Characteristics of Romanticism
Romantic characteristic | Description of Characteristic |
Interest in the
common man and childhood |
Romantics believed in the natural goodness of
humans which is hindered by the urban life of civilization. They believed that the savage is noble, childhood is good and the emotions inspired by both beliefs causes the heart to soar. |
Strong senses,
emotions, and feelings |
Romantics believed that knowledge is gained
through intuition rather than deduction. This is best summed up by Wordsworth who stated that “all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”. |
Awe of nature | Romantics stressed the awe of nature in art and
language and the experience of sublimity through a connection with nature. Romantics rejected the rationalization of nature by the previous thinkers of the Enlightenment period |
Celebration of the
individual |
Romantics often elevated the achievements of the misunderstood, heroic individual outcast |
Importance of
imagination |
Romantics legitimized the individual imagination as
a critical authority |