Romanticism
Romanticism, as a literary and artistic trend in European literature, emerged from the era of rising bourgeois revolutions and national liberation movements from the late eighteenth century to the early nineteenth century. It is politically opposed to feudal autocracy, artistically opposed to classicism, and belongs to an ideology during the rising period of capitalism.
The term "Romanticism" evolved from the adjective "Romantic". The adjective "romantic" was transformed from the French "Romatic" (ie "legend" or "novel"). According to existing data, the British first used it in 1654. The word "romantic" has always been "legendary", "fantasy" and "unreal", which obviously contains derogatory and negative connotations. It was not until the 18th century that this word gradually changed As a positive compliment, it is used to evaluate works and acquires the additional meaning of "pleasant melancholy".
In the late 18th century, with the rise of Romanticism in the European literary world. , the term romanticism became very popular, and in 1798 Franz learned the name of another creative method.
The European romantic trend of thought was based on people's reaction to the Enlightenment. The disappointment of the "kingdom of reason", the disillusionment with the slogans of "liberty, equality, fraternity" in the bourgeois revolution and the dissatisfaction with the capitalist social order arose under the historical conditions, as Engels pointed out: "and the Enlightenment. Compared with the beautiful words of scholars, the social and political systems established by the "triumph of reason" are actually an extremely disappointing caricature. "Writers at that time were dissatisfied with reality and tried to find ways to solve social contradictions. However, due to the different class positions and political attitudes held by the writers, two opposing schools of thought were formed in romanticism, namely positive romanticism and negative romanticism The former is a progressive trend, which leads people to look forward, while the latter is a reactionary countercurrent, which leads people to look backward. This difference is essentially two completely different reactions to the French Revolution and the Enlightenment.
Positive romantic writers dared to face reality and criticized the darkness of society. They targeted the feudal aristocracy and opposed the remaining feudal factors in capitalist society. At the same time, they also exposed various evil phenomena caused by the bourgeoisie themselves. Therefore, they are full of passion for resistance and fighting, and they place their ideals on the future and yearn for a new and better life. Some Daimai writers include Byron and Shelley in Britain, Hugo and George Sand in France, and Germany. Heine, Russia's Shishkin (early), Poland's Mickiewicz, Hungary's Petofi, etc. Their life practices and artistic practices were all in line with the bourgeois democratic revolutionary ideas of the time and the nationalities of various countries. Most writers are active participants in these national liberation movements.
This is not the case for passive romantics. They cannot face the sharp contradictions of social reality and adopt a passive evasive attitude. Their thoughts are related to the ideology of the overthrown feudal aristocratic class. They started from the single-life movement against the bourgeoisie, opposed the status quo, nostalgia for the past, beautified the medieval patriarchal system, and fantasized about looking for ancient feudal society. Spiritual comfort and sustenance. The emergence of negative romanticism is actually a literary reflection of the decline of the feudal aristocratic class. The representative writers include the German Schlegel brothers. Alfred Schlegel, Novalis, France's Chateaubriand, Lamartine, Vigny, Russia's Zhukovsky, Britain's Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey, etc. .
The rise and fall of romanticism is determined by the characteristics of the historical conditions of each country. As a form of literary and artistic thought, it first emerged in Germany due to the rampant power of the Junker aristocracy at that time. The class was weak, so negative romanticism gained momentum, and positive romanticism developed slowly. Only after Heine entered the literary world did positive romanticism gain momentum in Germany.
The romantic trend in France is like the sea. The waves are majestic, spectacular, fast and fierce. Its emergence and development are inseparable from the restoration of the feudal aristocracy and the anti-restoration struggle of the bourgeoisie. Romanticism first stems from the various obstacles set up by classicism. They fought out and won in one fell swoop. Then they fought within Romanticism. The positive romantics organized a broad united front including critical realist writers and defeated negative romanticism in the 19th century. Before the 1920s, negative romanticism reigned supreme. From the late 1920s to the early 1930s, due to the political victory of the bourgeoisie, positive romanticism suddenly emerged. and achieved a dominant position.
In Russia, the development of romanticism was relatively late. It only formed as a genre in the early nineteenth century. Among them, positive romanticism was closely linked to the Russian Decembrist movement and played a significant progressive role in the aristocratic revolution. Representative writers include early Pushkin, Ryleyev, etc.
The country with the most complete development, the most standardization and the most achievement of Romanticism is the United Kingdom.
Compared with other countries, the British Romanticism movement has the following characteristics: First, British Romanticism did not form a large-scale literary movement. It emerged in the form of the free activities of a few writers. Secondly, British romanticism has a long history, like a small river, gurgling continuously and lasting for 150 years. As early as the end of the 18th century, signs of romanticism emerged from the poems of William Blake (1757--1827) and the peasant poet Robert Burns (1759--1796). The poems of Byron and Shelley were the climax. Until the era of Queen Victoria (reigned 1837--1901) at the end of the 19th century, we could still read the poems of Tennyson, Robert Browning and his wife Elizabeth Barrett. ·The remnants of Romanticism can be seen in the poetry of Browning and others. Again, British Romanticism was clearly divided into two opposing factions. Negative romanticism entered the literary and artistic stage before positive romanticism. Its main representatives are Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey. Opposite to it is positive romanticism represented by Byron, Shelley, and Keats. Romantic.