The Fourteen Characteristics of Romanticism
1. Medievalism - looking on the past to a simpler lifestyle (the good ole days).
''Written in the Close of Spring'' by Charlotte Smith
2. Orientalism - (exotic locales) places that everyday people would not venture.
Mystery - emotional stimulus.
3. Primitivism - belief that man was born inherently good. (Noble Savage - writing
by people of primitive cultures - Africa, Native American) Society makes them bad.
4. Progress - Romantics were not against progress but feared the effects on
society. Man could create a better world without materialism.
5. Anti-intellectualism - belief that everything is just not rational.
''The Tables Turned'' by William Wordsworth
6. Sentimentalism - (emotions) very affected by what they see. Raw formality.
7. Humanitarism - believed that all men were created equal and that you should
help others.
8. Democracy - supporters of the French revolution until it became violent.
Wordsworth on Helvellyn
Photograph of the gravestone of William Wordsworth...
English: Portrait of William Wordsworth by William...Agreed with the civil American revolution, used portage to fight for reform.
9. Originality - New poetic formats and genres.
10. Diversity - Authors wrote books and music, but did not write in one style.
Mastered the art of writing.
11. Confessionalism - art is a confession of the inner soul. Characters confess and
express how they feel.
12. Purgative Purpose of Art - authors believed their writings were cleansing their
souls.
''Lines Composed a Few Miles away from Tintern Abbey'' by William
Wordsworth
13. Protest and Dissent - Original Protesters ills of society and the church. Not all
authors of this era believed in this.
''Lines Written in Early Spring'' by William Wordsworth
14. A love of the wild and picturesque - Nature is almost a character in novels.
Nature inspires creativity.
''Pastoral Poesy'' by John Clare