Is Romanticism still relevant now?

Romanticism has very little to do with things popularity thought of as ‘romantic’, although love may occasionally be the subject of Romantic Art. Rather, it is an international artistic and philosophical movement that redefined the fundamental ways of which people in Western Cultures thought about themselves and about their world. The Romanticism period is from 18^th to 19^th century. It was known as the pre-dominant literary mode of the first third of the 19^th century. The age also emerged as a reaction against “The Age of Enlightenment,” which emphasized on reason and logic. The Romantic Movement is said to have emerged in Germany, although the main source of inspiration came from the events and ideologies of the French Revolution. Though Romantic elements were present in various forms of art and literature back then, it was the publication of “lyrical ballads ”by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798. This perhaps introduced and bought about the Romantic Period.

There are several characteristics of Romanticism as literature has been the first branch of Art to be influenced by the waves of Romanticism, although the concepts remain the same in all art forms – Love of Nature. The Romantics greatly emphasized the importance of nature and feelings of awe, apprehensions and horror felt by man on approaching the sublimates of it. This was mainly because of the industrial revolution, which had shifted life from the peaceful serene countryside towards the chaotic cities transforming man’s natural order. Nature was not only appreciated for its visual beauty, but also revered for its ability to help the urban man find his true identity.

Emotions v/s Rationality

Unlike the age of enlightenment, which focused on rationality and intellect, romanticism placed human emotions, feelings, instincts and intuition above everything else. While the poets in the era of rationality stuck to the prevalent rules and regulations while selecting the subject and writing about it, the romantic writers trusted their emotions and feelings to create poetry. This belief can be confirmed from the definition of poetry by William Wordsworth, where he says that, “ poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” The emphasis of emotions also spread to the music created in that period and can be observed in the compositions made by musicians like Webes, Beethoven etc.  Beethoven played an important role too.

Artist, the creator

As the romantic period emphasized on human emotions, the position of the artist was seen as a person who imitated the external world through his art. However, this definition was uncertain in the Romantic Era and the poet or the painter was seen as the creator of something which reflected his individuality and emotions. The Romantic perception of the artist has been enclosed by Casper David Friedrich who remarked that, “the artist’s feelings is his law.” It was also the first time that the poem written in the first person was being accepted, as the poetic persona became one of the voices of the poet.

Nationalism

The Romantics borrowed heavily from the folklore and the popular local art. During the earlier eras, literature and art were considered to belong to the high class educated and lower classes were not considered to fit to enjoy them. However, romantic artists took no shame from being influenced by the folklore that had been created by the masses or the common people, and not by the literary works that were popular only among the higher classes of the society. Apart from poetry, adopting folk tunes and ballad was one of the very important characteristics of romantic music.

Exoticism

Along with nationalism, the romantics developed the love of the exotic. Hence, far off and mysterious locations were depicted in many of the artistic works from that period. Though, this was not exactly opposite the romantic ideal Nationalism, separate factions were never formed. Exoticism is also one of the most prominent characteristics in art, along with sentimentality and spirituality. Supernatural

Another characteristic of this movement is the belief in supernatural powers. The romantics were interested in the supernatural and included it in their works. The fascination for the mysterious and the unreal also led to development of Gothic Romance, which became popular during this period. Supernatural elements can be seen in Kubakhan by Coleridge, ‘The River of the Ancient Marcius’ by Keats.

As no romantic followed any strict rules and regulations, it is perhaps difficult to describe the characteristics of the movement accurately. But, some of these characteristics are basically reflected in the works of that period. Though many writers and critics have called this movement ‘irrational’, it cannot be denied that it was an honest attempt to portray the world, especially the interfaces of the human nature, in a paradigm shifting way.