Transcendentalism: The Romantic Movement

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When the word 'romantic' is mentioned, a person's first idea maybe of a walk along the beach while the sun is setting or a picnic for two underneath an old, oak tree. Today this word can even be used to describe how a fragrance smells but if we were to travel back to the early 19th century this commonly used word would take on a vastly different meaning. A great movement was starting at the end of the 1700's that would have a great impact on literature, music, and art. From the late 16th century and continuing into the 1800's developed a movement that we now know as the "Romantic Period." During this time, literature was filled with powerful imagery and emotions of all kind. Romantic poetry sometimes brought up love and romance, but it was…show more content…
They mocked at the idea of uniformity.The romantic poets wonderful imagination and love of nature combined helped them to create pieces of literature that were beautiful. They were in love with beauty just as much as the people that were in love with knowledge were at that time. Transcendentalists grew from the romantic movement. It was a smaller movement but yet very important. They believed that praise because of the beautiful things found in nature was just half of the picture. They believed that God was the real cause for celebration. Some of these transcendentalists did take more of a mystical approach. Transcendentalists also believed that a person's morality was just as important as their…show more content…
Their influence was both good and bad. It taught us to be creative and express our feelings in different and unique ways. It taught us to view people as important and special. Nature is greatly more appreciated thanks to these poets who taught us to recognize beauty. Both these movements taught us to believe that we are able to accomplish so much more than we think. Of course, there are somethings that have influenced our culture negatively. Although our feelings are important they should not rule over reasoning and common sense. Today the focus is all on how we feel and what will make us happy. This is a dangerous path that we are on. Some may think that there is nothing wrong with this picture. But if we continue to focus inwardly we will be blind that we will not notice the damage that we have done all around us. If a person murdered someone because it made them feel good, would it still be okay to think like this? What was once selfish and egotistical has become accepted and even promoted. Also the love of nature that the romantics and transcendentalists had, has created problems today. We have made nature not only something to be praised but also worshiped. It has more importance than the baby who is its mother's stomach. We have forgotten that there is a Creator behind the creation; some of us even refuse to believe the possibility of a created world. Our lives have drastically changed

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