Individuals and Society
Romanticism was not only a literary movement that emphasized tragedy but it was the one that praised the misfits and gave them the cult status that we may associate with people like Marilyn Mason today. In those days, being a social misfit was in vogue or so it appeared from some very well-known novels including the Sorrows of Young Werther, Frankenstein and Black Elk Speaks. All these books explore the intricate connection of individual with the society and depict the 'outcast-ness' of the central Romantic characters. While not all the leading characters of this era exhibited negativity that surrounded Frankenstein still most of them displayed abhorrence for the normal social order which resulted in their expulsion from the mainstream social circles. In this connection, Werther, the central character from The Sorrows of Young Werther serves as an adequate example of a classic Romantic misfit. He was madly even obsessively in love with a woman he couldn't possibly have a long-term relationship with and instead of understanding the madness that drove him to extremes, he would consider himself a victim of tragic circumstances and present himself as an epitome of misery. That was the essence of Romantic age i.e. Exaltation of passion and denouncement of reason.
Werther's character was created at the height of Romantic Movement and even Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was slightly embarrassed of having created a character that was so insensibly passionate. But it was nevertheless a massive success with the public. Readers were completely enthralled by a character that appeared to despise the social order and that was ultimately abandoned by the society for being too passionate, sentimental and immensely emotional. The restless spirit finally had a hero in Werther and this led to the popularity and acceptance...
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
" By simultaneously freeing most of the southern slaves and permitting their admittance into the armed forces, Lincoln provided some indication of his underlying motives. One main reason for the Emancipation Proclamation was that it formally welcomed a very willing fighting force amid the Union ranks. Slavery, however, could not be eradicated so easily. Although it became illegal for one individual to be in servitude of another without pay, the southern
Romanticism Transcendentalists differed Romanticism Irving, Hawthorne, Poe, Melville. Cite specific examples support answer Romanticism has had a great influence over nineteenth century literature, considering the wide range of writers who produced works in accordance with this current. However, as Romanticism progressed, it contributed to creating Transcendentalism. The former primarily focused on the internal aspects of individuals, as Romantics often related to the importance of concepts like sentiments and freedom. In
Romanticism No other period in English literature displays more variety in style, theme, and content than the Romantic Movement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Furthermore, no period has been the topic of so much disagreement and confusion over its defining principles and aesthetics. Romanticism is often described as a large network of sometimes competing philosophies, agendas, and points of interest. These philosophies are often very contentious and controversial, as
All of the styles inspired by the Romantic current can be clearly traced from the Formalist point-of-view, as they had in common the use of image itself, leaving meaning and content to a secondary design. In the poetry and literature world, the Romantic period was a chance to explore the inner feelings of the artist, the development of his own soul and thoughts, where the author is the hero of the
Romantic Era The Romantic period and the attendant rise of the novel in England as the preeminent literary form saw the emergence of the first truly popular literature, and with it denunciations of the degradation of culture at the hands of frivolous entertainments and occupations. Fretting critics lamented the idea that the fashion for new and exciting works of literature was crowding out more "important" texts, and the fashionability of knowledge
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