Romanticism definition essay

The literary, artistic, and intellectual trend known as romanticism first appeared in Western Europe in the middle of the eighteenth century. (Faflak and Wright 13). Romanticism emerged in literary criticism as an aesthetic genre, but as an artistic movement in Western Europe at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it quickly acquired popularity and thrived until the middle of the century. Romanticism, which placed a strong stress on feelings and imagination, was a response to the disillusionment with rules and reasons that followed the Industrial Revolution in the late seventeenth century. It was partly a response to the scientific rationalization of nature and partly a reaction against political norms and aristocratic social during the age of enlightenment.

Essentially, romanticism denotes high ideals such individuality, beauty, and love as well as free spirit. Emotions, imaginations, and freedom being the focal points of romanticism, it follows that the main features of romanticism include an emphasis on individuality and subjectivity; freedom for one’s own rules; solitary life; spontaneity; belief in the superiority of imaginations; love for nature; and devotion to beauty (Faflak and Wright 26). Although the robust of enthusiasm and hope marked the initial stages of romanticism, its echoes lingered through the nineteenth and survived even better in the twentieth century.

Answer One

Frankenstein is Mary Shelley’s science fiction novel written in the Romantic Movement period (Dominy and Yeakel 108). Despite being published in the romantic period, almost two hundred years back, Frankenstein has remained popular and its persistence is still felt in the 21st century. The story has been adapted and reprinted in several and different ways with the popular figure of the novel, the monster, stereotypically accorded different icons to become intertextual. In 2014, a thrilling film Frankenstein, an adaptation of the graphic novel gave this romantic fiction a new life in the 20th and 21st century (Dominy and Yeakel 118).

It is no doubt Shelley had an astonishing, perfect, and multiple ways of arresting and retaining her audience by force. Perhaps, one of the excellent ways that Shelley uses to attract her audience is probably the use of the main characters and specifically the most famous monster, which has become the icon of the novel (Dominy and Yeakel 123). Frankenstein’s monster is definitely the most enduring creation of romanticism and this quality seen Shelley’s work retain a vital interest in its audience.

In addition, other than the famous monster, the solidity of this life-affirming and the sweetly optimistic novel is based on a central story, a perfect idea that taps into the fears in the modern (Dominy and Yeakel 137). Frankenstein holds the greatest place in the horror tales and retains its hold of the imaginations of the audience because it drives and draws deep from the audiences’ most fundamental fears about the imaginary invisible line between the dead matter and vitality, and their adequacy amid the alluring temptations of their idealism.

Moreover, Frankenstein’s popularity in the modern era is a product of Shelley’s central story in the determination and realization of the dream of Frankenstein (Dominy and Yeakel 142). The anxiety such as scientific and technological advancement invites the fact that humans’ abilities have outstripped their control over their creations. Consequently, just like in financial markets in the lead up to the depression, humans may end up being subjects to the forces of the creation. The popularity and the importance of this novel are quite clear, the moral that critics and readers get from the story, and perhaps Shelley’s clear intentions expressed by Frankenstein is that ignorance is bliss and knowledge is dangerous.

The literature used by the main characters in Frankenstein does not only describe the characters but also reveal the importance of the novel itself. In this case role of the literature unveils to the audience that they are products of their associate (Dominy and Yeakel 145). The protagonist, Victor Frankenstein is basically made up of the type of books he reads. The monster, which by accident spots the best world literary heritage, is also influenced by those forming his identity. The fact that monster seeks for his own opportunities and even in life and even prompt to take revenge on his creator is indeed a message sent to the audience that they need to courteous with their creations.

It is quite clear that English literature writers in the romantic period had one goal, to rebel against the views of the society and against the established positions (Rinaldi 23). Notably, most of these writers were indigenes of the middle class which was fairly established. They swiftly were tired of the self-serving individuals from the upper class and they demanded widespread and radical reforms across all levels, from government politics to the creativity of arts (Rinaldi 29). Much of the societies’ myriad works and social commentaries were found in poetical works and novels of the era. Mary Shelley and Jane Austen were romantic writers alongside other novelists who stood at the forefront in the quest for radical reforms. These icons had their novels standing out as clever repositories for judgment and social commentary, and today they are regarded as women of a public sphere.

Jane Austen is perhaps the most pivotal figure of the literary canon of nineteenth-century (Rinaldi 37). Her writings are undoubtedly an inspiration to both the writers and the readers of the twenty-first. Her combination of social realism and wry wit stands out against the traditional view of women’s writings (Rinaldi 43). Also, her strong-willed heroines challenged the effeminate, obedient, and weak image of women. Poetry and novels had been a popular genre identified with the women. However, such works were belittled as insignificant and trivial. When Jane Austen came into the writing industry, she proved beyond doubts that women were indeed solitary eccentric.

Mary Shelley, a British novelist, short story writer and dramatist is also a significant figure in the fight against discrimination of female in the romantic era. She is one of the earliest science fiction writers and her Frankenstein is, in fact, the first true science fiction story (Rinaldi78). Her wide English works have been incorporated into the contemporary fictional works. The themes in her fictional works such as locating female voice in a male-dominated world, creating identities for women as aliens and exclusion of women from science are evident in most today’s fictional works (Rinaldi 98). Although not a contemporary writer scientific, she is certainly among the inventors of this literary writing style.

Both Austen and Shelley had an overwhelming social judgment which to them could not be tolerated for class distinction. Although they were not deluded to possess Utopian ideals, they strongly believed that a society without class distinction and particularly without specific opportunities for a specific class and special quality of life was attainable (Rinaldi 143). These romantic writers are considered to be among the forerunners of the socialist ideal. Even though neither of the two writers viewed socialism as an antidote for class distinction, they were able to prove that class blending was possible.

Answer Two

A historical novel is a literary genre linking strong human psychology and credible dramatic plot lines. The setting of a historical novel is identified by some specific historical details (Gamer 495). Sir Walter Scot is credited with the foundation of this genre, which posed a great impact in the period of romanticism in Europe. Scott’s Waverly written in 1814 invented unimaginable passion for historical novels in readers coupled with imaginative adventures (Gamer 498). He blended a perfect figurative language with a purpose to portray living and real characters that were from both the humble classes and from the aristocratic background. The newly introduced concept of history was based on the ordinary persons’ life.

The novel Waverly is set during the uprising of Jacobites. It opens in the summer of 1744 and ends months later after the Culloden’s battle, when the Jacobites had conceded defeat and were virtually destroyed (Gamer 501). Scott writes Waverley at the time when Jacobitism had ceased being a political party but Scott holds that no nation in Europe had undergone a complete transformation as Scotland had. Notably, by 1814the life patterns both in the lowlands and highlands of Scotland had changed in terms of infiltration of ideas and wealth and in terms of government’s measures (Gamer 509). Edward Waverley is a young educated man of the Jacobite aristocratic family.

Waverley is a well-composed story of a hoarier creation myth in the days of Scott. He succeeds in compiling convincing details of heaps of junks and of the fishing-tackle. Scott’s lines and sinkers are swallowed by critics, biographers, and readers of this novel. Although there is no doubt that the novel indicates some inconsistencies certain in its account, it is clear that Scott’s intentions for writing this novel were oriented in the direction of commerce.

Scott’s Waverley, other than describing conflicts follows its own pattern known as a journey (Gamer 514). The events move from safe situations within an ethnic group and get into contact with other ethnic groups and share life for a short time then returns. Scott has also chosen a unique protagonist to be his hero; literary called a mediocre hero, who does not side with the extreme position. Moreover, the events in this novel shift from the main character to issues affecting the society. This historical novel also adds its specific features, particularly the sense of the difference between the present and the past, distinctive characters, and a historical setting (Gamer 521). In this sense, Waverley is not only a mixture of a historical and literary genre but it is also a subgenre in its own. However, it is also imperative to note that the terms novel an romance were synonymously used in the eighteenth century, the connections between romance and novelistic genres suggest this novel could be regarded as a subgenre of the prose romance.

Published in 1936, Gone with the wind is a novel by American writer Margaret Mitchell (Kares 2). The story is set in Atlanta and in Clayton County during the period of American war and reconstruction. Mitchell was greatly motivated to write from Southerner’s perspective; however, this does not suggest that her novel is invalid. She perfectly presents the periods of civil war and the aftermath. The novel depicts the sufferings and hardships of the civilians as well as the soldiers wounded during war times, their desolation and grief (Kares 17). Another element that identifies this novel is the question of Ku Klux Klan and slavery, qualities that not only give the audience a glimpse of the past but also categorizes this novel as one of the historical fictions.

The Last of the Mohicans is a narrative of 1757 written by James Fennimore Cooper (Sanborn 5). The novel is grounded on real historical events that saw both English and French conquerors fight against each other over a frontier land. It narrates the famous massacre that took place in 1757 at the fort of William Henry. Like any other author in the romantic period, Cooper explores and applies the basic characteristics that identify historical novels (Sanborn 17). Although Cooper is a writer of adventure narrative and focuses more on the of the America’s Identity during this period, his The Last of the Mohicans is a typical romance novel in which he establishes himself as an archetype in American fiction.

Moby-Dick is a novel written by American novelist Herman Melville and first published in 1851 (Boyden 25). Considered as one of the greatest classics of the American literature, Moby-Dick revolves around a voyage of the whaling ship Pequod in which the author narrates his obsession with evil and good, solitude and love, silence and speech using his knowledge of sailing. The novel contains all the terrifying sea adventures, battles, and giant sea creatures. Although some of the narration is based on the tall tales, most of the events in the novel are based on the real happenings that Herman encountered (Boyden 32). In as much as most of the contemporary critics surround this novel, analysis of the novel reveals that the author is not only carried with the events in the novel but he was present and experiences the what he actually presents in the book. The differences and similarities of the assumptions that underlay both the creation and historical fiction and how these conventions are subverted and obeyed in the Moby-Dick qualifies the novel as a historical one (Boyden 46).

Works Cited.

Boyden, Michael. “A Silent Spout: Paul de Man’s Moby-Dick.” Translator 19.1 (2013): 25–49. Web.

Dominy, Nathaniel J., and Justin D. Yeakel. “Frankenstein and the Horrors of Competitive Exclusion.” BioScience 2017: 107–149. Web.

Faflak, Joel, and Julia M. Wright. A Handbook of Romanticism Studies. N.p., 2012. Web.

Gamer, Michael. “Waverley and the Object of (Literary) History.” Modern Language Quarterly 70.4 (2009): 495–525. Web.

Kares, Julie. “Margaret Mitchell’s ‘Gone With the Wind’: The Everyday Southern Epic.” N.p., 2011. Web.

Rinaldi, Lucia. “Women Writers and Detectives in Nineteenth-Century Crime Fiction: The Mothers of the Mystery Genre. By Lucy Sussex.” The European Legacy 17.3 (2012): 426. Web.

Sanborn, Geoffrey. Whipscars and Tattoos: The Last of the Mohicans, Moby-Dick, and the Maori. N.p., 2011. Web.