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.