English: Romanticism
Romanticism - Man and Monster
Why the Romantic Age? In the Romantic Age a lot of new novels were born:
- social novel - novel of horror
- psychological novel - detective novel
- autobiographical - fantasy novel
- historical novel - epistolary novel
From the 19th century and onwards, the omniscient author and omniscient narrator were
used in the new genre the novel. These were means to explore new worlds
Literature is a mirror of society. So romanticism is the 19th century reaction to the Industrial
Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment and Reason: no more clinical reasoning, let in
‘emotion’ and ‘the individual’
You could consider Romanticism as a revolt against an established order of things: against
precise rules, laws, dogmas and formulas of Classcism
Comparison
Comparison between the Age of Reason and the Age of Romanticism
Age of Reason Age of Romanticism
- structured - unstructured
- ‘be home’ - ‘the world is my home’, travels
- logical - emotional
- rules - rebellious
- taming of Nature - wild, exotic regions
- rolemodels - individuals, special
- common mode - focus on individual
- reason - imagination, fantasy
- art = imitation - art = unique
Characteristics and themes
The main characteristic of Romanticism is love, meaning strong emotions. You can divide this
characteristic in three forms:
1. Love of Man
Social involvement: Rise of social novels
e.g. Multatuli (Netherlands), Dickens (England), Hugo (France), Goethe (Germany, Beecher-
Stowe (USA)
Human psyche
Some writers started to focus on the human psyche, for example Jane Austen with Pride and
prejudice and Sense and Sensibility
=> those novels were all about the social code -novel of manners- and was also about
psychological interest
Another famous book of Austen is Lady Susan: an epistolary novel
Bronte sisters were socially involved as well: they were maybe the first women who have
started writing books
Romanticism - Man and Monster
Why the Romantic Age? In the Romantic Age a lot of new novels were born:
- social novel - novel of horror
- psychological novel - detective novel
- autobiographical - fantasy novel
- historical novel - epistolary novel
From the 19th century and onwards, the omniscient author and omniscient narrator were
used in the new genre the novel. These were means to explore new worlds
Literature is a mirror of society. So romanticism is the 19th century reaction to the Industrial
Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment and Reason: no more clinical reasoning, let in
‘emotion’ and ‘the individual’
You could consider Romanticism as a revolt against an established order of things: against
precise rules, laws, dogmas and formulas of Classcism
Comparison
Comparison between the Age of Reason and the Age of Romanticism
Age of Reason Age of Romanticism
- structured - unstructured
- ‘be home’ - ‘the world is my home’, travels
- logical - emotional
- rules - rebellious
- taming of Nature - wild, exotic regions
- rolemodels - individuals, special
- common mode - focus on individual
- reason - imagination, fantasy
- art = imitation - art = unique
Characteristics and themes
The main characteristic of Romanticism is love, meaning strong emotions. You can divide this
characteristic in three forms:
1. Love of Man
Social involvement: Rise of social novels
e.g. Multatuli (Netherlands), Dickens (England), Hugo (France), Goethe (Germany, Beecher-
Stowe (USA)
Human psyche
Some writers started to focus on the human psyche, for example Jane Austen with Pride and
prejudice and Sense and Sensibility
=> those novels were all about the social code -novel of manners- and was also about
psychological interest
Another famous book of Austen is Lady Susan: an epistolary novel
Bronte sisters were socially involved as well: they were maybe the first women who have
started writing books
