1. Chapter 4 Romanticism and the Gothic
Right: J.M.W. Turner: “The Fighting Temeraire” 1839

2. A reaction to rationalism
Reason and scientific inquiry are not enough
True understanding comes through the heart, not the intellect alone
The “rules” of neo-classicism were a hindrance for the individual genius

3. Romanticism Nature preferred to Civilisation
Imagination, emotion and intuition preferred to intellect
Innovation preferred to convention
Radical idealism
Idealisation of “the primitive” (“the Noble Savage”)
Interest in folklore, folk literature – and “the people”

4. The Romantic Period 1
Often defined as starting with Lyrical Ballads (1798) and ending with death of Walter Scott (1832)
Had precursors in the likes of William Blake
Continued influence during Victorian Age, right up until the present

5. The Romantic Period 2
Golden Age of English poetry – (Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley, Byron…)
Golden Age of English painting – (Constable, Turner…)
John Constable: The Hay Wain (1821)

6. An Age of Revolution American Revolution (1776) French Revolution
Surprise defeat for emerging British Empire at the hands of their own citizens
French Revolution
Became an inspiration - and later a bitter disappointment - for radical Romantics
Industrial Revolution
Industrialisation and urbanisation contributed to the idealisation of Nature

7. The Gothic 1
Originally used in Renaissance as a derogatory term for non-classical, mediaeval architecture
Mediaevalism – renewed interest in the Middle Ages

8. The Gothic 2
In literature – a fascination for the irrational and the fantastic, the mysterious and the grotesque
Gothic elements in Romantic novels: (Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre…