romanticism chapter 23. a reaction against rationalism emphasis on human emotion, senses, passion,...
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RomanticismChapter 23
A reaction against rationalism
Emphasis on human emotion, senses, passion, faith
Rejected Enlightenment’s view of nature as a precise harmonious whole
Rejected Deism (remember German Pietism)
Encouraged personal freedom Emphasis on feeling = humanitarian
movements: against slavery, poverty, evils of industry
Embraced History
Embraced ideals of Middle Ages: Honor, faith, chivalry
Gothic architecture: British Houses of Parliament
Gothic Novels Popular in Western Europe
In Central and Eastern Europe: focus on peasant life, folk tales, folk songs, proverbs
Early Romantic Philosophers
Rousseau: Social Contract 1762: Society and materialism corrupted human nature Man a “Noble Savage” in the state of
nature
Kant: Accepted the rationalism of the Enlightenment BUT preserved the belief in human freedom, immortality, existence of God Helped to establish philosophy as
separate from religion
Sturm and Drang(Storm and Stress)
Used by German romantics to communicate emotional intensity
Hegel: German idealist The Dialectic:
Thesis: Initial idea Antithesis: Opposing view
Clash of above = Synthesis: a hybrid of the 2 ideas
Fichte
Father of German Nationalism Anti-Semitic Address to the German People:
Developed a romantic nationalism promoting the idea that German culture is superior to all others…especially to Jewish culture
Romantic Poetry
Poetry was believed to be the best of all literary forms because it was the expression of one’s soul
The English Romantics: Wordsworth: Tinturn Abby Coleridge: Rime of the Ancient Mariner Brothers-in-law who collaborated on
Lyrical BalladsLaunched the Romantic Period in
England Hugely influenced by Rousseau Used ordinary language to idealize
simple subjects
Sir Walter Scott
Scottish Long narrative poems and historical
novels: Rob Roy: Poem about a legendary
Scottish folk hero Ivanhoe: Novel about a fight between
Saxon and Norman knights in medieval England
Both represented the Romantic’s interest in history
Byron, Keats, Shelley
Lord Byron: Don Juan, She Walks in Beauty… Fought in Italy against Austria for the
Carbonari Died fighting in war for Greek
independence
Shelley: Prometheus Unbound: tells the story of a revolt of humans against an oppressive society
Keats: Ode on a Grecian Urn: Great example of use of ordinary language to idealize the ordinary
German Romantics
Schiller: poem: Ode to Joy about universal human solidarity was incorporated into Beethoven’s
Ninth SymphonyAlso wrote about man achieving
freedom through the aesthetic of beauty
Goethe: Faust Seemed to criticize the excesses of
romanticism Faust sold his soul to the devil in
exchange for his experiencing all human experience
Germans continued
Goethe: The Sorrows of Young Werther Werther personified the Romantic Hero
who was misunderstood and rejected by society BUT stayed true to his inner feelings
Then he was rejected by a girl he loved Then he committed suicide
This novel influenced many others of the era with tragic stories of lovers
Germans continued
Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm: Grimm’s Fairy Tales: a collection of
German folk tales Influenced by Herder…Volksgeist Shows how German nationalism and
romanticism were tied together
France
Victor Hugo: The Hunchback of Notre Dame Les Miserables
Romanticism shown through strange settings, human emotion, fantastic characters
France continued
Dumas: The Three Musketeers Historical Adventure Background: Court of Louis XIII
England again
George Sand: Female writer. Themes: romantic love of nature and
moral idealism
Mary Shelley Frankenstein: First Science Fiction Frankenstein as “Natural man”
misunderstood and rejected by society and driven to murder
Romantic Architecture
Inspired by ideals of the Middle Ages Gothic style returned: neogothic Best example: British Houses of
Parliament rebuilt in mid-1800’s
Houses of Parliament
Romantic Art
Caspar David Friedrich
Mystical view of the power of nature shown in many of his paintings
Wanderer Above the Mist
Wanderer Above the Mist…Friedrich
Eugene Delacroix
Most famous French romantic painter
Dramatic use of color Liberty Leading the People
His most famous work Depicts the French Revolution of 1830
Liberty Leading the People
Theodore GericaultRaft of the Medusa
The power of nature and man’s attempt to survive its force
J.M.W. Turner
Paintings show nature’s power and terror
Wild storms and sinking ships Landscapes, seascapes, sunrises,
sunsets
Turner’s Stormy Sea with Blazing Wreck
John Constable
Rural English Landscapes People are in harmony with their
environment
Constable
Music Strong connection to emotion Connection to Nationalism through
folk songs
Ludwig van Beethoven The bridge between Classical and
Romantic music One of the first composers to
communicate inner human emotion through music
One of the first composers not limited by patronage
His later works were written when he was deaf
First to incorporate vocal music in a symphony: Schiller’s Ode to Joy incorporated into the 9th Symphony
Romantic Music continued
Franz Schubert wrote hundreds of German songs (Lieder) that blended music and Romantic poetry
Hector Berlioz: founder of programmatic music which attempted to convey mood, action through instrumental music Symphony Fantastique: The first
programmatic symphony and his masterpiece
Music continued
Frederic Chopin Showcased Polish folk songs and dances
Franz Liszt Showcased native Hungarian music Hungarian Rhapsody Greatest piano virtuoso of the mid to
late 19th C. Developed the symphonic poem (tone
poem): a single movement symphonic work that was based on a literary or pictorial idea
Music continued
Antonin Dvorak Folk music of Bohemia
Giuseppi Verdi greatest Italian opera composer
Richard Wagner Greatest German opera composer: German myths and legends Along with Verdi, considered the
greatest two opera composers of the 19th century
Romanticism and Revolution
Romanticism supported revolutionary movements that would give people more freedom and control over their own lives
Romanticism supported nationalistic movements that emphasized cultural tradition
Romanticism idealized revolutionary movements and had little real connection to political reality
Romanticism and Revolution continued
France: Delacroix
1824 Massacre at Chios Portrays Greek Christians seeking independence from Ottoman savagery
1830 Liberty Leading the People Idealized a popular revolution, and its bourgeoisie and proletariat revolutionaries
Romanticism and Revolution continued
Germany: Napoleonic Age propelled Germans
to a nationalistic view: individuals would realize fulfillment by being part of a national culture, united by common history
Johann Gottfried von Herder: A leader of the Sturm and Drang movement.
Romanticism and Revolution continued
Johann Gottfried von Herder (continued)
Urged Germans to study German literature, history, language in order to foster German unity
Believed an individual reached the highest stage of development by fostering a passionate connection to his national community: Volksgeist (Grimm’s Fairy Tales = national culture)
Romanticism and Revolution continued
Italy Popular heroes: Garibaldi & Mazzini and organizations: Carbonari and Young Italy inspired idealized nationalism
Giuseppe Verdi: His operas evoked strong nationalistic feelings In 1847 one of his operas nearly started
a riot By 1859 VERDI: an acronym for:
Vittorio Emanuele Re (King) d’ Italia 12 years later Victor Emmanuel was
king of a united Italy
The End of Romanticism
The failures of so many revolutions in 1848 led to disenchantment with Romanticism and the rise of Realism.