Defining Characteristics and Core Themes of Romanticism

Core Themes of the Romantic Movement

The Anguish of Romantic Consciousness

This feeling is a central feature of the romantic unhappy consciousness, characterized by:

• Anxiety about the incompleteness of life (human anguish).
• The perception that life is a problem: fleeting and inconsistent.
• The common theme of ruins, symbolizing decay and expiration.

There is an obsession with death, seen as the ultimate release from melancholy ("the blues").

The intensity of this despair depends on belief:

• If the author finds mystical religious consolation, the anguish is tempered.
• If the author is atheist, the despair ("the blues") will be desperate.

Disillusionment and Evasion

The Romantic figure is eternally discontented because their ideals (such as freedom and happiness) cannot be realized in the real world. This profound disappointment leads to various reactions:

Forms of Disappointment and Escape

1. Rebellion: Disappointment sometimes takes the form of rebellion, leading the author to be anti-politics and anti-society of their time.
2. Evasion: Disappointment often leads to escape, which can manifest in two ways:
   • Time: Evocations of the Middle Ages and historical flashbacks.
   • Space: A taste for exotic and distant lands.

Extreme forms of escape include suicide (e.g., Larra) or, for the believer, asceticism as a means of avoiding worldly pain.

Exaltation of the Self and Subjectivism

The elevation of the self is a fundamental root of the Romantic spirit. The artist views themselves as a genius, standing well above the surrounding world.

Key characteristics include:

• Isolation: A preference for solitude rather than losing the self within society.
• Individualism: The exaltation of the self leads to excessive individualism and subjectivism.
• Contempt for Reason: This self-exaltation leads to a rejection of Neoclassicism and the Enlightenment's emphasis on Reason, favoring instead the overflow of feelings and passions.

The themes of privacy and solitude are paramount.

The Pursuit of Absolute Freedom

The exaltation of freedom is a natural extension of the romantic self. The Romantic artist rejects social, political, and artistic constraints, believing they stand above conventional rules of behavior.

This rejection specifically targets the rules imposed by Neoclassicism for literary creation, resulting in liberalism in literature.

Paradoxically, this intense desire for freedom also contributes to the Romantic's vital distress—a frustration stemming from the inability to control fate or achieve ultimate success.

Nature as a Reflection of Mood

Nature acquires a special and significant role in Romanticism. It is not merely a setting but adapts to and reflects the writer's inner mood, often appearing:

• Melancholy
• Gloomy
• Turbulent

The Romantic preoccupation with anguish and death is often accompanied by a love for specific settings:

• The countryside at night.
• Burial sites (cemeteries).
• Hidden landscapes, secluded spots, and abandoned gardens, which satisfy the taste for solitude.

History, Nationalism, and Popular Culture

Interest in history and the development of nationalism are major concerns and themes for Romantic authors.

History serves as a means of imaginative escape into the past, a form of travel. For the more cultured, this manifests in the historical novel and legends of old times.

The Romantic seeks in history what they feel is lacking in the present, emphasizing national peculiarities.

These national characteristics are vigorously defended as they support the Romantic desire for nationalism.

Furthermore, there is a strong interest in popular culture, including:

• Traditions and customs
• Songs and language
• All cultural traits that reinforce national identity.