Concetti Chiave
- The medieval revival in romanticism focused on recovering medieval themes, which were dismissed by the Enlightenment and neoclassical period, emphasizing national culture and romantic origins.
- The Ossian songs, a significant part of the medieval revival, involved discovering and celebrating manuscripts of medieval poets, highlighting legends and heroes of the past.
- The rise of the gothic novel, characterized by themes of awe, ghosts, and dark settings, marked a departure from neoclassical ideals, embracing medieval and romantic elements.
- The romanticists favored the revival of the ballad, an old medieval poetic form, to reconnect with national origins and move away from neoclassical poetry.
- The aesthetic of sublime redefined beauty as subjective and emotional, impacting art and literature, with Edmund Burke's work being a pivotal reference in this change.
The early romanticism is characterized by three undertrends:
-The medieval revival:
Medieval revival in romanticism
The romanticists started to be interested in the middle ages that was completely rejected by the Enlightenment and by the neoclassical period. They recovered medieval themes linked to the popular origins (the word “romanticism” indicate the “romance” that is what was created after the fall of the Roman empire: the national culture). This trend manifests itself in three literary and cultural expressions:
-the “Ossian songs”: the trend of finding manuscript of medieval poets. The Ossian songs were the songs of a scotch bard which talk about legends and heroes of a medieval past.
-the rise of the gothic novel: the gothic novel is characterized by the presence of ghosts and also of a virgin girl who is persecuted by a villain who want to kidnap her and of an heroes. Normally this kind of story are settled in castles, in monasteries, in dark places. The feeling that characterize this type of novel is called “awe” that means a compresence of attraction and repulsion at the same time.
-the revival of the ballad: the ballad is an old medieval form which became one of the favorite poetic form of the romanticists. They refused the neoclassical poetry because they wanted to go back to the middle age and discover the national origins.
- The aesthetic of sublime:
Aesthetic of sublime and its impact
The aesthetic of sublime is a philosophical concept of beauty which change the classical idea of beauty from objective beauty to subjective beauty, from beauty as perfection of poetic form to beauty based on emotions ( for example the emotional reaction to a piece of art or to a landscape or to a storm). The most important author of the aesthetic of sublime is Edmund Burke who wrote the “Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful”.
-The graveyard school of poetry:
Graveyard school of poetry
This type of poetry interested the relationship between life and death. The poems of the graveyard school of poetry are all characterized by a very sad atmosphere and they are dedicated usually to the night, to the darkness. One of the most important poems of the graveyard school of poetry is the “Elegy written in a country churchyard” written by Thomas Gray.
Domande da interrogazione
- What is the significance of the medieval revival in early romanticism?
- What are the key characteristics of the gothic novel in romantic literature?
The medieval revival in early romanticism marked a shift from Enlightenment and neoclassical ideals, embracing medieval themes to explore national origins. This trend manifested in the Ossian songs, the rise of the gothic novel, and the revival of the ballad, all reflecting a fascination with medieval culture and storytelling.
The gothic novel in romantic literature is characterized by elements such as ghosts, a persecuted virgin girl, a villain, and a hero, often set in dark, mysterious locations like castles and monasteries. The feeling of "awe," a mix of attraction and repulsion, is central to these stories.
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