The Romantic Movement

The Romantic Movement in Europe was both a revolt and a revival, a philosophy of life as well as of art. In the earliest expressions of romantic theory by Rousseau and Diderot, it is seen as a revolt against rationalism. In Great Britain and Italy it appears as a revolt against classicism, in Spain as a revival of the tradition of the Moorish courts, and in Germany, where it excited the greatest enthusiasm, as both a revolt against rationalism and a revival of the Gothic and Germanic. Despite the differences of aim and emphasis across Europe, Professor Cranston argues that romaticism was a European phenomenon, as universal as the Renaissance. He isolates its common features - liberty, introspection, and the importance of love; truth in the expression of feeling as much as of thought; nature seen as an object of devotion rather than scientific study; a tolerance of the grotesque coupled with an interest in the exotic, the primitive and the medieval; a concern for the value of intuition over ratiocination; and a preference for audacity over prudence. The Romantic Movement is part of the common European heritage, and its influence is by no means at an end. The book is the first to describe its philosophy, history, and cultural and artistic manifestations, and the ways these varied across the countries of Europe.

First published in 1981. This study concentrates on the exponents of the central period of German Romanticism, regarding as characteristic the mode in which the poet’s self becomes active only in response to external stimuli, most notably those of landscape. The author traces the main strands of thought and interests that preoccupy Romantic writers; the revolutionary attitude that is yet differentiated from that of writers like Byron by the lack of emphasis on individualism, the dualism of the bourgeois world and the ‘inner self’, the interest in language as an agency for the regeneration of the German spirit, and the concentration on folk-themes and the idea of Wanderung. This title will be of interest to students of literature.

A novel on two young people in love who are trying to make a science of it. The protagonists are Eric and Alice, both in their twenties. He is in banking, she is in advertising. With graphs and charts.

The Romantic Period was one of the most exciting periods in English literary history. This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the intellectual and cultural background to Romantic literature. It is accessibly written and avoids theoretical jargon, providing a solid foundation for students to make their own sense of the poetry, fiction and other creative writing that emerged as part of the Romantic literary tradition.

In 850 analytical articles, this two-volume set explores the developments that influenced the profound changes in thought and sensibility during the second half of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century. The Encyclopedia provides readers with a clear, detailed, and accurate reference source on the literature, thought, music, and art of the period, demonstrating the rich interplay of international influences and cross-currents at work; and to explore the many issues raised by the very concepts of Romantic and Romanticism.

The Romanticism that emerged after the American and French revolutions of 1776 and 1789 represented a new flowering of the imagination and the spirit, and a celebration of the soul of humanity with its capacity for love. This extraordinary collection sets the acknowledged genius of poems such as Blake's 'Tyger', Coleridge's 'Khubla Khan' and Shelley's 'Ozymandias' alongside verse from less familiar figures and women poets such as Charlotte Smith and Mary Robinson. We also see familiar poets in an unaccustomed light, as Blake, Wordsworth and Shelley demonstrate their comic skills, while Coleridge, Keats and Clare explore the Gothic and surreal.

Persuasion is a novel written by a famous British writer Jane Austen. It is a story about the life of Anne Elliot, a middle daughter of baronet Sir Walter, a spender and bluffer. Due to these features of his character, he found himself in a difficult financial position. He has to rent a family estate Kellynch Hall in order to pay his debts. Meanwhile, his most smart and considerate daughter Anne goes to Uppercross to look after a sick sister. In the days of her youth she was mutually in love with Frederick Wentworth, but because of a fear of a poor marriage, “reasons of conscience” and on the insistence of a “family friend” Lady Russel Anne stopped her relationship with him. But now after eight years, some incredible coincidence happens. The family that rents Kellynch Hall is related to Frederick Wentworth. Is the old-time love still alive in the hearts of Anne and Frederick?

This groundbreaking volume not only documents the richness of their literary contributions but changes our thinking about the poetry of the English Romantic period.

In this beautifully written and brilliantly reasoned book, Ayn Rand throws a new light on the nature of art and its purpose in human life. Once again Miss Rand eloquently demonstrates her refusal to let popular catchwords and conventional ideas stand between her and the truth as she has discovered it. The Romantic Manifesto takes its place beside The Fountainhead as one of the most important achievements of our time.