Romanticism

1) Romanticism rose in reaction to the Enlightenment (the age of reason). The Enlightenment, 1725-1789, valued logic and the scientific method, and at the same time it devalued writing based on emotion, imagination and fantasy. During this period, many writers and philosophers directed their attention to understand the physical world, believing that the only way to understand an event or object was through reason, direct experience, and empirical tests. Because of this emphasis on scientific study, Enlightenment writers tended to disregard spiritual, speculative or imaginative work. Examples of Enlightenment writing: the common sense writings of Ben Franklin or of Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence ("We find these truths self-evident").

2) Romanticism (1785-1865) embraced many ideals which the Enlightenment rejected, such as imagination and extreme emotion. As with most historical movements, Romanticism was a reactionary movement, that is, it reacted to the period which preceded it. Early Romantics noted that Enlightenment art was cold and impersonal. Because of this, they strove to make art more compassionate, more imaginative, and more connected to the inner life of individuals.

3) View of people: During the Enlightenment, people were viewed as mainly physical beings; intellect was valued over emotion. Romanticism strove to redefine such understandings, believing that people were more than intellects on legs, but possessed the potential for significant emotional and imaginative experience. Through emotion and imagination, they hoped to arrive at a fuller portrait of human experience. The sensitive or spiritual man was very much the hero of the day.

4) Individuality: The Enlightenment, to a certain extent, devalued individuality, focusing on ways that individuals were alike: our physical bodies are similar, our environment is constant, as are our founding beliefs. During the Romantic period, individuality was valued again, particularly in regards to solitary, isolated experienced. For example, many of Emily Dickinson's poems explore her experience by herself, as do Walt Whitman's reflections on his identity. Many of Poe's stories focus on sensitive, isolated individuals who eventually go mad, such as Roderick Usher and the narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart."

5) Nature: To access deeper emotions, many romantic writers advocated a new connection with nature. Writers such as Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson meditated on the natural world, believing that such experience would open them to a new world of emotion, intuition, and self-value. Through nature, people learned more about themselves.

6) Peak Experience: Because Romanticism valued emotional writing, their work naturally depicted peak experiences, that is, great elation and great sadness. The two key terms associated with these peak experiences are Romantic Ecstasy and Romantic Agony. Romantics tended to feel emotions at a deeper level than do average people. Looking back, many people see a manic-depressive quality in their writings. In fact, many critics believe that most Romantic writers were in fact isolated, often disturbed individuals, significantly different than the average person from the period. Towards the end of the Romantic period, new Realist writers reacted to this very point, that Romanticism had not depicted the average person.