Summary
Highlights
The video begins by challenging the common misconception of Romanticism as solely linked to romantic love. It promises to explore the movement's true nature, origins, development, and characteristics, advising viewers to consult a blog for a deeper historical dive.
The term 'romantic,' from which 'Romanticism' derives, first appeared in England in the mid-17th century. Initially, it held a pejorative meaning, referring to something fantastic, idealistic, or absurd, particularly during a century marked by scientific revolution and significant societal crises. By the 18th century, it also acquired the meaning of 'picturesque' and spread to Germany, a nation interested in legends and folk songs. Towards the end of the 18th century, with Rousseau's 'Julie, or the New Heloise,' the term began to signify something magical, supernatural, and captivating to the spirit and senses.
Romanticism emerged as a literary, cultural, and artistic movement at the end of the 18th century, simultaneously in Germany and England. Its programmatic core is found in the 'Athenaeum,' a magazine published by the Schlegel brothers in 1798. The pre-Romantic movement 'Sturm und Drang' (storm and stress), meaning 'upheaval and impulse,' also heavily influenced Romanticism, foreshadowing its core values.
Throughout the 19th century, Romanticism both opposed and developed alongside Enlightenment thought. Romanticism embraced idealism, contrasting with Enlightenment rationalism. While Enlightenment thinkers were cosmopolitans, Romantics fostered a strong sense of national identity, often linking nationalism with historicism. Socially, the Romantics, often an intellectual elite, stood apart from the bourgeois society. Spiritually, Romantics held a sense of religiosity, while Enlightenment thinkers were often atheists or deists.
The myth of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods to give to humanity and suffered eternal punishment, embodies the Romantic spirit. This led to 'Titanism,' a heroic vitalism embraced by Romantics. However, not all could be winners, leading to 'Victimism,' where heroes fail in their endeavors and experience melancholy.
Romanticism permeated cultural institutions through salons, cultural centers, and public schools. It gave rise to various literary genres, including gothic, fantastic, historical, realistic, social, and sentimental novels.
Key examples include Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' for the gothic genre, Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick' for the fantastic, Walter Scott's 'Ivanhoe' and Victor Hugo's 'Les Misérables' for historical novels, and Émile Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights' for the sentimental genre, showcasing deep passion and suffering.
For Romantics, poetry represented an infinite and eternal presence, with the poet as a king and poetry as pure intuition. In Italy, Romanticism ignited debate between Romantics and classicists, following an article by Madame de Staël advocating for the modernization of Italian literature. Giovanni Berchet responded with 'Lettera semiseria di Grisostomo al suo figliolo,' outlining literary advice. Berchet was also an editor for 'Il Conciliatore,' a Milanese journal and a key organ of Romanticism. Italian Romanticism saw major contributions from Alessandro Manzoni and Giacomo Leopardi.