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The Romantic Movement and
Gothic Literature
Romanticism (c. 1798-1832)
A literary and artistic movement that reacted against the restraint and universalism of the Enlightenment. The Romantics celebrated spontaneity, imagination, subjectivity, and the purity of nature. Notable English Romantic writers include Jane Austen, William Blake, Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Wordsworth. Prominent figures in the American romantic movement include Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Edgar Allen Poe, Williams Cullen Bryant, and John Greenleaf Whittier.
Romantic Characteristics
1. Emphasis upon subjective emotion and spontaneity2. Love of one’s own national literature and literary forms3. Wild, exuberant writing dealing with unexpected, exotic
and foreign topics4. Objects contrasted with each other and arranged
asymmetrically5. Love of the country and nature
Nationalism
One of Romanticism’s key ideas is the assertion of nationalism, which became a central theme of Romantic art and political philosophy. From the earliest parts of the movement, with their focus on development of national languages and folklore, and the importance of local customs and traditions, to the movements which would redraw the map of Europe and lead to calls for self-determination of nationalities, nationalism was one of the key vehicles of Romanticism, its role, expression and meaning.
Neoclassical Elements
Formal essay
History book
Rhyming couplet
Discipline
Law
Tradition
Aristocrats
Conservatives
Even-tempered
Reserved
Formal portraits
Romantic Elements
Mythical story
Ode
Supernatural tale
Democracy
Freedom
Revolution
Commoners
Liberals
Melancholic
Outspoken
Landscapes
True wit is Nature to advantage drest,
What oft was thought, but ne’er so well expressed;
Something whose truth convinced at sight we find,
That gives us back the image of ourmind.
-Alexander Pope,An Essay on Criticism, Part 2,11. 297-300
…Then a wish,My last and favourite aspiration,
mountsWith yearning tow’rds some philo-
sophic SongOf Truth that cherishes our daily
life; With meditations passionate, from
deepRecesses in man’s heart, immortal
verseThoughtfully fitted to the Orphean
lyre…
-William Wordsworth,The preludeBook 1, 11. 227-233
The Fighting TéméaireJ.M.W. Turner
The White HorsesJohn Constable - 1819
Liberty Leading the PeopleEugene Delacroix
The Voyage of Life - ChildhoodThomas Cole
The Voyage of Life - YouthThomas Cole
The Voyage of Life - ManhoodThomas Cole
The Voyage of Life - Old AgeThomas Cole
Gothic Literature
It was an offshoot of Romantic Literature.
Gothic Literature was the predecessor of modern horror movies in both theme and style.
Gothic Literature put a spin on the Romantic idea of nature worship and nature imagery. Along with nature having the power of healing, Gothic writers gave nature the power of destruction. Frankenstein is full of the harsh reality of nature. Many storms arise in the novel, including storms the night the Creature comes to life.
The most common feature of Gothic Literature is the indication of mood through the weather.
The Byronic Hero This idea is based on the personality of George Gordon,
Lord Byron who was a stormy, sensitive, fiercely proud man.
The Byronic Hero is a mysterious, somewhat exotic creature whose passionate intensity cuts him off from others.
They suffer from profound yearnings that are beyond the comprehension of lesser persons.
Aware of their superiority, these Byronic Heroes are frequently aloof, sometimes sullen.
They show disdain for the petty regulations of society.
They are sometimes imprisoned or become voluntary exiles, living examples of the restless spirit of the Romantics.