Romanticism and the Enlightenment

To what extent did Romanticism challenge Enlightenment views of human beings and the natural world and how did this challenge illustrate changes between the Enlightenment and Romantic views of the relationship between God and the individual?


Delacroix
Keats




I. Intro
II. Goethe/Faust
III. Shelley
IV. Lord Byron
V. Conclusion


The age of Romanticism was not only a time of change for Europe, but a time of progress.  The Enlightenment had been all about reason, which had sucked all feeling out of the age.  Romanticism changed all of that by bringing in the age of emotions.  Instead of creating art to get paid, people created art to express themselves.  Romantic artists and writers, such as Goethe, Shelley, and Lord Byron used their emotions to create art that would modernize and secularize Europe.


Goethe was a German writer most commonly associated with the Romantic concept of Strurm und Drang.  One of his most famous works shows the very core of European fiction changing into more Romantic pieces.  This work follows his hero Faust, and Faust starts off fighting medieval horrors.  However, as time goes on, Faust begins fighting, not against monsters, but against the supernatural and society.  This is making the leap from scary stories to stories that question the foundation of religion and society.  He is writing from emotion and conflict within himself, not from reason.


Shelley was an English poet who literally wrote the book on atheism.  Because he was not tied down to any moral code on the basis of religion, he was able to pursue his art in any way he wished.  He also had the ability to view life without a threat of Hell at the end, which meant that thee were no consequences for what he did in his life.  This philosophy ended in him leaving his wife for another woman, and feeling totally guilt free about it because he had to be in love to write love poems.  He was consistently looking out for himself, which resulted in not only an immoral life without God, but great poetry.


Delacroix was a French artist who created Liberty Leading the People.  This painting outlines some of the major differences between the Enlightenment and Romanticism.  In Liberty Leading the People, Delacroix uses bright colors to draw attention to different parts of the painting.  It is obvious the pain that is in the painting is shared by him, but there is more than just one raw emotion.  His depiction of Liberty looks bedraggled and beat up, but she also has determination and pride, which is also shared by Delacroix.  He put every one of his hopes and  fears for his country into his painting, which is the difference between the two ages.


The Enlightenment, while extremely beneficial to more scientific parts of Europe's history, does not hold a candle to Romanticism in terms of creativity.  Romanticism gave the world artists whose works were a reflection of their souls, which is still considered a modern concept.  Anything that continues to remain modern over hundreds of years should be considered something special.  The raw emotion of Goethe, Shelley, Delacroix, and other Romantic artists transformed Europe from a God-fearing, reason-seeking place to a place of emotional density and secular beauty from within.