Title: The Defining Ideas of Romanticism | Pen and the Pad
Headings: The Defining Ideas of Romanticism
The Defining Ideas of Romanticism
Imagination
Nature
View of Self
Rejection of Modern LIfe

Content: Art, in this way, moved away from the rational compositions of the Classical and Baroque and towards the subjective qualities found in the paintings of the Impressionists and symphonies of 19th-century composers. View of Self
Romantics venerated self-directed action and stepping to the beat of one's personal drummer. The Romantic human ideal was the artist, creator or thinker who took a stand for personal opinion and belief at the risk of social ostracism. For Romantics, the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many. The notions of self-esteem and self-expression, revered today as two of our most valuable human birthrights, are handed down to us from the ideals of the Romantic period. Romantics saw the human being as born pure and divine -- a direct contrast to the "born in sin" concept of many previous Christian teachings. Rejection of Modern LIfe
As the world moved into the Industrial age of factory labor and machines, the Romantics reacted by resolving to live more simply, more closely connected with the natural world. As the Industrial Revolution of the early 19th century took hold, Romantics clung more strongly to their reverence of the importance of the individual's creative life and dignity. The American thinker and writer Henry David Thoreau provides an example of the Romantic rejection of modern society's industrialism through his commitment to simple living (and recording his perceptions) at Walden Pond. Thoreau was also one of many Romantics to reject modern society's laws through acts of civil disobedience that emphasized the rights of the individual over the laws of the government.