Introducing Romanticism

The age of “High Romanticism” made the word a focus for hopes of revolution and social change in the future. It became a political term.

Romanticism, for want of any better word, came to stand for this new experience of the world. The true Romantic was not an over-sensitive dreamer, but a heroic figure facing head-on the painful realities of his time – a figure of genius.

the free expression of imagination and association.

authenticity, integrity and spontaneity. It was seen as a positive artistic and intellectual assertion of the extremes in the human psyche, the areas of experience beyond logic and reason which could only be expressed in a direct and heartfelt way. These new concerns were seen as a valid response to the extremes of change and uncertainty which the age itself displayed.

Romantic” had in fact been used since the Renaissance to suggest free expression of the imagination in the arts, but mainly in a negative sense. Romantic imaginings were thought to interfere with the clarity of the art form, and so lay beyond the bounds of proper subject-matter. The emerging Romantic spirit of 18th century England was seen by some as a revival of Elizabethan literature and its “Gothic” tendencies. English Romanticism has been described as a “renaissance of the Renaissance”.

The medieval romance or romaunt came to mean a tale of chivalry written in one of these romance languages, usually in verse, and often taking the form of a quest.

Our colloquial use of “romance” and “romantic” to describe intense emotional experiences