Essay About Different Aspects Of Romanticism And French Revolution

Literature – A Mirror Of Society
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The literature of a country
is affected and influenced by how the people of that
country live. This paper will prove that The French
Revolution greatly influenced 19th Century French
Romanticism. First, the cultural values of the revolution will
be identified. Then, the different aspects of Romanticism
will be presented. The cultural values of The French
Revolution and Romanticism will then be linked. Finally,
literary examples will be shown to support this connection
between the two movements. Before the Revolution, the
citizens of France lived in a strict, confined society with no
freedom to express their feelings. Government had imposed
strong, unfair laws on the common people (Comptons
Interactive Encyclopedia “French Revolution”). They
wanted a voice in a stable government with a strong
economy (Johnson 105) and a strong sense of individuality
and independence within the people. (Moss and Wilson
180) Eighteenth- century literature was much like the
society in which it was produced, restrained. Society was
divided into privileged and unprivileged classes, (Leinward
452) with Eighteenth- century writers focusing on the lives
of the upper class. (Thompson 857) These writers followed
“formal rules”(Thorlby 282), and based their works on
scientific observations and logic (Thompson 895). The
Revolution gave the common people and writers more
freedom to express feelings and stimulated them to use
reason. According to Thompson, The Revolution “had a
major impact on Nineteenth- Century European Life.”
(895) It sent a strong wave of emotion and revival
throughout France (Peyre 59). This lead to new laws and
standards for the citizens, including newer, less imposing
literary standards. Romanticism marked a profound change
in both literature and thought. Romanticism, according to
Websters Dictionary, is defined as “a literary movement
(as in early 19th century Europe) marked especially by an
emphasis on the imagination and emotions and by the use
of autobiographical material.” Although this may be true,
there is no single commonly accepted definition of
Romanticism, but it has some features upon which there is
general agreement. First, it emphasized upon human
reason, feeling, emotion, and expression (Comptons
Interactive Encyclopedia, “Romanticism”) while
emphasizing the love of nature, beauty, and liberty.
(Leinward 528-529) Thompson defines Romanticism as ”
a major literary and cultural movement” that was inspired
by the imaginations, inner feelings, and emotions of the
Romantics. (895) If one term can be used to describe the
forces that have shaped the modern world, it is
Romanticism. (Peyre, 2) Romanticism has had such a
profound effect on the world since the late 18th century
that one author has called it “the profoundest cultural
transformation in human history since the invention of the
city.” (Comptons Encyclopedia, “Romanticism”) Harvey
and Heseltine state that “The outstanding characteristic of
18th-century French literature had been attached to
reason. About the turn of the century…. literature became
a matter of senses and emotions.” (633) They also say that
the movement of Romanticism “gave practical expression
to the new spirit…” because it recognized that the bounds
on literature were “too rigid”. (634) There are many direct
relations how the French Revolution influenced the French
Romanticism that followed it in the Nineteenth- century.
The French Revolution had a major impact on the timeline
and progression of Romanticism. Vinaver states that
“Neither a revolt or a reaction, Romanticism was a
revolutionary fulfillment… And this in turn explains why the
European event known as the French Revolution is at once
the climax [of Romanticism]…Its [French Revolution}
date, 1789, conveniently divides the Pre- Romanticism
[era] from the full flowering of the new culture.” (6)
Romanticism starts in about 1774, but does not take off
until the last decade of the 18th- century, the same time as
the Revolution. The French Revolution provided for many
of the problems and basis for many Romantic literary
works.