Romanticism

Romanticism, among other things, stands for a literary renaissance, from 1830 to 1870 in Western Europe and in North America, bringing a different approach to writing in terms of style and topic. Caracterized by the use of imagination, symbolism and myth, nature and emotion.

Emphasis on the importance of intuition, instincts, and feelings as a necessary supplement to logical reason. Individualism was emphasized.

Main characteristics:

• Preoccupation with social and political affairs

• Realistic topics based on folk tales and ballads

• Plain feelings and true emotions

• Emphasis on individual freedom

• Nature in a typically idealized form embracing tradition

• Introducing cultural nationalism

• Exploring national history

• Imagination - mixture of factual details and adventurous doings

• creative, innovative, exploratory in approach

Main writers

John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and George Gordon, LordByron.