Romantic Period

Question 1

The Wreck of Hope/Sea of Ice

Answer 1

Romantic painting by (1823-1824) by Caspar David Friedrich

Question 2

What is the Romantic Period

Answer 2

A period from 1750-1900, originating in Europe characterized by responses to the social, political, and philosophical trends that were popular during the Enlightenment period before.

Question 3

Why was the Romantic Period so influential to the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries?

Answer 3

Attitudes and ideas practiced/celebrated by artists, writers, and philosophers during that time, gave rise to the innovation of psychology, radical politics, ecology, and experimental visual and literary art forms.

Question 4

What were some of the “isms” of the Romantic Period?

Answer 4

Nationalism, Colonialism, Exoticism, Revolution, Heroism, Passion, Individualism, and Nature

Question 5

Nationalism in the Romantic Period

Answer 5

Artists’ work expressed their love for their heritage and birthplace.

Question 6

Revolution

Answer 6

Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution caused drastic social and political changes in Europe which was reflected in art.

Question 7

Colonialism and Exoticism

Answer 7

Colonialism in Europe caused artists to draw inspiration from other countries, they viewed the cultures of other countries as exotic and depicting these was known as exoticism.

Question 8

Romantic Heroism

Answer 8

Heroes in the Romantic period were more brains than brawn, they were not as traditional as the war heroes from other periods. Romantic heroism was more about using intellect and talent to make a statement about society.

Question 9

Passion in the Romantic Period

Answer 9

The artwork was full of strong emotions like love and sadness which matters of life and death. They allowed themselves to burst out of the confinements of reason, logic, and Realism and explored the full spectrum of uninhibited human emotion.

Question 10

Individualism

Answer 10

Romantic artists valued what it meant to be an individual, they were less concerned about global issues, and more so concerned with how issues affected people as an individual.

Question 11

Naturalism

Answer 11

Romantic artists were inspired by the beauty and behavior of nature, and often personified it in their works.

Question 12

The American Revolution’s influence on Romanticism

Answer 12

Since the U.S was trying to establish its own identity at this time apart from Europe, the writers and artists in the U.S. focused heavily on individualism.

Question 13

Louis-Léopold Boilly’s Portrait of a sans-culotte

Answer 13

Cast the common man as a muscular, heroic (and nationalistic) figure.

Question 14

Byronic Hero

Answer 14

English poet Lord Byron created a hero that possesses great talent, passion, and intelligence, but is at the same time flawed. Like Prometheus, the Byronic hero defies authority, rebelling against social constraints in pursuit of individual interests.

Question 15

Heinrich Füger’s Prometheus brings fire to mankind

Answer 15

Romantic painting about Prometheus defying the God’s and stealing fire in order to give it to humanity, which symbolized freedom & autonomy.

Question 16

How did Romantic philosophers respond to industrialization?

Answer 16

By shifting their focus back to the splendor of nature, encouraging people to seriously consider the feelings of awe, wonder, and even horror that the natural can bring about.

Question 17

Romantic philosophic view on nature

Answer 17

They rejected empiricism and the scientific rationalization of nature and embraced the idea that certain things cannot be rationalized or known from experience.

Question 18

What were the “isms” of Romantic Philosophy?

Answer 18

Idealism, Transcendentalism, Nationalism

Question 19

Idealism

Answer 19

Reality is a mental construct, and therefore, the only knowledge we have of the world is knowledge of our mental experiences.

Question 20

Transendentalism

Answer 20

People must become free and self-reliant by returning to nature and becoming closer to God

Question 21

Nationalism

Answer 21

The political legitimacy of a state is derived from some inherent unity or cohesion among the people that live in the area governed by that state.

Question 22

Friedrich Nietzsche

Answer 22

In “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” Nietzsche rejects the traditional idea of objective truth and instead frames truth as something that a particular perspective must always create.

Question 23

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Answer 23

American philosopher, who believed that there is a certain kind of knowledge that one cannot access through empirical investigation but only by turning one’s attention inward to the soul.

Question 24

Romantic Literature

Answer 24

It sharply changed direction from the traditional narrative and poetic forms seen in the Enlightenment era, and focused on the individual’s emotional view and experience, even if it was illogical, irrational, or mysterious.

Question 25

English Romantic Writers

Answer 25

William Wordsworth’s “Lyrical Ballads,” articulates is appreciation for the beauty of nature.
John Keats’ “Ode on A Grecian Urn” uses lyrical language to describe man’s relationship w/ nature.
Lord Byron “Byronic Hero”, details a hero that is more brains than brawn, focuses on his emotional talents

Question 26

American Romantic Writers (Same themes as English, more nationalism).

Answer 26

Herman Melville’s ‘Moby Dick’ & ‘White Whale,’ illustrates man’s irrational idea of controlling nature.
Walt Whitman’s ‘Leave of Grass/Song of Myself’ depict his first person connection to humanity and nature

Question 27

Gothic Writers (Use the Middle Ages, Superstition, and the Black Plague as the setting to invoke fear)

Answer 27

Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ shows the consequences of trying to play God and master nature makes monsters
The Bronte Sisters, ‘Jane Eyre’ challenges gender roles, and ‘Wuthering Heights’ incorporates disturbed characters and a old creepy house, illustrate when there is disharmony between humans and nature along with the terrors that can come w/ introspection
Edgar Allen Poe - THEE Gothic Writer of that time

Question 28

Slave Narrative Writers

Answer 28

Frederick Douglas “Narrative…” - strong abolitionist literature
Harriet Jacobs “Incidents in the Life…”, Feminist abolitionist literature
Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman”, BLACK Feminist literature, calling for Black women to be added to the feminist movement

Question 29

Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”

Answer 29

Gothic poem about Edgars inconsolable grief of the loss of his girlfriend Lenore, to the point that he sees death in all things, and then hallucinates an entire conversation with a Raven (nature/a harbinger of death) whom he assumes came just to taunt him in his darkest moments.

Question 30

Romantic Art and

Question 31

Romantic Art

Answer 31

The art celebrates the wildness and irrationality of human emotion and nature, conveyed through bolder colors, rapid brushstrokes, heroic and expressive sculptures. Works were very passionate with exotic subjects and settings.

Question 32

Romantic Architecture

Answer 32

Created what is called ‘Gothic Revival’, the buildings were castle like, Germany’s Cologne Cathedral
Architects experimented more with iron, steel, & glass in their structures like London’s Crystal Palace.

Question 33

Romantic Art Works

Answer 33

Eugene Delacroix’s ‘Liberty Leading the People,’, dramatic/boldly colored painting of war
Theo Gericault’s ‘The Raft of Medusa,’ depict a French shipwreck and the people who perished on the raft
Francisco De Goya’s ‘3rd of May’, depicts people dying by firing squad, also ‘Saturn Devouring his son’
JMW Turner’s Fonthill Abbey, painting of a white “downton Abbey”
Caspar David Friedrich’s ‘Wanderer above Sea Fog’ & ‘Wreck of Hope/Sea of Ice’ -moving nature paintings

Question 34

Music in the Romantic Period (lasted the longest, even after the art, architecture, writing etc)

Answer 34

Music was less balanced and structured and full of passion/emotion, the musicians were nationalists so they wrote grand symphonies to inspire other nationalists. The symphonies expanded to include more percussion and keyboard instruments. The pieces tried to mimic nature. Operas became center stage and had more dramatic solos (Richard Wagner).

Question 35

Romantic Composers

Answer 35

Johannes Brahms - Symphony no 1 in C minor
Frederic Chopin - Nocturne op 27, no 1\
Franz Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody
Richard Strauss - Strach Zarathustra
Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a theme of panganini

Question 36

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9

Answer 36

Was the first major composer to use voices and poetry in his symphony

Question 37

Romantic influence on Contemporary Culture

Answer 37

The 1970s hit “All by Myself” used Rachmaninoff’s Concerto no 2 as inspiration, Romantic chromaticism (displacing notes by a 1/2 step), to create emotionally unsettling sounds is used by Celine Dion and other performers. The “Star Spangled Banner” is a musical adaptation of the Romantic poem ‘Defense of Fort Henry.”