Romanticism

Romanticism is an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that emerged in the late 18th century in Europe and flourished into the mid-19th century. It developed as a reaction against the Enlightenment’s emphasis on reason, order, and universal science, and against the early effects of industrialization. Romantics argued that imagination, emotion, and individual experience reveal deeper truths about human life and the natural world.

Its core concerns include reverence for nature and the sublime, a fascination with history, folklore, and the medieval past, and a belief in the transformative power of art and imagination. The movement stressed subjectivity and personal insight, explored the mysterious and the miraculous, and celebrated creative genius over conformity. It also fostered nationalism and a sense of individual freedom, engaging with political change in various countries.

In literature, key figures include William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Britain; Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley; and in Germany, Novalis and the early Goethe. In the visual arts, Caspar David Friedrich is a prominent representative, and in music, Ludwig van Beethoven helped shape the Romantic aesthetics. The movement promoted art as a path to truth beyond ordinary experience and emphasized the artist as a visionary.

Romanticism's legacy extended into Transcendentalism in the United States and influenced later movements such as Symbolism and modernism. It has been criticized for occasional idealization of nature and emotion, and for nationalistic or escapist tendencies. Nevertheless, Romantic ideas persist in how art seeks meaning, individuality, and a sense of the numinous in everyday life.