Verified Document

German Romanticism Term Paper

German Romanticism Romanticism is nothing but a philosophical movement that started as a result of the increased growth of nationalism, the war of liberation and the reforms in the literary and cultural realms. In philosophy, the term is also related to emotionalism. The German romanticism is found as different from most of the other romanticism that spread across the world. The political revolution that happened during the 19th century is the vital reason for the birth of Romanticism. Napoleon is regarded as the prime factor in bringing out the revolution. He was considered as the champion of the revolution, because the armies of France demolished the old order that prevailed in Germany.

We should not forget that Germany, more than any other country, had suffered very much from the conception of The Holy Roman Empire. During earlier centuries German monarchs tried to establish themselves as Roman emperors. Wherever the armies went, the old order that existed there destructed and people tasted the joy of freedom that came as a result of this breakdown. But they could not establish a society on the basis of liberty, equality and fraternity. And this defeat, in not able to create a society of their own interest, paved the way for a new movement and it was called as Romanticism and the writers and philosophers of this period were called as romantic writers and romantic philosophers.

The most influential philosophers in Germany, during that time, were J.G Herder, Fichte and Hamann and their works put seeds of growth in the movement of Romanticism in Germany. With these men, this movement of romanticism not just found a place in the literary and Aesthetic fields, but it went beyond that and became a comprehensive global view. The History of German romanticism can be traced back to the pietism of the 17th and 18th century and the Sturm und Drang period of German literature (1770's). This sturm and drang or storm and stress movement takes its...

von Klinger. Though Rousseau's ideas considered as a major stimulus of the movement, the real essence it got only after the philosophical influence of Herder and others. During the 18th century, feeling started to be considered as more important, more significant than reason both in literature and in Ethics. (Romanticism and Freemasonry)
In the work of Johann Gottfried von Herder he had extolled the romantic spirit as manifested in the German folk songs. (Romanticism and Freemasonry) In his work "on the origin of language" he held that language and poetry are spontaneous necessities of human nature, rather than supernatural endowments. He was one of the illuminated minds, which has the potential to glow by itself, and though he was not a disciple of any one, he was very much influenced by the philosophy of Kant and also he was in sympathy with the men who were trying to break the period of form and tradition. He was considered as one of the cultural leaders, and his writings were revolutionary in its stress on the problems of man in contemporary society. Self-determination, he emphasized as a must for all people and in Herder's work we can find a theoretical justification for the pursuit of cultural and political autonomy.

Johann Georg Hamann was Germany's most famous poet philosopher. During 19th century, his writings were occasionally studied and regarded as the father of German classicism and also of Romanticism. Joseph Nadler, who regarded as an exponent in Hamman's writings, writes "Hamman is the man who infected his century with his spirit and completely changed it. That awakening of the inner man around 1760, which found its artistic expression in classic-romantic culture, arose from Hamann. The enigmatic power which this rare man radiated forth into his entire age is among the insoluble secrets of the history of human thought and spirit." (Johann Georg Hamann (1730-1788), Preacher of Christ in the Wilderness…

Sources used in this document:
References

Fichte's Beginnings (1762-1794)" Retrieved at http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/f/fichtejg.htm#(a) Fichte's philosophical vocation accessed on 03/22/2004

Myers, Ellen. "Johann Georg Hamann (1730-1788), Preacher of Christ in the Wilderness of the Enlightenment" The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Retrieved at http://creationism.org/csshs/v07n3p19.htm. Accessed on 03/22/2004

Romanticism and Freemasonry" Retrieved at http://tracingboard.com/romanticism.htm. Accessed on 03/22/2004
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Romanticism Some Historians and Literary
Words: 1411 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Russian writers like Pushkin, Lermontov and Turgenev experienced with the symbols of Romanticism as they inevitably reached the remotest literary fecund corners of the continent. Turgenev lived in Europe for a while, at the very heart of Romanticism and his translated literary works received the acclaim of the critics and were welcomed by the public as well, showing him as an artist who became an integral part of the

Goethe and Romanticism
Words: 959 Length: 4 Document Type:

Goethe and Romanticism Goethe, as per the traditional German assessment, was more of a classical author, than a Romantic author. In the words of Smith (2009), “to students of German literature, it is so obvious that Goethe was un-romantic and anti-Romantic that they seldom bother to say so” (71). As per this viewpoint, his works are seen as having been influenced by diverse literary movements, i.e. Weimar Classicism and Storm and

Frankenstein and Romanticism
Words: 1998 Length: 6 Document Type: Research Paper

Frankenstein & Romanticism How Romanticism is Demonstrated in Frankenstein In less than six years, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein will be 200 years old. This novel, indicative of the romantic period, is a compelling narrative with numerous themes and vivid imagery to consider. In the context of romanticism, Frankenstein is a worthwhile piece of literature to examine. Literature and art of the romantic period is characterized with an emphasis on intense emotional reactions, specifically

British and German Trench Poetry
Words: 385 Length: 1 Document Type: Research Proposal

These young men were not immersed in the high modernist traditions of Virginia Woolf and T.S. Eliot: rather, they were immersed in the experience of war and their own visceral response to the horrors they witnessed. Thus a multifaceted, rather than strictly comparative approach might be the most illuminating way to study this period of history and literature. Cross-cultural, comparative literary analysis is always imperfect, particularly given the linguistic challenges

English Romanticism in the 1790s
Words: 3717 Length: 12 Document Type: Term Paper

"O Sylvan Wye! thou wanderer thro' the woods, / How often has my spirit turned to thee!" (http://www.uoregon.edu/~rbear/ballads.html) Now, the poet wishes to "transfer" the healing powers of nature that he himself has experienced to his sister. By stating."..Nature never did betray / the heart that loved her" (http://www.uoregon.edu/~rbear/ballads.html) Wordsworth assures his sister that she will also find peace in the middle of nature if she believes in the

Romantic Period
Words: 1848 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

British and German Romanticism: Revolutionary art, counterrevolutionary politics The Romantic Movement has become part of our cultural consciousness to such a degree that its assumptions regarding the centrality of the individual, its elegiac idealization of the pastoral, and its belief in human spirituality that could not be understood with pure rationality have become associated with the essence of art itself. While the birth of the Romantic movement is associated with the French

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now