The History and Politics behind Romanticism

Romanticism is a movement in the arts and literature that originated in the late 18th century, emphasising inspiration, subjectivity and the primacy of the individual. Many extremely famous poets were involved in the Romantic movement such as William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Blake, however there were many more artists who also influenced the movement. Although Romanticism is seen as a literary movement, it is also highly political in nature. Romanticism was seen to have a large impact on Liberalism and Nationalism, two key political ideologies that influenced the UK and many other countries around the world, which highlights how literature has a large importance upon many other subjects as well like politics and the workings and structure of society.

Firstly,Romanticism can be seen to coincide with aspects of the ideological theory of Nationalism. Romantic Nationalism its the celebration of the nation, defined by it’s language, history and cultural character, as an inspiring ideal for artistic expression which raises political consciousness. It is unsurprising that these two movements have impacted one another as they found momentum at a similar time; therefore it was inevitable they would share similar features. For example, both movements are seen to draw upon the past, as Romanticism was seen to glorify aspects of the past, whilst nationalism was seen to celebrate cultural traditions and the natural diversity that was once prominent throughout Spain. The fact that smaller dialects have managed to rebuild themselves shows the strength of their importance. Nationalism is the identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations. Nationalism became a central theme of Romantic art and political philosophy, which could be seen through the earliest areas of the movement with the romantic focus on folklore, redevelopment of national languages and a focus on the importance of local customs and traditions to create a cultural identity. These aspects motivated self-determination of nations to regain their national identity. Nationalism’s focus on cultural identity was one of the key catalysts for the role of Romanticism. Early Romantic Nationalism was highly inspired by Rousseau, who advocated Nationalism as he wanted all citizens and groups to put the nation first before any other association due to his personal hatred of interestbased politics and class based society. Rousseau pictured a society without a ruling aristocracy, merchant elite or military class and saw nationalism as fuel for freedom and equality.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau ( 1712-1778) Maurice Quentin de La Tour, 1753

Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic, and educational thought.

Rousseau’s philosophy was a combination of the realistic and the ideal as he hoped for a better world. Rousseau placed an importance on free expression in the creative world, highlighting that it is more important than following rules, which later became a key characteristic of Romanticism. Rousseau additionally placed an importance on the return to nature like many other romantics.

Johann Gottfried Von Herder argued language contributes to the shaping structure of how every linguistic community feels and thinks, showing his clear support for Nationalism. Furthermore, Herder was seen to place a peripheral importance on the concept of nationalism: “he that has lost his patriotic spirit has lost himself and the whole worlds about himself”, further highlighting how he thought the nation someone lived in, had a large affect on their life. Heightened by his argument, suggesting geography formed the natural economy of people and shaped societal customs, this creates the idea that the nation is a key part of someone’s identity as it greatly shapes how they live. Herder thought the true German culture could be found by practising folk traditions. This shows his connection with Romanticism as Romantics often used songs, folk poetry and folk dances to illuminate the nation’s natural spirit, to reclaim traditional aspects. Therefore Nationalism and Romanticism can be seen to catalyse one another’s affect as they help regain national identity and tradition.

Self-determination was especially seen as a catalyst to bring about Nationalism in Ireland and Germany. This is highlighted by Irish writer, poet and lyricist Thomas Moore’s poem

‘The Minstrel Boy’, a patriotic song that has largely influenced Nationalism and is ranked as one of the most internationally celebrated and widely recorded Irish songs of all time. Many think the song was written in remembrance of Moore’s friends who were killed in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. The song is clearly seen to advocate national independence, due to the largely proud tone:

Moore used the image of a warrior musician to symbolise a patriotic figure that would be repeatedly found in Irish rebellions. The protagonist is seen as young man passionately devoted to fighting for his country, in the hope of achieving Irish Nationalism, even though he is not well experienced in warfare as he has to borrow his father’s sword. The song reflects upon the Minstrel Boy, whose music would never be played again after dying in battle as it was made for the pure and free and not for his enemy to ruin. It is no surprise that this song became popular with the people of Ireland who were affected by the war, due to the proud and determined tone of the lyrics. The song is of a traditional Irish air of “The Moreen”, further encouraging Nationalism as the Minstrel Boy, like many of the other Irish Melodies, is melancholy and nostalgic as Moore draws upon the key image of a harp, a romantic symbol for Ireland. Moore’s poem The Minstrel Boy can also be seen as a piece which fuels both Romanticism and Nationalism due to the contemporary Romantic notions of democracy, showing how he too was seen to agree with the thoughts of Herder and Rousseau who believed in fairness between the classes. It additionally became popular with those who fought in the American Civil War (1861-1865) and WW1 (1914-1918), as it does not specifically mention Ireland although it is about Ireland so can be used to motivate Nationalism in other countries due to the proud tone. In Germany, Romanticism was seen to influence Nationalism following the wars of liberation, as romantics aimed to glorify past traditions in an effort to make them live on. German Romanticism was influenced by Rousseau, due to his planned rebellion against the spirit of The Enlightenment, his strong emphasis on sentimental aspects of life rather than the solely methodical rationalised approach. The earliest origins of German Nationalism started with the birth of pan-Germanium during the Napoleonic wars. In response to the invasions of German territories by Napoleon,an advocacy for a German nation-state began to gain importance. Johann Gottlieb Fichte contributed to this debate through multiple lectures that he gave to the German Nation:

Therefore, he too, like Moore, advocated the importance of the nation possessing and celebrating their own culture including their language and traditions, key elements of both Romanticism and Nationalism. Therefore the nature of nationalism largely altered after the French Revolution and Napoleon’s rise. At first, Napoleonic Nationalism was seen as inspirational to other countries independence due to the clear self-determination and consciousness of national unity, especially as these two elements were claimed to be two of the reasons France was able to defeat other countries in battle. However, as the French Republic became Napoleon’s Empire, he was no longer seen as a catalyst for Nationalism but instead the reason for its struggle. Lastly Romanticism was seen to greatly impact the political thought of many Central European people in regards to Nationalism. After Poland had failed to gain its independence after the Russian army had crushed the Polish uprising under Nicholas I, the revival and reinterpretation of ancient myths, customs and traditions by Romantic artists helped to distinguish their indigenous cultures from those of the dominant nations and illuminate the myths of Romantic Nationalism. Therefore, Romanticism and Nationalism can be seen as largely intertwined as many countries learned the importance of respecting the traditional language and literature of their own nation due to these factors.

Furthermore,Romanticism has direct connections with Liberalism. Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law. Liberalism gained momentum in the 19th century. Liberalism and Romanticism were seen to have many contrasting thoughts such as the liberal focus on rationalism, whereas Romantics placed a greater focus on imagination and emotions. However, there are aspects where the movements can be seen to agree, for example on individualism. The conflicts between the two movements can be largely seen through their difference in opinion surrounding the Age of Enlightenment. Enlightenment is a European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries emphasising reason and individualism rather than tradition. Therefore, Romanticism was influenced by The Enlightenment due to the shared focus on the individual and a rebellion against the enlightenment, due to the importance placed on tradition, which the enlightenment dismissed. Liberalism and Romanticism somewhat agree on their ideas surrounding the individual as political philosopher Nancy Rosenblum has noted that Liberalism shares with Romanticism the emphasis on individual self expression and self development. This has been especially true in recent decades since the sexual revolution of the 1960s, a form of Liberalism influenced by romanticism associated with self-expression has become the dominant strand of progressive thought as the rationalist concepts of Liberalism that were born in the enlightenment have been left behind. Liberalism’s fundamental ideas on the individual can be seen in Romanticism, such as the want for an individual to follow any path is influenced by the Romantic notion of being able to flee from conformist notions of good and allow the individual choice to determine how they want to live, as Romantics resisted the idea that society could control the individual mind, imagination and creativity. The work of Romantics rebelled against these constraints highlighting the importance of imagination. Romantics believed that humans had endless scope for new ideas and ways of thinking and existing, an idea which was contrasted through much of the industrial revolution. Furthermore, the liberal idea of power coming from the people and democratic self-autonomy is similar to the Romantic idea of individuals acting on their own subjectivity and making change. Later waves of liberals were seen to especially inspire individualism, placing a strong importance on gender equality, gay rights, transgender rights and rights surrounding race. Their focus on these key aspects highlights how liberals also placed a key importance on people having the opportunity to follow their desired path in life. American Romanticism was seen to especially embrace the individual; it was personal and portrayed more emotion than ever seen in neoclassical literature. Consequently, Romantic and Liberal thought surrounding the individual can be seen as largely similar, as both movements value and encourage individual identity and choice.

However,Romantics disagreed with the liberal concept of rationalism holding a greater focus on emotion, which was seen to dominate much of their work. Romantics held onto authentic medieval elements throughout their work, such as medieval art and literature; they did this in a way to rebel against The Enlightenment, to prevent the ongoing process of industrialisation, population growth and the urbanisation. Romantics unmissable focus on nature highlighted their overwhelming appreciation of the natural landscape. Romantic poets felt that human’s internal lives largely coincided with the external natural world, due to the many emotions both were capable of, such as freedom, terror and mystery; this similarity between the human and nature highlights how nature is important to human life.

Caspar David Friedrich, Wanderer above the Sea

Fog, 1818 Romantics believed that a close connection with nature was mentally and morally healthy and were distrustful of the human world, which contrasted the social art of the enlightenment.

The movement emphasised intense emotion as an authentic source of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as fear, horror, terror and awe.

These emotions can be seen in William Wordsworth’s poem The Prelude. For example, the poem’s protagonist is clearly seen to possess feelings of awe: “small circles glittering idly in the moon, until they melted all into one track of sparkling light”, as they become enchanted by the movement of the water, showing the clear romantic pathway for imagination above the rationalisation held by liberals. The imagination held by Romantics, Wordsworth is shown through the protagonist’s fear: “The horizon’s bound, a huge peak, black and huge. As if with voluntary power instinct, up reared its head” and “growing still in stature the grim shape towered between me and the stars…with purpose of its own and measured motion like a living thing, Strode after me”. Here the protagonist is clearly feeling intimidated by the capacity of the peak in comparison, to the much smaller human form, making them feel belittled by the effect of nature. This is especially significant due to the character’s previous arrogance, further highlighting the effect of nature upon the protagonist, due to the large pivot in their character arc. This change illuminates Wordsworth’s focus on emotion throughout his work as nature clearly affects emotion to a large extent. The emotion of the poem can be seen to highlight his own feelings as the mountain perhaps symbolises his own anxiety of the uprising movement of industrialisation which would ruin the aesthetic experience of nature. This highlights how writers used nature as an authentic source of aesthetic experience to communicate their feelings surrounding the more progressive movements such as The Enlightenment and Liberalism due to the unaesthetic process of industrialisation as their poems drew attention to a need for a close relationship with the natural world. They instead turned to tradition and medieval aspects, as they didn’t seem to trust the human world and modernisation. Romanticism enabled the writer to express their feelings freely. For Wordsworth poetry, should begin as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”, which is clear throughout The Prelude. Romantics believed that a close connection with nature was mentally and morally healthy and were distrustful of the human world, which contrasted the social art of The Enlightenment. Alongside Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley and Byron were also seen to reject the rationalisation of The Enlightenment. Romantics rejected these structured approaches as they believed that imagination could convert the world into a reasoned vision to spiritually regenerate mankind. However, Romanticism didn’t supersede The Enlightenment; instead it offered alternative outlooks. In doing so, the Romantics promoted imagination over reason, and motivated individuals to experiment rather than blindly accepting things. Romanticism was characterised by its focus on emotion and individualism, clandestine literature, paganism, idealisation of nature, suspicion of science and industrialisation and a glorification of the past, strongly preferring the medieval rather than the classical. Therefore, although there are similarities between Liberalism and Romanticism, there are also some clear clashes as Romanticism was partly a rebellion to the social and political aspects of the Age of The Enlightenment, the scientific rationalism of nature and the industrial revolution, with a clear presence on aesthetic pleasures and imagination, whereas Liberalism was fuelled by these aspects.

Lastly, Romanticism and Liberalism are both seen to advocate ideas of freedom. Freedom is a core value of Liberalism, as the essence of Liberalism is the pursuit of individual freedom. Liberals advocated the need for freedom in society as long as it didn’t affect others’ freedom. For example, Liberals, encouraged free expression as long as it doesn’t harm others (hate speech). Freedom can be seen as key to Liberalism due to their focus on extending the rights for all individuals, however there are limits to these rights as they believed full individual rights should only apply to fully rational beings, so children didn’t have full rights. Liberals are additionally seen to empower the disadvantaged regardless of their circumstances of birth, placing nurture above nature. This highlights how the idea of equality of opportunity is key to contemporary Liberalism, as liberals believe a society must provide all of its members an equal chance to succeed and get what they want out of life. Furthermore, liberals promote a variety of thought, challenging conventional and often outdated rules. This is underlined by liberal thought surrounding human nature which challenges the largely limiting original view. This was a key aspect of |The Enlightenment as there was a need to challenge the established, medieval notion of human nature. This conventional view was largely connected to the religious doctrine of original sin, a belief rooted in the teachings of Christianity, that mankind was deeply flawed and imperfect. Dark Romantics such as Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickinson believed that humans gravitate to evil and self-destruction, showing how this section of romanticism is largely conventional drawing upon medieval views. These views can be seen as detrimental to freedom as they create negative stereotypes of human behaviour, predicting a way in which people should/ will behave disallowing room for positive change. Other waves of Romantics believed in the natural goodness of humans, however they thought this goodness was hindered by the urban life of civilization. Consequently they placed further importance on the idea that humans should value a strong connection with nature, as they saw nature as pure and a spiritual source of renewal. For this reason most Romantics believed it is not the human that is flawed, instead it is the modernised structure of society that affects human nature negatively. Liberals denied the bleak Christian and dark Romantics’ view that humans are largely flawed and gravitate to self-destruction, suggesting a more positive view of human nature. Liberals believe that human nature has the ability to bring about progress and humans are guided by rationalism and due to this they are able to sort out their problems. Here Romantics slightly differ from liberals as they think humans are guided by imagination rather than rationalism. Liberals see individuals as naturally self-seeking and they are naturally drawn to a situation in which they are independent, however man’s rationalism stops this leading to destructive selfishness. Sir Isaiah Berlin, a British philosopher, was complimented especially for his writings on political philosophy and the concept of liberty. He claimed that positive liberty is based upon the desire “on the part of the individual to be his own master”, therefore creating the idea that gaining one’s liberty is as much the individual’s job as anyone else’s, highlighting the progressive nature of liberal thought as they understood how change would effectively come about rather than relying on other people. Many Romantics were seen to achieve their own liberty as they went against the common values of society at a time of social change, instead of neglecting cultural traditions and looking forward they were seen to focus on the freedom of nature, alongside medieval culture. Sir Byron, a key Romantic poet, was seen to encourage the need for liberty in his works. His focus on achieving freedom can be seen as key in his poem “Stanzas” written in 1820. It is a short poem addressing his thoughts on war, clearly advocating the idea that although you are at home, or your country may have gained independence and freedom, there is always more independence to fight for. In turn, this follows Berlin’s idea of taking the need for change into your own hands to captivate your own freedom, creating a key focus on the individual. Throughout this poem he focuses on the fact that every class is deserving of rights through radical Liberalism. To motivate people’s want for freedom Byron draws upon the glory of the warriors of Ancient Greece and Rome, showing that fighting for one’s country is largely admirable: “To do good for mankind is the chivalrous plan, And is always as nobly required; then battle for freedom whenever you can”. These references to past ‘warriors’ who were seen to motivate change and achieve freedom, effectively inspire others to also fight for freedom, due to Byron’s allusion of there being a reward, whether it is whilst fighting or by being knighted. Therefore, Romantic poet Byron largely motivates a fight for freedom and liberty throughout his work and life, as later in his life he fought in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. He sadly died leading a campaign during that war, for which the Greeks called him a folk hero. His clear devotion to the want for freedom mirrors the core Liberal values of freedom and equality. Therefore Romanticism and Liberalism can be seen as largely similar due to their joint focus on freedom.

To conclude, Romanticism had a clear impact on both Nationalism and Liberalism in many aspects, as both Nationalism and Romanticism held a key focus on the traditional culture of a country, including mythology, art and literature. This is especially highlighted by Romantics from the UK, drawing upon medieval culture during the industrial revolution. Romanticism was seen to fuel the self determination of countries to hold onto national traditions. Nationalism, Liberalism and Romanticism all place a significant importance on freedom. Romanticism encouraged people’s want for national freedom as seen in Poland, whereas Liberalism placed a greater importance on individual liberty and rights, which mirrors Romantic views of individuals having the opportunity to follow their own path. However, Liberalism and Romanticism can be seen to differ due to the liberal focus on rationalism, whereas imagination was highly valued by Romantics. Romantic imagination is largely underlined by the predominant focus on nature, allowing Romantics to greatly draw upon their emotions. Emotion was less apparent in Liberal work due to the methodical structure of rationalism. Therefore, areas of Romanticism, Liberalism and Nationalism are seen to largely coincide, highlighting how, although Romanticism is generally thought of as a literary movement with a key focus on poems, in reality it is largely political, as like any movement it is influenced by preceding movements, in this case the Age of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution.