Romanticism first appeared in England and Germany and
then in France and North America around 1800 to 1850. In this era, feeling and
imagination were placed above reason, and powers of creative genius were
prized. This era was shaped by series of revolutions, influence of
heroic/genius men and women, and a sensibility that responded to social and
historical circumstances. Thus romanticism was the era of artistic and
philosophical concerns, not a unified movement or style.
Romanticism in its beginning was thrilled by American and
French revolutions and affected by industrial revolution especially in the
towns of England. Desperate scenes of urban oppression can be seen in the early
poetry of William Blake. He believed that he “must create a system or be enslaved
by another man’s”. Another significant writer was Mary Wollstonecraft author of
the first feminist manifesto. Her words were echoed by later generations of
feminists.
Nature assumed a
new significance, as western societies became more urbanized. Poets and writers
of this era such as John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Wordsworth, Ralph
Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau often depicted imaginations of nature in
their poems and writings. John Constable was one of the greatest painters of
this era. His paintings skillfully depicts nature scene of commonplaces. Joseph
Mallord William Turner, and Thomas Cole are other significant painters of this
era whose paintings deliver improvised imagination of nature.
Another element of romantic era is the romantic escapes.
In this era western artists, architect, musician, and poets started to borrow
ideas and concepts from the past and from the east. Some examples are: Gothic
decoration of gigantic houses of parliament in London, Gothic style towers of
St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, Islamic and Asian design of John Nash
Royal Pavilion in Brighton England, and the Turkish Bath painting of Jean
Auguste Dominique.
A great number of romantic works contain evil and demonic
settings (Gothic Novel). American author Edgar Allan Poe for example created
spectacular Gothic atmospheres in his The
Pit and the Pendulum and The Fall of
the House of Usher. Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley is the best known
Gothic novel today which combine Gothic atmosphere with the romantic themes of
genius and the noble savage.
As
we study elements of romanticism, we realize there is no set pattern or uniform
style for this era. Geniuses like Beethoven created a bridge to romanticism by
breaking set classical rules. Artistic rules and regulations were loosened up
in this era and as the result we see more diversity in art, music, and
literature as oppose to a unified style.
Resource: Bishop Philip E. Adventures in the Human Spirit prentice Hall, Pearson .Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: 5th Edition.
No comments:
Post a Comment