Romanticism - wider social and political contexts? (1 Viewer)

[diametric]

From the rubric:

Romanticism is typified by the search for meaning through representations of the individual's relationship with the natural world, and wider social and political contexts.

I understand what is meant by the affinity with the natural world, but am clueless as to what is meant by the 'wider social and political contexts'.

Could anyone help out?

 

[Hornby]

The wider social and political contexts is the French Revolution and the rise of the bourgeoisie and the industrial revolution, lead to an exploitation of the working class. Increase in workers movements in the 1830's as a result. Romanticism was seen as an escape from Industrialisation. That'd be your basic social and political context.

 

[diametric]

Fuck, you're awesome.
I suppose I could relate to class structures in Wuthering Heights and his own social life with Keats. Neither were very concerned about Industrialisation, but the way you posed it, widened my understanding greatly.

Thanks.

 

[Artemis_ephesus]

Romanticism goes back to the Enlightenment. This was a time when the grand narrative that ruled was religion - the englightenment ideas of rationality and science upset this and slowly introduced the grand narrative of science. Science leads to technology, which lead to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

Yes, Romanticism has a lot to do with the IR, but it is also a critique of social and political issues such as colonialism and the standardisation of the English language. Check out the Romantics' revolt against and then support for colonialism and imperialism, movements (not really the right word here) which developed out of it such as orientalism and exoticism (especially evident in Byron). Also look at language, form, metre; the relationship between language and standardisation and social issues such as nationalism.

That's my secrets out in the open.

 

[agua.fuego]

Thankyou so much!
Helped me heaps.