The Romantic Period

• What does “romance” mean to you?– Roses, moonlight, soft music, wine, etc…

– All are designed to eliminate flaws

• Romanticism’s goal is Idealism - to eliminate the ugliness of life

• People moved away from 18th C. classicism and rationalism

• It is a rebellion against the wars and bloodshed of the period.

Historical Perspective• American Revolution

– Brand new idea and a new “social order” – can a

people really rule themselves

– Brought hope to the downtrodden and oppressed all

over Europe and danger to the established

aristocracy

• French Revolution

– July 12, 1789 – Storming of the Bastille

– Romantic writers supported the revolution at first

– The Reign of Terror & the September Massacres

• Mobs attacked and killed political prisoners (many former

aristocrats)

• 17,000 royalists, moderates, and radicals went to the

Guillotine (including Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette

• We also get Napoleon out of this deal

Historical Perspective • Napoleonic Wars – France vs Everybody

– Napoleon wanted to “liberate” other countries

from their oppressors (translation – Napoleon

wanted to be their new oppressor)

– 1814 – Napoleon defeated and exiled to Elba

– 1815 – Napoleon defeated again (for good

this time)

• War of 1812 (1812-1814)

– Fought largely over British Royal Navy’s

Impressment of American sailors

• American Civil War (1861-1865)

Social Issues in Western World• Industrial Revolution

– Overcrowded “factory towns”

– Unpleasant and unsafe working conditions in factories

– Long hours and low pay

– Government Sided primarily with factories

• “Peterloo Massacre” - Soldiers charged a meeting of workers and killed several

• Slavery – England abolished slavery 1833

– American Civil War in 1860’s

• Women’s movement

– Women were unable to vote, make a will, file a lawsuit, etc…

had no legal standing as citizens

• Slavery

– Obviously times and opinions were changing

• Mental Illness

– Treatment became important after investigations into

asylums proved them to be little more than torture

chambers

– Nellie Bly – expose report on mental patient treatment

• Child Labor & unsafe working conditions

– New factories were dangerous and hours were long,

even for children

Romanticism

• Common people became focus – “incidents and situations from common life” -

Wordsworth

• Desire for drastic reforms in social and legal climate of Western world

• Attachment to Nature

• Desire to return to the “Good Ole Days” – sought the past

• Emphasis on emotion and no interest in science and reason

Romanticism

• Not just literary movement• Beethoven (Germany) & Schubert (Austria)

• John Constable (Britain landscapes)

• JMW Turner (Britain seascapes)

Salisbury Cathedral by

John Constable, ca. 1825. The fighting Temeraire tugged to her last

berth to be broken up, painted 1839.

6 I’s of Romantic Literature• Idealism –to be without flaws

– Memory is better than actual experiences

– Mind eliminates bad or negative

• Intuition– Use instincts over logic and reason

– React with emotion rather than reason and logic

– How you “feel” about something

• Imagination– Fantasy is better than reality

– Supernatural – not limited by reality

• Individualism– Self-reliance – believed in personal responsibility

– Non-conformists – do what makes you happy

– Religion – personal relationship with God

• Innocence– Ability to always see the good

– Good always triumphs over evil

– Doing right is rewarded

– Pure reactions – not jaded

• Inspiration from Nature– Beautiful force not to be tamed or analyzed

– It was wild and free to inspire poets

– Rejected the Industrial Revolution

– Celebrated the country life

– Avoided city life

– Saw Nature as a reflection of God