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	CHARACTERISTICS of ROMANTICISM; WESTERN CULTURE as BINARY OPPOSITIONS --Tom Gannon

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! ! !    CHARACTERISTICS of ROMANTICISM    ! ! ! [circa 1800-1850 . . . with intermittent outbursts to the present day!]                                   "You say you want a revolution. . . ." --The Beatles I. INDIVIDUALISM (vs. "Society"/social conformity)         --cf. 60's hippies, etc. A. Subjectivity--the Self, the "I" (vs. "objective," social "truths" & norms)     --authentic "truths" realized from "within," not imposed by social/religious institutions [e.g., William Blake]--> B. Rejection of tradition (especially Enlightenment [18th-century] Rationalism)     --exceptions: attraction to earlier (pre-Renaissance) folk literature, medievalism (including "gothic" novels), and exoticism (cf. the Oriental setting of "Kubla Khan") Important historical note: Romanticism arose at a time when the Industrial Age and the scientific worldview that began in the Renaissance had pretty much become "victorious"--and Romanticism can be seen, in large part, as a reaction to a "victory" that the Romantics considered dehumanizing, emotionally stultifying, etc. Basic Timeline/"Buzzwords" "Age of Reason" The Enlightenment Romantic Age 1600-1700 1700-1800 1800- "Reason," "Man," "Society," etc. "Imagination," "Nature," "Individual," etc.   II. EMOTION (vs. Reason)        -->lots of "!!!!"'s--like in this outline!!!! A. Emphasis on feelings, "heart" (cf. Wordsworth), sentiment     (--& sentimentality?!: "I fall upon the thorns of life; I bleed!" [P.B. Shelley]) B. Tendency towards melancholia (in the present) & nostalgia (for the past--thus medievalism, "returns" to childhood, etc.)     --> the "Byronic Hero": the melancholic loner wandering about the ruins of Europe, cursing humankind and feeling sorry for (and sometimes loathing) himself (cf. both Victor Frankenstein and his "monster") III. CREATIVITY & the ARTIST --the emotional, individualistic (& "special") "ARTISTE" who creates spontaneously, from "inner," even unconscious, inspiration and genius     --a notion of the creative process and creative artist that permeates our attitudes today: cf. today's rock stars & songwriters IV. INTUITION, MYSTICISM, & MONISM (vs. Reason)         --cf. New Age movements today A. Attraction to the mysterious (thus exotic, gothic, and/or night settings), the unknown--and the unconscious     --thus the Romantic SYMBOL: vague & "mysterious," supposedly inexhaustible in meaning B. Holistic, synthetic psychology--vs. analytical rationalism (the "meddling intellect" that. according to Wordsworth, "murders to dissect")--leading to--> C. Pantheistic regard for Nature and the "brotherhood of man"--(all part of the "One")     "Pantheism" = "everything/all (of nature) is 'God' or the 'One.'" Philosophies of the "One" are called monism, and much Romantic lit. can be seen as a drive towards a monistic union (e.g., Blake's "marriage of heaven & hell," Wordsworth's "marriage of mind & nature"). It's also probably clear to you by now that, against the onslaught of industrialism, science, and rationalism, Romanticism can be said to be a quite "religious" revolt. D. Organicism, vitalism (vs. mechanistic views of the Enlightenment): everything, the universe, the world, the mind, is "alive"--and grows, evolves, like a flowering plant (influenced by the realtively "new" science of Biology) E. Faith in humankind's intrinsic/innate goodness (Rousseau) (especially in rural (& primitive)--vs. urban/industrial--settings) F. Messianism & Millennialism: "apocalyptic" anticipation of radical revolution in society and/or consciousness ("and a new day will dawn"--Led Zep!; and "we'll all be one, and join hands, and....")     --cf. recent social anxiety/anticipation of Y2K V. Defense/Privileging (or Use/Appropriation?!) of the OTHER A. The Politically Downtrodden: ergo anti-monarchy (cf. "Ozymandias"), pro-nationalism (e.g., Byron's--fatal--support for Greek independence), and pro-democracy (incl. pro-French Revolution & Whitman's "common-man" persona) B. Children: more in touch with unconscious roots/origins/truths than we corrupted, over-self-conscious adults? C. Women: more in touch with feelings!?, nature, etc.? [sexist, no doubt] D. Rural/Country Folk: more in touch with the simple life, nature, real work, etc. E. "Exotic/Primitive" Races: Native Americans (the "noble savage"), for instance, more in touch with--well, all the stuff mentioned in V.A., B., & C.         [condescending "positive" racist stereotype?]     --cf. Dancing with Wolves, etc.?! F. Nature/Animals themselves     --cf. today's environmentalist & "back-to-nature" movements     [Other "Others": the insane; the elderly; English instructors whose first names are "Tom"] VI. [Poetic] Style: EXPERIMENTATION (vs. traditional literary forms)     In the (Neo-)Classical age of English poetry (to about 1800), most everyone wrote in heroic couplets, dang near all the time!--indicative of a love/need for "order" like the ornate gardens & witty, painted-up society that characterized that age. (The Romantics, instead, preferred mountains and the "wild" to such prettified culture.) A. Content (& emotion!) emphasized over form (i.e., content supposedly determines form)     --therefore greater freedom & "spontaneity" in versification--> B. Prosody: greater metrical & stanzaic variety     --England: (more) ballad stanzas, blank verse, Italian sonnets, irregular odes . . .     --U.S.: (all that, plus) Whitman's free verse! C. Language: greater "musicality"; tendency towards the vernacular     (Wordsworth: I'm tryin' to use the "real language" of real men")         --cf. the Beats, contemporary rappers, et al.