🌄World Literature II Unit 1 – Romanticism in Global Literature

Key Characteristics of Romanticism

• Emphasized emotion, imagination, and individualism over reason and order
• Celebrated the beauty and power of nature as a source of spiritual inspiration
• Valued creativity, originality, and artistic expression as essential human qualities
• Rejected the rationalism and neoclassicism of the Enlightenment era
  • Sought to break free from strict rules and conventions in art and literature
• Explored themes of love, passion, and the human experience in all its complexity
• Idealized the past, particularly the medieval era, as a time of greater simplicity and authenticity
• Promoted the idea of the individual genius or hero who defies societal norms

Historical Context and Origins

• Emerged in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, primarily in Europe and North America
• Developed as a reaction against the Enlightenment's emphasis on reason and order
  • Enlightenment thinkers valued rationality, scientific inquiry, and social progress
• Influenced by the French Revolution and the social and political upheavals of the time
  • Revolution challenged traditional authority and inspired new ideas about individual rights and freedoms
• Shaped by the Industrial Revolution and the rapid changes it brought to society and the natural world
  • Industrialization led to a growing sense of alienation and a longing for a simpler, more natural way of life
• Drew inspiration from earlier literary movements, such as Sturm und Drang in Germany and Graveyard Poetry in England

Major Romantic Authors and Works

• William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poets known for their collection "Lyrical Ballads" (1798)
  • Wordsworth's "Preface to Lyrical Ballads" is considered a manifesto of Romantic poetry
• John Keats, English poet famous for his odes, including "Ode on a Grecian Urn" and "Ode to a Nightingale"
• Lord Byron, English poet and leading figure of the Romantic movement, known for his long narrative poems like "Don Juan"
• Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet and essayist, author of "Prometheus Unbound" and "Ode to the West Wind"
• Mary Shelley, English novelist, best known for her Gothic novel "Frankenstein" (1818)
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and statesman, author of the epic drama "Faust"
• Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet, playwright, and novelist, considered the founder of modern Russian literature

Themes in Romantic Literature

• The beauty and power of nature as a source of spiritual inspiration and emotional healing
  • Nature often depicted as a living, sentient force that reflects the moods and emotions of the poet
• The importance of imagination, creativity, and artistic expression in human life
  • Imagination seen as a gateway to higher truths and a means of transcending the limitations of reason
• The individual's search for meaning, purpose, and self-discovery in a rapidly changing world
• The celebration of love, passion, and intense emotion as essential aspects of the human experience
• The exploration of the supernatural, the mysterious, and the irrational as a way of probing the depths of the human psyche
• The critique of society, politics, and the negative effects of industrialization and urbanization on the human spirit
• The idealization of childhood, innocence, and the natural world as a refuge from the corrupting influences of modern life

Romantic Movement Across Cultures

• The Romantic movement spread across Europe and North America, taking on distinct forms in different countries
• In Germany, Romanticism was closely tied to the concept of "Sturm und Drang" (storm and stress), which emphasized intense emotion and individualism
  • German Romantics, such as Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, explored themes of nature, love, and the search for meaning
• In France, Romanticism was influenced by the revolutionary spirit of the time and the desire for political and social change
  • French Romantics, such as Victor Hugo and Alphonse de Lamartine, often used their writing as a means of social criticism
• In Russia, Romanticism coincided with a growing sense of national identity and the development of a distinctly Russian literary tradition
  • Russian Romantics, such as Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov, drew inspiration from Russian folklore and history
• In the United States, Romanticism took on a more optimistic and democratic character, reflecting the country's revolutionary ideals
  • American Romantics, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, emphasized self-reliance, individualism, and the importance of nature

Literary Techniques and Styles

• Romantic writers often used vivid, sensory language to evoke emotion and create a sense of immediacy and intensity
  • Employed metaphors, similes, and other figurative devices to convey complex ideas and feelings
• Experimented with new poetic forms, such as the lyrical ballad and the ode, to express their ideas and emotions
  • Lyrical ballads combined elements of traditional ballads with a more personal, introspective style
• Used symbolism and allegory to imbue their works with deeper meanings and universal significance
  • Symbols drawn from nature, mythology, and the imagination to create a rich, multi-layered texture
• Employed a more subjective, introspective narrative voice that explored the inner lives of characters and the workings of the human mind
• Developed a more fluid, organic style of prose that mirrored the natural rhythms of speech and thought
  • Rejected the formal, artificial style of earlier literary periods in favor of a more natural, spontaneous mode of expression
• Incorporated elements of the supernatural, the gothic, and the exotic to create a sense of mystery and wonder
  • Gothic novels, such as Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," explored the dark side of human nature and the consequences of unchecked ambition

Impact on Later Literary Movements

• Romanticism had a profound influence on later literary movements, both in Europe and around the world
• The Romantic emphasis on emotion, imagination, and individualism paved the way for the development of Realism and Naturalism in the mid-19th century
  • Realists and Naturalists sought to depict the world as it really was, without the idealization and sentimentality of Romanticism
• The Romantic celebration of nature and the individual's relationship to it influenced the development of Transcendentalism in the United States
  • Transcendentalists, such as Emerson and Thoreau, believed in the inherent goodness of both people and nature and the importance of self-reliance and intuition
• The Romantic fascination with the supernatural and the irrational contributed to the development of the Symbolist movement in the late 19th century
  • Symbolists, such as Charles Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud, sought to express the ineffable through the use of symbols and suggestive, evocative language
• The Romantic idea of the artist as a visionary and a prophet influenced the development of Modernism in the early 20th century
  • Modernists, such as T.S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf, sought to break free from traditional forms and conventions and to create a new, more experimental kind of literature

Critical Analysis and Interpretation

• Romantic literature has been the subject of extensive critical analysis and interpretation over the past two centuries
• Some critics have praised the Romantics for their originality, their emotional depth, and their commitment to artistic freedom and self-expression
  • Seen as a necessary corrective to the rationalism and neoclassicism of the Enlightenment era
• Others have criticized the Romantics for their idealism, their sentimentality, and their tendency to prioritize emotion over reason
  • Accused of promoting a naive, unrealistic view of the world and of ignoring the social and political realities of their time
• Feminist critics have explored the ways in which Romantic literature both reinforced and challenged traditional gender roles and stereotypes
  • Women writers, such as Mary Shelley and Jane Austen, used the conventions of Romantic literature to critique the limitations placed on women in their society
• Postcolonial critics have examined the ways in which Romantic literature both reflected and contributed to the colonial and imperial projects of the 19th century
  • Romantic exoticism and orientalism seen as a form of cultural appropriation and a way of reinforcing Western dominance over other cultures
• Ecocritics have focused on the Romantic celebration of nature and the environment, seeing it as an early form of ecological awareness and activism
  • Romantic nature poetry seen as a way of promoting a more harmonious and sustainable relationship between humans and the natural world