Why is Romanticism Important in Literature?
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Lucifer
Romanticism emerged as an important movement in English Literature with the publication of Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth in 1798 AD. It was a direct attack on Neoclassical Age and particularly the Industrial Revolution which resulted in mass migration to urban areas.
This mass migration led to a number of problems like poverty, unemployment, low wages, diseases, deaths etc. Romanticism’s main slogans were “Return back to nature” and “Art for the art’s sake”.
The Romantic literature helped the society to appreciate the beauty of nature and take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city-life.
Imagination was the primary source of literature of that time, The works like Kubla Khan by ST Coleridge, Happy Insensibility by John Keats etc are the products of pure imagination and revolve around nature and its beauty. The Romantics brought to light the suffering of the people to light through their works.
In addition the writers of the age also quested for God. Coleridge’s “willing suspension of disbelief” made to people to give up their rationality and live in the world of imaginations.
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