Literature - A Mirror Of Society :: essays research papers

The lit of a domainis affected and influenced by how the people of thatcountry live. This paper go forth prove that The frenchRevolution greatly influenced nineteenth Century French romanticism. First, the heathenish values of the revolution willbe identified. Then, the different aspects of love affairwill 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 movements. Before the Revolution, thecitizens of France lived in a strict, confined society with nofreedom to express their feelings. government activity had imposedstrong, unfair laws on the common people (Comptons interactional Encyclopedia French Revolution). Theywanted a voice in a stable government with a strongeconomy (Johnson 105) and a strong sense of individualityand independence within the people. (Moss and Wilson180) Eighteenth- century literature was much like thesociety in which it was pr oduced, restrained. Society wasdivided into allow and unprivileged classes, (Leinward452) with Eighteenth- century writers focusing on the livesof the upper class. (Thompson 857) These writers followedformal rules(Thorlby 282), and based their whole works onscientific observations and logic (Thompson 895). TheRevolution gave the common people and writers more(prenominal)freedom to express feelings and stimulated them to usereason. According to Thompson, The Revolution had amajor(ip) impact on Nineteenth- Century European Life.(895) It sent a strong wave of emotion and revivalthroughout France (Peyre 59). This lead to unexampled laws andstandards for the citizens, including newer, less imposingliterary standards. Romanticism marked a unfathomed changein both literature and thought. Romanticism, according toWebsters Dictionary, is define as a literary movement(as in early nineteenth century Europe) marked especially by anemphasis on the conceit and emotions and by the useof aut obiographical material. Although this may be true, on that point is no single commonly accepted definition ofRomanticism, but it has some features upon which there isgeneral agreement. First, it emphasized 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 ane 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 invention of thecity. (Comptons Encyclopedia, Romanticism) Harveyand Heseltine state that The outstanding characteristic of18th-century French literature had been at tached to