The Romantic Period The Dark Alleyways Of The Modern...

The Romantic Period Hidden in the dark alleyways of the modern bourgeoisie, a revolution was brewing. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, modern European culture began pulling away from conventional systems of rule enforced by feudal court predecessors. Corresponding to the rise of the middle class and the collapse of the aristocracy, the French Revolution was born. From the rubble, which had been produced by a years worth of sociopolitical upheaval, emerged an artistic movement that flourshised until the mid-nineteenth century, known as Romanticism. More specifically, Romanticism arose as a response to the dogma of the Enlightenment values of reason. Emphasizing nature and culture, or rather one’s feelings and imagination, the Romantic Movement argued against the artificiality and industrialization that that bourgeois dreamed of. However, this bourgeois dream seems more like a nightmare for poet laureates such as William Wordsworth and William Blake, as well as other Romantic poets like John Keats, who stress the importance of nature and its landscapes over the rapid expansion of an industrialized society. More specifically, writers of this period believe that spiritual and emotional healing is a result of nature, which â€Å"for the Romantics becomes a means for divine revelation† (Wordsworth). That is to say, Wordsworth and Romantics alike argue that nature is peace and the closest connection humans have of heaven on earth. Once the connection between humans and