Station 1: Romanticism
Romanticism has very little to do with things popularly thought of as
"romantic," although love may occasionally be the subject of Romantic
art. Rather, Romanticism (or the Romantic Era/Period) was an artistic,
literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the
18th century in Europe and strengthened in reaction to the Industrial
Revolution. In part, it was a revolt against aristocratic social and political
norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific
rationalization of nature. It was embodied most strongly in the visual arts,
music, and literature, but had a major impact on historiography, education
and natural history.
The movement validated strong emotion as an authentic source of
aesthetic (the nature of beauty, art, and taste) experience, placing new
emphasis on such emotions as trepidation, horror and terror and awe—
especially that which is experienced in confronting the sublimity of
untamed nature and its picturesque qualities, both new aesthetic
categories. It elevated folk art and ancient custom to something noble,
made spontaneity a desirable characteristic, and argued for a "natural"
study of human activities as conditioned by nature in the form of language
and customary usage.
Many intellectual historians have seen Romanticism as a key movement in
the Counter-Enlightenment, a reaction against the Age of Enlightenment.
Whereas the thinkers of the Enlightenment emphasized the primacy of
reason and rational thinking, Romanticism emphasized intuition,
imagination, and feeling, to a point that has led to some Romantic thinkers
being accused of irrationalism. Romanticism focuses on Nature: a place
free from society's judgment and restrictions. Romanticism blossomed
after the age of Rationalism, a time that focused on scientific reasoning.
Station 2: Enlightenment VS Romanticism
ENLIGHTENMENT
ROMANTICISM
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People lack self-control
Anti-social behavior is because people
have not been taught right/wrong
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Leave people to themselves; their hearts
are pure
Anti-social behavior is because of
societal pressures (schools, parents, etc.)
Change

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Artificial change
Take out old, put in new
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Organic
Continual change and growth
Education

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Education is important
Teach each other
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Education should lay out choices
Let the child choose

Freedom should be limited
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Freedom should not be limited
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Republican government
Representatives

No representatives, only unanimous
votes because group would function as
whole unit
Organic and changing
Social contract
— single ruler represents a group
— bring person who is different around
to what is “best”
Anti-social
behavior
Freedom

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Government
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History is a movement to the better
Looks down on the past
History
Morals

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Amoral (without morals)
Not innate knowledge

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Virtuous
Instincts

Rule by an educated elite

Rule by the masses because they know
themselves

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All men are born alike or “created equal” 
Nurture not nature

All men are unique or different
Nature not nurture

Voters should read and become informed 
before they vote
Vote what is best for themselves

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Voters should follow their instincts and
vote quickly
Vote will be the best for all
If you ask one person, you’ll know what
everyone would want
Rulers
State of
Nature
Voting
The importance of history is the search
for an identity
Ethnic groups claim land where they
were at their greatest
Ethnic groups carry culture through
language

Station 3: Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where
major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and
technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of
the times. It began in the United Kingdom, and then subsequently spread
throughout Western Europe, North America, Japan, and eventually the world.
The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every
aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. Most notably, average income and
population began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth. In the two centuries
following 1800, the world's average per capita income increased over tenfold, while
the world's population increased six times over.
Starting in the later part of the 18th century, there began a transition in parts of
Great Britain's previously manual labor and animal–based economy towards
machine-based manufacturing. It started with the mechanization of the textile
industries, the development of iron-making techniques and the increased use of
refined coal. Trade expansion was enabled by the introduction of canals, improved
roads, and railways. With the transition away from an agricultural-based economy
and towards machine-based manufacturing came a great influx of population from
the countryside and into the towns and cities, which swelled in population.
The introduction of steam power fuelled primarily by coal, wider utilization of
water wheels and powered machinery (mainly in textile manufacturing)
underpinned the dramatic increases in production capacity. The development of allmetal machine tools in the first two decades of the 19th century facilitated the
manufacture of more production machines for manufacturing in other industries.
The effects spread throughout Western Europe and North America during the 19th
century, eventually affecting most of the world, a process that continues as
industrialization. The impact of this change on society was enormous.
The Second Industrial Revolution began around 1850, when technological and
economic progress gained momentum with the development of steam-powered
ships, railways, and later in the 19th century with the internal combustion engine
and electrical power generation.
Station 4: Viva la Révolutions
American Revolutionary War (1775–83): the political upheaval during the last half
of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to
break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of
America.
The French Revolution (1789–99): a period of radical social and political upheaval
in France that had a major impact on France and indeed all of Europe. The absolute
monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years. French
society underwent an epic transformation as feudal, aristocratic and religious
privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from radical left-wing political
groups, masses on the streets, and peasants in the countryside.
These wars, along with the political and social turmoil that went along with them,
served as the background for Romanticism. The strong feelings that wartime
produces served as a catalyst for an outpouring of art and literature, the likes of
which had never been seen before. The works of the Romantic Era are a vast and
unique collection of literary works. However, they can all be said to have at least
these characteristics: A love of nature, a sense of nationalism, and a sense of
exoticism/the supernatural. These simple characteristics can be linked back to the
fact that these works were being written in time of political turmoil. For example,
the nationalism seen in Romantic works may be attributed to the fact that the
authors of the time took pride in their country, their people, and their “cause”. It
was the writers’ way of contributing to the fight.
The works of the Romantic Era also differed from preceding works in that they
spoke to the “common” people. Romantics strove towards literature and arts that
were for everyone, not just wealthy aristocracy. Much of the writing predating the
Romantic Era was written for, and in the style of, only the wealthy upper classes.
Romantics had a hand in changing this around—and it may have been because they
were trying to connect with the commoners. In a time of war and political
uneasiness, the writers were reaching out for a connection with their equals, not to
those above them, the ones fueling the wars.
During the Romantic period there was an increase in female authors as well. This
can be attributed to the fact that this period was submerged in wartime. The women
were at home, without a way to express their feelings, fight for the cause, or even
connect to those around them.
Station 5: Romantic/Gothic Literature
The novel of manners: a literary genre that deals with aspects of behavior, language, customs
and values characteristic of a particular class of people in a specific historical context. The
genre emerged during the final decades of the 18th century. The novel of manners often shows a
conflict between individual aspirations or desires and the accepted social codes of behavior.
There is a vital relationship between manners, social behavior and character. Physical
appearances are overall less emphasized while manners and social behavior remain the
particular interests in the novel. The idea of manners assumes not only a social significance, as
it is applied today, but a moral one as well, which preceded the social context in which it was
used. What connects the two is the idea of "pleasing". Characters in the novels are not always
morally and socially obliging to each other, however, but there is differentiation between the
upstanding hero or heroine and the socially less acceptable characters. The different degrees of
how the characters uphold the standard level of social etiquette is what usually dominates the
plot of the novel.
Another theory for the emergence and growth of the novel of manners is that the changes taking
place in English society were eroding the class boundaries. Changes in the social hierarchy were
taking place due to leaps in technology and the novel of manners was a way to reestablish this
class order. The different classes represented in the novels served to represent how the different
classes in society were supposed to behave in different settings. This includes public versus
private, rural versus urban, and settings where there were men versus women. This contrast
between the genders highlights the fact that there were many more women that were authors of
novels of manners than there were men. This brought the focus of many of these novels to the
social issues and conventions that plagued women of the time.
Gothic fiction: sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, this is a literary genre that combines
elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace
Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story". The effect of
Gothic fiction feeds on a pleasing (cathartic) sort of terror, an extension of Romantic literary
pleasures that were relatively new at the time of Walpole's novel. Prominent features of Gothic
fiction include terror (both psychological and physical), mystery, the supernatural, ghosts,
haunted houses and Gothic architecture, castles, darkness, death, decay, doubles, madness,
secrets and hereditary curses.
This near-simultaneous emergence of the novel of manners and the Gothic novel led to a
crossover of characteristics between the genres. The main link between the novel of manners
and the Gothic novel is the language of manners. In both cases, social and moral manners are
dominating factors in the structure of the novel. In the Gothic novel, the starkest difference is
the supernatural or the indication of supernatural events. However, many of the characters are
often so far below the accepted level of social behavior that it is considered horrific. Another
feature that differs from the novel of manners is the outcome of the novel. In Gothic fiction, the
outcome is not always the positive reinforcement of morals that the novel of manners offers.
Station 6: Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born on August 30, 1797 in London, England, the second
daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. Mary’s mother died soon after her birth
and she and her half sister Fanny gained a stepsister, Claire, when her father remarried. Claire
and Mary would remain very close for the rest of their lives. There were bitter times for Mary
growing up with a cruel step mother and emotionally distant father; she consoled herself at her
mother’s graveside and spent periods of time in Scotland with friends of the family. She was
educated at home by tutors where she studied her parent’s writings and literature and poetry, as
well as learning Latin, French, and Italian. She also read the works of the Enlightenment literary
figures her unorthodox parents associated with, including the poets William Blake, Samuel
Taylor Coleridge, and Charles Lamb.
Mary met her future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley around the age of sixteen when he became
acquainted with her atheist father and his philosophy, which he soon adopted. He spent much
time at the Godwin’s household discussing politics and events of the day. Percy was unhappily
married to Harriet Westbrook at the time, and despite Mary’s father forbidding her to see him
anymore, he and Mary eloped to France in 1814 with Claire in tow for a six week tour of
Europe. Mary’s father’s free love philosophy did not extend to her, and they were estranged
until she married.
Living in London with Claire and Percy, Mary and Percy’s daughter Clara was born in February
of 1815 though she died a few weeks later. Soon after, William was born (1816-1819) and the
trio set out again, traveling through France, Germany, and Switzerland. Advocates of
vegetarianism and issues of social reform, the Shelley’s were matched on many levels
intellectually though Mary did not embrace the idea of an open marriage or ‘true love’ ideals
Percy longed for and expressed in so many of his poems. While at Lake Geneva in Switzerland
with Lord George Gordon Byron, she had started writing Frankenstein in 1816, inspired by
their many sailing trips on the lake and nights telling each other ghost stories. A second
daughter named Clara was born in 1817 but she died a year later.
Now that they were married and Mary was on speaking terms with her father, she and Percy
moved back to Italy, staying for a time in various cities including Milan, Pisa, and Venice.
While living in Florence, Percy Florence was born in 1819, the same year William died.
In 1822, Shelley suffered a miscarriage which almost took her life. The same year, as was one
of his favorite past times, Percy was sailing on his schooner ‘Don Juan’ with friend Edward
Williams when a sudden storm blew up and it sank. Percy’s body washed ashore, and as were
his wishes, he was cremated on the beach near Viareggio. Devastated by her loss, in 1823 Mary
returned to England with her son Percy. She died at home in London at the age of 54 on
February 1, 1851, and she lies buried in St. Peter’s churchyard in Bournemouth, Dorset,
England.
Station 7: Cautionary Tales
A cautionary tale is a tale told in folklore, to warn its hearer of a
danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale (though
they can be introduced in a large variety of ways):
 First, a taboo or prohibition is stated: some act, location, or
thing is said to be dangerous.
 Then, the narrative itself is told: someone disregarded the
warning and performed the forbidden act.
 Finally, the violator comes to an unpleasant fate, which is
frequently related in expansive and grisly detail.
Cautionary tales are ever-present in popular culture; many urban
legends are framed as cautionary tales: from the lover's lane
haunted by a hook-handed murderer to the tale of a man who shot
a cactus for fun only to die when the plant toppled onto him. Like
horror fiction, generally the cautionary tale exhibits an ambivalent
attitude towards social taboos. The narrator of a cautionary tale is
momentarily excused from the ordinary demands of etiquette that
discourages the use of gruesome or disgusting imagery because the
tale serves to reinforce some other social taboo.
On the other hand, in the adolescent culture of the United States,
for more than a hundred years the traditional cautionary tale gave
rise to the phenomenon of legend tripping, in which a cautionary
tale is turned into the basis of a dare that invites the hearer to test
the taboo by breaking it.
Station 8: Prometheus (Greek Myth)
In Greek mythology, the Titan named Prometheus was the creator of
mankind. The goddess Athene taught him architecture, astronomy,
mathematics, navigation, medicine, and metallurgy, and he in turn taught
them to humans. Zeus, the chief of the Greek gods, became angry at
Prometheus for making people powerful by teaching them all these useful
skills.
When the gods chose Prometheus as arbiter in a dispute, he fooled the
gullible Zeus into picking the worst parts of the sacrificial bull by hiding
them under a rich layer of fat. To punish Prometheus, Zeus withheld fire
from men. "Let them eat their flesh raw," he declared. In response,
Prometheus, snuck up to Mount Olympus, lit a torch from the sun, and hid
a burning piece of charcoal in a hollow stalk. He slipped away with it and
thus delivered fire to mankind.
Zeus, as revenge, tried unsuccessfully to trick Prometheus' brother,
Epimetheus, into accepting the beautiful but mischievous Pandora as a
gift. Epimetheus, mindful of earlier advice from his brother, refused. Even
madder now that his trick had failed, Zeus had Prometheus chained naked
to a pillar in the Caucasian mountains. A griffon-vulture ate at
Prometheus' liver all day long. During the bitter cold of the mountain
night, the liver became whole again.
So it went day after day, year after year. Epimetheus married Pandora in
an effort to free his brother. Pandora -- as devilish as she was beautiful -opened the famous box in which Prometheus had shut up all the evils that
might plague mankind: Old Age, Labor, Sickness, Insanity, Vice and
Passion.
Only years later, at the behest of Heracles (Hercules), did Zeus free
Prometheus.
Station 9: Catharsis
Catharsis is a term in dramatic art that describes the "emotional
cleansing" sometimes depicted in a play as occurring for one or
more of its characters, as well as the same phenomenon as (an
intended) part of the audience’s experience. It describes an extreme
change in emotion, occurring as the result of experiencing strong
feelings (such as sorrow, fear, pity, or even laughter). It has been
described as a "purification" or a "purging" of such emotions.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first to use the term
catharsis with reference to the emotions – in his work Poetics. In
that context, it refers to a sensation or literary effect that, ideally,
would either be experienced by the characters in a play, or be
wrought upon the audience at the conclusion of a tragedy; namely,
the release of pent-up emotion or energy.
In psychology, the term was first employed by Sigmund Freud's
colleague Josef Breuer (1842-1925), who developed a "cathartic"
treatment for persons suffering from hysterical symptoms through
the use of hypnosis. While under hypnosis, Breuer's patients were
able to recall traumatic experiences, and through the process of
expressing the original emotions that had been repressed and
forgotten, they were relieved of their symptoms.