Romanticism And The Enlightenment

The Romantic Movement, which contains main ideas of liberty and conservatism, begins at the end of eighteenth century, and this era lasts for half century (Perry et al. 2009, pp.520-521). Romanticism's relationship with the Enlightenment is like day and night, they seem to be the opposite of each other but they still have innumerable links. This essay will agree that Romantics' thoughts on painting and poetry.

Romanticism paintings have discriminable features such as strong emotions and free imagination, which is different from rigid paintings in the Enlightenment era. Painting, is expression of human emotions, imagination and inspiration, not consistent emotionless operation. Géricault, a Romantic painter, has chosen a unique and distinctive
angle to paint The Raft of Medusa, which is a famous and typical Romantic painting (Géricault, Medusa). This painting is based on the shocking story in 1816, which is about 150 low-status people were left behind on a raft at sea for 15 days by the captain and sailors of Medusa and only 15 of them survive (Vaughan 1991, p.239). The moment Géricault chooses to depict is "...the first sighting of the Argus..." (Vaughan 1991, p.240). If Géricault uses other scenes such as people on the raft are enduring stormy waves in the sea, this painting could produce a strong visual shock -- helpless people on a tiny, poor raft struggling for survival. However, choosing the first sight of the Argus is a unusual way to present. It is a better way for Géricault to "...appeal to the emotions of [his] audience...", because he creates strong spiritual shock, which will be deeply explained in the next paragraph (Brown 2001, p.5). Painting, as a method to communicate, should allow artists to use their own way to express. It is also what Romanticism brings to artists -- "...freedom of expression..."; while the Enlightenment is more like a "...systematic programme..."; paintings seem to have an official style during the Enlightenment period (Brown 2001, pp.4-5).

As Géricault chooses this special angle, most-horrible thing in this painting is not natural forces that threaten those people's lives, but the more unbearable desperation after they find out what the Argus gives them is a false hope. After several days drifting in the sea, those people that are abandoned finally see a ship, they believe they are going to be rescued, they can leave this place where they can lose life in any seconds. The joy they have at that moment is indescribably great. It is the reason that Géricault chooses this moment, leaving the space for audience to image. When they think of the fact that the Argus does not notice those people on the raft after that moment in the painting, they will feel the strong emotion contrast from joy and desperation that bring them more spiritual shock than visual ones.The tremendous and miserable emotions presented is even overpowering for people to look and feel, Delacroix even "...found himself breaking..." after seeing it (Vaughan 1991, p.240). The way of building this spiritual shock definitely shows the imagination and creativity of Géricault, and it also encourages audience to use their imagination to find quintessence of this painting. Imagination is one of the most wonderful and fantastic ability that human has, it's a gift for every one. People should free their imagination, use it to create more art work. It is what Romanticism values for -- "...imaginative and spiritual aspirations..." (Tarnas 1996, p.367). As a Romantic great letter writer once said in his letter that he was only certain about two things, which are "the holiness of the heart's affection" and "the truth of imagination" (Keats Letter ex.). While during the Enlightenment, people only focus on science and economics, and the faculty to imagine or create is absent (Shelley Defence ex. 2).

The motion of people on the raft shows another typical Romantic feature -- instinct. In the painting, two men in the right top of the painting are waving their shirts to the Argus, their movements disclose eagerness towards life; another man next to them reaches one arm pointing towards the ship and turning back to tell others; three people in the right middle of the picture, they have suffered so much physical illness and pain that they are not able to stand or wave any more, but they still look up and reach for the hope (Géricault, Medusa). Those people are using their last strength to reach their survival; their facial expression shows the strongest emotion -- joy, which is the most spectacular feeling for a human being. What they do at this moment directly comes from the human instinct, either the reaching or the happiness shown in their face. Human natural instinct leads them to capture every possibility to survive and to be rapturous when they see the hope of life. Instinct is what human born with, it should become eternal theme of art creation. Instinctive is what Romanticism encourages people and artists try to show audience, while the Enlightenment is all about rationality and truth.

Poetry is another general type of writing that the Romantics express their own feelings and thoughts, and it is one of the ways which the Romantics reject the Enlightenment.
Poetry is a clear and concise way to show the concentrated essence of poet's work, and nature is usually the fountain that poets get inspiration from. Nature should be a constant theme of poem, but not truth that people have already found out, because nature is changeable and unpredictable, and it gives human surprises; but truth is invariable rule. In the Romantics' thought, poetry works as "...image of man and nature" (Wordsworth Preface ex. 1). Romantic poets like writing poems about nature and animals then connect it with human beings. In the poem The Tables Turned (Wordsworth Tables turned Ex.), natural objects and wide animals appear almost in every stanza. "Sun", "mountain", "long green fields", "woodland", "linnet", "vernal wood" and "leaves", 7 objects and animals are shown in a short poem (Wordsworth Tables turned Ex.). The poet is inspired by these amazing and wonderful creatures and objects in nature, nature is treasure to him, which is the right attitude that human beings should have towards nature -- respectful and yearning. Wordsworth also writes an sentence -- "[let] nature be your teacher" (Tables turned Ex.). Teacher is who teach people knowledge; lead people to discover new things; even help students to form their view of life. It delivers the idea that the Romantics put a high value on nature, which is not the same position that the Enlightenment thinkers take, because science and truth is what they put at the first
place.

it should be a platform for people with passion and imagination to communicate and discuss their own feelings about things around them. Poetry should not be used as a tool to repeat things people already acknowledged again and again, like for Enlightenment poets, the object they describe in poems is truth