Romanticism: The Abuse of Adjectives

Lately I have been conducting great deal of research concerning literary periods to “enhance” my bookish knowledge and ideally pinpoint my favourite era. This is a necessity for someone, like me, who plans to pursue literature post secondary, and I thought I may summarize my findings for any other, fellow bibliophiles. This first installation of my series will focal in on romanticism, a current competitor, along with modernism and Victorianism for first place. It must be noted before proceeding, however, that the start and end date of many different periods tend to blur. Authors can caper, for example, across two separate ages as result of the ambiguous timelines and habitually similar characteristics. To put in context, Romanticism is preceded by the age of enlightenment from approximately 1700 to 1800, and followed by the Victorian period, which is more a segway into the drastically different modernism epoch. Like all eras, it is defined by the emergence of one central idea influencing literature, art, and ones general mindset, and in this case, was a passionate reaction to urbanization. For those acquainted with the age, what comes to mind may be sweeping nature landscapes and sentimental narratives, all quite discordant with the 1700-1900 industrial revolution’s sensibility and methodicalness. This is because the romanticism movement was strongly opposing the urban upsurge, and, although subscribers viewed themselves personally as unique , were all united under common goal; to preserve the purportedly “divine” essence nature. Each, although not particularly pious, advocated the environment with a kind of religious fervour, illustrating landscapes as if some manifestation of God whilst praising the innate purity and imagination of children. I have been reading a bit of “far from the maddening crowd” by prominent romanticism writer, Thomas Hardy, and noting a multitude of smilies all relating to nature. Take the first sentence as an example, “When Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread till they were within an unimportant distance of his ears, his eye were reduced to chinks, and diverging wrinkles appeared round them, extending upon his countenance like the rays in a rudimentary sketch of the rising sun.” This also exemplifies the slightly maundering mien of romanticism, jarringly discordant with modernisms clean and succulent style. Many, as result dislike the period, deeming it unconsciously as “old fashioned.” Alfred De Musset, a mid 1800 french novelist, even dubbed it "the abuse of adjectives." However, the meaning conveyed within this purportedly superflous writing style has remained consistent throughout centuries, contributing to many of our modern day ideologies. Romanticism honed into the individualistic mind and instincts of a human, disregarding rationality and stressing the importance of the heart. From what I have heard so far, I believe romanticism may be a very conceivable candidate for my favourite era…