What was the Romantic Movement?
The romantic revolution was a change in thinking from science and the rationality of the Enlightenment to respect for nature. The revolution was also a reaction to the industrial period as romanticists were looking for a way to idealize the lost past. As such, Romanticists aimed to incorporate emotions, passion, and feeling into the natural world. This was accomplished through the arts, in the forms of literature, poetry, painting, and music. Romanticists placed the utmost importance on imagination and nature. They viewed imagination and nature as equivalents. Romanticists believed that nature was a work of art and imagination was necessary to create this art. In doing so, romanticists clearly separated themselves from the popular industrial perspective of the time.
The romantic movement began in Western Europe during the later half of the 18th century continued its popularity well into the early 19th century. Literary romanticism was pioneered in Britain by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge and in Germany by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. However, the ideas of Romanticism did not reflect the mainstream views of British society. Romanticism spread to countries around England and Germany such as Italy, Spain, and France. Eventually, Romanticism spread throughout the world and can still be seen in some forms today.