P-105 Assignment

Difference Between Enlightenment and Romanticism

Name-Daya Vaghani

Paper- History of the English Literature

Roll no-07

Enrollment no-3069206420200017

Email id- dayavaghani2969@gmail.com

Batch-2020-22 (MA Sem-1)

Submitted to- S. B. Gardi Department of English,

                Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

 

Introduction

Both enlightenment and romanticism were key players in reforming ideologies in contemporary history, especially in the 18th century. These are two important periods which began in Europe and had produced notable individuals who contributed knowledge and works which are being currently studied and applied. However, enlightenment is focused on reason which grew in response to the middle ages while romanticism centers on emotions in opposition to the age of reason. The following discussions further delve into these distinctions.

What is Enlightenment?

Enlightenment, otherwise known as the Age of Reason or the Age of Enlightenment, was a very influential philosophical movement which started in Europe and later spread in North America.  This took place from the late 17th to the18th century (late 1600s to the end of the 1700s) which is dubbed as the “Century of Philosophy” since it was a time of increased interest and the desire to be “enlightened” on various fields specially epistemology, individual perspectives, and natural science.  This was in response to the “Dark Ages” or Middle Ages in which religion and superstitions were given primary power; hence, it was also called the “Age of Faith”.

 

What is Romanticism?

Romanticism, also referred to as the Romantic Era, was a movement that focused on subjectivity, inspiration, and human emotions as expressed in arts, literature, and music. This started during the late 18th century (approximately 1770) in Europe in response to the rational views of the age of enlightenment. The romantic thinkers felt that reason was overemphasized and that they should put more focus on the attributes of being human such as aesthetic experience, irrational feelings, and free expression.

The works of Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, and Byron were closely associated with this period especially in England. Victor Hugo, the author of the popular, Hunchback of Notre Dame, led the romanticism movement in France.  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a writer and statesman, was also one of the key influencers in Germany. Specifically, the remark of the German artist, Caspar David Friedrich, “the artist’s feeling is his law”, aptly illustrates the nature of the Romantic Era.

Difference Between Enlightenment and Romanticism

Main Focus

The main focus of enlightenment is discovering knowledge and emphasizing rational reasoning. It saw the individual as capable of something more and able to know more than what was previously thought of during the dark ages. As for romanticism, the highlight is the free expression of emotions and human subjectivity. It views the person as capable of irrational impulses and a believer of mythic symbols.

Etymology

Enlightenment came from the Old English word, “inlihtan” which means “to illuminate”. As its name suggests, the age of enlightenment seeks to illuminate reasons which give rise to innovations in various social agents. Romanticism was based on the English “romantic” and the French “romantique” which pertained to adjectives used for beauty found in nature such as rainbows and sunsets. 

What it Contradicts

Enlightenment contradicts the dark middle ages which emphasized superstitions and religion while romanticism opposes enlightenment which focused on irrational feelings and their subjective expression.

Time

The period which enlightenment covered was longer since it started from the late 17th century until the 18th century. On the other hand, romanticism began in the 18th century, with its peak from 1800 to 1850.

Most Related Fields

Enlightenment is more closely related with concrete sciences such as physics and mathematics while romanticism is more associated with the arts and humanities like music, painting, and poetry.

Some of the Key Proponents

The key individuals during the enlightenment period include Rene Descartes, Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, John Locke, Voltaire, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The proponents under romanticism include Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, William Woodsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, Allan Ramsay, and Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand.

Relevant Statements

Enlightenment was inspired by dictums such as “I think therefore I am” (Cogito, ergo sum), and “Dare to know” (Sapere aude) while romanticism was expressed through statements like “the artist’s feeling is his law”.

 Literature, for the Enlightened, mostly followed the same pattern. Rationalism required a simple yet thorough format that paralleled the scientific method, which allowed nothing to be left unnoticed. This format was a perfect template to be followed by intellectuals. For example, volumes and volumes of encyclopedias such as those by Diderot, scientific papers like the ones of Newton, and philosophical works all followed similar schemes. On the contrary, literature of the Romanticism era was highly diverse in form and content, all meant to evoke emotion. And sometimes the most irrational of emotion like horror. The Gothic aspect of Romanticism very much contrasted the ideals of Enlightenment. Gothic literature focused on emotions of horror and suspense. (Brians, "Romanticism") From an Enlightened point of view, these emotions were unnecessary and almost a polar opposite of what rationalism stood for; however, it is exactly what Romanticism stood for, unnecessary, idealistic literature purely for emotion. Emotion comes from the imagination, which opposes fact. Where Enlightenment tried to define reality, Romanticism tried to make up reality.

 Another way Romanticism opposed The Enlightenment was over religion. The Enlightenment intellectuals had worked to eliminate the irrationalities of organized religion. Discoveries that the earth was not the center of the universe had sparked notions that the Catholic Church was not the source of truth. This caused a great deal of philosophers to question the church and come up with their own answers to religion. One common belief that became popularized was deism, the belief that there is evidence of a god but one such god has no interaction in the universe. (Pailin, "Deism") There were people considered extreme Enlightenment thinkers who postulated the existence of no god, but overall most of the philosophers agreed that humans were a product of god. Romanticism, however, promoted that every man is divine in his own right. Again, Romantics used emotion rather than logic to express their opinions. The art of the Romantic era emphasized the individual and portrayed the human in an idealized way. Paintings like The Morning by artist Philipp Runge displayed humans in heavenly settings conveying the divinity of mankind.

Nature was handled much differently between the two eras. The chaotic essence of nature had perplexed scientists of the Enlightenment period. The philosophers were motivated to discover and publish the ways in which nature worked: how the planets moved, how earth was molded into what it was, how chemicals reacted. Additionally, the Enlightenment thinkers were well aware of the powers of nature and the dangers it proposed. On the contrary, Romantic artists were aware of the inherent power, but they were not concerned of dangers, but the beauty and spiritualness of nature. They looked to capture the awe of nature with fantastic paintings. Many authors wrote of the cleansing aspect of nature. Transcendentalist works like Thoreau’s Walden highlighted the benefits nature had on the human mind. It showed nature could serve as a vehicle for self reflection which could improve one’s character. Overall, the Romantics opposed the Enlightenment thinkers will to define how nature worked and instead cherished the complexity of nature. Romanticism had been a reaction to the excess of strict rationalism of the Enlightenment period just as The Enlightenment had been a reaction to a state and church overrun with ignorance. While the Enlightenment movement had thought faith and feeling distorted truth, the Romantics felt truth destroyed emotion. Inherently, each’s ideals were opposite. Nonetheless, out of the two came Modernism, a different movement that used both reason and emotion to create change; a time where science and art could coexist. Modernism, like the previous periods, had devoted itself to overturn traditional values. New inventors and scientist like Edison and Einstein revolutionized the world with their discoveries, and radical new forms of art, experimental in nature, were popularized by people such as Picasso. In addition, Modernism rejected religion as its conformity limited scientific progress and human feeling. ("History of Modernism") Lastly, once again, the Modernist period promoted the individual just as Romanticism and Enlightenment had done before. The uniqueness of humankind was emphasized and progress was made. Romanticism had opposed the Enlightenment, yet a combination of the two had been produced.

To Conclude we can summarize that.....

 Both enlightenment and romanticism were key players in reforming ideologies in contemporary history.

 The proponents of enlightenment argued that ignorance regarding the sciences was detrimental to the society.

 The romantic thinkers felt that reason was overemphasized and that they should put more focus on the attributes of being human.

 Enlightenment is the age of reason while romanticism is focused on human emotion.

 Enlightenment (late 17th to 18th century) contradicted the dark ages while romanticism (late 18th century) opposed enlightenment.

 Enlightenment is more associated with natural science while romanticism is more closely linked with arts and humanities.

 Some of the key persons under enlightenment are Descartes, Newton, Bacon, Locke, Voltaire, and Rousseau while those under romanticism are Goethe, Woodsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Ramsay, and Chateaubriand.

 Enlightenment was inspired by the statements: “I think therefore I am” and “Dare to know” while romanticism was best illustrated with: “The artist’s feeling is his law”.

References:

• Heath, Duncan and Boreham, Judy. Introducing Romanticism. North Road, London: Icon Books Ltd., 2014. Print.

• Hill, Jonathan. Faith in the Age of Reason: The Enlightenment from Galileo to Kant. Downers   Grove, IL:  IVP Books, 2004. Print. 

• Mee, Jon. Romanticism, Enthusiasm, and Regulation. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.

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