Historical and political context of romanticism
When Homer sang of national wars, or Chaucer performed at court, or shakespeare
dramatised the chronicles of kings, politics and poetry shared the same frame of reference.
During romantic period, poets became active in political activities that had no poetic
precedence, as they lived in an age of democratic revolution, engaged in political dissent
and engaged with the people
Ideas and philosophies
Key philosophers: Kant, Hegel or Coleridge.
Karl Marx, communism founder, ideas developed and promoted a view of history. In extreme
form, the interpretation of this history is historical materialism
The influence of the Enlightenment
Key figures: Descartes, Bacon and Locke, and scientists such as Isaac Newton
Central tenet of the enlightenment was that through a spirit of rational scientific enquiry,
humanity could achieve peace and harmony
Some philosophers felt ultimate perfection was possible
Obstacles for reaching perfection were based on a prejudiced past, irrational beliefs,
emotional instability and extravagance.
Romanticism can be seen as a reaction against all enlightenment stood for, ans for much of
the 19th and 20th centuries this was the known interpretation
Romanticism is seen as a division between a neoclassical outlook and a rebellion,
Key characteristics of romanticism already gaining popularity: political idealism, attraction to
nature, fondness for children, and the questioning of orthodox religious positions
Intellectuals and artists realised enlightenment ways of thinking were useful but had a lot opf
limitations.
Romantics like Blake and Goya were stressing not the abandonment of reason, but its fruitful
partnership with and recognition of emotion and imagination
Blake: ‘Energy is the only life, and is from the body; and reason is the bound of outward
circumference of energy’
Blaney Brown’s sea of change:
The focus of philosophical enquiry began to change from objective to the subjective, and a
new generation began to explore the potential pf emotional and instict rather than the
conscious mind, of integrity rather than obedience, of sufferings, sorrows and fear as well as
joy, of the humble and natural instead of sophistication. Romanticism emphasises individual
expression
Impact of revolution, war and political radicalism
When Homer sang of national wars, or Chaucer performed at court, or shakespeare
dramatised the chronicles of kings, politics and poetry shared the same frame of reference.
During romantic period, poets became active in political activities that had no poetic
precedence, as they lived in an age of democratic revolution, engaged in political dissent
and engaged with the people
Ideas and philosophies
Key philosophers: Kant, Hegel or Coleridge.
Karl Marx, communism founder, ideas developed and promoted a view of history. In extreme
form, the interpretation of this history is historical materialism
The influence of the Enlightenment
Key figures: Descartes, Bacon and Locke, and scientists such as Isaac Newton
Central tenet of the enlightenment was that through a spirit of rational scientific enquiry,
humanity could achieve peace and harmony
Some philosophers felt ultimate perfection was possible
Obstacles for reaching perfection were based on a prejudiced past, irrational beliefs,
emotional instability and extravagance.
Romanticism can be seen as a reaction against all enlightenment stood for, ans for much of
the 19th and 20th centuries this was the known interpretation
Romanticism is seen as a division between a neoclassical outlook and a rebellion,
Key characteristics of romanticism already gaining popularity: political idealism, attraction to
nature, fondness for children, and the questioning of orthodox religious positions
Intellectuals and artists realised enlightenment ways of thinking were useful but had a lot opf
limitations.
Romantics like Blake and Goya were stressing not the abandonment of reason, but its fruitful
partnership with and recognition of emotion and imagination
Blake: ‘Energy is the only life, and is from the body; and reason is the bound of outward
circumference of energy’
Blaney Brown’s sea of change:
The focus of philosophical enquiry began to change from objective to the subjective, and a
new generation began to explore the potential pf emotional and instict rather than the
conscious mind, of integrity rather than obedience, of sufferings, sorrows and fear as well as
joy, of the humble and natural instead of sophistication. Romanticism emphasises individual
expression
Impact of revolution, war and political radicalism
