with nature. Romantics rejected the rationalization of nature by the previous thinkers of the Enlightenment period.

The Woodcutter1891

Watercolor over graphite

Characteristics of Romanticism

Celebration of the Individual• Romantics often elevated

the achievements of the misunderstood, heroic individual outcast.

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog 1818

Characteristics of Romanticism

Importance of Imagination• Romantics legitimized the

individual imagination as a critical authority.

Ulysses deriding Polyphemus, 1829

The Raft of Medusa

DictionWhat is the denotative (dictionary meaning) and the connotative (idea/implied meaning or association) meaning of the primary words in the title:

TheRaftOf

Medusa

CharacterizationExplain how characterization is used to establish the difference in emotions between the people at the bottom of the raft and at the very top through an analysis of the following elements of indirect characterization:

• appearance and/or dress

• effect on others• action or movement

ImageryIs the painting dominated by warm or cool colors?

Describe the location of the dark and light areas.

Overall, do the colors and light establish a positive or negative tone?

SymbolismWhat is the symbolic meaning of three individual elements in the work?

How do these three symbols work together to establish an overall meaning of the work?

Tone Review your responses for numbers 2–4 and describe what you believe to be the artist’s attitude towards the subject of this painting.

Explain how two elements from the work help establish this tone (remember that some works have more than one tone).

PlotAt what point on the plot line does the scene depicted in this work fall?

Explain how specific elements in the work helped you determine your answer.

ThemeState the central, underlying, and controlling idea of this work.

It is important to recognize the difference between the theme of a literary work and the subject of a literary work. The subject is the topic on which an author has chosen to write. The theme, however, makes some statement about or expresses some opinion on that topic. For example, the subject of a story might be war while the theme might be the idea that war is useless.

Romanticism

• Upcoming Readings:

– Ozymandias (pronounced OzzyMANDeeus)

– “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

– Frankenstein: the FrankenfolioOptions: lessons in manners, budgeting,

Frankenfolio

• A Portfolio: compilation of your stuff!• Presentations: each of you will present at

least two times– Chapter Presentation– Mini-lecture (a research topic)

• Layers of Fun!

Weekend homework

Read “Ancient Mariner”, answer questions

Decisions for Frankenstein-Group, Chapter, and Mini-Lecture