Concetti Chiave
- Romanticism emerged in the 18th and 19th centuries as a response to the rationalism of the Enlightenment.
- Originating from the German "Sturm und Drang" movement, it emphasized individualism, creativity, and emotions.
- The movement was influenced by Jean-Jacques Rousseau's philosophy of returning to a natural state to achieve freedom and harmony.
- In English literature, Romanticism began with Wordsworth and Coleridge's "Lyrical Ballads" in 1798 and concluded in 1837.
- Central themes included feelings and imagination, with a focus on introspection and a nostalgic look at the Middle Ages.
Romanticism – English literature: summary, main themes and characteristics
Romanticism was a cultural, artistic and philosophical movement that developed in the 18th and 19th century as a reaction to the exasperated and exaggerated rationalism which characterized the Enlightenment.The first reaction came from the poets of the German literary movement of “Sturm und Drang”. It was characterized by a focus on the individual, on human creativity and feelings. Romantic artistic conception of nature was based on the theory of the philosopher Jean-Jacque-
Rousseau; he affirmed that man is born free but he society and reason change him, so he can return to his “state of nature” in order to feel free and in harmony with nature.
In English literary history the Romantic period began in 1798
(when Wordsworth and Coleridge published the Lyrical Ballads, whose Preface is considered the English Romanticism Manifesto) and finished in 1837 when Queen Victoria became queen.
Feelings and imagination become central themes of Romantic poetry: literature was considered by the artists as a form of introspection which gave importance to the individual.
The Romantics tried to escape from a too rational reality and for this reason they found their new aspiration in looking to the past, in particular through the rediscovery of the Middle Ages, a period that left more space for imagination and feelings.
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