Characteristics of Romantic Age

Romanticism was a literary movement that began in the late 18th century, ending around the middle of
the 19th century—although its influence continues to this day. Marked by a focus on the individual (and
the unique perspective of a person, often guided by irrational, emotional impulses), a respect for nature
and the primitive, and a celebration of the common man, Romanticism can be seen as a reaction to the
huge changes in society that occurred during this period, including the revolutions that burned through
countries like France and the United States, ushering in grand experiments in democracy. The
movement was characterized by a celebration of nature and the common man, a focus on individual
experience, an idealization of women, and an embrace of isolation and melancholy. Prominent Romantic
writers include John Keats, William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Mary Shelley.

Romanticism celebrated the primitive and elevated "regular people" as being deserving of celebration,
which was an innovation at the time. Romanticism also fixated on nature as a primordial force and
encouraged the concept of isolation as necessary for spiritual and artistic development.

Characteristics of Romanticism
Romantic literature is marked by six primary characteristics: celebration of nature, focus on the
individual and spirituality, celebration of isolation and melancholy, interest in the common man,
idealization of women, and personification and pathetic fallacy.

Celebration of Nature
Romantic writers saw nature as a teacher and a source of infinite beauty. One of the most famous works
of Romanticism is John Keats’ To Autumn  (1820). In here, Keats personifies the season and follows its
progression from the initial arrival after summer, through the harvest season, and finally to autumn’s
end as winter takes its place.

Focus on the Individual and Spirituality

Romantic writers turned inward, valuing the individual experience above all else. This in turn led to
heightened sense of spirituality in Romantic work, and the addition of occult and supernatural elements.

The work of Edgar Allan Poe exemplifies this aspect of the movement; for example, The Raven tells the
story of a man grieving for his dead love (an idealized woman in the Romantic tradition) when a
seemingly sentient Raven arrives and torments him, which can be interpreted literally or seen as a
manifestation of his mental instability.

Celebration of Isolation and Melancholy

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a very influential writer in Romanticism; his books of essays explored many of
the themes of the literary movement and codified them. His 1841 essay Self-Reliance is a seminal work
of Romantic writing in which he exhorts the value of looking inward and determining your own path,
and relying on only your own resources.

Related to the insistence on isolation, melancholy is a key feature of many works of Romanticism,
usually seen as a reaction to inevitable failure—writers wished to express the pure beauty they
perceived and failure to do so adequately resulted in despair like the sort expressed by Percy Bysshe
Shelley in A Lament.

Interest in the Common Man

William Wordsworth was one of the first poets to embrace the concept of writing that could be read,
enjoyed, and understood by anyone. He eschewed overly stylized language and references to classical
works in favor of emotional imagery conveyed in simple, elegant language, as in his most famous poem I
Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.

Idealization of Women
In works such as Poe’s The Raven, women were always presented as idealized love interests, pure and
beautiful, but usually without anything else to offer. Ironically, the most notable novels of the period
were written by women (Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and Mary Shelley, for example), but had to be
initially published under male pseudonyms because of these attitudes. Much Romantic literature is
infused with the concept of women being perfect innocent beings to be adored, mourned, and
respected—but never touched or relied upon.

Personification and Pathetic Fallacy

Romantic literature’s fixation on nature is characterized by the heavy use of both personification and
pathetic fallacy. Mary Shelley used these techniques to great effect in Frankenstein