ROMANTICISM IN THE 19TH CENTURY (1815-1848)
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was a new perception of humanity, rejecting old rules and conventions. Many
inconsistencies, but common elements include refusal to accept neoclassical
rigidity, focus on the intuitive and emotional dimensions of the individual –
feeling – freedom in form and subject matter – conservatism gave way to
liberalism and excess (defining terms – freedom, emotion, nature & individual)
ROMANTIC LITERATURE – influenced by Voltaire & Rousseau. England Poetry - William Wordsworth rejected poetic diction and classicist subject matter in
favour of common language and nature as his inspiration. Samuel Coleridge used
dream like settings. Lord Byron wrote about swashbuckling, defiant, melancholy
characters – scandalous life, fought for Greek independence. John Keats examined
youth, beauty and life. Others include William Blake & Percy Shelley.
Prose – Mary Shelley (Frankenstein) – darker side of nature - Sir Walter Scott
(Ivanhoe) larger than life heroes. France – Victor Hugo novels about social outcasts
who rise above the world around them ( Les Miserables, and The Hunchback of
Notre Dame). George Sand portrayed women’s struggles demanding equality.
Alexander Dumas - larger than life heroes (3 Musketeers, Count of Monte Cristo)
ROMANTIC ART – bridged the gap from Jacques Louis David. France, Theodore
Gericault became associated with the call for revolution (The Raft of the Medusa)
Eugene Delacroix painted The Massacre at Chios inspired by a Greek revolutionary
event, and Liberty Leading the people inspired by 1930 French Revolution
William Blake and John Henry Fuseli blended poetry, art and symbolism. William
Turner and John Constable painted natural landscapes as expression rather than
observation. Francisco examined the foibles of humanity and indictments of war
ROMANTIC MUSIC- The industrial revolution brought better, cheaper
instruments and new ones like the tuba and saxophone, as well as the introduction
of more musical schools and the freedom to play with form and content – to appeal
to a wider audience. Romantic music embraced fantasy and emotion. Beethoven
bridged the gap to the period
Early romantics included Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann – embodying the
depths, contradictions and tensions of the romantic spirit; ardent and dreamy,
vehement and visionary. In Germany Richard Wagner wrote operas about
Germanic mythology inspired nationalism through culture. Giuseppe Verdi wrote
operas in which the chorus contained thinly disguised appeals to Italian nationalism.
Frederic Chopin wrote operas, which were sometimes based on Polish folklore, and
reflected his Polish nationalism. He kept up an affair with George Sand
ROMANTIC/POLITICAL MOVEMENTS – Inspired and united national
movements, revolt against foreign control. Writers were non-conformist, political
and creative. Cultural Nationalism grew, especially in Germany with Herders idea
of the Volksgeist (National Character).