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Period: to
Sturm und Drang
A German, proto-Romantic movement. It emphasized the same principles of free emotion and opposition to the rationalist ideals of the time. -
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough is an English painter, and considered to be one of the great masters of landscape painting and portraiture. Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk on May 14, 1727, and he showed his artistic ability at an early age. While painting and etching in London, Gainsborough studied with French engraver Hubert Gravelot. Because of Gravelot, who had been a trainee of the great French painter Jean-Antoine Watteau, Gainsborough came under Watteau’s influence. -
French Revolution
May 1789 marks the beginning of the French Revolution, which would have great impact on the ideals and art of the Romantic Period. -
Major Events
1793: France declares war on England. -
Lyrical Ballads
In 1798, William Wodsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge publish Lyrical Ballads, marking what most scholars consider the beginning of the Romantic Period. -
Period: to
Romantic Era
Sources of Inspiration:
-Examination of inner feelings, emotions; imagination
-Literature of the Middle Ages
Attitudes and Interests:
-Idealistic
-Interested in the mysterious and supernatural
-Sought to develop new forms of expressions
-Tended towards excess and spontaneity
Social Concerns:
-Desired radical change
-Favored democracy
-Concerned with the common people and the individual
-"Nature should be untamed" -
Opera: Wagner and Verdi
The world of opera is dominated by two giants, Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner. They take the forms of the early 19th century opera and use them to create powerful and dramatic masterpieces. Verdi never abandons the basic elements of the Italian operatic tradition of expressive melody and vital rhythm; he infuses them with new dramatic truth. Wagner's works break with the operatic tradition of individual musical numbers. -
Major Events
1801: Act of Union creates United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. -
Major Events
1812: US declares war on Britain. -
Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen begins her second novel, Pride and Prejudice, before she turns 21. It was originally titled First Impression because the appearances of the characters created the plot of the novel. However, because the novel is also concerned with the effects of the character’s first impressions, that is, their prejudice, Austen found the title Pride and Prejudice more appropriate.
Pride and Prejudice, similar to other Austen novels, is written in gentle or Horacian satire. -
Frankenstein
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley, publishes Frankenstein. The work is still considered one of the greatest Gothic romances. -
Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer
The painting, by Caspar David Friedrich, hangs today Hamburg, Germany. The title translates to "Wanderer Over a Sea of Fog." The image is often interpreted as an intentional contradiction, representing both the importance of the man against the landscape, and the relative smallness of the man against nature's vast size. -
Don Juan
Don Juan, a poem in seventeen cantos by Lord Byron, is both highly criticised for 'immoral content' and yet massively popular upon publishing. The poem is the first and among the greatest examples of the Byronic Hero, a distinctive protagonist defined by his great passions, extreme talent, and deep character flaws. While Byron considered himself the personification of his hero, he also inspired the creation of the classic vampire; a disturbed aristocrat, who charms everyone he meets. -
Prometheus Unbound
Percy Bysse Shelley publishes his greatest drama, Prometheus Unbound, in 1820. Prometheus Unbound is the product of Shelley trying to create a combination of beautiful language with apocalyptic political visions. -
John Constable
In John Constable's landscapes there is a greater harmony between people in their surroundings.
(This can be seen in Leaping Horse, 1825.) -
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Victor Hugo publishes The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a work so overwhelming in its popularity that it inspires an entire historical preservation movement in Paris. After the work was published, major renevations took place on the cathedral of Notre Dame, many of which give it its current appearance. -
Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses
Franz Liszt first appears as a mature and artistic composer with the Harmonies, written for piano. Though a large portion of his work was created after the end of the Romantic Period, Franz Liszt was heavily influenced by Romantic ideals, and his music and poetry reflect the ideas and styles of the time. -
Coronation of Queen Victoria
The general consensus among literary scholars today is that the Romantic Period clearly ended upon Queen Victoria's ascension to the throne.
