Romanticism

Romanticism is the opposite of Neoclassicism. It is all about emotion over reason. It attacks the old order and suggests that the classics didn't work then, why would they work now? Romanticism was a search for identity and many of the early romantics tried to create a sense of American identity. There was also an emphasis on "I" or the individual, since neoclassicism had been about the group and it elevated the humble especially in the settings. It was all about the common man or the common place. This was the beginning of free verse because they abandoned the standardized form. Two key words that describe Romanticism are dissatisfaction and unrest. They wanted something new and the French Revolution was what started it all. A revolution is all about not following the rules and making your own. So the strict neoclassic rules were replaced by the free form of the romantics. In the past reason had gotten in the way so now it was time to follow instinct. Romanticism went on for almost 100 years and Neoclassicism for only 40 years.
There are 3 phases of Romanticism but they all overlap each other. The first is American Heritage with the early Romantics such as William Bryant, JF Copper, and Washington Irving. They tried to create a sense of American identity in their writing. The next phase was the Gothics who wrote about human nature (beginning of psychology). These were writers like Edgar Allen Poe, Nathanial Hawthorne, and Herman Melville. And the last group was the Transcendentals who wrote about nature, instinct, and intuition. The believed in oversoul or "we are God." These were people like RW Emerson and HD Thoreau.

-Callie