Introduction:

Romanticism is a movement in art and literature that took place in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.  With themes including subjectivity and individualism, the Romantic period in the literary realm involved poets including Edgar Allen Poe, William Wordsworth and Henry David Thoreau. 

Information:

The website on Romanticism, found at http://www.uh.edu/engines/romanticism/, includes not only a rather comprehensive definition of the movement in terms of art and literature, but also provides examples of famous authors who wrote during that period in history. 

Not only does the Romantic Period involve famous writers, but it includes famous artists as well.  Through such paintings as the one below, we may recognize the various themes and beliefs prevalent during the 18^th and 19^th Centuries. 

Activity: 

Go to the website on Romanticism.  Click on “Introduction to Romanticism.”  Read the definition and the short entry on the movement.  Take note of the qualities and themes mentioned. 

Study the painting to the right.  Notice such things as the themes and colors used.  How does this painting represent what you have learned about art and literature during the Romantic Period?