Romanticism

Throughout the history of civilization, there has only been one school of philosophy that has effected every human being, this philosophy is Romanticism.  Romanticism is not a singular movement; it is a series of movements and changes that affect everything including art, religion, literature, science, and leadership.  Because Romanticism did not originate from a single movement, all romantics are not the same; in fact most have radically different ideas and beliefs.  However, unlike many philosophies, the differences are necessary because Romanticism is a progressive philosophy that relies on modernistic motifs.

Many romantics believe that Romanticism originated in a late 18th century revolt against Neoclassism and Rationalism, both of which dominated the philosophical world as well as the emotional.  Romantic poets such as William Wordsworth, Persey Bysshe Shelley, William Blake, and John Keats typify this branch of Romanticism with their public outcry against current conventions and their personal yearning for a more creative and spontaneous way of life.  Romantic literature also rebelled against the ethics of 18th century reason.  It stressed emotion, faith, and intuition instead of organized religion, politics, and science.  Although the birth Romanticism is credited to European art, it is more known for it's influences on literature and poetry.  Unlike other approaches to life, Romanticism did not set a particular style but instead freed authors to feed their philosophical hunger.  In contrast to eras such as Neoclassicism and the Victorian epoch, Romanticism focused on nature and the natural rather than a deliberate objective. 

Beginning in French and German art, Romanticism was one of the first and few styles to be truly spontaneous.  Prior to the creation of Romanticism, Neogothicism, characterized by dark religious images, was the most prominent focus.  However, after German painters Runge and Fredrick created a new landscape art based on the divine spark found naturally in nature, the worlds of art and literature were never the same.

A crucial tenet of Romanticism is a deepened appreciation of the beauties of nature.  Although not all romantics take to the woods as Henry David Thoreau, most delight in the unspoiled and innocent life of rural surroundings.  Inspirational writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thoreau were well know for their ideas of living to live and not living to die - classic Romantic beliefs.  In fact, Thoreau once wrote, "I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately.  I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.  To put to rout all that was not life, and not when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived."  American writers such as Thoreau, Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allen Poe are crucial members of the Romanticism movement.

In England and America alike, the Romantic era was taking grasp of reality and twisting it.  By pushing aside reason, early romantics challenged accepted standards and philosophies.  While Romanticism seems to have dwindled, one can rest assured that there are still romantics taking advantage of life and living to the fullest.