Literature - A Mirror Of Society :: essays research papers

The literature of a countryis affected and influenced by how the people of thatcountry live. This paper will prove that The frenchRevolution greatly influenced 19th Century frenchRomanticism. First, the cultural values of the revolution willbe identified. Then, the different aspects of Romanticismwill be presented. The cultural values of The FrenchRevolution and Romanticism will then be linked. Finally,literary examples will be shown to support this connectionbetween the two gallerys. Before the Revolution, thecitizens of France lived in a strict, confined society with nofreedom to express their feelings. Government had imposedstrong, unfair laws on the common people (ComptonsInteractive Encyclopedia French Revolution). Theywanted a voice in a stable government with a strongeconomy (Johnson 105) and a strong sense of individualismand independence within the people. (Moss and Wilson180) Eighteenth- century literature was much like thesociety in which it was produced, restrained. Society wasdivided into privileged and unprivileged classes, (Leinward452) with Eighteenth- century writers focusing on the livesof the velocity class. (Thompson 857) These writers followedformal rules(Thorlby 282), and based their works onscientific observations and logic (Thompson 895). TheRevolution gave the common people and writers morefreedom to express feelings and stimulated them to usereason. harmonise to Thompson, The Revolution had amajor impact on Nineteenth- Century European Life.(895) It sent a strong wave of emotion and revivalthroughout France (Peyre 59). This confidential information to new laws andstandards for the citizens, including newer, less imposingliterary standards. Romanticism marked a profound changein both literature and thought. Romanticism, according toWebsters Dictionary, is define as a literary movement(as in early 19th century Europe) marked especially by anemphasis on the imagination and emotions and by the useof autobiographical material. Alth ough this may be true,there is no single commonly accepted definition ofRomanticism, but it has some features upon which there isgeneral agreement. First, it express upon humanreason, feeling, emotion, and expression (ComptonsInteractive Encyclopedia, Romanticism) whileemphasizing the love of nature, beauty, and liberty.(Leinward 528-529) Thompson defines Romanticism as a major literary and cultural movement that was inspiredby the imaginations, inner feelings, and emotions of theRomantics. (895) If one term can be used to describe theforces that have shaped the modern world, it isRomanticism. (Peyre, 2) Romanticism has had such aprofound effect on the world since the late 18th centurythat one author has called it the profoundest culturaltransformation in human history since the conception of thecity. (Comptons Encyclopedia, Romanticism) Harveyand Heseltine state that The outstanding characteristic of18th-century French literature had been attached to