History Main / Romanticism

Romanticism was a complex artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe. It has a complicated relationship to {{Romance}}, a term that has had many meanings, but very little to do with the current, popular definition of "romantic", i.e. that which pertains to love and courtship, although love may occasionally be the subject of Romantic works. Rather, [[UsefulNotes/TheEnlightenment it is the exact counterpoint to the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment]] -- that being emotion and imagination is superior to that of reason and intellect. Think [[WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory Dee Dee instead of Dexter]] though perhaps a ''tad'' bit more cerebral. The origins of the movement mainly rose as a response to the social, political, and economic changes brought about as a direct or indirect result of the UsefulNotes/TheEnlightenment, namely the Industrial Revolution. The individual has a central role in Romantic works; they are usually in conflict with the establishment and go through internal turmoil because of this. CharacterDevelopment usually occurs. The NatureLover is a very common figure and voice in Romantic poetry.

* Creator/FyodorDostoevsky (1821-1881)[[note]] His work is widely considered one of the major "transitions" from the Romantic era to {{Realism}}.[[/note]]