Vs. The Other R’s : Reason and Realism Romanticism Vs. The Other R’s : Reason and Realism

Romanticism is not…

Romanticism is… Characters are commonly upper-class or “larger than life” Plots are unusual, mysterious, adventurous, and sometimes over-the –top extravagant Endings are happy – perhaps too happy Writing style is formal, loaded, and “tough” Setting is unrealistic and often fabricated

Other Defining Features of Romanticism Past – longing for the medieval, pre-industrial, or past in general Irrational/Inner mind/Insanity – depict the human psyche and topics that transcend reason Nature – longing for the purity of nature, which defies human rationality; nature is mysterious and unbounded Emotion/Exotic – favor emotion and passion over reason. Exotic themes and locales are popular P-I-N-E http://www.slideshare.net/gwfreeman/romanticism-and-realism-12286161

Early Am Age of Reason Romanticism Realism 1600s 1700s 1820s 1870s Puritans, preachers, explorers Politicians, inventors fiction and motivational writers satirists, social activists Journals, poems, letters, speeches, pamphlets, short stories, poems, novels Observations, sermons autobiographies , essays essays about life

Romanticism was a reaction to the Age of Reason:   NON-ROMANTIC/CLASSICAL ROMANTIC ~Reasonable and practical Emotional                                        ~Public Responsibility Individual needs ~Loves Public, Urban life                                    Loves Solitude & Nature    ~ External Reality Fantasy/Introspection ~Objective Science Subjective Perception ~Desire Repressed    Satisfaction of Desire ~ Mechanical Organic ~ ~Form/order Creative Energy/Power ~Mundane Exotic ~Bourgeois Family "Noble Savage"/Outcasts ~Materialist/Empirical Philosophy Idealist Philosophy Realism was a reaction to Romanticism…

R vs R 1820-1865ish 1865-1914ish Characters may be “larger than life” Plot contains unusual events, mystery, or high adventure Ending often happy Language is often “literary” (inflated, formal…) Settings often made up; if actual settings, focus is on exotic, strange mysterious Writer is interested in history or legend; the past is important in the plot Characters resemble ordinary people Plot is developed with ordinary events and circumstances Ending might be happy Writer uses ordinary speech and dialect, common vernacular Settings actually exist Writer is interested in recent or contemporary life