AP European History Ms. Tully Ch. 21/Unit 3 Romanticism AP European History Ms. Tully Ch. 21/Unit 3
What is Romanticism? Cultural and artistic movement of the 19th C Revolt against 18th C Enlightenment & Classicism Emotion over reason! Emphasis on intuition, feeling, emotion, and imagination as ways of knowing Began in 1790s, peaked in 1820s Mostly in Northern Europe, especially in Britain and Germany Glorification of the artist as GENIUS
Characteristics of Romanticism Individualism Individuals have unique, endless potential Self-realization comes through art Romantics often had dramatic, emotional lives - Bohemian
Characteristics of Romanticism The Romantic Hero – sentiment and individualism Solitary hero who was ready to defy the world and sacrifice his life for a great cause Lord Byron
Characteristics of Romanticism Glorification of Nature Rejection of industrialization & middle-class values Viewed nature as awesome, powerful, tempestuous, spiritual Pantheism – identifying great force in nature with God Desire to return to country/farm life
Characteristics of Romanticism Interest/portrayal of the exotic, the occult, and the macabre Witches, ghosts, demons, pagan mythology Fascination with dreams & the unknown Edgar Allen Poe
Characteristics of Romanticism Fascination with History Grimm Brothers & Hans Christian Anderson – preserved German/Danish fairy tales Revival of medieval Gothic architecture – idealized Middle Ages Historical studies promoted the growth of national aspirations
Characteristics of Romanticism Nationalism Synthesis of history & emotional intensity Reaction to revolutions and upheavals
Poetry Best embodiment of artistic characteristics of Romanticism Flourished in Britain William Wordsworth Samuel Taylor Coleridge Lord Byron Percy Bysshe Shelley John Keats William Blake
“Daffodils” I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze
“Ode to Melancholy” No, no, go not to Lethe, neither twist Wolf's-bane, tight-rooted, for its poisonous wine; Nor suffer thy pale forehead to be kiss'd By nightshade, ruby grape of Proserpine; Make not your rosary of yew-berries, Nor let the beetle, nor the death-moth be Your mournful Psyche, nor the downy owl A partner in your sorrow's mysteries; For shade to shade will come too drowsily, And drown the wakeful anguish of the soul.
Literature – The Great Age of the Novel The Gothic Novel Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte (1847) Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte (1847)
Literature – The Great Age of the Novel The Historical Novel Ivanhoe – Sir Walter Scott (1819) The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Victor Hugo (1831) Les Miserables – Victor Hugo (1862) The Three Musketeers – Alexander Dumas (1844)
Literature – The Great Age of the Novel The Science-Fiction Novel Frankenstein - Mary Shelley (1817) Dracula – Bramm Stoker (1897)
Romanticism in Art Eugene Delacroix (1798- 1863) French Dramatic, colorful, exotic paintings Considered greatest Romantic painter
Romanticism in Art Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) German Preoccupation with God and nature – lots of landscapes
Romanticism in Art Joseph M. W. Turner (1775-1851) English Colorful, dramatic landscapes – demonstrate power and terror of nature
Romanticism in Art John Constable (1776- 1837) English Gentle country landscapes
Romanticism in Music Romanticism realized most fully and permanently its goals of free expression and emotional intensity in music Expansion to full orchestra Glorification/fame of the musician Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Contrasting themes and tones – dramatic and emotional music “Beethoven’s music opens the flood gates of fear, of terror, of horror, of pain, and arouses that longing for the eternal which is the essence of Romanticism. He is thus a pure Romantic composer.”
The Political Implications Romanticism could reinforce the greatest themes of political liberalism or political conservatism Contributed to growing nationalist movements The uniqueness of cultures was emphasized